by David Paul
Don’t get me wrong, I found myself enjoying the power as well, but deep down I didn’t like it. Maybe I was too pure of heart before I was turned, but Chloe just seemed really out there and cold ever since I had cursed her. She had a calming softness about her, and it is gone. A razor’s edge replaced this softness. It was just our first day together as undead, and already, visible changes in her personality were evident.
Imagine, someone like Regina had been around for centuries. It made me wonder if she started off squeamish and just grew more and more wicked over the years. Or was she wicked right from the start? I also wondered if I would become the same over time. Chloe seemed like a somewhat righteous person before I turned her. The one sliver of evil that I detected earlier could have been all that was needed to make her behave like this. This was definitely a bizarre head-trip, and I didn’t have any of the answers. Only time would reveal the truth of what was to come.
“That was interesting,” I said. “I don’t really feel bad for them.” I said this only to gauge her response.
“To hell with them,” she said. We were not on the same page. “I don’t care who gets in our way because we’ll take care of them too.”
“Maybe, we should head back to the chateau for some more wine.”
This was my sad attempt at damage control. I tried to convince her to go home.
“I don’t want to go home yet,” she said. Chloe looked around. “Let’s see what else we can do…the night is so young.” She acted like a teenager who was out without her parent’s permission. In less than one night, Chloe was already a different woman. This saddened me because I felt responsible for her.
We walked the paths in search of whatever it was that she desired. The whole night she rambled on about owning the night and striking fear into the hearts of anyone who opposed us. Chloe spoke volumes of outlandish and grandiose nonsense that had me cringing on the inside. Not a soul was out on the trails, and I secretly was thankful, even though I played along for Chloe’s sake. Luckily, the rest of the night was uneventful, and we finally retired to her chateau. I was relieved. Some other poor bastard would have met their end.
Chloe pulled me into her bedroom and undressed. She tore off my garments and then made love to me like a lust-filled beast. Maybe I jumped the gun, but it seemed like the sweet love I thought we shared was no more. That feeling was gone. At least our first time, I felt something. This time I felt nothing. The physical act was all it was. I cannot say that I didn’t enjoy the sexual encounter, but it was more pleasures of the flesh. The emotion connection was diminished to the point of being completely absent now that she had become a vampire. It was even worse.
Our bond had indeed changed in a short time. I truly felt cursed. I felt like happiness would never be mine in this lifetime or the next. Everyone I had loved was lost to me in one way or another. Inside, I yearned for a real love to that could last. I craved peace for my weary soul. Sadly, I realized the road to Hell was long and arduous, and my journey had just begun. I had the Herculean responsibility of watching after Chloe for all eternity.
“What a night we had,” she said. She spoke as if she completely enjoyed the evening. “It was wonderful.”
“Definitely something different,” I said. I couldn’t pretend that I was thrilled.
“What is your problem, Davide?” She asked. Her tone was very rude.
“My problem?” I asked. “My problem is that you are a different person since I turned you.” I didn’t want to beat around the bush any longer, so I answered honestly.
“What do you mean different?” She asked.
“I’m scared that you will give into the curse and become wicked like Regina.”
“There is no way that I could be like her, Davide. Have you lost your mind? I cannot even believe those words came from your mouth.”
She was disgusted with me.
“Chloe, you are enjoying being a vampire a little too much, and that is what I meant.”
“Damn right, I’m enjoying it,” she said. She stood tall. Chloe looked powerful. “After years of abuse and pain, it feels good not to have to worry about anything.”
My little theory about her was correct. All of her repressed raw emotions were manifesting inside of her conscious mind. The curse wreaks havoc on situations like that. What perplexed me was wondering if this could be treated or corrected. Was Chloe doomed to be a vicious and cruel vampire? It appeared so. I think that I may have made a mistake by turning her.
“I understand that you were hurt Chloe, but don’t take out all of that hurt and anger on innocent people.”
