Bride of Blood:: First Kiss (2 page)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With those words Anton suddenly felt himself fall backwards in his chair and crash to the floor.
 
The Duke was upon him, and Anton struggled and tried to break free from his iron grasp.
 
Panic-stricken, he fought wildly, trying to ask the Duke what was he doing.
 
Suddenly Anton felt a pain in his neck unlike any he’d ever experienced before.
 
It felt as if his very soul was being sucked from his body.
 
He started to spasm and tried to cry out, but nothing came.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then he felt himself being gently laid on the floor.
 
He was barely conscious.
 
His breathing was slow and shallow.
 
The pain in his neck had increased tenfold, but he didn’t have the strength to cry out or even move.
 
He felt his life slipping away.
 
Then he saw an arm being thrust into his mouth, a forearm to be exact.
 
He couldn’t breathe and he wanted to struggle again.
 
A voice that seemed to be from far away ordered him to bite and drink.
 
With the last ounce of strength that he possessed, Anton obeyed.
 
He opened his mouth and bit down on the smooth white arm.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
He could feel the hot blood begin to flow into his mouth and down his throat.
 
His strength began to return and so did his hunger.
 
He drank deeper and feeling his strength grow.
 
Suddenly, the arm was torn from his greedy grasp.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A searing pain began to consume Anton’s body.
 
It was if his entire being were dying as the sickening torment of rigor mortis settled within in him without mercy.
 
He cried out in pain and when he did, several of his internal organs issued from his mouth like black vomit.
 
He suddenly felt his limbs and torso stretch as if several strong men were having a tug-of-war with his body or that he was lashed and pulled on the rack.
 
He actually sensed the hair on his head begin to grow quickly while his scalp burned like it was on fire.
 
The layers of fat on his body suddenly turned rigid as lean muscle grew in their place.
 
This pain was so excruciating that he was sure that he would die in a matter of minutes.
 
Then as one last great surge of pain washed over him from head to toe, it was over.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton lay on the ground feeling tired and exhilarated at the same time.
 
He was breathing, but strangely enough he felt as if he didn’t need to.
 
He looked down and saw guts and gore all around him, and knew it had once been his.
 
His body was no longer rigid and painful, it felt strong and almost like that of a Greek athlete.
 
He sat up and noticed that all of his clothes had been torn from his body.
 
He felt neither cold nor hot, but somehow comfortably warm.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Duke reached his hand out and helped him to his feet.
 
Anton stood up and wiped the remaining gore from his lips.
 
The Duke put an arm around him and led him over to a large mirror.
 
Anton looked into it and didn’t recognize who he saw.
 
He was about 4 inches taller than he had been and his hair was much longer.
 
His body and face were flawless, every blemish or mark were gone.
 
His skin was much paler than it had been as if he’d never seen the sun.
 
As he ran his tongue over unfamiliar teeth, he opened his mouth and to his amazement, saw elongated teeth…. fangs.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With astonishment he looked over at the Duke who smiled and said, “Welcome to eternity, Anton the Vampire.”
 
That had been how it all started.

***

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton had many things to get used to as all of his senses were increased.
 
As a fledging, which is what a newly reborn vampire was called, he had an insatiable appetite for blood that needed to be curbed and controlled until his body fully adjusted to the change.
 
The Duke helped him to do so.
 
He taught Anton many things about the vampire world.
 
The Duke explained about the various levels that a vampire achieved with time and blood.
 
The first was Fledgling and then Acolyte, Vampire, Master Vampire and finally Legend. To move up in levels was accomplished by surviving, learning about one’s powers, and being able to control them to achieve true immortality.
 
He explained the importance of being able to hide in plain sight in the world of mortals, how to accumulate wealth and power, and most importantly how to kill and not be caught by mortals. Finally, he even taught him about the different vampires of the world and the clan system.
 
Vampires throughout the world were sometimes different from each other in physical and psychological ways, but they always traced their bloodline back to a specific clan.

Anton was the member of the vampire clan The Order of Nephthys which was the oldest known clan in the world.
 
It began in Egypt long before written language.
 
