Eternal Darkness, Blood King (12 page)

It is humans who, by necessity, will always fear me, because I do to them what they do to what they consider lesser creatures—making me, in fact, their upgrade. That’s the look I see in their eyes when they finally see the real me, when they see something that shouldn’t be, because my existence is a testament to the end of their rule of all things.

I’m the one who walks holding his head high among them, before whom they lower their eyes. I’m the teacher, the student, the keeper of the mystery of immortality—because I’ve defeated death, because I’m truly alive.

It was because of my necessities that I found myself this night among these young creatures laughing and drinking. I saw them lying to themselves while life itself escapes from their bodies every second of every minute of every hour. It was the necessity of that ever-constant fading energy that brought me to them. The truth is that they would never look better than there and then; and I want to steal everything I could from their energy, their beauty, and their youth. Everything!

It is beyond the understanding of most men that every single living creature has its own life tone. From the small bacteria to the biggest of mammals, all of us have a different frequency of energy that comes from within our core. That, together with their scent, is what makes every single one of them unique to my senses. Just as a parent knows who his child is through his distinctive scent. Even if that parent is blind, he or she will recognize the child. That’s how I perceive all living creatures.

Still, I don’t remember how I got there.

It was just a club like any other, and like in any other club, I was invisible, happy, and completely drunk with the intoxicating energy coming from so many young bodies. A group was talking near me, something about something. I didn’t care. The only important thing was the fact that I was among mortals, and they didn’t mind that at all.

Then it happened, the numbness, the crawling sensation, but ten times stronger. Finally, it was there, in the same place I was. I turned into my real self while scanning my surroundings, showing my fangs in the darkness. A pretty girl saw me and had an expression of awe on her face. Women will always be drawn toward evil.

“Come outside, Gitano,” the voice inside my head said, challenging the loud music.

I felt the source, turned, and walked toward it, toward the club’s emergency exit.

“Come out. I’m waiting,” the voice invited.

It was hard for me not to move as quickly as I knew I could. I walked fast through the exit and beyond, ending up on the sidewalk. I looked all around. I felt the location of the presence, and I followed it.

It didn’t take me long.

I walked a couple of blocks until I reached an empty street. There I felt a powerful concentration of energy covering the entire universe around me. Never before had I felt such power. My heart was beating wildly, and my senses were going on overdrive, asking me to be on the defensive. I felt and heard the engine of a car behind me, but I didn’t care to turn around, paying more attention to the powerful force around me than the two men inside the car. The vehicle stopped next to me almost silently, and one of the passengers walked out.

“Don’t move!” he demanded.

I didn’t have to turn to know that the man was holding a gun pointed at my back. He grabbed me by my jacket, forcing me to look at him. He was trying to shake me off, but I refused to move. But his constant movement made my shades fall. My eyes found his, and I could tell he saw a raw fury in them because, as though hit by an invisible fist, he dropped his hands.

“Let me see the wallet,” he shouted, trying to take control of the situation.

Slowly, I tried to get closer, but he took two steps back. A wise move.

“What took you so long?” I asked through my fangs.

My eyes scanned the man’s body in an effort to identify the source of the energy in him, but I could not find anything. Whatever the force might have been, it wasn’t coming from him; rather, it surrounded us. In a rage, I reached for his neck, before he could react. I overpowered him with ease and sank my fangs deep in his flesh, looking for blood. I felt his vain efforts to break free from my embrace and heard his heart beating wildly, pumping blood, providing me with the nourishment I craved. Then I heard his companion shouting at me as he stepped out of the car, but I didn’t move. I stood in a trance as I drank my victim.

Then it struck me stronger than before, making me dizzy and forcing me to let the man fall to the ground. His body hit the ground hard followed by a loud grunt, and almost immediately I saw him crawl towards his friend.  I was disoriented. I turned to the right, looking at the far end of the street. And then I saw it. The energy force was concentrated in one specific point, moving toward me. Then I noticed the figure—the unmistakable silhouette of a young woman slowly walking out from the shadows. Without even caring about the men left behind, I started walking in her direction to meet her halfway.

I saw a pair of striking brown eyes staring intensely at me. My own eyes scanned her body with a mix of curiosity and amazement. Her body, now a few feet away from me projected no heat, yet the energy inside of it was unlike anything I had witnessed before.

My sense of smell was useless. My sense of hearing could not identify any heartbeat, and yet she moved. I saw her face, white as the snow, flawless, smooth, and young, her beautiful long red hair resting on her shoulders. Her build was not insignificant; she was close to five feet and ten inches tall and maybe a hundred and twenty-five pounds. She carried herself with confidence, fearless, toward me.

She was wearing a dark green dress with a pair of black Prada stilettos. Instinctively, I looked down at my Prada shoes. I couldn’t help smiling at the irony of it. I looked up and took in her lips, soft and pink, her neck, slender and smooth. I couldn’t figure out which side of me wanted her more—the man or the immortal.

For a brief moment, the woman looked at me in silence.

While staring at each other, I wondered if she was scanning me, just as I was doing with her.

“You came,” she said in a soft voice.

The men behind us got in their car.

I tried to read her thoughts, but I quickly found out that I couldn’t.

The two men drove off, leaving us alone. The taste of blood was still in my mouth, making me strong.

