Page and Blood

Prologue

PROLOGUE

Twenty years ago somewhere the a dark room:

"Human or not." said a melodic voice, "she is my daughter. And i will not do as you ask."

The room was dark with only a sole candle flickering and not lighting much except on an odd figure of a wrinkled pouch faced man with dull grey eyes, barely a two feet tall, sitting on the lap of a six feet tall young man whose face cannot be seen.

They introduced themselves as twins. Although they did not came from the same womb.

"We will find her." said the pouch faced man. "Or, she will find us."

There was a deafening roar of thunder followed by a burst of lightning that reflected, for a second or so, an image of a handsome pale faced man seated on the opposite chair. The darkness blanketed him invisible except for his blue luminous eyes and platinum short hair that glowed like the moon. His thin pale lips moved, or seemed to move. "My decision is final." he said with monotony.

The faint glow of candle revealed irritation on the tiny odd old man's face, now vivid red, crumpled and mashed tightly into deep wrinkles like an over sized rotten trembling tomato.

The tall young man whispered to the miniature old man's ears and instantly his features eased. Languidly he produced crooked, toothless—teeth rotten to the gums—menacing grin. He nodded jubilantly and took the bandaged hand of the tall man which he carefully unwrapped revealing a bright red flesh of what remained of the man's thumb. Casually, he pressed his lips against it and nibbled on the flesh. Satisfied, he wrapped it back, tucked it away and directed his cataract eaten eyes at the dark corner where two glowing dots and half of a pale face was seen.

"We will find her you know." he said licking the smudge of red flesh on the corner of his wrinkled lips. "I know someone who can—a woman. She agreed. She works for me now. If you're wise, which I have no doubt you are, you will change your mind." he tapped his tiny trembling fingers noisily on the wooden arm of the chair. "Send me a letter."

The handsome pale faced man was suddenly visible, not just half of his face but his entire figure. He sat with his slender legs crossed. He wore all black, covering every inch of his skin except for his face, "I must leave now."

"Send me a letter and you can worry no more." he said. "I will leave you in peace. All I ask is your daughter, whom you will never have the liberty of meeting anyway."

The pale man stood, "You have no use of her. She's human."

The pouched face man laughed, like a coin scratched against pebbles.   "Apple trees don't yield oranges. And monsters don't bore angels."

"She's human."

"And vampires don't bore human children, Mister Felix." he said prolonging the 'x'.

The candle burned out and the six foot tall young man with his one good hand, lighted it back using a golden rimmed, diamond embedded lighter given to him by the man sitting on his lap who was now unwrapping his other hand and nibbling at his index finger, tearing the flesh and breaking the bones. But he felt no pain. He then whispered to the old man that their guest had left.

The odd man nodded.

"I have come this far."  He spat a thick yellow greenish phlegm and blood on the wooden polished floor. "I don't have much to live," he coughed violently, "and you're the last one, I think. I must conserve you until—" he was interrupted by his own fit of cough. "Until she's of right age, which, if my calculation is right, would be twenty years from now." he said taking a deep and rasping breath. "But I'd like to have her soonest, just to make sure she doesn't die before she ripens. It would be a shame."