“I understand the feeling you are trying to convey, Hailey. And you are fast becoming my world. But there is no separating the vampire from the man. The blessing and the curse of the vampire has always been my destiny. Since the day I was reborn in darkness. I have been constructed of it and forged by it. The darkness will always be where I belong. It is so for all nocturnal creatures.”
“So secrets are simply part of the bargain,” she said, lowering her head.
“I’m afraid so. But that does not place limitations upon our freedom to do as please and live how we would like to. Nothing ever will ever stop that. Nothing can ever stop our love,” he said as he lifted her chin.
“When I hear you say that – when I hear it coming from your voice. Those words from your lips, I know that everything will work out just fine,” she smiled faintly. “You are always in control.”
“And I always will be. But that does not stop dragons in their attempt to lay seeds of venom upon kingdoms. Only today, Vampyr Manor was broken into. Someone smashed the window of our kitchen door. They took blood with them as I slept.”
“What?” Hailey gasped. “Who would do that to you? If they took the blood then they must know what you are.”
“Yes, they know. But we will be better prepared next time. It is for this reason alone that I do not move you into Vampyr Manor.”
“What?” Hailey asked, shocked at this revelation.
“If I am to have you… then it is essential that we live together. When the threats are over, there will be no safer place for you to live.”
“I don’t know what I’ll tell my mom but the answer is yes. I’ve told you as I’ll tell you a million times. I trust you. I need you in my life,” she cried.
“Have you forgotten what I am? Your mother is but one hypnosis away from being perfectly fine with you living with your new boyfriend. When I said we must keep secrets, I was referring only to my true nature.”
“Hypnosis?” Hailey hesitated. “Isn’t that, wrong?”
“When you are centuries old and have lived through the changing of cultures, one begins to understand that right and wrong is relative,” Percy told her. “Vampires are neither moral nor immoral. We simply exist. We simply are. We realize this, unlike humans in their finite time with their finite principals. As vampires we are the endless.”
“You don’t distinguish between right and wrong?” Hailey asked.
“It’s not that we don’t distinguish between right and wrong. Rather we realize the definitions of those terms change with time. And we are not bound by the customs of time.”
“It’s just…” she paused. “So many new things to take in.”
“That is to be expected when you are initiated into the world of the vampire, particularly as a human. But I’ve never felt this way about anyone – the way I feel about you. Not in 300 years. There is no exaggeration when I say you’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on. You are now just as you were then.”
“Then?” Hailey asked, “What do you mean… then?”
“When I first saw you, of course. Three hundred years ago,” Percy insisted.
“What?” Hailey said, confused. Frightened even. “What are you saying?”
“There is something I have been meaning to tell you… I do not believe this is your first time walking this earth.”
“Of course it is, I don’t understand what you mean,” Hailey said apprehensively.
“I believe you are the reincarnation of the first vampire. Returned in human form. Awaiting your rebirth.”
“You’re not making any sense,” Hailey said as she scrambled back towards her headboard.
“I have no doubt that it is a lot to understand. Just as I have no doubt about who you are. It is why I am so drawn to you, Hailey. Because of who are you. Because of what you are.”
“I still don’t understand. Reincarnation of the first vampire? Who – what are you talking about?”
“Yes, the first vampire. Lilith. The Queen of the Dead. She appears in the religion of the Hebrews, the Sumerians, and the Assyrians. Lilith reigned for over 100,000 years as the mother of vampire-kind. She was betrayed and killed by a human man who claimed to have loved her. She returned many thousands of years later as Mircalla before dying once more. And now we await her return in the knowledge that upon her arrival, she will reign as the ruler of vampire-kind for many millennia to come. And this time, upon her next resurrection, her reign shall be everlasting.”
“I… I…” Hailey panted. “You think I’m her? How could that be?”
“I feel it. I know it. Haven’t you ever felt out of place? As if you’re from another age. It’s because you are. You have returned to us, Lilith, in your human form as you await your rebirth. And the vampire who gives you life in darkness shall surely be exalted by your side for the epoch.”
