by Hood, E. B.
“Really, damn; I liked that book.” Then I stuck my bottom lip out.
Ezra smiled. “If it makes you feel any better, I really liked that book too.”
“I have already experienced, about being invited in.” I said. Then came the next part; this is the part I asked him about the cross. I was really scared to find out, to think that God may hate me, or that I was now a devil against God, dammed even, but I had to ask. “So do crosses burn us?”
"The right ones, yes; that’s not the question you're asking." Ezra paused, and then said, "We are not soulless creatures from the abyss of hell. Is there a hell? I don’t know; what I do know is that people have used God’s name to do great harm and good through the centuries. So you know the difference between a cleric and a wizard?"
"I don’t even know what they have in common." I answered.
"A wizard’s power comes from him. A cleric will tell you his power comes from God. Let me tell you a story; in New Mexico there was group of vampires that were worshiped. They were worshiped as children of God. Their believers in that church believed that the power that vampires had, had been gifts from God. When the vampires changed someone into a vampire, they had to die; now you know that not all will rise again. The ones that did not rise were not worthy. The ones who did were blessed by God, for each one that died, one must have gone to heaven to stand before Jesus and be judged. And only the righteous, could come back as vampires to rid the world of evil."
This almost made me laugh. "That’s not what I’ve heard about vampires; I always heard that vampires are from the devil."
Ezra looked at me very seriously. "Is the devil telling you what to do?"
"Well, no; but that is what all the books that I have read said."
Ezra laughed, and then in a serious voice said. "And those books, did they say that a stake in the heart would kill you, and if you stepped outside you would burst into flames."
I said. "Yes, you’re right." They weren't very accurate.
Ezra looked at me thoughtfully. "You're young, so you don’t remember that most of these writings you have read are new. Most of them are based on Dracula, and a lot of the stories have been written in Christian countries. The older writings about vampires, say all kinds of different ways of destroying us. It has always been to our benefit that there is misinformation. If you believe in God, then you must believe in forgiveness, and you will find yourself asking for it; for, in our life, it is hard not to take others."
That is kind of what I was worried about. Then I added, "No need to ask for forgiveness yet. I have some killing to do; then I will ask."
Ezra had a worried look then said. "I will support you where, and when I can. You started your story when you awoke from the grave; I know the men who put you there did terrible things. If you ever need to talk… well you know."
"Thank you; thank you for your kindness."
Ezra looked as if he was trying not to cry, then he spit out. "Where was I, crosses, yes that is it. So my point is that evil or goodness is not the domain of man, and evil is not the domain of vampires, but, on one hand, we, as a race, have earned our evil reputation. The reasons are many; absolute power, the long lives and the fact we are always taking. We are killers."
I thought about what he was saying. "I can see it; I can see how a long life would get you disconnected from the world. I already felt that way. Everyone I knew, my parents, friends and family, dead. I don’t understand this generation; then again I never understood my own generation… So is it a form of magic that makes some crosses hurt us?"
"Yes. Think about it; if God wanted to help you, do you think you would need a cross. And why would he help someone who doesn’t believe in him just because he had a cross? Of course the funniest thing to me is the thought of a man coming before Jesus, and Jesus saying; welcome to heaven. Too bad you couldn’t keep hold of your cross. Then that vampire wouldn’t have eaten you, so come on in, butterfingers."
I started laughing with Ezra. It was good to laugh, and it reminds me of how much I was missing David. David had brought a smile to my face when I needed it the most. “So I think that covers most legends.”
“What about silver?” Ezra asked.
“Wait, is that not for werewolves, or is that for vampires too?” I couldn’t remember.
“It's for all kinds of evil supernatural creatures, and it doesn’t work for anything. You don’t need silver to kill werewolves, and the only thing it does to vampires is make them look nice.”
“So where do you suppose the silver legend came from?” I wondered.
“That one is easy. Back in the Dark Ages, the hunters figured out that it was best to hunt the supernatural as godly men. They came as priests and monks, and every creature they hunted was from the devil. If they used magic, they were not supernatural creatures themselves but using the power of God. The drawback is, that during the Dark Ages there was a plague; so this also led to an economic downturn, and the priests found it hard to get paid, or, as they would have called it, donations. The people believed that the priest should be willing to serve for free, do it in the service of God and God's people. So, back in the day money was gold, or silver. The only ones who had gold were the lords of the land, and they weren’t worried about how many villagers were eaten by the vampires. So some smart priest came up with the fact that silver kills the devil's children, and, after you killed them with the silver, the silver turned to lead. The part of silver turning to lead was lost with the invention of the gun. The priest would melt down the town’s silver, and then they would cast them into bullets. And of course they never actually used them. That’s where the legend of silver came from.” Ezra said very excited; obviously he loved his history.
All this history had me wondering, so I asked. “How old are you?”
Ezra took a moment as if he had to think about it. Then he said. “I was born in 1812; that same year my father died in the War of 1812. He fought in protection of the city I grew up in, Washington D.C. It was 1847 when I was turned; I was thirty-five years old. You will find that most vampires give their age from the time they were turned, in vampire years, I am 143 years old, and you’re five days old.”
