Saldivar nodded toward the pale blue plate. “Please. Eat. You must be famished.”
“Yes,” was all Van said before he began eating. The food was delightful. It tasted as food is supposed to taste. Absolutely savory. Van consumed it with gusto, not leaving a crumb. He washed it all down with a glass of wine.
Extraordinary, Van thought. That beastly hunger still gnawed at his gut even though he had eaten a large quantity of food. There was something definitely wrong here. Food was supposed to be satisfying. Filling. Yet, the hunger still loomed over him like an unseen entity.
Van wiped his mouth with a napkin as Saldivar spoke. “I take it the food was acceptable?” he inquired.
“Very much,” Van rejoined. He put his napkin onto his plate and pushed it away.
“Now,” Saldivar said and started to rise, “bring your wine and we will sit by the fire and I will tell you my story and why I am here to help you,” he elucidated.
Van took his now refilled glass of wine and followed Saldivar into the living area. He sat on a plush burgundy seated chair facing the fire as Saldivar sat adjacent to Van so he could talk to him face à face.
Saldivar was obviously in no rush to start. He took his time settling comfortably in his chair.
“Do not interrupt me even though you might find my story unbelievable. What I am about to tell you holds no fallacy,” he explained. “S’il vous plaît?”
Van nodded.
Saldivar crossed his legs and thus began his story:
CHAPTER II
“I was born just as you were: from my mother’s womb. I was born with no nobility and our family did not have a lot though we did have some farm land. We did manage to eat every day from the vegetables my mother would get from our small garden. That in itself was a blessing. We had a small home but nothing like you see before you now. Life was pleasant enough but there were still very hard times to be had.
“I was brought into this world in the year 1200. I know what you are thinking: it’s impossible that I am still alive. I will explain this to you in time.
“During this time, Philip II was the ruler of France. His reign began in 1180 and lasted for forty-three years. Life was somewhat difficult but Philip II had helped develop Paris into a place of culture and learning. Paris was the best it had been in a long time and Philip II was to be credited for this.
“Now after the Hundred Years’ War in 1453, our people were able to drive the English away. Then King Louis XI had control over our country for about twenty-two years. I was there during his speech. He was quite a powerful speaker with a voice held with conviction. He had made it so that France had to be ruled absolutely by French Kings. France roared with happiness that day. We were able to be our own people, if you will.
“I still can remember when France built the Louvre Palace in the 1200’s. It is one of the largest palaces in the world. It has been rebuilt, of course, around the 1500’s. It is quite a wondrous, glorious sight. People for miles and miles come to see it. They travel from different countries just to see our culture, appreciate our talents. And I imagine that as long as it stands, millions more will walk through the doors of the palace.”
Saldivar paused to take a fortifying breath before continuing. “I am giving you a little history of France to help accomplish the truth in what I am saying. I would not lie to you.”
Saldivar folded his hands over his knee. “As you well know, we are under a different King’s rule. I hear the whispers of some that wish the king would be overthrown. No one knows exactly who these people are. My assumption is they fear punishment for discussing about such things as this.
“I do not know what the future holds……for them, any way. I know my future as well as yours, if you let me help you.”
Saldivar took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say. He closed his eyes and then opened them slowly.
“My parents were killed when soldiers of our king’s enemy raided our archaic, simple little village. The village did not have a lot of money, so what did they want? Blood? The soldiers were fighting everywhere. There seemed to be bloodshed in every niche of the village. Blood seemed to cry down from the sky and drown our village in torment and anger. Children ran, screaming for help, screaming for their mother or their father. Crying for the soldiers not to kill their family. I can still see the aftermath. Still smell the stench of death that permeated the streets. I can still remember the small children who lay lifeless on the path, having been trampled by horses of the soldiers. Unfortunately, I had arrived too late to assist any one. I only saw the agony left behind. I had later found out that my parents accidently got in the way and felt the bite of the wrong end of the sword. Given the state of the village, they would have died any way.” Saldivar blinked back tears. They glistened like diamonds in his ebony lashes.
