Old Habits Die Hard

Once his Derek finally learned to control his mental ability to keep people out of his head, Claude decided to begin a little bit of combat training.  Derek was glad for the change – he was an excellent swordsman, and had always been proud of his skill.  He looked forward to the training with anticipation and delight as he knew that for once, he would not feel grossly inferior to Claude.  Yes, this would indeed be a nice change for him.

They brought most of the weapons they thought they would need out.  Derek brought his sword as well as his father’s sword and all his training weapons as well, which included shields, blunt swords, maces, clubs, poles and more.  They laid all of the weapons on the large table outside in the back of the castle.

- “There is no point in using blunted swords” Claude said, “so you  might as well use your sword”

Derek, who was almost giddy at this point, reached for his sword with a smile on his face.

- “Shall we use any padding?” Derek asked Claude with a tone of delight in his voice.

Claude raised an eyebrow at him.  Since he had met this boy, this was the first time that he had shown any emotion other than anger, frustration or outrage.  Claude was begining to think the child had no other moods or feelings for that matter.  He was glad to see him looking forward to something for a change.

As he picked up one of the swords, he felt a chill of caution runing down his spine.  He was starting to like this boy – he was begining to grow strangly fond of him and this was never a good sign.  He had promised himself that he would only be around long enough to teach the boy some basics.  But now, he began to wonder how difficult it would be to leave the boy behind.  He had been alone for so long, he had almost forgotten what it was like to be around others.  Even worse, the more he was around this child, the more he thought of his own family – a memory he had thought was buried deep with no chance of recovery but which had proven to still be painfully lurking below the surface.

They began with basic sparring.  Claude wanted to see if the boy had any skill and for a recent human, his skill was probably better than most.  Claude was so relived to see the boy happy for once, that he almost did not want to bring his kindred powers to bear.  Derek was dashing, dodging, thrusting and lunging so happily, that Claude almost forgot the purpose of this training.  Almost.

- “Are you warmed up then” Claude asked Derek after about 15 minutes of light sparring.

- “Yes,” Derek said with a smile, “Although I am glad to see this is not all that you have – I would have been grossly dissappointed” he said with a smirk.

- “Very well then”, Claude replied.

And as Derek lunged forward, Claude dissappeared.  He did not think it was possible for a man of that size to simply dissappear – but it happened.  Derek heard noise behind him and turned around to see Claude standing there.  As he lunged again, the man once again dissappeared.  This went on about three to four more times until Derek lost his patience:

- “Enough!” he screamed, “What treachery is this?” he asked

Claude was once again standing in front of him, “training I thought?” he replied.  Derek was visibly annoyed, his pride preventing him from asking Claude how it was possible that he was dissappearing into thin air.

- “Are you that afraid of my sword that you must dissapear from my sight?” Derek asked – the happiness and gaiety was now visibly gone from his voice.

Claude grinned – at least the child had guts he thought to himself.  Too much pride, but definately guts.

- “If your sword is so mighty, it shouldn’t be a problem to pierce me then?” Claude replied in a playful tone.

Even more aggravated than before, Derek looked up at him, Claude could see the anger alrady welling up in his eyes, “very well, again then” he said to Claude.  And once again, they began their dance, of Derek trying to hit Claude and Claude literally dissappearing.  Derek screamed out in frustration.

- “THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!” he said to Claude

Claude stood in front of him once again, and replied “What is?” he asked.  Derek looked up at him, Claude could see the frustration in the boy, although he would not utter the words, Claude could see the questions in his eyes – how is this possible?  But Derek remained silent.  Claude stopped smiling, for he was afraid that their training session would end in Derek loosing control again.  So far their progress had been slow due to Derek’s temper.  Claude was hoping to pick up the pace a little today for he felt unless they started to progress more quickly, Derek would not be ready by the agreed upon time.

- “I am afraid to hurt you,” Derek finally mumbled beneath his breath, “Perhaps we should use a blunted sword” he said.

Claude’s patience for the child’s ego and pride was running thin.  He reached out for the blade of the sword that Derek held and pulled it to him, piercing his side with it.  Derek looked in amazement.  Claude raised his shirt, displaying the wound and there, before Derek’s very eyes, he saw the wound dissappear as if it had never been.  “You cannot harm me,” Claude said, “Now, again.”

Derek was looking at Claude dumbfounded.  “How is this possible?” he asked in a quiet and very serious voice, “How can this be?” He asked again.  Claude knew the boy perhaps was not ready to face some of the new grimmer details of his new existance, but unfortunately, it was too late now – Claude had lost his temper and now he had seen.

“Sit down, boy” he said to Derek, and thew his sword on the ground.  Derek did not move, he was staring at his sword, which was stained with Claude’s blood still and looking up at Claude’s torso where the sword had pierced him.  Claude looked up at Derek from the ground, “Very well, stand then”

Claude took a deek breath, “As I have told you before, you have changed.  You are no longer human.  The laws the govern all humans do not apply to you any longer – the same that they do not apply to me.  A mere blade to your torso cannot harm you,” Claude said, “well, it stings, but it is not as serious as it can be for a human as you have seen”.

