Act Two Chapter One - In Your Room

Officer Julia Peachtree of the Blacksburg Police department hiked up her slacks and fastened her belt. “This is embarrassing.” She said.

Michael Allens sat on the hood of her police cruiser and smiled. “Oh, come now, doing it when you’re on duty out here in town? It’s such a turn on for you. Admit it!”

“Everything about you is a turn on. And what if Scott knew?”

“Your husband will never find out. You will never say anything to him under any circumstance. This is my command.”

“Yes, master.”

Michael smiled. “Now, I believe you have your duties to perform. I’ll leave you to them.”

Michael watched as the police cruiser drove off. Julia was not the only one with a place to be. Boar’s annual SCA party was tonight, and probably already started. Michael gathered up his own things and began walking.

It would be a good 15 min walk from his little hiding place in the woods, a patch of land with a run down cabin he’d bought. It was across Rt. 460 from the Tom’s Creek intersection. Michael gingerly crossed the four-lane and headed into Blacksburg proper.

Memories of last year’s party flooded into his head. There he was, a freshman who’d managed to get lucky against the club’s champion fighter in an exhibition match. Of course, others had not seen it as luck, including that champion himself. Having won their respect, Michael was welcomed into their group and on to his destiny. For from the group came the party, and from the party came Deborah. And, of course, from Deborah came his rebirth into darkness.

Had his life played out normally, Michael would now be coming into his sophomore year at Tech. But normal was not his lot, nor had it been for ten months. No, instead he was living a life he could only have dreamed of.

At least three nights of every week were spent on the hunt. Michael almost never fed without first savoring the other pleasures his prey offered him, and offer they did. The open often-rebellious atmosphere of a public university made that easy. And when pickings were slim, he could always fall back on his "herd," his ever-willing thralls who offered themselves and their blood on command.

The rest of his time was spent working, for even as a vampire not all was fun and games. Michael had taken a cue from Deborah and the others with their tales of the ways vampires had made use of the legends to misdirect and confound the mortal populace. The end result was his first published novel, Nosferatu Berliner. It was the story of a West German journalist and an East German policeman trying to solve a series of strange murders across a Cold War Berlin. He’d written it under a pen name and, after having several of his vampiric colleagues edit the script for Masquerade-endangering truths, offered it to a major publisher. They scooped it up in a heartbeat and soon Michael, or rather his pen name of Adrian Cord, was the hottest new author in horror fiction.

It could not have come at a better time. Coppola had finished his version of the Dracula story and it was set to hit theatres in December. Word had come that the Anne Rice novels were also soon to see the big screen treatment. Vampires were hot and it left the public hungering for his next work. Michael spent several nights each week putting together a new manuscript, using many of the same characters. Here, the story had his East German immigrate to America after the Wall came down. Michael set his next vampire story in Philadelphia, a city he knew from visiting his grandparents there as a small child. It was near to completion.

Michael turned the corner onto University City Blvd. With his vampire senses, he could already hear the revelry of the party from Boar’s apartment about 500 meters further on.

Writing was not the only work Michael had been keeping up on. There was also his purposes in Kindred society, his preparation to be a soldier in a war he still knew little about. Solomon had been training him each week in combat techniques and weaponry of various sorts. Likewise, the mercurial Ernie had been toughening Michael’s mental discipline, teaching him to resist and repel the various supernatural powers that could and would be used against him by enemies of all stripes.

With nearly a year of training and education into what it meant to be a vampire, or more specifically, a Daeva sired by Deborah Means to defeat her “enemy,” Michael knew his ascent to full citizenship in their society would be soon. No longer would he be regarded as a mere infant among their kind. He now knew and understood enough. And with that knowledge came not just respect, but opportunity,

After all, Michael had his own enemies that he wanted to deal with.

He had a plan, a way to lure his ex-girlfriend Rebecca back to Blacksburg. Michael had to admit though he wasn’t yet sure what he was going to do with her once she got here. Oh, he had some ideas, but which one? He had not expected this to be as difficult as it was turning out to be.

After all, he’d been with so many others now that his rejection by Rebecca seemed to barely register. And yet, he also knew that the affections of those others were driven by false desires, either the blood bond of a vampiric thrall or submission to his seductive supernatural power. There was no genuine affection in any of it, no love, no honesty, no truth. The unbelievable devotion Kris had shown him on New Years Eve now felt hollow. No one had ever loved him for him.

And it all began with Rebecca.

Michael shook off these thoughts, finding himself growing angrier and angrier as he moved closer and closer to the party. Tonight was no time for such grim reminders. It was a time for fun and revelry. He cleared his mind and rapped on the door.

