Vlad Tepes, the Vigilante Vampire

by Lillie J. Roberts

  “Raymond?” I called out to the boy. “Raymond Banton?”

  His feral eyes looked back into mine and he found his voice, rusty from disuse. “Do I know you? Can you tell me where I am? What's happened to me?” He croaked in more of a growl, he'd been lost to the beast for so long, he'd almost forgotten how to be human. It was time to remind him.

  “No, kid, you don't know me. I was sent here to find you, to help you.” Reaching out with an open palmed hand, I tried to draw him closer, but he was skittish and backed further away.

  “No, you were sent here to kill me.” He sniffed the air again, scenting the truth. “I don't even know what happened to me, I'm not me anymore.” Tears gathered in his eyes, he was lost, but how could I help him. What about the bastard that changed him? Whoever turned and left the boy, unknowing or uncaring about what happened to the human the boy had used to be, deserved to answer for their crime.

  “You're right, Raymond, if you won't let me help you, then I'm going to have to kill you.” I spoke softly, and took a careful step forward. The feral eyes were back, distrustful, suspicious, used to being abused.

  “Just do it then,” Raymond called back, then he groaned, hands on his head. “What have I become? Why?”

  “I don't know, kid, but if you'll let me, I'll try to find out.”

  “What are you? You don't smell right.” He sniffed the air once more and growled hoarsely.

  “Kid, I'm either you're savior or executioner, it's your choice. Please make it a wise decision.” And I thought there could be only one possible answer.

  “Can you tell me?” He cleared his throat, his voice thickening with his emotions. “What happened to me?” He looked defeated. Maybe he was contemplating truly giving up, but if he struck out at me, I'd have but one choice. There was an internal struggle going on beneath his flesh, would he choose life or true death, would the struggle end between us, was he contemplating his ending? Or would he choose to give in?

  “Were you attacked almost two years ago?” I questioned as I tried to understand this being in front of me.

  “Yeah, something took me, fed from me. I was kept in a basement, it was dark all the time. The one that had me, used me, bit me.” Raymond pulled back his sleeves revealing gouge marks. “They used to tell me I was too weak to runaway. They were wrong.” He revealed his story in broken pieces. “They hunted me, but I hid. I'm real good at hiding.” He shuffled his feet, kicked the dirt clots where grass should have been.

  "Then, one night he found me and ripped my throat out.” Raymond brought his hand to his neck. “I thought I was dying then I healed but hurt all over.” He released a shivering sigh, the pain of the turn could be gut wrenching, a horrible experience if the newly turned was left to their own devices, without guidance or blood. His voice growled and he sounded old, too long alone with the untrained madness of vampiric need. “At first, there were more of us, but now I'm the only one.”

  “Who found you, Raymond?” I asked. This would be my true prey.

  “I don't know... He had crazy eyes, but I never heard his name, he was just the master. He killed the others by reaching in and tearing out their hearts. Then there was only me.” His eyes roamed the area, fear glowing in their depths. “Afterward, I got so hungry, but my stomach couldn't take food, it only wanted blood and I had to start hunting... and killing. The sun burned me, blistered my skin.” He gazed at me with his red hazed eyes. “What's the matter with me?”

  Closing my eyes, I tried to see the attack through his, to see what had attacked him. There it was.... in a glimpse of a memory. Moving through the fog of his thoughts, most tinged red with rage, I found what I was looking for, my eyes opening wide. It had been a wolf attack. How had a wolf come to be in central Illinois?

  “You were attacked by a wolf carrying a virus, whether it was vampiric or were. I'll know more after we get out of here. Come on, Raymond, let me try to help you,” I coaxed with an outstretched hand. “I'm part of a powerful family, let me find out if there's a way to fix this.”

  “No.” He backed away in fear, he must have read my face. “If I go with you, you'll kill me.”

  “If you don't come with me, I'll be forced to kill you. If you do, I'm going to try to help you.”

  “Promise?” The distrust was back in his eyes.

