“Rebirth?”Duncan repeated.
The big vampire nodded. “That’s what we call it, for that’s what it is. Everything you were before will change. You’ll leave everyone you know behind, even family. Do you have family, Duncan?”
A wave of grief swept over Duncan, nearly drowning him, and it was several steps before he could speak again. Raphael kept his silence, and Duncan was grateful for it. Finally, he said, “I did once. No longer.”
Raphael said nothing at first, as if pondering the many ways a man could lose his family. “This vengeance you seek, it’s for your family.” He said it as fact, not in question, but Duncan answered anyway.
“Yes.” He swallowed the hard knot of loss clogging his throat. “My wife and children.”
It was several minutes before Raphael spoke again. “That’s a heavy burden for any man to bear.”
Duncan nodded, then studied the vampire closely, wondering if he, too, had lost someone. “Did you leave family behind, sir?”
A fierce look crossed Raphael’s face, and Duncan thought perhaps he’d gone too far, presumed too much. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Raphael spoke first. “My parents,” he said abruptly. “Though my father was no loss to me, I grieved for my mother. My sister, too, or so I thought for a time.”
Duncan was curious about that last bit, but decided against pressing his luck any further. “You said you’re newly arrived in this country, sir? You picked a bad time for it.”
“In truth, we arrived a few years past. It’s taken this long to get settled and decide to move west.”
“We?”Duncan questioned somewhat nervously. “There’s more of you?”
Raphael must have heard the nerves. He grinned down at Duncan, his eyes going that strange silvery color again. “If you mean vampires, there’s more than a few, though humans are largely unaware of us. My own group is small, just those I brought with me from the old country. You needn’t worry, though. They’re completely loyal to me.”
“Might I ask where they are, sir?”
“Stop siring me, boy. If you must, my title’s lord, for that’s what I am, a vampire lord.”
“Yes, my lord,” Duncan said dutifully, though it seemed odd to say it. There were no such titles in this country. The founders had left behind that sort of thing, but perhaps vampires were different. “Do you have many land holdings, then, my lord?” he inquired.
Raphael barked a laugh. “And there you’ve pricked my pride but good, Duncan.”
“I didn’t mean any—”
“Don’t apologize. You’ve the right of it. I’ve nothing but a few loyal men and a purse filled with coin. The men were carefully chosen, and the coin comes easily. For the rest of it, be assured, Duncan Milford, I will rule an empire before I’m through.”
Duncan nodded in agreement, and the two of them continued for some time without speaking. The moon had set and the night had begun to take on the stillness that precedes the dawn, when Raphael verged suddenly from the road, heading deep into the trees. Duncan followed, not knowing what else to do. He’d chosen the route they were taking back to his home, but they had many miles to go yet, and he wasn’t familiar with the lands they were passing through. Raphael seemed to know where he was going, however, weaving his way through the thick forest until they reached a small hut. Hidden beneath some low-hanging branches, it was a rough-built structure of unfinished logs and mud, but it looked sturdy enough and was most likely used by hunters in summer. Since it was winter now, the place was empty as far as Duncan could tell, and the sturdy lock on the door didn’t invite visitors. But Raphael didn’t hesitate. He walked right up and twisted the thick metal lock as if it were paper, then tossed it aside.
Duncan stared from the now useless padlock to Raphael and back again.
“You’ll do the same soon enough,” Raphael assured him, then pushed the door open and stepped inside. Duncan followed more slowly and found Raphael giving the place a critical survey. “I’ve slept in better,” he said. “And worse. This will do.”
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and said, “We’ve just enough time. Have a seat, Duncan.” He didn’t wait, but dropped to the floor, pressing his back up against the wall.
Duncan shrugged and sat beside him, wondering what was coming next.
“There are things we must discuss before going forward,” Raphael began. “I was made Vampire unwilling, or at least unknowing. No one inquired as to whether I wanted it or not, but I tell you this, I do not regret it. It is an incomparable gift. I have lived nearly three hundred years, Duncan. I have power that you would not believe if I told you, but that you will understand when you join us. There are many things you will have to learn about being Vampire, but the most important is this. In order to survive, you will need to drink human blood.”
Duncan’s eyes widened in horror.“My lord! I have fought in war, as you well know, but I’ve no desire to survive by killing innocents!”
