Chapters 1 through 12
07:19 Feb 01 2009
Times Read: 585
Chapter 1. My Life is Over.
[This is the first installment of an autobiographical overview of my 2133 years as a vampire. Comments are welcomed, but I would suggest that you not anger the yellow bird. He bites.]
It happened on a warm August evening.
I was working on ledgers in the basement of my master’s villa. The year was 124 BC. I heard a rustle in the corner, behind the shelves where we kept most of our tablets. The tablets were valuable because my master was a moneylender and a debtor could avoid his obligation by stealing back the sealed tablet that evidenced his debt.
I grabbed my lamp with one hand and my club with the other. I thought about grabbing my dagger, but killing a customer might mean that my master’s loan would not be repaid.
At first I thought that it was a cat. Her eyes blazed green. And her hair was bright red, something I had never seen. And she was covered with blood.
I told her to stay still, and I would alert my master so that he could summon a physician. She grabbed me with a blood covered hand that was ice cold. She whispered that she would be alright if I would just hold her for a while. I told her that I could be flogged for not alerting my master, but her green eyes created a universe that was beautiful beyond measure. I willingly fell in.
When I awoke I was dizzy and weak from loss of blood and life force. And naked. She was gone, but I knew that everything had changed.
As the senior apprentice of the most successful moneylender in Athens, I had thought that I had a great life ahead. I had no idea that death would prove infinitely more satisfying.
The transition from human to vampire is always traumatic, even when your sire acts as your guide. A sire can teach you the basics. A caring sire can also comfort you when you mourn the loss of key human attributes.
Without a sire to guide and support me, my transition was especially traumatic.
Chapter 2: I Seek a Cure at the Temple of Apollo.
The morning after my turning, I went to my master and told him most of what I remembered from the night before. I omitted the fact that my sire was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I also failed to mention the fact that when I awoke I was naked. I was engaged to marry my master’s daughter Phillipina.
At that time I was a virgin and I had five primary goals in life. First, see Phillipina naked. Second, touch her perfect body in very possible way. Third, have her love me. Fourth, repeat # 1 and #2 as often as possible. Fifth, marry Phillipina and eventually take over the family business.
My master summoned his personal physician, who spent a lot of time examining my sire’s mark on my neck and asking questions. I just wanted to get back to work, because there were collections to be made that day, and the debtors might spend the gold coins they owed to my master if I did not get to them first. Finally, the physician prescribed three blessings from the Temple of Apollo (the sun god) and expressed optimism that this treatment would take care of any infirmity that I might be suffering from. I was not pleased. Blessings were expensive and I had never seemed to benefit from previous blessings. And I hated the fact that the Temple of Apollo was the slowest temple in Athens.
I begged to put off the temple treatment until a day when I was not so busy. But my master insisted that I go immediately. By then, my fiancé Phillipina was part of the discussion, and it was decided that she would accompany me.
A note to the uniformed – after being turned, it takes some time for your human attributes to be replaced by vampire attributes. A “seasoned” vampire would have burst into flames during the walk to the temple on that sunny August morning. But because I had been turned for only few hours, I was able to make it to the temple, albeit with some nausea and a feeling of burning in my eyes.
Phillpina tried to make conversation on the way to the Temple. Normally, walking with Phillipina would have been pure joy. In those days, marriages were arranged based on economics. My master had no sons. If Phillipina’s older sister Theresa had not eloped, then I would have been betrothed to Theresa. Theresa was pretty and intelligent, but Phillipina took my breath away, at least while I was still breathing.
During the past 2,133 years, I have had the pleasure of meeting and knowing many women. Looking back, I treasure these experiences. To the heightened senses of a male vampire, a human woman offers opportunities that human males cannot even imagine.
The exotic women of ancient Egypt, with their incense flavored blood stand unmatched in terms of sensuality.
The peasant women of the Roman empire, whose blood was flavored with fruity tasting olive oil, will never be surpassed in their animal passion and biting skills.
And “barbarian” women of Germany during the second and third centuries spawned warriors from loins that could squeeze honey from coal, yet tasted of dandelions.
I have also heard tales of Assyrian women from vampires who were alive when such empire existed. Sadly, I never had their pleasure. But I have heard that many of them tasted like cinnamon.
As a wealthy and resourceful vampire, I have been able to pursue and connect with some of the most extraordinary women of each century. In a subsequent chapter, I may perhaps provide more disclosure about what made these women great, and how they tasted. There are women who deserve to be revered for eternity and more who merit honorable mentions. Humans never live long enough to be able to compare the women of more than two centuries, and certain women of prior centuries deserve reverence for unique qualities that can never be duplicated or exceeded. But my first love and my only love as a human was Phillipina, and in important ways she has never been surpassed.
I suppose that theoretically there could be a human or vampire male who would not be infatuated with Phillipina.
Such theoretical male would have to be blind, because an extended look at Phillipina could (and did) cause confirmed homosexuals to re-examine their preferences. When she was 13, Phillipina was asked to become a Priestess at the Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. The temple officials said that Phillipina had a real chance to become a High Priestess, and eventually become the human receptacle of the goddess herself. Fortunately for me, Phillipina’s father declined this offer, because Phillipina’s older sister had eloped and was not coming back. Phillipina represented my master’s only hope to continue his family blood and his successful lending business.
Possibly, a million plastic surgeons and a million geneticists working for a million years could create a woman who would be as almost as beautiful as Phillipina. I have been waiting for more than 2,000 years, but there remains a substantial margin of difference between Phillipina and all the rest.
It should also be noted that the spark from touching Phillipina’s skin contained more energy than can be produced by a modern nuclear reactor.
To summarize, Phillipina’s beauty and sex appeal remain unsurpassed, at least in my experience. So I knew that there was something seriously wrong with me that morning, because, for the first time, I was having feelings for a woman other than Phillipina. I could not concentrate on what Phillipina was saying and I was barely moved by her morning radiance, because I was thinking of someone else – the redheaded, green eyed goddess who had seduced me the night before – my sire. And I did not even know her name.
Until then, all women other than Phillipina were faceless stick figures, some of whom had nice breasts. And I am not going to say anything about Phillipina’s breasts here, because my sense of being cheated of their favor is too painful.
So there I was, walking to the temple, next to the most beautiful woman in existence, yet thinking of my sire. I was now glad that the physician insisted that I go immediately, because there was clearly something wrong, and I wanted to be cured.
By the time we got to the temple, I was a sunsick “whelp” of a vampire – my stomach was churning and my skin and eyes were burning. The line in front of the temple was longer than I had ever seen, and I wanted to go back. But Phillipina took me to the front of the line, and told the acolyte on duty that her fiancé was very ill and could not wait to be blessed. Captivated by Phillipina’s beauty, the acolyte immediately agreed and we were hustled through the outer sanctums to the inner sanctum.
The inner sanctum of the Temple was called the Vestibule of Light. On the center was a pedestal where you were expected to stand while receiving your blessings. Surrounding the pedestal was a series of huge mirrors. As the sun made it daily transit, acolytes adjusted the mirrors to focus the light on the area of the pedestal.
In previous visits, I had enjoyed the feeling of the focused sunlight on my skin. And the blinding power of the sunlight proved the power of the sun god over mere mortals. This time, as I approached the pedestal, I felt a growing apprehension, but did not know why.
I don’t know if vampires produce adrenaline, but we do have strong survival instincts. Once I was about three feet from the pedestal, I realized on a cellular level that I was about three feet away from a terrible end. I bolted for the exit, but in my weakened state I was no match for the amazed acolytes, who thought that I had lost my senses.
As the acolytes dragged me towards incineration on the pedestal, logic told me that my feelings were irrational and that I needed the cure that the pedestal would provide. Fortunately for me, instinct proved stronger than logic.
Chapter 3: I Avoid Incineration.
