Bride of Blood:: First Kiss

by Anthony E. Ventrello

  Rachael was excited to see him. She generally gave notice of her visits, but found herself thinking of Alexander all the time. She simply set off on the brief four hour trip to see him. She found herself getting frustrated because she loved him and wanted him to love her, too. But she was a patient woman and knew that time had no meaning to their kind like it did to mortals. She would never give up on him and desired no other. She didn’t want the moment to end, she enjoyed simply standing there looking into his eyes and feeling his strong hand holding hers. Of course she wanted more, but this was more of a blessing than she could have imagined.

  The moment had to end because they were both tired. She stepped away from him to allow him to lift the lid of the coffin. He waved his hand again, dousing the lights. Then he climbed into the coffin and laid down. Rachael climbed in after and snuggled up with him, her head on his shoulder. Within seconds she was asleep.

  Alexander touched the lid and it closed. He looked down at Rachael’s sleeping form and took a deep breath, filling his nose with the scent of her hair. It pained him that he couldn’t tell her how he felt. Still tonight had been progress. Soon, somehow he would be able to tell her.

  He closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep. Rachael’s soft breath on his neck stayed with him and gave him peaceful dreams.

  Anton sat on the roof, still staring at the stars. He started to think back to the last time he’d seen the Duke. He was getting ready to sail for the New World. It was 1770 and The Duke felt that there would be much for him to do and learn there.

  The only way for vampires to travel at that time was in the cargo hold of a merchant ship. The Duke had been in contact with an old friend of his that owned a Dutch shipping company that was bound for the New World. There was money to be made in places like Cuba and the other islands. The main source of income in those days was in sugar and of course, slavery. The Duke had taught Anton to abhor this evil practice and to do what he could to end it in the New World.

  As Anton was about to climb into a large crate, The Duke held him close and said, “My friend, the Colonies will be a good chance for you to learn to use your powers and to help rid the world of some of these depraved bastards!”

  Anton laughed and hugged his mentor. He would miss The Duke and tried to find the words to thank him for all that he’d done. But words didn’t seem to be sufficient. He knew that the only way he could repay him was to do what he asked.

  “Will I ever see you again?” Anton asked.

  “Who knows? You will one day become a Master Vampire yourself and will have your own offspring. Teach them well and be patient. Remember that we are not monsters. We have free will and great powers. It is the choice that we make on how to use those powers that determine whether we are a blessing or a curse to this world.” Then the lid was shut and it was the last time Anton would see his mentor.

  Anton sighed as he remembered The Duke. He sometimes wondered whatever happened to him. Several times he returned to Europe, but none of his vampire friends knew what became of him. Lady Bernadine wouldn’t give him a straight answer when he asked. She never did anyway. With one more sigh, he decided that it was time to come in and go to sleep. So he jumped off the room and went inside, locking the door behind him.

  As he lay down in his coffin, he felt a strange feeling come over him. All of his senses reacted at once and what small bit of energy he had left, was pulled or ripped from him. Emotions and memories he long buried opened up like flood gates and overcame him. In the last few moments before he lost consciousness, he knew that she had returned.

  Not only had she returned to the Colonies, but she was looking for him. She was calling to him. He could feel it. He knew it. He whispered her name once, “Velara.” And then, everything went black.

  Chapter 3 The Legend of Velara

  The hour was late. Alexander had gone to bed about an hour before. Anton sat in his office and stared into space. The dark blanket was covering the window stopping any daylight that could possibly sneak in; he could already feel the warmth of the early morning daylight. A part of him wanted to go to bed, but he couldn’t. For the past few weeks all that he could think of was Velara, and how much he missed her. They hadn’t laid eyes on each other in more than 130 years, and he had mostly compartmentalized his feelings for her, thanks in large part to Lady Bernadine, the queen of vampires. But since he heard her call out his name in his sleep, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. It was almost as if he were reliving the day she left over and over again.

  He looked up at the bookshelf and stared at the nearly 400 years of books. He had Chaucer, Shakespeare, Hardy, and many other first pressings. The books brought many other memories that he had long ago put away. But none of them stuck as his memories of Velara.

  A strong purr took his attention away from his books. Anton’s cat Persephone jumped up on the desk. She was a beautiful Ragdoll cat that Rick’s wife Sophie had given him for his birthday. She was roughly about 4 years old and was totally in love with Anton. She couldn’t stand the sight of Alexander or just about any other vampire that came to visit. When she felt that Anton wasn’t paying enough attention to her she would play “floppy cat”, which was something that only Ragdolls tended do. She would flop down on her back going totally limp. She thought that it made her look totally irresistible and she was right. Anton couldn’t wait to pet her and play with her until it ran out of gas.

  But this time he didn’t pet her. He picked her up and set her down on the floor. She was slightly miffed and walked out of the room. Anton felt bad about not petting her but he was not focusing on the world around him. His thoughts were on Velara. It had been so many years since he thought about her.

