“And what is that?” Sebastian asked, taking a bite of cake.
“They are immortal which means they never die. But unlike vampires, they do age. You see, vampires are made while dhampir are born. The age at which you are made a vampire is the age at which you are stuck… forever. But with the dhampir… they age very, very slowly. Sheridan is 200 years old. Imagine what he will look like at a thousand.”
Sebastian placed his hand up to his mouth and laughed, doing his best to keep cake from falling out of his mouth.
Gregory sighed in a pleasing sense as he watched Sebastian eat. The silence was a comfortable sort. It was obvious that he took a great interest in the boy eating in front of him.
“I can smell that chocolate. Oh, how wonderful it smells,” Gregory said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Then he opened his eyes. “But I could never taste it in fear of becoming sick. So the closest I can come is to watch you. I love the way you chew. You savor the taste of every bite. I think I could watch you eat eternally.”
“So you miss eating,” Sebastian asked, taking another bite.
“Oh, you have no idea. I do miss eating. But after several centuries you only remember faint traces of something you no longer do. So I’ll simply take pleasure in watching you.”
“The last time I was here I went up to your bedroom. And you had a samurai outfit in there. I was wondering how you got it.”
“I acquired it during the Japanese Edo period. It was 1698, if I recall correctly. Over 300 years ago. As you can guess, when the Order assigns us to new locations, we take our possessions with us. And one is able to acquire many positions when one lives for many centuries. I lived in Kyoto, Japan for many years during the late seventeenth century. I courted favor with the Shōgunate. Admittedly, it’s not difficult to impress humans when one possesses the powers of a vampire.”
“Amazing,” Sebastian said as he inched closer to Gregory.
“Eventually I was demonstrated to the Shōgun after partaking in a battle royale of sorts. Think of the coliseum fights you’ve learned about in history. I could easily dispatch of any human sent my way. My speed, endurance, agility – and particularly my strength was, and is, no match for any human. I was eventually elevated to a position within the Shōgunate – the official governing authority controlled by the Shōgun.”
“I can’t believe you lived in feudal Japan,” Sebastian said, amazed.
“Believe it, young friend,” Gregory said, crossing his legs. “To make a long story short, the Shōgun himself presented me with the gift of the Samurai armor. I wore it less than a dozen times. Haven’t tried it on in centuries. It’s not like I’ve gained any weight. So I’m sure it still fits.” He laughed.
“If you’re trying to impress me, I give up. You’ve won,” Sebastian laughed.
“I promise you… I do not try. I don’t believe a vampire should ever try anything. We either do or we don’t. You know how humans say life is short so you better enjoy it. Well I say…. life is long so you better enjoy it.”
“How do you find continued enjoyment in a life that never ends?” Sebastian asked.
“Oh, we have our methods. There are always new faces and new places.”
“It’s just… I can’t believe anyone would ever consider you to be evil. Like some of the guys who I thought were my friends, for example.
“Society is foolish, what can I say. To suggest humans have feared us for centuries would be an understatement. Try millennia.”
“But why?”
“It’s just how the human race is. The world’s ills must be blamed on someone. Why not blame the more superior species? We are a minority. We’re far outnumbered by humans. They’re able to spread whatever disinformation they’d like with little retaliation. So they come up with religions and excuses and whatever else they can muster to pass blame.”
“Blame? Blame for what?” Sebastian asked.
“Their shortcomings. What else. But not you. You’re so… different. Not like the rest of them. Just take your friends for instance.”
“They hate and fear you,” Sebastian said.
“Precisely. But you do not. Because you know better.”
“I’m glad I know you, Gregorious.”
“And I, you, young Sebastian.”
“What does it feel like? To be a vampire?”
“It feels… powerful.”
“Powerful?”
“But not really. you get used to it after a few centuries.”
“To be so powerful. It must be incredible.”