“The epoch?” Hailey asked, as confused as ever.
“The next one million years.”
“And you really believe you and I will rule together… after you’ve transformed me… into a vampire?”
“Yes, Hailey! Take your place. Prove to the world that you are who I know you are. For you are the reincarnation!” Percy raised his voice as he stood from the bed.
“I only want to love you,” Hailey said.
“And I will love you forever as my life and my queen,” he assured her, outstretching her arm.
Before Hailey could say anything further, her door burst open. Hailey and Percy both looked toward the door. In the doorway stood Mason, the light of the hall cascading off of his silhouette as he stood. In his hand was the leg from a chair – now sharpened to a point as a makeshift stake.
“Back away from my sister, you blood sucking son of a bitch!”
“How dare you, boy,” Percy hissed as he drew his fangs.
“Mason, no!” Hailey yelled.
Her pleas went ignored as Mason raised the stake and charged the vampire. Mason’s moment as Hailey’s savior was as short-lived as it was sensational. As soon as Mason rushed the vampire, Percy pulled the stake out of his hand, threw it on the floor, and tossed Mason through the door of Hailey’s closet.
“I am 300-year-old vampire,” Percy proclaimed.
“How could you!” Hailey yelled. “I rescind my invitation. You are no longer welcome in this house!”
“You don’t have to do this, Hailey. I will never stop loving you,” Percy told her as he quickly dissipated into a whirling mist and fled through the window. Hailey shut the window. She ran into her closet.
She helped Mason up. He brushed himself off and stood to his feet.
“I knew it!” Mason shouted victoriously.
“There’s nothing to brag about!” Hailey insisted.
“Oh yeah, there is. I was right all along. You invited a vampire into the house. Now you see what happens when you do that. I heard you rescind the invitation. Best decision you ever made.”
“You’ll never understand, Mason. He’s not bad,” Hailey said tearfully.
“Then why’s my back killing me! Ha! I saw those fangs of his,” Mason said as he stretched his back. “At least we’re safe inside the house thanks to that invitation stuff.”
“What are we going to tell mom about my closet door being half broke?” Hailey laughed tearfully.
“I’ll tell her I was sleepwalking. You know, I do that sometimes,” Mason quipped. “Now, put some pants on, girl. I don’t feel like seeing you in your underwear.” And this made them both chuckle.
***
Thursday morning arrived. Mason and Hailey were both up bright and early. Their mom told them they’d have to eat breakfast at school. She explained she was too tired to whip up anything in the kitchen. Mel threw on her waitress uniform and told Mason and Hailey that after dinner the sheriff took her for a stroll in the park. They spent the night talking among the local waterworks.
“That sounds amazing, mom,” Hailey said, attempting to smile. “Yeah, awesome,” Mason nodded, faki
ng the same smile.
“Why the strange looks?” Mel asked them.
“Nothing mom, just tired!” Mason said quickly. “Gotta get going. Especially if I want to make school breakfast! Rush hour in Corpus.”
“Me too. Madison will be here soon to pick me up. Bye mom!” Hailey said and rushed away with her backpack.
“Mason, wait!” his mom yelled and he returned to where he stood in the kitchen. “Why on earth is my chair broken?”
“Oh!” Mason said wide-eyed. “That chair leg had termites. You should consider yourself lucky that I got rid of it! Hope you can replace it! Bye!”
Mason immediately rushed outside with his backpack before his mother could respond. He got onto his bicycle, and rode to Alex’s place. They met up and headed directly to school with Mason proclaiming the entire ride, “Wait til you hear what I’ve got to say! But I want to see it when the whole club’s around.”
Luckily for him, he and Alex arrived at the school cafeteria to find Ben, Sebastian, and Matthew all sitting together at a table. Mason and Alex waited in line for breakfast trays – hash browns, sausage, and pancakes – before swiftly joining their three friends.
Mason immediately launched into a story about coming home from the arcade and discovering a vampire in his sister’s room. He emphasized the fact that he’d used a broken chair leg to make a wooden stake.
