Skye, the Last Prince of the Vampires

Chapter Four – An Enchanting Voice, and a New Nose for

Michael

Skye was humming

in the bathtub, his voice ringing throughout his chambers. He was humming so loudly, that he did not even hear when Michael opened the door to his chambers and walked inside. Michael glanced around, saw a smaller silver door, heard the splashing of water from behind it, and was amazed as he heard Skye start singing “Shine” by Clay Aiken, as smoothly as if it were a song of his own writing. Michael was even more amazed that the lyrics almost seemed to describe him. It was as if Skye was singing about Michael, with someone else’s words.

You can try to hide away,

From every drop of rain,

That is hanging over you.

You can say it is all a waste,

Lost through time and space,

There is nothing left to lose.

Michael settled on the floor outside of the bathing chamber and listened. Skye’s voice flowed like water through the doorway, and the words Skye was singing touched Michael’s very heart and soul. He wanted to smile, he wanted to cry, he wanted to run into that room and hug Skye, even if the Vampire was naked and wet. Instead, he settled for listening to the next bit of the song, waiting for the chorus of it. Suddenly, the notes changed, so Michael stilled himself, stiff with anticipation of the words he knew would come next.

Like a broken angel on the ground.

Like a symphony without a sound,

Turn around

Everything you are

Everywhere you have been

The sinners and the saints

That fight a battle within

Every place you go,

Everybody knows

Shadows fall across the sun sometimes.

Shine

You’re gonna shine

 Michael rose to his feet, and pressed his ear to the door, careful not to make a sound as he continued to listen to the song. Skye was oblivious to his presence, and for now, this was a good thing. Michael feared that Skye would quit singing if he dared to make a noise. The next lines of the song met his ears, and he forced himself to be still once more. He cringed inwardly at the cold metal, but he knew that it would be worth the pain.

Inside the bathroom, Skye laughed mentally to himself as he heard Michael press his ear to the door, and quickly he reached for a small sack that lay nearby. Sneezing Powder, the label read, and he opened it and shook some into the air, blowing it under the door with a single gust of magical wind. Outside, he heard Michael desperately scrabble to get rid of the dust before he sneezed. It was too late, however, and Michael sneezed thrice before quitting.

In the mirror of your soul

I know that you know

You are not forsaken

Hey, butterfly,

Open up your weary eyes

And realize

It is a trip we are taking

And the world

Will turn around again

And your shattered heart,

Is gonna mend,

In the end.

Everything you are

Everywhere you have been

The sinners and the saints

hat fight a battle within

Every place you go

Everybody Knows

Shadows fall across the sun sometimes

Shine

You’re gonna shine--

Abruptly, Skye stopped singing, and that was because Michael had sneezed. It really was not his fault, as a puff of dust had snuck its way up his nose, even though Michael had tried desperately to exhale it before he sneezed. A second later, the door moved from beside him and Michael find himself lying sideways on a cold marble floor. Skye appeared to be amused, and was wearing a bright blue bathrobe. The scent of lavender wafted through the air as Skye moved to Michael’s side and helped him up off the floor.

“Hear something you like, Michael?” Skye asked as he hoisted Michael up onto his feet with a grin. The thick crimson strands that framed his face stuck to Skye’s forehead and refused to budge, as they were heavy with water. A glance beyond Skye told Michael that the silver marble bathtub was big enough for four good-sized men to sit in and relax, and that it was still full of steaming hot water. “I only just started to have a bath… and…” *suddenly Skye started to laugh. “Michael! Catch your nose quickly! It is falling off!” Michael’s eyes bugged out, and then he realized what Skye meant. The tip of his nose, long gone because he had made so many plastic surgeon appointments, and replaced by a prosthesis, was dangling precariously as if it was about to fall. He growled at the accursed thing, and pushed it back up into place, only to smudge his makeup. Skye stopped laughing when he saw Michael’s dark, stormy eyes narrow in what looked like irritation and anger mixed. Skye knew it was not directed at him, but he figured that it was much better to be safe than sorry. Michael, after all, looked athletic, whereas Skye did not.

“I can fix that nose for you if you wish, so that you don’t have to keep putting that thing on.” Skye offered. Michael looked up at Skye, and wordlessly he nodded. “I can’t fix your skin. However, I happened to go and get some of that makeup that you will need, so I will touch you up after I fix that nose of yours. You see, I am one of the few Vampires that actually heal. The power came to me through my bloodline, and Tsunami and I both share the same gift. However… my gift is considerably more powerful. I can regenerate flesh, cartilage, bone, and even whole appendages, whereas Tsunami can only heal flesh wounds.” Michael nodded again.

Skye rolled up the sleeves of his blue robe, and his hands began to glow with a silver-blue light. He removed the prosthesis, taking care to look at its proper shape so that he would know how to fix Michael’s real nose, and then set one finger on either side of the nose in order to channel his magic through the flesh. The result was immediate, and the skin, blood vessels, nasal tissues, and cartilage grew in at an advanced rate, taking on the form of a complete nose, if a bit on the narrow side. Not wasting a second, Skye dashed across the room to retrieve the makeup for Michael’s skin. He took a dab of the substance on a fingertip and touched up the new nose, in addition to the smudges from earlier as well. His work finished, he retrieved a handheld mirror and showed Michael his handiwork.

Michael stared, and touched his nose lightly, feeling the pressure of his finger against real, warm, living flesh. Wordlessly he nudged away the mirror and hugged Skye firmly around the waist, resting his head against Skye’s shoulder. The Vampire merely smiled and kissed Michael’s forehead, the simple gesture of endearment touching Michael’s heart and soul. Time seemed to slow and then stop, dark brown and silver-blue eyes met, and then Michael kissed Skye softly. Skye responded in a flash, petal-soft silver lips eagerly responding to the kiss, and Michael suddenly felt a tinge of sadness that he was no longer a teenager. A teenage Michael would have probably been considerably more attractive to Skye, and would probably look less questionable as well. However, Michael was not worried about what the court would say. He could always convince Skye to bite, and run away with him for eternity, which would be selfish, but he would have someone who accepted him the way he was once more.

Skye kissed Michael again, a slow and gentle gesture. At that moment, Michael realized that Skye did not want sexual encounters, but rather he wanted a companion who would love him the way he was. Michael, though getting on in years, was more than happy to do that because he was tired of being alone. He was tired of the government harassing him just because of a few odd habits. Most importantly, Michael was not a child molester, and he would sooner shoot himself than bring harm to a child in any way. It then occurred to him that maybe Skye could help him. Maybe the Vampire could make the humans see that he was innocent. Maybe, things would be just fine. For now, he decided, he would get to know Skye and see where their relationship was going.

End Chapter Four