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Thame Arts and Literature Festival Short Story Contest 2016 - Finalist
Lord Black
Every Halloween I throw the biggest ball in town. All the town applies for tickets, but only a lucky two hundred can attend; or some might say, unlucky!
For I use Halloween night to get the best candy a vampire can.
Blood!
My guest come to my manor, once set far from the little farm village; now two hundred years later the town butts up to my property. The edge of it runs along my dry stone wall made by master builders and their apprentices three hundred years ago.
The large manor and the prime farm estate belonged to Lord Forge, rich beyond words from mills and wise investments. His granddaughter at sixteen was arranged to be married to my brother. A tactical marriage for both families. I had felt quite jealous when my brother was offered despite my knowledge of money and the markets. Equally capable of finishing physical labour tasks.
Consumption and fatigue took my dear brother before he reached eighteen.
I was given in his place to the beautiful grand daughter of the Lord.
After ten years of marriage, Julia's father passed. His empire became mine, so too the manor estate. What I had not counted on was the current Lord, my father in law, being a pawn. A front. A face of his empire.
Behind his success was a demon. It seemed Lord Forge, and my father in law had not been paying the bills. The demon came by unexpectedly one foul winter night, to get his long awaited dues. The old man arrived by carriage. His stride confident, not the gate of a man with a face lined with wrinkles. He held himself like a man half his age.
After hours of fierce arguments and debate, the demon, frustrated, took what was owed. Over the table he marched in his fine boots, never did they touch the table, but yet they thundered on it. Ripping off his coat and waist jacket, he pounced on me like a tiger or bear from the exotic country's far away that I'd heard tales about. His eyes blinded, the iris white as a winter snowstorm.
Fangs protruded from his mouth, two sharp fearsome points.
Now, I wasn't a small man, but he overpowered me easily. The old slim man, demon, attacked me like a wild furious beast. His mouth on my neck, those fangs puncturing my skin. I struggled in his grip, but it was sturdy and immensely strong. My youthful body at its peak strength, no match despite his senior age. Exhaustion from exsanguination crippled me, I fell, he followed.
Adding a final insult to his wicked act. He fed me his bitter blood from his body! I had no fight left in me to resist his macabre drink.
"You will live long enough to see me claim back all I am owed," he whispered jubilantly.
Frantic banging broke the white eyed monsters glare.
Julia pounded on the locked study door. Screaming my name.