- “But how?” Derek moved slowly and took a seat next to Claude. “How is it possible that your wound healed so fast?”

- “Blood” Claude said in a soft voice, “Blood.  Blood is the life for you from now on, child.  Blood will govern every aspect of your life, not only will it sustain you, it will grant you complete control over your body.  As long as you have blood, you can do almost anything.  All that you are – all the power that you have – comes from your blood – and this blood gets replenished every time you consume blood from others.” He continued, “when you are hurt, or tired or in need of more strength or speed, you can use your blood to grant you that what you need.  Your blood can give you strength, power, speed and much more.   Blood is why I moved so fast, and blood is why my wound healed in seconds.  It all comes down to blood.  As we train, you will hopefully learn to control the blood within you, and you too will be able to do these things.” he said.

- “So your powers are without limit?” Derek asked, “so long as you have blood – you can do anything?”

- “Yes and no” Claude replied, “there are limitations – but they are not those bound by physical boundries as they are for humans.  Your limits are dictacted by your blood – the very thing that gives you power also limits it” he said.

- “I do not understand” Derek said, “You just said that blood was power basically, how can blood give and take away power?”

Claude sighed – he was hoping that these discussions would have taken place much later, when the boy was perhaps more advanced in his training and had accepted his situation with a little less anger.  “In our race, your lineage, your power, your own blood is a trait that passes down from Sire to Childe,” Claude said, he could see that Derek was about to ask another question and he continued, “I already told you about Sires.  A Childe, is someone like you – someone who has been turned into a Kindred by another Kindred.  Your blood is the same as my blood, just as my blood was the same as the blood as the one who made me.” Claude explained,   “however, with each new generation, the blood becomes less concentrated and a little bit of the power is lost.  Therefore, my sire’s blood had greater capacity for power than my blood.  Just as my blood has greater capacity for power than your blood.  As you can imagine, the more kindred created the weaker the blood gets – every new generation of Kindred is always a little weaker than the generation before.” Claude said, “Therefore, in our world, in the world of Kindred, the older your blood is, the more potential for power you have.  Since we live forever, your age is generally regarded as the age of your blood, not your physical age.”

Derek looked confused, “So who gave the first Kindred his power?” he asked, “and where is he today?”

- “There are many stories and legends about how we came to be.  These are all just that – stories – I am not sure myself what the truth is.” Claude replied, “and as for the first of us, we do not know where he is – or even if he is still alive.”

- “But all power comes from him, right?” Derek asked, “So he is the most powerful of all Kindred since his blood is the oldest?”

- “That’s right” Claude said, “his potential for power could be limitless – we do not know. Every Kindred generation however is counted down from him – so the older a Kindred is – the closer his blood is to the original Kindred.  Your power is in your blood, and you must guard that with your life.  If another Kindred were to drain all of your blood, all of the power you have within you, would pass to this new Kindred.  That is why old Kindred generally stay hidden – away from others who would plot against them just to take their blood and power.”

- “And how old are you then?” Derek asked Claude, “And how old am I?” he asked expetedly

- “Very old, boy”, Claude said, “very very old…”

Darkness Peers…

- “So what does that mean?” Derek asked, “Does it mean other kindred are going to come after me? And how old is old?”

- “Yes,” Claude replied, “Other kindred will try to come after you – this is why you must never tell them who your sire is – they must never know about me, Derek”, Claude said, “ever – for your safety and mine”.

- “So all this time – you have been hiding from them? Living alone?” Derek asked.

- “Yes, lad” Claude replied, “I have – and if you want to survive, you must do the same” he said.

- “No,” Derek said emphatically, “I will not.  I will not live like a coward hiding in shadows and in fear.  I do not fear death, Claude.  At all, and living like this,” he said looking upon Claude with pity for the first time since he had met that man, “is not living.”

- “There are things far worse than death, child” Claude said, “but that is your choice, I can teach you and show you a path, it is your choice to follow it or not.  I suppose some things you will have to learn on your own,” he said.  Perhaps the child was right – this child had no idea what kindred were capable of.  Unfortunately, Claude had a feeling he would find out.  Claude could only protect him so much, he would have to experience Kindred society on his own.  Perhaps it would be different for him than it was for Claude, but there was little hope of that.

Derek stormed off to his room after this talk and stomped down the stairs and sat on his bed.  He looked around the room – it wasn’t a room, it was a hole in the ground.  “So this is my life,” he whispered to himself, “this is what I have been reduced to.” he said.  He felt different – as much as he tried to ignore it, he couldn’t.  He wanted to be normal again, but deep down, he felt it.  A darkness that wasn’t exactly good or evil, but it was there – waiting for him to lose control so it could take over.  It almost felt like another person, a darker side to his soul just waiting to come out.

Derek got up and went up to a mirror they had moved down here from his room.  This large full body mirror was laying against the wall instead of hanging on the wall like it had been.  Derek looked in the mirror – he looked at himself.  His bright blue eyes looking back at him.  He didn’t feel old.  He was only 17 – a man yes, but not old.  Old was someone like his father, old meant wrinkles and white hair and wisdom.  Old meant head of a family, with children looking up to you and a wife to look after the household.  Old meant full of experience and tales.  Derek had no wisdom, he had no family, he had no experience nor did he have any tales to tell.  He felt robbed – his life, his adulthood stolen from him.  He felt as if he went straight from his teenage years to old – he felt tired.  He thought maybe that is what old felt like – tired and alone.  If that was true, he was old.