The inner sanctum of the Temple of Apollo contained the three most sacred Apollonian artifacts – the “Pedestal of Blessings” which I have previously described, the Golden Chariot of Apollo, and Apollo’s Sacred Eagle, which was a real eagle tethered to an elaborate golden perch studded with thousands of diamonds. As the acolytes dragged me to the pedestal, my vampire side took over. Most vampires think fast when they need to, and my plan was formed in less than a second. The plan focused on the two most powerful resources in the room, which flashed like lightning in the starless sky of my imminent demise.
I screamed for Phillipina and begged to be allowed to kiss her before facing the possible wrath of Apollo. After the kiss, I grabbed Phillipina’s robe with both hands and ripped it open, exposing her voluptuous treasures to the acolytes and priest. This bought me at least five seconds to free the Sacred Eagle.
This was not my finest moment, but there is no blame to be given or accepted. My instinct to survive made choice irrelevant.
Some of the acolytes went after the Sacred Eagle. Others were frozen by Phillipina’s perfection. And I was among the frozen for about two seconds while an indelible final picture of Phillipina burned itself into my mind and soul. I then ran away with a newfound speed that I later discovered was supernatural.
Years later, I was told that some of the acolytes approached the Temple of Aphrodite to have Phillipina declared as the living embodiment of the goddess. This ended badly for them, because the woman who then held the title was able to have them abducted, ground into acolyte paste and fed to her sacred dogs.
As I fled the through the city, my instincts screamed to find a hole in the ground to hide. Safety depended on getting below the surface, away from sunlight and humans.
This area of Athens had an underground sewer system. I now realize that I could have survived there, because vampires don’t breathe. But my remaining human logic screamed that I would die from the fumes. In hindsight, the sewers would have been the better choice.
My other option was a deep well. If I could jump in and no one saw me, then I could hide until it was dark, and make my escape. I knew of a secluded well nearby, and made my way there with a stealth that surprised me. After making sure that there was no one looking, I removed the cover, lowered myself into the well and replaced the cover.
Inside the well, I realized that my life, as I knew it was over. Yes I had achieved one half of one of my five life goals (seeing Phillipina naked), but the other four and one half goals were now impossible to achieve. Neither Phillipina nor her father could forgive my sacreledge. I also wondered about my newfound powers, and why I was not feeling cold at the bottom of the dark well.
Somehow I knew when the sun set, and by then I had a plan. I would head for the harbor and get a job on the first available boat. I needed to get far away. And I would offer to work the night shift, which would improve my chances of getting hired.
I silently opened the cover to the well and pulled myself out. As I cleared the well, I was covered by a large net made of silver chain link and lost consciousness.
Chapter 4: I Join the Stakers.
When I awoke, my wrists and ankles were secured by silver chains, but someone had wrapped a thin layer of cloth between the chains and my skin.
I soon realized that I was in the hold of a boat of considerable size and that we were at sea. I called out for help, but no one came. I was weak from my recent ordeals. I also felt a burning hunger, but not for food.
After what seemed like eternity, I heard footsteps on the stairs and a lantern approached.
“Attention nosferatu, you are now property of the HTT.” I looked up and wanted to respond, but I was confused. Who was nosferatu and what was the HTT?
I saw a large hand flying at my face and felt the crack of the man’s ring against my cheekbone.
“You will swear allegiance to us or we will send you to hell.”
I tried to think of a response then decided on the path of least resistance. “I want to live and will swear to whatever you want.”
The man laughed and said that it was too late for me to live, but that I would serve the HTT in death. He then left and a few minutes later a woman approached. “My name is Lenore and you need this.” She took out a knife, but somehow I sensed that she was not going to kill me. She then opened a vein in her wrist and put it to my mouth.
The remnants of my humanity were appalled as my vampire feeding instinct kicked in. Like a newborn baby placed at his mother’s breast for the first time, my survival demanded that I feed and my senses motivated me with desire to do so.
Before I was sated, she pulled back her arm. “Not too much. We need you to be alert. Lord Dhampir will be back after you have recovered and we will see if you have any value to us.
After a few hours the man returned. So this was Lord Dhampir, and he was accompanied by the tasty, lifegiving Lenore.
“So where is your sire going?” demanded Lord Dhampir. “What are you talking about?”, I replied.
Lord Dhampir’s ring cracked against my cheek, which was still sore from his previous thwacking. “Where is your sire going?”
“I will tell you what you want, but I don’t understand your question. What sire?”
I braced for another thwacking, but Lenore glided between me and Lord Dhampir. “He does not know, but he can help us find out.”
Over the next few days, Lenore visited me frequently. I was allowed to feed, but never got as much as I wanted. And Lenore’s wrist was nourishing, but I craved to feed from her neck, where I sensed that the blood would be far more plentiful and delicious. Later I would learn why Lenore refused this favor, and this will be revealed in a later chapter.
Lenore provided me with a basic education on how I became a vampire (although she called it “nosferatu”) and what would be expected from me. I wanted to concentrate on what she was saying, but it was hot and humid below the deck of the ship. Lenore wore a sheer linen blouse and it was hard to think of anything but seeing more of her sensitive nipples as her sweat rendered the blouse more and more transparent.
Lenore did not have large, full breasts like Phillipina. Lenore’s breasts would not have purchased my freedom from the Temple of Apollo. But Lenore had sensitive nipples. If Lenore were still alive, I believe that her nipples could pick up Japanese television signals from fifty years ago, in high definition.
After a time, Lenore discerned the source of my stupidity and started wearing additional linen under her blouse. Once Lenore’s nipples were imprisoned by the extra layers of linen, the pace of my learning increased exponentially.
However I cannot deny that at least half of my brain remained devoted to an elaborate analysis of how Lenore’s nipples were doing under all that linen. Were the sweating? Were they softened by their newfound humid environment? Were they longing for their next moment of freedom, so that they could be transformed to their normal state by fresh air?
Lenore explained that I had been turned by a nosferatu, and that my human life was over. And this was no accident. Mere feeding did not turn a human into a vampire. Lenore did not know why I was chosen, and she asked me a lot of questions to try to figure this out.
Lenore also explained that my sire was a woman from an ice covered island at the north of the world, an evil nosferatu who must be destroyed. Otherwise, she would destroy other men’s lives, as she had destroyed mine. And because she was my sire, we were joined at a level beyond comprehension and the link between us could be used to find her.
Lenore revealed that my sire’s name was Camis. At last I had a name to go with the memory of her irresistible green eyes and my fantasies of our joining. Lenore explained that Camis was an exceptionally powerful nosferatu who used her beauty and powers to enslave men like me.
Knowing no better, I agreed to do whatever I could to destroy the evil Camis. And I secretly pledged my allegiance to Lenore’s sensitive nipples, and swore to do whatever I could to get to know them better. I also renounced the pagan evil that lurked behind Camis’s amazing green eyes. I also openly recited a pledge of allegiance to the HTT, which stood for “Helikia Thriambeuo Thanatos”, which (roughly translated) meant “triumph of life over death”.
Lenore visited me often. Lord Vhampir visited occasionally, but never for long. His chief interest was whether I could remember anything more about Camis. There was something about Lord Vhampir that was very troubling, but Lenore seemed sincere and she was very attractive. And it was clear to me that Camis had stolen my life and should pay for her crime.
Chapter 5 – Seeking My Sire.
Lenore had a theory that ultimately proved correct. If I could learn to completely clear my mind, then I could see my sire, regardless of how far away she might be. This would provide clues that could be used to locate her.
Lenore drilled me with breathing exercises that were designed to clear my mind. I would lie flat on the deck of the ship (at night of course) and take long deep breaths. At times I would seem to catch glimpses of Camis, but by this time I was obsessed with Lenore and her magical nipples, even though they were cruelly suppressed by layers of linen and could only be imagined. Finally, I confessed this to Lenore, and was thrilled by her response – “Fine, let’s just get this over with.” How did Lenore always seem to know what I had in mind?
