The Story of the Vampire, L (Completed | Featured )

Chapter 7, part 1 - Mini, 1502

 I woke alone, and gasped. Beneath me was a strange bed, and on my face I felt a breeze, but I could not see. When I touched my face, I found that my head had been wrapped in cotton, and this cotton smelled strongly of blood. Ripping at it, I found that it was stuck to my head, from the clotting, and let some noise out, choking, angry sounds. Then there were fingers touching it, and when I touched those fingers, they belonged to a child, small.

"Ta toi," he whispered. Shut up.

"I can't see," I said.

"That is because it is wrapped around your eyes as well, fool. I will unwrap it." His voice was not sweet, rather, rough, nasal. His fingers worked at the back of my head, pulling and digging at the fabric. "They have wrapped you tightly and put you to bed, yes. Live or die, no care. You are violent like me. They think themselves quite righteous. Nasty creature, let go let God. What God? So you have lived. Have faith! What are they that they are so foolish?"

"I don't understand."

"Think hard. You will remember. You have been struck very hard, that's all." He pulled, whipping my head back, and began to unwind the cotton, and let light in on me.

I shut my eyes. "It's bright."

"I hate to think that I was this stupid." His fingers were at the back of my head, poking me and looking through my hair. "It looks good back here. I saw your brain before. Open your eyes. It's evening."

"It hurts."

"It hurts? Oh, perhaps we are not alike. Perhaps you are very sensitive," coming around to sit beside me.

"I don't understand what you're talking about. I," I started, and screamed, as the child took my arm roughly, and sunk long teeth into my skin, struggled. My eyes flew open, and when I looked down on him, he let go and laughed, large brown eyes narrowed with mirth.

"There are his violet eyes that one hears much about. They are not so beautiful bloodshot. I like his blood far better, red and wet against my lips."

"Please," I said. "Please."

He kissed the blood which ran from the bite, and sucked it. "I will bite you again. Does it come back to you? I will have you until you remember. Your heart beats. Do my lips thrill you a little? How funny he is. Now it doesn't hurt, does it? The pain is over until the bite comes again. It will tell us what happened to it, or it will suffer."

"He came from the darkness, I don't know which direction," I stuttered, shutting my eyes again against the soft stroking of his tongue against my arm.

"Open your eyes or you will be punished."

"I had seen him before, many times, around town, especially in the evening. He was notable. Different. There are many different sorts of people here. This is a market town, a hub, we see them, people from other places. But he stayed over some seasons, and I noticed him, talked about him with my friends, his dark hair, his paleness. And then he came for me, and he cut my throat." I wanted to touch my throat but the child held me fast, his other hand going to my free wrist.

"More."

"Then he was gone, and I was bleeding. There was a quarter moon, and I tried to focus my eyes on it, thinking maybe that someone would come by and find me. There were horses whickering in someone's field far away. I was going to visit my friend Matteo, who isn't from here. His family comes from the south every fall. They like it here. Since I was young. We are wool-traders. We trade spun wool."

I drew a long gasp as his teeth sunk into me again, far more gently this time, near the crook of my elbow. I pressed my free hand to his hair, thick brown waves which curled readily around my fingers.