“But do you not have the same power? I am speaking in relative terms. As a human you have a superior intellect. You have so much power over so much around you. You walk through a forest with a gun made from human hands and forged by machinations of the human mind. And are you not the apex predator? Capable of killing a tiger with your aim. Squashing an insect with your shoe. What are you but a god among mammals?”
“So your powers don’t really faze you, do they? They’re just a part of who you are. Your strength, your ability to fly or shapeshift.”
“That’s correct. I have awareness. I understand just how powerful I am. But I think of it no more than you think of your power to swat a fly.”
Gregory stood up and walked toward the cabinet on the far side of the room. Sebastian watched as he opened the glass cabinet, grabbed a gold crown from within it, and return to the sofa. He sat next to Sebastian, closer this time. He twirled the crown around in his hand.
“One hundred years after my stint in Japan, I resided in France. I acquired this during the French Revolution.”
“You were given that by French Royalty?” Sebastian asked.
“Given? No,” he laughed. “This was one of the crowns of King Louis XVI, the last King of France before the French Revolution. The night he was beheaded I flew into his palace and took this one lone artifact. It was one of many, to be fair. The others reside in the Louvre.”
“It’s priceless,” Sebastian whispered.
“But what should that mean to me?” Gregory whispered then placed the crown atop Sebastian’s head. “Look at that. It fits you like a glove. You look quite smashing if I may suggest. A pity there are no mirrors here.”
Sebastian smiled curiously and raised his eyes up, attempting to peer at the crown atop his head. Gregory’s eyes were languid, soft, and gentle. Yet they burned with passion and a drive for love and knowledge – that’s how he explained it to Sebastian.
Gregory removed the crown from the boy’s head and held it in his own hands. “I was thinking how delightful it would be to truly possess you. To adopt you as my little human boy.” He laughed. “I’m only half-serious, mind you. I’m sure you’re very pleased with the life you lead. But you did tell me in the dreamscape… that you longed for more.”
“I did. And I do. But I don’t really know what that means. Or what it entails,” Sebastian admitted.
“It’s fine,” Gregory told him. “You’re young. You have a long time to figure it out. Of course, not as long as I,” he smirked before calling him, “My Magnificent Hadrian.”
“When my friends and I broke in here, we saw you hanging upside down. Earlier tonight a few of my friends suggested that maybe you were just a normal human being who was exercising. I know better. But I also thought you slept in coffins.”
“We do as we please,” Gregory told him. “Personally, I like to rest while hanging. It’s good for a vampire’s circulation.”
“I just get sick when I hang upside down. It makes me feel queasy,” Sebastian said.
“Then I guess we know one particular thing you won’t be joining me in doing, right?” Gregory smirked.
“I never thought I’d like flying either, until I went with you.”
“I think flying is my favorite thing to do.”
“And you have to learn to fly once you become a vampire?”
“Yes,” Gregory told him. “Just like shapeshifting, it takes a little trial and error. I
t takes a degree of control and a little practice. And before you know it, you’re a speeding bullet.”
“How fast can you move?”
“Very. How about you?”
“I guess I can run as fast as any boy my age. Well, I’ve outrun bullies before so I guess I might be faster than most.”
“I think I know just what you are, Sebastian Ricardo Cortez.”
“Firstly… you know my full name. And I don’t recall ever telling you that. And I don’t know your middle name. It only feels right for friends to know the same things about each other.”
“You’re absolutely right. To address your first concern of how. Well, you told me in the dreamscape.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Not aloud, Sebastian. But being in the dreamscape is the equivalent of being in your mind. I can see and know things without you expressly telling me.”
“So you can read my mind in the dreamscape?”
“Not exactly. We don’t read minds. But my senses in your dreams extend beyond the power curtailed by the waking world. Think of it like my sense of smell. Here in reality I can smell the scent of an emotion such as fear. But in the dream world, my sense can pick up on far more than just emotions. My senses can pick up on knowledge. It can be difficult to explain. At any rate, my full name Gregorious Adamir Velstall.”
