Night Angel

Chapter Nine (Sample)

When Adam had first asked me out we'd decided to go to a movie. I wanted something romantic but he was more into horror, so we compromised. Edge of night was a coming of age, teen romance, about a gawky high school outcast that falls in love with a beautiful and seductive female vampire. It turned out to be more romance than horror but Adam still enjoyed it, though he'd never admit it.

What I really loved about the movie was the way in which it portrayed the vampire. She wasn't this brooding, mysterious, self-loathing monster with a pretty face as so many fictional vampires were. She was down to earth, fun, caring and an overall very likable character. It made sense that the male lead fell in love with her and was ready to give up his mortal life to be with her. Of course, in any good story, there has to be some conflict. The conflict in this film came in the form of the female vampire not wanting to turn her lover as she was turned because she felt that he would hate her for it later.

While she didn't necessarily regret becoming what she was, she did regret the pain she had caused others when she was first turned and she didn't want to put that same burden on this mortal that she loved. He, on the other hand, felt that his life had no meaning and he would be happier as a vampire and so he spent most of the movie begging her to turn him, and she spent most of the film refusing to do so.

Towards the end of the film the human boy got into a terrible car accident and was on the brink of death so the vampire turned him to save his life. When he awoke as a nearly born vampire he transitioned into life as the 'undead' with relative ease. No pain, no internal conflict over having to kill to survive, and no brooding in shadowy corners while he contemplated his fate. The movie ended with a happily-ever-after reminiscent of just about every Disney film I'd ever seen. In a way, it was nice for a vampire film not to have the usual doom and gloom that so many of them had, but the realist in me had a hard time buying into the idea that the kid could become a vampire and just like that, his life was all peaches and cream. He apparently had no qualms about ripping the throat out of some poor animal and draining it dry. Where was the kids moral dilemma? I mean, there should have been at least a little soul searching before diving headfirst into a life of eternal darkness, right?

Well, as it turned out, becoming a vampire wasn't so cut and dry and it certainly wasn't all peaches and cream. Not by a long shot. When I finally had the balls to admit to myself that this was really happening and I wasn't losing my marbles, a whole new world of troubles opened up to me. I was only eighteen years old. Did I really want to spend my eternity as a teenager? How would I graduate high school? Could I even be around my human friends anymore or would I try to eat them? My head was a mess with all the what if's and how's and why's. I literally went though all the stages of grief in a matter of minutes. Yelling, crying, throwing a tantrum like a spoiled little child and all the while Kiernan just sat there and waited for me to calm down.

I imagine he'd been through this countless of times but I had not. It was way too overwhelming. The worst of it though was while I had a name for what I was, I had no real idea of what I was. Everything I knew about vampires had come from books and movies and as I soon discovered, most of everything I thought I knew on the subject was wrong.

When I'd finally regained my composure, Kiernan led me back into the Den where I sunk down into one of the leather armchairs.

"This can't be happening." I wiped the tears off my face with the hem of my borrowed shirt and sniffled.

"Oh, it's not all that bad." Kiernan told me as he took his seat across from me. "There are actually a lot of perks to being what we are."

"Perks?" I raised an eyebrow as I stared at him indignantly. "I don't mean to sound, ungrateful, for what you did, but now I'm a monster."

He sat back in his chair, legs crossed, and his chin resting on his hand as he considered what I had just said. I felt a tinge of regret after having said it and I wondered if he was angry with me for it. His face was unreadable, more contemplative than anything else, but I didn't get the impression that he was overly offended with my accusation.

After several minutes he narrowed his eyes a bit and sighed. "Is that really what you think? That we're all monsters?"

"Well...um..." I stumbled over my words, trying to find the right ones but at a total loss. The truth was, I didn't know what to think. This was all so new to me. I mean, it was the first time I'd ever met an honest to God vampire. "It's what all the movies say."

He rolled his eyes as he smirked. "You really do need to stop watching so many scary movies."

I felt myself blush and I turned my head away with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I just..."

"Devin. Look at me." I did and he smiled a kind and caring smile. "I'm not angry with you, and you don't need to apologize. I understand how difficult this is for you. You're young, in every sense of the word. It's going to take time and patience, for both of us. But I promise you one thing, I will be here for you every step of the way. As your mentor, your friend, your father if that's what you need. I don't abandon my children. I never have. If you'll give me the chance, I will teach you what it means to be a vampire, and help you find your place."

"Thank you." I rubbed the spot on my head where earlier I had been struck. The wound was healed, the pain gone, but the memory of it was still fresh. It was a constant reminder of the moment my human life had ended and this one began. Everything was going to change now. For better or worse, this was my life now and I had to find a way to make it work but I knew I couldn't do it alone. I was going to need all the help I could get but first, I had to close the chapter on my old life and that meant remembering every painful detail of what happened that night, before Kiernan found me. Most importantly though, I had to find Adam. No life, immortal or otherwise, would be complete without Adam. I needed him with me. I needed to feel his arms around me and I needed to hear the soft, rhythmic, beating of his heart. I loved him, maybe even more than either of us realized. He was the love of my life after all, and I needed to tell him that.