He looked at himself again, looking for a change, something different in his face and in his eyes.  He saw nothing.  His hair was exactly the same as it was since that night he woke up.  Long, black and straight, resting on his shoulders.  His blue eyes held no secrets that he could see.  He looked harder, closer, looking for that darkness he felt inside himself.  His image flickered in the mirror.

Derek jumped back, caught completely off-guard – although he was looking for something different, it never occurred to him that he would see it.  He looked at the image again, and it looked hazy, his form slowly dissappeared in the mirror, leaving a dark shadow in its place.  Derek moved closer to the mirror, the shadow did not move.  He saw no eyes, no face, no mouth – but somehow he knew it was looking back at him.  He knew this was his dark soul looking back – he had wanted to much to talk to it – to see it, his wish had been granted.

- “Who are you?” he asked the image.  Nothing…

- “I want you to leave me, go away” he said, and looked at it expetedly.  Nothing…

He took a step closer, unafraid of it, he reached out and touched the mirror.  It was still a mirror, the image seemed trapped inside.

- “Why won’t you say anything?” he said.  Nothing…

- “Are you real?” he asked.  Nothing…

He looked at it for a sign – any sign of an answer to his questions and he saw nothing.  Other than knowing, in his soul that this thing was looking back at him, he had no other sign that it was alive.  He began to get angry – this thing whatever it was, was mocking him.  As his rage started to build, he felt (although he did not see) that the image was smiling at him, encouraging him to get angry.  He tried hard to get control of himself – he knew now that it was there, waiting, waiting for him to lose control – waiting for him to give in to the anger, the thirst – anything that it could get to take over.  Derek was scared.

- “It is real” Claude said from behind him.  Derek had no idea he was standing there.  Derek looked back at Claude and then looked at the image in the mirror again.  It was gone – all he could see was his own reflection again.

- “What do you mean it is real? You saw it?” He asked Claude.

- “Everyone sees it differently.” Claude replied, “You saw the power inside of you, did you not?”

- “Power, I don’t know about a power, “Derek said, “I saw a dark shadow looking back at me waiting for me to lose control” he continued, “and you are telling me that thing is real?” he asked.

- “We each see the power inside us as something different.  Some of us fear it, others embrace it.” Claude said, “You saw it as a shadow because you probably do not know yet if you are going to be afraid of it or not – to you it is an unknown” he said, “only you can decide what it is to become to you.”

Derek looked back at the mirror again, he tried hard to see the shadow again and saw nothing but his own reflection looking back at himself.  If that was true, if that thing was him, then he would take charge of it.

- “I can control it?” He asked Claude

- “Oh yes,” Claude said, “you can control it” he smiled at Derek, “but the question is- can you control yourself?” He said.

Derek looked at Claude with a very resolute look in his eyes, ” I will do whatever it takes”, he said, “no matter what happens, I will control it – it will never control me” he said.

- “Well, Lad, ” Claude said, “that’s a start” he smiled.  “Now get some rest, we will continue to tomorrow.” he turned around and started to walk out of the room.

- “Claude?” Derek asked.  Claude stopped at the doorway and looked back at him, “there is no bed in your room – no furniture – where do you sleep? Or do you even sleep?” he asked Claude.

- “Aye,” Claude replied, ” I sleep.” He said, “the earth guards me” he said with a smile, “one day it will guard you too” he said and walked out.

As Derek undressed and got ready for bed, he contemplated what Claude had said, “the earth guards me?” he whispered to himself.  He laid down on his bed and as hard as he tried to stay awake he could not.  Sleep took him, quickly and deeply, and once again, he escaped to his daydreams of picnics with Ashley and sparring with Edward.  Poor Edward…

Derek awoke in the stables, the same place he had laid to rest that morning. Fortunately for him, the humiliation of it was only surpassed by the urgency of coming up with a reasonable story to tell Abbot about how his family had died. Not only his family, but all of the servants as well. As he laid there, half-awake in his daytime rest, he had thought about it but no story he came up with, sounded reasonable or sane.

He jumped down from the loft in the stables, and started to make his way out when he saw the Abbot’s carriage coming in. Claude had gone out to meet him, and helped him out of his carriage and into the castle. Derek waited for Claude to bring the horses in the back and into the stables.

- “You’re up early” Derek said to Claude as he entered the stables

- “I am always up early” he said back to Derek, “You will be as well, in time” he maneuvered the horses into the stables and disengaged the carriage. “Have you thought about what you will tell the Abbot?”

- “Yes I thought about it – but I cannot think of anything that sounds reasonable” Derek replied.

- “Well,” Claude started, “I hear that there is a sickness in the village to the east of here. A sickness could explain how everyone died.

Derek nodded at him, he was right, it could easily explain everything. However, Derek had never been any good at telling lies, and he did not think that he would magically become better at it within the next few minutes. However, with the intent of just getting it over with, he took a deep breath, and went in the house.

