...
I watched as I opened the front door, where a stranger stood. I was younger, not by much from the age I am now, but I was a lot shorter.
"Hello Roxy," he said, he had dark black hair yet his skin was pale white and his eyes a striking light blue.
Feelings rushed through me as I saw myself look at him.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Where's your father?" he asked.
"I'm here! I'm here!" my Father called as he rushed down the hallway before I got a chance to say anything. "Come in."
The man walked through the door and followed my Dad into the living room. I went to head off back to my room.
"Actually Roxy," my Dad started. "This will involve you."
I turned around and headed into the living room.
"I can't lie to you anymore," he told me.
"Lie about what Dad, you're an honest person," I told him.
"There is a world out there, that you'll never understand," he started. "A world filled with creatures that would keep you up at night and I'm one of them."
"Dad, I don't underst—"I tried to but in.
"I'm a werewolf, Roxy," he told me.
"Dad, this isn't funny," I told him.
"I'm a danger to you, to your mother, to everyone in this town," he continued. "And that's why I have to leave. I have to fake my death."
I paused for a few moments, unable to comprehend what he was telling me.
"I love you and your mother too much to go through a divorce, and I love you too much to lose you to me being out of control," he told me. "I'm caught in a lie, it's what happens when you make a deal with old vampires. Your mother knows and she agrees, the last thing to do is to tell you that I'll miss you and I love you."
"Dad, that's insane," I told him. "Why would you tell me this?"
"Because you're going to forget," he told me through tears. "That's what he's here for."
He gestured to the strange man next to him, he got up and looked me in the eye.
"You will forget everything that just happened in this conversation," he said.
"I will forget everything," I repeated in a trance like state.
...
I shot up out of my bed. I sighed in relief that it was just a dream. I checked the time; two in the afternoon. I got up and changed into regular clothes. Mom would have already left for work, so I wouldn't have to worry about her whereabouts. I headed out of the house and rode my motor scooter over to the Fonte house. I knocked on the big wooden door, Matteo answered.
"Ah you," he said. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"I know it's been like a full twelve hours since I've seen you," I smiled.
"Well, we're not doing much," he said. "Tony has invited a few people over and he's feeding on them in his room."
"Do I have to be invited in?" I asked.
"No, only vampires live here," he replied.
"Oh okay," I said and walked in. "So I forgot about the whole 'being invited in' thing last night when I went home. Awkward."
He chuckled, walking down the hall to the living room.
"Wow that's real smart," he told me.
"You're telling me," I replied, sitting down on the couch.
There was a knock at the door, Matteo rushed out of the room to get it. I used my new vampire hearing to hear the conversation that would take place, I felt so hip with these new advancements to myself. I heard the door open.
"Carisa?!" asked Matteo with a hint of disgust.
"I'd like to talk with you," she said.
A whooshing noise went past, must've been Tony vamping down the stairs.
"We're not interested," Tony replied.
"Trust me you are," she told them, and barged in.
I didn't need to see anything to tell that Tony was rolling his eyes and glaring at Matteo. By the sound of things she made her way down to the living room. She strutted through the door, and plonked herself on the couch, followed by Tony and Matteo.
"I think it's pretty clear that we're enemies, yes?" she said after everyone was sitting down.
"That was clear the moment your wolf gene was exposed," Tony said.
"Well, my pack has sent me here to talk to you," she continued. "We don't appreciate your incorrect information, now five members of the pack are being executed because they were out of bounds."
"Well that's too bad, isn't it?" retorted Tony. "Maybe if you weren't a two faced, back stabbing jerk that wouldn't have been a problem."
"Where's Rani?" she asked with a hint of a smirk on her face.
"Dead," said Matteo, angrily. "Because of your wolves."
"No," she smiled, getting up. "She's dead because of me."
Tony jumped up and seized her by the shoulders.
"You will pay for what you've done," he said angrily with tears in his eyes.
He pushed his hand through her chest and ripped out her heart. Carisa flopped to the ground, and Tony dropped the heart on her dead body. Tony walked out of the room and presumably back up to his room to continue his pity binge. I stood there, in shock.
