Aleron: Book One of Strigoi Series (Stringoi Series) (4 page)

“What I drink?” I questioned. “Patience, my love. Patience. You have as many lessons to learn as I’ve lessons to teach, and we both have all the time in the world. For now, I will return to a question you asked me before your meal. You wanted to know what you are. What we are. We have been known by many names, my love: Undead, Nosferatu, Vrykolakas, Upir, Kyuketsuki, Reapers of death, God’s hand, and many more that you’ll hear from the distant shadows and moonless nights. To the children of Christ we’re spawn of ‘Those who were banished.’ To the unflinching followers of Mohammed, we’re hoseti. To this world we are life everlasting. We are vampire!”

CHAPTER 3

ampire
, I spoke under my breath in astonishment. I was familiar with the legend and the folklore; however, I didn’t believe in the undead. Until now!

“Now let us go into the night, into the moonlight, and discover the world through your vampire eyes.”

Mynea took hold of me, affixed me to her side, and we swiftly moved through the house into the cool night air. This time I kept my eyes open. We were traveling much faster than before. We glided across a lake just over the surface. The water was still, a dark mirror reflecting the night sky. I looked into the heavens. It was spectacularly brilliant and filled with hundreds, no, thousands of stars. I couldn’t remember a time when I had seen so many stars in one night. The moon seemed brighter, larger, and closer than ever. It seemed to illuminate the darkness with a soft and soothing blanket of light.

Mynea’s curly hair was pressed against my face by the force of the wind. It smelled like the essence of the room where I had taken my first
proper meal. Her silk gown flailed and opened from her breast down to her feet. I couldn’t help noticing her darkened nipples, revealed slightly by a pearl necklace. She tightened her grip on my waist. I peered through the curly elegant locks to see our surroundings. The land drew nearer rapidly; I was sure we’d stumble and fall upon our arrival. However, we didn’t. Instead, we came to an abrupt pause in our momentum, which would have surely caused any human to topple over. It seemed gravity had forgotten us over the water, yet remembered us on land.

I still didn’t know where we were or how far we had traveled. I turned around and was amazed at the vastness of the lake we crossed. The castle was but a small spot in the distance. I turned to Mynea, who was staring at me, smiling, her eyes glowing like those of a cat. She seemed even more beautiful now than before.

“Look, my love. Look through your vampire eyes and see the world as you’ve never seen it.”

Indeed, she was right. Everything was much more vivid. It was as if I had opened my eyes for the very first time. I was again a child. I could hear insects and tiny vermin scurry about. Mice stomping nearby sounded like elephants. The gentle breeze whispered through the trees and brush that surrounded the area in an infinite blanket of brilliant dark greens. The moonlight seemed to make inanimate objects come to life. All of these sensations and sounds filled my head at once. It became more and more difficult to distinguish one sound from the next, one scent from another. My vision blurred from the numerous objects moving. I closed my eyes for a moment when I felt a cold hand gently caress my cheek.

“Try to open your mind and take in nature’s beauty. The vampire blood in your veins has awakened your once-human senses and made them sharp. In time they’ll guide you.”

I tried to open my mind, but I must admit, I didn’t know what she meant at the time. Nevertheless, the noises became distinct once more. I was able to focus.

“You, my love, now walk between life and death. We’re God’s perfect
predator, and we remain children of the devil. Even though we can be as gentle as angels, we possess strength beyond measure.”

Mynea turned and looked at me, her eyes studying me from head to toe. Then suddenly her gaze turned into a staunch stare. She was now looking at me as if she could see through me.

The thought of being a vampire plagued my mind. “Am I dead?”

“No, my love. We’re very much alive. But merely being alive is not why I’ve brought you here. I’ll teach you how to live. Our way of life is not what you’re accustomed to. We’re beautiful, alluring creatures who must use all of our abilities to maintain our immortal gift.”

Abilities
, I thought.
Yes, abilities
, she replied without moving her lips. “Let me show you.”

We began to move swiftly through the trees, traveling like cheetahs, without making the slightest sounds, save the whistling winds. We saw candles burning in the distance, and in an instant we were upon them.

“We move as fast as the wind, Aleron. Stealth is our cloak, for under its cover you’ll survive for millennia. Without it, you’ll surely perish. We’re stronger, faster, and smarter than mortals; however, our numbers are few and the mortals are many, thus we fear their intentions lest they ever discover us and our true natures. We don’t live among them. We do, however, interact with them, as they’re our finest and most pleasurable delicacy. You see, my love, we survive by drinking blood. We thrive by drinking blood. We replenish ourselves by consuming it. Therefore, we become better predators as our prey remains constant.”

Delicacy implies that we can survive on the blood of other beings
, I thought.

“Yes, we can, but to deprive yourself of human blood is to be but alive. As I said before, I’m here to teach you to live. To live is to do exactly what I’m going to show you.”

The candles were burning outside a theater. The marquee promised a performance of
Ozymandias, Pharaoh of the Exodus
. I knew him as Ramses II. But we were not there to see the play. We dared not attempt the front doors, for they would surely open into a great room full of people. Instead, Mynea led us to a rear door situated in the center of
a dark and lifeless alleyway. The smell of unattended mildew and filth filled my nostrils, the unmistakable scent of decaying flesh nearby buried under some trash. This alleyway was only penetrated by street vermin and homeless mortals, on occasion.