Boar popped the door open. “Hey, we were wondering if you were coming.”

“Am I that late?” said Michael with some genuine puzzlement. He glanced down at his watch.

“Nah.” Replied Boar. “We just figured you’d be the first one here.”

“I confess my sin of desiring to be fashionably late.”

“I’m sure Mathias would love to hear your confession,” said Deborah, walking over to the two of them. “But none of us do.”

Michael leaned down and gave his sire a peck on the cheek. “Happy anniversary.” He whispered.

“Oh? And I thought men always forgot.” She teased.

“Anniversary of what?” asked Boar.

“The day we met. It was at this party last year.” Explained Michael.

“Ah.” Said Boar. “Can I get you anything?” He gestured towards the kitchen.

“Brunette. Preferably one with larger than a C cup-size.”

“Damn, Michael. Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” said Mitch, coming into the kitchen to refill his drink.

“So says Captain Gland, the only person on campus who might get laid more often than I do.”

Mitch shrugged. “Hey, I get lucky.”

“So we’ve noticed.” Said Deborah. “About everything.”

Michael fetched himself a drink, mixing up a Long Island much like the one Boar had offered him the night after he’d split with Rebecca. He took a few sips of his drink and headed out into the living room of the apartment. Several SCA folks were busy playing three-man and other drinking games on the floor, while still others chatted on the sofa. Out on the back porch, Michael saw Kris.

He opened the screen door and stepped outside. “Hey, love.” He said affectionately to Kris as she turned. She smiled at him and Michael had to admit, although the emotions were illusory, they were still intoxicating. There was a part of him truly regretted enthralling her. He would have liked to have known if he could have made something authentic with her. He would have liked to have known if they could have fallen in love with each other for real.

Kris walked over and took Michael’s drink from his hand. She took a sip and flinched when she discovered how strong it was.

“Good thing those don’t hit you the way they do me.” She said. “That’s strong.”

“But tasty.” He said. He leaned over and gave her a long tender kiss. “As are you.”

“It’s good to be back.” She admitted.

“And how went your summer internship?” It was small talk. Michael already knew the answer. Although Kris had spent the summer in Washington DC, she had called him at least twice a week for the whole summer.

“Not well enough that I’d want to stay. You’ve given me a taste for the extreme, the criminal. Working in a cubicle for the rest of my life doesn’t appeal anymore.”

“We’ll have to see what we can do about that.”

She reached up and gave his neck an odd rub. Michael wasn’t sure what she was doing until she said “lipstick.”

“Oh.” He said meekly.

“Who this time?”

“Officer Julia Peachtree of the Blacksburg police. Speaking of the criminal, always helps to have someone on the inside to cover for you.”

“And it never hurts when they’re cute and blond, I’m guessing.” Kris smiled. Michael’s dalliances were no secret to any of his thralls. “As long as I get mine…” she started to say.

“And you always do.” Interrupted Michael.

“We are overdue, with me being away all summer.”

“I could bend you over the railing right here.” Offered Michael. He was joking, but a look crossed Kris’ face that said the idea excited her. He gave her an affectionate pat on the cheek before kissing her again. “You know, I keep wondering when I’m going to suggest something kinky that actually offends you and nothing ever does.”

“I’m just that kind of girl.” She replied playfully.

Michael shook his head and walked back inside.

Mitch had taken a place at the three-man table. Across from him was Kaylie, the buxom brunette who’d tried to cheer him after Rebecca’s break-up. Funny how many memories of that party were imposing themselves on Michael’s mind. Michael was pleased to see her; the image in his mind when he’d answered Boar’s query earlier was of Kaylie. She was a regular at Boar’s parties, yet Michael had never gotten another shot at her after Deb had interjected herself between them last year.

And now, it looked like Michael was going to miss another opportunity. It was very obvious that Mitch intended to make Kaylie as drunk as possible and his uncanny luck was not hurting his chances. It would not be the first time Mitch had snatched one out from under Michael, which Michael thought impressive since he had tools and powers Mitch could only dream of.

Of course, Michael had never made it into a real competition either. He’d simply accepted his losses with some grace, trusting that there would always be another time. And he was content to do the same tonight. After all, if he’d really pushed the issue, he knew Kaylie would go home with him. But, he figured he'd let Mitch win the prize tonight.

Michael took a seat on the couch and surveyed his surroundings. Kris came back inside and immediately made for the seat next to him. “You looked lonely.” She said, which was a nice way for her to say that she noticed he’d not found anyone else. However true, it wasn’t such a bad thing. After all, there was always Kris and tonight she was really the one he wanted.

