Death Beckons (Mortis Vampire Series, #1)

by J. C. Diem

  “I have made my choice, my dear, and you are it.” He grinned again and I was riveted by the sight of his teeth. Was it my imagination or were they even longer now? One thing was for sure, he could definitely benefit from some tooth whitening gel.

  “What exactly do you want from me, gramps?” Maybe if I could figure that out I could get the hell out of there and regain my sanity. My flesh was trying to creep off my body being this close to him. In the back of my head I was gibbering but I wasn’t sure why. He was creepy but he was also damned old. He’d managed to somehow kidnap me but what damage could he really do to me? I had this short argument with my subconscious but it ignored me and continued to gibber. It apparently knew something I didn’t and it was scared to its bones.

  “My servant was lost in an unfortunate...accident quite recently.” Tenting his hands together, Silvius stared at me over the top of long, unclean nails. “I require a new servant to guide me through this strange new land.”

  Ok, he really was nuts. “You’re in Australia, not Uranus.” I felt no urge to chuckle as I named my favourite planet. My humour had taken a brief leave of absence. “Stay away from snakes and spiders and you’ll be fine. Anyway, I already have a job.” It wasn’t the best job in the world but it was mine and I was suddenly appreciating it for the first time in years. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t want to be your servant.”

  “I’m afraid it is not a request, Natalie Pierce.” His brows drew down and my eyes started playing tricks on me again. I could have sworn his shadow, lounging on the wall nearby, turned its head and laughed at me soundlessly. “I’m afraid it is a requirement.”

  “How much will you pay me per hour?” I asked, stalling for time and judging the distance to the door. I have to get out of here right now. This lunatic might actually be dangerous. Silvius hadn’t really hurt me yet, but the hurting would begin soon. My instincts were telling me to flee for my life and I was willing to obey them.

  Taken aback by the question, Silvius frowned again. “Turning you will be your only payment.” He stated this as if it should have been obvious to me.

  “Turning me?” I sidled toward the door, not really concentrating on the conversation in my desperation to be gone. “Turning me into what?” A pumpkin? Is it midnight already? The panic was fighting its way to the surface, drawing closer and closer.

  Silvius stared at me for a long, creepy moment. “Into a creature like me.” This time when he smiled, I recoiled then made a run for the door. Utter lunacy had stared back at me from his black, soulless eyes. I wasn’t sticking around to let him turn me into anything.

  My hand was on the rusty, old-fashioned doorknob when I was suddenly yanked backwards. An arm clamped around my chest, cutting off my air. My head was yanked to the side and a cold, clammy hand stroked my cheek before tangling in my hair. Christ, his circulation must be non-existent. I knew old people had problems with their veins clogging up or whatever but his skin was practically icy.

  “Relax, my dear,” Silvius breathed disturbingly into my ear, “or this will hurt far more than is necessary.” His voice was deeper, almost guttural and somehow monstrously hungry. I caught sight of his shadow again. It pointed, threw its head back and laughed in noiseless, dark hilarity. I think I might actually be losing my mind. Shadows didn’t move on their own. It was impossible, therefore I had to be going crazy.

  Struggling against his grip, I was both amazed and dismayed at how strong the old man was. Most ancient people had bones like straw. I should have been able to snap his arm like a twig and stomp him into mush. Instead, I was held captive like a scared little girl as he lowered his head toward my neck.

  “What are you doing? You’re not a cannibal, are you?” My voice was high and squeaky again. You, you, you echoed around the mausoleum.

  Silvius cocked his head to the side and peered at me. I could see one pupil-less orb. No, it was more like his pupil had become larger than normal and his iris had disappeared. For a moment, I felt like I was standing on the edge of an abyss, about to fall. The fall would last for eternity but I’d lose my sanity in an instant. “I do not eat flesh,” he replied.

  “Good! Great! Because I doubt I’d be very tasty. I eat a lot of junk food, you know. Fatty, unhealthy junk food. And sugar,” I babbled. “My arteries are probably clogged up with disgusting cholesterol.” My relief that I wasn’t about to be chopped into small pieces and devoured was short lived as pain suddenly lanced through my neck and flooded through my body. What the hell? He’s biting me! I heard a pained keening noise and was startled to realize it was coming from me.

