Chapter Two – Introducing Bo

I've been alone my entire life, and the emptiness has never bothered me before. I was abandoned by my mother in Paris, where I assume I was born. I never knew my father. My clan found me underneath the Eiffel Tower. I was a little boy dying of starvation and was in dire need of a warm home. They took me in and nursed me back to health. I became a part of their family; they treated me with kindness and care. It was not until my 17th birthday that I realized they were all vampires.

1957*PARIS, FRANCE

It was the middle of the night, and I was fast asleep in my quarters. I was having a terrible dream…a young woman was being chased by a blood-hungry monster. He disappeared from sight, only to reappear directly in front of her. The woman stopped running, shocked that the monster could do something so unimaginable. He whispered something to her, pressed a finger to her forehead, and soon the young woman was unconscious. He held her in his arms and let out a piercing screech. His teeth were so sharp, and they sparkled underneath the lamplight. Then, he bit down on her neck and drank her blood. He consumed so much of her blood…it would have been a miracle for her to still be alive. When the monster was finished, he dropped her body and vanished into the darkness.

I woke with a start, breathing heavily. I was so afraid, I didn't know what the nightmare meant…and I felt like I had to tell someone. I pushed the heavy blankets away from me and rose from my bed. I opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone. When I made sure that there was no one around, I crept across the hall and into Emmeline's room.

Emmeline was like a mother to me. She was the one who took care of me as a child when everyone else was too tired to play with the needy boy. I could always talk to her, and she always listened. I knew that she would be able to tell me what my nightmare meant.

I expected her to be asleep, but she was sitting up in her queen-sized bed, reading a novel.

"You may come in, Bo," She said, without looking up from the book.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked curiously, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

"I always know, mon cher," She smiled warmly, closing her book and setting it beside her. "What do you need?"

I frowned and glanced out the window. "I had a bad dream. I want to know what it means."

"What happened in your dream?" Emmeline asked, concern in her voice.

"It was awful…" I began, taking a deep breath. "There was a monster, and he was chasing a young woman…"

Emmeline's slender body seemed to tense, and her eyes grew dark.

"…He was gone for a moment, and then he reappeared right in front of her! The woman stopped running and he whispered something to her…like he was putting her under some sort of trance. The woman fell into his arms, unconscious, and he bit her neck! Emmeline, he was drinking her blood! It was as if he was a …a…"

"A vampire?" Emmeline said, finishing my sentence.

"Well…yes, but vampires aren't real!" I scoffed, and searched my brain for a more reasonable explanation.

"You do not believe in vampires?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

I looked at her then, and saw her features change before my eyes. Her once chocolate-brown eyes had turned jet black. Her skin was whiter than it had ever been, and when she opened her mouth to smile…the same sharp teeth, like the ones in my dream, glistened at me.

"What is this, who are you!?" I yelled, jumping up off the bed.

"Look at you, bébé pauvre, I did not mean to frighten you,"

I blinked, and she was suddenly standing in front of me.

"Tell me what is going on!" I demanded, backing against the wall.

"You should think before you speak, mon cher, or you could get hurt…"

She was slowly advancing towards me. I didn't know whether to feel scared or intrigued.

"Who are you? Partir de moi!" I shielded my face, worried that she might actually hurt me.

"Don't be a fool, I'm still the Emmeline you know and love! Come now; let down your guard. There is nothing to fear,"

It took me a while to trust her words, but she waited until I was ready. I finally lowered my arms, and looked into her eyes. She looked normal again, like the old Emmeline. I took a step away from the wall, and she took both my hands in hers.

"Bo, mon fils, there is so much you have to learn…"

I couldn't hear anything else she said because the moment she touched me a floodgate of images rushed through my mind. I saw a crying girl being dragged away from her parents, a burning house, several monsters feasting on the blood of the innocent, a man and a woman kissing in the dark…I saw death, blood, war…

The images were gone as quick as they'd come. As I looked into Emmeline's questioning eyes, suddenly it hit me. It was then that I knew, vampires were real…and she was one of them.

"Quel est mauvais?" She asked, removing her hands from mine. "Tell me."

"I…I saw…" I was confused, and deeply disturbed.

Emmeline stared at me, determined to hear what I had to say.

"Le quel est?" She pressed on. "What did you see?"

"When you touched me…I saw…everything…" I looked away; feeling tired all of a sudden.

Emmeline didn't seem surprised for some reason, instead a knowing look spread across her face. She turned away from me and began walking towards the door.

"Follow me," She commanded, with an authoritative tone.

I obeyed and followed her down the spiral staircase. She led me into the front room, where everybody was. I glanced at the father clock. It was 4:30 in the morning, and the entire clan was sitting in the front room chatting merrily.