I giggled, and then in a babyish voice, I said. “Feed me, feed me.”
Ezra laughed. Then he said. “After your shopping trip with the girls, I would like to start your training, just some basic stuff tonight.”
“What will I be learning?” I wondered.
“How to fight, how to be a vampire; you will be my star pupil. Don’t worry; I think you will like it.”
I smiled. “Oh, I wasn’t worried; that is exactly what I want to do.”
Ezra smiled a smile that told me that was exactly what he wanted to hear. Then he told me. “It's going to be a little while before the girls are ready. Do you have any more questions?”
I thought about it for a minute, and then said, “Yes, yes I do. What about our powers, like mind control, or flying, or how about our flashing.”
“Flashing?” Ezra asked.
“That’s what I call it when I move so fast it feels as if I teleported.” I answered.
“That's a great name, flashing, I like it; we refer to it as spirit walking, but I like your name for it better. Funny thing is that it takes most vampires five to ten years to have enough power to do it. Lea still cannot spirit… flash.”
It felt to me that they were really surprised about my powers. Ezra was saying that I was doing things that I should not be doing for another five to ten years. I felt like there was something wrong with me; it also reminded me about what Nicks told me. He was worried that the Whites would find out too much about me. What it all means is still a mystery to me, and I don’t like not knowing. Still it is probably best that I play down my powers if I can.
Ezra went on. “Well from talking to you last night, I realize that you have an understanding about most of our powers, but you have had no experience with using your mind powers. What experience do you have if
any, with your hypnosis?”
I thought about that for a second. So far I was unable to do anything as far as I could tell. So I told Ezra. “I don’t think I have been able to do it. Is that what Alice did to me?”
Ezra looked thoughtfully then said. “Yes, the best way I can explain this to you is that all vampires have the same powers, but, like instruments, some are really good at playing them and some are not. Also there are different kinds of abilities in using your hypnosis. First is defense, the ability to block other vampires’ mind games. Second is mind control; Alice is a master of this; the girl can make you see or not see anything she wants. She still has great ability with her other mind powers, but she is world class at mind control. Third is reading, the ability to know what another is thinking or feeling; my wife Charlotte is a master of this one. That is why you can’t lie to her. It is useful in a fight too, because you know what your opponent is about to do a second before they do it. I personally am partial to the first one, defense of my own mind; because I am an expert in hand to hand combat. Even though I try, Alice can always trick me with her mind games, and there is no blocking my wife. Of course this is probably because she knows me so well. With other vampires, it is not such a problem.”
“So can Alice or any of you change someone’s memories?” I have always wondered if I could do that. It would be a nice power to have; if I ever said something dumb I could just make people forget it.
“No.” Ezra answered shaking his head back and forth. “Changing a memory would be like trying to change a painting. The only thing you would have is a mess when you were done. The trick to changing a memory is changing it at the moment it is happening. Alice made you see spiders in that field, along with some other crazy things. If you didn’t know the truth, if you didn’t know that Alice made you see those things, you would believe that you fought spiders or you had the craziest dream ever. Don’t worry; you will get a chance to figure all this out. Alice will work with you on all the mind stuff. I will teach you how to fight. Charlotte will work with you on flying, so you will have lots of instruction.”
“So you’re saying we can fly! Do we turn into bats?” I said almost jumping out of my seat in excitement.
A strange look came over Ezra's face. It took me a moment to place it; then I knew that look, confused. Ezra said. “Yes… normally it takes vampires fifty to hundred years to have enough power to fly. I only said that because Alice said you already knew how to fly, because, when she first spotted you, you where flying.”
“What?” I said a little caught off guard. “I don’t know how to fly, and if I did, I think I would remember that.”
Ezra looked thoughtful, and then said, “Yes, of course you would. We shall talk with Alice soon enough. We will figure this out; I am sure I just misunderstood her.”
What he said didn’t match his body language. Maybe it was my reading power, but I was sure he believed Alice and not me. Then I said. “At least I don’t have to worry about being shot.”
Ezra was starting to stand when I said that. He sat back down, and then said. “I said silver doesn’t hurt us. I never said we had nothing to fear from guns. I used to believe back in the day that guns would never be a problem to our kind. I was a fool; during World War One or as we used to call it, The Rise of Man, they developed lots of new weapons. Some of these weapons work well against vampires: flamethrowers, explosives and tracer bullets. Tracer bullets are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the burning powder, the pyrotechnic composition burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye. This enables the shooter to follow the bullet trajectory in order to make aiming corrections. These bullets, if shot into vampires, can also cause our blood to ignite; if you see strikes of light flying by as someone shoots at you, they are vampire hunters.”
“And don’t get shot. They burn like hell.” Michael said, as he stood next to the arch of vines.
Ezra said, “Good afternoon Michael,” Then he turned to me. “Michael speaks from experience; he took a couple of those rounds to the chest a few years back. Luckily I was able to pull him to safety and pull out the bullets. Then I had to put him out; scared the hell out of me.”