“That’s such a cool odd name.”
“Given to me 400 years ago. In the centuries since, it’s become considered old fashioned. At least to humans. Given our ages, centuries’ old names are very common.”
“I wish I had a cooler one, really,” Sebastian shrugged.
“You must be joking! Your name is such a regal one. It reminds me of a Spanish inquisitor I once knew. Your name is actually quite classical.”
“A Spanish inquisitor? Wow. But you were saying that you knew what I was. And just what is that?” Sebastian asked.
“See, now you’ve gotten your hopes up. If you’re expecting me to reveal that you are some ancient king possessing the body of a boy, you’re going to be fairly underwhelmed I’m afraid. I was simply going to use a descriptor for you,” Gregory told him.
“And what descriptor would that be?”
“You are a… reverie.”
“A what?”
“A reverie. The physical manifestation of a dream. And I don’t mean that literally. Just symbolically. It is a reference to your gracefulness.”
“Oh,” Sebastian said, not really sure of what to say. “I guess thank you.”
“It’s simply an observation. But I’ve yet to ask you much, Sebastian. And did I not tell you that I was just as interested in you as you were in me.”
“What would you like to know?”
“What do you like to do in your free time?”
“I like to hang out with my friends. We play video games. Go biking together.”
“Forget the video games for a moment. But the biking, now that sounds fun. Adventurous. Boyish. Tell me more, insouciant one.”
“Well I’ve broken my bike twice. The first time I was able to repair it. The second time I had to just get a new one. Saved up for a while to get it. I love going through the woods. I’ve come across every type of bug or plant you can think of. Some poison, some not so bad. I fell over once and totally banged up left arm and left leg. I had to get stitches when that happened.”
“Go on,” Gregorious smiled.
“Once I went biking with no shoes on. It’s okay when you’re just riding through the street. But once you reach the forest the terrain is harder to bike through. So it gets real rough on feet when you’re trying to pedal. I was with Alex when this happened, ok. So we’re in the forest and we just hear this crazy loud growl.”
Gregory nodded and he continued talking.
“And at that point we’re just sure it’s a bear. But the growl itself was so loud it just totally knocked me off balance. I fell over into what I think was poison oak. Still no bear in sight but the growls are bad enough. So I rip off my shirt, itching like hell, no shoes… and I just take off. Alex didn’t even wait up for me, he was now long gone, that chicken. So I race out the forest, my feet are just aching. And without even looking back I just race home. Every inch of me was itching and my feet were so sore I couldn’t stand for a day.”
“That’s the sort of story that really brings you alive,” Gregory said. Sebastian returned his smile, happy that he’d managed to impress an immortal friend with a story so utterly ordinary.
“I can’t believe something so ordinary would fascinate you. I swear I’m the most boring boy on earth.”
“No, no, no,” Gregory shook his head. “You mustn’t ever think of yourself in such simplistic terms.” Gregory stopped laughing. He looked at Sebastian very seriously and said, “That’s an order.”
“I will,” Sebastian promised. By now he was long done with the desert. He wiped his mouth with the napkin, set it aside, and Gregorious asked him something very curious.
“I suppose it’s time.”
“Time for what?” Sebastian asked.
“Time for us to enjoy the evening in a different way. Recall our last physical encounter.”
“You mean your blood?”
“Yes,” Gregorious nodded. “My blood.”
“What about it?”
“I want you to tell me what you think of it.”
“It’s incredible. Addicting. Healing. It makes my whole body tingle – Does it do that to… everyone?” Sebastian asked.
“Only those who are fortunate enough for me to have shared it with.”
“Then I guess I’m really lucky,” Sebastian said, looking down.
“You are. Would you like more?” he asked. Sebastian looked up at him, unsure of how to answer or what to say.
“I don’t know,” Sebastian said, before quickly adding, “Yes, I do. I can’t lie. It’s the most amazing sensation in the world.”