“You made your own stake!” Alex was ecstatic. “No way!”
“Yes way! Then I rushed into the room! And bam! There he was, fangs drawn, huddled over my sister. Full Dracula mode. I rushed him and pummeled him. Then I took my stake and tried to stab him. But he was too fast. He took the stake and threw me through a wall!”
“A WALL!” Ben said, totally crazed.
“Yes! I went through my sister’s wall into her closet,” Mason exaggerated. “Craziest moment of my life. God, I’m gonna be telling my grandkid’s kids about this moment!”
Then he mentioned how the vampire left after his sister rescinded the invitation. Matthew’s jaw dropped. Sebastian looked at him, afraid of what to say – or what not to say.
“All that really happened?” Sebastian asked. “That’s a really wicked story. And the stake part… I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Believe it!” Mason told them. “And now that I know for a FACT that they’re out there, we’ve got to come up with a way to… well… kill ‘em.”
“Kill them?” Sebastian said apprehensively.
“Yeah, take ‘em out one by one. Pick ‘em off and get ’em out of Corpus,” Mason said gleefully.
“Well,” Matthew added. “You did say he left after being uninvited. Maybe they’ll just move on. And that’ll be it.”
“Maybe it wasn’t really a vampire, just some psycho boy in your sister’s room,” Ben suggested.
“Nah, I know what it was! And it was a full-fledged bloodsucking creature of the night. Trust me on that,” Mason said for the final time.
Their first class began. Mason passed a note to Alex – a drawing of a vampire stick figure with a stake piercing its heart.
“That’s what I’m gonna do if that son of a bitch tries to come back to my house!” Mason whispered to Alex.
***
On Thursday at noon, Sheriff Zeddman was in the locker area telling his deputies to prepare for the worst on the area of land they were getting ready to charge upon. Earlier that morning, Zeddman had gone directly to the judge with the white lie that an anonymous person had alerted them to stolen blood found in a big manor, located off the grid, several miles down from the school, past the woods.
When asked what the address was, Zeddman admitted to the judge that the house did not have an address. That, when researched, his department had found no deed nor any evidence on paper that such a home existed. He told the judge, however, that he’d rode by the place, walked through the woods, and found the manor on the other side.
“And an anonymous tipster brought you a gallon of blood and declared the mysterious inhabits of this manor, located off the grid with no paper trail and no tax report, are behind the spat of blood drainings and the death of that couple?” the judge asked incredulously.
“Yes, sir. That about covers it,” the sheriff told him, hoping he’d buy the story.
“Then you got it, Sheriff. I’ll sign a search warrant immediately. Farmer McIntyre is a good friend of mine. He’ll be glad to know when you’ve got the lunatics who killed all his cattle. And solved that murder out on Old Mill’s Road too. Two for the price of one,” the judge cackled as he placed a cigar in his mouth and tossed down his signature onto a search warrant using a fine tipped pen.
Now at noon, the sheriff had gathered a full dozen deputies. They were in their locker rooms, placing on tactical gear and arming themselves with rifles. Without mentioning giant bats or vampires, the sheriff told him men to simply expect heavy gunfire if it got to that. The deputies were only aware that they were going to the home of the person, or people, who’d killed the middle-aged couple all those weeks ago who were simply driving through town.
Half an hour later, the Sheriff was leading a battalion of squad cars several miles past the school and through the woods. Each of the cruisers drove up to the forest area and stopped.
“We’ve got to walk the rest of the distance,” the Sheriff said, loading his rifle and putting on his aviator glasses as he got out of his cruiser. “You ready, Coleman?”
“Yes, sir. I know just as much as you do, Sheriff. I’m locked and loaded.”
The Sheriff’s Department rushed through the woods and quickly made it to the other side. There it was, the large pink manor encircled by iron gates. And on the other side – the sheriff and a dozen deputies all dressed in tactical outfits with automatic rifles.
