Nocturnal

by David Paul

  David got his first taste of being an arena gladiator, and he loved it. The evil inside him surged through his veins, and he embraced his dark side. The vampire spent many nights covered in blood, killing for an amazed crowd. No matter whom they pitted him against, he came out victorious. He made it look so easy, and the crowd loved him. Not one challenger was able to even come close to harming him. The vampire showed the crowd things that they could have never imagined.

  David spent the weekend butchering his opponents, drinking their blood, and coming up with new ways to destroy his them. The villagers never saw him during the day as if he magically appeared on fight nights or Meklee, as the villagers called it. He came only after the sun went down. Some called him the White Devil, but the name that caught on was Nocturnal (translated from African dialect) because he only came out at night. The crowds would chant his name, and they always bet on him. David was so good at killing his enemies that there was no point in betting against him. The odds were so heavily skewed in his favor.

  Some nights, he faced up to six opponents at once. The villagers recruited contestants from other tribes to match up against David. Prowess in combat like David’s had never been witnessed by either of the tribes. This was ironic because both tribes were fearsome warriors, but they could not compete with this powerful vampire. David explored his dark side in Africa. He found so much pleasure in killing his opponents. It was almost as if he found himself at peace with his curse. Instead of having to constantly struggle against his urges, David was free to embrace the evil inside him. It was as close to Heaven as he had ever come. The vampire lost himself in this demonic bloodlust for over two years.

  He killed countless opponents and actually bit his opponents in front of the on-looking villagers that had no idea what he was. They assumed that he was a deranged white devil that had superhuman killing abilities. They feared his magic. No one ever pieced together that he was actually a vampire. The voodoo high priests constantly performed ceremonies praising him because he was eventually considered their god of warfare. The name Nocturnal was known throughout the region, and David was both loved and feared at the same time. He killed in public for the crowds and stalked the darkness for his own pleasure.

  For the first time as a vampire, he killed without prejudice. One night, a run in with a lost frightened child brought him back to his humanity. A small child was crying and obviously lost because she had wandered outside the village. Her chance of survival in this hostile environment was minimal because of the large number of predatory beasts that lurked the nighttime. Of those predators, David was the most dangerous. The vampire came upon the child crying, and at first the child appeared as an easy meal for the vampire.

  A hyena looking for a quick meal was a short distance away making a weird growling noise. There was nothing, but the moonlight between the hungry hyena and the helpless child. The scavenger charged the small female child, and David struck the beast, breaking its neck just before it was able to bite the child. The child was in tears, and somehow those tears reminded David of when he was a man.

  The vampire can no longer cry the tears of a human, but he remembers the river of tears that he cried in his human lifetime. He remembered many heartbreaking events, and her tears somehow touched him deeply. The vampire was able to see his reflection in the child’s large eyes. For a brief moment, he saw his old self in her eyes. His reflection was that of a man, and not the beast that he had grown to know.

  “What is your name, child?” The vampire asked.

  The child cried and eventually replied, “Martu.”

  “It will be alright, Martu,” David said. His facial features returned to normal, and the evil adrenaline rush subsided. “I will not let you be harmed.”

  “Are you some kind of a monster?” The child asked. She had seen him in his monstrous form prior to his change back to normal.

  “Yes,” David said in her dialect, “but I am a monster who saves little girls that leave their village at night.” He spoke gently to the traumatized Martu.

  “Will you take me home?” She asked.

  “Only if you promise to always stand by your mother.”

  “You are a nice monster,” Martu said. Martu climbed up David’s leg, and the vampire hoisted her skyward into his arms. “Mommy will be happy to see me.” Martu stayed awake and spoke to David all the way back to the outskirts of the tribal region.

  This flash of humanity broke the violent spell that he was under. David returned the child to the village and left Africa altogether. A lost child named Martu centered the confused vampire. He too was a lost child who could not find his way home. The one whom the villagers called Nocturnal was never seen again, but his memory lived on in their minds and in their religion.

  A statue of their hero was constructed out of white stone, and it adorned their arena and worshiping grounds. These tribes were later disbanded when the white man came through Egypt to their lands. The Africans accepted the white man with open arms, thinking that they were descendants of Nocturnal, and they were betrayed by the white man and sold into slavery.

  After David had come to his senses, the vampire was ashamed of himself for giving into the curse for so long. What really concerned him was that he enjoyed being evil. It was such a sweet relief to him. Being evil was so much easier than fighting himself constantly. What concerns him presently is that he could very easily enjoy being completely evil all over again.

  When every single instinct in his mind tells him one thing, he has to do another. The tormented vampire is continually in dis-accord. Once he gave into the evil, all guilt and feelings of remorse were lifted from his heavy soul, and this brought David peace. The lovely peace that the vampire felt was temporary. When the bloodlust died down, all of the torturous memories came rushing back to him ten-fold.

  Deep inside, David knows that he could never truly be completely evil or pledge his soul and allegiance to Lucifer, but he is afraid that even a momentary lapse of willpower could be disastrous for the fate of the world.