Van saw the despair in Saldivar’s amber eyes. He swallowed the sudden lump that had formed in his throat. He wanted to say something comforting to Saldivar but words failed him. He figured that there were no words to mend such a broken past.
Still, Saldivar needed to press on. “It seemed like it only happened yesterday. But it had happened in 1227. I was young. I wanted to see the world. And that was how I was paid for my ambitions,” he ground our roughly, his voice breaking. Van could clearly hear the regret lacing Saldivar’s words. It was evident that he was beating himself up over it every day of his life.
“I was very distraught over the unlikely demise of my parents. I felt so guilty that I had been away when this tragedy had started. Sadly, as I had said, I had arrived too late. It seemed I should have been there with them. We could have died as a family.” Saldivar’s eyes were somber at his last statement. “Now I am-like you-the only one left.”
Saldivar’s eyes unexpectedly clouded over in a fiery rage that Van only slightly understood. “At first, I thought of ending my own life. Of going to the edge of France and jumping off into the frigid waters of an unforgiving sea. It would be my judge and executioner. I thought I had nothing left to live for.
“But soon those feelings were superseded with absolute hatred. I then swore with everything that I was, with every bit of honor left in me, I would taste revenge. Revenge for my parents, retribution for all the children and the parents that they had lost.
“I was so filled with malevolence I was not thinking properly. I was blinded by my new found rage. My faux pas was trying to sneak into our enemy’s castle. But I was clumsy the way I went about it. My anger had clouded my good judgment. I was captured by the guards patrolling the area. They hastily threw me into a dungeon that had never seen the light of day. The king did not even see me nor did he wish to. They gave me not a second thought. I was fed every other day. The food left something to be desired. I guess they had tried to kill me by starvation.”
Saldivar finished the last of his wine and took a calming breath. He knew he needed it in order to get through the next part.
“I was beaten a few times a week. Molested…… raped, even, by some of the guards who found my shame amusing.”
Saldivar’s face twisted in anger. “Had I been well, I would have killed them. But if I had killed them, I surely would have faced a beheading at sunrise, and alas, would have accomplished nothing.
“But with hardly any food or water-along with the beatings-I weakened quickly. I could not fight them off as one guard would hold me down while the other had what he called his ‘fun’ with me. Then, they would switch places and defile me. Again and again. It was a never ending humiliation.
“Oh and how I despised them. They had sick, twisted minds. As they forced themselves in me, they would make me say mea culpa over and over again.”
Van audibly gasped. “I’m guilty,” he said to himself more than to Saldivar.
“Yes,” Saldivar concurred with fire in his eyes. “Very revolting, those soldiers were. I’m not sorry to say that they have been long dead. They probably met a tragic end.”
Van nodded but kept
silent. He wanted to hear the rest of Saldivar’s enchanting, yet sorrowful story.
Saldivar cleared his throat and went on:
“Well, this evil torture went on for a couple of months. It felt like a life time has passed me. I almost forgot who I was or why I was there. I was losing myself.
“That is, until one rainy night. I heard muffled voices. They grew louder. Angrier. I heard a desperate scream. Then…….nothing. Only silence creeping about me.
“I heard the dungeon’s door slowly creak open, so I huddled up in the very dark recesses of the dungeon, trying to make myself unseen.
“’It is no use,’ the dark figure had said. ‘I can see you, so do not try to conceal yourself to me.’”
Van’s eyes widened in temblor but, nevertheless, sat mute. Though he was never put into a dungeon or debauched, he knew he was in his own prison on the streets of Paris. He had more in common with Saldivar than he first judged.
“Yes, we do, mon ami.” Saldivar grinned. It faded quickly as he knew he had to continue.
“You see, I did not know how this mysterious intruder could see me. There were no windows in my prison. Only dark, dank walls surrounded me with strange creatures that sat in every corner.