“Were they innocent people?” She asked. She tried to prove her point. “So fuck them.” A part of me knew she was right, but the rest of me felt this coldness from her, and this made me even further confused about everything.
“We do have to feed,” I said, “and I have come to terms with that, but I don’t want to kill innocent people.”
“Who gave us the right to be judge, jury, and executioner over everyone? She asked. Sadly, she was right in a way. “How can we decide who is truly wicked and who is righteous? So what really is the difference in who we kill?” The only difference between right and wrong would be in our minds and what we felt about their aura. “Before you know it, we’d be killing people who spit in the wrong direction.” Chloe brought up another valid point about possibly abusing the powers we had. I felt like she was only trying to argue the point with me so that she could do as she pleased.
“At least we wouldn’t be randomly killing everyone in sight,” I stressed. I desperately needed to make here understand me. “At least we would have some sort of choice instead of being a slave to this curse.” We were going back and forth with valid points, but there was no middle ground to be found. I’d rather be wrong a portion of the time, then to kill indiscriminately. Chloe thought otherwise. She wanted no part of what I suggested.
In nature, when a hunter goes after its prey, it is not considered an evil occurrence. The wolf eats the lamb and moves on as if nothing happened beyond that of nature’s way. The nightwalker was almost like Frankenstein’s Darwinism. It was a species that had evolved from the human being. Vampires are higher on the food chain than humans, but vampires are unnatural beings that only exist because the Devil mocked his creator.
A vampire feeding on its prey didn’t hold true to the majestic rules of nature and survival of the fittest. Feeding on the blood of another human is an aberration of all that is holy.
By nature, vampires are evil creatures that serve the Devil himself. I didn’t want to serve the Devil. I wanted to spit in the Devil’s eye because his immoral creations had ruined my life. Maybe, that was the difference between Chloe and I. She didn’t really care about her actions as a vampire as long as she was free of outside torments and was no longer a powerless being.
Given the circumstances, her new attitude could have been brought on by psychological trauma that she incurred during captivity. It could have just been a character flaw. Maybe, I should have known that a person willing to give away their soul would not be able to resist the darkest temptations of the curse. Accepting the curse willingly was actually a form of suicide in a spiritual sense. Either way, someone was damned. When I was turned by Regina, I didn’t have a choice over life or eternal damnation as a vampire.
Chloe asked for this curse, and like a fool, I bestowed it upon her without much contemplation. There were so many things that I needed to learn as a newly turned vampire. No clear-cut answers existed. There was no changing her mind to see eye-to-eye with me. I was at a stalemate with Chloe. The damage was already done. Being the one who was correct was of minor importance to me. Not being a ruthless killer who preyed upon innocent blood was of major importance to me.
Chloe shut down. She spoke no more to me. The sunrise was near, and we blocked the chateau windows with sheets so that we could rest. Finding a peaceful rest was toilsome, but Chloe was sleeping like a newborn infant. I decided to take a
look at Vermier’s book again. The work spoke to me again, just as before.
This time, the book spoke to me in the language of the vampire. This was the same strange language that they spoke in the castle. I actually understood it, and the lexicon translated so much better than before. The book spoke to me in that language, and taught it to me at the same time. Maybe being a vampire allowed me to automatically understand this foreign tongue. I truly wasn’t sure.
The tome also covered the different dialects of the archaic language. I realized that I was also of Vermeir’s bloodline. He was part of the same class of vampire as Regina. His book explained the different classes and characteristics of different vampire types. Regina, Vermeir, and I were of the noblest bloodline in the vampire world. What I didn’t realize up to that point was that Vermeir was the first vampire in history, and it was his bloodline that we were a part of.
The first vampires in history were humans that suffered from a demonic possession that drove them to drink blood. During the possession, with help from Lucifer, the humans developed abilities and attributes of the modern day vampire. Over different periods of time, other elder vampires were created without being physically turned or bitten. They maintained their own bloodlines. Not every vampire was a direct descendant of Vermeir.
