Last Light

Moth - I

The Vampire lifted her nose into the wind, much like a scenting animal. There was a smell, unfamiliar, barely discernible from the distance and not precisely carried in her direction by the wind. She listened. There were also footsteps and a heartbeat. The echo was overlaid by the sounds of the surroundings, but it was there; the Vampire was certain.

The Castle had been built centuries ago by a wealthy count for his family and had provided shelter for a handful of people during the initial cycles of war, albeit briefly. However, when servants of the Black Lands discovered it, the act of walling up the refugees alive inside served as the merciful end to weeks of torture.
Persistent rumors circulated among the common people, such as the idea that one could still hear the screams of the tortured souls on rainy nights, if one knew what to listen for - Even though there were still residual energies and faded auras, these stories lacked any truth, but they helped to maintain the state of abandonment. Mostly at least, because despite everything, there were always a few people who ended up here, for various reasons.
Just last night, the Vampire had heard footsteps in the Castle again, felt two heartbeats. But this heartbeat now was different: Different rhythm, different intensity, and as if it echoed itself. The smell of the stranger both irritated and fascinated her.

The Vampire looked up at the sky; the sun was not yet high, the balcony still in the shadow of the battlement tower. She stood up and sniffed again. The scent grew stronger, more intense, almost demanding her attention.
She smiled and leaped into the room adjoining the balcony. It was fairly well preserved, unlike the rest of the Castle, which had been gnawed at by the ravages of time. Only a few rooms had remained undamaged, a bedroom here and there or a dining hall, but most notably the libraries that the Castle housed; protected and forever guarded by bodiless sentinels, rumored to only reveal themselves if one were to speak their true name.

As if the environment moved much slower than herself, the Vampire crossed the room. Beside the bed on a side table, a candle burned softly in an iron lantern; a moth fluttered around the glass, the velvety sound of its wing beats merging with the rhythm of the heartbeat the Vampire concentrated on, while flickering shadows were cast on the surrounding walls.

The Vampire continued onward. In passing, her gaze crossed the large mirror leaning against the wall beside the door, which had probably once helped one of the count's daughters to dress. Fleetingly, as often happens, she glanced at the reflecting surface and saw – nothing.

Since her elevation, blue blood had flowed through her veins. It had changed her, made her stronger and faster, enabled her to see things that few others could perceive, bestowed upon her abilities she had never dreamed possible; but above all, it had granted her eternity. And yet she felt unhappy when she reflected on her existence.

'Human breath is divine. We drink their souls, for the dead are insatiable.'

Again, her familiar's words echoed in her mind. Yes, blue blood had given her much, but it had also taken something from her. Something she still couldn't describe, couldn't put into words. Something that seemed like a simple feeling, so inconspicuous yet a part of someone's self, that one only feels and only notices its absence once it is already gone, once it has already been torn away and left an unfilled void.

Although many centuries had passed, her memory was still clear; the Vampire still knew exactly what she had once looked like, who she had once been, even if the mirror denied her that sight: Slender and tall, with short, blonde hair, prominent cheekbones, and steel blue eyes. That she had not seen her own reflection for so long reminded her of all the deprivation she had endured since her elevation. And again, she thought with anger of her familiar. She felt disgust for him, for he had taken her blood and given her something that had eaten away larger parts of herself with each passing century, like a famished shade.
He had left her no choice: Would you like to wander like a shadow, silent and unseen? Would you like to hear and see better than a cat? Would you like to rise into the skies like a falcon? Would you like to be stronger than a bear? Would you like to walk through walls? Would you like to fight without harm? Would you like to see things that others can only dream of? Would you like to be part of a wonderful whole?

It all sounded so tempting, and much time had passed to fully grasp the weight of the exchange. Since then, reflections and shadows had disappeared; sunbeams no longer provided warmth, only brought pain and weakness, just as the smell of blood had brought eternal thirst. She took life without remorse, like a starving animal. More and more her human feelings faded away, until she could no longer feel and no longer remember what it had been like to feel. She had left behind all those who had once meant something to her; while they had passed away, she had remained and would continue to do so for all eternity. 

As often as she had thought about moving the mirror to another room or even smashing it, the Vampire could no longer count. But she did not; for wouldn't existence be boring without a little self-pity?

The Vampire focused again on the heartbeat – It was now almost inside the Castle. She smiled again and finally left the room.