The room was colder than any other room in the house. The walls, floor, and ceiling were gray stone. In the center of the room stood a black stone coffin on a large stone platform. Candles hung on the wall providing the only source of light. In the corner of the room was a wooden chest. Slowly I approached, slightly afraid at what might be hiding in the chest. It must be something important if it were hidden all the way down here. I took a candle from the wall, knelt down before the chest and opened it. Sitting on a pile of diamonds, gold, and rubies, lay a leather notebook with a single string wrapped around it. I got comfortable on the floor and carefully opened the notebook. Quickly I discovered it was Aeneas� journal.
November 20, 1730
In another attempt to find the woman promised to me, I have relocated to the new world. Trying to accomplish this was a task indeed. All my possessions were in the hands of lowly, greedy sailors all day long as I slept. Nerve wracking to say the least. I arrived in Maryland soon after I awoke from my slumber. The mansion which awaited me was a beauty. Everything had been taken care of before hand, as I am not one to rush things together at short notice. Slaves had been brought the week before and had set up the house with furniture and the like. Everything was just as it should be.
Life here isn�t much different from England. The people all bustle through the towns at dusk preparing to settle down and hide from the evil which lurks in the dark. Why do they hide from the inevitable?
I know that I am the first of my kind to venture into the new land. All the others are too afraid of the voyage here. Just like me, they have too many possessions to merely fly over.
Hunting here is far too easy. The villagers have let their guard down. Some even wander freely through the night. The men here have many secrets which obviously come out when their life is drained from them. Secrets of murder, greed, and sexual perversion. Sex always was the ultimate destroyer of men: exactly the reason I have not partaken of this please since my death. Just another reason for my life to be miserable, and I use the word �life� lightly. I�m not even sure I�m alive anymore.
Where is she? Why can�t I find her? I travel to all ends of the Earth searching for you. Are you even real? Do you exist? I cry out for you, but you never answer. I fear that I will give up soon. I know I will not make it to the day when you call for me. My will is running out. If I don�t find you soon I won�t be able to go on. Stop me from destroying myself. I can�t stand being alone anymore.
�What are you doing in here?�
I jumped and dropped the journal. I turned around to see Aeneas standing in the doorway. He had the slightest look of anger on his face. I suddenly realized that I was terrified.
�You shouldn�t go through things that aren�t yours,� he said walking across the room and picking up the journal. He gently placed it back into the chest and shut the lid.
I stood up slightly shaking with fear. What was he going to do to me?
�Just turn around and leave. Forget you ever found this place and never come back down here.�
I ran as fast as I could out of that place. I ran until I reached the room which I had claimed as my own. Under the blankets I hid until my fear had somewhat subsided. Slowly I peeled the comforter away from my face and looked into the darkness. I saw nothing, but knew he was there.
�Are you going to hurt me?� I asked shakily.
�Funny, the other day you were begging me to take your life. Now you fear that I might hurt you?�
�I�ve never seen you look at me the way you did.�
�You�ve never known a part of me that I have kept hidden from the world, and for a good reason I may add. But there is no need to worry, I told you you could wander the castle; I was asking for it I suppose. Come, there are things I wish to show you.�
I sat up and his hand went around mine. Yet still I could not see him. I stood and walked to the window, where he became visible in the moonlight. The window flew open without a touch from either of us, but I knew it was he who did it.
�Hold on to me,� he whispered.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and he put one arm around my waist. We rose and flew away into the night. I was amazed that vampires had eluded mortals as they did. Did no one ever see them fly through the night sky? Surely there were those looking to the stars like I always do.
After what seemed like an eternity flying through the wind, we came to a halt atop a church roof. He set me down and we looked out upon the quiet city. For a moment nothing was said; then he broke the silence.
