The Sunwalker- Heirs of the Night

2- Blood Bonding

Nadja stood with the Elders in a room called the Elders Quarters on the deck of the Elisabetha. All the Elders from the surviving clans were represented. Nadja had seen some of them during the days since she arrived, such as Baron Magnus av Dracas, The Contessa and Conte Claudio di Nosferas when The Elisabetha picked them up from Italy. Baron Magnus, the leader of the Dracas clan, stood before them and spoke in a quiet, yet clear voice.

"We are almost complete. I have gathered you here, because extinction is not an option." He paused for a second before he continued. "In this goblet is a gift from the Noaidi."

He picked up a goblet and poured some reddish liquid into it. It was blood, presumably produced by his ruby. 

"Through this ritual, by the blood bonding of our-"

He was cut off mid sentence by Madame Audrey de Pyras.

"You said we would unite the clans, not that we would blood bond our heirs."

Everyone looked at Madame Audrey now, save for Baron Magnus glancing at them all in turn and then back at the speaker. Nadja looked intently at the Pyras Elder, as if expecting her to explain what blood bonding was, for Nadja knew it not and she dared not ask, lest she be thrown out. This was not a meeting Nadja would normally be at, as an heir, but she was also the only living member of her clan and the holder of her clan ruby, thus the closest the Belovs had to an Elder. There was no one to be here in her place.

"This is the only chance of survival our clans have." Baron Magnus continued. "Through the blood bonding, they will be able to share their powers, create a bond and become stronger than ever."

The Baron's look was serious, perhaps even more so than usual. Nadja on the other hand, smiled. Whatever this blood bonding was, she liked the sound of it.  Sir Milton of Vyrad unscrewed the cap of his flask, an action that caused both Madame Audrey and the Contessa to ready their own flasks. Nadja got her own flask out and did the same. She did not know what this meant, but if the majority of the Elders, and amongst them the Pyras Elder, were willing, she would not be the difficult one. Madame Audrey received the goblet and poured a few drops into it, before handing it to Sir Milton. The Contessa was next and she emptied her bottle into the goblet and handed it to her husband, Conte Claudio of Nosferas. Lastly, the goblet was given to Nadja, who poured a few drops into the goblet and gave it back to Baron Magnus.

"The heirs will have a sip at breakfast. After that," he screwed the lid back on. "the power of our rubies will flow through their veins."

Nadja couldn't help but smile at those words. She, and the other heirs, would be even more powerful than they were already. Then, out of nowhere, Nadja heard something. It was a voice and it sounded agitated. It spoke again, but Nadja could not make out what it said this time either. She concentrated, hoping the voice would speak again, and it did.

"Jeg vil... skjer... skipet? I want... happens... ship?"

The voice was calmer now, and even though she heard it more clearly, she did not hear more than bits of what it said, nor did she understand what she heard. Furthermore, it didn't sound like she heard it through her ears, a sensation strengthened by the fact that none of the others in the room seemed to have noticed anything. Nadja did not get much time to dwell on this however, for the Elders began to leave the room and the young heiress had little choice but to follow. There were nobody outside, nor did Nadja see anyone on the way to her coffin.