Headfirst for Halos

He seemed to freeze as I stared transfixed by those pearlescent canines. A part of my brain analyzed everything my senses took in. The small pops and cracks of the fire, the rasp of my breathing; I could smell the fire and coffee, thinly masking the now more pronounced odor of fresh blood coming from some other unseen place in the room.

“Hey,” he whispered, moving slowly. “I didn’t hurt you. I found you and took you here to help nurse you back to health.” He lifted a small bundle from beside him—my clothes. He rolled the little ball over to me. The scent of blood was coming from my rotting clothes. I flinched away from it briefly breaking eye contact to glance down at it. I felt arms wrap around my neck. I saw the world spin before I slammed against something—a wall.

“Michelle, NO!” My nurse yelled angrily. Numbly I felt something sink into my neck. I gasped, my eyes wide fixed on him in shock. Instantly we were separated, I sank to the ground with a groan. I looked up and saw a boy barely older then me standing, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth as he gazed at me hungrily.

“So…pretty,” at the word the boy’s eyes grew wild and bored into my head, willing me to give myself over. Someone’s leg blocked eye contact and I could hear one of them hiss something at the other. The boy’s eyes never leaving my neck.

“Are you okay?” The strange, kind, obvious vampire asked gently lifting my chin to inspect the wound on my neck. I saw a flicker of want in his eyes before he pulled me into a gentle hug. “I’m so sorry. He was not supposed to come here for another day or so.” My hand fell onto his cold, stone-like chest. I swallowed dryly, he must have heard because the next thing I knew there was a cup of water against my lips. I drank until my stomach was full and protested the intake of more, but I was still so thirsty. He took the cup away and shushed me when I tried to argue. I fell asleep shortly after to exhausted by what I couldn’t understand.

…

I woke next to the fire curled against him wrapped tightly in a blanket. I shifted, trying to look around and I felt him tense before relaxing his hold on me. I rubbed my eyes, gnawing on my lip ring as I looked around.

“You seem to have healed over night,” the kind stranger murmured, his fingers brushing the back of my neck. I shivered at his too-cool touch. His fingers disappeared as he put me on the floor. I disentangled myself and stood slowly, feeling vertigo. I looked around the room for the first time.

The fire was in the middle of the stone floor casting dancing rays of light around the room, making shadows shift and sway with them. There was an old, moth-eaten couch behind him against the wall. I could see a desk in a far corner; the room was empty of anything else.

He stood and smiled shyly. “My name is Gerard,” his voice was melodious, undulating softly. “And this is my castle.” My eyes widened.

“How—what—who are you?” I stuttered. He laughed quietly.

“I am Gerard Way, a three-hundred year old vampire,” he murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. “And you are in my castle in France.” I saw something shift causing me to flinch away from whatever was there.

“Tsk, tsk, am I to go unnoticed? How rude of you, brother dear,” this voice froze me in my tracks. An echo of a nightmare flashed through my mind—only now I knew it hadn’t been an awful dream, but a reality I suddenly wished I could forget. “Though I suppose I shouldn’t be too mad, after all this pretty specimen does tempt the palette just standing there.” I turned slowly toward the speaker. He was taller than me, paler than Gerard if that were possible. His hair swung into his hungry eyes as he gazed at Gerard calmly, barely sparing me a glance.

“Now, Michelle,” Gerard said his stance turning slightly defensive. “If you can behave I will allow you to stay. For three centuries you have yet to show any ounce of self control, it has gotten us in more trouble than I care to recount. If you cannot control yourself than I must ask you to leave, for years the counsel has told me to release you, but as you are my brother I have not,” he was suddenly in front of his brother. “Do you swear?” I took a step back in uncertainty.

“Fine,” Michelle muttered rolling his eyes. “If you say I must, I must.” He busied himself with removing his jacket and gloves—they glistened with blood. Gerard stepped back and ushered Michelle out the door.

“Thank you, brother,” Michelle waved flippantly over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. Gerard sighed as he closed the huge wooden door.

“I apologize for him; his sire did not instill a sense of control in him. Its part of the reason I continue to house him.” He locked the door and turned to me, arms wide showing me no sign of wanting to hurt me.

“Sire?” was all I could manage to ask. Nodding he sat down on the couch.

“Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard myths and stories on how we are made, haven’t you?” I nodded. “Well, it’s more complicated than it would appear. Blood given from different parts of the body instill different quantities of a trait or characteristic. How and when you add these also creates different trait combinations and balances. My sire made sure to instill in me the basics while still keeping my personality the same. He taught me how so that I may teach others. Contrary to popular belief we do not always live forever. And transferring traits ensures you never die, but my sire believed that we are meant to die and others were meant to take our place. My sire’s partner did not quite agree. He wanted to see what would happen if you give less than the basics to a newly created vampire. The result is the gluttonous being I must continue to call brother.” I nodded numbly as I sat down next to the fire. My overloaded brain still feebly attempting to sort all this out.

