Reborn by Blood

by Richard Murray

  “Well if yesterday is any indication of what life as a Vampire will be like, I am going to need it.” I said as I took a sip of the tea. It tasted off and I made a face.

  “Yeah there’s a load of crap about Vampires being super special and the rightful rulers of the world and so on. I got bored and skipped most of it.”

  “Sounds like I’ll need to read it.”

  “Probably a good idea. Oh, one thing I will say is avoid silver.” She said.

  “Why?”

  “Apparently you guys are allergic to it or something, so it will burn you.”

  “Just great, the sun burns me, silver burns me... I’m seeing a definite theme and it isn’t pleasant.”

  “One of the many bonuses to being undead.” She said with a smirk.

  “Is that what I am? Undead?”

  “According to the book, yeah. You died and the blood keeps you moving but you are still kind of dead.” She said with a widening grin. “You know what that means don’t you?”

  “What?” I asked with more than a little dread.

  “You aren’t going to have much luck with the ladies.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well think about it.” She said, “If you’re dead, your heart isn’t beating.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “What does the heart do? It pumps blood around the body right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What part of your body needs the blood to be pumped into it when you get all excited?” she asked innocently with a snigger that became a full laugh at my look of horror as realisation dawned.

  “You mean I can’t...”

  “Stands to reason doesn’t it?” she asked, “Not even Viagra will help you.”

  “Oh good lord... what is the point of being young and undying if I can’t do anything.” I said miserably.

  “Buck up mate. Could be worse.”

  “How the hell could it be worse?”

  “Yeah you have a point.” She sniggered again as she drank her tea.

  I sat in silence and brooded. Well, I called it brooding but it was closer to sulking. My side ached, my throat was sore and the tea was doing nothing to assuage my thirst. On top of that, I had just had the worst kind of news a man could possibly get.

  With a deep sigh that caused a new round of giggling from Beth, I took another sip of the tea.

  “So what do we do now?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I am going to have to quit my job, I have no place to live, no money, no phone, no clothes... do I really need to go on?”

  “You have a nice long life ahead of you” she sniggered.

  “Yeah, thanks. Really helpful.”

  “Well if it means anything you can stay here as long as you need.” She said.

  “It does actually. Thanks.”

  “I won’t even charge you rent, till you get a job.” She laughed.

  My glare just made her laugh harder and I gave up and took another sip of the tea. If anything it was making me feel a little nauseous. A chill ran through me as a thought occurred.

  “What did the book say about eating and drinking?” I asked.

  “No idea, I didn’t get that far.”

  “Where is it?”

  “In my room, hold on.” She rose from the couch and padded almost silently into her room, returning a moment later with the book in hand that she passed to me.

  The cover was made from actual leather and embossed with an image and symbols that I didn’t recognise. I opened it and flicked through the first few pages looking for an index. Finding nothing of the sort, I started leafing through the pages and scanning each one.

  “Here, it says... oh damn.” I muttered.

  “What?”

  “I can eat and drink like normal and in fact my body functions just like any normal human as long as I have enough blood in my system.” I said.

  “So the blood’s your energy source?”

  “I guess so, which makes you a walking battery.” I said and it was my turn to snigger.

  “Ok so what’s the problem” she said as she ignored my smirk.

  “Healing and doing other Vampy things will use up my reserves faster than normal. Meaning, the more I need to heal, the more often I will need to drink blood.”

  “But you just drank a whole guy yesterday.”

  I read a few more pages before saying, “The first time is different. All of that blood, that energy is used to fully alter the human into a permanent Vampire. After that, most Vamps will need to drink a few pints of blood a week at most to maintain themselves.”

  “So you need to drink some blood? What happens if you don’t?” she asked with a thoughtful expression.

  “If the Vampire goes without blood for a significant period of time, the thirst for this source of life will continue to grow until, like a mindless beast the Vampire will attack any living creature to receive sustenance.” I read.

  “So how far off a mindless beast are you right now?” she asked.

  “I think I’m good, though it would probably be best if I had some blood today.” I said.

  “Is it just human or can you have animal blood?”

  I scanned the page before finding the right passage, “While the blood of lesser creatures can sustain us in the direst of circumstances, the blood of these creatures has a sour taste and will provide little pleasure.”

  “It may be worth getting some and sticking it in the fridge in case you get the urge to chow down on me when you get thirsty.”

  “Where would we get it though? I don’t think butchers sell the stuff anymore.”

  “Maybe an abattoir? Let me check online” she said as she pulled her laptop off the coffee table and onto her lap.

  I read through the book patiently as she tapped away on the keys of her computer. It was a disturbing read in parts and a great source of information in others.

  “Hey, apparently I’m in thrall to my sire and I have to do what he says.” I said to Beth.

  “Yeah, I read that. Basically you’re his bitch.”

  “I wouldn’t put it like that.” I said defensively, “I don’t feel any special urge to do his bidding. I know he told me to call him tomorrow but I don’t feel compelled to do it.”

  “Yeah but you will be doing it though won’t you?”

