His fate rested at the tip of his own thoughts; he, for the first time in his life, felt he had grown old. He could make his outer body youthful in the act of feeding, yet his inner self thought of all he had been through and this type of oldness was an aging he could not deny.
The half-clouded sun today had little effect on him; he could resist it, not that he liked the yellow burning orb. He was a rarity indeed; old, he again thought.
Garlic, running water, even holy symbols could do little to harm him, yet this fucking dreaded love curse would never leave his side. Somehow, someway, if he could get rid of it, he could have a life again.
He called to the ocean. “Why is it me who suffers such a plague? Is love so bad; is caring for someone such a terrible act?”
His love of the female form would torment him until the end. He received no answer to his plea.
It then occurred to him that perhaps this devil, this death, he or she who created the first of his kin, might remove such a mark from him. It was a thought he would consider and would not forget now.
He heard splashing along the shoreline to the right. He leaned back, hiding further in the small cave opening, zooming in with his long-distance eyesight. There he spotted a young couple playing in the water; they were no more than in their early twenties and the male was having a wonderful time chasing his lady friend, while both splashed about, be it hugging, kissing and laughing together.
He banged the back of his head to the rock. “Wonderful, show me this, and make me suffer even more!”
She was a beauty with her long black hair pulled back by a blood red kerchief. Drakko thought of blood. She even looked a little like his lost Caroline.
Her man eventually took her to the sand away from the water and tore off her white cropped blouse and black skirt and then he made love to her on the beach; their naked forms fully in view of Count Rothchild’s voyeur eyes.
He could smell her sex. He could not resist it; too much frustration was inside him, he needed a stress release.
A mere moment later he was upon the couple. He grabbed the man and lifted him off her and snapped his neck easily. He threw the body nearly twenty feet into the water and came down upon the terrified naked woman.
He satisfied his crazed passion for sex and soon blood. Lost in the madness of all that had happened recently, he savagely bit into her flesh, gouging her carotid artery, releasing a stream of red splashed raspberry upon his face.
She cried out in agony, but it did not matter; he sucked and sucked and he sucked, until she was no more than a shriveled mess of the woman she once was.
He was utterly ashamed of himself.
He called back to the sea, moving to sit by its edge in misery. “Saashia, where are you?” He waited and waited, then yelled again, “Are you out there?”
Finally he saw ripples upon the ocean’s surface moving his way. The minion he had charmed years ago was coming to give him company, but the being that emerged in a shallower section was not at all what he expected.
She was a large, greenish-blue ocean queen, one with scales upon her neck and sides. She wore a horned crown of a magnificent steel nature and all about the water as she came closer he saw tentacles moving around and splashing and diving back and forth.
What had he summoned?
She was not his mermaid friend, his charmed friend; not at all. This creature was something more powerful; she was the Matriarch of the Sea.
She licked her long snake-tailed tongue about her lips. This creature, this lady, was part woman, yet part octopus. Her strange eyes finally met his.
“Today you shall talk with me,” she announced in a slithering snake-like tone. “He, a mortal, who is contemplating life’s next chapter, deserves my ear.”
Wiping blood from his mouth Rothchild replied, “I am not a mortal. Where is Saashia?”
The large sea goddess rolled her head about. “Oh, she is fine, don’t you worry now, my dear. I sense you want freedom; well, I am able to take you far across the sea to places uncharted and unknown if it is your wish, for there you may start anew.”
“Yes,” said Count Rothchild, “somewhere far away, where there is nobody and no one knows me is a good option. I need to disappear for a long, long time. Who are you?”
The Matriarch did not answer his question, yet then asked, “But would you not die of boredom at such a far-off place?”
“Probably,” said Rothchild.
“Then that is not the answer you are seeking,” she countered, “or maybe it is; but not yet. We can find you a place lost out there where no one has ever been, one only reachable by sea, but now you must decide on an action that is eating away at you.”
A wave of water splashed high into Rothchild’s sitting body now and he was soaked from such. He swung his long dark brown hair back and peered at the Matriarch.
“I do not know what to do and I do not think there is anything I can do,” he replied. “You are quite a sea creature, I see, a lovely one. I think you could be a nice friend for me.”
“Nothing is impossible, my dear man, and may I say I can already hear in your voice and see in your eyes, you’re attempting to charm me.” She laughed at such an attempt. “Do you not realize that I am an avatar of a god; your little tricks have no effect upon me.”
She then rose up even higher; to ten foot tall. “Listen to me; you know what you truly want. You desire to love, be it how to lift the curse from your shoulders, the weight of the entire world upon them as you know it. You want to be free to take a woman, not only in lust, but in love, and to cherish her and have her all to your own.” The sea monster licked her lips at such knowledge. “I sense it was all you ever wanted, before you became who you are today.”
She was right, thought the count, dead on right. Perhaps she could read his mind. “Then tell me what I need to know; what do I need to do to lift this curse; you are as you claim, the almighty goddess of the sea, thus tell me the answer.”