"Holy crap," I said, in disbelief.
"I'm so sick of cleaning up dead bodies because of him," sighed Matteo. "I'm going to carry her to the car, take her to the wolves, tell them the reason she's dead and then vamp out before any of them can kill me."
"Sounds like a plan," I told him. "I suppose I'm part of this too?"
"If you want to be," he said.
"It's not like I have anything better to do," I replied.
"You have nothing better to do than clean up dead werewolf bodies and escape death by wolf?" he asked, with uncertainty.
"I know, my life is very unfortunate at the moment," I replied.
He hoisted the body over his shoulder, and picked up the heart.
"There's a tarp in the kitchen, can you get it and spread it out in the trunk of my car?" he asked.
"Sure," I replied.
I walked over to the kitchen, grabbed the tarp and laid it down in the trunk of the car before Matteo gently put the dead body and the heart there. Matteo closed the trunk and I waited for him in the car.
"Let's do this," I sighed, once he'd gotten in and started the car.
"We've got to be quick," he said and accelerated the car.
We reached the woods, within five minutes due to Matteo's reckless driving. The trip would normally be like ten to twenty minutes he told me, which was clearly indicating that he really wanted to get this over and done with. He re-hoisted the body on his shoulder and picked up the heart and walked into the woods. The wolves territory was set up like a small village. Cabins were there for families, there was a well for clean water. It was much more civilised than I would have thought earlier. I was more so expecting tents. As we walked deeper into their territory, more and more wolves gathered staring at us. Once we reached Carlos' cabin we knocked on the door.
"How do you know this is his cabin?" I whispered to Matteo.
"Been here before," he replied, awkwardly.
I finally got what he meant and made a loud 'Ohhhh' sound, to which he glared at me to stop. Carlos opened his door and we stepped back. Many wolves were watching from a safe distance.
"Matteo," he said coldly. "What do you want?"
"Certainly not another date," I muttered under my breath, Matteo nudged me to stop.
"My brother killed Carisa," he said, laying down the body on his little porch.
"Why would you bring us her body?" he asked. "That would mean war."
"Because she killed Rani," replied Matteo. "So we're even."
Carlos just smirked at what Carisa had done.
"You find this funny?" I asked, in disgust.
"It's rather amusing," he replied.
"I've not even been here long and I'm already sick of the rivalry between vampires and werewolves," I said. "Yesterday I got attacked by two of your own. I got shot with a crossbow and impaled with a dagger. I could've died..."
"But you're not," said Carlos.
"Technically, I am," I told him.
"You turned her too?!" he exclaimed at Matteo.
"It was for my own self-defense," I answered for Matteo. "I don't want to constantly be scared that I'm going to die because there are a bunch of lunatic wolves that want to kill me for no apparent reason."
Carlos didn't bother trying to rebuttal with this.
"I'm over this," I started. "I would like to live my life in peace. Gosh, no wonder Matteo broke up with you, you let your wolves kill and injure people."
Carlos gave Matteo a glare.
"You were the one that broke my trust, after you showed up at our meeting with the Strychnos for their allegiance," Matteo told him. "This is on you."
He gave me a look and an ever so subtle nod, and we vamped out of there together.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem," I replied.
We both got in the car.
"I'm hungry," he said. "Do you want to stop by the pub?"
"Sure," I said. "I could do with a distraction for today."
"I'm in desperate need for a drink," he told me.
"Aren't you technically underage?" I asked.
"Compulsion is a beautiful thing," he replied.
I rolled my eyes.
"Are you going to drink?" he asked me.
"I've never properly had alcohol before," I admitted.
"Well, then I guess I'll have to teach you how to drink," he replied.
We pulled up at a dingy looking pub. I raised my eyebrows at Matteo.
"It's better than what it looks," he said.
"Alrighty then," I replied.
I got out of the car and headed into the pub.
"Are we going to sit at the bar or at a table?" I asked Matteo.
"Table," he said. "I like to be a bit more subtle."
A waitress approached us.
