The Private Journal

May 6, 2000

         I can not explain why I am so suddenly compelled to write I have not picked up a journal in many years but perhaps time will tell as to the reason, if there be any, for this odd compulsion of mine.

         I should probably note that the American South West is one of the strangest places I have yet to be within the span of my life. Never since my days in Salem watching their infamous witch trials have I ever seen such a massive convergence of over zealous religious heretics. The hospitality down here is as great as rumored though. I wish I could say more for the region, but that is so far the only bright part I have discovered during my week here.

         The people here are so nice at least to one's face, but I will detail this statement later on. Preachers' families openly take needy passerby in, it almost makes me feel sorry for them when I drain them as they sleep, but as I said almost. Cases such as last night are actually all that keep me from being too much of a bleeding heart to drain these kind hearted folk, my gods I'm starting to write like they talk...

         Indeed it would be hard to sustain myself if they were as perfect as their facades appear. The family at who's table I am currently writing this was a seemingly happy, kindred, giving sort of one. The children, a brother and sister, helped lead a flourishing small town youth ministry, the Father a regionally renowned preacher, and the mother a seemingly quaint home maker. I know it is odd for a vampire to sympathize with religious types especially Christians but I do with those whom are truly devout, and these people seemed to be just that. They were humble appearing and openly gave to anyone who such needed it, as they did to me when they saw me walking down a road in their town carrying nothing but a bag of clothes and dressed in some dusty old fashioned cowboy clothes.

         They took me in for the night, fed me (though I do not require such sustenance I humored them), and did quite well to keep me peacefully entertained. In fact their facade was so well put up that after the nightly church service I didn't believe I'd be able to drain them, that soon changed after they went to bed.

         I had decided to wait until about one to feed, by the time of this decision I had decided to take my feeding to another house. As one neared I heard foot steps seemingly going from the brother's to the sister's room followed by what sounded like a light struggle followed by an eery silence. Intrigued I silently walked from my room towards hers, only to find the door locked. Deciding not to cause a ruckus I simply made myself thin and slipped through the crack of the door. Once inside to my utter dismay I found the sister bound and gagged on the bed sobbing face down as her brother, facing away from me, was raping her. Disgusted I stealthily walked behind her brother and with one swift movement snapped his neck like a twig and drained him, leaving him on the floor when I finished.

         Turning to the sister who was still sobbing on the bed and I can only assume had assumed that her brother had merely finished abruptly and left I turned her towards me. Fearfully she gazed into my eyes with a look that seemed to convey that she knew I was going to do the same to her as had her brother. However, much to the contrary I simply whispered sleep now young child and placing my hand over her eyes she passed out in a spell.

         Wearily I turned my attention to their parents and made my way to their room. I made little effort in draining and killing the father as he slept without waking the mother. However, when I turned my attention to the mother she awoke as my mouth touched the hypersensitive skin of her neck. Quickly she placed a finger to my mouth and bade me to go with her quietly to the guest room and not wake her husband, who unknown to her at this time was already dead. Knowing this would
be interesting I conceded and we went silently back into the guest room. Once inside she flung herself upon me, kissing me and telling me her husband was unable to fulfill her wild desires, that she needed the touch of a real man. Seeing little harm in this venture I let her continue and once I had satisfied myself. Then once she was within the enthralls of our physical ecstasy I bit her neck and drained her as her body was convulsing and shaking still, making sure to snap her neck swiftly as I did so, like I had done the father and son. This canceled out any chance of turning her and ensured that she died humanely letting the wondrous feeling she was experiencing carry her soul happily to the other side.

         At this point the only problem left was the daughter. In fact as I sit here writing this I am still unsure what to do with her, and seeing as she is still asleep I can not come to a decision yet.

         Hark! Something stirs it must be her awakening from the slumber. I believe I shall write the outcome later.


May 6, 2000. Continued.

         I must make haste in writing this entry, but I will skip as little detail as possible, as there have been some interesting developments, shall I say involving the girl, whom I shall identify as nothing more than Jane Doe lest I lose this journal and someone who's eyes were not meant to see such knowledge find it.

