Are You Getting Bored?

In answer to your question, yes, I am still working on the Vampiric Essays 2.0

But it takes time. Lots of time. So, I can understand how you might be bored, with the most fascinating story ever written being on hold for so long. That's why I have a present for you.

http://herzingshortstories.blogspot.com/2014/09/nepenthe.html

I wrote that. So if you're getting the Vampiric Essay Jitters, perhaps this will satisfy your voracious desire for new content.

Stay thirsty. But for blood. You know, like a vampire.

The Vampiric Essays 2.0

To any and all readers of The Vampiric Essays,

Thank you. This blog has been a journey of massive proportions for me as a writer. I never expected this story to become as important to me as this one did, but I am satisfied with the end result.

Actually that's not true. I'm not satisfied. I am intrigued. I think my story is good, but it needs polishing. The narrative has reached an end, but there is still more to be said. I am now of the opinion that this blog is more of a rough draft than a final product, and as such needs to be edited. 

It would feel wrong to continue uploading parts of this story to this blog after the narrative has officially come to an end. So consider this website a sneak preview, an exclusive first look at an unfinished work. When I have completed The Vampiric Essays, I will ensure you receive a final copy. Seriously. Email me your address and I will literally mail you a paper copy of the final edition.

I'm really terrible at goodbyes. That made it very hard to write some of the things I wrote in "The Death of The Family" and "The Curse of The Vampire." I wanted to change the ending a hundred different times. But I couldn't. Sometimes you have to say goodbye, for a little while or for forever. So I say to my faithful readers, and anyone else who's stumbled here: Goodbye, I wish you well. We will meet again. This story will be finished. Who knows, one day you may find it in a bookstore. But until then, farewell.

~Philip Hartmann Herzing

The Curse of The Vampire

Three days later, I found them camped on a plateau in the west, their fire burning boldly in the night. What had they to hide from? The Widows are strong; they have not been defeated in over a thousand years. I tore into them like a demon, silent and relentless. I did not let a single one escape. It was easy.

I strode directly into their camp, amidst cries of alarm. I sat down in the dirt in front of the largest tent, while they surrounded me, shouting and cursing. I waited. One bold girl approached, bouncing on the balls of her feet, hands raised. I looked into her eyes, saw the fire reflected in them, saw the anger, the fear. Lazily, I flicked out a claw and swiped it up her leg. She fell onto the ground, and I leapt upon her. I opened her neck and moved on to the closest Widow, who was shouting at me in some foreign tongue. Implacable, I hunted them down, until the ground was watered with blood. Some hid. Some ran. All perished. None escaped to tell the world of The Butchering of The Widows.

I walked quietly into the largest tent, allowing the smell of fresh death upon me and the scent of stale death inside the tent to mingle. They had lain her out on a table, perhaps to bury, perhaps to send to Stefan. It mattered not now; she was back with her family. I would take care of her. They had not deigned to find her a covering, so I attended to that first. A brief search unearthed a dress that would served. I wet a cloth and cleaned her skin of dried blood and dirt. Her skin was pale and cold, just as it had been in life, but her eyes were dead. Here and there were bite marks in her flesh, messy wounds with tearing around the edges. They told the tale of a struggle, which brought a smile to my face. My girl always was such a fighter.

The fire outside was burning low when I left the tent, walking towards the distant mountains with her in my arms.

“One last journey together.” I told her.

I climbed for hours before I found the right spot. A rocky cliff protruded from the mountain-side, open to the air. There I laid her while I searched for wood. Her pyre was not large, and her mourner left much to be desired, but it was a better rest than a grave. She wouldn’t have liked that, being locked in the ground. The flames licked at her hair and her dress, like a ravenous orange beast savoring the taste of a choice meal. But I looked not at her body but at the sparks. They gleamed brightly, and were extinguished before they could reach the heavens. Each seemed to carry a bit of her spirit, for they continued to rise, despite the impossible climb.