----

“Not sure what cauliflower has to do with anything.” Quipped Ernie.

Michael simply shrugged. A few more nights had passed and Michael had to come to Deb’s apartment for another session of mental discipline with Ernie. So far, he was doing well.

Ernie glared at him with a baleful stare. He was obviously getting frustrated in his attempts to get inside Michael’s mind. “Michael’s no fun tonight.” He whined, slipping for a moment into his child persona.

“I’m sorry, Ernie, but we’ll have to find another game to play.”

“Like ‘Go hunt the pretty girl?’ I like that one.”

Michael looked over at Deborah and she gave a nod. The practice session was over. “Sure, Ernie.” He said. “Why don’t you go get a head start?”

“Whee!!!” and he was out the door.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” said Deb.

“He’ll revert to his prophet/cult leader personality as soon as he’s out the door. Besides, as you’ve said before, regardless of which Ernie he is, he’s always super-keen to protect our Masquerade.” He looked at Deb lustfully. “And maybe the pretty girl I want to hunt is right here.”

Deb laughed playfully. “You’ll go hungry. Surely there’s one of your adoring fans out there just waiting to for you to find them.”

“It’s not the same.”

“I warned you about that a long time ago.” Cautioned Deborah. “You don’t want to fall in love with another vampire, not even me.”

“I know, but there’s something appealing about being wanted for real by someone. You come to me because you choose to. They…well, it’s just that they’re all driven by the blood bond. Their feelings, their desires, all of it is fake, a contrivance of my vampiric powers. Occasionally, I hunger for something a bit more genuine, even if it is just shallow lust. It’s still a better illusion than what they offer.”

Deborah nodded. “It’s never an easy thing when we come to this moment. Many of us live in denial of it for decades, but I might have guessed as smart as you are that you’d come to it sooner. It is a rare thing for our kind to find genuine affections: true friendship, lasting love. We always question, always wonder. Is it real or is it just a contrivance of our power?”

“Yeah, it’s something I’ve been struggling with. I take it you’ve been there.”

“For a long time. To be a vampire is to be alone. It is the heart of our curse.”

Michael looked at her grimly. “You knew and you said nothing.”

“I did not have to. You would not have chosen differently the night I changed you into what you are now. Your destiny was already written well before I came on the scene.”

Michael looked at her piercingly. “What do you mean?”

“Loneliness is not our curse alone. It is the curse of every monster: vampire, werewolf, wizard, or human. I wouldn’t look to being a vampire for the reason you’re alone, Michael. You were doomed to that regardless of whether I turned you or not.”

“What are you saying?” said Michael, getting agitated. “That I was a monster before you turned me?”

“In a word, yes. People who cloak themselves in morality as fiercely as you did don’t do so because they’re afraid of some almighty power, they do it because they’re afraid of themselves. And now that the shackles are off, you’ve proven that true numerous times: the night you raped me for instance. You thought it a terrible thing to force yourself on me and yet you did it anyway. And since then? You thrill to the thought of murdering your devoted thrall, finding it quite the turn on. These are not new things, they’re just what you kept buried within for the whole of your life.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“To warn you.” She said quietly. “You are a beast of rage and lust and making you into a vampire only gave you the freedom to be your true self. That freedom can be intoxicating and it can be dangerous. You have been drunk on it for this past year and now you are beginning to feel the hangover, to coin a metaphor.”

Deborah came over and gave Michael an affectionate stroke on the arm. “The question each one of us struggles with is how do we deal with this part of ourselves? Every night of our Requiem we must answer that question. This is my final lesson to you, my childe, my final warning. Learn what it means when we say ‘monsters we are, lest monsters we become.’”

“Rebecca knew all this. That’s why she left me.”

“Yes, I think it’s safe to say that’s why she left you. She got to know you well enough to see your true self. And all the others, if not blinded by your powers, will do the same.”

“So all I have is an illusion. All I’ll ever have.”

“That is our curse.”

She walked over to the door, pulling a jacket on. “The night awaits. Come. Dwell on this truth too long and it will drive you mad.”

“Like Ernie?”

“No, like me.”

----

The night was still young and the bars were full. Michael had no idea where Ernie had gotten to, nor did he care to keep track of Deb. Her words had hit like a hammer blow, and the more he dwelt on them the angrier he got.

“I was always a monster.” He echoed in his mind. And he knew she was right, the truth he’d never wanted to admit. All the rage at his rejections, all the desires for love he’d never felt, it had twisted him into something grotesque. It was why Rebecca had gone; why she had made her accusations of him. Becoming a vampire was not the first step in his descent, it was the last.

