Nocturnal

by David Paul

  This must have gone on for several hours because I started to hear the servants again in the corridor. I truly wondered why this particular book was mixed in with seemingly worthless trash. Maybe it was put there purposely to scramble somebody’s fragile mind. It would have been a ticking time bomb inside the consciousness of an individual with a volatile or delicate mental state.

  I never had a book read itself to me before, and that was beyond surreal. There was an author listed at the very end named Vermeir, but no last name or date of origin. The name didn’t ring a bell, and I couldn’t recollect ever encountering it in my travels. Vivid descriptions of the bloodlust and unholy cravings of the vampire were thoroughly explained as if written in first person. Perhaps, this book is a dairy of an experienced elder vampire or someone with a great deal of experience with vampires. That part was unclear.

  It explained how a select few of the rotten bloodsuckers could actually walk during the daylight, but sunlight was like sheer torture to them. Others would disintegrate, explode, and burst into flames when exposed to the Sun. The literature also explained other inherent weaknesses of this species of undead. The stake through the heart was the tried and trued method of disposal and permanent banishment. Vermeir mentioned the powerful effects of holy water on these creatures. The work explained how vampires could shape-shift. They were able to take on whatever form they like, whether it was human or that of an animal. That explained Regina’s prancing around the Black Forest in the form of the black wolf.

  The ability to travel on the wind in mist form was also covered along with their unique powers of persuasion. He also discussed vampire bloodlines and the significance of this in their stature. Every generation of vampire could be traced back to original bloodlines, but some bloodlines were more prestigious than others or closer to the original. The further removed from a royal-like bloodline, the less prestigious the vampire was. This sort of explained Svetlana’s problem with her vampire peers inside of the castle.

  Modern day vampire historians look at Vlad the Impaler as the first vampire and trace from his bloodline. What is unknown to those historians is that vampires have been around since before Christ. They have been around since Lucifer was cast from heaven as a treasonous flightless angel. “Once darkness had the counterbalance of light, vampires have walked the night,” to quote Vermeir. This magical book was filled with so much interesting information. In detail, the book described how vampires needed permission to enter a stranger’s dwelling as a guest.

  This prompted me to look at my first encounter with Regina in my farmhouse while I was supposedly dreaming. At first I was confused with this notion because Regina entered my household uninvited and tasted my blood without my consent. However, upon further thought, I realized that I had invited Regina into my mind, and that somehow transcended the invitation into my home. At least that is what I had concluded from all of that. Things started to make more sense after the vampire 101-style crash course written by Vermeir.

  The author spared no detail discussing the usage of crucifixes to banish an undead creature. A crucifix merely in hand would not banish a vampire. The physical article along with faith and conviction was needed to be an effective banishment device or weapon. He seemed to have left out having balls of steel as the other prerequisite required for the task. I couldn’t figure out why Regina would leave such a book to be freely read. The information inside the book could be used for hunting vampires or used like a vampire handbook for a newly turned vampire. This could have been another mind game or possibly disinformation.

  Maybe Regina was so powerful that it didn’t matter. That was a distinct possibility that I also had to accept. I felt a fraction of her power already. In a sense, it felt good to know a bit more about my enemies, but I was still so far from being in control of the situation at all. I hoped that would change. Ravenwood Castle was truly an eccentric and unique alternate universe of sorts. The deeper I delved into this world of magic and occult, the more it drew me into it like a moth to a flame. A whole new world had been uncovered almost by accident.

  The clanging of silver serving trays became less faint and jarred me out of my own head. Quickly, I ran to the door to observe. Svetlana and a different servant girl looked like they were doing the rounds for what I figured to be lunch time. This new girl was of darker complexion than the rest, but beautiful like everyone else I had seen. From this distance, I was unable to distinguish if this other servant was a human or otherwise.

  Chloe was not in the afternoon rotation, and I prayed that I’d see her again. Wondering what she was going to tell me really plagued my mind. I feared that Svetlana would force Chloe to stay away from me. It seemed odd that Chloe was working breakfast, but not lunch. Her absence worried me somewhat. Being a new resident of this castle, I didn’t know much of anything and grew impatient very quickly. The unknown ate away at me with an insatiable appetite.

  I watched the servants, and I didn’t notice anything new. Eventually, they were at my door and inside my prison chamber.

  “Just leave his tray over there.” Svetlana directed the unknown servant to a small table. “I would introduce the two of you, but he’s queer,” Svetlana said. A hateful sneer was shot at me. “An introduction would be pointless.”

  “Morena,” the servant said uncomfortably. Her greeting was brief. I introduced myself to her, partly covered by a bed sheet.

  “Davide,” I said.

  She smiled politely, and then the two of them walked out rather swiftly. Svetlana slammed the heavy door.