Lenore’s cabin was small and spare – furnished with little more than a wooden plank covered with a hemp mat. In more recent times, I have stayed at five star hotels with supermodels, actresses and just plain goddesses, not always one at a time. Given the choice, I would not hesitate to choose Lenore and her hemp mat.
Lenore was wiry and insatiable. And once her breasts were freed from their unjust confinement, I was transfixed with the same intensity as a movie vampire who is transfixed by a crucifix.
We were finished when Lenore said that we were finished. I did not realize at the time that vampires do not experience orgasms as a physical function. Sex for a vampire male lasts as long as both parties want to go on. And years later I realized that in those hours in her cabin, Lenore had taken me through most of the Kama Sutra, as well as a variety of other approaches and variations, some of which remain undocumented to this day.
At first, my experience with Lenore had the opposite of the intended effect. My virginity was lost and my curiosity about sex was partly satisfied. Yet I was more obsessed with Lenore than ever. Then Lenore offered one final trip to her cabin, but only after the evil Camis was destroyed. This gave me the incentive that I needed to take my meditation training to new levels.
I was occasionally summoned to the main cabin, which was occupied by Lord Dhampir. He seemed pleased by my progress and he gave me an additional reason to cooperate. Once Camis was destroyed, Lord Dhampir would return with me to Athens and help me make amends. He would explain that the incident at the Temple of Apollo was the product of a temporary insanity that would not return. He would also tell Phillipina and her father that the only lingering restriction from my malady would be extreme sensitivity to sunlight. I would still be nosferatu, but I could be with Phillipina. This was appealing, but I harbored a strong desire (which I kept to myself) to have Lenore be part of that perfect scenario. Perhaps Lenore might consider a career as my mistress.
Lord Vhampire was small and stocky, bald of head and hairy everywhere else. And like almost everyone before the twentieth century, he had bad teeth. I laugh when I see movies depicting vampires who are supposedly hundreds or thousands of years old who have perfect white teeth. The reality is that until the advent of modern dentistry, almost everyone had bad teeth long before being turned. There was also something about Lord Vhampir’s lack of any scent that made me feel that he was different from human. But my vampire senses were still undeveloped and I did not make the proper connections until later.
After a few more weeks, and a stop in Sicily for provisions, I was finally able to see Camis when I meditated. She was on a ship. Once I saw her ship approaching a strait with high mountains on the right and lower land to the left. Lord Dhampir realized that this was the straits of Gibralter. He told me that we were only two or three days behind her, and that my salvation would soon be insured.
As my connection with Camis grew stronger, I began to doubt the rightness of my mission. Something told me that she was not really evil and that she cared about my welfare. I kept these insights to myself and tried to block them, but they kept leaking through with greater clarity.
One day I saw that Camis’s ship was approaching a port. Based on hours of questioning, Lord Vampir determined that Camis would be at the port of Brest in what is now called Gaul, and that at maximum sail we could catch her there the next day.
At last I was close to a solution to my problems. The evil Camis would be destroyed and I would be returned to the arms of my beloved Phillipina. And Lenore would provide her promised reward, and hopefully more.
Chapter 6 – Finding My Sire.
We arrived in Brest late in the afternoon. Lenore had me look through a porthole and I was able to confirm that one of the ships at port was Camis’s. I suggested that it would be wise to go after Camis before sunset, so that she would not be able to flee. But before I could react, Lord Dhampir covered me with the same silver net that he had used to capture me, then he threw me to the floor.
I screamed with outrage. I had sworn allegiance to the HTT and stood ready to destroy Camis and any other evil vampires. And I deserved the opportunity to be part of the plan. Camis had stolen my life. And she haunted my thoughts and my dreams. And once Camis was destroyed I would be entitled to another night with Lenore.
“What if he warns her?”, Lenore asked Lord Vhampir.
He responded, “not with that silver net – he won’t be able to concentrate.”
Lenore kicked me in the stomach as I lay paralyzed by the silver net, then she followed Lord Vhampir out of the room. This was not going as I had expected.
I lay there for hours thinking about what had happened to me and what might happen next. Obviously I had been duped, but why? Lenore had made an effort to act detached during our sexual Olympics in her cabin, but I had sensed that the truly cared for me. Now it appeared that I was a naïve fool and she was just using me.
And was there any chance that I might still reap the night with Lenore that she had promised? Not likely. Even her extraordinary nipples now somehow seemed allied against me. It seemed clear that the only reason that I was being kept around was to be used as a tool to find Camis if she somehow escaped from that evening’s ambush. I felt used, but how could Lenore be evil when the sex was so good and at least her nipples clearly had some feelings for me.
It also occurred to me that maybe Camis had some good reason for turning me into a vampire. Maybe my positive feelings about our night together in Athens were based on the fact that Camis truly cared for me. If Lenore was evil, then perhaps Camis was good?
Then I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Chapter 7: Meeting My Sire.
It was Camis! Was I saved? Or was she there to finish me off?
Camis freed me from the silver net and once again her emerald eyes pulled me into her universe. I felt more at home than I had ever felt. I was meant to be with Camis forever.
Her first words were “thou art restored unto me.”
I had a lot of questions. Camis promised that they would be answered, but first we needed to seek shelter from the coming sunrise. I followed Camis off the boat, along the dock and through a nearby forest. After a time we came to a cave. Camis told me not to worry, and I followed her inside.
The cave seemed pitch black as we navigated a maze of passages, but somehow I was able to see where we were going. Eventually we came to a cavern that had torches on the wall and two figures who scattered into the darkness as we entered.
Camis said “it’s alright”, and the two figures emerged. Camis introduced me, then ushered me to the next underground room so that we could talk. I was glad to be alone with Camis.
Once we were alone, Camis patiently answered my questions. She confirmed Lenore’s teachings that I was now nosferatu, otherwise known as a vampire. And technically I was dead, but unless someone destroyed me, I could exist forever. And I had all sorts of useful powers that I could develop with Camis’s help.
The reason that I had been chosen was that I had written a treatise on democracy. A copy of my treatise had come into the possession of a group of vampires of which Camis was a member. The group was known as Vampir Republica”, sometimes abbreviated as“VR”. Note that this was centuries before such abbreviation acquired a secondary meaning. VR was composed of vampires who opposed the existing order, which was ruled by the “first” vampire, who was known as “Dracul, king of the nosferatu.”
Lord Vhampir was himself a vampire and Lenore was his human assistant. The HTT was a ruse devised by the king, mainly to deceive humans and recruit them against vampires who were not loyal to the king. Lord Vhampir’s mission had been to destroy Camis before Camis could accomplish her mission of turning me. Lord Vhampir had been accompanied by two male humans and Lenore. They almost succeeded – they staked Camis in Athens, but missed her heart. And Camis was able to kill the two male humans.
After the battle in Athens, Camis was severely injured and needed to feed. She decided to continue her mission and save herself by turning me. She planned to come back for me the following evening, and did not forsee that Lord Vhampir and Lenore would get to me first. After she saw that I had been captured, she led us to Brest, where she had allies and the odds in a fight would be more even.
Lord Vhampir was now destroyed and Lenore was a prisoner. There had been an epic battle, but three vampires against one (plus one human) was enough to destroy Lord Vhampir.
This was a lot of information and I was still weak from my hours under the silver net of Lord Vhampir. Camis was also drained from the battle with Lord Vhampir. She suggested that we rest until the next evening, then we could both feed.
Camis took me to a relatively flat stone ledge and invited me to lie next to her. As previously stated, Camis had blazing green eyes and red hair. She also had pale skin that reminded me of fresh cream and fine features that even today would serve her well as a fashion model if she were capable of being photographed. I enthusiastically accepted her invitation to lie next to her, and snuggled in as close as I could. To my surprise, there was nothing arousing about this. Camis was more beautiful than Lenore, and here I was snuggling next to her, but there was no excitement.