  The year was 1850. By that time Anton had been living in the Colonies for close to 50 years. After leaving St. Croix a few years after his dear friend Alexander Hamilton left to attend a university in New York City, he traveled to a few different islands and then settled in Cuba for a while. While there, he participated in an abolitionist movement to try and break the slave trade and slavery itself.

  The movement needed him in the Colonies, so he traveled there and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad and helped to smuggle guns and ammo to various other militant abolitionist groups.

  He was able to kill and survive on slave bounty hunters. There were several of them around as the prospect of collecting large rewards for the capture and return of runaway slaves caused several men to set aside any sense of decency.

  On one particular night, Anton sat at his post ready to transport a group of runaway slaves from one safe house to another. He was thinking of his friend Hamilton. It had been close to 80 years since he had seen his young friend, and he thought of him on and off over the years.

  They stood on the seaside together back then staring out at the large moon. The fifteen- year-old Hamilton looked at him and said, “I want to thank you again for your sponsorship of my education”

  Anton smiled and said, “It’s my pleasure, but you know that several businessmen also gave money to help.”

  “Yes, I know, but it was you that proposed the idea to send me to the Colonies.”

  “True, but there will be more opportunities for you there. Do you wish to remain here and be a clerk for the rest of your life?”

  Hamilton sighed and looked down. “There is nothing more for me here. Mother is gone. I have not seen Father in so many years. I truly welcome any chance to leave this island make a difference somewhere else.”

  “Face it, Hamilton,” Anton said putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “There is not much that can be done to change things here. This place is Hell on Earth.” They looked around. Nevis at that time was in the heart of the slave trade. Both of them were against it for many reasons. The amount of suffering they had both witnessed from the boats that came from the West African coast was more than anyone, let alone a sensitive fifteen- year-old boy should see. “You will make a difference in the Colonies, Hamilton. I have a
feeling that your name will be known around the world someday.”

  Hamilton looked into his friend’s eyes. He felt a slight tremble for some reason. As much as he loved and admired Anton, he was still startled by his friend. “You have more faith in me than anyone. I won’t disappoint you,” said Hamilton.

  “I know you won’t, Hamilton,” Anton smiled as he turned away for a moment. He felt a lump in his throat. “Remember your promise, though.”

  “I will, my friend. I promise that I will take up the cause of liberty for all men.”

  “Look around you, Hamilton,” said Anton with his arms wide. “See the misery that slavery has brought to our island. We must do what we can to stop its spread and practice in the Colonies.”

  Hamilton nodded. “I will do what I can.”

  There was a silence between the two friends for several moments. Hamilton broke the silence saying, “I wish you could see me off in the morning.”

  “I do, too.”

  “More than that, I wish you could join me in New York.”

  “I know, but for the moment I have no desire to go there. But I shall think of you often, and I expect a letter from you from time to time.”

  “You shall, my friend,” said Hamilton, offering his hand.

  Anton shook his hand and pulled his young friend into an embrace. As they parted, Anton knew that it would be the last time he would ever see his young friend, but it sure would not be the last time he heard of him.

  The sound of someone stepping on a stick brought Anton back to himself. He cursed his breath because their carelessness would draw attention to bounty hunters. At the moment he only sensed the approaching slaves and nothing more.

  Within minutes Anton was escorting the frightened group of runaways through the dark woods towards a farm that would house them for the remainder of the night. There were roughly 10 of them of all ages. One of them in particular caught Anton’s eyes. She was a beautiful black woman of medium brown color. Her eyes were soft and alert. Her heartbeat was strong, filled with courage and hope. Her name was Celeste. Her beauty in the moonlight was almost enough to stop Anton’s heart. A steady stream of emotions ran through him that he hadn’t felt since Charlotte left him to become a handmaid for Lady Bernadine. He never wanted to feel any sort of romantic feelings for any woman since then, but he could not control the strange sensation that overcame him each time he looked at her.

  He was so into her that he didn’t even hear the approach of bounty hunters. When he finally heard them, it was too late.

  A rifle cracked and Celeste suddenly dropped to the ground. Anton spun around and saw the bounty hunters. There were four of them and they were approaching quickly.

  “Run!” he yelled to the frightened slaves. They obeyed without argument and tore off into the woods in direction they had been going.

  Anton quickly bent down to check on Celeste. A bullet hole was in her chest and blood began to seep through her dress. His bloodlust began to overcome him at the sight and smell of her blood. His hands trembled as he touched his chest and felt a still-beating heart. It was weak and slow, but she was still alive. But for how long?

  In an instant Anton’s bloodlust turned to rage as he spun around and faced the hunters. He bared his fangs and his eyes turned bright yellow. Before there was time for them to react, Anton sprang on them.

  He grabbed two of them and bashed their heads together, killing them instantly. He kicked another in the chest, crushing the hunter’s rib cage and piercing the man’s heart. All this happened in a matter of seconds.

  The only one left was the hunter who shot Celeste. Anton could smell the man’s fear and already taste his cowardly blood. The hunter dropped his rifle and ran away into the woods whimpering like a child.

  He ran for quite a distance until he was out of breath. He dropped to his knees, believing that he escaped. Suddenly he felt himself being lifted off his feet. His neck was snapped and then fangs dug into it.

