During the first month of our friendship, we met outside the castle walls. We gallivanted through the gardens and woods. Celeste was fearless. I was exceptionally happy during these times, but soon questions about the strangeness of the family began to plague me. I asked her once why we must always meet at night and she told me she suffered an ailment that caused her to grow weak in the sun.
She often brought food and drink with her when we met. We would sit on a quilt in the garden while I ate. Yet, Celeste never touched the wine, cheese, or meat before us. When I asked why, she told me she must mind her figure or else she would never be able to fit inside the gilded cages of her gowns. Other things bothered me as well, but I did not truly care. I had Celeste and I was happy.
As the nights turned colder, we took our little meetings inside the castle itself. For the son of a blacksmith, it was a great honor to be in the presence of nobility, especially in their home. We spent most of our time lounging in the castle towers, but on occasion we frequented the great hall. Here, visitors to the castle or members of the noble family themselves often lingered. It seemed to me then the whole family must suffer from the same mysterious ailment as Celeste. Even her mother was pale and spent her late nights reading by the fire instead of sleeping, as my mother would have.
We spent the winter in a whirl of laughter and friendship, but as all things must, our time together ended. On my final visitation to the castle, the truth about Celeste’s family came out. After that fateful night, nothing in my life would ever be the same. I was wrenched from my boyhood and my naivety with a twist of cruel fate.
Celeste and I were in the great hall. We lay side by side, staring up at the tapestries decorating the walls. Most of them depicted the many battles her ancestors once fought. It seemed the Casoli barons loved to battle, and they were proud fighters in many of the conflicts between the Florentines and Sienese. In fact, at one point the castle was under Sienese control, according to my father. Celeste and I liked to pretend we were battling against the warring armies together. She often confessed her secret desire to sneak off into war in the guise of a man so she could slay the enemy.
As we lay there playing our childish games, I failed to realize when someone else entered the room and began watching us from afar. I leapt up from the floor, drew my imaginary sword, and began to parry against an invisible attacker. Celeste burst into peals of laughter as I continued my false struggle to the death of my opponent. When I finished, I heard the quiet laughter of the onlooker and I spun around to see a woman so old she seemed a wraith. I hung my head in embarrassment and tried to utter a sensible apology.
The woman only smiled kindly at me and, with a nod of her head, she turned to leave the room. Celeste ran from the room in great haste, and when I attempted to follow her, she called to me to stay there and she would return shortly. In her absence, I couldn’t help but worry. I was afraid my behavior might insult the Casoli family, which would shame my father. To me, death was a lighter punishment than the embarrassment of my family.
I paced the floor back and forth. I was a man, and I should have behaved as such instead of giving into whimsy like a child. My only excuse was that I loved to do anything that made Celeste smile, even play the fool. I thought about leaving, I thought about seeking out Celeste and her family to apologize, but I did nothing instead. I waited for her to return, growing more and more worried as time went on.
At last, Celeste glided into the room, smiling endearingly at me. I turned to her to beg forgiveness but she silenced me at once. Taking my hand, she led me from the room and we began to ascend the great spiraling staircase. She whispered to me, “Matteo, no matter what you see here tonight, you must be brave. You are to meet my grandmother now, which is a great honor. Just be strong and brave—she likes you. She has requested that you do her a great service.”
I did not dare argue. With each step that brought me closer to the grandmother, my knees grew weaker, my palms became sweatier, and my heart beat faster. At last, we stood in front of a great gilded iron door. I knew my father’s work and this was one of the finest examples. That symbolism of my family gave me courage. I raised my head high and prepared myself to enter the chambers.
As the door slid open, my fears began to waiver. I sensed no danger in the room that lay beyond. I entered into the beautifully decorated boudoir of an elderly woman. The room was heavily swathed in expensive cloths and French lace. I saw the old dear seated in the corner of the room upon a tufted seat in front of a mirrored dressing table. She stared thoughtfully at her reflection, as if she didn’t know we were there per her request.
She took one aged and gnarled hand and gently stroked her cheek before turning her cold blue eyes upon us. Celeste gently pushed me forward and whispered small encouragements to me the whole time. The old woman grew impatient with me and raised her hand to wave me towards a chair near her.
When she told me to sit, her voice reminded me of aged and worn parchment that made a familiar and comforting rasp when touched. I sat down as commanded and she began to speak immediately. “Do you believe in creatures, not animal and not human, that roam the night in the search of blood?”
I didn’t know how to answer. If I admitted to believing in such things, because I truly did, she would probably think I was crazy. If I denied my beliefs, would she be offended because she herself believed in them? The woman understood my silence as the confusion it was and continued.
“One hundred years ago, one such creature came to the House of Casoli and offered the family eternity in exchange for our young Celeste’s hand. When I refused to give my darling granddaughter over to a demon, a great battle took place in these halls. The men wanted the strength and power promised to them and, in her vanity, Celeste’s mother longed for eternal beauty and youth. In the end, I won them over. I called out to them that if they took the devil’s deal, entry into heaven would be denied to them. Because I was a seer of things that did not belong to this world, they knew I spoke the truth, and we tried to force the devil from our home.
