Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 14

Leaving the Cemetery of the Ancients is much easier than reaching it was. I am shocked how easy it is to leave and what a short distance it is from it to the rest of the world.

Going through all the different trials had made it look as if we were going for miles, but it turns out it was but mere meters. I guess when you don't have to worry about the next task which might kill you moving is much faster and leaving the Cemetery of the Ancients is much easier than I would have expected.

Silence is starting to weigh heavily on me as we start going back home. However, what is even more challenging to deal with is my growing curiosity over the conversation I overheard.

What exactly happened to Alarcos? Why did he think he would find the answers he needed in the vampire chronicles? Also, why did he think Seymour would be able to help?

"Can we take a break?" I ask.

We are already almost halfway there, and I am not sure what will happen once we reach home. I am not sure if Alarcos will stay with us, or if we will go our separate ways and I need to know. There is something in his story, something that piqued my interest.

"Why? Are you tired?" Seymour asks teasingly.

"No, I just thought we might want to chat for a bit before we go back to Cecilia and Tobias. Before I am forced to tell them what I am hiding from them," I say.

Seymour's mood instantly shifts and both of them stop immediately. I do the same, and I think they can feel my nervousness because they both look at me with anticipation. Vampires might not be able to read each others' minds, but the shift in our scent says more than we would like it to.

"Spit it out, Helen. You were never the one to curb your curiosity or not to say what's on your mind." Seymour says.

Seymour is smiling broadly, probably remembering all the times when I have asked the most inappropriate questions at the worst possible times. There were many situations like that, so I can't tell for sure which memory put the smile on his face.

"I know it's none of my business, and I didn't plan to eavesdrop, but I heard part of your conversation and...well..." I start to say.

Seeing the painful expression cross Alarcos' face, I stop myself from going on. I don't want to cause him pain, he has been nothing but nice to me, and he doesn't deserve to be hurt by me pouring salt over his open wound.

"You want to know my life story?" Alarcos finishes my sentence for me.

"Yes, I was wondering about it. What I heard got me curious, and it keeps nagging at me. However, I have no right to ask that of you. You don't even know me and I have no rights. Still, there was something about your story...Something that sounded..." I say.

"Familiar?" Alarcos asks, hopefully.

"Do you know anything about that?" He asks.

"I am not sure. It might just be similar to one of the thousands of stories I've heard, or I might have heard something about it, I am not sure." I say.

"Helen is as old as I am. Maybe she will be able to help you figure out who were the vampires who killed your family." Seymour says.

"I was only ten years old when it happened." Alarcos starts his story. "It was a long time ago, and although most of my human memories have drifted away in the sea of time, I still remember that day when my family was taken away from me. The day when my life changed forever." Alarcos says.

"We were coming back from the village festivities a bit later than usual when I suddenly fell through the ground. To my utter horror, I dropped into a deep hole on top of a body of a dead deer." He went on to say.

"Dead deer?" I ask, confused.

"It was a trap made by the hunters. I was young and inexperienced, so I didn't see the signs, especially since it was getting dark. My parents and siblings were nearby, and they were just about to try to get me out when we all heard strange growling nearby." He says.

"My father told me to stay there and not let out a sound. Before I knew what was happening, there was loud screaming and growling. My parents, brother, and sister sounded terrified, but I didn't make a move. I just stood there, at the bottom of the pit, covered in stale blood and the smell of rotten meat." He says.

I can see that he is barely able to control his voice as pain rips through him. Remembering all that brought him so much pain must have been painful, and yet to remember a human memory so clearly, he had to have repeated it in his mind for centuries. I can't even begin to imagine how painful that was for him.

"My brother and sister were yelling in pain, calling for mom and dad, while growling and a disgusting sucking sound overwhelmed my hearing. I couldn't connect what it all meant, but I knew that my family was in pain. I wanted to do something, anything, but all I did was let out silent tears of horror." Alarcos says.

I am not sure why, but I have a very vivid image of the situation he is describing. He must be a very good storyteller even when it comes to his suffering, to be able to make the image in my mind so clear.

"Dad started cursing and screaming at their attackers, even from just hearing his voice I could tell that he was struggling, that he was trying to save mom and my siblings. Unfortunately, it was clear from the sounds of shuffling feet and different types of growling that there were too many attackers." Alarcos says.

What he says sounds so familiar that I start thinking that I might be able to help him to solve the mystery of who murdered them. I want to help him exact his revenge because I know how invigorating it can be to finally do so.

"' It's us or them, little one.'

I heard a male voice say.

'Don't you want to live?' He added.

Then I could hear a horrible sound, that I now know to be the sound of teeth piercing through skin, and I could no longer hear my father." Alarcos says.

I am frozen in shock. My brain can't register what he is saying. It's unable to comprehend.

"What happened after they left?" Seymour asks.

"Nothing. I was stuck in the pit, and by the time some villagers found me, the bodies of my family were gone, and no one ever believed my story. We had vampire tales at the time, but no one believed them, so when a ten-year-old boy claimed that his family was murdered by vampires, everyone assumed he was just left behind by a family who couldn't take care of him, who didn't have enough for another mouth to feed." Alarcos says.

"They didn't do anything? They didn't try to find them?" Seymour asks.

"No, they were sure I used my overactive imagination to justify being abandoned by my family, which wasn't unheard of at the time. That's how I became a vampire hunter, and then finally a vampire. I wanted to find the vampires who murdered my family, but I am still looking, and the only thing I accomplished so far was to become bitten when I wasn't careful enough. When I find them, I will kill all of them and finally be free." Alarcos says.

My eyes are wide open, and I don't seem to be able to close my gaping mouth. The horrible vampire who murdered his family (or at least part of his family), the monster he is planning on killing...

It's me.