The main family tree consisted of thirteen branches or houses of different vampire bloodlines, with Vermeir being the first, most noble, and honored. The family tree in order is Vermeir, Augustine, Nero, Balfimihr, Cedric, Gregor, Lilith, Dracul, Zervantes, Konstantine, Danika, Thungaduun, and Lionhelm. A sick and twisted diagram was illustrated with all thirteen, vampire nobles sitting around a table. Vermeir tells the origin of each and every family. This was fairly interesting reading. Vermeir was a brilliant astrologer and magic user that the Devil tempted with lust. Once Vermeir let the Devil inside his mind, the Devil took it over and transformed Vermeir through the possession.
Augustine was the heir next in line for a Grecian throne, and the Devil tempted him with promises of absolute power. Nero was a fierce warrior that was promised immortality and ungodly might. Balfimihr was an evil practitioner of black magic that literally summoned the Devil, but was unable to bind him and inadvertently cursed himself.
Cedric was a metalworker that made a deal with the Devil to learn the secret of making the most fearsome weapons forged in Hellfire to wage war upon enemies. He sought the ancient riddle of steel, and it cost him his soul. Gregor was a rich fool who let the Devil in his home for dinner unknowingly. Gregor’s greed led to his downfall.
Lilith was the first female vampire to have her own bloodline. She supposedly was the Lilith from the Garden of Eden that had tempted Adam with her evil beauty. The Devil realized that the female vampire was able to successfully use sexuality to tempt her prey.
Dracul was where Dracula came from, and every cheesy horror movie and legend in history credits him as the first vampire. Dracula was one of the first publicly known and feared vampires in history. Until him, everyone else was unknown to humans, and the vampire operated in total secrecy.
Zervantes was a sea-going pirate and was easily lured with promises of endless riches and gold. Konstantine was a czar of what is now present-day Russia, and he succumbed to lust after the death of his queen.
Lady Danika was a rich and extremely beautiful debutante that had a reputation of being a man-eater and was laid down by the Devil himself. Danika gave into vanity because she was promised everlasting beauty and immortality in return for her soul. Lucifer never defaulted on his promise to her because she remained beautiful everlasting and was immortal, but she didn’t expect to become undead. Every deal with the Devil has an unseen downfall.
Thungaduun was a witch doctor and a voodoo high priest. Thungaduun performed an exorcism on a possessed female child and succeeded in casting the demon out of her, but was overtaken by the demon himself. His downfall was pride because he claimed that his magic was too powerful to be conquered. In so many words, Thungaduun had insulted God and Lucifer simultaneously with his foolish pride. Lionhelm was a barbarian who waged war against the Romans just before Christ, and he sold his soul to the Devil to avoid being crucified after his capture.
In each case the Devil was invited into each of their lives in one way or another. Some had evil in their heart and others were good-matured, but they gave into everyday temptation. The Seven Deadly Sins played a major role in almost every case. This dissertation tied in so much in regards to vampires, the Devil, the Bible, and God himself. All of the vampire’s stories were documented in this compendium.
The old myth that a vampire had to have permission to enter a stranger’s abode is true. This was very similar to allowing temptation into your heart and mind, which was the way that the Devil was able to possess his chosen victim. Basically, Lucifer wanted to destroy all of God’s creations out of jealousy. He created every dark creature that walks the night as a form of rebellion and blasphemy against the creator. The very first vampires were all day-walkers that could travel freely as they pleased. Vampires from the bloodline of Vermeir can travel during the day, but experience extreme pain from it.
Most other vampires from later bloodlines will burst into flames, implode, or explode from the sunlight. The Sun was a gift of life from God, and he would not share it with the evil beings. As punishment for the blasphemy against him, God banished the vampires to walk in the night. This follows naturally because Lucifer was banished to the shadow world of Hell. This even made sense because most evil happens at night, and it is mostly perpetuated by evil bastardizations of man’s likeness. Mankind feared the night and the unknown within the dark void. Darkness was always associated with evil.
