0353: The Vampire's Daughter Book IV

“Yes Sabastian, this is not new to me. I have only seen it once, but I have seen it. Most of our kind go insane before this point, I suspect. Or they give up and slumber.”

Sabastian just looked at Thomas. The voices in his mind were quiet, they had been quiet for several days. But not being able to speak was new and it frightened him. He had grown used to listening to the voices, to dealing with their demands. But losing control of his faculties was a totally different level.

“I can see in your eyes that this is new. I remember the other person I've seen with this when she was first afflicted. She was much younger than you, though. We all assumed her problem was youth. Too many souls in too short a time.

“You seem to have the opposite of that. Too many souls over too long a period of time. I fear I must take part of the blame for that,” Thomas said, starting to get up. He paused before fully standing, “Is it OK if I stand?”

Sabastian nodded his head.

“Don't fear that I'll run. First, I am aware that you could kill me like a small insect at any time. Second, as you have already guessed, I am deeply intrigued by your current state of affairs. And, yes, I am thinking of a way to use this to my advantage, there is no point denying this fact, since you already know it.

“But, to get back to my thoughts, I sent many powerful vampires to their deaths at your hands. Several with hundreds of years of life, and the history of death that inherently goes with the years of life. Your resent spree seems to have sent you over the edge.

“You don't know of the other with this affliction, do you? Living with my beloved Elizabeth I guess you wouldn't. She never did care for the rest of our kind and kept to herself for a very long time. I suspect she was happiest with you. You were her longest time away from me. And I somehow believe that my mistreatment of you is responsible for her current hatred of me.

“But I won't kill her, just so you know. She is the only vampire that has ever loved me for me.” Thomas looked down and laughed, “I don't even love me for me.”

Sabastian looked keenly at Thomas. He was being genuine, but why?

“You see Sabastian, just as with life, in death we are driven by different things. I am driven by a lust for power. Perhaps it's to make up for some perceived failure on my part, I don't care to think about it. But I want power.

“Elizabeth is driven by hate. She hated humanity for what it did to her. She loved me for freeing her from that. But hate has always been close to the surface. It pops up now and again and we fight. I fear that this fight will be unresolvable for her. But, as I said, I am willing to let it pass because I believe I can use her to gain more power, assuming I can break her first.

“You, meanwhile, are driven by love. You love humans. You love art. I watched many times in amazement as you painstakingly followed a human for months only to let your victim live. Yes, I watched you. You knew you were being watched, but didn't pay attention to who. Many times it was me.

“You went to such lengths to ensure that the victim was evil. Then, even though you had determined that this person deserved to die, you gave them one last chance. One last review before you judged them. And you let so many go.

“You know all too well that we do bad things and good things in our time. That sometimes the good outweighs the bad. Or at least some bad does not make one fully evil.

“Such restraint. You are an artist in all you do,” Thomas smiled. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't mock when I am in the weaker position. No, I suspect you have managed to take so many lives without insanity setting in because you were selective with your own victims. But now too many innocent souls are within you.”



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