“So it is,” I simply said.

The woman stood in front of me, not caring about our proximity. It was obvious that she knew what I was, while I was not sure of her nature.

She noticed my confusion and laughed.

“You’re dead,” I whispered.

“So are you,” she replied.

Her words made me grow serious, more confused and angry.

“What if I finish my night with you?” I suggested, doing my best to scare her.

She stopped laughing, but a sexy smile hovered on her lips.

“Try it,” she said, tempting me.

I wanted to jump on her, to hold her tight, to bite her hard, and savor the taste of her blood; but despite my desire, I didn’t move. There was something amazing about her, something perhaps as powerful as myself; and that uncertainty kept me in check. My lack of resolution made her laugh again.

“Gitano, you’re confusing me with something else,” she said.

I pretended that her calling me by my nickname didn’t startle me.

“What would that be?” I asked.

Her laughter faded. “With something that can’t hurt you.”

“Is that what happened to the body you now possess?” I asked, maliciously suggesting that I knew what she had done.

She looked at herself and then back at me.

“This?” she asked with a carefree expression on her face, holding out her arms. “I just thought it would be to your liking. Tell me, does it please you? This body doesn’t remind you of someone else?” she added.

Who or what was this thing that assumed who I knew or what I liked?

I stood there, weighing her words and her presumption.

“Are you trapped inside that body?” I asked, trying to understand her.

“I’m free,” she replied.

“Can you leave it?” I wanted to know.

“Where did you first hear me?” she asked.

“If that were you back in my room, several weeks ago . . . ,” I said, knowing for a fact that was not accurate.

“Are you certain?” she said, with her own voice now tinged with malice as well.

I stood there without saying a word, testing her.

“Who made you bleed?” she suddenly asked.

Her questions intrigued me.

“Who made you bleed that night, so long ago, when you wanted the life of the Greek?” she asked again, but this time with authority.

Her words hit me like a wall. I wasn’t expecting her to mention Amorgos. I felt exposed, cheated and above everything else angry about the fact that she knew that kind of details of my past life.

“I made myself bleed,” I whispered menacingly.

Slowly, she shook her head. “That voice, the will, the desire that is in you, as real as your thirst, the one that made you kill men even before you became what you have become, the one that brought you to your knees in front of the Greek, that force has always been me,” she said, equally menacingly.

I took two steps forward, stopping only inches away from her face.

“You’re wrong. That was all me,” I said slowly, with confidence.

“Why are you afraid?” she asked, bringing her lips close to mine.

We moved closer, toying with the idea of touching each other with our lips, only to pull away, softly, at the very last second.

“Fear is an obstacle to clarity,” I replied, showing no emotion.

“I didn’t ask for a definition,” she said, smiling.

“Take it as a gift,” I replied with a smile.

“I want nothing but your soul,” she said in all seriousness.

“My soul, in exchange for what?” I asked, truly amused.

“Mortal life,” she answered.

I was expecting almost anything but those words. I felt disarmed, challenged. It had been so long since anyone has had that effect on me. Of course, I did not believe that her claims were true; but the idea of being able to have a life, a fragile life as a mortal man—it was the perfect pitch.

“Imagine being young, vibrant, and mortal. Would you like that?” she persisted.

My vampire eyes furiously scanned her body for any sign of humanity, but there was none.

“Is that possible?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” she answered.

“For how long?” I wanted to know.

“A day,” she said.

Her words, the possibility of my believing in a lie upset me.

“You’re not a spirit. You are just a witch,” I said, hoping to be right this time.

This time she was the one who moved closer, smiling. “Perhaps, but this witch has some chips to bargain, don’t you think?” she said.

I looked straight into her dead and beautiful eyes. “How does it work?” I asked.

“C’mon, you don’t want me to bore you with science, do you?” she countered.

“I want to know what will prevent you from not giving me my immortality back,” I said.

“Oh, your soul is more important to me than that!” she explained.

I began to circle her, slowly, studying her posture and analyzing her words.

“You are not what you seem. That body, where did you get it?” I wanted to know.

“The original owner is gone. She’s with me, and she’s not coming back,” she said.

“Tell me about her,” I insisted.

“Whatever for?” she asked, with animosity.

“Because I want to know more about her,” I said, not letting the matter go that easily.

“Like what, her zodiac sign?” she said, trying to be evasive.

“Like how she ended the way she ended,” I said.

Suddenly, her eyes turned colder, if that was even possible. “The usual OD,” she said.

I felt her empathy for the body she now possessed and her resolution. I doubted for a moment the possibility of what she was proposing. I stopped circling her and kept my distance, stayed silent.

“What if I decide to leave?” she asked.

Her words pushed me even farther from my reality.

“You’ll be wasting the very last opportunity you’ll ever have to be human again,” she added with a wicked smile.

I flashed a wicked smile of my own. “I’ll suck dry that hot new body as soon as you turn and walk away. Believe me, in this city, no one will ever notice,” I whispered.

She kept her smile in place before my words.

“What do you fear?” I asked.

“Losing to It,” she replied.

It, she said. I considered the possibility that she was referring to or implying an opposite force, equally enigmatic as hers. Maybe that same force that the uninformed still call God.

“In what way?” I pressed the issue.

“Any,” she explained.

Her words made me laugh out loud.