The Death of a Vampire

4.News of an Engagement

It was not Nana who answered my question.

"Vampires tend to choose a mate of the opposite sex," Jonathan's dry voice whispered, "usually. So, it is the most likely thing to have happened."

"But I'm not a vampire!" I tried to convince them.

"You would have been one step closer to becoming one by nightfall, had you not drunk the potion that I asked Jonathan to bring," Nana said. "If he hadn't brought it in time, you would have eventually turned into a vampire. However, the process is not as straightforward as the stories would have us believe. You would have stayed more or less human for as long as the vampire was feeding from you to gain your knowledge. That's what's not so well-known. Vampires only want to change a person into one of their kind after they have taken all the information that they can. They do this by drinking the blood of their victim over an extended period of time, gradually replacing what they take with their own blood. As long as there is a drop of original blood left, there is information to be had, and that's what they are after. Once someone is turned into a vampire, they've lost the genetic knowledge of the Creatures they were born to be. The tragedy is that they can only try to get it back by drinking the blood of others. And as a result, in time, they can become much wiser as vampires than they ever were as humans, prior to their change."

"Nothing you're saying makes sense," I said. "I don't understand a word of it."

"Yes, it sounds strange the first time you hear it. I was lucky enough to have a mother who told me at an early age what I was," Nana said. "Because of this, I've been alert all my life, and no vampire could get close enough to steal my essence and the hidden secrets of our family."

"What do you mean, your mother told you what you were? You are talking about my grandma, are you not?"

"Yes, that's right."

"My grandmother was just an ordinary old lady!" I protested.

"She was nothing of the kind. Like all Creatures she hid her true self from human eyes. To anyone else but another Creature, she would have had the appearance of quite an ordinary woman throughout her whole life."

"So are you saying that my mother also was a... Creature? What exactly are these Creatures? What do they do? Why do they exist? What is their purpose?"

"He's back."

I have no idea when Jonathan had moved across to the kitchen window. I couldn't recall seeing him move, yet suddenly he was in another room.

Nana walked to the window in a more human way and looked out. Black jumped onto the windowsill, curious about what we were looking at. He was probably hoping it was a bird in the tree right behind the window.

"He is persistent," Jonathan said dryly. "Should I go now and make it clear to the fanged folk that they have lost this hunt?"

"Maybe that would be a good idea." Nana was standing with her nose almost touching the window, in plain sight, without a hint of fear.

Jonathan turned to face me and extended his hand. For a short, hilarious moment, I thought he was asking me to dance. Then he grabbed my left hand and pulled it towards his mouth. The whole concept of vampires roaming around the world had been a bit too much for me, and I could not stop myself from letting out a little scream. I tried to pull my hand free. It was no use. His grip was so strong I couldn't move it at all, yet he didn't appear to be using any muscle power to hold me.

"He needs to smell the ring," Nana's voice explained from the window, "to get the scent of his prey, if I can put it like that. To be sure the vampire out there is connected with the attack on you."