0203: The Vampire’s Daughter

Sabastian didn't respond to Elizabeth's question, so she repeated
herself. "Sabastian, are you O.K.?" she said more loudly.

"I heard you the first time," he answered.

"May I turn the lights on?" she asked.

"Yes."

Elizabeth motioned to Mary, who flipped on the lights. Elizabeth was
relieved to see Sabastian sitting at a small desk she had in the far
corner of the room. She wasn't sure what she expected to see, but she
felt it was going well. Mary followed behind as she walked the final
few steps to the basement.

"Are you O.k., my dear?" she asked again.

"As you can probably see, I broke your bed. I will replace it, of
course. I attempted to fix it, but it appears the damage is too great.
I am sorry."

"Sabastian, I don't care about the bed. I'm concerned about you,"
Elizabeth said.

Sabastian turned himself around in the chair and looked at Elizabeth,
"You look ravishing despite what you have been through, I do not know
how you manage it."

Slowly and deliberately, Elizabeth asked, "Are you O.K.?"

Sabastian looked at the ground. "The hole in the wall should not cause
any structural damage to the building. I can acquire some cement and
patch it myself, or, if you prefer, I can have someone come and fix it."

"I don't care about the hole any more than I care about the bed,"
Elizabeth said, anxiously. She knew Sabastian well, and he only
avoided questions when he was playing or when the answer was gravely
serious. "Tell me you are O.K."

"If that is what you would like to hear, then yes, I am O.K."

"You're lying to me."

"Yes. I am."

"What's the matter?" Elizabeth asked.

"I hear thousands of voices in my head screaming at me," he said,
lifting his gaze to Elizabeth. She walked over and kneeled on the
ground in front of him, stroking his cheek with her hand. "Never
before has the din been so deafening. So blinding. I feel like I am
lost in my own mind."

"Oh God, Sabastian," she said, as she started to cry.

"You know that it's the bloodlust, don't you?" asked Mary, who was
still standing by the stairs.

"I do not believe it is the bloodlust, it is something deeper, perhaps
more sinister,” Sabastian said.

"When I saw Thomas hurting you, I was angry. That was when they
started to yell at me. First it was just a few voices, but it quickly
grew until throngs of voices were yelling at me to kill him. I barely
remember what happened.

"Your pleas to spare him were beacons of light, shinning into my
darkened mind. You saved him, but the voices in my head remain.

"It is taking all of my energy to concentrate on this conversation. I
am afraid the voices may be winning."

Elizabeth cried and continued to stroke Sabastian's face. Mary asked,
"How long have you heard these voices?"

"For years they have occasionally surfaced. But then only one or two
at a time. This is different. It is like they have all bubbled up at
the same time and they will not recede into my subconscious. It is
taking all of my energy to concentrate on this conversation," he
repeated.

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