  Anton returned to Celeste’s side. His appetite satisfied, there was no worry that he would take her blood. He looked around and there was so much blood. The bloodlust was replaced by pity and yet that unexplainable sensation was still there. He knew that there was no way he could let her die.

  Celeste opened her eyes and looked into his. There was a connection. Both of them felt it. Visions began to flash in both of their minds. They saw a past from long ago when they stood on the shoreline of a doomed Atlantis. She was more exotic, but still her. He would recognize her anywhere. So many lives they had spent together, and yet this life took them so long to find each other. More visions flooded their minds and showed that nearly every lifetime was one that they shared together. In the few lives that they were not together, they were lonely and sometimes ended those lives by suicide. Time and again, Celeste and Anton shared lives together and this life was to be no different.

  Suddenly, he was brought back to reality. Celeste’s eyes were losing their luster and he knew it was time to make a decision. He also knew that if he didn’t do what needed to be done, this life would have no meaning.

  It was against the rules of The Order for a vampire to turn someone on a whim. But this was not a whim. This was something bigger than him and her. He couldn’t let her die. He wouldn’t let her die. He knew that they were supposed to be together, and he had the chance to make it forever. No more lives apart. This was forever.

  Anton bared his fangs and prepared himself. The Transformation from human to vampire was always torturous on both parties. Years later Anton would look back on that moment and reassure himself that he made the right decision. It wasn’t a selfish one, as so many other vampires simply turned a human to have a companion or wanted to control someone. This was something that had to be done. It was about love.

  He dug his fangs deep into her neck and began to drink. Celeste gasped and her body went rigid. She didn’t have the strength to fight, and there wasn’t too much blood in her, anyway. Anton pulled himself free of her and wiped his mouth. Celeste was inches away from death as he heard her breaths coming out in short rhythms. He bit into his wrist and placed it to her lips. For a moment she did nothing. Anton was afraid that he had killed her, but then the blood began to dribble into her mouth. She put wrapped her mouth around his wound and began to suck. Then her teeth dug in and she began to gulp.

  After a several seconds, Anton pulled his arm away. Celeste screamed an ungodly scream that would have alerted every slave hunter in the area, had they not all been killed. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her body began to convulse. Anton felt pity for her, but there was nothing he could do. Her body had to die and be reborn. The agony she endured lasted for several moments. She continued to thrash and tear at the ground, as she vomited out her internal organs. Suddenly, she let out a long, guttural scream and her body went limp.

  “A new life means a new name,” Anton said to Celeste as he cradled her head in his arms. She sighed and snuggled in closer. She couldn’t recall ever feeling such a sense of belonging or being so loved. Her life had simply been that of sweat, toil, and abuse. Both her husband and her daughter had been taken away from her, as they were sold. She later learned that her husband had been shot and killed trying to escape. There had been no word of where her daughter was. She didn’t know if she was still alive or had also escaped through the Railroad.

  Her existence had always been tense and full of worry. But no longer. She knew that she was right where she belonged, in Anton’s strong arms.

  Her appearance changed drastically during The Transformation. Every blemish, scar, or imperfection was erased from her body. She was leaner and her skin tone was a more chestnut brown. Her eyes which had lost their tiredness and worry were to be forever replaced with alertness and wisdom.

  Most of all, she gained the Vampiric Power of Sight, as it was called: she retained the knowledge of all her past lives and could read the thoughts and memories of most mortals and immortals. Of course she couldn’t read those of Anton
, her maker, which was typical. But she finally realized who they were and that this reunion was destiny.

  “Celeste is dead?” she whispered. It was the first time she had spoken since The Transformation. Mostly she listened while Anton explained everything to her.

  “Yes,” Anton answered. “What name do you wish me to call you?”

  She was quiet for several minutes as she thought. She didn’t want any ordinary name, but especially not any name that sounded like a slave name. She gazed up into the sky. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the stars were shining brightly. Her mother, whose mother had come from Africa told her that they were the eyes of God looking down on her. But there was one particular star that had always fascinated her, for as long as she could remember. It wasn’t the brightest star, but for some reason every night that she had chance, it would be the first one that her eyes were drawn to.

  “That star is so beautiful,” she said pointing to it. “I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve looked at it over our lifetimes.”

  Anton followed her finger and gazed up at the same star. “The name of that star is Velara. It’s very close to us.”

  “Velara,” she repeated. “I love that name.”

  “It’s our star, my love,” he whispered in her ear. “And it was what I shall call you. Lady Velara.”

  She closed her eyes, again. The smell of Anton’s feverishly warm flesh filled her with excitement and for the first time in her life, contentment. She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. She knew that Anton would take care of her and show her how to survive. She would look after her family, and hopefully locate her daughter. She also planned to continue working with Anton and other abolitionists to end slavery. She relished the thought of killing and consuming the bounty hunters who brought pain and misery to her people. But for now she wanted to relearn to love Anton as she had in so many other lives past. And she wanted to relearn how to read and write.