"Doesn't anybody sleep in this house?" I asked loudly. I was irritated, something was going on and I still had no idea.

"You're the only one who sleeps around here," Lyle, one of my brothers, muttered. My other brothers, Rafael and Gerard, were sitting on opposite sides of him. They burst out laughing when they heard his remark.

"Idiots," Helena, my only sister, rolled her eyes. She stood up from the window seat, and whacked Lyle on the head with a newspaper.

Jean Luc, Emmeline's beloved husband, held up a hand to quiet my bickering siblings.

"Bo, what are you doing up so early?" He asked, gesturing for me to sit beside him on the sofa.

Emmeline settled into her rocking chair, and looked at me expectantly.

"I should ask you the same," I said darkly. This caused Lyle, Gerard, and Rafael to laugh again.

"We were talking about what to make you for breakfast," Jean Luc replied. "It is your birthday, you know."

I blinked stupidly, having completely forgotten.

"Oh. My birthday,"

"Yes, now tell us why you're awake," He was too curious. I sensed that whatever I said would have a great impact on the rest of the day…and maybe the rest of my life.

I told them about my dream, and then what I saw when Emmeline touched my hands.

"So you see?" Emmeline smiled when I was finished telling my story. "He knows."

The rest of the clan just stared at me with these blank looks on their faces. It was a while before anyone spoke.

"We'll have to turn him," Helena said softly, breaking the silence.

"Are you telling me that The Prophesy is coming true?" Lyle asked, he seemed amused.

"Yes," Jean Luc nodded thoughtfully. "Helena is right, but who will turn him?"

They were silent again, all of them focusing on me.

"I'll do it," Emmeline announced, standing up. "I am his mother, it should be me."

"Why are you all speaking as if I'm not even in the room?" I asked, eyes widening in fear. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Regarder votre langue!" Jean Luc berated.

Rafael and Gerard snickered behind his back. Lyle and Helena exchanged worried looks.

"Pierre, mon cher, do not be afraid. Everything is going to be alright," Emmeline said as she came closer towards me.

"I'm not afraid!" I lied, beads of sweat forming on the back of my neck.

"Good," She grinned, baring her razor sharp fangs. "Then this will be much easier."

She opened her arms to me and I came, as if hypnotized. She held me to her chest, and I winced in fear. I hollered in agony as Emmeline sank her teeth into my neck, whimpered as she sucked my blood. It was such a strange sensation…shivers went up and down my spine. My entire being tingled, and I could feel every drop of blood that exited my body. Time seemed to stop in that moment; the world became a thick blur. My eyelids were heavy and I could not hold them open. All of my strength was slowly ebbing away; my body lay rigid against her iron-like grip, I was unable to move or speak.

"You must keep your eyes open," Emmeline whispered against my clammy skin. "Keep your eyes wide open."

Her lips tickled my neck, and my eyes widened in automatic response. Then Emmeline removed her teeth with such ease; I wondered just how large my wound was. She brought her wrist to her mouth and bit into a vein. The blood that dribbled from her arm onto my shoulder was bright and appealing. It seemed like we watched her lose blood for hours… and then something deep inside me lurched forward. Before I knew it, I was holding onto her arm for dear life and eagerly sucking her blood. In an instant, everything in the entire world meant absolutely nothing. Everything I had ever worried about in the past, everything I had ever wanted…did not even compare to the strong desire Emmeline's blood drew inside me. I knew that I needed to drink from her, and with every sip I took, the vampire within me came to life.

"Enough," Emmeline said firmly. She pushed away from my mouth and brought her arm back to her side. "The human part of you is dying, Bo, you need to rest."

Emmeline pulled away, leaving me alone on the course rug. As much as I wanted to stay awake, I could not. Several moments passed; I fell into a deep sleep and awoke in my bed hours later.

When I opened my eyes, I felt an awful gurgling in the pit of my stomach. I coughed; my throat was incredibly dry. I was so thirsty…I needed a drink. I went into the bathroom and turned the sink faucet. I stuck my hands underneath the running water and drank. Almost as soon as the water touched my tongue, I spat it out. It tasted disgusting, like copper and salt.

Sighing angrily, I looked into the mirror. And when I saw those jet black eyes staring back at me, I smiled morbidly.

"Hello vampire,"

I was alone for a long time before the clan found and rescued me. Now that I have a family, I don't know how I could have ever been so content with emptiness. When I was a teenager in 1957, my new family was all I needed. Soon I realized how very much I needed more: love.

DICTIONARY*FRENCH TO ENGLISH

mon cher – my dear

bébé pauvre – poor baby

Partir de moi – Get away from me

mon fils – my son

Quel est mauvais – What is wrong

Le quel est – What is it

Regarder votre langue – Watch your language