  “Nothing in life is a sure thing, kid, but yeah, I promise to do everything I can to help you. Now, what's it going to be, certain death or maybe life?”

  “I'm fucked either way.” His rusty voice creaked.

  “Probably.” Sighing, I glanced up. I was tired, ready to be done with this one way or the other. “So, which is it? The easy way or the hard way? Because, kid, I can't let you go.”

  “Fuck, I'm so fucked.” He raised his eyes. “Shit, I'll go with you.”

  Relief washed through me. Kids were strictly off limits to vampires and I didn't want to start off by killing one now. I held out my hand and motioned ahead of me, toward the car. “Come on, climb in.”

  “Cool car,” Raymond croaked. His humanity was searching for a way back. “You must be loaded.”

  “Yeah, my family is. Home's pretty far, we need to find a place to clean you up then head back to my hotel. Tomorrow evening, we have a long drive back into Chicago.”

  “I've never been to Chicago.” He leaned back uneasily.

  Shaking my head at the kid, I thought about what I was going to say to Vanic and only hoped it wouldn't be the last place Raymond saw before he met his true death. The Council surely had known something was going on, a rogue loose in central Illinois wouldn't go unnoticed. Now I had to drag Raymond back to our home. I turned away, reaching out to Vanic.

  “Father, the rogue is only a boy. Something bad has happened to his mind. It's a jumble, a nonsensical mess. He was attacked by a were or a vampire hiding in were clothing.”

  His response was exact. “Bring him back to Chicago. I'll deal with the situation.”

  I had to wonder what that meant, because good or bad, I'd do what he decided, regardless of what I'd told the kid. I hoped that meant avoiding the death of my new young charge. But I wouldn't know until our return, there are some things better said in person, and if I was going to plead for his life, I needed to know it was worth dying for.

  *****

  Raymond was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I contacted a local doctor—one of our kind. He normally worked in the morgue as a medical examiner and we arranged to meet. In these modern times, having a vampire working with the dead was essential. It was one way of locating vampire turnings before problems like Raymond occurred. The untrained rogue can be deadly, and to more than the human population, to all vampires. There were clear signs of an attack, but I was still unsure if it was the wolf attack I observed in his thoughts, or a vampire hunting in animal form, even his body gave off the two differing scents.

  Pulling the doctor aside, I had to know. “So, can you tell? Is he true vampire or were?”

  “Honestly, his canine development follows along the line of vampiric. But there still exists the possibility of were from his descriptions. I'll have his blood work tomorrow. If a mutation exists, you'll be informed. The results will be forwarded to your home in Chicago.” At least it was something, maybe Raymond's behavior could be reversed, taught to abide with the Council laws. At least I had something to work from.

  “Um, Doc?” Raymond was wearing filthy rags. He'd need fresh clothing.

  “What else can I do for you, Mr. Tepes?” The man turned to look up at me before heading to his office. We were on the lower level of the medical examiner's building, outside the morgue.

  “Can you scrounge up some clothes for the kid to wear, a pair of jeans, t-shirt, maybe some Chucks? I can't take him back to the hotel looking the way he does.” Someone was sure to notice a man bringing a wild teen back to his room. The last thing I needed was a visit from the Champaign PD.

  “Sure, let me see what I can do.”

  “And, Doc, is there a
place where he can grab a shower?” He needed to bathe before fresh clothing touched his skin. His stink was overwhelming, grimy with filth.

  “Yeah, around the corner are shower stalls, disinfecting soap, and shampoo. Towels are in the first cabinet. I'll see about the clothes.”

  “Thanks, Doc, send us the bill.” My next task was to try to make Raymond appear less feral, if it was possible. His beast still ruled his body, he'd never been taught how to live with his vampirism. He was never given the choice.

  “The Doc's got a shower for you.” I found Raymond with his back pressed to the wall of refrigeration units. His feral eyes roamed the space, the pungent scent of antiseptic and filth overrode the frigid air.

  His body creaked to a stand. “Where?” His eyes still didn't trust.