Man was never meant to touch the stars; they are too bright and too beautiful for his hands of clay. I am no man, but my star burned me regardless, and left her mark upon me. She was still too bright for me to touch. And yet, I gazed upon her beauty as a man gazes in wonder at the stars. I looked upon her face one last time, and whispered her name into the night. I prayed to whatever God or gods there might be, that she might have a place of honor at their table. She deserved that much.

She was Evangeline. She was my star, my angel, my light. I could not have earned her love in a hundred years or a thousand, but she gave it to me any way. She was slain because of two oath breakers, two brothers. The earth shall not see her like again.

I told you once that to be a vampire was to be thirsty. I was wrong. The curse of the vampire is not his thirst, it is his past. Eternity is a long time to remember pain, but it is even longer when your light is gone, and with it all your hope of a bright future.

Rejoice, then. Your suffering will last only a few decades.

Mine will last forever.

The Death of The Family

The stars shone down from the sky, heedless of the earth below. Theirs was the only light that night, the moon had hidden her face. That was good. Stealth was needed, and for that we needed darkness. Still, shadows did dapple the lawns and hedges of the grounds, and two men patrolled the gardens. The hulking figure next to me sniffed the air and grunted, “Humans.”

“Yes,” I whispered back, “the fodder of my parent’s defenses. Should they yell…”

“They won’t have the chance.” His name was Troll, or at least that’s what he called himself (Pro-Tip: As a matter of fact, his birth name was Terrance). Troll slithered forward with all the stealth of a charging gorilla, but the guards were still oblivious when he struck them. They fell without a word, a broken neck and a quick drain did for them.

“Proceed.” I commanded the others behind me, they crept forward into the gardens, and still the stars glowed upon their ebony field.

The plan, in the end, was a simple one: distraction and swift infiltration. Stefan and Demelza were cavorting around a bonfire not far from the main gate of my parent’s estate. Certainly, their revelry would attract the attention of the nearby guards, who would capture them and bring them in for questioning. While this loud arrest was occurring, Stefan’s forces and I would enter the house and be waiting for the returning guards. Once all were inside, we then would fall upon them together, and proceed to take the house.

But first, I needed to effect entry into the mansion. We swarmed up and over the perimeter gate, and dashed from shelter to shelter across the lawns. We huddled against the base of the house, while I listened carefully.

“What we waitin’ for?” Troll snarled.

“The signal,” I murmured back, peering beyond the corner of the house to the main road. It was not long in coming. Demelza has healthy lungs, and suddenly her screams rent the quiet countryside, setting my teeth on edge.

“Climb.” I ordered, and we scuttled en masse up the side of the house. When we reached the second floor, I called a halt. I clambered onto the sill of the nearest window, and struck the edges of the pane. The whole pane fell forward, and threatened to smash onto the floor, but I snatched it before it could do so. I crouched on the threshold, and scanned the room. It was empty, and so I jumped inside. Instantly, I felt a blow behind my knee, and I crumpled to the floor. I twisted as I fell, and caught a glimpse of raven hair.

Selena leapt out from underneath the window where she had been concealed, and began brutalizing my face before I could recover. She opened her mouth to yell, only to have a giant, meaty hand clamp itself over her face. Troll stepped in through the window, and gripped the squirming Selena around her middle, pinning her against him. He winced as she bit down on his hand, sucking at his blood. I did not hesitate.

“Spine.” I barked, and Troll bent Selena backwards until there was a loud snap.

“Should we finish her?” Troll asked, a sheepish grin on his face, like a child who has just broken a toy, and not on accident.

“No!” I said, a little too loudly. “No, that is Stefan’s decision.” I picked up Selena and tried not to meet her eyes. They were wide and full of fear, something I’d never seen Selena express before. I steeled myself, and ignored my guilty conscience. I loved my parents, and I loved my brothers and sisters. But I had to protect my new family, no matter the cost.

