They Call me Verona

Chapter 1

July 24th

I awoke to darkness as deep as Poe's nightmares. My head throbbed like the pounding pulse of his "Tell Tale Heart". Even the pitch blackness stung my eyes. What the devil had happened? I tried to remember, but the waves of pain in my head prohibited coherent thought. With a Herculean effort, I managed to sit up. I discovered that I had been lying on a stone floor. Why was it so completely dark? It seemed to me that there should be some light. Even a little would allow my vampiric eyes to see. I'd always thought my incredible, cat-like night vision was one of the few benefits I had reaped from becoming a blood-sucking demon. I stood when I recalled that I had my cellular phone in my pocket. To my utter dismay, when I went in search of it, I found myself completely nude.

"Well done, Verona," I said aloud to myself, disgusted. "You have landed yourself in a fantastic predicament this time."

Then I remembered what had happened, and my humiliation nearly eradicated my headache. Erinida. I had been with her, again. We had been trading stories of past exploits when she looked me square in the eye, told me how much she valued me, and hit me in the temple with the hilt of the antique silver dagger she always carried. She had caught me completely off guard. What a fool I was.

It was only now I realized I'd not known her at all. More alarming still: I would not have cared. Even if I had known she'd had treachery planned for me I would have stayed with her still. She was beautiful and a vampire and that was good enough for me. Well, it was too late to change it now, even if that had been my desire. The remaining pain faded as I set my mind to the problem at hand. No, not problem, problems. The first of which was finding a way out of wherever I was.

After stumbling about like a drunken fool for a moment, I found a wall. I was enormously proud of this small accomplishment. Good boy, I thought, you can find a wall in a room that certainly has at least four of them. Even my self-mocking did not lift my spirits. The wall, like the floor, was cold, hard and entirely smooth. What manner of room had completely smooth stone walls and no light?

I followed the wall to the right all the way around four corners and found a recess in which I discovered the door. I wanted to bash my head against it in frustration when I realized it stood only inches to the left of where I had begun searching for it. No matter, I had found it. Now, what to do with this newly discovered door was the next, rather daunting task. I felt the edges and found the door handle. It seemed to have been locked from the other side, the handle would not so much as budge.

"Well, of course," I said to myself. "What did you expect, you dunce?"

So, I did what any other logical, calm, patient man would do in such a situation. I banged on the door with all my might and demanded my freedom. I would share my precise words, but I am slightly ashamed of referring to a lady in such language. I have always desired to be a gentleman, even when women have proven treacherous. When my fists were finally sore and I could yell no longer, I stood there panting, leaning my forehead against the cold metal door. It was an incredibly sturdy door; even with my vampire strength I could not so much as dent it. I absently wondered if it was plated with silver. That was when I heard her. Erinida was standing just the other side of the door and she was laughing.

"Open this door," I said keeping my voice low and threatening. I knew she could hear me, yet she continued laughing. "You wretched bitch, release me." Alright, so it does not always bother me to speak to a woman that way. She had earned it, after all. Had I been insanely rude enough to lock her up like an animal, I would expect to be renounced by her with similar terminology.

To my utter astonishment, her laughter ceased and I heard the beeping of the keypad on the electronic lock. I took a step back and the door swung open outward. The light that poured into the room was blinding. It took several seconds of blinking before I could focus my eyes. My headache returned full-force. There she was, standing in the doorway looking as at ease as ever and actually smiling.