�Can you see all the innocent people? In their beds they lie, with no thought of what horror lies above their precious little city. Nothing changes. Centuries ago humans did the exact same things, and this is how it shall be for centuries to come.�
�Why do you tell me these things?�
�To teach you that throughout my entire long life there have been those who desperately beg for what I have. Why should I believe that you are any different?�
�Because you came to me.�
With this he said not a word. I could see it in his face that he was deep in thought. I wanted nothing more than for him to say something, anything. His silence had begun to frighten me. What was he thinking? Did he realize something he had not before? He turned and looked at me, and smiled ever so slightly.
�You have the mind of none other I have met before. So strong� You have the ability to completely think things through, and you see what I have not. I have forgotten the feeling of absolute certainty I had when I first heard your call. I suppose it is because you forced me to think once more of Bethany and how wrong I was with her. I don�t want to make the same mistake.�
�Perhaps you will make a mistake in not making me. What then?�
�Always with this question. I admit that I am not sure in myself, but that will not change the outcome of our meeting. Just trust me when I tell you to live during the day while you still can. You will be grateful that you did.�
�Does this mean that you will take me?�
�It means only what I say. Perhaps I will, perhaps I won�t, but to be on the safe side you should do as I say.�
�I will.�
�Good. Then we shall go home and you shall sleep. You must live during the day. You must fill your heart�s desire. Do it while you still can. I would have if I had known what would become of me.�
As we flew into the window of my bedroom Aeneas became attentive. He gently sat me down and checked every crevasse of the room. I raised my eyebrow and attempted to say something when he raised his finger to hush me. He opened the door to the room and looked around the corner.
�Aeneas, what�s wrong?� I whispered.
�Someone�s here,� he whispered, closing the door.
�Then why don�t you just kill them?�
�Because they�re already dead. Sit down.�
I sat down on the bed and pulled the covers over me. He locked the door and came to the bed and laid next to me. He took me in his arms and closed his eyes.
�What is going on?� I asked.
�The others are here, and for you no doubt. No need to worry though. I shall defend your life if it means giving my own.�
�Why would you do that for me?�
He laughed lightly.
�Because there�s a great chance that you are the one. And besides, I�ve grown quite fond of you.�
�Really?�
He opened his mouth to reply when the door began shaking. He sat up resembling an animal hearing a predator near. Knocks soon echoed through the room. There must have been a at least ten of them outside.
�You can�t protect her forever, Aeneas!�
�You wanna bet?�
The door shattered into a million pieces and Aeneas ran to it. I crawled as far back as I could and pulled the covers to my head.
�Get out of our way. It is not you we have come here for, it is that girl,� one of the vampires said pointing to me.
�You shall not touch a hair on her head,� Aeneas growled.
�Well, would you look at this, he loves the little girl. You know we will not stand and watch the two of you take over this earth. Too much at stake for us, you understand.�
�No, I don�t.�
The vampire sighed.
�Am I going to have to explain all this to you?�
�No.�
He flicked his wrist and the vampire burst into flame. He fell to the floor and screamed until death completely overtook him. Aeneas looked to the others.
�Anyone else care to try?�
At once each of them jumped at him. I pulled the covers over my head as I was too afraid to look. I heard growls, the ripping of flesh, and the spatter of blood onto the walls and floor. Just as I though it was over the covers were ripped from my face revealing one of those who had come for me. He pulled her hair so my neck was bare. Quickly he bent over and sunk his teeth into my skin. I screamed and heard Aeneas call to me. There was no way he was going to get rid of all the vampires covering him. I closed my eyes and prepared for the end. Soon I became weak and dizzy. I tired as hard as I could to open my eyes, but all I saw was a bright light. This was it. I was dead.
With a jolt I awoke, gasping for breath. There was nothing around me, only darkness. I felt odd, but quickly put the feelings aside. I stretched out my arms and felt cold stone. I realized I was in a coffin. I began panicking and screaming that I wasn�t dead. Someone had to let me out. I wasn�t dead. Why had they buried me?
The lid opened and revealed Aeneas� smiling face. I stopped screamed and looked questioningly at him.