         I had made much haste back to the room and found the girl still bound and in quite a panic. (It should probably be noted that I left her that way so that in case she awoke in a frenzied state that she would not have an opportunity to run out the door and compromise my position or identity.) As I made my way towards her she cringed and moved towards the wall that her bed touched defensively. In an attempt to calm her or at least gain some of her trust I spread my hands from my sides my open palms facing her and continued my slow, methodical walk towards her stooping beside her bed and looking her dead in the eye. Seeing this, as I had feared, had little effect in diminishing her fear I began to speak slowly but firmly with the girl.

         "Jane, I need you to trust me here. I do not wish to harm you." She began to almost panic as I said this and I began to feel the immense despairing fear begin to flow through her aura greatly intensifying my fears in this already very tense situation. "Please, understand I want to help you if I can. Your life here is over as you know it, but I have something of great significance to offer unto you." Her face began to soften as a look of bewildered confusion ran over her. I knew I was getting through to her, but the question still remained of how much she could believe me.

         "Come child, and let me unbind you so that we may talk and discuss things yet to come," with a fearful sort of hesitation she allowed me to and as I was unbinding her hands I said as encouragingly as I could, " and anyways if I had truly wanted to hurt you I'd of had more than plenty of time to do so before now." At that statement she actually relaxed it seemed as if a weight had been lifted from her and much to my complete and utter shock she actually fell back into my arms resting her head against my chest. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her waist holding her somewhat tightly. I remember distinctly blushing at this, though I doubt I'll ever admit doing so to another living soul.

         At this we began to calmly speak, I told her of what had transpired within her house the night before. How I had saved her from the ravishing of her brother, which she said she had already known, and of how I killed her mother and father, only leaving out the exact details of what happened between her mother and I. This left her almost completely unchanged, almost disturbingly so for me. In fact I was beginning to become quite unnerved myself thinking she was quite possibly plotting against me when she spoke up with news that only further shocked me as to the evils of her family. I wish I could remember her exact words to quote her but they're slipping me at the moment, hopefully my memory will grow better with practice but for my ease and time's sake this brief description shall have to suffice.

         She told me of how her father had abused her in such a way from an early age, her mother had known all along, and had even joined in at times. Once her brother had come of age they brought him into the mix. The relations she described were very perverse and in all honesty turned my stomach greatly. Actually, forget even the suggestion of me quoting this I do not ever wish to recall it.

         After this discussion, as she lay sobbing in my arms from the emotional breakdown of reliving far more disturbing memories than I had ever wanted to know of, I began to speak to her of the dark gift. Yes, Vampyrism.

         I explained to her that she could make a new life either for herself or with me living for the potential of eternity. She eagerly took to this idea. This was yet another thing about her that shocked me seeing as most people I have turned took far more convincing. However, these were not normal circumstances. I told her how the process would take three days after I drank from her, at which point she would die and after sunset rise again and be the same as I. Immediately she pointed out the oddity in the correspondence with this process and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I pointed out that it was closer to satyric irony than anything else due to the fact that he died and then three days later rose again, and in this process you die for three days finally completely dying upon the third and reviving upon the night of the third day.

         At this we embarked. I have agreed to keep her asleep for the three day process. She feels this will make her closer to her god in someway so I will amuse her. When I was putting her to sleep she amused me even further by asking if Jesus was a zombie, I assume this was her way of attempting to laugh off her nervousness.

         For now however the deed is done. I shall remain in this house for three days watching over her and dispose of her family in the mean time.


May 7, 2000

         I took great painstaking care in properly disposing of her family in such a way no one would be able to discover what happened. I will just note that hydrochloric acid while hard to find and even harder to make is well worth it for permanently removing all traces of a body from existence. Indeed I am of one-hundred percent certainty that if the police or anyone else come to check on them it will look as if they simply skipped town or the country suddenly leaving all belongings here.