  Silence still fills the room as Capello and David sit across from one another.

  “David, are you still with me?”

  “Yes I am,” the vampire said. “I was just thinking about the past.”

  “The past is the past, my friend. Your only concern should be the future, my son. You cannot undo the past. All you can do is concentrate on what you can manipulate.”

  “What can I do if my destiny is written in stone?” David asked. All of my choices are not truly my own.” David questioned his predicament.

  “Your destiny is that you will be the One that will make a difference in the outcome of the Battle of the Apocalypse. The outcome has not yet been decided or prophesied. Yes, many of your lifetime experiences have been fated, but all of your reactions have been your own. Your reactions will decide the outcome of this war, and that you do have control over.”

  The whole concept of fate and destiny is confusing to the vampire even with his intelligence. It is like a giant mind-bender because one never knows what could have happened if they chose their actions differently. There is a constant what-if about every single major event in their lives.

  What David needs to understand is that fate presents scenarios to someone, and the choices that are made move that someone towards their destiny. If a person somehow avoided a chance encounter that was fated, they will somehow be presented with another encounter in the future that will push them toward where they are supposed to be. Basically, they have to make a different set of choices than the original, but those choices lead them to the same path.

  In some cases, a nagging inkling inside your mind to visit a certain area of the world or a gut feeling to call your parents are examples in which fate may work. Everyone has a fate and destiny that they are drawn to, and their decisions and path choices along the way can accelerate or prolong the timeframe sometimes, but no one can escape their destiny. If someone is destined to be a doctor, then that person will be a do
ctor at some point in time.

  We can tempt fate, and we sometimes alter fate with our choices, but never destiny. Each encounter we face in our lives is either a fated encounter or an encounter that has no bearing on our lives besides its face value. Sometimes paths will cross inadvertently, and this can also change fate. Even strictly blueprinted fate lines fall victim to universal chaos.

  Fate is the journey that we have to travel in order to arrive at our destiny. The saying that things happen for a reason is true. These individual occurrences mold and shape what we are. They push us to choose from a selection of paths. David has endured centuries of walking the path. His path has been significantly more difficult to navigate than the norm. His life has been marred with confusion and pain.

  Capello has told him before about his destiny, but that was many years ago, and it didn’t quite feel as real as it does now. That is why David still questions his role and has a difficult time with all of this. The vampire has basically existed and tried to make the best decisions that he could in regards to that existence. In the past, he had no true purpose or meaning to his existence. Capello always has something of monumental importance to tell David. The vampire now knows of his son Devin and his son’s role in all of this. With every moment, the plot of his existence thickens, and each move that he makes becomes more critical.

  “David,” Capello said, “forget about any mistakes that you ever made because they don’t matter! You are here, and the time is now. What you do from this moment forth will determine and validate your entire existence.”

  “I understand now,” the vampire said. “When you first told me that I was the One many years ago, I didn’t understand exactly what that meant.”

  “I need you to know exactly who and what you are before you meet Devin again. The Devil and your son will use all of your doubts against you. Any crack or opening in your psyche can be exposed and used to their advantage.”

  “I understand,” the vampire said. David has a feeling of confidence come over him. Capello’s reassurances help David prepare his mind for what is next to come. His battle is going to be a moral dilemma, and physical strength will most likely not be a major factor. “Where can I find Dr. Carver?” David asked.

  “You will confront Carver on the altar of sacrifice in the middle of his ceremony. The stars are in his favor tomorrow evening, and he will need to start at midnight. He will find you, David. You will be drawn to him, and all you have to do is listen to the calling from within yourself. Devin and Lucifer are expecting you. They have been waiting many years for this night.”

  “I’m wondering how I should approach this,” David said. David ponders a tactical solution. “I suspect that he will not be alone.”

  “He will not be alone,” Capello said. “Carver will have an absolute minimum of eighteen followers for this particular ceremony. This represents the summation of 666 or the number of the beast.” He gives the vampire a serious look. “This ceremony is definitely important to them, but you are the real prize. Ironically, this ritual has to happen for Fate to make you cross paths with Devin again. If they have you, then there will be no need for rituals, and we are all doomed.”

  “I know that Rawley can handle himself,” the vampire said, “and he will be like a bulldozer going through the cultists. With my assistance, we will make short work of the followers.”

  “Do not underestimate their powers either,” Capello said. “For all we know, every follower could be possessed by a different demon, and you could stumble onto an entire pantheon of demons. Tread with caution.”

  “I’m aware of that,” the vampire said, “but their human shells are frail and easily destroyed. Only the strongest of demons can have any power over me anyways. I’ve got a bigger question for you.” The vampire lights a cigarette. “Assuming that we get past the followers, and I resist Devin, then what do I do?” He asked.

