Three Tales of Vampires (The First Three Books in the Tale of Vampires Series)

by John Hennessy

  The door unlocked, and Marcus smiled. He wanted to scream out Oh Julie? I’m coming for you but they were a bit old for games of hide and seek. He would find her, get the body of Mrs Hill, and Juliana could feed on her. If not, Marcus decided he would feed on her. On his own sister, no less.

  You shouldn’t have locked me in, Julie. Now look what you’ve made me do.

  ***

  “Come on Rocco. We’re going,” said Juliana.

  “But Marcus will be after us,” pleaded Rocco. “He’ll find us, and when he does, he’ll kill us.”

  “He won’t kill his own brother and sister. No matter what he’s capable of, I won’t believe he would do that.”

  Juliana was wrong. Marcus was very capable, and was capable of doing anything. Juliana had explained that Marcus was now locked in the wardrobe, but Rocco didn’t believe that meant he would be contained in it for long.

  Juliana simply didn’t believe Marcus was a vampire, much less herself. He’s a bloody psychopath, that’s what he is, she told Rocco one time, who kept shushing her because of Marcus’ super-sensitive vampire hearing.

  “Come on, Rocco. Otherwise I will leave you with Marcus. I’m not having any part of this madness.”

  Rocco grabbed his sister by the arm. He was older than her, but he knew he was the troublesome middle sibling, neither the eldest nor the youngest, and hardly ever listened to.

  Marcus had convinced him that he was a vampire. Perhaps Juliana just hadn’t developed the taste for it yet. But he had to ask her, all the same.

  “Julie, don’t you ever…don’t you ever get the urge? I mean, an irresistible urge to satisfy the bloodlust? I do. I really do. I have fought it, but as their bodies lay downstairs, I just wanted to rip them apart, you know?”

  Juliana paused before answering. She knew that time was against them, that Marcus was coming, and yes, he would be super-pissed off. As her hormones had begun to rearrange parts of her body, she knew the anger they gave her would be small change compared to what Marcus’ level of rage would be. No, she didn’t believe Marcus was a vampire. But she did believe in his powers of persuasion. A vulnerable child like Rocco would be easily persuaded. If Marcus said he was a vampire, then he was a vampire. If he told Rocco that he was a vampire too, then he was a vampire.

  He’d told Juliana that she was the same, the ‘siblings of bloodlust’, he had named them.

  “We’re not,” she retorted. “I won’t give into that living death.”

  Juliana and Rocco raced to the door, but a shadow confronted them as they made it to the bottom of the stairs.

  “It’s okay,” said Marcus. “I forgive you, Juliana. I forgive you. First kills are the hardest. I understand why you got upset.”

  Juliana and Rocco breathed heavily and deeply, trying to get their blood pressure down.

  “So you’re not going to harm us?” asked Rocco.

  Marcus shook his head. “Of course not, brother. I need you. I need all of us to stay true to each other.”

  “Mrs Hill.” Juliana’s words punctured the air like a pick breaking up ice.

  “Dead as a rat, caught by a cat,” he sang. “Tasted kinda crusty. You didn’t miss much.”

  “What did you do with the body?”

  “Don’t worry about that. We’ll find someone suitable to your palate. A sixteen-year-old virgin, perhaps.”

  Being killed by Marcus, or taking the vampire’s kiss, thus making her undead; neither status appealed to Juliana.

  I forgive you, Marcus had told her. But if she never killed anyone in his presence, and more specifically, failed to look like she was enjoying it, he would never forgive her.

  Juliana was shocked that Marcus made no reference to the wardrobe, nor showed any remorse over the killing of the Hills. Most of all, she knew he would never stop until she had finally given into the bloodlust in the same carnal manner her brother enjoyed.

  Juliana knew what she must do. In that moment, she realised with horror that Marcus would have to die.

  Grave Error

  Cemeteries were usually quiet, reverent places. Still others might say that cemeteries were spooky, and what business would the living have, walking amongst the dead. Marcus, for one, would never say they were spooky; and on this point at least, Juliana found herself agreeing with her brother.

  “They are, however, the best places to find new blood,” announced Marcus. “Even better when there’s a crowd of them, like a hundred or so. Usually, when there’s a new plot dug, the funeral party finds itself in close proximity to another freshly dug grave. That’s when you grab one of the party, give them your kiss, and no-one notices until they’ve got back home. By then, it’s too late.”

  Juliana thought the whole idea was grotesque. There was no honour in killing in that way. But Marcus never squared up to anyone bigger than himself, at least….not when they were awake. Suddenly, she found herself speaking out loud.

  “This whole thing is gross, and utterly barbaric. You are a coward, Marcus.”

  Fully expecting Marcus to rage at her, Juliana expressed mild surprise when he didn’t seem to get annoyed by her statement.

  “Well?”