“I sat there, scared to the marrow. He had lit a candle so that I could observe him. He was a big man. Tall. Well defined and intimidating. I thought he was going to use me at the guards had done. It was not uncommon for this to happen. I did not know how I was going to fight off this one. I could not even fight off the guards and they were wicked enough as it was. But they were mere boys in comparison to him.
“Since there were no guards listening at the door, I presumed he must have paid them for time with me. It had to be a hefty sum because he was allowed in pretty quickly. Money makes people do strange things,” he said almost as a philosophical afterthought.
Van grimaced at the thought of being unable to fight off a man like this. And the disgustful way of being paid for and used against your will. Van couldn’t conceive of something this horrendous touching his life.
“Au contraire, Van,” Saldivar told him. “He was, in all senses, very different from the other males. I thought so at the time any way.
“The first time he had spoken, surprised me. His voice may have been composed and genteel, but it had a forcefulness that demanded the utmost attention. I was certain he had no trouble commanding a room full of the most glamorous people; people who usually would not otherwise look your way. He stood out in a way that was revered, if you will.
“’Please. Do not be frightened of me, Saldivar,’ he had spoken ever so calmly.
“And like you, mon ami, I was perplexed as to how he knew my name and where I was hiding. I thought I was hiding perfectly. Oh, but he saw. He saw everything
“’What do you want from me?’ I had asked him with trembling in my voice.
“When he answered my question and proceeded to explain, you could have imagined my disbelief as you have had the same feelings of me. It’s safe for me to assume that you still do,” he said with a slight smile.
“And, of course, I did not put my faith in his answer or his explanations. Moreover, I could not grasp at what he was telling me.
“So he began to grow angry and intolerant of me. I just knew he was about to kill me.
“’Do I need to prove my strength to you, mortal?’ he had asked raucously.
“It was then I saw his teeth. Ferocious. Gleaming. Sharp.
“I began to panic, ranting and raving like a mad man to escape whatever doom lay before me.
“But just as suddenly did I know the truth and calmed down. Why I had changed my mind so quickly, I did not understand. It was as if he was in my head. My thoughts. And……he was.”
Van gave Saldivar a discerning nod. Did Van himself not feel what Saldivar had felt long ago? No family? No friends? Being misused and abused by complete strangers? It seemed Saldivar was telling a story of Van’s own life. His own trials and tribulations save for the man with the teeth. Yes, he and Saldivar were different but they were the same in many ways. But Van had to know one thing before Saldivar continued. “This stranger called you a mortal. Was he not mortal as well?” Van had a feeling Saldivar’s answer was a negative. In the back of Van’s mind lingered the word ‘vampire’. He had never seen one. He’s heard stories of them before. Saldivar didn’t seem like a vampire. Vampires were blood thirsty monsters……weren’t they?
Saldivar smiled knowingly at Van. He knew Van was thinking of how similar their lives had been and that he would be curious about the stranger and his words.
Saldivar thought before answering. “No, he was not, Van. I am not any more. But I am not a blood thirsty monster. Have I done anything to bring you harm?”
Van looked down at his lap, now ashamed of thinking in such a way. “No,” he answered honestly. “You have been nothing but nice to me. I just didn’t think there were such a thing as….well….you know. Vampires.”
“Before you made any impetuous judgments about me or my kind, please remember that I still have much to tell you. Then, you may form an opinion about what is best for you.”
Van nodded. He would give Saldivar a chance to explain all that he had to. He took him in. Fed and clothed him. He did not try to harm him in any way. It was only fair to show him the same courtesy.
Saldivar cleared his throat and continued his story. “’You could have this power, Saldivar,’ the stranger had told me, ‘and much more. But you must do as I say if you want to be free.’
“I then knew I must do as he had commanded. I nodded in response.
