Page 79 of Silent Stalker
A thirsty vampire became a dangerous vampire.
“That much of his personality is quite honest,” my mother agreed. “Although all those implications of what he’d do to me were falsehoods. Of course, we were companions for many years after you were born, although we took great care to make certain there were no other children.”
Ew. “I did not want or need to know that, Mom.”
“I thought you might appreciate the understanding that things were not as they seemed. We worked hard to make certain you would believe certain things. Those things made sure you walked a very narrow line—all without us confessing why you needed to walk that line. I will say this much. Your father’s behavior after your disappearance served a specific purpose: to fool those who’d taken you into believing he was truly ignorant about preternaturals. You will find he is not so ignorant. And now that I’m out the door, he can begin showing the world the real purpose of his empire.”
“What is his purpose with that empire of his, anyway?”
“Beyond making himself filthy wealthy? I believe he wants to make certain preternaturals have options. His work in Harlem is fashioned to appear as though he wishes to take over and enslave preternaturals. That is partially accurate. He is ambitious, but he would rather elevate the vampires under his rule to becoming, well, part of a thriving empire. He can’t be an emperor without vampires beneath him. Should something happen to him, his empire will become yours. When he first heard you’d been picked up by the Lowrance brood, he expressed his pleasure over this development. Your brood has a good reputation—and is backed by an old, cunning vampire.”
“She means me, although Emerick is quite old, and he’s cunning when he wishes to be.”
Emerick strolled into the room, wiping his hands dry with a kitchen towel. “I’m cunning all the time, unless my wife wishes for me to be less cunning and more blunt, in which case I consider the ramifications before opting to be more blunt. What did Mr. Francis threaten to do to you?”
“He just wanted to make it rather clear he is older than I care to think about. He referenced an event that happened roughly a thousand years prior to when I turned you. In rather gory detail, with notes on how he’d improve the technique if I brought harm to his ex-wife or his daughter. I verified the descriptions with someone else who’d also witnessed the event to confirm its accuracy. Unfortunately, it means I’m fairly certain I know who your father is, but I have no way of confirming it. I’m not sure I want to confirm it, either. There aren’t many vampires left from that era.”
Emerick’s eyes widened. “You don’t think he’s one of the originals, do you?”
“I think so. There are three left that I know of, and considering I asked one of them to verify the description, and he made a rather amused commentary about it, it’s either one of the other two—or there was a survivor who has been flitting in and out of society for thousands of years.” Clarke wrinkled his nose. “I think he’s a survivor.”
Great. I’d gone from believing my father abhorred all things preternatural to being a child of an ancient vampire with a twisted sense of humor and a need to become a hovering parent, now that he could. “He said I would be his last child.”
Clarke nodded. “That’s part of why I think he’s a surviving original. They swore an oath to never again have children if their children were to rise from the severity of their predisposition, like you. And that you have brothers, and I know of them, I believe that they would have shared your fate had they perished prematurely. They are vampires now, however, and their turns were done with your father’s careful hand. Loving, too. He makes Emerick’s methods seem brutal in comparison. But make no mistake, your case of predisposition is most severe. Most vampires would ignore such things should they want a child. I was notified who your brothers are, and that he requested I help handle the introductions, as older sons tend to be irritating creatures cursed with protectiveness. His words, not mine.”
I got up from Emerick’s chair, waited for him to sit down, and retook my place as the ruler of his lap, making myself comfortable and draping my legs over the arm of the chair, careful not to damage my dress. I wondered what my mother thought of my behavior.
Before Emerick, I never would have indulged in such a thing.
Emerick wrapped his arms around me, chuckled, and kissed my temple. “I don’t know how you two managed it, but I appreciate how affectionate she’s learned to become.”
“That’s all on her, I’m afraid. We didn’t dare show much in the way of affection. We couldn’t afford to allow her to lower her guard or become comfortable. Her father worried when she moved out on her own, but either instinctively she understood she needed to be near him or he did a good job of laying out consequences if he didn’t have lunch or dinner with her. We’d talked about the possibilities.”
The more I learned, the more I marveled over how far my parents had gone for my sake. “I didn’t understand it then, but I appreciate it.”
My mother smiled. “You were always an insightful child, frighteningly so at times. When we had quiet times to talk, your father liked to tell me stories of his family, and how you are very much like his mother. His mother was a strong, stubborn woman who had to play life by certain rules—rules she often hated. And with your father, his mother did her best to cultivate change. She did, although perhaps not in ways she would like.”
“Was my grandmother a vampire?”
My mother shook her head. “I don’t believe so. If she was, she’s long gone back to the ground. When he speaks of her, it’s with old sadness. He loved his mother. I don’t know if his father was a vampire—or is . He never spoke of his father. I can only assume they were not fond of each other.”
As I wanted to avoid bringing up difficult subjects, I turned my attention to Clarke. “I don’t know what you mean by originals. Can you explain that?”
“Vampires have not always existed. Some religions, like Christianity, like to imply Cain is the original vampire, as it fits well with their dialogue. In reality, vampires have existed since before the rise of Christianity as a religion. In some cases, Christianity was molded by a few troublesome vampires who wanted to instill fear into their prey. But before recorded history, there have been vampires. The first vampires formed a brood, with one master making certain the originals adhered to their general beliefs. One of those beliefs is ceasing reproduction when it becomes obvious the child’s predisposition will be so severe rising to become a vampire is inevitable. The core of their belief system involved every vampire choosing to become a vampire. Predisposition takes away the child’s choice to become a vampire.”
“And they believed predisposed children should be staked after death.”
“Yes. The master of the brood would handle such matters, although there were exceptions made. If the child grew to be of age to make the choice, and they decided to become a vampire, then all was well. But an infant cannot choose.”
“Which would turn my father into a villain.”
Clarke shook his head. “No vampire of any integrity would be willing to stake their risen newborn. That is why the master of the brood would handle much of the burial practices to prevent a child from rising. And your father did no wrong having a wake and staying with you in the hours following your death. It was, back in those days, a normal practice. It was meant to help the grieving to let go. Superstitions state that it was done to prevent the spirit from being bound to this world, but I’ll leave you to form your own beliefs on that.”
“So, the originals are just the first vampires who formed a brood, with some master vampire dictating the rules?”
“Yes. That is precisely what the originals are. Three are known to be alive, and none of them were the first master. Very little is known about the master of that brood.”
“So, my father could be one of the originals or the master of that brood.”
