Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series)

by Virgil Allen Moore

  Moira screamed, running out with great speed. Orhn opened the door in time as Lucretia was undoing Yugo's pants. Orhn shut the door behind them as he exited.

  “Why did he do that? Why'd he kill her? There wasn't any reason. He had plenty of money. Why do it?” Moira was having a momentary break down.

  Orhn chose his words carefully. He didn't want to sound callous. He knew that Moira was distraught. She had never seen Yugo kill before. Orhn had to tell her what he was capable of. “This is who he is. He can't change that. Killing is in him. It's part of what he is. It's part of what we all are.”

  Moira cried, wiping her tears from her face. “You're saying you could do that to someone so kind, so nice?”

  Orhn took a deep breath. “I'm saying I have.”

  “What am I then? Am I destined to become like him? Like you? Do I get a choice with how to live my life? Or will I end up murdering everyone around me just to feed myself? Well Orhn, what am I?” Moira was slowly bending to the pain in her heart.

  “You will learn to live on what you need to. Murder becomes necessary. A way of life that comes with time.” Orhn was trying to reassure Moira.

  Moira didn't stop crying. She stood, sulking with good reason. “Then what do I have to live for? What is immortality if you become the monster you fear in your darkest nightmares?”

  “It's a life.” Orhn said simply.

  Moira started walking away from Orhn. He began to follow as the door burst open. Yugo and Lucretia rolled out, fully entangled, connected. They ended up on the wooden deck, mostly naked. Yugo noticed Moira was leaving. Orhn looked at Yugo in disappointment. Lucretia didn't want to stop, she kept thrusting. Realizing what was going on, Yugo pushed her off of him. It was enough. Yugo had erred. Killing the shopkeeper with no justification was evil in Moira's eyes. Yugo needed to restore the moral of the group.

  Yugo got up. “If it matters, I won't do it in front of her again.”

  “But you will do it again.” Orhn said with disdain.

  Yugo and Lucretia both dusted themselves off. They said nothing as they picked up the articles of clothing that painted a trail back to the store entrance.

  Yugo looked at Orhn. “I do what I must. I enjoy what I can. I can't help that I actually enjoy that which I must.” He adjusted the knot on his pants.

  Lucretia smiled at Orhn. “What he said.” She pulled down her skirt.

  Orhn left towards Moira. Yugo and Lucretia followed soon after. The night was over.

  A few months passed as they booked passage to the new world. Three days before their ship was to arrive, Moira had the fancy to ask Yugo a question.

  Yugo and Moira sat in the ship's hold. Orhn and Lucretia were asleep at their feet. Something was bothering Moira.

  “Yugo, have you ever heard a voice telling you to do bad things?” Moira asked.

  Yugo was lounging back, as Lucretia curled up in a ball around his left foot. He viewed the bright moon and the large harbor they had found themselves in. He turned an ear to the way in which Moira asked. It was as if she was expecting a certain answer from Yugo. As if she knew what he was going to say.

  Yugo tested the waters. “And if I said no?”

  Moira's face dropped. She was disappointed. Yugo had said something she wasn't expecting. “Well, do you? I need to know.”

  “Want or need?” Yugo replied.

  “What's the difference?” Moira was getting impatient with Yugo. She wanted a real answer.

  “A want is a desire to obtain or reach something. A need relays a meaning or reason behind the information. Do you want to know, or do you need to know?” Yugo was pressing his point.

  Moira was frustrated. “I need to know why the voice I hear inside my head is telling me these horrid things.”

  “Rip, tear, rend, and swallow the blood like milk?” Yugo said as if he was reciting the words from a book.

  Moira's face lit up. She knew that phrase. “Those are the words. The things he tells me when I sleep. The things he whispers to me when I drink blood. The voice that tempts me in the night. How could you know?”

  Yugo shifted his attention to Moira. “Because I once knew a demon. Because I know another demon.”

  “A demon?” Moira's eyes widened.