"Welcome to the Grill," she said. "Can I get you two anything?"
"I'll just have a burger," I told her.
"And you?" she asked, writing my order down.
"I'll have the same," he told her.
"Any drinks?" she asked.
"I'll just have a water," I told her.
"Same for me," Matteo told her.
"Alright," she said. "Your meals will be here soon."
"No alcohol?" I asked, after she left.
"Figured I should cut back a bit," he told me.
"Fair enough," I replied.
"I gotta go to the bathroom," he said, getting up. "Be right back."
I sat waiting for him to return. A stranger sat down in his spot, he seemed oddly familiar. He was middle aged, and had jet black hair slicked back.
"Hello there," he said.
"I'm not interested," I said, getting right to the point.
"I don't mean it like that, love," he said. "Your name?"
"I suggest you leave," I said, trying to compel him.
"You can't compel another vampire," he told me.
"You're new in town then?" I asked, not recognising him from the Strychnos.
"You could say that," he told me. "Now, your name?"
"I'm Roxy," I told him. "And you are?"
"Dracula," he said. "Count Dracula."
I gasped a little in my head, I'm pretty sure this is the world's first vampire, meaning that I'm screwed if I get on his bad side.
"Don't be afraid," he said, looking me right in the eye.
My body suddenly went calm, as if whatever he said would control me.
"I won't be afraid," I told him.
"Good," he replied.
I listened around for Matteo, I heard him talking to someone.
"Tony," he said, presumably on the phone. "Dracula is here, he's talking to Roxy. I think he's found us."
I wondered what Matteo meant by this, but I realised that I had tuned out of what Dracula was saying.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm a little out of it today."
"It's no trouble," he told me, looking me in the eye again. "You will trust me from here on, and do whatever I say."
I now felt a sense of trust for him, as if I could tell him my deepest darkest secrets, but I couldn't understand why. Matteo walked over to the table.
"Matteo, this is Dracula," I said, pretending to have not heard their conversation earlier.
"Matteo," Dracula smiled. "How nice to see you again."
"Dracula," Matteo replied. "What're you doing here?"
"Just stopping by," he said, vaguely.
You could tell this wasn't going to be a small 'stopping by', something told me that he'd be around for a while. Tony walked in the Grill like he owned the place, he spotted us and walked over.
"Hey Drac," Tony said. "Come here to terrorize young Italian children?"
Dracula scowled at him.
"I'm just passing by," he said, still scowling.
"Roxy," Matteo said. "We should go."
"But our food isn't here," I whined.
"She's right, it would be a shame to waste it," he agreed.
Right after he finished talking, the waitress came over with the food.
"That's two burgers," she told us.
Geez, that was quick.
"Can we get this to go?" asked Matteo.
"Sure thing," she said. "I'll just be a minute with the cheque too."
She walked off again, leaving us with the thick tension between Dracula, Tony and Matteo.
"Maybe I shall stay a while," Dracula said, finally.
"Why would you want to do that?" asked Tony, in a sassy tone.
"It's the warm reception I get from you two," he retorted.
The waiter returned with the meals in bags and the cheque, she placed them on the table and left again. Matteo pulled out a fifty dollar note, slapped it on the table, grabbed the doggy bag and walked out, Tony followed him.
"I better go," I told him. "I'll see you around."
I walked out of the café after Matteo and Tony.
"What did he do to get you two all stressed out?" I asked.
"He can still hear us," Matteo said. "Get in the car."
"I'm taking my own," Tony said. "Watch out brother, I'm breaking your rules."
Matteo rolled his eyes at him.
"Roxy, get in the car," he clarified.
"What if I went in Tony's car?" I asked, cheekily.
Tony held out his hand for a fist bump to which I obliged, Matteo just stood there glaring at us.
"Alright, alright," I told him, opening the car door. "I'm getting in."
I got in the car, and saw Matteo still glaring at Tony, and got in after a few moments.
"We knew Dracula from a long time ago," he said after we were two minutes away from The Grill.
"I figured as much," I told him.
"I'll show you the flashback when we get back home," he said.
