Tail of the Devil

by Danielle DeVor

  “Fucking pussy. Gonna cry now are we?” Timmy pulled the belt from his own pants.

  Mathias could only watch in horror. As fast as the strike from a black mamba, Timmy brought the belt down across Mathias’ chest.

  “Screw you!” Mathias screamed.

  “Screw me?” Timmy laughed. “We’ll see how much you wanna screw me.” He reached behind him and brought out his father’s blow torch.

  “Rick, have you ever smelled burning flesh before?” Timmy asked.

  Rick shook his head.

  Timmy lit the torch. Mathias screamed.

  “Shut the fuck up, you fucking pussy.” Timmy walked closer. “You scream like a girl, you know that faggot?”

  Mathias held back another scream.

  “You scream like a girl, might as well turn you into one.”

  Mathias could only pray to whatever gods were listening that somehow something would save him. But still, no one came to his rescue. He could only watch in horror as Timmy lowered the blow torch near his privates. Just as he could feel the heat and smell the stench of burnt hair, outside a car door slammed.

  Timmy quickly shut off the blow torch and Rick and Claire quickly untied him. The three “angels” ran up the stairs. Mathias wiped the tears from his eyes and cleaned up the remnants of the mess. One thing was made perfectly clear, if he stayed there, they were going to kill him.

  * * * * *

  “I don’t know how many times I’ve told your father that the brakes on that goddamn car need fixed.”

  Mathias watched silently from the doorway to the basement as his aunt slammed things around in the kitchen. The angels stood near her, ready to do her bidding, whatever it happened to be.

  “Your father needs to understand that I refuse to be put in danger anymore,” she said. “The wheels feel like they’re going to fall off that damn car, and if he doesn’t want to fix it, he can drive the fucking thing.” She leaned over and kissed each of her children on the cheeks.

  Mathias couldn’t help but grimace.

  “I just don’t know what I’d do without my little angels!” She squealed, the frustration apparently dispersed by her obsession with her monsters.

  When she looked up, Mathias felt caught in her gaze like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

  “What are you doing, Mathias Drvar?” she asked. You could hear the mean in her voice.

  “Just getting ready to clean the basement, Aunt Annette.”

  She nodded, hesitantly. “Well, get on with it then. I have a list of things I want done before your uncle gets home.

  Mathias went back down the basement steps, closing the door behind him.

  “I can’t fucking believe it,” he whispered.

  To give the impression that he actually did something, he moved a few boxes and rummaged through papers until most of the floor was open for use. Behind a stack of boxes, he found the old door that led to the yard on the other side of the house. A way out. He thanked God and after making himself a path to the door that wasn’t too obvious, he slumped against a box and sighed in relief.

  * * * * *

  His brain snapped back to the present. They were staring at him. Konstantin walked closer. Mathias waited to see what was going to happen. The blond reached up and rapped Mathias on the head. “Are you retarded?

  Mathias growled. “No.” He wanted to beat the shit out of him, but he did not know the rules here. Last thing he needed was to have some sort of bizarre punishment hanging over his head. Besides, it wasn’t exactly smart to start a fight right in front of Tepes’ office. The man was Dracula after all.

  “You’re going to learn to pay attention around here. We’ll make sure of that.” Konstantin and his side-kick nodded in agreement.

  “So lesser, what is your name?” the other one asked. He was as dark as the other one was light. They looked like opposite sides of the same coin.

  Mathias held his head high. For once, his odd sounding name would come in handy. “My name... is Mathias Drvar.”

  Konstantin and the other boy visibly froze.

  Mathias wrinkled his brow. He’d never had that reaction before.

  It was Konstantin who first recovered. “You are joking, aren’t you?”

  Mathias rolled his eyes. “No, dipshit, I’m Howdy Doody.”

  Konstantin and his friend turned to look at each other. They stayed like that for awhile, and Mathias could almost swear that they had been having some sort of conversation without opening their mouths. Suddenly, their expressions changed and their attention once again focused on Mathias.

  “We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you, Master Mathias,” they said in unison.

  Mathias found himself reminded of the old movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers. They were so weird. Suddenly, the great door opened.

  “Master Tepes!” Konstantin said, looking sheepish.

  “Ah yes, thank you, Konstantin. I trust that from this point forward, there will be no trouble?” Tepes asked with a knowing smile.

  “Yes, sir,” Konstantin turned to Mathias. “Again I apologize, Master Mathias. I truly did not know that you were back. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call on me.”

  “Not fucking likely.” There was something seriously wrong. When had he been here so that now he was back?

  “Now that you are known to us, we will spread the word. No one will bother you,” Konstantin said.

  And with that, both boys walked away from the office and down one of the various hallway mazes.

  Chapter Three

  “So you had the pleasure of meeting Konstantin and Vasily, did you?” Tepes asked.

  “What is their malfunction? I mean seriously.” Mathias flexed his wings. He still wasn’t used to having them, and playing with them was somewhat entertaining.

  Master Tepes motioned for Mathias to follow him into his office. “Mathias, please sit. I have much to explain.”