He decided to go off his usual beaten path, turning left on College Ave towards Squires instead of downtown. He was heading over to “TOTS,” the Top of the Stairs bar.

He had not walked fifty feet when Ernie emerged from a nearby storefront, wiping his mouth and looking rather contented. “Ah, Michael!” he said in an excited voice.

“Hello again, Ernie.” He said in a quiet tone.

“Michael looks sad.” Said Ernie in a sing-song voice. “Why is he sad?” Ernie’s face had an exaggerated pout, tell-tale sign that the child personality was in full-force.

Michael let out his breath. “It’s nothing. Just something Deb told me.”

“I don’t like it when Debbie is mean to Michael. She’s bad.” Ernie put his arm across Michael’s shoulder. “I can be your friend, Michael. I won’t be mean to you.”

Michael nodded awkwardly. “Um…thanks, Ernie.”

“You know, I can make you feel just as good as she does. You don’t need her anymore.”

This was not the first time Ernie had made either an overt or covert sexual proposition to Michael. Michael shrugged off Ernie’s arm and shook his head.

“It’s not like that, Ernie.”

“It could be.” He replied wistfully.

“No.” said Michael firmly. “I’ve said that before. I meant it then. I mean it now.”

Ernie frowned and voice grew cold. “You’ll learn, Michael. Soon enough you’ll learn who your real friends are. I’d never hurt you. She will. She’s mean!” With that, he stormed off.

There was a part of Michael that found Ernie’s envy of Deborah amusing. But the propositions were a growing nuisance and Michael wondered when Ernie would stop taking ‘no’ for an answer. Knowing Ernie’s power, Michael shuddered at the thought of what that might entail.

He continued on to TOTS and went inside. The bar was crowded with college students. No one paid him any heed, so he parked himself at an empty table and started to scan the room. But his thoughts were distracted by recent events and he found himself unable to focus on the task at hand.

Michael let out an audible groan of frustration. “I’m no more in control of my fate than before. Forever lonely, Deborah claims. Be with me, demands Ernie, or else. I like the storybook vampires better. Feared, powerful, seductive, and absolute master of all they survey. I thought that was what Deborah was offering, but I am a far cry from that.”

His eyes fell upon a couple at the bar. The girl was a luscious blonde, buxom and vivacious. She was laughing at whatever joke her boyfriend had told. The boyfriend was handsome and rugged looking; something of a rugby player build, athletic and strong. They seemed happy together, a picture of everything Michael had always wanted and was apparently never going to have.

“Tonight, let another share my misery.” Michael thought. He stood up as the boyfriend wandered off to the restroom. He came over and immediately parked himself in the spot the boyfriend had just vacated.

“Hi!” he said casually.

The girl gave a polite nod but no more acknowledgment. Michael turned to the barkeep and ordered a beer. To his surprise, he was not carded.

“That’s surprising.” He admitted to the girl. “I figured I’d be carded, looking as young as I do.” She did not reply.

“Dude, you’re in my spot and you’re next to my girl. Get lost.” Came a voice behind him.

“Hey, chill. All I did was say ‘hi’ and order a beer.” Said Michael defensively. “Is there some law against being nice in these parts?”

“Seat’s taken. Now do I have to repeat myself?” The rugby player glowered over Michael menacingly.

“Maybe you do. I don’t really speak asshole.” said Michael defiantly.

The rugby frat boy moved in when the bartender interjected. “That’s enough, you two. If you’ve a problem, take it outside.”

“Why not?” suggested Michael.

The frat boy smiled. “Your funeral.”

They headed outside, down the stairs, and into a nearby alley. Just as the frat boy cleared the corner, Michael spun and lashed out with a powerful kick to the groin. The frat boy doubled over in pain, and Michael brought his fist down hard on the back of his head. There was a crunch of bone and he dropped to the pavement.

“Dinner is served.” Said Michael mirthfully, diving in. He drank until he was sated, knowing full well the blow he’d struck was likely fatal anyway.

“What a mess.” Deborah appeared at the end of the alleyway. Her face was a frown.

“One less drunken bully to deal with.” Said Michael, wiping his face.

“And this is how you take my final lesson? To kill randomly and without purpose? Your anger will not change the truth, Michael. This was stupid, reckless.”

“It can be taken care of.” Said Michael angrily. Her condescending tone reminded him a parent lecturing a child and that was the last thing he wanted to hear tonight. “I have the means. Isn’t that one of the marks of being a full fledged vampire anyway? One call to my pet police officer and this’ll be just an unexplained disappearance.”

