The Vampyre Pair
By Kabuki
July 2000
Spoilers: IwtV
Characters: Louis, Claudia, Theodore (OMC)
Disclaimer: Louis and Claudia belong to Anne Rice and Knopf Publishing respectively. Theodore is mine.
Comments: Please. Don't be stingy.
"But first on Earth, as Vampyre sent,
Thy corpse shall from its tomb be rent;
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
And suck the blood of all thy race;
There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
At midnight drain the stream of life;
Yet loathe the banquet, which perforce
Must feed thy livid living corpse. "
-- George Gordon, Lord Byron "The Giaour"
Theodore glanced up once again at the tiny figure so engrossed in her regular volumes. The librarians had long ago left off their polite words to the girl, suggesting children's books in favor of Latin texts on death and damnation. How could such a small child be capable of even lifting, let alone reading or comprehending such texts? It was a mystery to the young author, and even though he was technically on holiday in the relatively new section of American soil purchased fairly recently from Napoleon, he was tempted to write a poem or story passage about the fascinating youngster.
He had been watching the girl for at least five nights from a safe and unobtrusive distance as she turned yellowed pages of archaic writing with her tiny hands. Her eyes moved over the pages more swiftly than any of the scholars Theodore had ever chanced upon, and her determined manner evidenced in pursed lips and drawn brow made her all the more a curious figure. She was almost always alone in the mammoth library, save for a lone gentleman of good stature and fine profile that spoke softly to the child as though intimately aquatinted. Both figures were of fair complexion and aesthetically pleasing components; men and women alike gave both figures a brief glance each time they appeared. Reason would proclaim the pale, dark-haired man the father of the child, yet their features were different enough to beg otherwise. Somehow, Theodore found himself shuddering when the pair were together, or as the child cast the people about her a musing glance. Her eyes were somehow disturbing, as though they were not orbs to relay vision, but the reflection of a soul far beyond the frame in years. They told of age in the youth beheld in such a dusty place, of maturity to a level of restlessness. It would have been peculiar in any woman, but it was particularly disturbing to sense within the eyes of a child.
The more Theodore watched the pair, stealing glances over random books of prose, he felt as though some part of him recognized and, stranger still, shrank from the presence of the man and girl. Not human, the instincts seemed to whisper. The very idea was unheard of in a learned man of science and the modern world, yet superstition seemed to be the stronger force in his mind. One evening, after observing the child for an entire night and finally watching her depart from the building, Theodore swallowed his fear and pride in exchange for a glimpse at the material that would so enrapture a child-thing's mind. Though he had been prepared for whatever he might come across, the subject of the massive volume was unsettling to be sure. The supernatural, vampires, death, and folklore; all were the focus of the various books left behind by a child that by all appearances should have been no more than five years of age.
What would a child want with such information?
It was weeks before Theodore chanced upon the unsettling pair once again, and in the most peculiar of instances. He was boarding a ship to further his vacation into the Old World, to seen the Mediterranean Sea and the countries bordering it. The sea air would clear him mind of poisoned thoughts and nonsensical ideas, or so he hoped when he booked passage after a close encounter with a bizarre young man not three nights after his strange discovery at the library. He had not ventured to the place again, deciding that whether supernatural phenomenon existed or not would be the subject for a scientist of sound standing instead of a writer with one foot since placed firmly in the realm of fantasy. Fear had washed over him in waves, and no amount of philosophical dialogue nor scientific fact could make the young American feel the contrary. He felt as though the world had shifted perceptibly leaving a gaping wound where logic had once reigned, for if such beasts as vampires existed in the guise of mortal men and children, what other creature must slink through the darkest night invisible to the mortal eye?
Three nights after his epiphany concerning the existence of the supernatural, Theodore had been the subject of an unwelcome visit. He had avoided the library at all costs until that eve, when doubt began to slither into his brain. Had he imagined the entire event? How could a simple child evoke such fear and loathing from a modern learned man? After much deliberation and a small glass of fine scotch, Theodore found himself walking briskly toward the building in which his strange encounter had occurred. Perhaps, he thought, the fear and disillusionment could be banished by revisiting the very spot of the encounter and, if the need arises, conversing with the child or gentleman. Surely once he had spoken to them, the fear would be dismissed and scientific reason would reaffirm herself in his mind as law.
It was on this brisk walk, however, that Theodore found himself assaulted by a pale thing in the dark. Emerald eyes flashed in the night, giving only the briefest of warning before the attack. As the beast wrestled him into an alley Theodore had the vague notion that he was being dragged away to his doom by a black panther. Dark, glossy hair fell into his face as the creature began to do something pleasurable to his throat, and only when the thing stepped back did Theodore find himself shrieking in horror. The creature before him was no jungle cat, but the gentleman who had so often accompanied the child-thing to the library. "Vampire," he gasped, then raced away as his assailant stared in surprise and wonder. Locked in his room, Theodore waited for the man, the vampire, to attack again like a beast that has gotten the taste of man in it's jaws. Had it attacked him because of his spying, or simply at random? Had the monster recognized him, was that why it relinquished its fatal bite so abruptly, or had it simply been surprised that a mortal might recognize such wickedness? Dawn arrived, and no attack had come. It was then that Theodore booked passage on a vessel to the Old World. He had to escape the Americas at any cost, for the creatures obviously lived here. Perhaps safety could be sought on another continent with an ocean between himself and the threat he had only narrowly escaped.
After boarding and making himself comfortable in his cabin weeks later, he fell into a deep sleep for no apparent reason. Upon awakening it was dark out and the land could no longer be seen from the deck of the ship. He felt safe at last with the vampires obviously so far away, and leaned against the railing for support as he chuckled his laughter softly. The sound of a person clearing her throat roused him from his musings. "Pardon me, monsieur."
Theodore turned slowly, not worried until he saw the source of the voice. The vampire child smiled softly beneath her golden curls. As he shrank away it was her turn to chuckle to herself and stare out over the ocean in contemplation. The scent of chrysanthemums followed her as she advanced upon the mortal man backed into the railing. "I saw you at the library, monsieur. You are a curious fellow." Her smile became a smirk, instantly shattering the façade of innocence. "Perhaps too curious."
~ Fin ~