  “That is a valid question,” Capello said. “Rawley may be able to bind Devin during an exorcism and trap him inside of a consecrated cell. That would be the best-case scenario because that would take Devin out of the picture. Lucifer will never be bound because his presence is necessary in the balance regardless. Somehow, you have to kill or subdue all of the worshipers in order to capture Carver alive.”

  “Don’t you have any other premonitions to share?” David asked.

  “Nothing that can be helped,” Capello said wearily.

  The vampire senses something.

  “What does that mean?” David asked.

  “It means that what I may have seen for the future cannot be altered.”

  “Capello,” David said, “there must be something else that you can tell me.” The vampire attempts to pry more information out of the fortune-teller.

  “Your old acquaintance Regina is in town.”

  “Regina?” David asked. “I figured that she was long dead by now.” “Not quite, David. She is very much alive and looks forward to meeting you again.”

  It has been many years since the name Regina had even been uttered until very recently. Her wickedness has no equal, and the vampire had somehow been able to avoid her for centuries. She visited him in nightmares for years. David always sensed her presence faintly, but he thought it was because they were a part of each other. They were linked together and bound by the dreaded curse that she had bestowed upon him. David remembers her torments vividly, but he is without fear. The vampire is no longer a weak and confused novice. He has evolved into something else.

  “I suspect that the evil bitch is pretty furious with me.”

  “That would be an understatement,” Capello said. Capello has a slight smile.

  “What’s her role in all of this?” David asked.

  “She is in allegiance with Lucifer and Devin, and she is totally livid because she had you locked in her prison, but never realized who you were. She could have earned great favor with Lucifer hundreds of years ago. In her eyes, you wrecked her castle, defied her, and made her look foolish. Women vampires are often more evil than the males, and she is definitely scorned.”

  Strangely, Capello shakes, and a look of pain comes over him. He appears to be fighting something.

  “Are you alright, Capello?” David asked.

  The fortuneteller gives no response, but a look of absolute pain takes over his facial expressions. He shakes and convulses momentarily, and then closes his eyes. There is an uneasy silence as Capello is motionless and unresponsive.

  Chapter Thirteen: Evil Touches Us All

  “Capello?” The vampire asked. David shakes him to wake him up. The fortuneteller laughs a deep and wicked laugh, and David steps back from him. “Capello?”

  “Capello cannot come to the phone right now because his soul is roasting in hellfire,” Capello said in an odd voice. Capello growls, and his eyes are now open and black.

  “Who are you?” David asked. It is quite obvious to David that Capello is under someone or something else’s control. Capello is the last person on Earth that David wants to see possessed by a demon. The vampire wants to know which demon it is.

  “I am the antichrist, and darkness shall conquer the light.” The unknown demon spoke through Capello in backwards Latin.

  “Is that so?” David asked. David challenges the demon. “I don’t think so.”

  Capello laughs with a vile voice. Demons always have the most annoying and painful laughs that seem to infuriate or intimidate the unfortunate recipients of their twisted conversations. David thinks that this is totally done by design. The demons somehow know how to push the delicate buttons of whomever they contact.

  “You are such a pathetic existence,” the demon said in backwards Latin. “You were given the mark of the beast and blessed with ancient dark powers, yet you refuse to acknowledge your pedigree.”

  “My pedigree is that from the Lord above,” David said. “Lucifer has tainted my mind and body, but he will never have my soul.”

  The demon laughs again and spits vomit onto Capello�
��s lap and also on David’s priceless chair. “Fool,” the demon said. “Your soul is already in his possession. You are a puppet on a string. When your time to show arrives, you will dance to the Devil’s jig.”

  “I’ll endure all of the torments in Hell,” the vampire said, “but you shall not have me.”

  “Don’t be so sure, Father,” the demon said.

  David is taken back by the father comment because he realizes that he just conversed with his estranged demonic son. The vampire got a cold chill that ran down his spine. Capello returned to his normal self and finds himself covered in a disgusting mess.

  “What in God’s name just happened?” Capello asked.

  “Devin spoke through you.”

  “I cannot recall how he could have done that,” Capello said. He tries to shake it off. “Maybe he tapped into my magic somehow or zoned in on my inter-dimensional frequencies. That was the first time that I ever experienced that. Watchers are usually impervious to attacks of that nature.”

  “Are you alright, old friend?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Capello said. He is still trying to shake off the side effects. “That definitely gives you a pounding headache though.” Capello describes what it felt like to have a demon inside him. “I could feel myself fighting inside my own head. That was the strangest and most disturbing feeling.”

  “This is not going to be easy is it?” David asked.

  “Do not give into what they tempt you with.” Capello reaches into his pocket and takes out a platinum necklace with a dark crystal pendant. “Wear this,” Capello said. “It will help against mental attacks, but only if worn around your neck.”

  The fortuneteller hands the vampire a gleaming piece of magical jewelry. The necklace is a unique mystical piece. Glistening hand-cut facets on the chain almost captured the light and animated it. Understated and pure, the wet-looking shiny crystal could pass as black onyx. A platinum eight-pronged claw gripped the crystal mightily.