swallowing quickly. He started to gag at the thick metallic taste.
“Breath through your nose, Tobia,” the man offered gently.
Tobia did as he was told, and after a minute, felt the need to suck the blood as quickly into his mouth as he could. Just as the need started to burn in his throat and mouth, the bloody arm jerked away, and Tobia was shoved back into the box. Darkness covered him as the door slammed shut and locked.
Tobia slumped down to the bottom of the box. His stomach churned and his throat felt raw. He felt as if fire would consume him from the inside out. He groaned. Strange images began to flash through his mind. Things he didn’t understand. People ran through a dark forest, fire consuming them. He could see screaming faces, but he heard nothing but his own heartbeat and ragged breathing. He knew his sanity was lost.
Time again seemed endless. Tobia could no longer tell when he was asleep or when he was awake. The darkness blurred his thoughts and heightened his confusion. He didn’t even have the energy to try to escape.
When the door finally opened. Tobia again fell to the man’s feet and begged him for mercy. He squinted my eyes shut tight against the brilliant light. “Please my master, quench my thirst and fulfill my hunger. I will always be loyal. Please. Please feed me,” he begged.
The man squatted down in front of Tobia and ripped his wrist open with fanged teeth. He reached his arm out and Tobia grabbed onto it, licking and sucking the blood as if it were his mother’s milk. Before Tobia could satisfy his hunger, the man pushed him back.
“Please, do not to keep me locked in the box. I will not run away. I swear, I am loyal. Please, don’t.”
The man said nothing, but shoved Tobia hard into the box, locking it leaving Tobia to his dark madness.
The scene repeated endlessly. To Tobia, his life became a series of darkness followed by the light of his new master’s blood. Each time Tobia thought he would die before the master came. Then, he would fall to the ground and beg. He had no humility left. He had no pride left. All he had was the need for the blood and the light.
Then, finally Tobia found a new strength. He no longer felt like a beaten broken thing lying cramped at the bottom of a black cage. He stood strong and waited, breathing slowly and patiently. When the master came and opened the door, Tobia was not starving. He did not thirst. He stepped out and looked the master in the eye.
"Are you not hungry, Tobia?" the Master asked.
"No, my Lord."
"Ahh, it has happened then."
"What has happened, my Lord?"
"Your transformation, boy. You are now my slave."
Tobia did not know what the man was talking about. All he knew was that he could now see clearly and the light no longer pierced his eyes. The master was not going to shove him back into the prison again and he felt strong and alive. "I do not understand what has happened to me?"
"You will understand in time. Now come with me. I have a new world to show you."
Tobia was so thrilled to be out of his dark cage, that he would have followed this demon to the ends of the earth and into hell itself. They walked up a long flight of stairs. At the end the master pushed open a great stone door. Tobia heard the screeching of the stone across tile floors, unbelievably clear. He stopped and stared at the man, a monster.
"No, no time for that. Come on boy," the master called as if he knew exactly what Tobia was thinking. The Master led Tobia out into a courtyard that was overgrown with thick vegetation. Tobia wanted to look at every leaf and explore the grounds. "Tobia, no. Follow me and control yourself, or else I'll just kill you now and be done with it."
"Yes, sir." Tobia said shocked at the words of this man.
They left the courtyard and walked down the street. Unlike his own home with dirt streets, this street was made of stones set together and felt hard under Tobia’s feet. The air reeked of mildew and Tobia could smell salt in the air. Palm trees lined the side of a great stone building unlike anything he had seen before.
Inside the air felt cooler against his skin and the soft, sweet floral scent. Down a dark corridor the master pushed open a thick wooden door and led Tobia into a sparsely furnished room. A huge stone table took up the majority of the room. Candles were burning low in sconces along the far wall. Beneath the candles, shelves filled with strange things lined the wall.
“This is where I work, Tobia.”
“What do you do?” Tobia asked. What kind of craft could be done here on a great stone table?
“Come look.”
Tobia stepped closer to the table and saw strange etchings in the stone.