  When the pain finally stopped, my legs were too rubbery to hold me. I felt weirdly empty as if I’d been drained of life. Silvius sat me down then lay me on my side. Something warm and wet dribbled across my throat. That’s my blood, I thought hazily and couldn’t dredge up the energy to care. Dying wasn’t so bad. I didn’t know why people made such a fuss about it.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Silvius bite into his own wrist. Black fluid welled sluggishly from the ragged wound. Whatever it was that ran through his veins, it didn’t look much like blood anymore. He moved toward me, gaze intent on my face. Rolling me onto my back, he held his torn wrist over my mouth.

  Drops splattered on my lips and I squeezed them shut. The idea of the black ooze entering my mouth was utterly repugnant even in my dazed state. Gripping my jaw, Silvius forced my mouth open. Helpless and unable to fight against it, a clot of cold liquid hit my tongue. It was cold only for a second then it was burning its way down my throat like acid. Gagging, I managed to knock his hand away and rolled onto my side again, dry heaving.

  “God, that’s gross!” I rasped. “Seriously, that tastes like arse!” My throat was on fire as if I’d eaten a thousand of the strongest curry dishes ever invented, one straight after the other.

  Sinking down to his haunches, Silvius examined his torn wrist, ignoring my assessment of how bad his blood tasted. My overactive imagination had to be at play again because I could swear his wound was already healing. “Now, your new beginning awaits,” he intoned gravely. On that ominous note, the real pain began.

  My back arched as a cramp hit my stomach. I folded over and wrapped my arms around my middle. Garbled noises came from my mouth and I wasn’t able to stop them. It sounded like someone was slaughtering a flock of turkeys with a blunt axe.

  Burning pain flashed outwards from my heart to my head, hands and feet. My heartbeat became erratic, beating too hard then stopping altogether only to triple in speed once more. An instant migraine hit me and I gagged at the agony, barely holding onto my last meal. The five minute lunch break I’d taken to eat a tuna sandwich seemed to have happened a lifetime ago.

  More camps hit me and I humped across the concrete, trying to escape from my own body in vain. I wished I had a gun or a knife just so I could end the torment. It occurred to me that I must look like I was in the throes of a grand mal fit. If the crazy old guy was filming this, I hoped it didn’t end up on the internet.

  All through my torment, Silvius squatted nearby, watching me intently. He was as emotionless as a snake watching its prey writhe to death from its poison. It hit me then. Pain this bad could only end one way. I’m going to die.

  ·~·

  Chapter Three

  After an eternity, I came to and discovered that the pain was gone. I almost sobbed in relief right then and there. But first, I had to make sure the old man hadn’t been snacking on me despite his claims that he didn’t eat flesh. After a quick inventory, I was relieved to find that my body parts were all still accounted for. My clothes were also still intact but they were filthy from rolling around in agony.

  It was difficult to tell how much time had passed. I vaguely remembered Silvius biting me twice more and then forcing his diseased blood into my mouth. The taste hadn’t gotten any better with repetition. At least the burning sensation in my mouth and throat were gone. I felt no pain at all. Strangely, I didn’t feel much of any
thing, except cold. No pain has to be a good sign, right? Cautiously, I sat up.

  Sitting on his haunches, Silvius looked like he hadn’t moved at all since the last time I’d glimpsed him during my pained convulsions. “And so, after three nights, you have survived your ordeal and are now reborn.” His tone and expression were self-satisfied as if he had achieved something great and wonderful. I, of course, had no idea what he was talking about.

  Three nights? It didn’t seem possible that so much time had passed but it felt true anyway. “What did you do to me?” I felt my neck where he’d bitten me but the skin was unbroken. Maybe he’d drugged me with something and I’d imagined the whole unnerving experience. In a way, I’d prefer it if it was just a hallucination. Otherwise, it might have been real and how was I supposed to deal with that?

  “I have given you the gift of unlife.” As an explanation, it sucked.