Gregory flashed a grin. “I’m happy to hear it. I’ve been good to you. And I will be happy to supply more of myself to you. But afterwards, I will need you to be just as good to me. Just as you were last time.”
“The bite is painful,” Sebastian said.
“That’s only natural. My fangs pierce the skin. But I promise, the neck is the best place for me to feed from. There are other areas. But they would be more painful.”
“Okay. I don’t mind,” Sebastian quickly added. “If you like my blood, I’m happy to provide it to you.”
“To say I merely liked it would be an understatement.”
Gregory stood from his spot on the sofa and walked over to one of the glass cabinets. He opened it, reached in and pulled out a single small shot glass. He closed the glass cabinet and returned to his spot next to Sebastian.
“We’ll consider it our own little Surrender,” Gregory said as he sank one of his fangs into his wrist. He allowed the shot glass to fill up with his blood. “There,” he said, “Your cup runneth over.”
“First, I was wondering…” Sebastian asked. “Last time you bit me on my neck. But the next morning I checked in the mirror and saw no mark at all.”
“That is due to the healing properties of my vampiric blood that you were able to experience. Nor will there be any marks upon your neck tomorrow as long as you have had the blood of you consort superior. Namely, me. However, the marks do remain the longer the vampire feeds on you. Now… drink and be merry.”
Without pretense holding him back, Sebastian reached out and snatched the shot glass from Gregory as if it were the only shot of blood remaining on the planet. He placed it to his lips, dipped his head back, closed his eyes, and gulped it down in one swallow.
His body shivered as the blood went down. It was, as last time, the most sensational feeling imaginable. His opened his eyes and he felt the hairs rise on his arms. He could hear a faint but intense ringing – it was melodic even. His eyes flickered as he took a deep breath.
Before he could react any further, Gregorious held him
as they sat on the sofa. He grabbed Sebastian by the hair, gently yanking his head to the side, and lunging his fangs into the boy’s neck.
His mouth was ice cold. Sebastian gasped. As Gregorious promised him, as he knew from last time, it hurt – but only for a moment. He gasped the moment his skin had been pierced.
“Uggghh!” Sebastian closed his eyes and groaned.
Gregory heaved Sebastian onto his back, his fist still clenched with Sebastian’s hair. Sebastian could feel his heartbeat racing – pounding. The sensational properties of the vampire’s blood outweighed the pain of the biting. It was, undoubtedly, a mutual exchange.
Before Sebastian realized it was even over, Gregory lifted himself off of the boy. Sebastian raised his hand and placed his fingers up to his neck. He felt two small piercing holes.
“The marks are still there,” Sebastian said.
“Yes, but they won’t be for long,” Gregory assured himself. “Now, make yourself presentable. And in case you were wondering, you were truly wonderful.”
Minutes later they walked out of the Moroccan room. The trays were in order, ready for Sheridan to clean. The glass cabinets were properly arranged, missing only the shot glass that Sebastian had drank from. The French crown had been returned to its rightful spot among the vampire heirlooms.
Gregory shut the door behind them. They walked through the hallway and Sebastian realized the music from the outdoor party was no longer playing.
The two of them walked to the foyer and that’s when Sebastian saw her – walking down from the staircase, he spotted Hailey. She was being escorted into the foyer by Percy.
“Brother Percivell,” Gregory called.
“Brother Gregorious,” he said back.
Sebastian and Hailey called each other’s names.
“What are you doing here?” Hailey asked him.
“I’m with him,” Sebastian pointed to Gregory.
“Oh,” Hailey responded. “I didn’t know you two were close. Does Mason know?”
“No,” Sebastian admitted. And I’m assuming he doesn’t know about you either.”
“No, of course not.” Hailey said. “I mean, my business is my business. And I’m sure the same goes for you. But I see you… um…” Hailey pointed to the twin bite marks on his neck.
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