Immortal Memory (Iris' Atlantis 1)

Timothy: A Vampire's Heart

I considered the inner yard that was protected on four sides by the Castle. There grew a tree in there. It couldn't get much sunlight and I was kind of curious on how the old marple survived. The upper branches reached my eye level on the fourth floor. It really wasn't a small tree.

I was standing in the corridor leaning to the closed door of my Room.

There was something funny about the whole building. The tree was really maybe the least enigmatic detail to the complex structure. Though it was hard to say what it was I was feeling.

Stump was whistling as he came down the corridor to where I was standing.

"Such a thoughtful face you are making, young friend!" he greeted me happily as he stopped between me and the huge windows.

"I am feeling thoughtful," I said to him, extracting my back from the door.

"And what might be troubling you tonight?"

"The Castle," I said.

I shifted my gaze from the distance to his old face. Today Stump was bearing his human years well. His back was straight and there was a twinkle to his gray blue eyes I didn't remember. Last I had seen Stump, his eyes had held an opaque quality to them. They had been clouded by pains and old age.

"You look good," I told him.

Stump gave me a delighted smile. Then he surprised me by inviting me into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you, young friend. So good to see you," he told me.

I put him to an arm's reach, searching his face. It really looked healthier and younger than I remembered.

"Are you turning?" I asked.

Stump shook his gray head.

"No, Timothy, I am not. Come brother, let's have a drink."

Something was off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was... missing.

I followed the older man to a kitchen on that floor. It was a nice open space with windows on two sides. We could still see the maple in the yard but also the opposing warehouse. It seemed to belong to a bookshop.

Stump brought two cups to the table with an elegant see-through pot of green tea. He placed the tray between us and with sure hands poured into the two small cups. I lifted one for him in salutation.

"For the Queen's health?" I suggested.

"For your change. The Queen isn't getting any healthier or sicker, no matter what we wish for her."

I couldn't help a small shocked smile.

"How is it going?" Stump continued. "The change?"

"It's good", I told him. "I can still see myself in the mirror, though the image is blurry. I hear things. Or sense them... I... I think Blizzard calls them spirits? Shifting shapes in the air." I shrugged.

"You don't seem too exhilarated though. Was this the second dose? Mm. Yes. So you have two left. And no side-effects?"

I shook my head. "Nothing I could name. Seeing spirits doesn't seem to count."

"It doesn't," he confirmed to me.

He leaned back in his chair.

"Do you know what kind of people can become vampires?" he asked.