Vampires of the Eight, page 23
part #1 of Vampires of the Eight Series
“Why did you pick Clayton’s family? And why did you come back and bite mine?” Maryl said as she slapped the side of the cage.
“Your great grandmother’s asking price was to avoid biting her family. And at first, I honored her request. That night I headed further south and found Clayton’s grandfather and bit his pregnant wife.”
“Then, why did you come back to my descendants?” Maryl asked in confusion.
“Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized your great grandmother was the only being on the planet that would be able to reverse the binding spell. I was too angry at my father and sought retribution, that the thought of your great-grandmother ruining my plan was unbearable. So, at first light the morning after biting Clayton’s expectant grandmother, I snuck around your great grandmother’s house when she was tending to her garden and getting herbs. I attacked her and slit her throat. Then I snuck in and bit your expectant grandma. The rest, you know.”
“That’s not possible,” Maryl said.
“Why not?” asked Clayton.
“My great grandmother would’ve sensed you. Not to mention she would have protective spells so you could not enter her abode!”
“I understand your lack of faith in what I am telling you, Maryl Rosser, but believe me; I am telling you the truth.”
“How were you able to get to my great grandmother?” Maryl demanded.
Esme closed her eyes. Blood trickled from her nose. “Because. Because the spell was so incredibly powerful, it left her drained of her lifeforce, her energy. She had not the power or energy to put up any protective wards, and I knew that.”
Silence followed while the information sunk in.
“What did you do while waiting for the next hundred years?” Desiree asked.
“I was observing all of you through dimensional portals I had access to via my binding spell.”
Desiree raised her hand. “How come you picked May fourth at seven thirty-three in the morning to come back every hundred years? That’s a precise date.”
“That was when the spell was cast, and I was attached or bound to it. It was my new birthdate.”
“Why did you want to infect humans and turn them into vampires in the first place?”
“Because of my father! I wanted a species that would be as strong or stronger than the Nephilims and the Eliouds.”
“Again, why?” Clayton asked.
“To kill both species and get even with my father. I hated him! And to have someone else be the alpha and omega race for once!”
“How did you know to bite the humans?” asked Desiree.
“In order to alter something, it must reside from within the body. I needed a way inward to change eight women. I asked the spell to be puncture wounds into the neck where the blood flowed the fastest.”
“Why pregnant women?” Desiree asked in bafflement.
“Because your great grandmother told me the spell was so strong the initial alteration needed brewing time to change the human, roughly five to six months. Why not infect pregnant women? It was the perfect opportunity. What’re a thousand years compared to nine months?” Esme finally noticed the blood dripping from her nose. After several futile attempts at stopping it, she let it slowly trickle down. She looked up at everyone. “Once the child was born, he or she was able to reproduce when old enough, have invulnerable skin, and all the other attributes that were needed to defeat my father and his ilk!”
“Except for the A’s and B’s, who needed thirteen years,” Clayton offered.
“Yes, that came as a surprise. I wasn’t certain of the effects the enchantment would have on anyone.”
“Okay, what about the eight different blood types of vampires you created?”
Esme took a minute to catch her breath. She knew she wouldn’t last much longer. “I thought if I created just one blood type vampire, I wouldn’t be able to see much evolution or variation.”
“You wanted a difference? Why?” asked Desiree.
Esme smiled with sadness. “You were my creation, my experiment. I wanted to see how far I could take it. And believe me, you took it to an extreme! All the different blood types far exceeded my expectations. You utterly defeated the Nephilims and the Eliouds, which thrilled me to no end.”
“We didn’t, but the vampires you created, later on, battled them with help from an unknown source. Even today, no one knows who helped us. That part is not in the history books of our species,” Clayton said grudgingly.
“Why did you continue creating us, when your goal was to get rid of your father and the rest of his clan was completed?” Maryl asked in bewilderment.
Esme coughed, and the blood dripped from her nose at a faster pace. She absently wiped her nose with her hand and continued. “Because the division among the eight leaders, who forced their subordinates to their way of thinking, was astounding to watch! And another benefit to watch was how some vampires became stronger right away, and some couldn’t ascend until puberty, which surprised even me! Still, others leveled the playing field with science, and others remained unchanged.”
Silence followed. Everyone was lost in their thoughts.
Clayton thought of something. “So… if you only bit a pregnant woman every hundred years, you only produced one child of each blood type. And my bloodline had difficulty producing children. I would imagine you needed an army to defeat your father and his trained warriors pretty fast.”
Esme was barely able to mutter, “You assume I only created vampires? You assume in my last thousand years I only went to one witch?”
“What? What do you mean by that?” Clayton demanded as he looked at Esme.
He noticed Esme was slumped to one side. Her hands were limp. He could hear her shallow breath. “Esme! Answer my question!” demanded Clayton.
It wouldn’t be long until she was gone, and Clayton’s answer would be forever lost!
Desiree noticed Esme slumped too as she stood up. “Esme! Are you all alright? Is there anything we can do for you?”
Esme coughed a few times. She did not have the energy to move. In a herculean effort, she managed to speak. “Know this, my time has come, and that means…,” Esme couldn’t finish her sentence. Gradually resolve came upon her face. “And with my death comes great suffering…”
“Yes, yes, you told us that already,” Maryl said with irritation.
“Esme, what did you mean by your statement? Tell me!”
Esme smiled but did not answer him.
“What do you mean, Esme?” Clayton demanded. He refused to stop asking the question.
