Chapter Thirteen.

We landed in Oslo Airport late the next day, drove for five hours to Bykle and checked into the first available hotel.
"So what exactly are we doing here?" Damon asked, sitting on the bed.
"I need to speak to an old friend." I replied, putting my clothes in drawers.
"Okay... Does this friend have a name?" He pressed.
I sighed and sat next to him.
"Her name is Astrid. I've known her since I was a child - we grew up together." I said.
"She's a Vampire too?"
"Sort of..." I looked up, thoughtfully.
Damon looked at me, eyebrow raised.
"She's a Heretic." I continued.
"What?!" He replied, shocked.
"You didn't really think that your mother's pets were the only Heretics out there, did you? They've been around almost as long as Vampires – Astrid being the first of them." I explained.
Damon looked curious, seeming to not know where to begin with his questions, which was understandable.
"Ready to go?" I asked.
He nodded.

We drove to the south side of the lake; Vatnedalsvatn.
"If I'm right, she still lives in a cabin by the lake. She never was one for travelling much." I chuckled to myself as I reminisced.
We reached the end of a dirt track, leading straight to her house.
We got out of the car and walked up to the door.
I knocked on it three times.
"Permisjon!" I voice came from the other side.
"What did she say?" Damon asked quietly.
"She's a rather secluded person, she wants us to leave." I whispered, knocking again. "Astrid! Det er meg, Alexandra."
We heard fumbling on the other side of the door, followed by what sounded like a lot of locks.
"Alexandra?" She clarified, opening the door.
"Hallo Astrid." I smiled warmly.
She threw the door open, pulling me into a tight hug.
"Jeg har savnet deg." She cried, her voice muffled by my shoulder.
"Jeg har også savnet deg." I replied.
"Um... English please. Some of us don't know copious amounts of languages." Damon cleared his throat.
"Sorry." I blushed, pulling away from my oldest friend. "Astrid, this is my boyfriend, Damon. We need your help."
She nodded and allowed us in.
She was the same height as me, but had long black hair that approached her hips, as opposed to my dyed grey bob. She was slim and pale, clearly she hadn't seen the daylight in a while. She wore a handmade dress, something that resembled clothing straight out of the Viking era.
"Some tea?" She asked, her accent as thick as it ever was.
"Yes please." I smiled, taking a seat on her worn couch.
"Yeah, that'd be great." Damon replied, giving the same smile as he too, sat.
"I see you're not up to date on your choice of clothing yet, Assie." I smirked.
She raised her eyebrow at me before looking over her Scandinavian farmgirl-esque dress and brown leather boots peeking out from the hem."I happen to like the way we dressed back then." She argued.
I just shrugged. "I preferred my fighting gear." "So what brings you back all this way, Alexandra? It must be very important." Astrid asked as she poured the tea, sat in her fire-side armchair.
"There's been an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in the town we live in, plus several other neighbouring towns." I explained. "I examined the first patient, who then mysteriously woke up and said something I haven't heard for seven hundred years."
"Pesta." She whispered, eyes wide.
"How did you know that?" Damon asked.
"She's slightly psychic. But she was also with me all those centuries ago helping me to treat the plague patients." I told him.
Damon nodded, sipping his herbal tea.
He looked as though he was desperate to spit it back out, making Astrid and I chuckle.
"It is fermented Jasmine tea. It helps the heart. Good for our kind as it keeps the blood flow strong. You blend in more as human-like." Astrid told him as I handed him the sugar pot.
"Add some sugar, it'll taste better." I chuckled.
Damon looked at me and rolled his eyes, spooning the sugar into his cup.
Astrid and I looked at him as he took a sip.
"That's better, I guess." Damon shrugged.
Astrid and I shook our heads to one another.
"He's only young." I sighed.
"I can tell." Astrid raised her eyebrow. "How long since you turned, boy?"
Damon looked rather dumbfounded by what he had referred to him as, but shook it off.
"One hundred and fifty three years, miss Astrid." He replied, giving his signature smirk.
Astrid raised her eyebrow again, this time pointed to me.
"You always liked the young ones." She pointed her finger at me.
I chuckled, pursing my lips with a shrug.
"I had my exceptions, though."
"Yes, you did and look where that got you." Astrid said in an almost warning tone.
"I know..." I sighed, sipping my tea.
"So what is it you actually need my help with?" The Heretic asked.
I looked between her and Damon.
"I need to know as much about the Pesta legend as possible." I replied.
"Well..." Astrid started, leaning forward in her chair. "Pesta was, supposedly, an old woman dressed in a black hood, seen walking around with a broom and a rake. She would go to the houses of the sick. If she carried a broom, the occupants of the whole house would die of the Black Death as she swept through the rooms. If she carried a rake, there would be survivors who pass through the teeth of the rake."
"Creepy." Damon said.
"Indeed." Astrid replied.
"Do you know if that legend has any truth?" I asked.
Astrid thought for a moment, sipping her tea.
"I can't say I've ever seen her. But I could never rule it out – I feel it would be hypocritical of me, being what I am." She replied.
I was cautious about asking my next question, knowing how she would likely react.
"Would you come back to America with us? We need your local folklore knowledge."
She looked almost offended.
"Has it really been that long since you've known me, Alexandra? You know full well I don't like to travel." She argued, furrowing her eyebrows.
"I know..." I sighed. "But we're desperate."
Astrid looked into her fire, watching the flames carefully.
"I'll have your answer in the morning." She finally spoke.
I nodded. "Thank you." We left Astrid's in serious spirits.
As I drove, Damon flipped through the radio stations, finally becoming unsatisfied with the local music scene.
"Do you think she'll do it?" He asked as we pulled up outside the hotel.
I sighed. "I don't know."
I shut off the engine and just sat there for a moment.
"I'd like to think she would. But I don't know which has more power over her – her love for me, or her hatred for the outside world." We got into the hotel room and all but collapsed on the bed.
I rolled into the foetal position, facing away from Damon.
I felt an arm wrap around my middle as he spooned me, kissing my temple.
"I love you, Alex." He whispered.
"I love you too, Damon."