He walked in the front door and saw the candles in the library were lit, so he made his way there. He saw the Abbot sitting on a large chair next to the fireplace which had been lit, probably by Claude.

- “Good Evening, Abbot!” Derek said as he walked in with a smile, “I take it you had a pleasant day?” He asked.

- “Good evening, Derek,” the Abbot said, “Where are the servants? I saw no one here during the day today? What has happened here, son?”

Derek cleared his throat – this was it. “Well, yes, like I said, sir, we have had some problems, and the cost to us has been great” he paused and walked towards the window, “A stranger came to visit us, from the east I believe, my father let him stay outside by the stables. He was here about 2 days and then died.” Derek paused, thinking about what else to say in his story. “It’s cold, you know – we did not find out he was dead for a couple of days. We had the servants bury him – he looked like he had been sick, we felt bad for him, we thought if we had known, we could have helped him.”

Derek felt his story was going pretty well, he almost believed it himself. He didn’t turn around, he was afraid if he looked the abbot in the eye, he would lose his nerve.

“After a few days, some of the servants started to get sick. A few days after that, Richard died, the same way the stranger had died. Two weeks later, most of the servants were dead,” this was harder than he had expected – talking about his family dying to another person, making up a story about what had happened to them, was wrong. Derek expected to be hit by lighting or something, right where he stood. “And soon after that,” he choked on his own words, “soon after,” he tried again, but the words just wouldn’t come. He heard the Abbot get up, and walk towards him. He felt the Abbot’s hand on his shoulder,

- “It’s ok son,” the Abbot said, “I think I understand, and I am so sorry” he patted Derek on the shoulder some more, “How is it that you survived?” the Abbot asked.

Derek replied almost without thinking, “Claude saved me” he said, then he realized that he probably should not have said that. He paused for a moment trying to compose his thoughts and decide how he would explain Claude, “When he arrived I was very ill,” he said, “and he saved me somehow” he said. Derek could not come up with anything, at least hopefully he had bought himself some time to come up with a better story or perhaps Claude could come up with a better story.

- “I’d like to see the graves, Derek, and say a prayer for them, is that possible?” The Abbot asked.

Derek sighed in relief, it appeared that for now, his story was sticking, “Yes, that would be wonderful sir,” he said and turned around to face the Abbot. Derek took the man’s hands in his and looked into his eyes, and said a heartfelt “Thank you”. This was probably the only way his family would have a proper burial and he was thankful that this man had come to visit him. “This way, follow me” Derek said as they went out back towards where his family was buried.

———————————————————————–

Derek stood at his father’s grave as the Abbot said his prayer and all he could think of was what would his father want him to do now? He knew one day he would be taking over for his father but he never imagined it would be so soon. Derek stood there, as the Abbot went grave to grave and said a prayer for each. Derek didn’t even hear him, all he could think of is how empty his life had become. Every person he had ever loved, gone.

- “Let’s go inside, son” the abbot said as he walked over to Derek, “You know, my child, you are not the only one hit with this tragedy. I heard in my travels that the Earl of Norfolk’s lands were also hit with something that killed most of them – perhaps it was a sickness as well,” he looked very sad, “but unfortunately none survived there”.

- “Edward?” Derek asked remembering his childhood friend. This seemed surreal to him – he had just seen Edward no more than 6 months ago, in his last trip to London with his father. “When? When did this happen?”

- “Yes, I am afraid even Edward,” he said, “from what I hear no one survived. I believe this happened a few months ago, but I have not been back by those parts in some time. The local Vicar is the one that sent word to the Abbey that they had died – it was very messy from what I hear. We are blessed that the lord has spared you, my son. I know it does not seem that way now, but life is always a blessing.” he said as he went back inside the castle.

Derek sure as hell didn’t feel very blessed right now. He couldn’t believe it – Edward was gone too. He began to wonder if his friend had followed the same fate as Derek’s family – it certainly sounded like it. Perhaps Claude would know.

He went inside and went to the kitchen to look for food for the Abbot. The Abbot asked if he had eaten, and he said he ate in town. He pulled out the bread, stale by now, cheese, some meat, mead and honey.

- “I apologize that I do not have a better meal to offer you, but as you know, we have no servants right now, and I am not very well versed in the kitchen” Derek said with a smile.

- “This is plenty, my son, do not worry.” The Abbot replied taking a chunk of cheese, meat and pouring some mead. “You should come to London with me, you need to tend to your father’s affairs in the city. You will need to step in for him now in the council of Lords” he said.

The Council of Lords. Derek had not even thought about that. Derek hated the council of Lords, many times his father had asked him to come to council meetings so he could start to understand it, and many times Derek had found something else to occupy his time. He always thought that sitting in a stuffy room with old men pondering their own importance was quite pointless. He was never one for politics and now, he would have no choice but to step into it with both feet. That is, if he wanted to continue his father’s legacy – which he felt almost obligated at this point.