“He fled into the night, but promised he would extract his revenge before the wax moon rose. True to his word, the monster returned a fortnight later and killed an army of men. When he found Celeste in the north tower, he locked the door and swore he would make her what he was and then she would love him. She begged for our lives and bargained with the fiend. She traded her beating heart in exchange for our lives.
“He must have had some humanity, some heart, because he struck her a deal. If she would become like him, then he would change her mother, her uncle, and me. He would allow us to live as he lived. We were his wedding gift to her. The foolish girl agreed and now we all suffer this curse.”
I couldn’t help myself, even though I could feel each word she spoke was the truth—I stole a glance at Celeste for confirmation. The bloody tears I saw shimmering in her eyes spoke a thousand words. I wanted to save her. I wanted to save them all. The injustice visited upon these kindly people enraged me.
“Celeste visits us from time to time and we allow her to do as she pleases, but each spring she must return to her husband and maker before the equinox or we all face extinction. That, my dear, is the story of how we came to be, but now I must tell you the story of how you will come to be.”
The intense look in her eyes as she implied I would become like her and Celeste frightened me instantly. I knew what they were and I knew the undead lived from the blood of humans. I rose to leave, but her hand shot out to wrap around my wrist. Once, only minutes before, she had looked so small and weak, but her grip sent a wave of pain through my arm and her power glowed inside her black eyes.
“I offer you, boy, what we were not offered. I will give you a choice beyond that of life and death. You can hear me out and choose, but you will not walk away while I speak to you.” She spoke quietly, but her words echoed in my head as if she were screaming. Each syllable throbbed inside my brain.
I chose to sit back down, to listen, and try to
be strong and brave, as Celeste had told me to be. My heart bled for my lovely friend and all her family. I hated that they were condemned to be monsters for eternity. The least I could do was listen to this woman’s plea.
The grandmother nodded her head and smiled at me in the most knowing way. I felt as if she and I held a secret between us and no one else on earth held her confidence. “I have seen you before this night—not here or on the grounds, but in another place, one where I travel to speak to the creatures of other realms. I saw you in a vision. You blazed with the light of the angels, but your eyes burned red. You were a vampire, a Strigoi, and by your side stood the salvation to all of humanity.”
I wanted to protest that I was the human son of a blacksmith and I could not save all of mankind. Yet, I knew in my soul she knew far more than I could. Wide-eyed, I remained silent while she told her tale.
“In the world I visit, there are many spirits who lend me their eyes, and I see the past and the future. They showed me a vision that foretold your destiny, a vision of an ageless prophecy. Since the beginning of time, seers and prophets have repeated its words. One day, you will find a true Daughter of Darkness and a Daughter of Light. The women will both have history in their blood. One is night, one is day, and in order to save us all you must save them.”
Suddenly, the old woman’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and her voice changed. Each word she spoke sounded as if a choir of demons and angels spoke in unison. She told me the prophecy that would be my fate.
From the depths of hell the demons rise,
From the heights of heaven the angels will fall.
The children of Lilith must be wise.
In the Watcher’s eyes, rests the fate of all.
The Guardian will unite the darkness with light.
They will find the truth in the blood,
Two, who were once one, will fight,
In the land where Etz Chayim once stood,
Woe to those who fail,
For humanity will falter.
If the light does not hail,
Cain and Lilith will be reborn to the altar.
“You see, young Matteo, if you choose to leave this house tonight a man, then you choose to murder your species in the end. If you join us and become the Guardian of the prophecy, then you may be able to save the world and the Lord’s reign in heaven will continue.”
How could I deny her? I wept and Celeste came to my side. She told me because of her mystical blood she was to be the Watcher.and I would be the Guardian. Our job would be to find the two girls meant to destroy us all. I shuddered at the meaning of the prophecy.
If I did not accept this bargain, all hope would be lost. I requested only two things. The first was to be able to say goodbye to my family, and the second was to be able to stay with Celeste. They only granted me my first request. Already wed to the vampire who destroyed her family, Celeste would leave and I could not go with her. If the vampire were to discover my existence, he would hunt me down and kill me.
I left the castle just before daybreak and sought out my childhood home. I watched the sunrise in all its glory and I knew it would be my last. Everything I passed that once seemed so ordinary took on a new and precious beauty. I knew I would no longer see the world through human eyes and I wanted to preserve everything I could in my memory. Once I became a monster, I could at least have those few memories.
I reached the forge just as my father was coming down the path. I went to him and embraced him. My father was always my dearest friend and my hero. He inquired if I were okay, a look of love and worry on his strong features. I bade him not to be concerned, I only just thought of how long it had been since I did such a thing. He reached for me then and hugged me to his chest in a strong and manly embrace.
I helped him stoke the fires before going up the way to our small home. I went to my mother and I wept at the site of her. I told her of how she was the most beautiful creature on earth and how grateful to her I was for her love and devotion. My parents, thinking me ill, ordered me to my room and told me to rest.
