0201; The Vampire's Daughter

"I know I've seen it before," Elizabeth said, "but it seemed like
Sabastian was stronger than that. Like the bloodlust would never get
to him."

"He may still be strong enough to beat it," Mary responded. "Tobias
went through a period where we weren't sure if he would, you know, make
it."

"But Sabastian is so different then the rest of us. It's like he's a
vampire, but not. He's always seemed stronger. Emotionally and
physically stronger," Elizabeth said, sitting on a chair in the room.

"Perhaps," said Mary, sitting beside her and putting an arm over
Elizabeth's shoulder. "But he drinks the blood of his own kind. He's
a cannibal. It's against the cardinal rules. If he were found out
sooner, or weren't as strong, he would have been killed."

"I know. It's just hard to think of him in that way. And it's not
just that I'm his sire, we were, and I believe still are, close
friends. We share a bond that goes beyond a normal relationship."

"Has he ever told you what it's like?" Mary asked.

"He didn't start drinking the blood of vampires until we parted ways.
And we've only just reunited. The topic has come up, but we really
haven't discussed it."

"I asked him what it was like."

"And?"

"It sounded to me like it was the same as taking a human, but
multiplied by as many victims as the vampire being drained has taken.
He sees all of their souls pass into his own.

"It's like he's pouring other vampires' bowls into his own. He said
there are times when the souls creep into his conscious thoughts."

"If that's what it's like, I can't even imagine how many souls are
inside of him. He's drained the life from so many. From ancients,"
Elizabeth said, with genuine concern.

"Yes, the number must be staggering. My concern, however, is how to
stop him if he has gone insane," Mary replied.

"Don't say that," Elizabeth said, "not yet, anyway."

"Not yet? Did you see what he did with the wave of his hand? I've
heard that some of the ancients have grown powerful enough to have
skills like that.

"They talk about the skills as otherworldly, but what he did was
frightening."

"It was," Elizabeth answered. "The only thing that could stop him
would be a blood hunt. He would have to be overpowered by numbers.
Even then, I don’t know how many it would take to stop him. Five, ten,
a hundred…

"God, I don't want to think about it. I want to walk downstairs and
find him sitting in the living room waiting for us. I want him to make
a snide remark about how long it takes me to dress. I want him to be
O.K.," Elizabeth continued.

"Do you think that's what we'll find?" Mary asked.

"No," Elizabeth paused. "He said they wanted him to kill Thomas. He
must mean the souls within him."

"If he thinks the souls are talking to him, or, worse, controlling him,
his battles have only just begun."

"What was it like for Tobias?" Elizabeth asked.

[The Vampire’s Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben
Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006. All rights reserved.]