Most vampires cannot willfully cross running water either for the same reason. Once again, Vermeir’s bloodline seems to not be bound by this rule. Vampires from his bloodline were in existence for centuries before God took action against them. The newer bloodlines that came about afterward suffer from the most limitations. Water was also exclusive to life, and God imposed these limitations to show Lucifer the extent of his supreme power. The effectiveness of Holy water came from this as well. Crucifixes can harm vampires because they symbolized the one and only true God, and that is why only crucifixes worked against vampires. No other symbols from other religions will harm or banish a vampire.
God created the Earth and the Heavens and refused to be outdone by an inferior being. In a sense, God created the blueprints of the universe, and Lucifer has done nothing but work on existing designs. Lucifer had created nothing new, and that upset him greatly. In my mind, I related it to how Thomas Edison originally created the light bulb, and his designs had only been tinkered with over the years. There is no good without evil. One cannot exist without the other, and that is why God had not purged the world of all of this filth entirely.
After seeing the drawn portrait of Vermeir, I realized that the statue outside Ravenwood Castle was of him. Through his book, I had started to understand the entire inner workings of the bloodlines and the evil hierarchy of vampires. A descendant of Vermeir would say that they came from the House of Vermeir. The first read through of this volume only touched upon certain things and didn’t even mention other facts at all. This book had so much hidden information in it. All kidding aside, this treatise was like the Encyclopedia Britannica of vampire history.
Being a vampire did make a great difference when reading the book. The only information that the book left out was who still existed out of the original thirteen. Somehow, I felt like I would end up finding out the answer to that mystery before my existence came to a halt. The pages turned furiously, and I learned more and more about my kind. Vermeir’s work even explained more about God to me. Granted the information was coming from a biased source, but most of it was true, and it checked out with a great deal of what is already printed in the Bible.
More relevant to the issue at hand, I realized that I could control Chloe, just as Regina had the ability to control me. Because I tu
rned her, I was her master. Regina was in turn, my master. After a short time, the master lost influence and power over their subject, and the subject would either follow their master by their own will or relinquish the bond entirely. A master would have complete control over a subject in person, and could only make strong persuasive suggestions when apart because of a mental link between the two.
In retrospect, I think it was Regina who tried to get me to kill Chloe during my hunger phase. She was the voice in my head that fueled the hunger even worse. For the time being, I could control Chloe, but after a certain point, she would be most likely on her own. After seemingly years, I finished reading the opus. An unknown amount of time passed as I absorbed the book, and I awoke from the trance to realize that Chloe was gone from the chateau. Sunset had come, but I was engulfed in the Vermeir’s work, and Chloe went out into the night by herself.
I left the chateau in search of Chloe because I had an awful feeling that she was would do something heinous. Several visions ran through my mind like a movie projector inside my skull. A slight part of me could feel her presence, but it was very faint. For a moment I had to concentrate, but I was able to get a better bearing on where she was. It worked almost like radar from within my intuition.
I found a direction to walk in where her presence felt closer, and I followed that trail. Closer and closer I felt her as I approached another chateau. The smell of burning wood and fresh grapes ripening on the vine brought me back to my human days when I lived on the farm. Temporarily, I wallowed in sweet nostalgia. Those alluring smells were interrupted by the unmistakable fragrance of pure fresh blood.
As I walked down the path to the picturesque chateau, I got to the door and was scared to open it. For a few seconds, I hesitated because deep down I had an inkling of what had happened. I really wished that I hadn’t opened it. There was Chloe…with an infant in her mouth. She bit into its skull and must have drained the poor child’s blood from there. Chloe’s mouth and chin were smeared with fresh innocent blood, and an entire family of five was brutally slaughtered in the chateau.