The Matriarch’s eyes turned a shade of yellow, her lips opened up as if she was smiling. “I will tell you what you need to do, but first you must do me a favor as I do not go on land. There is a monster terrorizing this very region and not far from this place. He is a patchwork of body parts all taken from various corpses and in truth he is a lycanthrope, a gruesome werewolf; one that keeps killing all the sailors about and I do not like seeing these seaman gone before I get to play with them on my water bed.”
Rothchild nodded. “If you have the answer for me how to defeat this curse, a simple wolf will be easy prey.”
The Matriarch splashed about seemingly perturbed. “Do not think of him as a simpleton. He has been granted many powers, and will not fall easy. He is also incredibly strong, hardy and with great dexterity.”
“Why is it that you truly want me to kill him?” asked Rothchild.
“It is none of your concern. Do as I have asked and, when he is no more, we shall speak again.”
She then turned and dove into the water away from him; her multitude of tentacles with little suction cups squirmed all about and then followed her deeper into the sea.
PART FOUR
Chapter 21
Rothchild soon after left the shore; he changed his looks and traveled south to the village below. It was there he walked the streets, entered the shops and taverns all around listening to the humans speak. Soon enough the talk led him to discover more about this wolf man.
Drakko thought about it and changed his mind several times over. He wondered if he had the energy to hunt anything anymore. The creature was named Adrian; he now had found that out. Would he look for this thing, or not?
A were-beast was no easy task, and the so-called scientist that claimed to be a doctor in the villa had already made him super strong and able to withstand pain like no other. He would pay this doctor, this regarded scientist, a visit.
As it turned out, the two ran into one another in the market square; it was a move he had planned out.
“I
like mine that fresh, too,” the tall, dark-bearded man proclaimed, watching a shorter fellow with thin, short blonde hair make a purchase.
The known scientist had bought a steak and had such in hand dangling from a chain.
“Pardon me, do I know you?” the man asked.
Drakko tipped his top hat. “No, I do not think you do. My name is Ellington Veras; let me say I am a fan of yours.”
The man acknowledged such, but took his purchase and nodded, turning away and walking off.
“Hold on,” the long, brown coat wearing fan said, following the scientist. “I would like to ask you a few questions about your work.”
“I am not prone to discussing such matters with strangers, pardon me.” He again excused himself from the conversation.
The two of them went down a wide alley and Drakko made his way by and then in front of the shorter man.
He gazed deeply into his eyes and simply commanded, “I am a friend and would enjoy seeing your laboratory. Please take me there and we shall talk some, friend.”
After a little more convincing with such charm, both were heading in such a direction.
The man’s apartment was small and strewn about were a series of body parts, cutting tools and odd machines. It was one mess and rather gory, to say the least.
Drakko saw now that this chap was involved with some serious shit. “It appears that you are dabbling with the supernatural. Tell me your name and what have you accomplished on this island?” he asked the odd fellow.
The man began sweating and was hesitant to tell much of anything. Again, the charming visitor with him got him to telling all soon enough.
“I am Doctor Fallenstein, and I study human anatomy,” he announced. “I don't think you quite understand my work; in the future we will be able to replace each body part of the human frame, including organs.”
Drakko found such information interesting indeed. “This seems a bit preposterous; the dead cannot walk as they once were. I have seen them walk, but only as comatose corpses.”
Doctor Fallenstein looked at the count, be it a bit frazzled. “You think of me as a mad scientist, everybody does, but in truth I have raised one such being already.”
His visitor was anxious to hear what he had to say.
“I have created a man and his name is Adam.”
Drakko now wondered if he was trying to cover up the true name of his creation. He had been told it was Adrian.
Fallenstein went on. “At first, when he awoke, he was in a bit of disbelief that his body had been strung together and stitched from various pieces that I recovered; his organs a series of donations from sponsors unnamed. Adam’s first question was to ask who he was and I didn’t really have an answer.”
Doctor Fallenstein then found himself wondering why he was handing such information out to a complete stranger.
“Do I know you?” he asked. “You seem like an old pal; why is it that you’re even here? I don't even know why I’m telling you this; you seem like a charming fellow, one who is schooled in the arts, perhaps one who also delves into the unknown.”
“I am a pal,” replied Drakko, “and I am not one who shies away from the forbidden, thus please continue with your definition of such a creation.”
Chapter 22
From the Journal of Drakko Del Rothchild
The man here is one of a kind. He shows me even more oddities in this small lab, things I even find perturbing. He also tells me Adam no longer lives as we continue our discussions late into the evening and beyond.
I asked him bluntly at one point, “Are you sure Adam no longer lives?”
He took me to a doorway and then down a stairwell where a cool damp smell overtook us. It was there he showed me his no longer living creation.
There had to be another, one he has not told me anything yet about. The mystery of Adrian was now before me.
