0350: The Vampire's Daughter Book IV

Sol laughed at the thought of the Keeper writing a book about him. He wondered what it would actually contain. But pushing those thoughts aide, he looked at Meredith and asked, “Why do you think he wanted me to read this?”

She looked at Sol deeply, he could feel her probing his mind. He did not try to fight her. Eventually, she spoke to him with her thoughts, “I have no allegiance to my father. I have no love for my father. Up until this day, this part of my life as a vampire has largely been a lie. A secret that I kept even from Gan.”

With his mind, Sol asked, “What about the group of vampires that you killed? John Paul sent me to them, but you killed them all. What should I make of that?”

Out loud, Meredith responded, “John Paul was a zealot. He was blinded by his belief in God. My father was afraid of him and his prophecies.

“Often you must keep your enemies closer than you do your allies. That is especially true in our world, where time is virtually meaningless and death is so foreign. He used John Paul.”

Sol looked away from Meredith and bitterly replied, “So many people used him. In the end, I don't know if anyone is innocent of that offense.”

Meredith put her hand on Sol's shoulder, “Do you really believe that you used him? That you were not a friend to him?”

“I don't know anymore what to believe.”

“Do you believe in God?”

“I used to. Then I stopped. But John Paul always kept me close and we debated the topic endlessly. I suppose he saw that, deep down, I wanted to believe.”

“What do you say now?” she asked.

“I say that I want to believe. That I want to with all of my heart, but that I can't let myself. That I must touch the wound. He always said I was like Doubting Thomas.”

“And so you are,” Meredith replied with a smile. “But you keep seeking out the answer just the same when you could easily give up, like so many of our kind.

“I wish I could tell you for certain that God is, but I cannot. What I can tell you is that I believe. That what I have done up until now and what I will do from here is all to fulfill the prophecies and that I believe you are the sun that will shine a light to save us from ourselves.”

“You have a great deal of faith in me.”

“Yes, but then if the Keeper has given you this book, I believe he does, too.”

Sol looked at her and smiled. “So, what does the Keeper look like?”

“To me?” Meredith asked.

Sol looked at her oddly, “What does that mean?”

“The Keeper is an odd fellow. An ancient and powerful vampire. He reveals himself in different guises depending on...” she trailed off. “Depending on his mood and to whom he has decided to reveal himself, I suppose.”

“So he appears differently to different people?”

“Yes, that is what I am saying.”

“To some he is a milk toast little man, to others he is...”

Meredith interrupted, “a handsome knight with long dark hair and piercing eyes.”

“That is what he looks like to you?”

“Yes. How does he look to you?”

Sol looked at her and said, “A stylish young man.”

“There you have it,” she replied.

“This is why no one knows when they meet him.”

“Yes. But the next time, if there is a next time, I'm sure you will realize.”




[The Vampire’s Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. All rights reserved.]