Michael said with kind of a sad smile. “And then Ezra went nuts; as soon as he realized I wasn’t going to die, he spirit walked, right out to those hunters, and ripped them limb to limb; we haven’t had a problem with their kind since.”
Ezra let out a small laugh, and then said with a voice of passion. “What can I say? No one messes with my boy.”
He stood up and threw an arm around Michael and pulled him into the little area. There Michael and Ezra took a seat together. I had no doubt of their love; they were family. It made my heart ache. I wanted that, but it felt out of reach, out of reach until I have had my revenge.
Michael looked at me, not a mean look this time, but a hollow one. “Lea would like to meet you.” He said flatly.
“Ok”.
Ezra stood up. “I will let you three get to know each other. I have some work to attend to; Melabeth, come to the basement after your shopping trip with the ladies. And, Melabeth, we do not turn into animals, but we can control them and see what they see. Michael is really good at that; maybe someday he will show you how.” He turned to Michael and with a head bob said, “Michael.”
And Michael responded. “Father,” and, with that, Ezra left, then Michael said to me at the same time throwing me a pair of sunglasses, “Charlotte said you would need those; so come, on, follow me. Lea can’t take much of the sun.” With that, he headed toward the house.
I can’t say I was excited to meet anymore vampires. I have had my fill of new persons. We went into the house the same way I came out, and, when we passed by the pool, I asked, “Maybe we could go swimming tonight?”
“Maybe,” Michael answered indifferently.
He didn’t turn around or even change the speed he was traveling; I was getting real tired of his attitude, and I had just met the guy. The only thing he had going for him was the view.
We entered the room with the oversized TV. There sat a girl with strawberry blonde hair; it was pulled up into a ponytail with a few strands hanging loose in the front. Her hair was wavy and ran almost halfway down her back. She was very beautiful, and, when I entered into the room, she looked me up and down and then stood up to greet me.
She held out her hand and said with a sweet voice. “Hi, I am Lea. You must be Melabeth.”
I took her hand and we shook; she squeezed hard, but not hard enough to hurt me. In fact, from the surprised look on her face, I think she meant to.
Michael said in his usual grumpy manner. “Well, she is four days old, so I think YOU can handle her, Lea, until Charlotte gets back. I have some stuff to do, so you ladies have fun.”
Lea had a look of what I could only describe as troubled, she blurted out. “I have to watch her… I can do it. Don’t worry, Michael.”
Mike nodded, turned and started to leave; on his way out, he said. “Don’t worry, Lea, I will stay within yelling distance.” With that remark, Lea visibly calmed down.
I was starting to get the idea that Alice, Ezra and Charlotte had told these two very little about me. Both of them acted as if I was a newborn that needed a babysitter at all times. I couldn't tell if they were playing a practical joke on these two or if they were hiding my power from them.
Nicks warned me about Alice. The fact that Alice thinks I can fly, even though Ezra said that takes fifty to one hundred years to have that much power, I need to really pay attention to what’s going on.
“So, little sister what do you think of Michael?” Lea asked, but there were threats behind that smile.
“I am trying not to; he is so rude and grumpy.” I answered honestly. I will leave out the part where I think he is so sexy.
“Good.” Lea responded, and I could see her calm down now that she didn’t think I had a thing for her man.
Then again I don’t know if he w
as her man; I didn’t get that vibe when he left. So I asked. “So you and Mike, are you, like… you know, a thing.”
Her face became sad, when she said, “No, he sees himself as my older brother, but he is not related by blood or anything. Then again, no one in this madhouse is. You’ll get used to it, the game of house, that is. And he is not Mike; it's Michael.”
I ignored the name correction, and then asked her a question. “The game of house?”
“We live like most vampires in the wild. We aren’t mommy, and daddy, sons and daughters. The oldest and the strongest rules the coven, and the weakest, that’s you, is last to have a say in anything.” Lea said the part about me being the weakest very proudly.
She was probably sick of being in last place, but, if it works how she said it does, she’s going to be sick all over again, but I had no reason to show her that I was stronger than her.
I had to ask her, “What did you mean by, in the wild?”
Lea let out a dry laugh, “Wow, you are a dumb bitch.”
I was stunned and speechless. She walked over, picked up her glass and drank; I could smell the blood in it. Then she looked over at me and sneered, “What? You thought I would be like, hey, sister, let’s go shopping and be best friends or whatever. I know your slutty kind; you need to know how shit works around here.”
It took a second for me to pick my jaw off of the floor, as she went on saying, “Another thing; let’s get some rules about Michael, right now.”
I didn’t let her finish that statement.
I didn’t even really think about it; I was standing there listening to her verbally assault me. Then I had flashed the distance between us.
I punched her across the side of the head. She fell down like a sack of potatoes, but I caught the cup of blood before one drop hit the floor.
I stepped back as she was now trying to get back up, but she was having trouble. I washed back all the blood in the cup and set it down on a table. Lea was just managing to get back on her feet and find her balance.
Then she said in a shaky voice, “You’re about to learn a hard lesson.”