  “Well yeah, but that’s because he threatened me with death if I didn’t do as he said. But from what I just read, he could have just commanded me to do it and I would have had to.”

  “It’s something to ask him about anyway,” Beth agreed, “Here we go... apparently most butchers won’t sell blood because of the regulations they have to follow. We might be able to get it from an abattoir though.”

  “Well that’s worth a try. Is there one close by?”

  “How do you feel about rats?” she asked as she glanced across at me.

  “No real feeling one way or the other, why?”

  “Well there’s a pet shop in town that sells them. We could buy a dozen and keep them as snacks for you.”

  “No.”

  “You sure?” she asked.

  “Yes.” I said firmly.

  “Fine. I’ll look for an abattoir.” She said and went back to tapping on the keys.

  I waited patiently for her to find a number. The idea of drinking blood was still fairly revolting but incredibly enticing at the same time. I certainly didn’t want to kill anyone else and I wasn’t sure how much I would need to drink or if I would know when to stop if I tried drinking from a person again.

  “I have one.” Beth said, “It has a phone number we can try.”

  “Where about is it?”

  “Ah crap, it doesn’t matter. It isn’t open on a weekend.”

  “So what am I supposed to do?”

  “I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow.” Beth said with a sideways glance towards me. “You are looking a little pale though; you think you can manage until then?”

  “
How should I know? I’ve been a Vampire since yesterday. This is all kind of new to me.” I said miserably before lapsing into silence.

  “Wait here, I have an idea.” Beth said before standing and striding out of the flat and leaving me alone with just my nausea inducing cup of tea and a faint feeling of unquenchable thirst.

  I leafed through the book some more before dropping it back onto the table. It was hand written and most likely by several different people judging from the scrawl which left parts almost illegible.

  With so much that had happened, I hadn’t really had the chance to set it all straight in my mind. I was a Vampire now and I still had only a limited understanding of what that meant. Heck, even a day ago I would have laughed in the face of anyone who told me that Vampires were real.

  The flats door swung open with a thump as it banged against the wall and Beth walked in with a rough looking woman following. I glanced questioningly at Beth.

  “This is Lisa” Beth said with a lopsided grin, “She works nights if you get what I mean.”

  “Ok...” I said with no real idea.

  “She means I’m a prostitute love” Lisa said in a gravelly voice that could only come from chain smoking a pack or more a day.

  “Right.” I said.

  “Lisa will solve your little problem” Beth said.

  “You told her?” I hissed back at her.

  “No point hiding it. She is going to notice when you start sucking on her neck” Beth said.

  “You’re ok with this?” I asked Lisa.

  “Fine by me love, as long as the moneys good I don’t care what you’re into.” She replied with a bored indifference that bordered on catatonia.

  “So how do you want to do it?” Beth asked me as she gestured for Lisa to sit.

  “I have no idea” I said as I studied the overweight lady of the night who was sitting beside me.

  She was dressed in pink sweatpants and a white vest top that was struggling to contain her ample breasts. Her hair hung around her face, past the time for a touch up on the colour and definitely way past the time for a good wash.

  With her sat so close to me I became very aware of her odour. The scents of her shower gel intermingled with that of her deodorant and perfume. Beneath it all was the undeniable scent of her blood, warm and enticing. I was suddenly very aware that I was salivating.

  “So you going to bite her neck?” Beth asked.

  “I think that I could manage with a wrist” I said as I eyed the vein that seemed to glow beneath her skin to my eyes. “It will be less noticeable.”

  “Ok get on with it.”

  I lifted her hand gently with my own and held it, almost reverently before my face. A sidelong glance at Lisa showed that she was looking almost bored as she waited patiently.

  “What’s the hold up?” Beth said as I paused.

  “I don’t actually know how to do this.” I admitted.

  “You don’t know how? You just bite don’t you?” Beth laughed. “Any idiot can do that.”

  “Yeah but my... you know, they aren’t coming out.”

  “Maybe you have to... I don’t know get close” Beth suggested.

  “It might help if you weren’t watching.”

  “Fine, I’ll turn around if that makes it easier.” Beth said as she spun on her heels and sat on the arm of the couch, facing away from me.

  I raised Lisa’s arm towards my mouth and paused to inhale the incredible scent of her blood. I heard a faint ‘snick’ and felt my fangs snap into place. It was a not unpleasant feeling.

  Moving almost by instinct, I guided my fangs down over the vein and felt the faint spasm of her arm as they sank into her flesh. My mouth filled with heat as the dark lifeblood gushed into my mouth and I began to drink.

  It was different to the first time. It was a deep feeling of pleasure, every part of my body felt as though it were coming alive. I could feel the warm air currents as they moved across my skin. I could hear a half dozen hearts beating in the adjoining flats.

  With an effort I pulled back away from Lisa and looked up to meet Beth’s flushed gaze.

  “That was awesome” She said with a giggle and I grinned right back at her.

  “Is it supposed to stop bleeding now?” Lisa said with a touch of panic entering her voice.