  I stood shakily and he stood as well, far too smoothly for an elderly man. Squinting at Silvius in the dim light, I could have sworn he looked younger, maybe seventy instead of a hundred. His skin was tighter, less wrinkled and papery. Whatever drugs he’d given me had done an excellent job of screwing with my perception.

  “Unlife, huh? That’s great. Well, I’ve had a really shitty time and now I’m leaving.” Nothing was going to keep me in that room any longer. If I had to take the old man down, I would. He wasn’t about to get the jump on me again. I was wrong about that, I discovered as soon as I’d thought it. Too fast to track, he was suddenly in front of me.

  “I’m afraid you are now bound to me.” Silvius didn’t sound afraid. He sounded smug. I really hated smugness. It never boded well for those who the smugness was aimed at. “For all eternity,” he continued and grinned. That had an ominous ring to it that I didn’t like.

  “What the hell are you talking about, you deranged old weirdo?” I didn’t normally disrespect old people like that but he was frankly asking for it by now. He’d kidnapped me, drugged me and had held me captive for three days. Or so he said. There was no way for me to tell what he’d been up to during that time. Putting me in humiliating poses and recording them for all I knew. As soon as I’m out of here I’m searching the web for photos and videos. I didn’t know if I could destroy anything I might find but I’d try.

  Silvius gave me a dire frown and his brows drew down over his dead, empty eyes. “Be wary how you speak to your maker, girl.”

  Putting my hands on my hips, my lips thinned in annoyance. I’d had enough of this crap. My fright had slowly ebbed away and this was all beginning to seem like a ridiculously bad joke. “You did not ‘make’ me.” I held both hands up and made the required quotation symbols in the air then my hands returned to my hips. “My parents made me and I’m a thousand per cent sure you aren’t my father.” Both of my parents had died in a car accident when I was nineteen so I couldn’t call them up and ask them to verify the truth of this.

  Silvius took a step closer, grinning slyly. “I am your father now, my child. I shall teach you the old ways and in turn, you shall do my every bidding.” He followed up the statement with a leer like a terrible actor in a C grade movie.

  “Mmm hmm.” Judging the distance to the door, I poised to bolt. “Well then. Bye.”

  I was a step from the door when he asked me a strange question. “Have you not noticed that your heart no longer beats?”

  Did anyone ever actually notice their heart beating? I’d certainly never put much thought into it before. But the thought held me captive now. When I’d woken only a few minutes ago, I knew something was different. I was cold, clammy and felt a sense of loss as though something vital was missing. I’d seen doctors and nurses on TV taking people’s pulses often enough so I knew what to do. Placing my fingers on my wrist, I searched for the tell-tale beat of my heart. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. You’re just not finding the right spot, I told myself desperately.

  Putting my hands on my neck, I felt around and came up empty. Eventually, I noticed that I’d been holding my breath for an unnatural length of time. In fact, I hadn’t drawn a breath since I’d woken up. “I’m not breathing.” Numb with shock, I stood there with my mouth open but with no air going in or out.

  “As I said,” Silvius gloated, “we are now bound. It has been seventy years since I last made a servant.” Sizing me up, he added some information that made no sense to me. “Usually, they aren’t as...coherent as you seem to be for at least a few weeks.” He seemed puzzled, as if he’d expected far different behaviour from me than what I’d been displaying so far.

  Still stuck on the fact that I wasn’t breathing, I hadn’t quite grasped what was going on yet. Then it finally dawned on me. “You’ve turned me into a zombie. Oh my G-G-G,” I stuttered trying to say God, the word just wouldn’t come out.

  Silvius smirked at my broken attempt at speech. “We are forbidden to speak the Lord’s name, child.”

  “Zombies can’t say G-G-G?” I gave up when it became obvious that something in my head was broken. I’d never read anywhere that zombies stuttered. They usually just moaned, drooled and went after humans like starving dogs.

  Annoyance settled onto Silvius’ pasty face. “You are not a zombie,” he ground out through his yellow teeth.

  “What am I then?” Zombie was the only explanation I could think of. A sickening thought struck me, was I going to get a sudden insatiable craving for human brains?