So I decided to kiss her on the lips, and gently caressed the side of her breast in the hope of making up for my lost reward from Lenore. And I had fantasies of showing Camis many of the revelations that Lenore had shown me on her hemp mat. Camis laughed and admitted that she owed me a large favor, but she doubted that this would be it. Later, I would learn why sex between vampires is not common, and almost always requires a human intermediary. But for the moment I was content to rest next to Camis and assimilate the revelations that she had provided.
Chapter 8: My First Crone.
When I awoke the next evening, Camis was gone from the chamber, but I sensed that she was nearby. Following my intuition, I quickly found her in a chamber that I had not yet visited. She was standing over Lenore, whose cream colored linens were caked with dried blood and dirt. I felt a strong need to feed and moved towards Lenore. This time I would not be feeding from her wrist and this time I would decide when to stop.
“Thou shalt feed later”, Camis instructed without otherwise acknowledging my presence. Camis was never one for small talk. She then gestured me to leave the chamber.
I waited outside the chamber. I could hear them talking, and then I focused and could make out what they were saying.
“You are all fools,” growled Lenore. “The king cannot be defied. Your VR and all who join with you will all be destroyed.”
Camis’s voice was calm and confident. “Please give the king my regards, as only you can.”
Lenore exited the chamber first, her nipples taunting me from behind a single layer of linen. Our eyes met briefly. She winked then turned away. I did not then know how to interpret the wink. But I did have a faint perception that she was attracted to me, and that her left nipple hardened slightly as it passed though my aura.
When Lenore walked past me I was amazed. Why was Camis letting Lenore escape? How could we unleash those evil man deceiving nipples into a vulnerable world? Why weren’t we feeding on Lenore until she was drained into the death that she deserved. Then Camis exited the chamber and answered my unspoken question. “We do not kill, except to save ourselves or another.” She then proceeded towards the exit and I followed.
“Now thou shalt feed.”
Camis moved silently through the forest and I followed. I lost her a few times, because my hearing had not developed to the point where I would hear the faint whoosh that she made as the air parted around her. Whenever I lost her, Camis came back and urged me to concentrate with all of my senses.
After a time, we came to a small stone house next to a large patch of vegetables. This was the first time that I ever saw strawberries and I was attracted by their redness and sweet aroma. I looked at Camis and then at the strawberries. Since she was not forbidding me, I decided to try a strawberry. Camis could not fully suppress a smile when I gagged and spit out the strawberry.
Camis motioned for me to stay where I was, then she entered the house. A few minutes later she emerged, followed by and old woman with white hair and sagging skin.
“This is Marne. She will feed you.”
Camis sensed my disappointment and my reluctance to feed on this cronelike human. “Marne is a friend and her wisdom shalt guide thee. Thou must learn that some humans provide wisdom, and others, like Lenore, provide … other attributes.”
I looked at Marne and she smiled. Even though she was old enough to be my grandmother, Marne was being seductive in ways that I could not yet comprehend. The way that she offered her wrist was ceremonial in ways that now remind me of the geishas who I would meet in Japan many centuries later.
It seemed to me that a younger human would provide more sustenance (as well as a more sensual experience). I was surprised to find that Marne’s blood was much different from Lenore’s. When I fed from Lenore, all of my senses were heightened. When I fed from Marne, my senses were deadened and my consciousness focused on metaphysical insights.
When I was finished feeding, Camis kissed Marne on the forhead, thanked her and pressed a coin into her hand. Once we were far enough away, I asked Camis if it was common for us to pay humans to feed. Camis’s response was brusque – “thou art not ready to understand and should’st spend more time observing and less time asking questions.”
I had been allowed to feed until I was sated, more than a pint I am sure. And Marne’s blood had a more filling quality than Lenore’s. It also tasted of clover.
I followed Camis back into the forest and was now able to keep track of her presence even when I lost sight of her. It was all I could do to keep up, and there was no chance to ask more questions. We threaded ourselves through dense woods for hours, and an orange glow was emerging to the east when we finally arrived at a stone shrine. The shrine was at the edge of a village that consisted of a few huts surrounded by farmland and some fenced in pasture. The priest was sleeping when Camis opened the wooden trap door that led to a small cellar below the temple. She retrieved a red cloth from the cellar and tied it to a spike on the wall. Then we entered the cellar and she shut the door.
“Where are we going?”, I asked.
“To the Cave of Honor” she replied, then she beckoned me to rest and ask no more questions.
Chapter 9: We Journey to the Circle of Stones.
We continued our travel for days, through forests and fields. Our nights were spent in basements and in the root cellars of shrines and farmhouses. Camis seemed to have an understanding with the custodian of each structure. Sometimes she would leave a coin, other times a piece of primitive jewelry or some herbs that she had gathered from the forest. Sometimes she would leave nothing.
I was allowed to feed once every three or four nights, but Camis fed only once, from a young woman who lived with her family in the gatehouse of a small castle near the northern coast of Gaul. I asked Camis why she did not need to feed as much as I did and she explained that as I refined my powers, I too would be more efficient in using the energy that was derived from feeding.
Camis was not forthcoming in answering my questions about the Cave of Honor. Her stock response was that I needed to clear my mind and prepare for the most important choice that I would ever make, and that I would not understand the choice until we arrived at the Cave of Honor. I sensed that she was trying to deceive me and I challenged her repeatedly. But I was already learning that if Camis did not want to tell me something, it was useless to try to change her mind.
Occasionally, Camis asked questions of her own about democracy and some of the ideas in my treatise.
In Athens women rarely engaged in intellectual discussions, as this was the province of men. To my surprise, Camis fully understood my treatise. Her questions were revealing. She was particularly interested in the differences between pure democracy, where everyone votes on all major matters and representative democracy, where people elect representative to act on their behalf. How could pure democracy work where the citizens lived thousands of miles apart and meetings could occur only once or twice per year?
And in a representative democracy, wouldn’t there be a tendency for the representatives to use their power for their personal benefit? How could election fraud be prevented? Why shouldn’t women have the same rights as men? Should humans count in determining the relative voting power of each territory?
I answered as best I could, but I had not considered many of these issues and Camis was educating me as much as I was educating her.
When we arrived at the coast, I expected that we would find a ship to carry us to our destination. Instead Camis walked into the ocean and instructed me to follow her. She told me that it would be a while before I could babble anymore and that I should use the time to think about what I truly wanted, taking into account that eternity is a long time.
I said “we can’t possibly swim that far.” Camis took my hand and said that we would be walking not swimming, and so we did. Not having to breathe has its advantages and this was one of them. When we arrived at the shore of Britain, the sun was still in the sky, so we waited a few hundred feet offshore then emerged from the water just after sunset.
Spread across the beach, for as far as the eye could see, there were humans who were just lighting their torches. We stood at the tide line until a group approached.
As the humans approached, we could see that each human had a torch in one hand and a stake in the other. They drew close then stopped, stakes at the ready.
“Friend or foe,” one called out.
“Friend,” replied Camis. “And the password is liberty.”
The humans approached and introductions were made. But Camis was in a hurry to proceed.
We moved too quickly through the British countryside for me to ask the many questions that I had. Camis was in a hurry. We arrived at our destination, which was composed of a large outer circle of huge stone blocks and a smaller inner circle of smaller stone blocks. And the entire structure was covered with a roof made from stone. The roof and walls were mortared so than no light could enter, except through a narrow entrance on one side of the outer wall. And there was only one entrance to the inner chamber, which was on the other side. The entrance to the inner chamber was smaller and was as far as possible from the outer entrance. As a result of this design, no sunlight could reach the inner chamber, even on a sunny day with stakers holding mirrors to focus light into the structure. Using this massive structure as their refuge, a handful of vampires could hold off an army of humans during the day and feed on them during the night.
I asked Camis if this was the Cave of Honor.