  “I just don’t understand you two,” said Marcus, sighing like Juliana had said the most awful thing in the world. “It's a hell of thing, killing someone. You'll see the light extinguish from their eyes – now that's the last thing to leave their so-called life. Your teeth buried into their neck is the last thing they feel, and you'll be the last thing they'll see. You take all they are, all they were, and all they will ever be. The vampire's kiss is the most efficient of killing tools. One bite takes all.”

  “It’s gross. Barbaric. And utterly needless.”

  “If they are deserving, we give them a new life, Joolee.”

  “And if not, they die. Just because you say so.”

  “Not me! The one who made us what we are.”

  Juliana tried to stand up, but Marcus sprang up beside her. “No,” he said. “You cannot let them see you. Not yet.”

  They counted twenty cars in all that came over the brow of the hill. Marcus motioned that the younger people were usually in the cars to the rear, and that whilst the adults usually kept the children in front of them at the graveside, there were always some who bored easily and wandered off.

  Sure enough, as the service began, one child, of about fifteen, snuck out from underneath the arms of his parents, and started playing a game on his phone.

  The eleven-year-old Marcus positioned himself between the older boy, his phone, and a newly dug hole to the left of him. Marcus bared his teeth. The older boy did his best to keep a straight face.

  “Oh. You're a vampire?"

  "Yes."

  "So what does that make me, your victim?"

  "You're clearly not as dumb as you look.”

  The older boy pushed Marcus back. “Oh fuck off.”

  Some of the adults from the service turned around and ‘hushed’ at the boy.

  “See my sister over there?” Marcus inquired. “She’s a vampyric virgin. To a lay person like you, that means she has yet to feed on someone. Might as well be you. Watch your swearing though, you’ll offend her delicate sensibilities.”

  Taking the mick out of Marcus, the boy spoke in a mock Oxfordshire tone. “Then I will speak in a tone more agreeable to her ears.”

  “We’re at a funeral, not some Jane Austen regency period drama where you’re the fucking dandy.”

  “Ash!” hissed one of the adults. “Ashley. Get over here and stop messing around with that phone. Pay your respects!”

  “Ashley?!” laughed Marcus. “You’ve got a fucking girl’s name, Ashley? Pardon me, we clearly are in a Jane Austen novel. I suppose you would like a pelisse to go with your hat.”

  The adults turned back, clearly expecting their orders to be followed. Marcus took his chance and launched himself at Ashley, knocking him into the open grave.

  The gathered, who were in prayer paid no atten
tion to the commotion behind them. Ashley would have screamed, only the fall appeared to have knocked him out cold. Marcus ran back to Juliana, and told her that she could do the deed now, or join Ashley in the hole.

  The conversation went on at whisper level behind the largest of the gravestones, an angel with head bowed, holding a crucifix in her hands. Juliana stalled for time, but it seemed even being in public view wasn’t going to stop Marcus. He chastised Rocco for saying nothing, and jabbed his finger into his shoulder.

  “You’re supposed to be doing this stuff too, you know. Now put on Ashley’s hat and make yourself useful. Go stand by the mourners.”

  Marcus picked up Ashley’s fallen hat, and jammed it onto Rocco’s head. “There. You look like a sad sack of a fuck, just like Ashley there. Do it before he wakes up.”

  Marcus spun Rocco around by his shoulders, and pushed him in the direction of the group. Juliana looked at Rocco, who must have been a good six inches shorter in height than Ashley. Marcus was betting that the group wouldn’t notice. Juliana’s view unsurprisingly differed, and believed that the subterfuge wouldn’t last.

  “Now, Julie.”

  Juliana continued to stall for time. Peering into the grave, she could see that Ashley had been knocked cold from the fall. Marcus was so strong for his age, and his height. Could it be true? Could he really be a vampire? She knew that vampires had strength often ten times the strength of normal humans. Marcus, for his part, certainly lacked no self-belief. In his head, he was a vampire, and every day, he lived and breathed a vampire existence.

  To feed on another human…even the mere thought of the act, disgusted her. Whilst she paused, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the open grave. He gestured to the stricken Ashley, and ordered her to feed on him.

  Juliana rebuked him. Exasperated, Marcus spoke gently to Juliana, whilst at the same time grabbing the boy’s ankle, exposing his fresh skin. Making gnawing sounds and smiling at his sister, he dropped the leg, which made a clunking sound on the soft ground.

  “It’s not that bad, really. Tastes pretty much the same like pork.” He made burping sounds which disgusted Juliana, and she went to climb out of the hole in which she found herself. Marcus grabbed her leg.

  “Don’t make me do it to you, sis. Come on now. Feed.”

  Juliana kicked out and scrambled out of the hole. She ran towards the group of people, which by now had realised Rocco was not who he was supposed to be. At the same time, a blood- curdling scream was heard from the grave. Ashley’s mother ran to the open grave, and screamed herself when she saw Marcus ripping into Ashley, who appeared to be conscious whilst it was happening.

