Maxim Darko: The Greatest Gift of Evil. A Vampire Chronicle

CHAPTER THREE THE TRANSFORMATION

Svetva's heart raced with excitement as she rushed back to Golo. With practiced steps, she wove along the hidden path through the forest trees. The woods were brightly lit by the moon, but she could have traversed the path from memory. All traces of her tracks magically vanished in the snow. Leaving no trace of her passage. Inside of her sleeve, she could feel the Branch of Zaqqum throbbing with unimaginable power. She had never felt anything so powerful in her life. She found it exciting, yet unsettling. Her heart beat loudly from the exhilaration.

Once she was back in the village, Svetva hid the dark bowl under the straw mattress in her small cell. She laid down on the other side of the mattress to hide the bowl. Even though men were not allowed to enter her cell, Father Zlata occasionally invited himself in, and made unwanted sexual advances towards her. She could not risk even this small chance of discovery. Svetva closed her eyes. She was exhausted, but sleep would not come. To no avail, she chanted under her breathe to bring the sleep she desperately needed. After some time had passed, a soft knock on the door disturbed her chanting. She did not know how long she had lain in bed. "Sister Sveta?" The soft voice belonged to the Priest's young acolyte.

"Yes?"

"Our Father requests your assistance for the night prayers."

"I will be there in a moment." Sveta rolled from her mat and drank some water from a stone jug. After using her chamber pot, she retrieved the dark bowl. The bronze runes glowed slightly in the dark. She wrapped herself in her thickest blanket. And then hid the bowl deeply within the folds of the blanket.

Fearfully, she entered the church, and assumed her place at the opposite end from the altar. Women were not permitted to enter the altar area. Father Zlata moved to her, she bent her head to receive his blessing. Father Zlata held her face in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. Sensing her discomfort, Father Zlata pulled her head to his chest. "All will be well Sister. The worse is over. Turn your grief to the Lord's work, comfort the parents." He released her head. Unknowingly, he had mistaking her fear for grieving. "I know you are in the depths of grief Sister." He swept one hand behind him to the villagers who crowded the church. "Be strong for our flock Sister." He dipped his hand in a bowl of holy water next to the door and made the sign of the cross on Svetva's forehead. Svetva had to keep from crying out in pain. The holy water burned her forehead. The dark bowl throbbed with anger under her blanket. "May God be with you Sister." Exhausted from his duties, Father Zlata left the church for his quarters.

Svetva settled herself uncomfortably into a kneeling position on the dirt floor. Then she began the evening holy chants. The dark bowl protested. The paste in the bowl burned and bubbled. Svetva concentrated to overcome the pain caused by the burning bowl. A mist slowly escaped from the folds of her blanket. The mist went unnoticed in the smoke laden air of the windowless room. As the mist spread, one-by-one, the villagers dropped into a trance.

At first Svetva did not realize the villagers had become comatose. The dark bowl vibrated, the signal from the bowl forced her to open her eyes. Her eyes took in the unmoving villagers. Now is the time, she thought. Afraid of waking the villagers, she held her breath, and cautiously rose to her feet. After a long moment, she was satisfied that the villagers would not wake. Very cautiously, she removed Branch of Zaqqum from the inside of her sleeve.

The dark bowl vibrated as she removed it from her blanket. The holy goodness ebbing from the church, was fighting to overcome the evil that emanated from the dark paste. Svetva stirred the paste with the Branch of Zaqqum while chanting. The bronze runes on the bowl throbbed to life, the goodness of the church, was no match for the strength of the ancient Dark God combined with the Branch of Zaqqum's power. Svetva approached the nearest corpse. First, she pried open the child's right eye, and then applied the paste to the inner part of the child's eye. She chanted, "Tiarnoglofi, the greatest of greatest. Have mercy on this soul. Bring this child back to the world of the living."