�Is this hell?� I whispered.
�Close.�
He gave me his hand and pulled me up. I looked around the room and realized I was in the room forbidden to me by Aeneas. What was going on?
�What� What�s happened? The last thing I remember was a bright light. Wasn�t I dying?�
�Well, yes you were, but that light was not that of heaven. That was the flame of all those vampires. They shouldn�t have messed with me.�
�How did you do that? You know, the fire thing.�
�I am the first. It is my blood which flows through their veins and it is mine to do with what I wish. For some reason they all forget this.�
�Oh� So, what happened after that? How am I still here?�
�You know the answer to that.�
I stared blankly at him.
�Well, ok. You�re probably confused by all this. I suppose I understand. Well, as you know, they all threw themselves upon me while one went to you. He drank you almost to the last drop. I heard you scream and stopped playing with them. I set them all aflame and came to you. I slit my throat and you drank from me.�
�I� I�m a vampire?�
�Yes. It is what you wanted, is it not?�
I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
�Thank you so much.�
�It�s not like I had much of a choice. You were dying.�
�But you could have let me.�
�Well that wouldn�t have been very smart,� he said with a smile across his face. He leaned forward and softly kissed my lips. �Besides, I think I�m in love with you.�
�When did this happen?� I quietly joked.
�I�m not quite sure, but I realized it last night when I thought I could lose you. I knew I couldn�t go on knowing that I didn�t have you anymore.�
�But you�ve only known me for a few days.�
�No. I�ve known you all my life. I realize now that you are the one promised to me. You are the one who is going to change everything.�
�How do you know?�
�They wouldn�t have come to kill you if they knew you weren�t.�
�Am I that much of a threat to them?�
�More than you can ever begin to know. For now you should rest. You need all the strength you can get for tomorrow.�
�What�s tomorrow?�
�Your first hunt. Sleep well, my love,� he said gently pushing me back down and closing the lid.
�Aeneas, wait!�
He stopped and opened the coffin again.
�Yes?�
�Can you sleep with me? I don�t like it in here very much.�
�Of course.�
He stepped into the coffin and closed the lid. His arms wrapped around my waist and then I fell asleep.
Chapter IIX
The Devil Emerges
�You must be quiet. Much like the lion hunting its dinner, you must be quiet. If you make a racket you will alert your prey and go home hungry,� Aeneas told me as I knocked over yet another item from the table of a large house.
�Sorry,� I whispered. �It�s hard getting used to this new vision. There�s so much to see. I think I may be high off it.�
�Well stop it,� he joked. �Ok. Upstairs sleeps a man and a woman in their forties. In another room their two daughters sleep. You don�t want to mess with children, they offer hardly anything. They haven�t lived a life and have no personal torment which makes the blood all the sweeter. Always go for the older. Theirs is the nectar of the undead.�
�Right. Go for the geezers. Got it.�
He sighed.
�You�re making this so unromantic.�
�Well what do you expect? I�m damn hungry.�
�Then go get them.�
I walked up the stair as quiet as I could, as I had not yet mastered the skill of flying and was afraid that if I did so I would knock down a wall. Their room was not hard to find, as it was the only one whose door was closed. Slowly I pushed it opened and saw the two of them sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. I�d seen this before, right before my parents got divorced. I crept to the bed and looked down. The woman�s brow was furrowed and a single tear crept down her face.
Flashes of her thoughts came to me and I saw that he had cheated on her. I looked at him and decided it was he who I would take. I went to the other side of the bed and bent down to him. My fangs penetrated his flesh without much stir from him. After a few minutes his life left him. Satisfied, I went back downstairs to join Aeneas.
�Normally you would dispose of the body, but when they are in a house with their family you do nothing. And I saw what you saw. He deserved what he got.�
We left the house and walked through the streets of the small town. All the lights were out and all stores were closed, something I had never seen before. I took a deep breath of air and for the last time I felt the cold spread through my lungs.