         I have given great thought as to taking to prowl tonight, but I am unsure as to my need to. After all I am still quite gorged from last night, however tomorrow night I must give hunt and gather some blood for Jane as well,she will need her strength when she awakes for I have many things to teach her. The most important of which being how to become immune to sunlight. It's not so much a technique as it is a ritual, but it can be quite sapping on oneself and none other than her can perform it. For sake of her religion I shall have to Catholicize the ritual calling upon the saints whom the gods in the original ritual were taken from. I shall write the ritual down for her sake later and gather the ritual items in the mean time. First I shall have to make some research as to if there are any differences between early Catholic spell crafting rituals, early Pagan, and modern Wiccan ones. In order to do this I shall have to re-obtain a copy of Cornelius Agrippa's "Of Magickal Ceremonies" and Peter De Abano's "Heptameron". Once I have gone over these works I should be able to begin in a fashion that should not offend the poor girl.

         Speaking of her though, she seems to be growing even more lovely as the transformation takes place. Her skin has developed an almost a pearly pallor causing her now golden blond hair to become ever so radiant. Her lips have developed more of a sanguine color as well. It is almost too much for accurate description, but it causes me to wonder whether or not her eyes shall remain the same sky blue they were before we started. I've never seen a hair color change in a turning before. It is most strange to me.

         Enough of her for now though I am starting to believe myself becoming obsessed with her. We mustn't stay here long though. Considering her family's prominence in the community they will be missed shortly, a thought I completely overlooked before. I believe now is the time I shall start to pack what we shall need for our journey and begin search for a cave or some form of shelter nearby, just in case I should have to make a hasty retreat with the girl.

         I shall write of this in further detail once I have all the details arranged, it will serve as a guide to aid me re-locate the shelter when and if we need it.


May 8, 2000

         Tonight was yet another odd one. In fact after the events I almost feel as if I should be writing in blood instead of ink. Actually thinking about it with as blood stained as my clothes are currently it will be a miracle if this page does not become at least a little blood soaked. I'm not sure why but I always feel so much more alive after eviscerating a foe. I do so abhor violence though it is almost a conundrum, but until I learn of a better fitting reason I can only attribute it to my state of being. I am beginning to ramble philosophical nonsense I must stay on task at least with this entry.

         As I noted yesterday I was to look for a place of refuge in case the need of such should arise. The entire event was quite the oddity I must admit and ended in surprises that I could not have foreseen. It has been months, maybe even years by human time since I last came upon another Vampire. I guess being the lone wolf that I am there is no surprise in that, I do not particularly enjoy the company of many others of my kind. A certain clan in particular for the most part is too wild and uncontrolled for my taste refusing to even battle their hunger when it arises and going about things in such a beastly manner. It is no wonder legend and myth depicts us as such vulgar beasts too far removed from the light for redemption. Alas! Philosophical nonsense yet again! I must keep my head straight and on task, may that last note help will me to stay focused and on track.

         I'm not quite sure where to begin recording tonight's venture, so I shall start from right before I left as to hopefully include even the smallest, yet even so still significant, detail.

         To begin everything I decided to dress in full black on this evening. I in no way wanted to be seen by any living soul, the people around here do not seem to take kindly to creatures of the night so any attention I might have drawn to myself would have been supremely negative to my goal of locating and securing a safe haven. I kept the articles of clothing to a mostly light and tight fitting variety. I wore nothing but a plain long sleeved shirt, a rugged pair of jeans, and pair of combat boots with secret bladed compartments in the toe and heel of each boot, the only accessory I burdened myself with was a katana, which I discovered in the brother's room which I strapped to my back as not to hinder my mobility. After dressing I paid a quick visit to the sleeping beau... err... to Jane and made sure to fortify the sleeping spell just in case I did not make it back tonight for any reason what so ever. Finally, I did a quick round ensuring the perimeter was secure before finally taking off into the black veil of the night.