"Flashback?" I asked.
"Vampires have the ability to let people into their mind to see memories if they want to," he told me.
We pulled up at the house, where my lonely motor scooter sat out the front, along with Tony.
"What took you so long?" asked Tony.
"I prefer not to get speeding tickets," Matteo replied.
"You can just compel your way out of them," he said.
"Come on," Matteo said, cutting to the chase. "Dracula can't get to us inside."
"Yes he can," I reminded him. "You're vampires so he can get in."
"Crap," he said. "We need to get that fixed, sign over the deed to someone else."
"Now's not the time, brother," Tony said.
We all walked inside to the living room and sat down.
"Dracula was around when Tony and I were living in Italy a long time ago," he started. "I'll show you."
He placed his hands on my head and I closed my eyes.
...
"Newspapers! Get your newspapers!" called a voice from the street.
"Antonio, please go get one," said an older woman doing laundry, handing him some change.
She had rounded cheeks, light blue eyes and dark curly brown hair pulled up in a bun with wisps of it hanging out. She wore an old long dress, with a dirty apron on top.
"Yes mother," Antonio replied; with no hair gel, his hair was curly like his mother's.
He walked out of the small cottage and out on to the street, he came back in a few moments later with the newspaper.
"Two more children dead," Antonio announced. "This is horrible, why can't someone do something?"
"Because it's a mystery, Antonio," his mother said folding up clothes. "Those children should not bother us, just be thankful it's not you or Matteo."
"What if one day it is us?" he questioned.
"It will not be," she assured him. "Now, you are to get to work on time today. You should leave now; call your brother."
"Matteo!" called Antonio. "We must leave for work now!"
"I'm coming!" he called back.
He came out buttoning the top buttons of his shirt.
"I'm here, brother," he announced. "Goodbye, Mother."
He hugged her and kissed her cheek, Antonio did the same after him.
"We will see you after work," Matteo said, heading out the door with Antonio.
They headed out onto the street, old with a stone road. Packed with people and small shops along the sides of the street, along with houses.
"So, brother, have you heard about the murdering of children?" Antonio asked.
"It is sickening," Matteo replied.
"Quite indeed," said a stranger appearing in front of them, who turned out to be Dracula.
"Who are you?" asked Antonio.
"The one responsible for those killings," Dracula smirked.
Both the boys faces intensified, and they turned away to run. Dracula grabbed their shoulders and turned them around.
"Don't be scared," he said, looking them both in the eye.
They both relaxed and looked at him.
"Why are you killing children?" Antonio asked.
"Easy targets," he told them. "Easy to feed on, everyone thinks it's an animal. Nobody believes the ones who have seen me."
"Feed on?" said Matteo, alarmed. "What are you?"
"I am a vampire," he told them.
"What are you going to do to us?" asked Antonio.
"I need you two to be my eyes and ears of this town," he said. "If you do your job well, I may just turn you into vampires too."
"What if we don't want to be like you?" asked Antonio.
"Trust me, you do," he replied.
"You cannot make us do anything," Matteo told him.
"I can and I will," he replied, obviously compelling them again. "You will do as I say."
"What can we do for you?" Antonio asked.
"Right now you will go to work," he told them. "I will find you later and we will talk."
"Your name?" asked Matteo.
"Dracula," he replied. "Count Dracula."
He vanished, most likely vamping off.
The scene changed to a blood covered Dracula, surrounded by many dead people lying on the floor. Matteo was bent down crying over a dead body, something in Antonio's eyes had changed; as if he had lost all feelings.
"You killed her!" Matteo screamed at Dracula, crying over his mother's body. "You killed all of them!"
"You tricked us," said Antonio, his mind seemingly somewhere else. "You led us on for weeks, letting us believe that you wouldn't harm anyone."
"It was all necessary for power," Dracula told him. "You now get what you want, you have my blood in your system. There's only one last step."
Dracula vamped over and snapped Antonio's neck first, then Matteo's. They flopped dead, Dracula placed two rings underneath a note between them.
"I owe you that much," he said. "You are going to have to figure out the rest on your own."