As we filed out of the bedroom, sounds of a scuffle could be heard below. Looking down from the second landing, I could see Stefan and Demelza being menaced by six guards, though only two were human. Father and Mother stood at the foot of the main stairwell. Stefan was shouting, Demelza was screaming, and Father was looking on in grim satisfaction.

“I told you when we last met that you were no longer welcome in my house, Stefan.” Father’s voice was strong and clear, and he was impressive despite his garb (Pro-Tip: Clearly awakened from sleep, Father was wearing a deep red bathrobe, somewhat less striking than his usual attire). “Now, you will pay the price.” He reached toward Stefan with his big strong hands. Then, my men dropped down from the second floor, and fell upon the guards in a frenzy.

In no time, my Father and Mother were pinned on their knees in front of Stefan, and Demelza was crowing in victory.

“At long last!” Stefan cried, exultant, “I have come into my own. This house is mine, this clan is mine, and these people are mine.” He gave Demelza a possessive squeeze to emphasize his point. “The hunting grounds of my clan are yours!” Stefan said magnanimously to his followers, who cheered wildly. “But you,” Stefan said, turning back to my parents, “you are trespassing on my property. And now you will pay the price.”

I did not look away when he twisted my Father’s neck, or when he tore at my Mother’s throat. I had loved them too much to look away. Selena’s eyes never left mine, and they were burning with hatred. Evangeline. I thought to myself. The stars were glowing more brightly than ever, I could see them through the large windows on either side of the door. Stefan rose from my parent’s bloody bodies, both now shriveled with age.

“This is just the beginning brothers. We will treat with some clans and march on others, but one by one they will join us or die, Demelza, you will be a queen, and I a king!”

“And what of me?” I called from the top of the stairs, Selena still in my arms. Stefan turned, all smiles.

“Brother!” He exclaimed, “What boon would you ask of me?”

“Nothing.” I said quietly. “Nothing but your word. As agreed.”

“No lands? No women?” He asked, feigning surprise.

“I have all I want. Just let me keep it.”

Stefan sighed. Then, in a calm, loud voice, he called out “Selena.”

Instantly, Selena came to life in my arms, and raked her claws across my face. Blinded, I could not see, but I felt a blow to my stomach that sent me sprawling down the stairs. Something pierced me through my leg, and I tasted blood in my mouth. I looked up, and saw Troll grinning, and twisting a spear in my thigh. I strained against the spear, the floor, anything, desperately trying to break free, but I could not move. Stefan knelt before me, still smiling.

“We had a deal!” I spat, blood in my mouth.

“Did you really think I’d let you run free?” He sniggered. Then, he pulled a cell-phone out of his jacket.

“No.” I moaned at him.

He pressed a series of numbers and held it to his lips.

“No!” I screamed.

He spoke three words.

“The blonde lied.”

Outside, the stars were covered by clouds, and all of their light was gone.

A Family Check-Up

In the months following Stefan’s dramatic re-entry into my life, I retreated from the world. Evangeline called often, at first, but I answered only once. The conversation proved too emotionally and intellectually challenging, and after that I destroyed my phone altogether. It was this action that left me completely unprepared when Selena came to visit.

Selena did not knock as Demelza had; she simply appeared in my apartment, as if by magic. At least, it seemed that way to me because I was completely absorbed in my work. I sat at my desk, feverishly writing and sketching in my notebook (Pro-Tip: When I get despondent, I alternate between two states, one of intense apathy and one of frenzied action), planning the demise of my old family in order to save my new one. Accordingly, I did not notice her approach, her presence, or the danger she brought in with her.

You see, if Selena were to somehow discover my relationship with Evangeline, she would doubtless report me to Father, and Father would then put me under intense scrutiny. Such interrogation and investigation would likely bring to light my association, albeit forced, with Stefan. This would stop Stefan’s plan, and Stefan would then make a certain phone call thus destroying my last and greatest valuable.