         Immediately I directed my course towards a wooded area I had noted upon my entry into town. It was by no means a large area only approximately five to ten acres, however, I had to make do with what I could after all my time to search was very limited. I am still unsure as to whether or not anyone owns the land though. That will be a hurdle for another time though, but after surveying the land I can say with an almost certainty that if it is under the ownership of mundane man then it receives little tending if any, let alone human traffic. There were many fallen trees in the area and the underbrush was very thick in most parts making the trek most difficult, even for me. In fact, it hindered me so much that I decided getting an aerial view would have to suffice and took to running along the lower branches of the trees. Not knowing at the time that this would soon come to greatly benefit me. Looking back I quite firmly believe I would have most assuredly been sent back to the grave tonight if I had not done so. I will further detail this shortly though.

         It had been about an hour before I came across a reasonable opening in the earth that held the tell tale signs of a cavern. I was overjoyed by this and almost hastily descended upon it when I heard what sounded like several figures heading my way. Instinctively I withdrew higher into the branches ensuring my anonymity amongst the shadows, shielding myself in the case of an aggressor. I then bade myself to watch for what was causing all the commotion. As I watched a ragged, yet strong looking male charged through the brush underneath me. There was a certain look of intense fear upon his face that I had never seen before in any living creature, almost as if he was afraid for more than family, life, liberty and soul. The image of which I will never be able to get out of my memory... I felt an intense pity for the soul. Yes, it is true that I did not know his plight but his fear did not seem like the fear of a villain or a heretic nor that I had seen of anyone in trouble due to some ill gain, and thus I felt compelled to follow him. I can honestly convey that I did not wish to. His plight was not mine and I had no reason to, but my body seemed to guide itself hovering above him as he ran. I watched him as he inevitably grew weak and weary, eventually slowing but never looking over his shoulder to see if the now thunderous sounding thing chasing him was gaining on him. He always remained eyes forward, his eyes transfixed upon his forward surroundings desperately searching for the best path in which to flee.

         But then it happened... A sudden misstep, he lost his footing and viciously flew headlong into a tree. Panting he scrambled to his feet, the desperate look of fear in his eyes growing more intense by the moment as if he knew this was the end, he seemed to know death was descending upon him. He barely had time to begin running again when the first lycan jumped out from the underbrush towards him, it knew it was victorious... It knew it's prey was about to fall before it and become meat for the others... But on this occasion it knew wrong. I still do not know what compelled my action for sure, though it was probably the look in the man's eyes. It was still the same as before, nothing had changed... It had compelled me to follow him and now it had compelled me to kill for him.

         With a swiftness that not even had known of myself, I withdrew the blade from its sheath and descended upon the beast, pinning its skull into the ground. At that point instinct had taken completely over, I am not certain whether it was survival or another but instinct none the less. The remainder of the pack fell upon us and died like lambs led to slaughter.

         Sheathing the sword I turned to the man, and noticed his canine teeth were abnormally large, he was like me, a member of my kind. Still afraid he began to back away, not yet running he seemed too stunned at the moment. I approached him slowly holding out my arms as I had done to Jane in days past with my palms open and told him not to fear me, I was not his enemy. He only stood there silently, dumbfounded. At this point I was beginning to grow irritated with him and not wanting to wait around for more foes I told him as firmly as I could that if he wished to live then he would have to follow me. Other words his choice was to lie in wait for his messengers of death to return. I simply walked away after that, and to my heart's unexplained happiness if not utter joy he followed me, yet remained silent the entire journey back to Jane's house.

         When we arrived I instructed him to clean up and directed him towards the shower. Hopefully he will be willing to talk when he gets out. I am most curious as to why he was being hunted down like that. Yes, it is common knowledge that Vampires and lycans do no exactly get along, but we do not hunt one another. Some of us are even allies.


May 8, 2000. Continued.

         I was standing in the guest room, after changing, when the man returned dressed the Jane's late father's Sunday suit which he had used for his sermons. Without a second though he descended upon my discarded clothing. They were still moist with blood, and he licked and sucked as much blood out as he could. He seemed voracious, almost starved and considering his attire the entire scene was almost comical to me. The idea of a vampire priest seemed absurd to me at the time so it is not hard to see why I chuckled at him. Immediately he seemed to take offense to this and hurriedly backed away looking down with a shameful look in his eyes.