Our talk went like this:
“I find it hard to believe that you would stop after such a remarkable breakthrough.” I then could tell he wanted to excuse himself for the evening. His eyes met mine and I held back no more. “Tell me about Adrian, I want to know all about him.”
He looked at me with surprise in his eyes. “How do you know about Adrian?”
He rambled on about how he could do better after his first successful try, how the infusion of the blood had to be done more delicately and the connections of tissues, arteries and veins much more precise; for the second time his creation came to life, and this time he was like no other.
Yet Fallenstein explained that unfortunately he escaped and those were the words I wanted to hear. “Where do you think he has gone?” I asked him. “Have you tried to locate him?”
His answer was, “I am not sure where he is now. I tracked him to the north and let me say there were some remnants of his thought process still living his head. I regretfully must mention that he spoke of a woman by the name of Jezebel. I guess even after the body stops working and the brain shuts down for some time, if one is brought back from the dead, love is something never forgotten.”
Love, I thought to myself. He was talking to the wrong individual about love. Yet upon his words I felt a lump in my throat; how true it was that if one did find love, it was eternally embedded in one’s brain.
The doctor was not done telling me of such. He added, “However, Adrian is en route to become a beast.”
I told him rather bluntly that I was actually investigating this Adrian, and that I come from a far off Kingdom as such an investigator. The good fellow was a bit taken aback, but went on saying he kept searching.
“He was diseased by the wolf,” I blurted out and Fallenstein did not argue with me.
He knew it himself. I asked if that was where he stopped pursuit and Fallenstein was honest, saying it was the end for such, yes, it was.
He told me more of this woman, though, the connection the two once had, and gave me better directions to where she went years ago. It was noted that there actually was affection between the two at one point.
He didn’t know how such a curse fell on Adrian, only that one night it occurred as he imagined. As to the relationship with Jezebel, they were friends and often went to church nearby, and that was all he knew. Love; it leads one onward no matter what!
I asked if Adrian returned to see him again, and he almost resisted telling me the truth, but opened up with my convincing once again.
“He did come back, told me something was wrong with him, and it was going to ruin his love with Jezebel.” Dr. Fallenstein took a lengthy breath. “I tried to make him change and not have such an element inside of him. I gave to him potions, medicines and Belladonna, as well as other homemade remedies, but nothing could take away his curse. We did blood infusions and a brain transplant, yet still no change. Then he changed the night of the full moon.”
Everything made sense now, I thought.
The doctor laid it out. “He savagely tore local sailors to death down by the docks. People all about hunted to find the killer, but in truth he was so strong and powerful and soon would go about destroying the entire village if I had not sent him back north. I have not heard from him since.”
I explained that Adrian would kill again, be it in the new region. Perhaps even kill the woman of his desires. Fallenstein agreed and, as it had been some time now since their last meet up, was in favor of me seeking his second son out.
This doctor seemed like a decent fellow, if a bit madcap. I liked him and thanked him for cooperating with me. He gave me a landmark, that of a stone cross Adrian told him about at Jezebel’s farmhouse. It would help me know I was in the right place in searching. Travelers who passed by would pray to God at this cross in hopes of good favor. I explained that there would be another time to dabble in the art of resurrection and his thought process was right on, for I was one who believed. He was surprised I made such a proclamation.
The time is now at hand. I shall seek Adrian out to the North! When I return again I will write here
in this journal telling all.
I love to dream of a different place
Be it through the sands of time
And all that shall remain is the beauty of your face
Drakko Del Rothchild Journal Entry
I am back and for the sake or my own boredom I am going to tell the tale of Adrian in a story-like format. It shall amuse me and for lack of thoughts on a new poem, this will comfort my ever thinking mind. I hope you enjoy this format; yes, you who find they’re reading such, if ever anyone actually gets their hands on this journal.
My journey North:
At first I took the form of the bat, staying above eye level most of the time, thus avoiding people. At night I landed, reshaped and hunted. I, too, was the wolf when desired and satisfied my bloodlust with animals for the time being.
The Journey took quite some time and at one point I came upon a man hunting with a bow and arrow, perhaps for the same food I was searching out that very day.
He was in his forties as it looked and, when he first saw me as I had already morphed back to myself, that of a man, he seemed quite friendly and asked if I was a hunter, and when I said I was he asked why I had no weapons.
I was not in the mood for small talk. It had been too long, so my dinner would be human and, before he could get even two steps from me, I was sucking him dry and throwing his body into a small gulley nearby.
A few more days and I arrived at what should be the residence of Jezebel. At this decent-sized northeastern farmstead Adrian was sure to be about; at least I had hoped such.
The only question was the aspect of whether he had already finished her off, as well as the entire region, before I had the chance to stop him.
The place was crossed by a large cornfield covering most of the basic frontage of the land. I knew I was correct in finding such, as a large stone cross poked up in the center of the farm’s front yard as I exited the cornfield. I have to admit it was an oddity.
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