After the police leave, Larry asks if I need a lift back.
I force a smile. “It’s okay. I could do with the fresh air.”
He screws on a temporary extra lock he had upstairs, and I get into the car Rocco gave me and start to drive. I drive without thinking, purely on instinct. As I park the car, William appears at the doorway.
He nods at me.
“Where is he?”
“In the study,” he says in his formal voice.
I walk to the study. Every step feels like I am coming closer and closer to the edge of a cliff. I open the study door and Rocco is standing with his back to me. He is looking out of the window. He turns. He is wearing a black shirt and black jeans.
“I’m ready to hear the truth now. Who are you? And what do you want from me?”
Chapter 54
Rocco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4A5XuMz_Tw
-Killing Me Softly With His Song-
“Come in and sit down, Autumn,” I invite softly. My body feels rigid and tense, but it will be a relief to finally get it out.
She walks forward and sits stiffly at the end of the chair opposite my desk. Her back ramrod straight with dread.
I remain standing. “Who… or what am I? I am the descendant of an ancient race of immortal beings who can live for many thousands of years. Our kind have lived on earth alongside humans since the beginning of time. It’s a long story, but human history is not as your rulers have taught you. Anyway, our relationship with mankind was peaceful, and we were viewed as benevolent guardians, and with fear. We were called the Shining Ones, and there were many glowing accounts of us in your most ancient texts and could be found in all great libraries, but they are all buried under the sea now.
“Originally, we were the keepers of knowledge and guardians of humanity. Especially, whenever there are extinction event cataclysms on earth that happen in cycles, every twelve to fourteen thousand years. When one of these catastrophes, which we call EMPOCs, happen, the damage is unimaginable. There is death and destruction everywhere. Everything is obliterated. Huge parts of continents sink into the sea, drowning all its inhabitants and leaving not even a trace of their civilization, while other parts of land full of sea creatures will rise from the ocean. And sometimes the earth burned for days, obliterating everything in its path.
“The bible tells one story of a people who were devastated by a great flood, but there have been many other such cataclysms that have befallen earth. During this time, all technology is lost, and the trauma and shock is so all encompassing the survivors collectively suffer a mind wipe of sorts. They walk around in a daze and it has always been our kind who guided them in the rebuilding of their destroyed cities. We brought seeds that we had saved in underground vaults and taught them agriculture.
“If you’ve ever wondered why archeologists sometimes dig up artifacts that carbon date back to hundreds and thousands of years, but those items show signs of being cut by laser machinery or made by some other historically impossible technology and advances, it is because the real history of the earth has been deliberately hidden from you. Humankind has attained greater heights during other cycles of civilization.”
She stares at me, her face white and incredulous. Her body frozen in shock.
“During the golden age of Egypt, my descendants took a wrong turn. The same way the fall of humankind was caused by Eve being tempted into eating the forbidden fruit, one of us was seduced by the dark magic of the powerful priesthood of that age. She let one drop of human blood fall on her tongue, and all of us lost the ability to fly. We fell into the sin of craving blood above all else. And there we have remained ever since.”
Autumn’s eyes widen with shock as she gasps furiously, “No. This cannot be true.” She shakes her head in disbelief and puts her hands over her ears. “No, this is a sick, sick joke. Vampires do not exist.”
“It’s not a joke,” I say calmly. “In your heart, you know it is true. You saw me lift your car. You just didn’t want to believe your own eyes so you blocked the memory. You wanted to pretend to yourself for a little longer. There is no more pretending, Autumn.”
She closes her eyes, then reopens them. All the light in them is gone. She looks at me dully. “You’re a vampire.”
Shame fills my body, but I don’t look away from her. I am what I am and she is what she is. Nothing will change that. “When we fell, we became the exact opposite of what we had once been. Our skin that was illuminated and glowing with white light was taken away from us, and sunlight became deadly to us. Even the weakest ray of sun can seriously burn our skin. Physically, we were still beautiful, but we had become creatures of the night. Predators, who had to hide our true natures from humanity.