A Taste Of A Vampire

His eyes seemed to have a shield over them, as did his expression; he was fully masked, and it was completely evident to her.

“Nicholas, nothing more is going to happen between us, ever, unless you’re honest with me. I’m no fool! I know that there’s something going on here that I don’t understand. I know that you are far too much the same as Nathaniel to be different people! I’m not running and hiding, and I do still want you, more than you can ever know, but I’m not about to back off or let this go. Answer me, if you want anything more to do with me again, answer me and tell me the truth! Who are you, and what’s going on?” she demanded, planting her hands on her hips.

His eyes fell from hers to her mouth, and then to her neck, and he finally looked down at the floor and then closed his eyes, sighing quietly. When he opened them again, there was a dangerous look about his eyes and his mouth. His voice was steady and calm. He took one step toward her slowly, and stopped, keeping his eyes locked on hers. She felt her heart begin to pound swiftly as he spoke.

“Elizabeth Grayson wrote in that journal about Nathaniel, did she?” He held his hand out to Claire, and with a slight moment’s hesitation, she put the journal in his hand. He looked down at it and gently smoothed his fingers over the cover.  “She wrote about me…” he trailed off.

With the tenderness that one might reserve for a newborn, he opened the cover and lightly traced his fingertips over the pages as he turned them.

“She was so beautiful…” he said almost to himself. “Elizabeth.”

He gazed down at the words and then closed the book and raised his eyes to meet Claire’s again. Her heart skipped several beats.

“You look so much like her. I thought that you were her for a moment when I first saw you by the creek when we met. I couldn’t believe my eyes. You’re different though, even more beautiful than she was. Braver, stronger, kinder, more passionate. You’re so like her in so many ways, and different in others.” His tone was even, and his voice was soft.

He took another step toward her and reached his hand out, touching her cheek slightly, stroking his thumb over her skin. She swallowed hard, caught inescapably between not being able to believe him, and yet believing him completely all at the same time.

“Who are you?” she whispered insistently. She wasn’t going to let it go. “Tell me now. I have to know. Are you Nathaniel?”

He exhaled softly. “I am. I’m Nathaniel and I am Nicholas. I’m Nicodemus. I’m Noah. I’m known by many names.”

She shook her head, trying as best as she could to wrap her mind around it. “But… but how is that possible? How old are you? How are you still alive? How are you still so… young?”

He closed his hands around her wrists gently but firmly. “I’m someone that you may have trouble comprehending, but I will explain it to you. I want to assure you that I will not hurt you. Not in any way, ever. Do you understand that?”

Claire nodded but remained silent.

“I’m a vampire,” he said simply.

She blinked and stared for a moment, but her mouth fell open as the word entered her mind and began to rattle around the corners of her head, beginning to stick.

“That’s… that’s not possible…” she began, and without thinking about it, she slowly lifted her hand to her neck where the twin puncture marks were. A vampire, she thought, trying to get herself to believe the word and more than that, what it actually meant.

“I assure you, my love, I am a vampire.” He looked on her kindly, and waited for her to respond.

Claire pulled her other hand from his and shook her head fiercely. “How… how can that be? I thought vampires were make believe Halloween monsters! What on earth are you? How is that even possible?” She raised her voice a bit.

He let her go and watched her. “I’m no Halloween monster,” he said, his voice level.

“You’re a vampire?! How can you be a vampire and not be a monster! I never believed anything like that was even real! Were you ever human?” she asked in wonder, her anger and fear mixing with curiosity.

“I was human once, a very long time ago. Centuries ago,” he said, watching her. “I was a young nobleman in old England.” His eyes took on a faraway look as he spoke. “I met a woman who was vibrant and beautiful. I thought that I had fallen in love with her, but then I found out that she was a vampire, and I ran. I didn’t want anything to do with her. She followed me. She was obsessed with me. She decided that she wanted to live forever with me, and she gave me no choice. She turned me into a vampire.”

Nicholas looked as if there was still some deep seeded anger in him about his origins. Claire’s stomach clenched tightly as did her chest. She did not move, nor did she speak. She only listened to his every word, trying to make herself believe the incredible tale she was hearing.

“I was so angry when she changed me over that I killed her in a fit of rage. I had such power and strength… to such an extent that I never could have imagined, and I didn’t hold anything back. I destroyed her, but that did not cure me, and it did not heal the wound of losing my humanity. I never wanted to be what I am. I despise having to live on blood, but I have learned to do it without killing as I feast. Moderation is my practice. I am the best and worst version of myself.”

He stepped closer to Claire and she didn’t move away, but she did pull her head back some, and he stopped where he was, sensing that he was as close to her as she was going to allow him to be.