Esme coughed up more blood. Sweat dripped from her forehead down into her blouse. “I.. I must tell you something before I perish.”
“How about the truth?” Clayton said.
“Enough, Clayton! She’s not going to tell us. Let her finish what she has to say!” Desiree said in frustration.
Esme coughed several times. With each cough, blood gushed out from her nose and mouth. “With my dying breath, I must… tell you something. I… I made you with a binding spell. When I die, so does … the spell,” she said weakly.
“What do you mean?” Desiree said in shock.
“The… spell was bound… attached to me. When I die… the spell dies too. That was part of the deal set forth two thousand years ago…”
“Will all of the vampires around the globe become human again?” Maryl asked in terror.
“Will we all die?” Desiree asked with dread.
“Yes,” Esme whispered as she fell to the floor.
The first sign Clayton had turned human was the vampires that were the furthest away became blurry to him. Then the talking started, but it was difficult to hear what anyone was saying. It had been over a thousand years since he was human. He’d forgotten the frailties and shortcomings of being mortal.
A few seconds later, Maryl yelled, “What’s happening to me?” She looked at her disappearing form and let out a blood-curdling scream.
Clayton saw that he was dematerializing too. He looked around the room. They were all slowly fading away.
Desiree looked at Clayton in utter terror as her lower body slowly vanished in front of their eyes.
Clayton looked at his fading form.
“Clayton! Help me! Do something!” she cried.
“Stay calm, Desiree. Stay calm,” he said to try to reassure her that their end would be painless.
“I’m too young of a vampire to die! I have much more I want to accomplish!” Desiree said through tears.
Little by little, their forms became less and less visible.
“Goodbye, Desiree…” Clayton said with profound sadness.
“Goodbye, Clayton.”
“I. I loved you.”
“I know. I…”
Bibliography
*This part is only partially correct. You can extract stem cells from blood using a peripheral blood stem cell collection technique. The article below elaborates:
http://leukemiabmtprogram.org/patients_and_family/treatment/blood_and_marrow_transplant/transplant_basics/how_are_stem_cells_collected.html
** The Elioud were the children of the Nephilim. There are several references in various theological faiths. However, I have given them a creative license, and in my book, they in no way reflect what little was written about them. If you’re interested, you can read this article:
http://www.fallenangels-ckquarterman.com/the-elioud-race/
(1) Blood Type Genetics and Compatibility. (No referenced date) retrieved from:
https://www.bswhealth.com/patient-tools/blood-center/Pages/blood-type-genetics-and-compatibility.aspx
(2) Blood-Type-Altering Enzyme Could Make Anyone a Universal Donor. (2015) retrieved from:
https://www.genengnews.com/news/blood-type-altering-enzyme-could-make-anyone-a-universal-donor/
(3) CT State Library. The 1752 calendar change. (No referenced date) Retrieved from: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/colonialresearch/calendar#:~:text=Changes%20of%201752&text=The%20Julian%20Calendar%20was%20replaced,the%20month%20of%20September%201752.
(4) Humbug ~ Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbug
(5) Vampire Myths Originated With a Real Blood Disorder. (7/5/2020) retrieved from:
https://www.inverse.com/culture/vampire-myths-originated-with-a-real-blood-disorder
(6)What is used to cut DNA at a specific location for Splicing?
https://sciencing.com/used-cut-dna-specific-location-splicing-2422.html
(7) While scientists have created synthetic blood, its purpose in my book differs from the article because, obviously, they’re vampires. If you’re interested in learning more about synthetic blood, please read the following article.
Synthetic red blood cells mimic natural ones, and have new abilities. (June 3rd, 2020) retrieved from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603122955.htm
(8) Essential Caving Gear and Equipment. (3/2019) retrieved from: https://www.liveabout.com/your-essential-caving-equipment-755632#:~:text=Waist%20Belt%20%2D%20Carry%20a%20small,if%20you%27re%20crawling%20around.
(9) Ten interesting facts about Mosquitos. 8/14/2017 retrieved from:
https://www.westernexterminator.com/blog/10-interesting-facts-mosquitoes/
(10) Myth-busting Mosquitos. (No date referenced.) https://www.unitypoint.org/livewell/article.aspx?id=f4d37ba9-b3cb-465f-9043-f2858cda74a7#:~:text=From%20the%20study%2C%20when%20looking,the%20next%20preferred%20blood%20type.
(11)What is the difference between organic and inorganic arsenic? (8/30/2018) retrieved from:
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health/what-difference-between-organic-and-inorganic-arsenic
(12) Antediluvian. (No date referenced) Retrieved from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antediluvian
Author’s Note and disclaimer
There is a lot to know about blood. If I put all the research of the different blood types I learned into my story, it would stray from my intended storyline. Unless you are in the medical field and deal with the different blood types, getting too technical would burden the reader.
While I have checked and rechecked data and talked to people in the blood business, sometimes, I felt it prudent to alter some information and had to make things up to help the story move along. After all, it’s a story about vampires too.
Certain information in the story is accurate with some alterations. At the time of this publication, scientists are working on an enzyme to shred the antigens off the top of the red blood cell, making everyone a universal donor. However, I made up the part where the enzyme changes the blood cells from A and B and AB to O type blood.
There is an assembly hall at Stanford University, but I don’t know if the curtains were red. I made up the long pole to unlatch the locked windows in the scene too.
The University of Indianapolis does not possess a large medical laboratory. It seemed to fit the storyline.
Kramer, George, Vampires of the Eight