He vamped out of the room.
Matteo skipped the memory forward a few hours. Antonio opened his eyes, took a breath, and got up with immense speed. He breathed deeply as he scanned his surroundings, his eyes immediately going towards the paper. Matteo awakened too and moved over towards Antonio. They both picked up the rings and placed them on their fingers, and got up. Antonio took a drink of blood from a dead townsperson nearby, Matteo followed his example.
"We're vampires now," Matteo said with disbelief, wiping the blood from his mouth.
"I'm going to kill him," Antonio muttered.
"Brother, you cannot," Matteo told him.
"I DO NOT CARE!" Antonio screamed. "He killed the entire town, including us. He deserves to die."
"He deserves worse than death, brother," Matteo told him. "But we must focus on the present now, we are vampires."
"DO YOU NOT HEAR ME?!"yelled Antonio again.
"Brother, calm down," Matteo said calmly. "You are not yourself."
"How can I be myself when people around us are dead?" Antonio asked. "Help me kill him, you are either with me or against me."
Matteo took a second to think.
"Then we shall go our separate ways," Matteo said quietly.
"You would dare?" Antonio miffed.
"Goodbye, brother," Matteo said. "I'll see you in a decade or two."
Matteo had obviously already figured out the basics, because he vamped out of the room.
...
I opened my eyes and was back in the Fonte mansion.
"That's the story," Matteo said. "That's how we know Dracula."
"Why was it in English?" I asked.
"That's your main concern?" Tony asked, with disbelief.
"I translated it so you'd understand," Matteo told me.
"He didn't seem that bad when I met him," I said. "Maybe he's changed."
Antonio scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"People like him don't change," Tony told me.
"And how many centuries has it been since then?" I questioned.
"Like two," replied Tony.
"And you're saying that you still know what he's like even after two hundred years?" I asked.
"Point taken," he said. "But we should all be cautious."
"Can you get the deed signed over to someone who isn't dead?" asked Matteo to Tony.
"Who are we to ask?" he said.
"What about Opal?" I asked.
"What about her?" Matteo asked.
"She knows about our world, and she's not like her mother," I answered. "We could form a deal to protect her if she lets us sign the deed over to her."
"As dumb as you were ten seconds ago; that is actually a good plan," Tony said. "I'll get on it immediately."
He walked out of the room.
"There's more to the story than just that," Matteo told me. "But I don't want Tony to know I showed you."
He placed his hands on my head again and I closed my eyes.
...
"Brother, how nice to see you again," Antonio said, standing next to a girl.
"Antonio, it has been two decades," replied Matteo. "Who's this and what do you want?"
"My name is Rani," said the girl.
"Do not tell me this is about your little revenge fantasy about Dracula," Matteo replied. "It has been over a decade, get over it."
"We have a plan," Antonio told him. "Hear me out."
"You have two minutes before I vamp out of here," Matteo replied.
"It turns out that Dracula has a sister and a brother," Antonio told him. "We aim to kill the brother."
"Why not just kill Dracula?" Matteo asked.
"Because he killed the ones we love," Antonio replied. "So we do the same to him."
"And where does she come into this?" Matteo asked, gesturing to Rani.
"Dracula ruined my life too," she said. "I come from India, but when I moved here, to England, he found me. He wanted me to be his wife, but I refused so he killed anyone I ever cared about so I fled. He hasn't found me since then. I want to help you take him down."
"Who is his brother and how do you suppose we find him?" Matteo asked.
"Lord Thomas Ruthven," Rani replied. "He's a real gentleman, he helped me escape the wrath of his brother, well, half-brother."
"Yet you still would like to kill him?" Matteo asked.
"If that is what it takes to stop Dracula, then yes," she replied.
"Enact your plan," Matteo said. "If or when I see it fit, I will join. Until then, we will see."
"We shall enact the plan," Antonio told him. "However, I know you will join in eventually."
"We will see," Matteo replied and walked out of there.
...
The scene changed back to the Fonte mansion living room.