“And his buddies or his date upstairs? Didn’t remember them, did you?” Her tone was cold and hard.

“You said it yourself, I’m a beast of rage and lust.”

“And you’ve learned nothing of why I told you that. The warning I gave.” Said Deborah. “Call your pet police officer and let’s get this dealt with.”

----

“What the hell happened here?” screamed the blonde, visibly distraught.

“Miss, I need you to step back from the crime scene.” Said Officer Peachtree.

“That’s my boyfriend!”

“Which one?”

“The one…Oh, God…That bastard, he killed him.”

“Fucker pulled a knife on me.” Said Michael. “Got what he deserved.”

“He wouldn’t, you son-of-a-bitch!”

“Miss, I need to ask you a few questions.” Interjected Julia. “You were with the deceased this evening?”

“Up until this asshole came along.”

“Can you describe what happened?”

“This guy came up, looked like he was going to make some moves on me. Paul intervened. They argued for a second, and then the bartender cut in. Told them to take it outside.”

“And?” goaded Julia.

“This guy agreed. Then Paul said…”

“What did he say?” insisted Julia.

The blonde got a defeated look on her face. “He said it would be his funeral. He really did it, didn’t he?”

“We have witnesses.” Julia gestured towards Deborah, who stood impatiently against the alley wall. Deborah merely nodded in response. The blonde burst into tears.

“Officer Kelly, can you see this young lady home? I’m sure we’ll want a statement from her later.”

Kelly nodded and escorted the girl away. Julia walked back over to Michael and Deborah.

“You owe me one, mi’lord.” She said nonchalantly.

Michael looked over at Deborah and saw the disgust in her face. He merely nodded in response to Julia. Deborah walked over. “As you do me.” She said it significantly less cordially.

“Are you done lecturing me?”

“For tonight, yes. But tonight proves to me, you’re not ready to be one of us.” With that, she walked off into the night.

-----

“He did not take that well at all, I see.” Offered Solomon. He leaned back in his hot tub, enjoying the feel of the warm water on his cold skin. “The ugly truth of our condition. They always know, deep down, what we are. See, this is why I don’t bother with the pretense of seduction. I know I’m pretty enough to score any chick I want, but going down that road…” he let the words trail off.

Deborah gave him a hard look, as if she did not believe a word of what he was saying. But she said nothing in response. “I shouldn’t have told him. He wasn’t ready for it. And now we can add despair to his vices, a despair that is making him reckless.”

“There’s an easy solution.” Said Solomon. “Enthrall him and not only will he be easy to control, but you’ll give him an illusion of love and affection he can’t see through.”

“His rational mind would know better. It is one thing to force a bond on a human who knows nothing of our kind and our powers. It is something else to force one on fellow kindred who knows what has been done to him. That was what my sire did to me and I promised him I would not do that to him. I’d rather kill him than put him through what I went through.”

“You have to look at this practically.” Said Solomon. “You’ll not get permission to sire again. And for all of his flaws, Michael probably is our best bet for a viable co-conspirator.”

“I could turn Boar. He’s almost as good.”

“You’ve said yourself there’s something funny about him. If he’s a mage or werewolf or something, regardless of his ignorance of his true heritage, he’ll not turn. He’ll just die. And then you’re down two allies. And turning him would be done without permission. If you did succeed and Mathias found out, you’d be dead. We need to be practical in this. You either need to keep a closer eye on Michael or bind him to you. If you don’t, he could ruin everything.”

“He’ll not much appreciate my hovering over his shoulder all the time. Especially since he believes he’s ready for full acceptance into our society.”

“Not if he’s going to act out like a foolish child who got his favorite toy taken away. There’s too much at stake for that. You’ve told him this truth only once. And while he may be convinced of it now, it would not be hard to convince him otherwise at this point. Vampire or no, he’s still essentially a 19-year old kid. Give him pussy and he won’t care how close you hover and he’ll soon forget our curse of loneliness. He is infatuated with you, regardless of whoever else he lures into his bed. Use it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Said Deborah. “but there may be another way.”

“How so?”

“Give him what he wants.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Michael is angry. It comes out, all the time. Came out tonight. Anger at everything, but most keenly at those who expose his flaws or deny him his desires. His ex-girlfriend figures foremost among those, since she did both. Gaining vengeance on her was key in his consent to be turned. What if I let him have it?”

“I’m not sure stoking that which makes him so reckless is such a good idea.” Answered Solomon. “But with her dead by his hand, it might calm his bloodlust. I would suggest extreme caution on this course.”

Deborah nodded.

Act Two Chapter Two