  “You are a vampire.”

  It was so absurd that I laughed. I checked his expression, found it to be stony and humourless and that set me off into fresh gales. “A vampire?” I said when I had myself under control again. “That’s a good one.” I tried to wipe away a tear but my eyes were strangely dry.

  “You believe in zombies but not vampires?” Silvius’ eyebrows rose again then furrowed in puzzlement. “Maybe something went wrong when I turned her,” he muttered almost beneath his breath. “She is not a normal servant.”

  “Hey, I’ve read books about voodoo magic,” I said defensively, hardly believing we were having this conversation at all. “Zombies could be real.”

  “You are not a zombie.” His black stare pinned me in place. “You are a vampire, just as I am.” His lips peeled back to reveal his teeth again. As I watched, the incisors lengthened and sharpened into wicked points.

  Holy shit, he really is a vampire! In instinctive reaction at the irrefutable proof that the strange old man really was a dreaded creature of myth, I screamed and cringed away. Silvius roared with laughter and the noise boomed around the crypt, echoing louder and louder until my ears were ringing. His shadow doubled over, holding its stomach and slapping its thigh as it laughed just as hard, if without sound. Silvius wasn’t the only one who was crazy, his shadow was, too.

  Backing up against one of the stone sarcophagi, I reached out and snapped off the cross that adorned it. Silvius’ shadow looked up, saw what was in my hand and went into a panic. It tried tapping its master on the shoulder to get his attention but the vampire either didn’t feel it or ignored it. It was far too late for Silvius anyway, the cross was already in motion. It flew through the air like a miniature spear, deadly and far more accurate than I could have ever hoped.

  The jagged end lanced directly into the creature’s chest, sinking in for several inches. Silvius’ laughter broke off and he stared at me with a stunned expression. His shadow wrung its hands then raised them in the air in despair. The vampire dropped his eyes to his chest and saw the cross standing out from his flesh. It had been a fluky shot and had hit him right in the heart. Horror finally broke over his face as it dawned on him that he really did have a cross sticking out of his chest. “What have you done?” It came out as a choked whisper.

  “Um, killed you?” I admit my tone was hopeful. The man was a vampire, for Christ’s sake. Of course I had to stake him through the heart. Anyone else would have done the same thing. It was our duty as human beings to kill anything that threatened us. But you’re not human anymore, my mind whispered traito
rously. I might be able to think the Lord’s name in my head but I could no longer say it out loud.

  “You have killed us both, you stupid girl,” Silvius hissed while his shadow shook its fist at me. Bending over, the shadow began coughing noiselessly. Shrieks began to issue from the old man’s mouth and black gobs of blood splattered on his clothes. My lips wrinkled back from my teeth at the thought that I had ingested that ichor. No wonder it had burned on the way down. My last hope that this had all just been a dream fled. No nightmare I’d ever had before had been this vivid, loud or stinky. I covered my nose with my sleeve but the smell of old, diseased blood didn’t diminish.

  Clutching the cross, Silvius attempted to pull it out. It proved to be a bad move. As soon as his flesh touched the metal, it caught on fire. More shrill, high screams came from him, along with fresh gouts of blood. Now the small room smelled like a charnel house. My stomach turned and I gagged but nothing came up. Maybe because I hadn’t eaten anything for three days. Yeah, but you’ve had something to drink, remember? I bent over at the memory of acidic fluids flowing down my throat and into my stomach, burning the whole way down. I tried to vomit but had nothing in my stomach to bring up.

  When my attempt at dry reaching subsided, I watched in fascinated horror as my maker bled and burned to death. His shadow writhed in sympathetic torment. Gouts became rivers as more and more black fluid escaped from his mouth and chest. Sinking to his knees then slumping onto his side, Silvius beseeched me with both burning hands. The flames were blue and the smell of burning flesh was awful. Thankfully, his shadow fell with him. It futilely tried to stand, fell to its knees then finally lay exhausted on its face. It seemed to go on forever but the whole dramatic death scene had probably taken less than a minute. At last, the screams stopped and Silvius lay still.