“Tear it down, boys,” the sheriff said as he pointed to the black iron gates. Immediately two of his deputies shoved their way through the gate with a large battering ram.
The officers rushed the grounds, stomping along the manicured lawn and storming the front doors. The two deputies with the battering ram used it to bash the front door open as the sheriff lead the charge inward.
“Sheriff’s Department! Make yourselves known! We have a search warrant,” Sheriff Zeddman shouted as they moved past the foyer and stormed the house.
“Right here!” Coleman yelled. Each of the officers followed his voice and surged into the ornate red walled dining room.
Sitting at the long, decorated table were each of the vampires. Alobard, Percy, Gregory, Gabriel, and Jacobus. In front of each of them was a clear goblet of blood. They looked at the armed deputies with blood upon their lips, automatic rifles pointed at each of them.
“It’s blood, sir! They’re drinking blood!” Coleman shouted.
“We’ve got you bastards. All five of you!” Zeddman said with zealotry. “The blood is right there, dead to rights. Probably drinking some poor old lady right now.”
“A young teen, actually,” Alobard said refinedly with candor and grace. He wiped his mouth with a white banquet napkin.
“Don’t you move, you son of a bitch,” Zeddman commanded.
“How cute,” Gabriel laughed. “They think they have some degree of power over us.”
“Hold steady, deputies,” Zeddman said before addressing the vampires. “Which one of you is in charge?”
“That would be me,” Alobard said, his hands now outstretched upon the long dinner table. “And you have my word that I won’t kill you when I’m done with you.”
“Did you just threaten the Sheriff, kid?” Coleman scoffed. “Got some balls on you, boy.”
“I did it,” Jacobus laughed. The sheriff shifted slightly, just enough to face him. “I killed that couple. There, I admit it. What can I say? I’m young, I couldn’t control myself. You wouldn’t begrudge me a light meal, would you, Sheriff?” he continued laughing.
“You heard him,” Zeddman said. “Cuff him!”
Coleman pulled out a pair of handcuffs from behind
his belt. He reached for Jacobus’s arm. The vampire displayed his fangs and hissed. Alarmed, Coleman backed away. Each of the five vampires rose from their seats, opened their mouths, and the officers watched as their incisors turned to fangs.
“I’m still hungry,” Jacobus smiled gleefully.
Jacobus leaped toward the officers.
“FIRE!” Sheriff Zeddman yelled.
A blaze of gunfire was unleashed upon the boys in black. Bullets ripped through their bodies. The onslaught continued for what felt like forever as bullets broke cabinets, glasses, the dining table, the polished cushioned chairs, and tore through the red walls of the dining room. Their bodies riddled with bullets, the vampires fell to the ground. They appeared lifeless. The hail of gunfire ceased when the sheriff raised his hand in the air.
“Are they… dead?” Coleman asked.
“I’d be worried if they weren’t,” another deputy chuckled.
The officers looked toward the motionless bodies. Something happened that none of the officers were expecting. Something that none of them were prepared for. Each of the five vampires rose, as if they’d be resurrected from the dead.
“Davey Crockett in a…” Coleman said, too nervous and shocked to finish the phrase.
“So it’s true. It’s really true. You’re vampires,” Sheriff Zeddman said, himself just as stunned by their apparent resurrection.
“We are. We feast upon the blood of man. And you shall never stop us,” Gregorious said. And each of their sets of fangs returned.
“RELOAD! RELOAD!” the sheriff yelled.
“NO!” Alobard commanded. “Enough! Look at me.”
One by one the deputies and the sheriff looked into the eyes of Alobard. They were placed under a mass hypnosis.
“It is true, we feast upon the blood of man,” Alobard stated. “But we may co-exist, just as well. You are going to lower your weapons. None of you will reload upon us. And no one will leave here in a different condition than they arrived in. Enough blood has already been shed. You will forget you ever came here. You will forget you have seen our faces. You will return to your department, convinced you found nothing when you came upon this land. And in doing so, we may all live in peace. Do you understand?”
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