  Morena seemed to be a human, but I wasn’t completely sure. Her pigmentation was that of a light-skinned African, but with fair green eyes. She was very exotic just as the rest of the castle cohorts. I had really been hoping for another conversation with Chloe. Somehow, I needed to find a way to get in touch with her. She was the only person in this entire place that I actually felt comfortable around.

  Realistically, I thought that I was the victim of a human trafficking ring for vampires. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Regina had an entire castle of desirable help and a fine stock of blood producers like myself to entertain whomever they needed to entertain. This was not some half-ass operation. Chloe implied that she was forced to be here, and they took advantage of her in more than one way. I wasn’t totally sure what she meant by that, but I had my suspicions. Honestly, I did not know whether my imagination had gotten the best of me. Maybe my theories weren’t so wild. Only one person could answer that question for me, and that was Chloe. I ate my lunch in solitude wondering when and what would be the next scenario thrown at me.

  Seriously, I couldn’t complain about the accommodations of the castle itself. Lunch was a delicious medley of vegetables served with succulent pork and red wine for a beverage. Under different circumstances, I’d recommend Ravenwood Castle as an excellent vacation spot. All that the castle needed was to be rid of the vermin that occupied it.

  Between all of the eating and reading, I had grown somewhat tired. I put my head down on the bed and drifted off into sleep. I dreamed of Katerina. In the dream she spoke to me and asked me to save her. She was wearing hardly any clothes and she looked frightened beyond belief. All she said in the dream was, “Save me.” It must have been several hours of solid napping and dreaming before I was awoken. Svetlana and Morena opened up my chamber door. I was covered in a cold sweat.

  “Lets go, Davide…it is time for dinner,” Svetlana said. She handed me some clean clothes and my old boots. The clothes that I wore in here were soaked in blood. Since last night, I’ve been naked with the exception of a bed sheet. “Get dressed and hurry, queer. I don’t want to keep Regina waiting.”

  Both Svetlana and Morena watched me dress myself like they had never seen a man before. I felt something in my boot.

  To my surprise, I felt Katerina’s engagement ring inside my boot. The lousy fiends didn’t find it when they had stripped me down. The scheming look in their eyes while they stared at me
was very uncomfortable and left me with a sketchy feeling. Flanked by servants on each side, I followed the servants into the grand dining area. Close attention was paid to my surroundings during the walk. No small talk was made amongst us. Svetlana seemed brutally cold toward me since I ruffled her feathers, and this was fine with me because she was very disingenuous anyways.

  Just down my end of the corridor alone, I counted thirty-eight rooms exactly like mine. Every four or five rooms down the corridor there was a bathing room like the one Svetlana had washed me in. All in all, I estimated about seventy chamber rooms on my floor alone of this huge castle. Usually castles have dungeons, basements, sub-basements, and sub-floors. I finally realized the sheer size of this castle. Castle Ravenwood was practically built like a prison. It was possible that the rooms were converted to be like this.

  Briefly, as we made our way to the dining room, I caught the faintest scent of something familiar. It was so faint that I truly could not make out exactly what it was. We all arrived at the huge dining area, and the women servants led me to a chair close to the head of the monstrous table, and then they left me alone in the grand room. Even the complete silence in the large dining room seemed to have an echo.

  Shortly afterward, Regina walked in with Onya, Daniella, and Chloe. They all sat down at the table. The three vampires seemed quite happy, but Chloe seemed like she was struggling to keep a pleasant face on like something bad had happened prior to coming in here. They were all dressed beautifully for dinner. I felt uncomfortable in front of everyone, except Chloe.

  “We want to pay you a visit later on this evening, Davide,” Regina announced. Regina told everyone at the table, and they all made eyes with one another like it was an inside joke.

  “Do I have a choice in the matter?” I asked.

  “Just this once,” she said. “I’ll let you choose who comes to visit this evening.” Regina’s wicked smile struck fear into my heart. “How about Chloe?” I didn’t respond to her. A flash of red quickly passed through her eyes. “I can see that you fancy her, Davide. Your eyes give it all away.” Everyone at the table laughed except for Chloe, who turned beet red.

  Regina was dead on with her assessment of Chloe in regards to me. I was completely attracted to her, and we had a strange connection. Maybe it was just because we were captive in this castle, but either way Regina was correct. Judging from the redness in Chloe’s face, Regina had struck a nerve with her as well. I couldn’t deny my strong attraction or connection with Chloe. Chloe was even more beautiful than Katerina, may God rest her soul.

  Unfortunately, I still mourned for my dead fiancé, and this made things extremely complicated for me. Everything was complicated. I was being torn in so many directions and had been through such a range of emotion in such a short time. In less than a week, I encountered a witch, a fortuneteller, a giant spider, multiple vampires, and a murdered fiancé. That’s not your average week by any means. I lost my aunt and uncle the previous year.