  “Just around the corner. Don't worry, it's safe. I can't take you back to the hotel like you are now.” I held out my hand, and he stepped back. “Follow me.” I turned, giving him my back and my trust, and led the way to the showers.

  As luck would have it, Raymond was eager for a shower, soap, and shampoo, luxuries he'd forgotten. After he'd cleaned up, I set about explaining the way of life for the newly turned, what the Vampire Hierarchy would tolerate and what would earn your true death. So far, he'd lived the life of the beast, now it was time to return to the place where humanity existed.

  “You have to live within vampire protocols,” I explained to my young charge. “The governing Council of the Vampire Hierarchy brings swift justice to those either unwilling to conform or unable. There is no mercy and you, my young friend, have been living outside, drawing attention. It has to stop.”

  “I don't want to live this way, I want to be normal. I want to go home.” Raymond stood before me, still damp from his shower looking even more vulnerable than he had before.

  “I'm sorry. There's no going home. This,” I pointed to his body and mine, “is your new normal.”

  “And if I don't want to live like this?” he questioned, eyes downcast.

  “Then you seek your true death.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, Vanic would be so much better at this than me.

  “True death? I'm alive, but not, what's the difference?” He lifted his muddy eyes to mine.

  “Even vampires don't live forever. Sooner or later, death waits for us all.” It was the truth, better to understand it now than when a splinter of wood was being forced through his heart. The kid resisted at every turn, and I had no idea if he was even going to be allowed to live, but I had to try. He was more concerned with hunting, finding his next meal. Raymond also needed to know the truth before arriving in Chicago. If the Council demanded his death, it would be delivered quickly and expertly, no possibility of reprieve.

  *****

  Back in Chicago, Vanic waited for us. Sarah met us as we arrived with a room for our guest.

  “Where's Vanic? We need to talk.” I was more brusque than I wanted to be, but I was worried, and not only for myself.

  “He's waiting for you in his office.” I glanced over at Raymond, then back at Sarah who read my eyes.

  “Don't worry, I'll take good care of him. He'll be fine. Hi, Raymond, I'm Sarah. Come on, let's get you settled.” She smiled and hold out her small hand. Raymond, like the youth he really was, openly accepted her offer and followed willingly. Maybe it was because she was a beauty, but whatever the reason, I was glad to see him accepting one of us.

  Raymond stayed with Sarah as I went in search of Vanic. I had a feeling Raymond's case was going to have to be pleaded before a swift judgment came.

  *****

  Vanic was going over paperwork, even vampires had bureaucracy, but he seemed to be adapting well to the new position the Council had thrust upon him. He looked up when I entered the room and met my eyes. I had a hard sell in front of me, that much I knew, what I didn't know was if he was willing to buy.

  “Father,” I greeted the man that I known for centuries, “do you want to hear what I have to say, or is the decision already made?”

  “I'll listen, but don't ask for the sun and the moon, and expect to get the stars as well.”

  “His name is Raymond, he should never have been turned. I had to try, he's only a kid. He doesn't even know what the hell's happened to him. Did you just want me to kill him, without giving him a chance to learn? Is that what you did with me?” I looked at the man I considered my father. “He's barely older than I was when you found me.”

  Vanic rubbed his hand across his weary face and sighed. “No, Vlad, I didn't expect you to kill him. Hell, I don't know what to expect or what to think. I haven't run into anything like this in all my years. Children are forbidden, but I do know he may be lost, having waited too long. His humanity may be gone. If he can only see the prey, if he can't learn to accept what was done to him, he will die, if not by your hand or mine, the Council will step in.” He studied his papers then glanced up again, deciding. “If they step in, I can only assume you and I will be gone.” His black stare found my grey one. “Are you willing to make him your responsibility? Do you know what it means?”

  “I think I do.” I grimaced. “He won't be easy, he's almost feral.”

  “Make sure you understand.” He sighed again. “If you vow to help him and he can't or won't be helped, it'll be your hand to finish the job.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “And the Council may demand your death as well.”

  “Figured that much too.”

  “So long as you know. I don't want to lose you.”

