She Came From the Shadows (James and Tera: book 2)

10

The air in the room felt colder as Felipe backed slowly away from the open door, allowing the mysterious vampire to come in, closing the door behind him. The vampire was shorter than I was, maybe by a few inches. His hair was white, and his face wrinkled yet beautiful. He must have been changed when he was in his older ages.

He wore a black suit that looked so old. Out of date. Never had I seen this in person before. I'd only seen it in westerns and other productions that were based in times before. It wasn't a suit for events like these. This party was for fun, his was a suit for a funeral. It was an old graveyard suit for a mortician.

He smiled, and leaned against the door behind him. "Now, let us settle what this complication is about."

Felipe stood a few feet from him. He stared the other vampire up and down, studying his attire. He didn't stand too close to the unknown vampire that was possibly the cause of this entire issue. Neither did I. I was standing as close to the wall opposite of him as I could get.

Felipe finally spoke. "I see." Was all he said.

I couldn't let that be it. "What's it?" I asked him. "Do you know him?"

He didn't take his eyes off of the man. "Long ago, there was a man, a vampire, who lived a life of depression. He spent centuries wishing death onto himself. That wish turned into something else. Something more dangerous."

"A wish?" I asked him.

He nodded. "The ability to live forever only to feast on blood, as well as superhuman strength and other abilities that were against nature. He thought of them as abominations to mankind."

I listened closely and assumed from what I heard. "So he was more human than vampire?"

"Si. He hated his vampire self, as well as other vampires for being able to live long and live like leeches and parasites, feasting on blood."

"What did he do?" I asked.

The mysterious vampire laughed a little. "He made us." He said.

I looked at him, petrified. "What?" I asked. "But didn't that go against his wishes?"

"No." He responded. "He was a very intelligent man. Humans came to him knowing what would happen, all for the sake of protecting mankind. I myself was one of them."

"He used them as hounds to let out and find the other vampires." Felipe answered as well. "They would help the humans, telling them where to find us and burn us during the day." He glared at the other vampire. "That was centuries ago, and since then The Undertaker has been dead, along with his followers. I never knew there was another who wore his old clothes."

"He was stopped and killed?" I asked him.

"Heavens no." The vampire answered. "He was a very intelligent being. Too intelligent to be caught and killed by anyone. He gave up his life, as well as his followers, to the humans. He and they were placed into coffins, and burned. It was their will, their choice. They were treated as heroes from another world."

"Then why are you here?" Felipe asked.

He smiled. "Because he wanted me to be here."

Felipe let out a hiss, something I'd never heard come from another human before. "You must've cowered in fear."

He shook his head. "No. Before he and my other brethren gave their lives up, he gave me a chance. He told me to hide, to never be seen again. When the time came, and when the humans were more advanced, more evolved, then lead them to our kind, to put an end to us for good."

"And what of the others here? The wolves and other beings?" Felipe asked.

He did nothing but just shrug his shoulders. "He didn't do this for just us, but for all who were stronger than normal humans. Werewolves weren't around that part of the country at the time, but they are included."