She told me no, this was the Circle of Stones.
There were eleven vampires mingling outside the structure. I followed Camis, who joined one of the groups, and I stood beside her.
As we approached, one of the vampires said “Hail to the delegate of Eire. Welcome Camis.”
“Hail to you delegate of China,” Camis replied.
“We are still awaiting the thirteenth of our council, the delegate of the North New Asia,” said a different vampire. “It is a very long journey for her and the pressure at the bottom of the Atlantic has probably slowed her down.”
I was completely confused. But I have had thousands of years to figure this out, and in the next chapter all will be explained, or at least a lot. And careful readers might wonder if remnants of the Circle of Stones may still exist, and why the Circle of Stones was created. All I will say for now is that the Circle of Stones is now a tourist attraction and its purpose will be revealed in a later chapter.
Chapter 10: The Vampire Declaration of Independence.
Vampires are not stupid. And even vampires who were stupid as humans eventually figure things out. After living for hundred of thousands of years, we would have to morons to be caught and staked as portrayed in many movies and books.
For me, most vampire movies are comedies. No vampire is that stupid or would be so easily staked. And even if there were a human who possessed the powers of Buffy the Vampire slayer, she would pose no threat. The Buffy character was fast, but we are faster. We could feed on her and fondle her tender parts before she could even think about staking us. Indeed, some vampires with a sense of humor made a trip to Los Angeles while the show was still on the air and fed on every member of the cast, except the skinny redhead, who is a witch in real life -- feeding on witches is a VERY bad idea, as I learned a during the dark age. And I myself have tasted the peppery nourishment of the actress who played Cordelia on the Buffy show, and who reminded me of my beloved Phillipina. Just from seeing her on television, I knew that she would be tasty – wheatgrass with a hint of rasberry.
Getting back to the Circle of Stones, Camis told me this was a meeting of the thirteen independent states of vampires, who had declared a “Vampire Republica” (“VR”) designed to put limits on the powers of the king. She explained that she could not answer my questions until we arrived, because the information could have been extracted from me by the king’s agents if I had been captured en route. And the Cave of Honor was thousands of miles to the west, and we would not be going there – another ruse in case I was captured.
There was one representative from each of King Dracul’s colonies, thirteen in all. Later I would see a map on the wall of the inner chamber that depicted the thirteen colonies. The map also depicted King Dracul’s original kingdom, which covered the area that now constitutes Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, all of Eastern Europe and most of what is now known as the Middle East.
There were numerous grievances against the king. The chief grievance was his requirement that each colony pay tribute, in the form of human virgins, gold, silver and precious coins. In return, the king provided nothing. But any colony that did not pay its tribute in full and on time would be brutally punished by the king’s soldiers.
The king was self indulgent and arguable insane. He bathed daily in the blood of virgins and had carnal relations with their dead bodies. He killed thousands of humans every year in gruesome ways for his sadistic pleasure and to seed a growing army of creatures known as “zombies.” And the king’s soldiers killed vampires who dared to dissent.
After the delegate from New North Asia arrived, the thirteen delegates adjourned to the inner chamber, and I was invited to join them.
Two of the delegates were new. Their predecessors had volunteered to meet with the king to try to negotiate a compromise. They had not returned and Lenore had confessed to Camis that they had been destroyed.
The preliminary topic for discussion was how many votes each delegate would possess. The delegate for China argued that each vampire in each state should count as one vote and each human should count as one-half of a vote. The delegate from India agreed. Other delegates argued that humans should not count at all. Eventually a compromise was achieved – a human would count as one-tenth of a vampire, which still gave China and India the most votes.
Then we got to the key issue. Were the thirteen states ready to join together to declare their independence from the king?
The delegates from North New China, South New China (now known as North America and South America), Gaul (now known as France), Spain, Scotland and Britain were the strongest advocates of independence, along with Camis (who represented Eire, now known as Ireland). The representatives from India and China were the most reluctant to risk war with the king. The representatives from Northern Africa (who was Egyptian), Southern Africa, Greece and South Asia did not take a position.
After much debate, it was decided that all of the colonies would stand together in one last effort to make the king see reason. The delegates were debating various plans when Camis interrupted. “The humans at the beach are dying.” Instantly, the delegates hurried towards the coast, and I kept up as best I could.
Chapter 11: The Battle of the Beach.
In order to understand the Battle of the Beach, you need to know about the most powerful vampire artifact, the Turning Stone. There are many competing legends regarding the Turning Stone, but it is generally agreed that the Turning Stone was created by beings of great intelligence and power. At some point thousands of years in the distant past, King Dracul obtained control of the Turning Stone.
I have never seen the Turning Stone. I am told that it is a perfect octahedron approximately three feet on each side. In color, it resembles a light blue diamond and that when touched, it emits a blinding light.
When touched by a human, the Turning Stone transforms the human into a vampire. And when a dead human is touched by the Turning Stone, he or she becomes a zombie who can be trained to respond to the commands of a vampire or human who has psychic powers.
Using the Turning Stone, the king had created a huge “army” of zombies that was now attacking the humans on the beach.
The VR had been prepared for a vampire attack, not a zombie attack. The humans and vampires were mostly armed with stakes and with a new weapon that would later prove useful – crossbows. But when dealing with zombies, stakes and crossbows only piss them off. And thousands of zombies were emerging from the ocean along a front that was more than a mile wide.
Once we got to the beach, Camis took command. “Order the humans to retreat” she instructed her lieutenants. “And send for more swords.”
A few of the humans had swords, and these were given to some of the VR delegates. I marveled as they weaved and dodged through the masses of zombies, scattering their heads like bloody bowling balls. And I anguished when one of them got caught in a throng of zombies who began eating her flesh.
The vampires without swords did the best that they could with some large rocks and some wooden clubs that were available, but the delegate from India was mostly eaten by the time that his rescuers were able to pull away the last zombie from his anguished corpse.
By the time more swords arrived, three more vampires had been destroyed. Then, armed with swords, the vampires and their human allies killed zombies until shortly before sunrise. Then we retreated back to the Circle of Stones.
For readers who have not yet figured this out, the Circle of Stones is now known as “Stonehenge.” It was built by Druids as a tribute to the vampires of Britain, in appreciation for the cooperation that existed between these groups at that time. And as previously noted, it was designed so that light could never enter the inner chamber, which provided a safe refuge for travelling vampires.
The Circle of Stones was (and remains) a monument to the benefits of cooperation between humans and vampires, and for that reason, King Dracul hated it.
The VR delegates who still survived all made it to the refuge of the Circle of Stones. And the remaining humans continued the battle during the morning hours.
While the humans continued the battle, the VR delegates analyzed our options. It was unlikely that a vampire was directing the zombies, because the attack did not subside when the sun took the sky. If a vampire was controlling the zombies, such vampire would have retreated to the ocean depths until the following evening. It was decided that a human must be controlling the zombies. If such human could be killed, then the zombies would wander aimlessly and could be destroyed without further casualties.
Then one of our human allies entered the inner chamber and told us that a second wave of zombies was coming ashore pulling three giant siege machines. Obviously, the king’s plan was to breach the Circle of Stones. The August sun would then incinerate the remaining leaders of the VR movement. By the time we devised a plan, we could hear the creaking stone wheels of the king’s siege machines approaching.
Chapter 12: An Unlikely Hero.
A seasoned vampire will be blinded by exposure to strong sunlight, unless he or she has sunglasses that completely block the sun’s UV rays. Such sunglasses did not become available until the 1950’s, more than 2,000 years too late to help us stop the king’s siege machines. And the one human remaining at our disposal was too sorely wounded to help us.
Our only hope was the Camis’s “whelp”, who had been turned less than a month ago. If he were fully covered in linen and if he avoided looking up into the sun, then he might be able to see long enough to kill the human and stop the attack. Of course they were talking about me, a recently turned moneylender’s apprentice with zero combat experience beyond playful attempts to touch Phillipina’s twin treasures.
