I understood and fought to keep my mouth shut, but the blood spurted down my throat. As soon as I swallowed those first drops, lust for more of this grand blood supplanted my rage. Not believing my own eyes, I actually held his wrist tightly with both hands. It took a greater-than-human effort for the vampire to wrest his arm free of my grip when I had taken all he was willing to give.
"I can never forget his words. 'You are like me, a hunter of the night. You feed by drinking of the blood of the living. You travel in the night, and you must stay far from the light.'
"Somehow, I understood. Idid become a hunter of the night, marveling in my strength and stamina, which enabled me to run a hundred miles a night. Those first years, I must have traversed central and easternEurope many times, feeding upon whatever creatures I would find, occasionally coming upon a populated village."
Nicole gasped loudly. I turned and gripped both her shoulders gently. "Yes, my dear, I was not always the same creature you know now. I would descend upon these villages, ripping, tearing and wantonly killing with the same fervor as the creature who had murdered my wife. Nothing mattered anymore. I had died! And I had welcomed death, only to have it taken away from me, replaced by a soulless, faithless hell."
"How did you change?" Her voice shook.
"One night, I arose from the earthen forest floor and took off running, just as I had for I knew not how long. By this time, my humanity was completely stripped away. I ran naked, my body caked with grime, my hair a matted, tangled mess. A strong, gamey scent washed into my nostrils, and I ran toward the smell, but suddenly found myself sitting on the forest floor, having struck some sort of invisible wall.
"A rather dandified gentleman stood above me, grinning in an annoyingly bemused manner. I immediately demanded that the fellow identify himself, but he just laughed and replied, 'Ah, the creature has a tongue,' much sarcasm dripping from his words. I rose and charged the fellow, but collided with a tree. He somehow had disappeared even though he had stood just before me."
"He turned to mist, just like my grandmother's vampire. Can you do that?"
"Yes, but I had no such talent at that time, nor did I even realize that such abilities existed. I attempted to charge again, but once again, he disappeared. Suddenly, I felt a great crushing weight against my larynx. The fellow had an arm wrapped tightly around my neck. I struggled, but he was too strong.
"'Killers like you are far too dangerous to be allowed to exist,' he said, his voice an angry whisper.
"I was no brainless creature, even though I had become a remorseless killer. My mind worked quickly. 'Maybe there might be another path which you might show me,' I answered.
"His laughter nearly broke my eardrums. 'Are you even worth the trouble, creature-with-a-tongue?' he replied.
"'You will not know if you make not the effort,'" I argued.
"You convinced him?" Nicole asked.
"Yes. At that moment, he could have easily snapped my neck, and my existence would have ended. But he did not, and he never, ever explained why."
"I'm glad he changed his mind."
"As am I. Francois was his name. He took me to a monastery where they cleaned me, clothed me and gave me a well-rounded education. Francois himself made a concerted effort to mold me, teaching the importance of possessing some form of morals, some sort of respect for the mortals who provide our sustenance. I owe my survival to Francois. You see, he had a profound understanding of the path humanity was taking or would eventually take. Francois was quite prophetic in his prediction that humanity would eventually reject superstition in favor of science, and then our kind would be more likely accepted at face value."
"What happened to Francois?"
"He still exists; that I know though we have not seen each other in almost two centuries. As time passed, I moved west, and he moved east. The last word from him, he was inTibet ."
Nicole hugged herself tightly. "Fuck. I don't know whether to envy you for being able to live forever or feel sorry for you for all the terrible things that've probably happened to you over all those years."
"Ah, but imagine seeing Mozart perform. Imagine meeting DeVinci. Imagine being inParis during the French Revolution."