  Mathias plopped himself down in the black leather chair across from the Master vampire. The room was plastered white, and every piece of furniture within it was completely black. The only object of color in the room was a small red rose in a vase on the desk.

  “I am going to tell you a few things, but not everything,” Master Tepes said softly.

  “Now wait a goddamn—“

  “No, Mathias. Listen. I do not tell you everything because it is difficult for me to talk about, not because you don’t have the right to know. For now, until you get used to your new life, please take what I have the ability to give. I promise you, in time, you will know everything.”

  Mathias couldn’t believe it. “Just how in the fuck do you expect me to trust you? I don’t know you. You could be biding your time before you try to fuck me for all I know.”

  Tepes ran his hands through his hair and paused; holding his temples. “Mathias, although you will not believe words, I am not, as you so crudely put it, trying to fuck you. I am trying to give you a new life.”

  Mathias slumped further into the chair.

  “Now, may I continue?” he asked. Mathias nodded.

  “Your name is very... famous amongst our kind. Mathias was known as one of our great warriors. He is said to have been the bravest, the strongest, and most cunning vampire in history. He once tricked the Turkish sultan to let me go by pretending to give him rule over Wallachia, and then he gave the rule to me and my family. Together, we kept the Turks from taking over Eastern Europe.

  “Mathias was also known to be a graceful flyer, but I digress. His soul is very old, as old as time, and at one point, he was a son of Lilith, our Queen. But after he died in a great fire, it was several centuries before his soul resurfaced. All of this occurred even before recorded history.”

  Mathias rolled his eyes. “Why should I give a shit?”

  Tepes sighed. “Because, Mathias. You need to understand why the others treat you the way they will. You need to know what they are thinking, and I’m sure that with your trust issues, you w
ill want to know everything you can.”

  Mathias glared. What the hell does he know about me anyway? Yeah, I don’t trust him. Why the fuck should I? But the rest— why the fuck does it have to be so complicated?

  Tepes smiled. “Everything in the vampire world is always complicated, Mathias. But I digress”

  Mathias’s breath grew heavy. He wasn’t liking this at all. “Get out of my goddamn head!”

  Tepes laughed. “I’m not in your head; I can simply hear your thoughts. We’ll address that in a moment. Now, may I please continue?”

  He looked at the elder vampire. It’s not like he stood a chance against him anyway. After a bit, he nodded. He might as well listen to what Tepes wanted to say. Get it over with.

  Tepes smiled. “When Mathias’ soul did resurface, roughly during what you know as one thousand AD. It was this lifetime that his soul became the Mathias we know and love. As Mathias, he was a friend to Nosferatu, and a member of Lilith’s court. But after a grave misunderstanding, he was killed by her. We tend to tell a slightly different version of this tale to keep from making the children of the school frightened of their Queen. But you don’t need to worry yourself about that.

  “It was said that when Mathias returned to us, he would, for the rest of time, bear the same name. This was so that he could finish the life that was taken from him. So simply because you bear the name, Mathias, you are inadvertently caught within this legend, and that is why young Konstantin acted so strangely.”

  “I can’t be the only kid with the name Mathias. That’s just idiotic.”

  Tepes chuckled. “Well, there’s a bit more to it than that. But you are the only Mathias with pale skin, dark hair, and blue eyes. And since those are the features our Mathias was born with. People pay attention.”

  “My... my mother said it was a family name.” He sat back in the chair, not knowing what to think.

  “Relax, Mathias. There are many ways that a family name can be passed down. I am related to the original Mathias by blood. But I promise you, you are the first vampire in your family in centuries.”

  Mathias shook his head. There was a lot to get used to.

  “Mathias, come.”

  He looked up to see Tepes standing in the open doorway. “We have much more to get done today.”

  Mathias got up from the chair and walked over. “That reminds me, where am I staying?”

  “You will be staying with me.”

  Before Mathias had a chance to say anything, Master Tepes had raised his hand and silenced him. “You will have a separate room with a lock on the door. I simply felt that it would be better for you to stay with me. I am your sire, after all.”

  Mathias looked around. It would help if he had a weapon, but he could see nothing in sight that he could grab without Tepes noticing.

  “Mathias, you have no need of a weapon. But if you insist, I will let you pick one out since you are so adamant. But before I forget, you are going to learn to block those thoughts of yours.”

  Mathias hoped he didn’t piss Tepes off. So far, he seemed to be trying to help him, but it was hard.

  “Enough of that, Mathias,” Tepes said. “Now, to block your thoughts I need you to relax your spine until you feel a chill.”

  Mathias tried, and after a moment, achieved the effect Tepes spoke of.

  “Now, imagine a brick wall forming in your mind; keeping what you want inside, away from prying eyes, away from those you do not trust.”

  He did as he was told, but did more. He imagined a steel plate slamming down behind his eyes. In his mind, it was completely impenetrable.

  “Now, I am going to try to read your thoughts,” Tepes said.

  Mathias felt gentle probing, but nothing more.