The VR members wrapped me like a mummy with their own clothing, leaving a cone of fabric for me to use to look out of. And I was given a sword.
As I peered through the exit to the Circle of Stones, I could see the three siege engines approaching. They were approximately 100 meters away. Each siege machine was connected to ropes. The ropes were pulled by hundreds of zombies. There were also zombies behind each machine pushing it, and zombies flanking each machine, guarding it. There was no way that I was going to get past that many zombies.
As the siege machines creaked closer, I noticed that one was different from the other two. The all three siege machines had four stone wheels, approximately five feet tall. Each had a superstructure made of thick wooden planks. Two of the siege machines had battering rams that hung by ropes from the superstructure. Such rams were designed to swing back and forth and were tipped by a greenish metal that I believe was probably copper.
The third siege machine had a ram that projected from the front. This did not make sense to me because this ram was not designed to swing and the zombies would have to push the entire machine into a target in order to do any damage. I climbed to the roof of the Circle of Stones to get a better look. I noticed that the third siege machine was carrying what appeared to be a large box made of stone, standing upright on the superstructure.
Why would a siege machine carry a large block of stone? What would be the purpose of this? As the machines grew closer, I could see that there was a large dark rectangle on the front of the stone block. The rectangle was made of polished glass and the glare of the sun from the rectangle might have blinded me if I had not been lying on the roof of the Circle of Stones.
It occurred to me that if I ran away from the approaching zombie army, I might make it to a shelter, perhaps a farmhouse or a well or a patch of forest. And why should I sacrifice myself for Camis, who had taken away my life, or for the VR? I inched back across the roof towards a possible escape, my face protected from light by the linen that hung from my head.
“Going somewhere?” she said.
I did not dare look up, for fear of being blinded. And I did not need to look up. The voice was familiar. But did it portend my doom or my salvation?
Chapter 13: The Dead and the Naked.
In case you have not guessed this, the person crouching next to me was the evil Lenore, agent of the HTT, lackey of Lord Dhampir and guardian of nipples that could respond to the flutter of a butterfly’s wings from a hundred feet away.
“Just do what I say and you will have a chance.”
I had trusted Lenore back in Gaul, and had ended up imprisoned by a silver net.
On the other hand, I was a vampire lying in bright sunlight on top of the stone roof of a structure that was about to be destroyed. I might still run away, but I was already losing my vision from the brief glimpses that I had taken to evaluate the approaching siege machines.
WHAM! The first battering ram had arrived and the entire Circle of Stones was rocked.
Impatient with my hesitation, Lenore quickly closed the deal. “I still owe you a second night of pleasure,” she said. “And this time I will not be holding anything back.” The scales had now tipped decisively in favor of trusting Lenore. I awaited her instructions.
WHAM! The battering ram struck again and this time I heard the sound of stone cracking.
“Did you notice the stone block on the middle siege machine?” Lenore asked. I nodded my head.
WHAM, WHAM. Now both battering rams were operating, and I heard the sound of large chunks of stone falling. The siege engine to our left had broken through the outer wall of the Circle of Stones.
Lenore spoke urgently: “The vampire is hiding inside the stone block. I will confuse the zombies then you must open the block long enough for the sunlight to kill the vampire.”
WHAM, WHAM. A whole section of the wall and part of the roof collapsed.
“How do I open the block?” I asked.
“I’m not sure” was Lenore’s response. “But there must be a way that the vampire gets in and out of that thing.”
Emboldened by desire to get in and out of Lenore, I accepted the plan. I would crouch on the stone roof, shielding myself from the sunlight, until the time came for my mad rush to try to expose the vampire who was concealed in the stone block.
WHAM. The siege engine to our right struck again while the one to our left moved closer to take out a section of the inner wall. Within minutes, the VR delegates would be incinerated unless we could stop the siege machines.
Lenore stood and braced herself against my crouching body as the siege engines continued their assault. The she screamed “NOW.”
Stiff from crouching and terrified of incineration, it took me a few seconds to “spring” into action. By the time I jumped off the roof, the zombies were responding to whatever Lenore was doing (more on that later).
Zombies come in all shapes and sizes. And King Dracul had created some zombies from children, not just adults. I had no time to reflect on the extent of evil that would allow the king to kill children for the purpose of augmenting his zombie army. My immediate concern was that a toddler zombie wandered into my path as I raced towards the central siege engine. I tripped over the tiny zombie, then tumbled, rolled and landed partly under the siege engine. When I looked up, I could see that there was a wooden door under the siege engine. The door was secured by a metal latch. Maybe this was how the vampire entered and exited the siege machine? I decided to try the latch.
I crawled to the latch. Even with my developing vampire strength, I was barely able to open the latch, at which point the door dropped open and a surprised vampire fell next to me.
My adversary was not bundled against the sunlight so I kicked and pushed until he was at the very edge of the shadow created by the siege engine. Our eyes met briefly before one desperate push exposed his back to the sunlight. At that point he was consumed in agony and one final push sealed his fate.
Once the vampire was destroyed, Lenore was able to gain complete control of the zombies and commanded them all to stand still, pending further instructions. She then crawled under the siege engine and embraced me.
“Nice job whelp,” she said. “Lucky that you tripped over that zombie toddler.” I listened intently, hoping for a sign that Lenore still intended to provide the reward that I craved.
Lenore answered by removing the linen that she wore over her torso, answering my unspoken craving, and then she draped the same linen over my head, so that I could make it back the circle of stones without further exposing my eyes to the sunlight. As Lenore led me back to the Circle of Stones, I was enthralled by the familiar and arousing scent of Lenore that inhabited her linen garment. The sunlight had half blinded my eyes and the sight of Lenore’s bare torso had fully blinded my soul.
Chapter 14: A Tale of Four Breasts.
After we returned to the Circle of Stones, I followed Lenore into the inner chamber. Both Lenore and Camis had sacrificed garments to protect me against the sunlight and when we entered the inner chamber, they embraced. The combination of our triumph and their half naked embrace energized me. And the look that they gave me after their embrace almost made my undead heart start beating again.
But first, there were matters of state that needed to be addressed. It was now clear that there could be no compromise with the king. It was also clear that the king was willing to commit all possible atrocities in order to destroy the VR. And we had been fortunate to defeat the zombie army. How many more zombie armies might the king create? How many humans would the king turn into vampires? And how long could we continue to defer acting while the king was killing men, women and children to add to his zombie armies?
Some delegates favored a defensive approach – defend each colony and force the king to fight each colony on its own turf. The main advantage of this approach was that it would have allowed each colony to prepare its terrain to attrit the large armies of the king. For example, pits could be dug to trap the king’s zombies, and human squads could be trained to kill the king’s vampires during daylight hours. Also, we had a weapon that the king was not prepared for – crossbows! The perfect tool for killing vampires in mass quantities.
Other delegates argued for an immediate all out attack on the king. If we took a defensive posture, the king could attack the colonies one or two at a time – divide and conquer. And the longer we delayed, the more time the king would have to use the Turning Stone to create more vampires and zombies to attack us. And in a worst case scenario, the king could capture tens of thousands of our human allies and convert them into vampires and zombies to attack us.
After much discussion the delegates unanimously agreed to attack the king simultaneously from all directions. Every possible fighter would be mustered, both human and vampire. And Lenore would command the zombie army that we had just captured, and she would try to train our zombies to use swords, which would give them an advantage over the king’s zombies. The attack would occur in 43 days, as we needed time to distribute crossbows, train our zombie army, march troops to the kingdom and otherwise mobilize.
It was difficult for me to concentrate during the meeting, because I had managed to sit between two incomparable women. On my left was Camis, tall, fair, and beautiful, with breasts that rivaled Phillipina’s in meaningful ways and green eyes that made my soul palpate. On my right was Lenore, smaller of stature and wiry, but with a scent that melted my brain and nipples that constantly beckoned me to be their servant for eternity.