  “The demon gift that resides inside you, Moira. One of the seven demon vampires that were made thousands of years ago. The sentient gifts that reincarnate every three hundred years. I know mine and I have gladly paid the price for my knowledge. I know yours by chance of fate and a little luck. He is a psychic type that can read minds and enter dreams. He is dangerous in ways that my own gift isn't. He is a demon to be feared and revered as a monster among monsters.” Yugo sat up. “He is evil. No matter what he says to convince you otherwise, he is.”

  “Then what does he want with me? How can I get him to stop telling me these horrible things?” Moira was desperate. She was pleading to Yugo for help. The one person she was still at odds with only a few months ago. Moira didn't have any other option, she needed to know how to stop it.

  “He wishes to build a bridge to heaven with the corpses of the fallen. To drain the world and see it burn around him. He wishes to stop reincarnating or to regain the body he once had.” Yugo told Moira.

  Moira slipped away from Orhn. She sat next to Yugo. “How do you know all this? Did your demon tell you?”

  “The easy answer is yes.” Yugo said quickly.

  “And the hard answer?” Moira asked.

  “I gave him most of my soul in return.” Yugo was not happy to admit such a drastic move on his part.

  “What? How can you even do that? It's your soul, Yugo. How can you let a demon eat your soul?” Moira was appalled.

  “It was easier than you might think.” Yugo sat back. Recalling a lost youth. “It starts with the thirst. A few drops at first. More to obtain some power. A few dozen to gain some more strength to finish an upcoming confrontation. Soon it becomes a trade of blood for a chance to fix the wheel of fate in your favor. To assure victory over the unknown. In time it takes part of you with it. You become more alike. You see it slowly in the beginning as you are meant to. The likening of your ideals, your goals. The years pass with ease in the way they intend them to. The more struggle in your life, the more leverage they have. Their offer is unimaginable. You have no true reference for what you are actually trading. They tell you everything you want to hear. They give you everything you desire to have. And when they're done, you disappear. Absolved into their will without even a complaint. You simply cease to exist. No whimper or argument to speak of. No protest to mark the passing of your existence at all.” Yugo zoned out. “The real horror is not knowing what you've actually lost over the years.”

  Moira, unsure of what to say, sat in silence. She had been told a secret that was damning to her. The fact that every time she needed help, there would always be someone there. A voice to answer her cries of desperation. What shook her to the core was that it was not there to help. It was not there to give aide, or provide assistance. The words it gave were not meant to sooth. They were designed to make the eventual deal all the more sweeter, to make the host give in. Moira came to this realization through Yugo's shared insight.

  For the rest of the night Yugo and Moira were silent. The fears she had inside her were running rampant. Yugo, the only one that knew what she was up against offered no council.

  The night gave them all a most needed rest from their constant travels. Soon they would all be in a new land, with new people. Lucretia was excited. Orhn was dreading it. Yugo understood the necessary change, Moira didn't.

  The day offered more uninterrupted rest. In time Lucretia became stir crazy and left when night descended again. She mentioned that she'd be back in time for the trip. Moira sighed, wanting to continue the conversation she had with Yugo the night before.

  “I can see when I am not needed.” Orhn jumped up. Leaving Yugo and Moira to talk.

  “There is a good side to the gift.” Yugo was t
rying to perk Moira up.

  “What? Assured damnation?” Moira joked.

  “The blood you give the demon can be withheld, preserving your soul.” Yugo saw that Moira was eager to know how. “The secret is your gift. The lesser ability they offer to you as a gesture. It consumes a fare share of blood. It robs them of their stored portion. No matter what they say, using your demon gift thins out any and all benefit from drinking.”

  “So I have to starve it? What will that do to me?” Moira asked, worried about Yugo's honest answer.

  “This.” Yugo unbuttoned his shirt. He pointed to various scars he had. His chest was covered in them. Several large, winding cuts across his abdomen and up to his neck. They were gruesome and truly horrible to see. Yugo was also very gaunt in general, a trait that Moira originally thought was simply how he was. Yugo was displaying the contrary.

  “I thought vampires can't get scars. I thought we heal too quickly to ever get them. What happened to you?” Moira's face showed all the shock from the other night. It was yet another revelation.