- “Perhaps” he replied meekly looking down on the food spread on the table. He was so different now, how would he interact with people? What if they found out – what if they knew? “I have to get the castle in order first, Abbot, but perhaps within the next few months I shall go to London.” he said

- “Very well, my child” the Abbot said, “I shall retire now, as I have a long journey ahead of me tomorrow. Will you be here in the morning?”

- “No, I have to go back out tomorrow morning – I will make sure that Claude tends to your carriage and horses early and gets them ready for your trip”.

The Abbot grabbed a piece of cheese and a mug of mead and patted Derek on his back, “I know difficult times are ahead, son, but God will be with you, you will get through it” he said, “I will pray for you.” And with that he headed out of the kitchen with his snack. He paused at the door the great hall, looked back at Derek, raised his mug and said “Thank you for your hospitality, even in such hard times as these…”

- “My home is always open to you, Abbot” Derek replied

- “Now you sound like your father” the Abbot said, then he turned around and headed upstairs. That brought a smile of pride to Derek’s face – he sounded like his father – at this moment, he could think of no one better to handle this situation. If his father were here, he would know exactly what to do.

Derek sighed, one more night in the stables, just great. He went out back looking for Claude to let him know about the Abbot leaving in the morning, and also to find out more about Edward’s fate possibly.

———————————————————————————————-

Derek found Claude out back tending to the horses again.  He had also apparently found another one of his father’s horses, a companion mare they kept in the stables to keep the stallions calm. 

- “Ahh, you’ve found Sienna” Derek said as he approached.

Claude didn’t even look up – he kept brushing the mare as he replied, “yes, she came back early afternoon.  She has a twisted knee, I have done the best that I can, but she may have to be put down.  We will know more in a few days,” he paused and looked up at Derek, “and the Abbot?” he asked as he went back to brushing the mare.

- “Leaving in the morning for London, thankfully” Derek said, “Claude, I will probably need to go to London soon to set my father’s affairs in order.”

Claude dropped the brush and looked up at Derek

- “To London? Are you mad? London is the center of Kindred Soceity here in England.  No,” he bent down to pick up the brush, “you cannot go to London – not now – not ever.”

- “Not ever? What do you mean not ever? If there are others like me there then they will understand my predicament.  I am not afraid of them, Claude.” he said, “I am however, afraid of what will happen to my father’s position and reputation if I am not there to tend to it.  I will not have my family name, influence and power fall by the wayside.  My father would not want that.” He said.

Claude looked up at Derek, “You still do not understand” he said with a sigh, “Your father’s power, influence and name, as you put it, are already gone! They died that day on that field”, Claude pointed to the open field behind them, “it is gone – it is over – you have a new life that you must adjust to now – or you will not survive.  You cannot go to London,” he continued, “I know you are not afraid, but you know not what Kindred are like.  They are not human Derek, they have no compassion, no understanding.  All they seek is power,” he looked at Derek, almost feeling like his words were falling on deaf ears, for he could see the resolve in Derek’s eyes, “they will use you – or they will kill you – and I cannot protect you from them.”

For the first time since he had met Claude, Derek saw concern in his eyes. It was a little disconcerting since up until now, he either saw pity or amusement in those deep green eyes, and now, for the first time a bit of concern and even fear. 

- “Why do you say that, have they done something to you?” Derek asked

- “Because I know Kindred”, Claude Replied, “I have been around for a very long time, and if there is one thing that never changes, is a Vampire’s greed and bloodlust. You are better off staying away from that – avoid Kindred soceity”, he continued, “nothing good will ever come from them”

- ” I go for my father, Claude, not for them” Derek said, “Something may have happed to me, some things may have changed in my life, but I am still my father’s son, and I will not sit by and let all that he worked for fall into ruin for fear.  I am afraid of nothing.  If they kill me, then so be it.  I will live my life on my terms, not theirs – I will not compromise for if I do, then my life is over anyway.”

Claude looked at Derek for a long time, searching for anything, a sign that mabe he could be swayed, but found nothing. 

- “Fine.” he said finally, ” I can see your stubborness will win out, so I suggest a compromise.” Claude said.

Derek raised an eyebrow at him, “a compromise?”

- “Let me teach you enough to protect yourself at least,” Claude said, “then you can go” he sighed heavily, “and I will go with you.”

- “How long will that take?” Derek asked impatiently.

- “Three months” Claude replied quickly

- “Three months? That is too long, by then rumors will have started and it will be much more difficult to set things straight.  No Claude, I have to go sooner than that.”

- “Six weeks then – at least,” Claude said impatiently, “You will not accomplish much if you die the minute you set foot in London.”

Derek paused, and looked at Claude.  He had a point.  Although Derek could not imagine anyone outright attacking him for no reason when he reached the city.  It is not as if he did not have any allies there.  His father was influential and a good man.  He had many allies and friends who Derek was sure would be glad to offer him aid if needed.

- “Very well” Derek said, “six weeks and not a day more.”

- “Alright,” Claude said, “we begin tomorrow” he continued, “now get some rest.  The sun will be up soon.”

Claude closed the stall gate and put the brushes away and walked out back towards the castle.  Derek looked up to ledge on the stables, and started to make his way up.  Only one more night and he could move back into his own house. 

The Hunger Within ….