I rehearsed ideas for partaking of the best of both worlds – Camis and Lenore. They seemed to have a strong bond and I felt that I had a strong bond with each of them. At the same time, it was becoming clear to me from the discussion and from my own experiences that Lenore was a powerful psychic, able to read the thoughts and emotions of humans and vampires alike. I began to try to guard my thoughts, but Lenore put her hand on my thigh and gave me a look that suggested that it was far too late to hide anything from her.
When the meeting concluded, the sun had already set. The delegates left soon after to alert the colonies whose delegates had been killed and prepare the forces of their home colonies.
Camis, Lenore and I would travel to Eire, along with the newly captured zombie army. Zombies are not known for their speed, but we did not dare leave them behind. And Eire was the second closest colony to the Circle of Stones and relatively close to the king’s territory, so we would have enough time to organize the forces of Eire and be ready to participate in the coordinated attack.
Also, Camis came up with an idea for moving more quickly. We would take the siege machine that contained the stone block and use the zombies in shifts to take us to Eire then back to the Circle of Stones, at which point we would pick up the remaining siege machines. That way Camis and I could travel during daylight hours, protected in the darkness of the stone block.
For the first hour or so, we rode together on the front of the siege engine, talking and enjoying the warm August evening. Then one thing led to another, and we decided to spread our clothing over the wooden platform of the siege engine, so that we could lie on our backs and partake of the beauty of the night sky. And after Camis and Lenore removed all of their clothing, I enthusiastically removed the rest of mine.
Laying there between these two women, my entire perspective on being a vampire was evolving. Yes, I regretted losing my life in Athens and my beloved Phillipina. And I was still getting used to the idea of being dead. But Camis was beautiful beyond my ability to describe and Lenore was sensual beyond her ability to control.
All doubts were erased when Camis and Lenore began to kiss each other with hungry passion, with me on my back as their attentive mattress. As a former resident of Greece, I was familiar with male homosexuality and was also aware of the legends of the Isle of Lesbos, home to Mount Lepetymnos, Mount Olympus and the goddess Lesbos. But knowing the myth and being seduced by the reality are very different things, and the seduction was beyond irresistible.
I have several theories about what happened next. But the gist of it is that somehow our energies were joined, probably as a result of Lenore’s psychic connection with each of us. Physically and spiritually we joined in every possible combination, and at last I was able to make love with Camis, empowered by our common connection through Lenore. And Lenore used her wiry body and encyclopedic knowledge of sexual possibilities to enthrall both Camis and me. We followed Lenore’s lead without question, as if we were visiting an amusement park for the first time, each ride more novel and exciting than the last one. If I could relive one night of my existence, this would be it.
We made love intently and without interruption until Camis realized that the smoke that was rising from our bodies was a result of the rising sun, not Lenore’s ministrations. Camis and I then hastily retreated to the stone block, to spoon naked all day and dream of the symphony of ecstasy that Lenore had conducted.
Chapter 15: Zombie Lovin.
The following night, I was anxious to resume our lovemaking. But there was a technical problem. Lenore was unable to concentrate sufficiently to keep the zombies moving while she was linked to Camis and me. Even worse, the zombies were linked into our lovemaking, which appeared to drain them of their energy and slowed our progress the following day. Also, the smiles on their faces endured for hours after we finished. There is something about smiling zombies that is deeply disturbing. So we decided to ration our lovemaking, which increased the intensity but left me starving for more.
One night, when we were tangled like octopi in a whirlpool, Lenore suddenly said “look at the zombies.” To our amazement, the zombies were marching in formation like soldiers, and our zombie caravan was moving forward faster than it had ever moved. Lenore had figured out that the zombies were motivated to concentrate and cooperate at a much higher level if they were conditioned to associate such behavior with our lovemaking. While we had been scorching the wood planks of the siege machine, Lenore had been turning up the heat whenever the zombies cooperated, and turning down the heat when they failed to cooperate. Yes, operant conditioning was developed millennia before you thought that it was.
My future role in this saga was unclear. I had been recruited to advise a nascent Vampire Republica about theories of democracy, but that project would begin only if we could defeat the king. And the odds were not in our favor.
The king enjoyed many advantages. We would be attacking on his home ground, and we would be outnumbered. The king was known to have at least 1,200 vampires who would be available to fight. And if he worked the Turning Stone to its full capacity, and all of his minions turned as many humans as they could, then the king might be able to field 2,000 vampires or more. And the king could field thousands of zombies and tens of thousands of humans.
The VR could field maybe 1,000 vampires, and we now controlled as zombie army numbering about 2,100, but every day five or ten of them would be eaten by the other zombies. By the time we were ready to fight, we would be lucky to have 1,900 zombies. On the other hand, our zombies were horny and willing to learn if this meant sharing in our lovemaking.
Our only numerical advantage might be in humans – we hoped to be able to have every human fighter from Eire to Russia on the battlefield, with additional troops marching from China and Africa to serve as reinforcements. But we also had a technological advantage that the VR had, hopefully, concealed from the king. The VR had developed crossbows that could stake vampires from 50 yards away. Crack units of British and Irish humans and vampires had been training with the crossbows for months.
When we arrived at the West Coast of Britain, we wisely left the siege engine near the beach. Lenore, being human, could not cross the ocean floor, so we had to engage a ship to carry her. Camis and I crossed the English Channel on foot, followed by our zombie retinue. As we would soon learn, crossing the ocean floor with siege engines is challenging no matter how many zombies you have.
Camis had a castle about forty miles from the Irish coast. We arrived there on the eighth night after we left the Circle of Stones. We had 35 days before the battle would begin, and marching our zombies and vampires to the kingdom would take at least 25 days. And our humans would need to leave in two days, as they would have to be ferried across the ocean by boat and they marched more slowly than the vampires and zombies.
Camis and Lenore made the most of the limited time available.
Camis met with her officers, both human and vampire, and worked on tactics and strategy for attacking the king.
Lenore developed a zombie conservation and training program. First, she asked for some cattle and hypnotized the zombies into believing that the cattle were humans. The zombies feasted, and the rate of zombie cannibalism was greatly reduced. But Lenore’s most notable accomplishment was teaching the zombies to use swords. Wisely, she started with wooden swords. Otherwise many of the zombies would have decapitated each other.
We had learned a lot about zombies. A zombie’s favorite food is humans. But if a zombie is hungry, it will try to eat a vampire. I am told that we taste like chicken. And if a zombie is starving, it will eat another zombie, preferably a child who will not be able to eat it back. So the reduction in our zombie army had been mainly composed of children, who were our least effective fighters.
As before, the zombies responded to the intense lovemaking that Lenore had been channeling. However, with Camis being too busy to participate for more than an hour or two per day, the burden fell mainly on Lenore and on me. At least I was making an important contribution to the war effort. But more was needed. Without Camis, we were not generating enough zombie funk to train them as quickly as Lenore desired.
Lenore explained to me that we needed to add some humans and vampires to the mix in order to step up the pace. Camis asked for volunteers, and every hour or two a human or vampire female would join our triad. Lenore then decided that we needed even more energy, and we began to operate in configurations of five or more.
Lenore had a strong preference for redheads, and the logic of this was soon demonstrated. Lenore used to say that you can sleep with a blonde or a brunette, but with a redhead you can only spend the night. Redheads are not inclined to sleep when lovemaking is an option. And lovemaking is always an option when a redhead is around. So Lenore was not surprised when we discovered that the zombies learned faster when we had redheads in the mix. And this was fine with me as well, although I occasionally asked for the occasional blond or brunette to cleanse my palate.
Please remember that a little more than a month before I had been a human living in Athens. A virgin who was destined to partake of the incomparable Phillipina. Now I was facing likely destruction, and it’s understandable that I devoted all of my energy to the important work that I was so inclined to perform.