I didn’t like causing them to worry, so I did as they asked. Lying on my mattress on the floor, I faded between sleep and dream until my mother came to tell me a fine carriage from the House of Casoli awaited me outside. I was shocked to realize the sun was set and the room was dark. I had wasted my final hours with my family in confusion and slumber.
Quickly, I ran to my mother and father and told them all the things I could think to say. They were even more concerned about my behavior and insisted I send the coach back and tell the baroness I would not be able to attend my usual visitation. I refused them for the first time in my life. I begged them for forgiveness and kissed each of them several times before bounding into the carriage. My last sight of them was looking back out of the carriage and waving madly.
I arrived at the castle with tears still streaming down my face. I had done my best to tell them how much they meant to me, but my heart was heavy in my loss. The carriage deposited me at the front of the castle and, as I exited, I bid my humanity the same farewell I gave my parents, a hasty yet sincere adieu to life.
I will not tell you now how I came to be a vampire. Let me assure you, it is much similar to the making of any vampire. It begins as an exchange of blood that leads to a battle of life and death and ends in an unholy union of the two. I will only tell you the grandmother did the trick with her very own blood. She hoped to pass some of her gifts on to me. I bade Celeste a bittersweet goodbye, and when I cried there was blood in my tears. She promised me with a small chaste kiss that we would meet again someday, and then the same fine carriage took her away into the darkness of night.
The grandmother and I fed together from a servant boy. She believed maker and creation must complete a kill in order to seal the blood. On my first night, I ended the life of an innocent. His face still haunts me to this day. She taught me many things that night, and she made me repeat the prophecy so many times I felt the words would scar my tongue. She couldn’t stop telling me how important it was to live and protect the world from this evil that was coming during my lifetime.
At the end of the night, I thought she would lead me to the place where I would slumber, but instead she led me across the courtyard to the beautiful old Romanesque Church that stood within the castle walls. She spoke in her soft leathery voice and the sadness of her words nearly broke my heart. “I have served my purpose and now my travels on the devil’s road must cease. Once you see I am free from this demon’s shell, go to my rooms and pull the quilts from the coffer at the end of the bed. Squeeze in—it will be a tight fit, but it will hide you from the sun.”
I was confused. I couldn’t understand what she meant. She was a vampire, a creature who could not die of old age or sickness. She was a symbol of eternity. “Old mother, I do not understand.” I was weeping again and I grasped at her like a wayward child needing someone, anyone.
She let me rest my head upon her bosom as I wept and she stroked my hair just as my own mother had when I was a child. “Stop this now, boy. You are a vampire, strong and fierce. The passing of one old woman who was meant to perish by the Lord’s hands long ago shouldn’t matter so much.”
I stood then from where I had fallen to my knees. She was right. I must be strong if I were to survive. We entered the beautiful old church and I was relieved to know that the old legends were not true. Many villagers said a vampire could not trespass on sacred ground. I loved the beauty of churches, with their smell of incense and tall solemn statues, and I was glad I could still walk within one.
To my shock, a funeral pyre was already prepared in the very center of the marble floors between the rows of stone benches. The statues of the saints peered out of the darkness of the alcoves to observe the death of the grandmother. The tall stack of wood contrasted so greatly to the golden candelabra and fine silks upon the altar.
The grandmother placed a dry kiss on my cool cheek. Her lips reminded me I had once compared her
voice to crumpling parchment. I watched in silence as she said her final prayers. She lighted candles for many of her family members, and even one for me. At last, she ignited a long white tapered candle for her own soul and asked the Lord to forgive her sins and allow her the bounty of heaven.
Candle in hand, she turned from the altar. She ordered me to take a barrel of wine and pour it onto the pyre. I did what she asked, the whole time uttering my own prayers for the sacrilege I felt I was doing. At last I was finished, and she came to stand before her funeral preparations. I bowed my head and helped her position herself upon the pyre.
She lay upon the wood as if it were feathers and smiled bravely up at me. Without a word, she laid the candle to the alcohol soaked pyre. The flames leapt up instantly and she was soon thrashing and screaming inside the fire. I stayed to ensure her death as she had asked, but it was as difficult as you can imagine. My natural vampire fear to flee was pressing me to leave her. The fire began to spread to the roof and the altar but I stayed.
I waited until she did not thrash, until her skin stuck blackened and shrunken to the bone. I watched as her eyes dried in their sockets and the flesh of her face began to peel away from the bone. The fire, the pain, and the horror of it all crushed my will and I ran from the church into the castle. I ran blindly, but I could feel the sunrise growing closer. Like a great hound chasing at my heels and threatening to devour me, the sunlight grew closer.
The next evening, I left the House of Casoli, and I have never since returned. I traveled the world in search of the true Child of Darkness and the Child of Light. I also searched for Celeste, but was unable to find her for many years. Only once did I come here, and was sent away with the message that it was not yet our time.
I stayed in Ireland for several lifetimes. I loved the country, and the Baobhan Sith vampires were the most humane I have met for many years. I did travel when news would come to me of a strong female vampire who seemed to possess extraordinary talents, and also to travel with Belle.
Requiem of Humanity Page 25