Derek woke up with the strange sound hammering and clanking coming from downstairs. He got up and got dressed and ran down. It was coming from the servants quarters – he kept going down, through the kitchen and past the pantry – down the long hallway with small doors on either side and an earthen floor. The noise was coming from the last room down in the hallway on the left. The door was ajar and he poked his head inside.

He saw Claude with a huge hammer of sorts in his hand. He had dug a hole on the corner of the room and was hammering away at the foundation stone of the castle.

- “Are you mad?” Derek asked

Claude stopped the hammering for a bit, and looked up, “Good evening” and he continued hammering.

- “What in god’s name are you doing? Why are you destroying the foundation of my castle?” Derek asked.

Without looking back at Derek, Claude continued hammering, “for a safe haven for you”, he said.

- “Safe haven for me? What does that mean?” Derek asked.

With one stroke of his hammer, most of the stone crumbled to the ground and there was dirt on the other side. Claude threw the hammer on the floor above him and jumped up from the hole. He walked over to the door and picked up a shovel which was leaning up against the wall behind the door and handed it to Derek. He then picked up another shovel which was leaning up against the wall close to where he dropped the hammer and jumped back down in the hole. Derek looked up at him holding the shovel, horrified.

- “What? You expect ME to dig?” He threw the shovel down, “I will do no such thing!”

Claude looked back at him, “Suit yourself then” and started to dig down into the earth. Derek paced around the room some and once again asked, “why are you digging? I demand an answer that makes sense!” he said.

- “I told you, I am creating a new haven for you” he said, “a safe place for you to sleep in during the day.”

Derek’s eyes widened and he laughed, “You expect me to sleep here, in the servants quarters during the day? And why in hell would I do that when I have perfectly fine quarters upstairs?”

- “For your safety” Claude said, “you are vulnerable during the day, anyone can come and run a steak through your heart and I will not be able to protect you if that happens,” he continued, “so I am creating a safe place for you to spend the day, where most hunters won’t find you.” he said.

- “Hunters? Why would hunters come looking for me? Hunting what?” Derek asked.

Claude stopped digging for a moment and looked up at Derek, “If you are going to ask all of these questions, then you can come down here and help me since this is for you. If not then shut up and let me work in peace.” and he turned around and continued digging.

Derek was appalled at the way this man spoke to him, “This is servants work – I will do no such thing” he said. And with that he threw the shovel on the floor and went upstairs. This man was mad, that was the only explanation. How in the bloody hell did he expect that Derek was going to sleep under his castle, under the servants quarters no less? A lot may have happened in the last few days, but he was still lord of this house and he would do no such thing.

He went upstairs to the kitchen and started to look for some bread. He wasn’t hungry, but since the servants were all gone, he might as well find out where the food was kept. He would go into town next week to get more servants, but for now, he needed to be able to fend for himself so to speak.

He tore the kitchen apart looking for food, and found nothing. He went into the pantry to look and found a large barrel full of cured meat, a few blocks of cheese, and finally a couple of loaves of bread. The bread was hard, but he didn’t care. He broke off a piece and brought it to the great hall with him and started to chew on it.

The thoughts of everything that Claude had said so far to him were sinking in. Something horrible had happened to him, that changed him forever. Although he had no idea exactly what that change meant, he felt it, deep in his gut, that nothing would ever be the same again. He tried hard to remember the events of that fateful night, but it was all still a blur. It seemed the harder he tried, the more blurry things became. What he wanted more than anything in the world was to remember the face of the man that killed his family. He would bring this man down, no matter what it took, or how long, he would find this man and he would kill him in the most brutal way possible. This vow he made to himself.

The more he contemplated the events, the sicker he started to feel. This bread was sitting flat on his stomach, and was making him ill. He looked at the bread and although he saw no mold or worms on it, he still threw it on the floor. He felt his stomach cramp hard, and before he could react, he threw up the bread on the floor. All of it.

He fell to his knees and coughed to get the rest out. Once again, he felt almost like an animal, in all fours on his very own great hall. As he finally retched the remaining bread, he heard a laugh from behind him. He turned around quickly and saw Claude standing there, holding two shovels and laughing.

- “You can never eat food again, little one” Claude said, “any food other than blood, will always make you sick. I am glad you learned your lesson in private at least” he said

Derek stood up, “Why?” he asked, “why can I not eat food anymore?” he yelled at the man angrily.

- “You are a vampire now, for lack of a better term” Claude said, “You are undead – which means you are not alive, but you are also not dead. Only blood will sustain you.” he said.

Derek looked at this man standing there and telling him he was dead, as calmly as if he were telling him that his dinner was ready. And then the thought of Ashley, of his mother and father, gone, everything came together in his mind and just exploded. He leaped at the man who seemed to have been caught by surprise and knocked him down on the floor, grabbing his neck trying to strangle him, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME???” he screamed at the man.

The man’s neck felt like stone, it would not give under the pressure of his hands. The man looked into Derek’s eyes, with a look of sadness, he didn’t fight back, he just let Derek vent out his frustration and anger. Finally Derek realized what he was doing, and pulled his hands back from him, and stood up.

- “Its not your fault” Derek says “I am going to find the man that did this, and I am going to kill him” he said in a stern voice.