         I could tell he had not been a vampire long, he could not even control his hunger when set off by a blood soaked pile of clothes. This youngling, what I call a vampire who has not yet learned that it can control its hunger or who is still in the process of learning to do so, was in definite need of refining and my laughing had most definitely not helped him cope with his condition. I must have made him feel foolish and weak even though I certainly had not intended to. So at this point I tried to distract him from what I had just witnessed. I began walking towards him and extended my hand in a warm greeting, "Hello, again I'm glad to see you have washed and found some respectable clothing. I am known as Fireraven Hollowheart, though my birth name has been lost and forgotten for many ages."

         At first he looked almost bewildered by my civility and well mannered behavior. It was then that I began to understand that he must of been changed by the more uncivilized of our kind, so I could understand why he would have such a reaction. However, after staring in such a manner for a brief moment he clasped my hand and shook it firmly, still making no attempt talk back to me. Admittedly I was a little discouraged so I pried at him hoping that if I began questioning him that he might answer. "What do they call you?" I asked first. Another look of bewilderment ran across his face, and he began looking around nervously. At this point I had begun to wonder if was wasting my time, but prompted the question once more hoping to garner at least some response.

         A pained expression came across his face and he simply muttered, "haud nomen," and looked down fearfully as if I might strike him down. I was shocked, no wonder he did not speak. He was of the haud nomen, Latin for no name. He was banished from vampyric society, black listed, an outcast among outcasts. I immediately took sympathy towards this.

         "Do not worry, I will not harm you. You have done nothing to me therfore I have no reason to harm you, and for some reason unknown even to myself I do feel compelled to help you." A look of confusion came over his face as I said this, and I understood why. He was banished, he had no name amongst vampires, effectively making him nothing to anyone. His hunts were fair game to others, his life forfeit to our kind, he had committed one of the biggest heresies against vampire kind and as such was almost beyond redemption. It is true I had no idea what he had done, but to put it frankly I did not care. I consider certain vampire law illogical and lacking in many of the fundamental aspects by which human law is defined. For example one could receive a haud nomen status simply by refusing to feed off of a human in some clans. I have even heard some cases where a vampire with a conscious had been executed on the spot for not raping his prey when his clan leader, or Gens Rector as is the proper term, had commanded it. It is for reasons such as these that I abhor most of my kind. It is also the reason by which I could sympathize with all, or at least most, haud nomen.

         I wanted to better understand this man so I asked him what the cause of his exile had been. The story he told me was long and I can not quote it verbatim as I would like. I will, however, describe it as best I can. He had been turned by a vicious war mongering clan known as the Iron Sickle. I personally do not know of this clan, but by the description he gave me I can say for a fact that they are a ruthless, well oiled killing machine with a destructive power to match that of the military might of Germany at the beginning of World War II. They had no code of honor, at least by any reasonable standard. The hunt was their purpose in life, and the corruption of the pure their most profane love. I am not just speaking of raping virgins here, their sickening lusts extend to an even more sickly ground. I know that rape is by no means something to be taken lightly but neither is abducting a person who is true to their religion, turning them against their will, and then slowly torturing them until they reach their breaking point, cursing their god. I suppose after a man in is exposed to such tortures that there is not much that he can do to cope except become that which tortured him so.

         This man though was obviously no ordinary man. From his description it had been a month since he had been turned. A full month without blood. A full month of watching the ravishing of young women, and the slow torturous deaths of entire families and churches. He had seen preachers killed on their knees as they prayed to their god for deliverance from the evil which surrounded them. Their daughters brutally raped to death, while their mothers were forced to watch, with tongues cut out so they could make little sound of protest, and babies decapitated with their heads placed upon pikes. Sadly this only names a few of the sickening things he witnessed. I know not how he is still sane nor how he conveyed this to me as calmly as he did, but I sense a strong resolve within him. I believe that without this there would not have been a way for him to bide his time long enough to escape.