Thanks to Michelle, I now felt like prey amongst predators—needless to say, I didn’t like it.

…

Gerard led me on a tour of the wing we were in. The final room he showed me was the one that shocked me most.

“This,” he announced unlocking the door and handing me the key. “Is your room. I’ve updated the entire castle with the latest in indoor technology while keeping its original design. That turned out to be the biggest challenge, not one I was expecting.” His voice faded as he moved deeper into the room. I took a few steps in and stood there trying to take it all in.

I sat down hard on the stone floor trying to process everything. “You don’t even know my name,” I murmured numbly.

“Actually,” he said softly from one of the doorways. “I do. I meant it when I said this castle was equipped with the latest technology in the world. I’m sorry, but I had to know everything about you. I’m sorry about your parents. They would have fit better in my earlier years.” He leaned against the frame, not looking at me.

“Why am I here?” I asked avoiding him as well.

“You are here to become my apprentice, to replace me when I finally die.”

“How long do you have?”

“We begin to age, albeit very slowly, after we sire someone. For now I am stuck, as of now I would live forever. Some have chosen to remain that way, but it creates problems all its own that are often worse then replacing ourselves.”

I took a deep breath before I asked my next question. “So you’re going to turn me into a vampire?”

“Well,” he sighed. “Those on the counsel, including myself, first half change their successors and train them for a long time, often hundreds of years depending on what rank their mentors occupy. When they have learned all that is necessary they fully change their apprentices and watch over them until it is time for them to pass on. The mentors don’t age until they complete the ritual of change for the heirs.”

I nodded numbly. I didn’t hear him leave, but what must have been hours later I heard a tray set down on a table behind me. I turned and saw so much food I couldn’t believe it.

I wrinkled my nose at the turkey and dug into the rolls and vegetables, guess he didn’t know I was a vegetarian. He knew what was on paper, but not who I was—I took comfort in the knowledge as I ate.

When my stomach refused to retain any more food and drink I stood and started searching for the bathroom—I found the colossal bedroom and the adjoining washroom. I ran my fingertips over the tub and counter.

It was huge. It had a modern glass shower a huge claw foot tub I instantly fell in love with and a sweeping counter, full of everything I usually use. He knew a lot I’ll give him credit for that much. I filled the tub with water that was as hot as I could stand and slipped in an inch at a time. I soaked, fully clothed in the near-boiling water. I stared at my sunken converse beneath the surface as the water distorted them. In my trance my brain began to sort things out, quietly as to not disturb the precarious equilibrium my conscious mind had miraculously achieved.

When it came down to it: I didn’t have a choice. I had no where to go and no one to turn to, why not stay and learn and become part of this strange world. I definitely didn’t have anything better to do. I flopped out of the tub, my skin rosy for the first time in days and tore off my now suffocating clothes. I threw my shampoo and body-wash into the tub as I got back in.

After scrubbing the past few days’ memories from my skin I emptied the tub and dried myself off, wrapping a dry towel around my waist as I went in search of fresh clothes. After some serious searching, I opened one of the doors in the bedroom and found a walk-in closet. On one side was formal clothing: suits and the like, and on the other side were regular clothes and pajamas. I pulled on a pair of black boxers and a black muscle shirt before heading back into the bathroom to clean up.

I froze.

“Tsk, tsk, you really are a horrid guest leaving all this slop on the floor.” With a flick of his fashionable shoes Michelle hurled the sopping clothes out the open window. I took a step back, unsure if I could be heard by Gerard if I screamed. “Oh, don’t worry. A promise is a promise, and I can’t break any I make to my brother,” He breezed past me into the bedroom. “Although sometimes they can be a little bended.”

“Can I help you?” Marveling at the firm tone of my voice when everything inside was quickly becoming the consistency of pudding.

“Well, how are you settling in? I know you have all your favorites, but I can help you work some of the things in here…provide company if you like. I know we started out on the wrong foot, but I really do want to be your friend.” His smile seemed more sour than sweet.

I straightened my back and looked him in the eye. “I think you made your opinion known when I first saw you. Now, if you will excuse me,” I gestured toward the door leading to the hall. Looking me up and down, he nodded and turned to leave, but before leaving he turned with one last warning.

“Trust me, my pretty; you don’t want me as an enemy.”

“I did not make that choice, you did.” I watched him leave, shutting the door behind him. I sank to the ground shaking. Feeling both silly at the Hollywood-type scene and scared shitless by the encounter. I’m fairly certain Gerard’s new successor won’t last all that long.