Raphael shook his head. “It is not necessary to kill the humans you choose to drink from, Duncan. Moreover, once you become Vampire, your bite itself will become enjoyable to them. Some will actually invite you to drink their blood in exchange for this pleasure, though there will be times you will have to take what you need. But you will never have to kill for it.”
Duncan looked away, mulling over what he’d just heard. This certainly cast a fresh light on the decision he’d made. Could he do this? Could he bite another human being and drink his blood?
“Again, I will not make you Vampire without your willing consent, Duncan. You may still, with my blessing, consider the healing a gift and return to whatever waits for you. Or you can go forward with me and the others. The choice is yours, but you must make it now.”
Duncan stared through the same empty doorway Raphael had, seeking his own past and his future . . . and found nothing at all. His past had been stolen when his family was killed, and his future had died along with them.
“I’ll do it, my lord,” he whispered, then repeated more strongly, “I’ll do it.”
“Then we must begin, for the sun is not far off. An important lesson, Duncan. The sun is our enemy. It traps us in slumber through the day, and if we are exposed to its light, we will burn unto ash if left there. It is perhaps our greatest vulnerability.”
“Can we be killed otherwise, my lord?”
Raphael nodded. “A stake through the heart, or a sword, if wielded properly. Fire, if the damage is too great to be healed. And no one, not even a vampire, can survive having his head removed.”
Duncan laughed nervously. “Good to know, my lord.”
Raphael clapped him on the shoulder, then stood and looked around. “Lie over there,” he said
“My lord?”Duncan asked, looking up at him in confusion.
“Lie down,” Raphael repeated. “It will be easier for both of us.”
Duncan’s heart stuttered a bit, despite his earlier words. “Now?”
“Now, Duncan,” Raphael said gently.
Duncan rose to his feet. It was nearly too dark to see, but he could make out a lone cot against the far wall. It was little more than a wood frame and slats, not even a straw mattress. Whoever used the place in summer would have known better than to leave such a thing behind. It would have been crawling with vermin by the next season. He shuffled over to the cot, then reached down with one hand, putting weight on the slats to test their sturdiness. They gave a bit, but held, so he lowered himself down, thinking even this was better than the cold ground he’d slept on for the weeks since he’d been swept up by General Bragg’s march through Tennessee. He let out a weary breath and thought he could probably sleep, except—
“Comfortable, Duncan?”
“Er, yes, my lord.”
Raphael loomed over him in the dark. “I’m going to bite you,” he said as he knelt next to the cot. “On the neck, because it’s fastest.”
“Will it hurt?”
“Only at first,” Raphael said with surprising honesty. “But after that, you’ll experience the pleasure of a vampire’s bite for the first and last time. Vampires cannot feed from each other, nor does their bite have the same effect as on a human.”
Raphael turned Duncan’s head firmly to one side and held him there. His breath was hot as he drew closer, and Duncan’s heart kicked furiously in his chest. There was the touch of something hard and pointed, and then a pain as sharp as a knife slicing into his neck. He had one moment to think perhaps he’d been played for a fool, and then his blood heated and his body stiffened in a way it hadn’t in the months since his wife died. Some small part of his brain was telling him this was wrong, but it didn’t feel wrong. It felt . . . wondrous! And then he felt nothing at all.
When Duncan woke, he lay still for a moment, listening, astonished at the multitude of sounds all around him. He turned his head at a scratching noise and knew there was a mouse scurrying along the wall, though he couldn’t see it. Outside, an owl swooped overhead, its wings a hard flutter of sound. Duncan smiled. It was as if he’d lived in only half the world until now, with the other half beyond his pitiful senses. But no longer.
He stretched, feeling strong and limber, marveling again at the lack of pain or soreness. His grin stretched wider, and he wanted to throw his head back and laugh with a joy he hadn’t felt in years.
“You’re awake.” Raphael ducked as he stepped through the doorway, and Duncan realized it was still night. Or was it?
“How long did I sleep?” he asked.
“Just the one day,” Raphael said. “You’ll sleep later into darkness than some of us at first, but my blood is powerful, and your strength will build up fast enough. After that, it’s up to you. No one can predict what gifts Vampire will bestow. We have to wait and see.”
“This is gift enough,” Duncan said enthusiastically. He stood, testing his legs one at a time, twisting from side to side, and gave in to the urge to laugh.