  Several men from the group surrounded the grave and pulled Marcus away from Ashley, who was bleeding heavily, but alive. Marcus was delirious and thrashed about wildly as two men - then four, held him down. Finally, six men subdued him, and he stopped fighting them.

  A phone call to the police and an ambulance had already been made, and soon, Marcus found himself in handcuffs, whilst Ashley, who was suffering from shock and a minor loss of blood, was lifted into the ambulance.

  Juliana grabbed Rocco and together, they ran as fast as they could. If the other people could have seen them, surely they would have subdued them as well. With her heart belting out of her chest, Juliana wished that just for that moment, that they actually were vampires, and could escape detection. It would only be a matter of time before they were caught.

  Now You See Me...

  Marcus sat in the interview room, wearing a bemused smile on his face when he thought he was being watched. It would fall from his face when a police officer would come into the room. It was a well-practiced routine that police were used to, but not with someone so young.

  Finally, the officer spoke.

  “You are here because you assaulted another person. You then proceeded to bite him, drawing blood from his leg. You had accomplices too. If you tell us where they were going, we can co-operate with you.”

  He clapped his notebook to a close. “Now. Where are they?”

  “Why don’t you ask me who I am?” asked Marcus calmly. “Or is it the case that you don’t know? Did my fingerprints turn up nothing?”

  The police officer, a man in his forties, had been in the force for twenty years. He had never dealt with a situation like this before. No, the fingerprints had turned up nothing. Neither had the swab test. It was as if Marcus didn’t exist. But then, why would he have a criminal record?

  “We know that you have a sister and a brother. We know that you are a seriously disturbed individual. And we know that you have no parents.”

  “My fingerprints told you all that?”

  The police officer did all he could not to lunge at Marcus. Then, the door to the interview room opened, and a female officer beckoned him to leave the room.

  “I’m losing here. I hope you’ve got something.”

  “I do,” she said. “Turns out he killed an old couple in their beds. Bashed their heads in with a hammer.”

  “What? You have proof?”

  “Witness reports. Nothing concrete.”

  “Unbelievable. Any history of mental illness? I don’t want them getting off on a technicality.”

  “You’re going to love this. The duty officer asked him how old he was, and his reply was:- ”

  ‘I’ve been around for as long as I can remember. You see, I’m a vampire.’

  “You’re fucking kidding me.”

  “As God is my witness. Not that our boy knows anything about that. He has killed, Kelly. We just have to find a way to pin it on him.”

  Officer Kelly turned towards the observation window, which of course was only viewable one way.

  “He doesn’t look big enough to hold a hammer, never mind use it.”

  “Know anything about vampires?”

  “Yeah. They’re not real.”

  “How do you think something becomes real, Kelly? My mum suffered an aneurysm. So did you, back in the day. But up until I heard that word, I just thought she was having headaches. It becomes real. He thinks he’s a vampire. It’s real to him, and he will make it real to us.”

  “What are you suggesting, O’Hara? That I wear cloves of garlic around my neck?”

  “Just treat him seriously, that’s all.”

  Kelly mulled over O’Hara’s words, then went back into the interview room.

  “So you’re a vampire? Is that the reason for all this madness, Marcus?”

  “It’s you who say that I am.”

  “So you’re not a vampire?”

  “It is you who says that I am.” Marcus spoke far slowly, more deliberately.

  “Let me say this, then,” said Kelly, who was struggling to keep his composure. “Vampires sleep in their coffins at night. I’ve seen Dracula. I know what he does. It’s getting late now. You’ll be looking for a coffin right about now, won’t you?”

  “It must be a great comfort to you, to make fun of me. I wonder will you feel the same, once I feed on you.”

  “You don’t scare me, kid. You talk like a cannibal, not a vampire. You are a killer. And we will pin the Hill murders on you. Make no mistake. All the breadcrumbs you guys leave always leave a trail.”

  “You’re wrong, Occifer. I am not a killer. I am what I am. And I am not in the breadcrumb leaving business.”

  Kelly smiled with a well-worn sense of defeat. “Don’t be so cryptic. Say what you mean.”

  Marcus smiled back at Kelly, before saying, “If you're going to follow in my footsteps, be sure to cover your tracks.”

  “Now what is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that you can keep me here, put me in a cell, restrict my freedom. But you won’t be able to hold me. It means, no breadcrumbs.”

  “Because you’re a vampire, right?”

  “Because you’re incompetent.”

  “Where’s your parents?”

  “In the ground. Six feet under, give or take an inch.”

  “
Think you’re funny, don’t you?” Kelly knew he was taking the kid’s bait, but couldn’t help himself. True to form, Marcus responded in kind.

  “You’re the funny one, thinking you can actually keep me in here.”

  Kelly could feel the vein on his head throbbing, from an aneurysm he suffered in his twenties. This Marcus was trying to make it burst. You’ve had a mild cerebral aneurysm, Mr Kelly, the doctors had told him. He had told them they had a pretty fucked up idea of what mild was.