It was rumored that the goddess Nephthys herself created their race, although most didn’t even believe in the existence of such things.
 
According to their code, there were to only kill and feed on bad people, although what was considered bad was very subjective.
 
All vampires could read the thoughts of mortals, so they knew exactly who they were killing.
 
The exact number of their clan was rumored to be a few hundred spread out across the world.
 
The only one who knew for sure was the head of the clan, Lady Bernadine, whose compound was hidden deep in the African jungle.
 

Lady Bernadine herself was a mystery to all the world’s vampires.
 
No one was exactly sure of her age, some estimated it as old as time itself.
 
She appeared to be in her 40’s, and had red hair that was fell to her knees.
 
She had flawless skin that was so pale that at times it almost seemed transparent.
 
She was very short, not even 5’ tall. Her eyes were so green, they glistened like emeralds even in the dimmest light.
 
She had a very soft, almost haunting voice that sounded as if she were talking in a dream.
 
All of her clan would visit her from time to time to enhance their powers, learn new powers, and to receive her advice or comfort.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The only other clan left in existence was The Order of the Dragon.
 
It was a little more than 500 years old.
 
Although young, they were a lawless group who killed indiscriminately, including other vampires.
 
For as long as Anton had been a vampire there had been no other clans, although rumors persisted that once there were many.
 
Whether they were killed off by carelessness or even by the Dragons was not known or even rumored.
 
The original leaders of the Dragons were two brothers, both princes from Eastern Europe.
 
But they were overthrown by an evil renegade vampire who called himself Drago.
 
He sought to destroy all those he considered to be enemies of his order, including a few of his own kinsmen.
 
He also wanted to kill as many mortals as possible.
 
For some reason, he had a particular grudge against Anton, but never dared to face him directly.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unlike some vampires, Anton considered himself a Christian.
 
He didn’t believe in the existence of Nephthys or any other pagan gods.
 
He believed in God and Jesus Christ and still was a practicing Catholic.
 
He even went to confession occasionally at the cathedral of St. Philomena, although he couldn’t take communion.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On this particular night, Anton sat at the table in the restaurant area of The Truckstop.
 
For about the last six months, he visited this establishment to see the midnight waitress named Shannon.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shannon was not Anton’s typical type of girl as she was of Irish descent with very fair skin and bright red hair.
 
She was tall, but had just enough breasts and butt to keep just about any fellow interested.
 
She was very pretty, though not what he would call beautiful. She had green eyes, like Lady Bernadine, and a million dollar smile that was useful in getting tips.
 
Shannon had a joking side and enjoyed laughing at jokes even if she had heard them hundreds of times.
 
Still she was kind and really enjoyed Anton’s company, appreciating his watchful eye.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
She had no idea at all that he was a vampire.
 
All she knew was that he was a handsome man who was sweet and respectful to her.
 
He never drank the hot coffee she served him.
 
He would bring the cup up to his lips and pretend to drink, but would never put any in his mouth.
 
When the coffee got cold she would replenish it and the cycle would begin again.
 
She never knew when he would come in or how long he would stay.
 
But she always brightened up a little when he did visit her.
 
Besides, he always left her a nice tip.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
She also didn’t know that Anton could read her thoughts, which he did quite a bit.
 
He knew, for instance, that she was living with the man who was the father of her two kids.
 
Not only would this man not marry her or show the slightest interest in getting a job, but he didn’t mind spending Shannon’s hard-earned money.
 
He also hit her a few times, although being verbally abusive was his forte.
 
Once he gave her a black eye because Anton tipped her $20 on her birthday, and he believed that she did must have done something “extra” to get the money.
 
For all his faults, she was true to him even though she had many offers from patrons.
 
Anton couldn’t understand her loyalty, but Shannon herself believed that she had nowhere else to go.
 
She didn’t think that anyone would want a single mother with two kids.
 
If it were possible, Anton would have gladly killed her boyfriend, taken her for himself, but he knew it was not practical.
 
He could never fall in love with a mortal, and it was now forbidden to make any new vampires.
 
He could only admire her from afar.