  “Vampires can't. No matter how much damage you do, or how starved a vampire is, it means nothing to their ability to heal. If you rip off a vampire's arm, it will regenerate and grow. Demons are different. They require blood that is stolen from the host. Used to further their cause of awakening. If I am malnutritioned, I can scar. As you can see, I do.” Yugo closed his shirt.

  “Doesn't that carry its own risks? If you can scar, can't you die?” Moira was perceptive.

  “Yes, I can. The demon inside me is always waiting for that to happen. There is a threshold of damage every vampire can take before the passage of death. I am different in that when I am ready to die, the demon will make the final offer and save my life in return for the rest of my soul.” Yugo licked his lips.

  “Was that the demon just now?” Moira noticed the small mannerism that seemed foreign to Yugo.

  “Your demon has quite a bit of confidence in you to offer up his entire ability without any real exchange.” Yugo realized how that might give Moira a better bargaining position. “If he lets you hear the thoughts of others, you have the advantage in most situations.”

  Moira shied away. “I don't see it that way. This is sounding more like a curse than a gift.”

  “It's a deal. I didn't say it was fair.” Yugo told Moira.

  “And what if I don't want to honor the deal?” Moira proposed.

  Yugo turned to Moira. “Then you can die and it will win.”

  “Is there any way to prevent him from taking over once I die?” Moira shuttered to think about her own death in such an inviting manner.

  “It would have to be a quick and decisive death.” Yugo informed her.

  Moira pooled over what Yugo said. Contemplating what her options were.

  Lucretia opened the door. Her new dress was nearly ripped in half. Blood was caked on her, old and dried. She had been like this for a while. She was angry at something.

  Yugo shifted his attention to Lucretia. “What happened? That doesn't look intentional and you don't seem happy enough to have enjoyed it.”

  “I met up with a group of vampires that doesn't want us to be here.” Lucretia began shredding her corset. Flakes of blood crumbled to the floor. Her exposed breasts were cut up. She had been savagely attacked. Normally this was common for Lucretia, usually this much damage kept her in a good mood. This was different. She had an unwelcome encounter this time.

  “Then we leave. Our boat will be here soon. What's the problem.” Yugo said nothing of her honor.

  Lucretia picked up on Yugo's apathetic behavior immediately. “They want us to stay away from the new world.”

  “Did they happen to mention why while they were having their fun?” Yugo was being mean now.

  “Yugo! You can at least offer her a sheet. How would you react if this was done to you?” Moira was upset. The woman in her couldn't let Yugo insult Lucretia any longer.

  “You speak as if it hasn't.” Yugo cleared his throat. “I've lived a long time and I can assure you that there are many vampires far older and stronger than I. It happens. With time, misfortune comes. As a vampire you have to see past these little hiccups.”

  “And do what? Forget we're human?” Moira shouted at Yugo, jumping up from her seat.

  “It's been a long time since any of us were called that.” A hush came over the room as Yugo spoke. “Lucretia will live, that's all that matters. As vampires, we live on. Eventually there might come a day when she might be able to go and fuck them back for what they did, but not tonight.”

  “What about the demon gifts? I'm sure they would give us enough power to kill those bastards!” Moira was thinking intuitively with her gift. She was passionate about defending Lucretia. She wanted to seek revenge for what happened to her.

  Lucretia turned to Moira and then Yugo. “What demon gift? What are you talking about? Can you do more with your gift than you originally told me? How long have you been holding out on me?”

  Yugo sneered at Lucretia. “You don't need to know what we're talking about.”

  “Bullshit! You tell me now or I'll make a scene and kill this whole damn town!” Lucretia was livid.

  “You won't do that Lucretia.” Yugo said confidently.

  “The hell I won't! I'll burn the whole town and let everyone onto us. When they catch me, if they catch me, I'll feign a drastic fear of water, leading them to believe the only way to end my wrath is the one element I hate. After they drown me, thinking I'm no more, I'll come up out of the water and kill the rest of them for irritating me. I'll leave everybody behind with deep gashes on their throats. Everyone in the region will know that vampires were responsible for it. You hear me Yugo? Everyone!” Lucretia was giving Yugo an ultimatum.