  My emotions were all twisted up on the inside, and I truly didn’t know which way my head was spinning. I had a heavy heart full of woes and fear. All I knew was that Chloe took away the feeling of being totally alone in a cold and uncaring world. It was Chloe that gave me some hope. The hope to survive this place, and the hope to have love in my life again, was what she gave me.

  “What about beautiful Chloe?” She asked me again. She rose from her chair and stood behind Chloe. “Look at her…young, beautiful, and voluptuous.” Regina admired her body and showed her off to the table. The vampire touched Chloe’s breast and bared it for all to see. “I’d choose her.”

  “So would I,” Daniella said. Onya agreed with a nod. All three vampires eyeballed Chloe with a demented lust in their eyes.

  Svetlana and Morena walked in with serving platters and watched. Regina had grabbed Chloe by the back of her neck and pulled her hair relatively hard to get a small yelp out of her. Svetlana smirked at the site of Chloe in pain. I cringed when I saw Regina hurting Chloe, and I still hadn’t answered her.

  “She should come along tonight to join all the fun,” Regina said. The others laughed. She applied more pressure to keep Chloe’s beautiful hair taught. Chloe sat still and didn’t move a muscle, but it was obvious that she was in pain. Regina licked her neck slowly.

  I still hadn’t responded yet, but my facial expression must have let Regina know my emotions.

  “So you are sweet on her, and why not?” Regina asked. The vampire’s eyes lit up red again for a quick second. “She is very sweet.”

  “Indeed,” Daniella said.

  Svetlana continued to show a malevolent grin, and it was obvious that she loved this. The hateful glare in her eyes said more than her devious smile.

  “Why don’t you let her go for Christ’s sake?” I asked boldly. Faster than the eye could process, Regina vanished. A split second later, she reappeared behind me, and I found myself in the same position as Chloe. Regina yanked on my hair violently and had my neck in a vulnerable position. The vampire could have ended me right there, effortlessly

  “Davide,” she said, “you will never speak the name of the son of God in this house again.” Chloe watched in horror and began to cry softly. The glowing red orbs set in Regina’s eyes burned brightly. “I’ll cut her head off and drink her blood out of it if I please…and you will watch.” The vampire got in my face. “Do you understand me?”

  I didn’t respond until she pulled back on my hair so hard that I thought my neck would snap. “Yes, I understand you, Regina.”

  “Good, then eat.” She released her iron fist grip on me. Regina snapped at Chloe, “Stop crying, or I will give you something to really cry about!”

  Morena and Svetlana continued to serve platters of prepared food and ripe fruit as if nothing happened. You could tell how much Svetlana envied Chloe by her expressions. Dinner conversation was almost nonexistent. There was an air of tension at the table. Both Chloe and I were very uncomfortable. Every time we made eye contact, it was very brief. I think the two of us didn’t want to give the vampires any additional information about what we felt towards one another. They would use it against us for sure.

  Onya and Daniella kept staring at me like I was a piece of meat, and all of the vampires conversed in an unknown language to the humans present at the table. On and on, they spoke in strange tongues. Their words were unknown, but their intentions seemed obvious because of their dubious sneers.

  At one point in the conversation, I could have sworn that Katerina’s name came up, but I wasn’t positive. The vampire dialect was almost undecipherable with its choppiness and bizarre nuances. It sounded like a mixture of Slavic languages mixed with evil nonsensical gibberish for good measure. The humans ate in silence, while the vampires drank red wine and talked. As a way to pass time, I tried to lose myself in the slow-cooked beef and wonderful vegetables. I imagined being back on my farm eating dinner with my fiancé. The daydream was cut short by Regina.

  “Davide, I have an extra special night planned for us.” My mind raced in horror as I tried to imagine what that entailed. Chloe looked like she had seen a ghost.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  I tried to remain calm while asking her the question.

  “You will see, Davide,” she said. With a smile, she motioned to Svetlana for more wine. “I have a gift for you.” More fear gripped me. Svetlana poured her wine eagerly like the bitch maid that she was, and then she stepped back from the table. “Leave us, ladies.” She dismissed Morena and Svetlana. “Why don’t you take Davide upstairs to give him a shave and a bath?” Regina asked Chloe, but it was really a command.

  “Yes Regina, I will do as you ask.”

  We both rose from the table and she led me upstairs. Regina watched us like a hungry eagle as we departed. I tried not to look, but I felt the vampire’s diabolical stare burning through me. She never let her eyes stray off of the two of us. Neither of us spoke as we traveled up the huge staircase and to the bath
ing area. We both felt that the slightest miscue could lead to more abuse or worse. When we arrived at the bath, Chloe softly asked me to disrobe.

  “Let me wash you,” Chloe said. Chloe was almost in tears. I took the cloth from her hands.

  “I can wash myself.”

  “She told me to give you a bath,” she said. The shakiness in her voice showed that she was frightened. Her shaky hands confirmed my suspicions. “If Regina comes up here and sees that I disobeyed her, then she’ll be upset. We don’t want to upset her.”