Child of Shadows (A Sekh Vampire Novella)

"Carpe Noctem"

   A chorus of voices layered over one another, repeating, forwarding:

"Not alone." "Not Alone." "She waits." "She waits," "for you." "For You." "Not alone."

The murmur of voices faded into the void.

"Dominus, would you like some water after your nap?" a voice he actually recognized asked. It was the voice of his longtime servant and former nanny, Apollonia. Lucius Aurelius Nicasius lazily opened his eyes. The sun, ever his enemy, had finally sunk down below his second floor chambers. He drew his left hand up his bare chest to cover his face and let out a low moan. He was a tangled mess of sheets and limbs and curls on his bed.

"Apollonia, my mouth feels like I've been walking in the Sahara." His other hand shot out from the sheet and was rewarded with a cool flask. He brought it to his parched lips, then sat up before dumping its contents down his throat as fast as it could go. Excess water formed tributaries down his stubbled cheeks and broke against his slight chest hair. Apollonia took the empty flask from him and refilled it from a nearby pot. He gulped it down again in one go and took a long breath. His right hand rifled through his cropped curls. For a second, he felt disbelief, as if they were the wrong length. Nicasius knew that wasn't completely right though, and he knew why: he'd dreamt about his childhood again.

His last days in Oea often loved to replay in his subconscious in a loop: the morning he foolishly decided to sneak out of his home because of a few sparse clouds. The encounter in the alley with the 'normal' children. His mad dash back to their house, only to overhear his parents discussing rumors in the streets about him. They had moved here, to Neapolis, because of it.

His father, Antoninus, insisted it was because of his promotion to praefectus. While that explained the funds to move a great distance, his family did not have to accompany his father anywhere. Antoninus was immediately dispatched with his legion to fortify the Westernmost borders upon arrival in Neapolis. It left Nicasius and their household in their new home and city alone. That was just over 14 years ago. He was a young man now, and his parents spent most of the their time in Rome, courting the senate. Whether anyone would tell them it was futile exercise under the current Augustus, Nicasius didn't particularly care— because it was during this time that he was almost free.

His father had abandoned all prospects of him and a military career altogether, even after he finally learned the basics. His eyesight had improved slightly during puberty, but it was better still at night. That was because at night, everyone was almost on the same playing field with their reduced visibility. Of course, Romans rarely took to battle at night. It was a valiant but ultimately fruitless effort on his part.

His day began when others' was ending. Nicasius swung his legs off the metal bed frame and stretched his toes, ankles, then finally stood and bent towards the floor. His frame was still a skinny block of wood, but unlike the twig he'd been before, he had wiry muscles from his walks into town and various nighttime curriculars.

For the past two years, he had been sneaking out into the city to see its people and life. He would walk the streets, where people were nearly as light as he, or darker still than the kids in his hometown. Nicasius loved the variations. He did not feel as alone, even if he remained singular. He walked nude down the stairs and halls into the bathroom. Apollonia was close behind with fresh linens and his bathing oils. There was no one here that wasn't a servant but him. Their Neapolitan home had become his fortress. The final rays pricked his skin for a few seconds before he was safely in the enclosed baths. He inhaled the familiar scents of the natural waters.

While he soaked, he focused on reminding himself of the present. Apollonia was not waiting to bathe him, although he still let her rub him down afterwards. He was bigger physically. He flexed his muscles in the water as if to emphasize that fact to himself. He had had sex. They say you never forget your first, but a part of him wanted to forget. It had been an awful, drunken mess. Neither he nor the boy had really known what they were doing, and the girl who joined later was a little too eager...