- “Alright” Claude said to him, “But I can promise you that if you do not take the time to learn to be ‘undead’ he will kill you before you even get the chance” he said, “He doesn’t know you survived yet, Derek. Once he does, he is sure to come back here and finish the job, and if you are not ready, you will not prevail.”

- “Good” Derek said, “I hope he comes back, and I will be ready for him”.

- “There are things you need to learn. There are powers that you cannot possibly imagine that you will be able to tap into now – that he can already tap into. You need to learn these powers, control them and use them for you to even stand a chance” Claude said, “Now, I can help you, I can teach you, but you have to start listening and paying attention” He threw one of the shovels back at Derek, “Come help me”.

Derek took the shovel and grumbling under his breath he followed Claude to the servants area. They dug for most of the night creating a long passageway deep into the ground.

——————————–

For the next week, they dug every night. They dug a tunnel, a room and it appeared that Claude wasn’t done yet. While they dug, Claude told Derek about his new “un-life”. He told him that Vampires liked to be called Kindred, he explained about powers that in time, Derek would come to posses. He explained that a whole world of supernatural creatures were now available to Derek, both to aid him and to hunt him. He explained about how political Kindred society was and warned Derek to stay away.

He also showed Derek where he had buried his family as well as Ashley and her family. Claude had also buried the horses and servants. The entire area in the back next to the stables looked like a cemetery. Derek tried to bring flowers for his family’s grave and couldn’t manage to keep them alive long enough to make it to the grave site. The flowers withered in his hands as he watched it – yet another reminder of how his life would never be the same.

During the day Derek would rest in his room. He wasn’t exactly awake but he wasn’t asleep either. So his mind wandered and he thought about his family, his Ashley and the life he had once had. Every night he woke to the new nightmare which was his new life now.

- “Ok we have dug a hallway, a room and another hallway How much more do we have to dig?” Derek asked as he continued to dig next to Claude.

- “I am not sure yet” Claude responded, “just keep digging” he said.

- “So when do I get to learn about these abilities I am supposed to have? Or is my new ability to dig?” Derek asked sarcastically.

- “Just keep digging,” Claude replied, “there will be time for other learning later” he said.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knocking coming from upstairs. They both stopped, looked at each other. They got up and ran upstairs by the door. Derek wiped himself down some to remove some dust from his clothing and ran his fingers through his hair to make it look somewhat more civilized.

- “You have to answer” he said to Claude, “I will be in the library” he said. Claude looked at him in confusion.

- “You said we have to keep up appearances, I am the lord of this house, I am not supposed to answer the door – I have people that do that – so go – hurry” Derek said.

Claude didn’t argue but went to the door. He waited until Derek was in the library and opened the front door. A man was standing in the threshold, he looked older, in his mid fifties, and Claude could not make out his clothes because he was wearing a heavy black cloak. The man looked surprised to see Claude at the door.

- “Can I help you?” The Claude asked the man

The man hesitated for a moment, and looked past Claude, and replied “Hmm, I am looking for the Earl of Kent? I was hoping to rest here tonight before continuing my journey to London?”, the man paused, “We spoke last month?” he asked.

Claude looked at the man, “Of course, Sir” he said, “Follow me” and he led the man calmly to the library. He knocked on the door, and Derek replied from inside “come in” and Claude opened the huge double doors to find Derek siting on a chair with a book. Derek put the book down as the man walked into the room.

- “Abbot, its nice to see you again”, Derek said to the man, “You may leave us now, Claude” he said to Claude, who nodded, and backed out of the room closing the doors.

Derek remembered that the Abbot had mentioned that he would stop by on his way to London to speak with both Derek and Ashley and council them since their wedding was only 3 months away. Seeing this man here, now, in his library, made him almost feel normal again.

- “Well, Son,” the Abbot said to Derek, “how have you been? I have to admit I was expecting to see your father instead of you in here. How is he?” he asked.

- “Why don’t you sit down,” Derek said pointing to one of the large chairs in the library, “would you like something to eat or drink?” he asked.

The abbot sat down on a chair accross from Derek and smiled, “No, I am fine, thank you,” he said, then he looked up at Derek and asked, “How is Ashley?”

No one had asked him that, since it had been just he and Claude in the house for over a week now. He just stared at the man, he couldn’t muster the words to say she was gone. He turned around to face the large window accross from the Abbot, looking for what to say and how to say it.

- “She’s gone” he said in a meek voice, “they all are” his voice felt so weak, quivering almost, he took a deep breath in and tried to get a hold of himself. He wanted to turn around, but he was afraid of the look on the Abbot’s face.

- “Gone? What do you mean my boy? Gone where?” he asked.

Each question was like another dagger through Derek’s chest. He didn’t want to talk about it, as a matter of fact he wanted to forget it ever happened, but he felt cornered. First of all this man was an Abbot, of course he couldn’t lie to him, but then again, if he told him the truth he would have Derek taken away, so what could he say?

- “They are dead, Abbot” Derek said, “all of them – my parents, Ashley, her parents…”

He heard the Abbot gasp behind him, “But how?” he asked. Derek was fighting to stay dignified – the last thing he wanted was to burst out weeping in front of the Abbot or let his rage take him over once again.