         However, he was unaware that the clan had lycan slaves. Lugaru to be more specific on the breed, men that could turn into wolves at will. This worked to his unwitting advantage though. I believe that they only let him escape because they knew the wolves would make quick work of him. It would only be a matter of time until they realized their slaves had been killed in his stead though. Which puts an entirely new sense of urgency on everything; the second Jane wakes we must flee. I may be a very ancient and powerful vampire but this clan has several members that may be able to match my strength.

         For now I am going to take the man, whom by this point has identified himself as Jack Seven, out to hunt. He will need his strength, and I must feed as well tonight. He refuses to feed on humans so we will take our hunt to a nearby zoo or perhaps a hospital blood bank if we must. We shall gather some additional blood for Jane, as well as the necessary ritual items to allow both of them to be able to move under the sun. This may be our greatest strength in the days to come if the Iron Sickle decides to chase us. Only time can tell for certain though. May the gods have mercy us.


May 9, 2000

         I find zoos are the most useful place to train a youngling to control their hunger. They are a place where if one animal is killed it is of little consequence to us. However, if multiple animals end up dead over night it would be something publicized on television, possibly drawing undesired attention our way. We started by partially draining several of the larger animals, because I knew Jack would be able to pull himself away from them before killing one.

         The lions were our first target because their diet includes the most fresh life energy of any other animal here, and thus would be the most filling. There were three in the cage two lioness,one of which was showing the early signs of pregnancy, and one lion. All three were sound asleep completely and fully unaware of our stealthy and potentially lethal approach. As we neared I instructed Jack not to touch to pregnant one as she would need all her strength for her cubs, he nodded in understanding and carefully descended upon the other lioness, biting her neck. For a few minutes time seemed to stand still as he drained his prey, but remarkably without me having to tell him to stop he pulled away leaving his victim with more than enough blood to survive. Impressed I descended upon the other lion gathering most of the blood that I would need. Afterwords I removed a small plastic Tupperware container from the back pack I had brought with us and filled it to the brim with the beast's blood. I then securely sealed the container, wrapping it with duct tape to ensure that it did not spill. Finally placing the container carefully back into the bag.

         As the lions continued to sleep as if nothing had ever transpired we made our leave, entering the bear cage next to them. Immediately we were caught off guard and Jack barely managed to duck under a swipe that could have taken his head clear off. Swiftly I did I flip jump over the bear, waving it to sleep, barely managing to twist in time as a second bear attempted to pin me to the ground. As I landed I did I quick leg sweep knocking the gargantuan beast's legs out from under it and sending it hurtling away, only stopping as it rolled into the wall of the cage and fell unconscious from the blow. I turned around to see if any there were any others, only to find Jack on the defensive against two more of them. He was rolling between the legs of two of them expertly using their own bodily weight and lack of speed against them.

         I watched him for a few moments hoping that he would make some sort of offensive movement towards them to end it, he seemed to refuse to though. So I stepped in taking both of them by surprise and cracking both of their skulls together leaving them completely unconscious upon the floor. Satisfied with my work I turned to Jack and complimented him on his skillful distracting of the pair. He smiled bashfully and asked how he could help with the rest of the plan so I threw him two more Tupperware containers and instructed him to fill them. I did the same, biting into one of the bear's throats and draining its blood into two additional containers. We securely sealed them in the same manner as the first and then proceeded to finish filling ourselves on the other two bears.

         After this we made our way silently towards the exit of the zoo. Something seemed to be watching us though that I had not noticed before. It was a lone figure, moving alone in the shadows. However, far to quickly to pinpoint from scent alone. Unnerved I motioned Jack to stop, and closed my eyes to try and pinpoint its location from its aura. I could sense it was another Vampire, not as strong as I but far stronger than Jack. Immediately I assumed it had been sent to hunt him down. I figured if I called it out I could get it to show itself instead of immediately instigating violence. "Brother, come out we mean no harm," I yelled out, Jack immediately tensed up moving behind me with a confused look upon his face. From the shadows of a building in front of us a huge hulking figure emerged. It had the build of a body builder and was dressed like a ragged savage carrying a spiked whip with it. It was obviously the slave task master of the Iron Sickle, there was no doubt in my mind. He was here for Jack. I did not want him to realize that I knew he was here to fight, the more off guard that I could catch him the better. "What brings you out here tonight? I was not aware that any other of our kind enjoyed the blood of animals." I lied.