When I finally registered the cool touch of the wind on my skin, the hairs of the back of my neck rose (Pro-Tip: Vampires have a keen sense of danger, and since there is very little on this earth that is dangerous to us, it is never a good idea to ignore this warning). I spoke without turning, “Yes? What do you want?” Her proud voice cracked like a whip across my back, “Is that any way at all to greet your sister?” I swiveled in my chair, and felt a chill that was not the wind.

“I beg your pardon Selena,” I said, standing, “It seems I’ve quite forgot my manners.”

“Indeed you have.” Her tone was as severe as the rest of her, all hard lines and sharp edges, like a shard of ice.

Selena is beautiful, but not in a way that inspires desire or love. Hers is a dangerous beauty, a weapon that she uses to create fear. Her black, shoulder-length  hair was swept to either side of her face, so as not to impede her vision, and her eyes gleamed, one gold and one silver, from between their dark frame. She wore a leather jerkin with no sleeves, and a long skirt that no doubt concealed a dagger strapped to her thigh. Though she was not tall, her presence was intimidating nonetheless. Everything about her was narrow and lithe, and above all fearsome.

I stammered out another apology, and offered her a chair, but she ignored me.

“I must confess, brother, I’m disappointed in you. I called ahead three days ago, but still you are unprepared when I arrive. Your flat is in disarray, and your own appearance, is decidedly shabby. What has happened to you?” The blasted thing was, she was right. I’d not cleaned my apartment in weeks, and there was now a new carpet of dust covering most everything. As for my personal appearance, something I usually maintain meticulously, a stranger might have tossed a few coins at me had I left the building.

“I’ve been…ill.” I lied, feebly. She ignored that too.

“And what are you so busy writing over there?” She pointed to my desk, which was surrounded by crumpled bits of paper, a to a succession of broken pens on the floor by the trashcan (which was also overflowing with paper).

“I’ve been drafting my report to Father.” I said, putting more effort into this lie than the previous one (Pro-Tip: Quite apart from the plans to topple my Father from his position, various drafts of these essays were on that desk, and it wouldn’t do to have them discovered). “Won’t you please have a seat?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No, I think I will explore your abode a little more closely.” She stepped into the bedroom.

“I’d really rather you didn’t!” I shouted after her, “My place really is quite a mess right now!”

“I know,” she replied, “And that in and of itself is worth investigating.” She began rummaging around in my drawers, tossing things helter-skelter into the center of the room. I stood silently, as she finished the destruction of my room. “Nothing.” She huffed, red in the face. She seemed a little too disappointed not to have some evidence of wrong-doing.

“Of course.” I said, fixing my social armor in place with a smile. “Whatever where you looking for…” But just as I was speaking, I spotted a very incriminating item next to her left shoe. I looked away quickly, but too late. She swooped down like a bird of prey, and snatched it off the floor. It was utterly humiliating to be brought down by…

“A bobby pin!” She cried triumphantly. “You’ve been seeing a girl!” Well, there was no point in denying it.

“Yes.” I said, as bravely as I could, “What’s it to you?”

“Well, nothing.” She purred.

“Nothing?” I asked, suspicious.

“Nothing. It’s not my concern who you spend your time with.” We stared at each other for a few moments, me searching for deceit, and her smiling coldly.

“So you won’t tell father?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Heaven’s no. You think you’re the first to have a lover hidden away from dear daddy? Even Scott’s had one.”

“Oh.” I was a little disgruntled I’ll admit. I thought I’d been breaking new ground.

“Well, if this is all that’s bothering you, then no matter. But if you don’t pull yourself together—and fast, Father will be the least of your problems.” She tossed the bobby pin at me feet, and when I looked up, she was gone.

“It used to be me who vanished into the night.” I muttered to myself. Maybe I was losing my touch. I turned back to my desk, and took up my pen again.