“My name is Runihura. I am the protector. I kill others of our kind, night-walkers. I keep the population from becoming so large that human life is threatened. That can never happen. Humans must remain in power. Do you understand?”
Tobia swallowed hard. He did not understand. He shook his head.
“You will, eventually, my son. For now just know that I’m the protector, and I’m your protector. I made you and you live at my whim.”
Tobia nodded. That he understood.
“Good. You have much to learn, young one. The rules are simple though. You do what I tell you without question. Now, will you ever disobey me child?” the Master asked.
"No, my master." Visions of being trapped in the box and set on fire raged through his mind. He shook at the terror.
Runihura laughed. "See, Tobia. I am always the master. You may call me Master, Lord, or Father because that is what I am to you."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Good boy." He stroked Tobia's hair. It was long now to his shoulders and a rich brown. "Yes, you are as splendid as I knew you would be."
Tobia stared up into his master's eyes. He recognized these eyes. This was the man that had stolen him from his family, but why? Why has he done this to me? Tobia wondered.
"I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. You were glorious, drinking your first beer with your father and showing off your little weapon. In that instant I wanted to be your father. I wanted to show you, and teach you, and be with you. I had to have you, Tobia. So, I sniffed you out the next evening, and took you."
Tobia stared at his new master, overwhelmed saying nothing.
I love you. The master said this. It was his voice, but his lips did not move. Tobia heard it in his head. I love you, Tobia. You might stay with me forever.
Where else would I go? Tobia thought back.
You will go with me, everywhere. We will see everything, together.
Tobia smiled. He had been given a gift from a God.
Runihura showed Tobia the strange objects on the shelves. “All this can be yours as well.”
“What are they?” Tobia had never seen these things before.
“Scrolls. Scrolls that contain knowledge.” His master answered smugly. Tobia was curious, but the scrolls or even the thought of having knowledge did not interest him at the moment. His throat was on fire, he thirsted. The master nodded, understanding the need.
The Master then took him into a small village. He could smell the blood of the people and he could hear their hearts beating as they slept. The foreign blood that pumped in his veins burned and his throat ached. His mouth watered and he desired to drink the blood from these people. He rubbed his tongue along the points of the fangs that were now hidden in his mouth.
Be patient. You must learn to take the essence without killing.
Essence? Killing? He was hungry. These words meant nothing to him. All he could concentrate on was feeding.
Runihura motioned for Tobia to follow him into a dark alley. A young man relieved himself against the wall. The master sent images of peace and sleep to the man. Tobia could see the images, and he could see that the man received them as well. The master turned the man around and looked into his face. Come here, Tobia.
Tobia was at once at the man's side and he instinctively sank his fangs into the man's neck and drew the blood. After a few moments, he heard his master ag
ain, Enough. But, he wanted more, he had not drunk enough.
Runihura tossed Tobia off. He landed on the ground, and looked up at his master. Runihura lay the man down against the wall. The man will be ok?
Yes, he is only asleep. When he wakes he will be fine. But, you must learn the limits of these creatures.
Tobia nodded, but a part of him did not care. He did not care if the man lived or died. The blood cooled the burning inside him, and he needed more.
"Tobia, you will learn control, or I will destroy you." Runihura spoke out loud, startling him.
"Yes, my Lord, Yes." Tobia stood up and stared at the man he almost killed.
"Tobia, when you drink the blood of these creatures, you drink their essence. We were created to lord over them, but when they give you their essence, it is not right to take their lives with it."
Tobia nodded. He knew his master was right, but something inside him cried out for death, cried out for the kill. He quickly pushed the thought out of his head, and began to learn how to mask his thoughts and hide them from Runihura.
Tobia was lead through the village and they fed on many different mortals killing none, but with each feast Tobia became stronger.
"Dawn is approaching, my child." Runihura beckoned for Tobia to follow him back to the chambers.
They returned to the little room with the big stone table and all of the scrolls. Now fed, Tobia was very interested in what they could mean. The master laughed at Tobia's delight over them. "I want to learn to read them."
"You will, Tobia. I will teach you all I know, but there isn't time
Making Tobia Page 2