  “If I don't? You'll do all that? I doubt that. You hate being overwhelmed. Crowds of people make you sick. You'd sooner vomit on them than rip their heads off. Don't be silly Lucretia. This is something I can't tell you.” Yugo was holding his ground.

  “Than I will.” Moira announced. “I will tell you about the demon gifts we harbor.” Moira was definite in her resolution. She wanted the revenge more than Lucretia did. She was determined to actualize it.

  Yugo eyed Moira. “You can't do that Moira. Those that don't have one don't need to know. It is the highest of secrets, the worst of curses.”

  Moira stared at Yugo and spoke to Lucretia. “I'm going to tell you everything you want to know.” Moira turned to Lucretia. “Let's go outside.”

  Yugo sighed. “Moira, you can't do that.”

  Moira angrily snapped at Yugo. “You don't tell me what I can't do to help another woman!” Moira was serious. “I'll help Lucretia raze this town tonight if I need to.”

  “You wouldn't.” Yugo glared at Moira.

  Moira stared right back at Yugo. “Watch me.” Moira took Lucretia's left hand and pulled her out of the room.

  Yugo decided to leave Moira and Lucretia alone. Thinking that he hadn't told Moira everything there was about the gifts. Knowing that she couldn't divulge too much about the demons, Yugo was going to let Moira say anything she wanted to make her feel better.

  Outside the room it was bright, the moon was high again. There were no clouds, it was a calm night. Moira searched the area for anyone that might listen in on their conversation. The area was devoid of people. The ship was silent. She sat down on one of the shipping barrels. Moira crossed her legs and sighed.

  Lucretia wanted to know everything she could. “What are the demon gifts?”

  “They are people that whisper to you with obscene offers of power. They are the evil in your head.” Moira closed her eyes. “I can hear him even now. He wants me to accept his power and use it as much as I want. He wants me to slaughter the world. He wants to sew the ground with corpses.”

  “But how bad is that really? I get impulses to kill people every day. I do kill people every day for that matter. It's easy and it's become a part of me. I can't imagine how hearin
g a voice would be any different.” Lucretia folded her arms in disbelief.

  Moira practically snapped at Lucretia. “It's different, trust me. He has a tone about him. It's welcoming. It's damning how inviting he is. When he asks to help you, he gives you a taste before any payment is made. He stands in your mind, beautiful, elegant. He commands your attention. He wants you to be happy.”

  “Then what's the problem?” Lucretia asked.

  Moira looked at Lucretia with a confounded expression. “He wants my soul.”

  “What's so bad about that?” Lucretia asked.

  “He wants to devour my soul and consume my personality. The deal is power for life. Quality traded for time. He eats you, mind and body. His very gift is a curse in itself.” Moira began to shed a tear. “He is a constant reminder that I will never have a normal life. The one common trait between us all is longevity. The demon gifts render that pointless. They steal it away from us slowly.” Moira's tears flowed down her face shimmering in the moonlight. “Eventually I won't be me. My experiences, my hopes, my dreams, he will take it all. As sure as time exists, I will die as I know myself.” Moira broke down. She uncrossed her leg and held herself, swaying back and forth on the barrel top.

  Lucretia wasn't sure how to react. She was never the one to comfort anyone but herself. Her selfish nature did not lend well to these scenarios. “I don't know what to say, Moira. I didn't know that. I thought it was a form of greater power Yugo was holding from me. Something that I could learn or take from him.”

  Moira kept crying.

  “But you have time, right? The demon gift hasn't won yet has it?” Lucretia was trying to cheer Moira up. “What is it dependent on anyway?”

  “Blood, large amounts of blood. If I starve myself, I die. If I gorge myself, I will lose my soul. My life is forfeit either way.” Moira moaned in sadness.

  Lucretia took in a deep breath. “Oh, that does make things complicated. Is there something Orhn or I can do? Maybe something that Yugo can help with?”