Chapter 16: Journey to the Mouth of Hell.
Too soon, the time came to depart Eire. Lenore tricked the zombies into devouring one last herd of cattle, and they followed us towards the coast with bloated bellies. The rate of zombie cannibalism had fallen substantially due to their cattle feasts, and they were now marching in formation, each zombie armed with its own sword and stake.
Lenore and I still bore the sweet burden of keeping the zombies entertained, with some assistance from Camis and considerable assistance from Gina, a young human female who had become our favorite when we were in Eire. Gina was small but perfectly proportioned, a brunette with coal black eyes. The curly hair that extended well past her shoulders was remarkable in its softness and the sensation that it created when it passed softly over our bodies. And there was a firm but tear shaped aspect to her breasts that was both magnificent and innocent.
I wish that I had pictures of Phillipina, Camis, Lenore, Gina and others. If such pictures could be published on the internet, then most male scientists would devote every waking hour to build time machines to journey back to be with these women.
The women of ancient times were more muscular than the women of today, because they had to be. No phones, no lights no motor cars, not a single luxury. And they did not shave or pierce their bodies. Instead they fulfilled their genetic design, unencumbered by interference from male perversions, such as an attraction to shaved genitalia that suggest pre-pubescence. And in ancient times the age of consent was tied to puberty. Girls younger than age 13 were allowed to marry if they had attained puberty. I am not contending that this would be an acceptable practice today, but I believe that it’s important for the reader to realize that what is now forbidden was once common and accepted.
So now I will reveal that Gina was only 13 years old as we marched towards the king’s castle. Gina was illiterate and had never attended any school, but she was intelligent, strong-willed and far from innocent in her knowledge of lovemaking even before she volunteered to join our zombie training project.
Gina’s age is relevant primarily because Lenore, Camis and I cherished her as having great potential. In some ways we regarded Gina as our child more than our lover. We also debated whether she should be allowed to accompany us on our mission. But we decided that it was better for her to come and assist us than to wait in Eire for the king’s troops to capture her and all of the other women if our mission failed.
Camis had developed a unique strategy and Gina’s role would be important. Our zombies would lead the attack against the king’s forces. Zombies were our most expendable troops. They were already dead and would not have much reason to exist once the war was over. Also, a zombie who can use both a sword and a stake would be a formidable opponent against all of the forces that we would face – the king’s zombies, his human troops and his vampire troops.
Lenore had determined that the zombies were the most responsive when we coupled with Camis, but Camis would be commanding the battle and would not be available to help control the zombies. After days of exquisite experimentation, Lenore determined that our ideal compatriot would be Gina. The zombies responded more strongly to Gina more than any other candidate.
During the journey to the king’s castle, our lovemaking diminished. The zombies were as trained as they could ever be. And we craved companionship and communication more than before, as each of came to terms with his or her impending death and/or destruction.
One disclosure was troubling. As it turned out, Camis and Lenore had both participated in orgies with the king. Camis had been part of the king’s court for more than 800 years. Because of her unmatched beauty, the king had chosen to turn Camis into a vampire rather than devour her.
Lenore had been taken in tribute about 20 years before, when she was 13. The king had used her to facilitate his lovemaking and discovered her growing psychic powers. He later turned her over to Lord Vhampir so that her mindreading skills could be employed to facilitate missions of the bogus HTT, which was a complete scam designed to trick humans into helping destroy vampires who the king wanted destroyed.
It sickened me to think of Camis and Lenore sharing their priceless treasures with the king. Sensing this, Lenore shared with me the fact that the king was a selfish lover, while I combined the vigor of a man with the sensitivity and attention to detail of a lesbian. And considering that my couplings with Lenore and Camis were like riding two wild horses at the edge of a volcano during an earthquake, it was difficult to imagine that the king could have fared any better.
Camis and Lenore had fallen in love while Lenore was part of the king’s court. Realizing this, the king took a renewed interest in Camis, and for the first time in hundreds of years Camis became one of the king’s favorites, but only when coupled with Lenore. To the king’s credit, he was perceptive enough to recognize the synergy produced when Lenore and Camis came together.
To my credit, I appreciated at the time that Camis, Lenore and Gina were exceptional women and I loved all three of them without reservation. I still cherish their every aspect. And I know that they loved me and each other, and we all loved the bond that united the four of us.
Chapter 17: Turning and Burning, Burn the Mother Down.
The region where the king’s castle was located was then known as Dacia, later to be known as Transylvania and now part of Romania. We caught up with our human troops before we reached the eastern border of Gaul. Our vampires and zombies marched at night and our human troops followed during the daylight hours. We eventually reached the Danube River, which represented the western border of Dacia. We were now two days march from the king’s castle, which was located on the western side of the Carpathian mountain range. Interestingly, as documented by Herodotus, the Dacians believed in the immortality of the soul and that death was a mere “change of country.” This is not surprising considering the influence of the king and his de facto control over the civil government of Dacia.
After we crossed the Danube we were greeted by messengers who informed us that our allies from Greece, Gaul, Scotland, and Britain were already encamped outside the king’s castle. The vampire troops from China, Spain, North Africa and South Africa had also arrived, but the human troops from these colonies were still en route.
There was very bad news from India. While we had been battling the king’s zombie army at the Circle of Stones, the king’s vampires had attacked India and destroyed most of the 300 or so vampires who lived there and their tens of thousands of human troops. The details were scant, except that a leader of the Indian vampires had betrayed them.
India was a colony where vampires used a caste system to control the human population. The vampires had controlled the Kshatriyas caste for centuries. All important positions were held by a vampire or by a human who was subservient to a vampire. In India, very few humans even suspected that vampires existed, because the penalty for disclosure was torture followed by death.
India was the last of the thirteen colonies to join the VR. The Indian vampires shared the king’s disdain for humans, and saw nothing wrong with the “farming” of humans. In fact, through selective breeding over the course of millennia, the Indians has developed strains of humans with specialized characteristics, such as blood that could reduce the physical age of a vampire’s body and blood that could allow a vampire to endure sunlight for brief periods. If not for the VR, the Indian vampires would have continued to pay the king’s tribute without objection – just step up the breeding program to supply more than the king could ever need. Two factors convinced the Indians to join the VR. First, they valued logic and reason, and found the king to be depraved and wasteful. Second, they feared what might happen if the other colonies could capture the tuning stone.
By “farming” humans, colonies like India were able to sustain larger (and tastier) human populations. Such “farming” was also the dominant system in China and in both of the African colonies. At the other end of the spectrum were New North China and New South China (today known as North and South America). In these colonies, the vampires treated humans as equals and traded knowledge and friendship for blood and protection. This system resulted in smaller populations of both vampires and humans. But because these colonies were isolated by oceans on both sides, they had the most leeway in doing what they wanted without interference from the king.
The other seven colonies (Gaul, Spain, Scotland, Britain, Eire, Greece and South Asia) had systems that had some of the characteristics of the colonies where humans were farmed and some of the characteristics of the colonies where humans were allowed to live their lives based on their own choices.
With our Indian allies destroyed and the human troops from China at least one week’s march away, our military leaders faced a difficult decision. If we attacked now, our humans would be greatly outnumbered, which would leave our vampires very vulnerable during the daytime. A mass attack by the king’s humans and zombies during daylight hours could allow them to break through and find and kill our vampire troops before sunset. On the other hand, our human army was starving. By the time that they arrived in Dacia, most of the year’s crops had been harvested and taken to the castle to feed the king’s human army. The scant food that remained would be consumed in less than a day. Similarly, our zombies were starting to cannibalize again, at in increasing rate. Out of necessity, it was decided that our humans and zombies would attack the following morning, and our vampires would follow up that evening.
After sunset, our vampires partook of one last feeding. I was fed by Gina. Camis was fed by Lenore. Other human volunteers fed the other vampires who needed it.
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