- “Abbot, this is very difficult for me,” he said “and I really do not wish to talk about it, if possible” his voice was trembling. He took a deep breath once again, cleared his throat and said, “Now then, let us see about a room for you tonight?” he turned around to face the Abbot.

The man took a few steps towards Derek, took both his hands in his, “I am so sorry, my child” he said, “we will talk tomorrow perhaps, and I will say a prayer at their grave site too.”

Derek nodded at the man, unsure of what to say – now this man would expect to see Derek during the day, “Well, you are welcome to stay, Abbot, but I have early business to tend to and I am afraid I will not be back until late afternoon.” Derek pulled his hands away, and walked towards the doors, “I will see to it that Claude has a room prepared for you, and tend to your coach, please wait here” he said as he left the room.

He walked out of the library and closed the huge doors, leaning up against them. This was a disaster – what would he do now with this man in his house? How would he explain that all the servants were gone too? He needed Claude. He ran to the kitchen, down to the servants quarters and no sign of Claude. He heard noises outside, and stepped out to see Claude tending to the horses and getting them ready for the night. Derek ran to him.

- “This is a disaster – what am I going to do?” Derek said in a panic, “I cannot turn him away but for him to stay here,” he paused, “its a disaster!”

- “Worry not, little one” Claude said, “You will have to sleep downstairs with me so that he will not barge in on your during the day. I am sure he won’t look for you in the servants quarters?”

- “Of course he will!” Derek protested, “He will wake up in the morning and realize that there is no food, breakfast so he will look for the servants.” He said, “I told him I was going to be out all day, so I have to be out of sight”.

- “Very well, then you will sleep in the stables” Claude said, “up top” he pointed up.

- “ARE YOU MAD? I WILL DO NO SUCH THING!” Derek said

- “Ok then, do you have a better idea?” Claude asked.

Derek took the horse reigns from him and said, “Let me think – you go prepare a room for him upstairs” he said as Claude just stood there and looked at him “GO! And take his luggage inside too” Derek said.

- “Very well” Claude said, and went back inside.

Derek put the horses in their stables, and gave them some feed. He was astounded at the strength he had in disengaging the coach, a task that normally would take 2 men. He was also able to easily move the Coach to the covered room next to the barn, where his own coaches were. As he finished putting everything away and was ready to come back in, he saw one horse, grazing in the field, on the other side of the fence. He started to move closer and realized it was one of his horses, actually one of his father’s prized back stallions. He took a bridle from the stables and moved out towards the horse. After about 30 minutes, he was able to wrangle the horse back and put him in his stall in the stables next to the Abbot’s carriage horses. At least having a horse would come in handy. After all of the horses were cared for, he went back inside and saw Claude in the kitchen.

- “He is upstairs with his things,” Claude said, “But he is suspicious that something is not right, you will have to tell him something about your family” he said, “Or he will have others come to ask questions.”

- “You don’t know that.” Derek said, “He may just take me at my word and move on to London like he said”

- “He won’t” Claude said, “I know”

- “Well until you tell me how you know, I do not believe you” Derek said

Claude sighed, why did everything have to be a battle with this young one. Sometimes this child pushed the limits of his patience.

- “Very well,” Claude said, “Do you remember when I told you that there were certain powers that Kindred can tap into? Well, this is one of them – the ability to read thoughts of others and I read his thoughts” Claude said.

Derek looked at Claude who was as serious as anyone could be. The whole idea of being able to read other people’s thoughts was ludicrous! It was so irrational, that Derek busted out laughing. Claude looked confused.

- “You can read people’s thoughts?” Derek asked, “That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!” he said. Claude smiled back at him as Derek laughed. Suddenly, Derek heard a voice in his head, “Do you believe me now?”. Derek jumped – he turned around to see if anyone was behind him, and no one was. He looked at Claude, “Did you just do that?” he asked. The answer came in his head once again, “Yes”. He was looking straight at Claude, hearing his voice in his head but never saw his lips move. He felt violated, how could this man be in his head just like that? He tried to push the Claude out as he stared at him. Claude’s smile went to a frown as he looked even more intently at Derek.

- “You have the gift!” he finally said, “Do you know how rare that is? This will be a huge benefit to you!” he almost looked excited. Derek had no idea what he was talking about.

- “Gift of what? Of having some idiot in my head?” He asked.

- “No, quite the opposite” Claude said, “You literally forced me out of your mind. This is a rare and very powerful gift you have. Not many kindred can do that, and I will teach you how to use your natural ability to steel yourself so that no one will ever be able to read your thoughts.” he said, “but that is another story, the issue at hand is, what will you say to the Abbot?”

- “I am not sure” Derek said, “He was really thinking about taking this to the authorities?” he asked.

- “Yes” Claude said, “So you will have to come up with a story that covers not only the death of your family, but also the death of the servants”

- “I will have a story by tomorrow, although it is not right to lie to a man of the cloth” he said. “And I guess I will have to sleep in the stables” he sighed, “This is getting worse every day” he said as he went upstairs to check on the Abbot.