I turned my attention to the door. The rust on the hinges and the debris scattered about the base told its true history. Mynea opened the door with ease, tearing apart the rusted hinges, doorframe, and the three steel locks that kept it secure from normal entry. The sound was muffled by the sheer speed. Without uttering a word, she told me to be silent. The side door had once been an exit from the back of the staging area. I could hear the performers entertaining the crowd. There were several oohs and aahs, interrupted occasionally by applause. I began to listen to the performers, for I’m well versed in Egyptian history, especially Ramses I, II, and III.

Mynea looked just past the curtains, surveying the crowd. She then eased her head back into the darkness and smiled at me. “I’ve chosen, and she’ll make a worthy meal.”

“What do you look for?” I asked, excited that she was hunting. “How do you come to choose? Are there any rules?” I asked.

“I was taught to hunt the wicked. The murderers, cheats, and violators of society; however, I no longer subscribe to that lesson. I choose my meals indiscriminately, as God would choose who would live or die. I don’t care what one has done in life, nor do I concern myself with whom they may have wronged. I simply let my will and their unfortunate fate guide me to them. There’s no method. They’re all my prey. Good and perceived evil alike. The young, old, strong, weak—they all will die soon enough.”

The thought of draining the life from a child disgusted me. “This is not what God would sanction! How could you kill an innocent child?”

“Doesn’t God allow the perfect child to be trampled by a horse? Do you not know of doctors and priests falling victim to petty crime? Do you not hear of the church condemning non-believers to death through some horrific means? Don’t think or reason as if you’re human. You didn’t question the innocence or lifestyle of the young woman whose morbid fate you so clumsily and mercifully decided.”

She was right. I was confused as to what I was to do. All my life I’d been a servant of God and my fellow man. Now it seemed I was supposed to be the self-appointed executioner of any poor soul I condemned to death.
I’m not sure I can do this! What is the price? What have I done? What have I allowed Mynea to do?

“Nothing, my dear,” she replied. “You haven’t allowed me to do anything. You had no choice in the matter. I chose your fate for you and for that I’m your master. You’ll learn from me. You’ll watch me as I show you how to live with your new immortal life.”

Again she was right, I had no choice. Even if I had, I still wanted her. She was my master, my teacher, my mother, my love. She was mine.

“Sorry, my love,” I said to her. “Forgive me.”

“I already have, Aleron. It’s only natural that you question what I do, what you’ll do. It’s not necessary for any apologies. Kings don’t apologize for anything. And you, my dear, strong Aleron, will be king!”

This time I took her in my arms. She looked and felt cold, though her eyes were inviting. I pressed her rigid body against mine and began to kiss her lips. Passionately and deeply we embraced each other. It was then that I realized that nothing would ever come between us. I would love her until life ceased to exist on Earth. She was indeed mine.

Mynea lifted her head and nose into the air, then inhaled. “It’s time.” She peered through the red velvet curtains again. I followed her lead. The crowd was captivated by the performance; not a single sound broke their concentration save the voices of the actors and actresses. Suddenly a woman arose and made her way toward the exit. Various people in the crowd began to chatter and look on in amazement at this woman’s desire to leave during what seemed to be one of the most compelling parts of the play. Her decision seemed quite odd to me as well.

“Follow swiftly,” Mynea whispered.

And so I did, and in an instant we were through the crowd, in the lobby, and then in the stairwell leading up to the balcony. No one in the crowd even saw so much as a blur as we scurried past their eyes, defying their senses. We stood in the shadows of the stairwell next to a door, waiting for it to open.

When it did, the lobby light shone through, outlining the woman
who had left the performance. Mynea stepped into the light, while I stayed hidden in the shadows. The woman looked at Mynea with a familiar calmness.

“Hello, my dear,” Mynea said to the woman.

She didn’t respond. She just stood there in a daze. “Come closer.”

The woman took a few more steps toward Mynea, farther into the stairwell. Mynea took the woman into her arms and embraced her as a mother would embrace a child she hadn’t seen in ages. She then took the woman’s neck into her mouth and punctured her skin just above the clavicle. The woman sighed out of both pleasure and pain. Her eyes shifted and found mine.

She looked at me as the life was being drawn from her body. I could see the reflection of my eyes in her dying gaze. Mynea continued to drink until the woman’s body went limp. Mynea dropped her to the floor, turned toward me, and smiled, her mouth and teeth covered in dark, dripping blood. She took me into her arms again and began to kiss me. This kiss was unlike any other we had shared; the woman’s life force was still ripe in her mouth and filled me with feelings of ecstasy.

She pressed her body against mine, and for the first time I felt warmth emanating from her. She felt softer than normal, though still too hard for human skin. I felt lost in her grasp. I began to see dynamic visions that weren’t mine, memories and excerpts from a story unknown to me. I didn’t let them distract me. I never wanted this embrace to end. But it did.

“You must learn to lure your prey. Avoid detection by allowing them to seek you while silently persuading them mentally. We’re superior to them in every way. Know this and know it well, for once you forget who you are, it will be the end of you.”

We left the stairwell as swiftly as we had arrived, returning to the shadows of the alleyway. We walked into the moonlight, and Mynea looked more radiant than ever.