"That time was actually in English, I'd learnt it fluently by then," he told me. "Long story short, we killed Ruthven and Dracula's wanted revenge ever since."
"So that's why he's here?" I asked.
"Presumably," he replied.
I heard the door open.
"She agreed to do it!" exclaimed Tony.
"Uh yeah," Opal added.
They walked into the living room.
"You'll do it?" asked Matteo the moment she walked in.
"If you stick to your end of the deal, and give me protection, then yes," she said. "I'll do it."
"Just pointing out that this deal does not include protection for your family, witchy," Tony told her.
"We'll get the papers, and until then, I suggest you go," Matteo told her.
"You should stay inside today, warn your Grandmother, start ingesting vervain," I told her. "Or keep it as a necklace. I don't know how strong your magic is, but this could be dangerous."
"Dracula even has the capability to compel vampires," Matteo added. "So we should start ingesting vervain too."
"Thanks," she replied. "Look, I'd also like to form allies with you guys."
"What do you have to offer?" Tony asked.
"My magic," she told us. "I'm getting stronger, my grandmother's teaching me. I can protect you from Dracula."
"What do you have to gain from us?" Tony asked again.
"What do you think?" she asked. "You are allies with the Strychnos, get me under their protection too."
"Deal," said Matteo, shaking her hand.
"You can't just do that," Tony argued.
"If we align with her, we align with her grandmother," he told Tony. "This is the smartest option."
"I'll see you guys later," Opal said.
"Be safe," I warned her.
She walked out of the room and I heard the front door shut as she walked out of the house.
"I'll call the house guy and get the forms," said Tony, also walking out of the room.
"He's being strangely precautious," I said to Matteo.
"That's because of the way Dracula reacted after we killed Ruthven," Matteo replied. "He tried to find us for about a decade and a bit after that, and then he seemingly just stopped."
"And now you think he wants revenge?" I asked.
"Seemingly," he said. "But we're not running again, we're going to fight."
"I take it this also involves me," I said.
"It does now that he's associated you with us," Matteo told me.
"Do you intend on killing him or what?" I asked.
"If it comes down to that, then yes," he told me.
I nodded and Tony walked back into the room.
"The papers are being sent over," Tony said. "It'll be here within a few days."
"Could you not get it to come faster?" asked Matteo.
"You can't compel people over the phone," Tony replied, with sass.
The doorbell rang, and Matteo vamped over to the door.
"Hello," said a deep, English accented voice. "Can I come in?"
"Follow me to the living room," Matteo replied.
I heard them as they walked down the hall into the room I was already sitting in. The deep voice had belonged to Dracula, and he walked into the living room.
"Why'd you let him in here?" Tony said, seriously.
"Tony, it's fine," I assured him.
"I've come to make amends," Dracula said.
"I don't believe you," Tony replied.
"Yes, you do," Dracula said, leaning over glaring into his eyes. "You will do what I say."
"He'll what?!" exclaimed Matteo.
"I will do what you say," Tony repeated.
"Forget I told you this," Dracula told hi.
Dracula pulled Matteo's head to face him.
"You too," he said to Matteo.
"I will do what you say," repeated Matteo. "I will forget."
"What are you doing?" I asked, calmly.
I felt as if I should be more scared, but I felt completely relaxed about it.
"I'm compelling them," he told me, as if they weren't in the room.
"How?" I asked.
"I'm one of the oldest original vampires," he told me. "I can compel humans and vampires as long as they don't ingest or wear vervain."
"Oh... okay," I said.
"Now," he said, turning his head back to Tony. "You will let me stay here in this mansion. And you will think that I do not want to cause harm. You will give me a new beginning."
"I will give you a new beginning," repeated Tony.
"Now, which bedroom can I take?" asked Dracula.
"There's a spare one upstairs, let me take you there," Tony told Dracula, getting up.
"Now, that's what I'm talking about," said Dracula, following Tony out of the room.
"It seems you have a new housemate," I told Matteo. "I should go now."
"See you tomorrow," Matteo nodded, still in a trance-like state.
I walked out of the house and headed home, hopefully soon things start to slow down.