  “Well done, Mathias!” Tepes reached out to pat Mathias on the shoulder, and Mathias shirked away. Tepes withdrew his hand and had an apologetic expression on his face. “Now, I think we need to do something about your hair.”

  Mathias glared. “My hair is fine.” No one was going to touch his hair. The last person to cut it was his mother, and he wasn’t about to let anyone else touch it and take that away from him.

  Tepes sighed. “Mathias, I realize that you find it hard to believe, but I do these things because I care.”

  “Look, I don’t belong here. I’m dirt poor. And when somebody gives you something, they always want something back. I can’t afford to pay any of this back, and I’m not about to let you take it out of me.”

  “Mathias first of all, let me worry about the cost. Second, I have plenty. When you’ve been alive as long as I, you tend to collect it. Just try to enjoy yourself. That is all I ask.”

  It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow. Mathias couldn’t figure out any other reasons than those that had been given to him by Master Tepes for all of the nice things he was doing for him. But there had to be a catch somewhere, but so far, there had been no clues as to what. And besides, who ever heard of a vampire child porn ring?

  “Mathias?” Tepes asked.

  Mathias looked up. “Huh?”

  “You haven’t heard a thing I’ve said, have you?”

  “No...I-“

  “Mathias, it’s all right. I was simply pointing out the architectural details of our school, but it really isn’t that important.”

  It was frustrating. It seemed like everything Mathias did was wrong. He wasn’t sure how this was going to work.

  “As I said before, our school is called simply, The University. It is called by the term to mean the old Roman use of the word. It has been in operation for a very long time. The castle you are standing within is fashioned after the castle that I had near the river Arges. It is your standard castle of the 1400’s, complete with a strong outer wall and a rather large courtyard.”

  “But didn’t you die? Like at the hands of the Turks?”

  “Oh Mathias, that is a story for another day. But, I digress. You will find out everything soon enough.

  “As I was saying, because this school is as it is, if you find yourself expelled for any reason, you will no longer be recognized by the governing council. In smaller instances, this means that you are simply ignored. In more serious situations, it means death.”

  “Since when do vampires have a government?”

  “Mathias. The council was started by your namesake. It is made up of the eldest living members of our kind. It is this council that ensures that the world still believes that vampires are mere fantasy. If you abide by the laws I teach you, you will never have to concern yourself with the council.”

  “Is the council just the council?” Mathias scratched his ear, bored.

  “We call it, ‘The Order of the Dragon’. The humans liked it and made a version of it a part of their church in the 1400’s. Now it is ours again.”

  “So, if I do something the council doesn’t like, will they kill me?”

  Tepes shook his head. “Trust me; you don’t want to find out.”

  They passed through another hallway and into a courtyard. Medieval stonework surrounded the garden. Each brick seemed to have its own place. Amongst the stone was a mixture made of various types of small pebbles. He was reminded of the look of Roman cement he’d seen in history books in school.

  Around each pillar at each arch that indicated a hallway, there was a bed of flowers surrounding the base. It looked like the type of castle you see in fairy tales, not the type of castle that you would expect Dracula to live in. Mathias stopped. There in the middle of the courtyard was a great statue. He had never seen anything like it.

  It was a tall, winged figure that was made of bronze; its patina shimmered in the light of the sun. Something about the statue made him feel contradictory, almost as if he was calmed at the sight of it, but upset that it was on display.

  “Yes... That, I do believe, is your namesake.”

  * * * * *

  Mathias allowed Master Tepes to lead him across the courtyard, and into another hallway.

  “This buildi
ng is comprised of the dorms for each year. Exceptions are given to various special societies on campus that accept members in the upper years. There are no separations between years in the dorms for the special societies. Nevertheless, the dorms have a hierarchy all their own—the first years being on the top floor. While that does provide for extra protection, it has more to do with the upperclassmen not wanting to climb the stairs.”

  Mathias was bored. He stood off to the side rubbing his wings against the stone of the building, lost in the ecstasy that the good scratch provided.

  Tepes paused and rolled his eyes. “I know I am long winded, but this is information that you need to know.”

  Mathias sighed and pulled himself away from the wall.

  * * * * *

  Tepes took a good look at Mathias. He thought that although the boy had lived through much in his short years, he was salvageable. He was still a child, and that was a good thing. He wasn’t completely lost. It would take time, but he never had to worry about that. He was a vampire, after all. But nevertheless, he must take care to ease the boy into their world. As it was, the child was much too thin and pale, and coming from a vampire, that meant something. “Mathias, are you all right?”

  Mathias turned to Tepes. He watched as the child wiped his face with his hands.

  “Why?” Mathias asked.

  “You do not look well.”

  The boy smiled. “Nah, all this is just weird. So, uh, how long is this going to take?”

  * * * * *

  They left the dorms and entered another hallway. Mathias wondered how he was ever going to remember how to get around in this place. But then, he got used to Nic’s, so he could get used to the castle.

  “This is the building in which classes are held. As I am sure you’ve noticed, it is quite dark. Some of our professors prefer the dark, but you won’t need to worry about that,” Tepes said.