“He whisked me away from my hellish prison faster than I could blink an eye. How far we had gone, I cannot tell you for time had escaped me. We stopped at a run down shack outside of Versailles, not far from Paris, which is where the stranger said we were. No one had lived in this place for decades and the stranger had informed me that it was the closest place he could find with absolute privacy.
“Before I could go on, I had to know his name. He simply said, ‘Zane’, and nothing more.
“Zane did not give me ample time to think about what was to come. I was terrified at first and thought I would faint as he sunk his teeth into my neck. I was convinced he would drain the very life out of me. Just before I fell from lack of blood, he lifted his head and looked into my eyes. They were blazing and beastly. My blood, smeared on his lips. He took a razor from his pocket and slightly nicked his neck. I saw the blood ooze from him. At first, I thought I would be ad nauseam. But when the first taste of this salty elixir hit my tongue, something came over me. I was like a ravenous beast and I starved for his blood.
“As I drank, I felt an electric-like sensation race throughout my entire body. It was a slight tingle at first but after a few sips more, the tingling became overpowering, as if it were a being upon itself.
“Zane tore away from me, holding pressure on his wound. He told me a few crucial things before disappearing into the night. It was like he had never been there.
“I noticed myself starting to change gradually. I heard things with new ears.
Every whisper. Every movement. My sense of smell was that of an animal…..if not better. I could smell the blood of humans. It was and is the Elixir of Life. It’s intoxicating. Like a drug I had to imbibe.
“My vision: perfect. Even in the dead of night I can detect the scudding of a mouse of the flying of a bat. No pun intended,” Saldivar quipped.
“My strength was that of twenty of the strongest men. I could run faster. Jump tall hurdles, though not at first. I had to learn to control all of these new and very powerful senses. If you do not have enough volition over them, they could take you over, get you caught, or drive you out of you mind.
“Eventually, with age comes strength to govern these powers, wisdom and ability to know when to use them.
“And I will never die. Forget the garlic myths, crosses and Holy water. They are only to relieve mortals’ minds. They do not
work. Sun, however, is our strongest enemy. One touch of the rays would nearly burn you to death. Stay out a little longer and your whole body disintegrates. What will be left of you would be dust. Dust for the wind to carry you away. Another thing that could incapacitate us is bleeding. If the wound is serious enough, we could quite well bleed to death in minutes,” Saldivar told him gravely.
“I am now five hundred years old. But I’m merely an infant in the eyes of an immortal. I can imagine it seems like an eternity to you. I will continue to learn and grow stronger with each passing year.
“As soon, you will,” Saldivar concluded with a cognitive grin.
“I know you have many questions running through you mind,” Saldivar pointed out.
“Yes. I do,” Van rejoined. “Why me? I do not understand why I have anything to do with vampires.” Van knew he should be shocked at the word ‘vampire’ but for some reason he could not feel afraid.
Saldivar sat in a moment of silence, thinking about how he was to answer Van without scaring him away. He breathed subtly. “You are hungry, yet food is dissatisfying no matter what you eat or how much you eat of it. Not as it should be. You grow sicker every day. And yet, you do not know what ails you. You have a rather rare gene. One that binds you to our kind. It is known as the Belladonna gene; an antigen that, through the years, has mutated into this form. I am sure that another generation will yield yet another mutation of this gene. If this antigen is not altered, you
will become sicker and sicker until you perish. You will not make it to your thirtieth year, I am afraid. That is, if you do not let me help you,” Saldivar finished dismally.
Van’s gray eyes were skeptical. “How do you know I have this rare gene?” he asked, doubt dripping off every word, his mouth pursed in disdain.
Saldivar chose to ignore Van’s obvious mistrust and press on. “When I was born again to my new father, he told me there would be others like me and others that would need to be transformed in order to live. He said I would know this one. They are known to us-the undead-as the Eternal Entity. I was to be patient until I found this person. And when the time came, I was to go to this one and help before it was too late. And now, I am here due to my link to you,” he finished.
NightFall (NightFall: Book One) Page 3