  I looked down at her wrist, still held tightly in my grip and saw that the blood was flowing steadily from the two puncture wounds on her wrist.

  “Oh crap.” Was all I could think to say.

  “Bite your finger and put some of your blood over each of the holes” Beth said with a sigh.

  “What good will that do?”

  “Just do it” she instructed.

  With little else to try I did as I was told and placed my index finger in my mouth before biting down and piercing the tip with a fang. A dark droplet of blood formed immediately and I placed it down onto first one puncture wound and then the next.

  “See, your book told you that is what you had to do.” Beth said as I watched in amazement as the blood slowed to a trickle and then stopped altogether.

  “What happened?”

  “Something in your blood kick starts the healing. Not much from just that drop, but enough to seal the vein.” Beth said, “You should really read the book.”

  “Yeah, I’ll get to it.” I said with a glance at Lisa, “You ok?” I asked.

  “Oh I’ll be fine love. It felt a bit strange but wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

  “Have something to drink and a bite to eat and you should be fine.” Beth said as she handed Lisa a towel and a handful of notes.

  Lisa nodded and wiped off her wrist with the towel before leaving with the money clutched tightly in her fist.

  “Where did you find her and how much did you pay her?” I asked.

  “She lives a couple of floors down and I gave her pretty much all the money we had.” Beth said as she grabbed a dishcloth and started cleaning the spilt blood.

  “So we have no money.” I said. “Are you sure she won’t tell everyone about me?”

  “Nah she’ll be quiet. I told her we may need her services again and she isn’t going to muck that up. She likes her money too much.” She said with a glance up at me. “You should go and wash your face.”

  I reached up and felt the dampness around my mouth and on my chin. “Yeah I guess I should” I said.

  As I pushed myself off of the couch I realised that I could no longer feel much pain from my ribs. With a tentative touch I was surprised to find that my ribs felt just about healed and my thirst was gone. With a smile I walked into the bathroom to wash the blood off of my face.

  Chapter 6

  I slept until late on Monday and only awoke after the sun was high into the sky. Despite the remnants of the happy feelings generated by drinking the prostitutes blood, I had an insistent throbbing somewhere in the back of my mind.

  “You’re awake” Beth said, pointing out the obvious.

  “Yeah, where’s your phone?”

  “Coffee table, why?”

  I ignored her question and picked up the phone before crossing to the coat hooks by the door and searching in the pockets for the business card Sebastian had given me.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Beth asked.

  She was standing by the kitchen sink with a mug in her hand, steam rising faintly from the top and looking at me with a bemused expression.

  “No idea, I just really think I need to call him.”

  “Ooh that’ll be Vampire dad doing his Sire thing.” Beth said with a smirk that I did my best to ignore as I dialled the number shown on the card. It rang four times before it was answered.

  “I have a task for you” said Sebastian and as soon as he spoke, the throbbing ceased.

  “What task?” I asked cautiously.

  “I will send you an address. You will go there and collect an item that you will then bring to me.”

  “That’s all?”

  “That is all, yes. A simple task th
at I would imagine even you can accomplish.” Sebastian said with a hint of mockery in his smooth tones.

  “Are you at least going to pay me for doing this?” I asked hopefully.

  “Of course not.”

  “Come on, you owe me.”

  “I do?”

  “You set fire to my flat.” I said, “I have to give up my job because I can’t sit in a sunlit office all day and I have no money.”

  “That is not my problem.” Sebastian said before he ended the call.

  “Well that seemed to go well” Beth commented.

  “He’s a prick.” I said as the phone vibrated in my hand. I glanced down at the display to see a text had arrived from Sebastian’s number. I noted the address and tossed the phone onto the couch.

  “Looks like I’m going out” I said with a sigh as I pulled on my jacket and shoes.

  “I’ll drive” Beth said happily.

  “You don’t have to come. I’m the one who is stuck working for him.” I said as I put on the baseball cap and Beth’s shades.

  “I have nothing to do anyway and it beats sitting around here or looking for a job.” She said.

  “What happened to your job?” I asked. “The one at the coffee place.”

  “Got fired on Friday, I told you that.” She said with a grin, “Though you were busy being felt up by your Vampire friend so must have missed it.”

  “He didn’t touch me.” I said before asking anxiously “did he?”

  Beth laughed as she led the way out of the door and I followed her muttering to myself before catching up with her as she reached the lift.

  “So where we headed?” she asked.

  “Some place called ‘Magik Earth’ in town.”

  “Oh yeah, I know that place. It sells crystals and all that Wicca stuff.”

  “How do you know it?” I asked curiously as we got into the lift.

  “Remember Mel?” she asked and I nodded, “Well she was into all the new age stuff and when we were dating she insisted that I go buy some crystals to help heal my aura or some stupid thing like that.”

  “I take it they didn’t work.” I said with a grin that she ignored.

  The lift came to a stop on the ground floor and I squinted, knowing that the lift doors opened in front of the glass panelled doors of the entrance to the block of flats and I didn’t want to be blinded by the sunlight.