  “Don't worry, I don't want to be lost either.” I rubbed my tired face. “I better go retrieve Raymond, I left him with Sarah.”

  “Great, she has someone else to mother, just what she needs.” His gaze was stern but pleasure lurked in the depth of his blue-black eyes. “Go get him, let’s see what you're willing to stick your neck out for.” He leaned forward, his fingers clasped over his papers. “Damn politics.” He muttered under his breath.

  “Sure, but he's a little skittish, don't expect a lot.” And I went in search of the boy I'd just staked my life on.

  *****

  My fate seemed to be sealed with Vanic's words, and I searched for the presence of Raymond and Sarah, finding them upstairs where she was showing him around, trying to put him at ease. When I entered the room, Raymond looked closed off, hands fisted tight and shoved into his pockets. His brown eyes were hooded, his thin stature tightly held. He still had the feral hunted look around his eyes, it was going to take some time to undo a year's worth of damage.

  “How's it going, did Sarah show you your room?”

  “Yeah, don't think I can stay here.” His eyes roamed nervously, he wanted to see everything. The result was system overload.

  “Hey, calm down, it's going to be okay.” He held himself tight, ready to bolt.

  “How can I hunt here?” He circled around the room, eyes going wide. “It's too closed in here.”

  “I'll help you, show you how to hunt.” I reached my open palm to him, like trying to make friends with an angry dog. “Come on, I want you to meet my father.”

  He edged away, backing to the wall. “You promise you'll take me out? Show me where to hunt?” Panic filled his scared eyes.

  “Yeah, kid. Come on.” I eased over to him to drop my arm around his bony shoulders. “Let's go see Vanic, then we'll see about hunting.” My voice filled with calmness, and he visibly relaxed.

  Though he seemed unwilling, he followed me as I left the room, still dressed like a skater boy, skinny jeans, grey Metallica tee, and black chucks.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We made our way back to Vanic's offices where he waited to meet the young vampire, our rogue. We moved with quietness as Raymond's behavior calmed, though his eyes remained hooded. He was taking in his new surroundings, trying to adjust. At least his eyes no longer glowed red with a bloodlust fever.

  Raymond tensed for a moment, his vision shot wide as he took in his surroundings, I don't think he'd ever known w
ealth before, and I just dumped him into the lap of vampire luxury. I wondered what was going through his mind, I wanted to touch it, but his thoughts were a jumble. Raymond remained a puzzle, one hard to figure out.

  We entered the room and Vanic eyeballed the young man next to me, a look of shock flashed across his face. The boy was so young, muscles strained to cover his meager bones, his frame long and lanky, a teenager. Who would have turned a boy so young? His thoughts bled into mine as he peered at me, understanding my need to help the young vampire.

  He stood from behind his desk and cleared his throat. “Raymond?” he questioned.

  Raymond gave him back scared eyes, and raised a shoulder in a tight shrug. Vanic walked forward to stand in front of the boy.

  “Raymond, I'd like you to meet Vanic. He's the head of our family and my father.” I spoke with quiet calm, and Vanic extended his hand, palm up, in an easy gesture. “Go ahead, kid, shake his hand, he's not going to bite.” It would take a long time for Raymond to trust again.

  His eyes darted swiftly around the room and back to Vanic. He reached out to clasp Vanic's hand. “Hey.”

  “Do you know what happened to you? Who attacked you?” he asked the same questions that I'd attempted. But Raymond was just as confused as he had been when I'd asked the questions, with the same answers. I felt the touch of his thoughts as he tried to delve into the young vampire's mind. A look of consternation crossed his face, he struggled to see past the same jumble of thoughts.

  Then a dawning crossed Vanic's features, he discovered something that I missed. Glancing from Raymond to Vanic, I watched as he moved deeper, probing past the illusion used by the true rogue vampire. There's something to be said for being as old as he was. As he probed, he drew me along with him, and I joined him in his quest. Two minds searching would unravel the truth quicker. At first, I saw what I'd seen earlier, a wolf lunged at the boy as he walked on the edge of a park.