         The bruiting figure grunted staring at me and then to Jack almost as if sizing us up before making his reply. "I am here for no such reason. I am only here to see if my lugaru ran here after I sent them after a filthy haud nomen. I assumed this would be the best place to start looking, there is no way such a weak, pathetic and impudent young pup could have killed them."

         I smiled at the figure, inwardly it was a smile of relief knowing that he had not come here specifically to fight us, outwardly it was a smile of acknowledgment of the figure's dilemma. "I can assure you there are no lugaru here. I did not see a wolf exhibit for them to hide in, nor have I come across their foul odor."

         He laughed at this statement. "Then it is a shame, it seems I have wasted my time in coming here. Unless by chance you can tell me if you have come across a haud nomen recently. It would please my Gens Rector greatly to have his head." As he said this he began staring at Jack. I could tell he recognized him but I would not give myself away just yet.

         "No," I lied again, "I have only come across this youngling recently. He is nothing like the haud nomen you have described. His name is Jack, a fine specimen indeed he seems to be growing remarkably fast. He shows more restraint than most of our kind already and has already started mastering his new found strengths."

         The brute smiled wickedly, "Jack you say? If he has a name then he could not possibly be a haud nomen, now could he?" He began sauntering towards us menacingly, but far from violently. "Unless of course one of you has lied to me." He raised the hand with the whip in it remarkably fast for someone of his size and let it fly at Jack, a psychotic look of joy overcoming him as he did so.

         Swiftly I moved to intercept ripping the whip out of its intended flight path, gripping it firmly. "Bad move. You do not know the world of pain you have just brought upon yourself."

         Cockily the figure laughed as if I were no challenge to it. "And who are you to make such an assertion? You look small and frail to me. This fight will not last five minutes."

         I smiled, "Indeed, in fact it's already over." I tightened my grip on the whip and with one mighty tug pulled him towards me, my other hand extended as if it were a blade in front of me. A look of horror came over his face as he looked down only to see my hand in his gut. I smiled squeezing his stomach tauntingly, "I thought you said I was weak, pup?" He scowled insulted by the term and by my mocking him. I then proceeded to rip out his stomach, and watched as he fell lifeless to the ground. "Jack, you should drain him to acquire his strength. We will need it for when they send more after you." He hesitated, eying the body as if it were stricken with the plague. I could not understand his hesitation, this was his enemy. "Do it Jack!" I urged once more impatiently.

         "How will doing this help me?" He asked still staring at the body with contempt.

         "Any time you drain something you gain its strength. That is how we get stronger. Now, you can either do it or burden me by having to defend you at all times. I may not always be here to protect you, you have to to do this." He sulked in defeat and drained the body, but insisted upon a proper burial. Afterwords we left, making our stop to pick up supplies for the ritual on our way back to wake Jane. Tonight is the night. She will finally awaken as one of us. Free to lead a new life and forge her own destiny. Everything is ready, it is finally time to wake her.


May 9, 2000. Continued.

         What has seemed like the longest wait of my life has finally come to an end, Jane is finally awake. The change was remarkable, never before have I seen a physical change like this during a turning. I mean yes they tend to become paler, but not with such an iridescent glow, such as her now pearl like pallor. Nor had I ever seen hair change so drastically, as I have previously mentioned her hair which was once brown is now a radiant shade of golden blond. This combined with the sanguine color of her lips and the sheer beauty of her eyes, which thank the gods are still the most lovely shade of sky blue I have ever seen, was enough to send chills down my spine as I woke her from her slumber. In all honesty I was almost all too tempted to keep her in that state permanently just so I could stare at her like a trophy upon a mantle for all time. However, I had promised to wake her, and I did.

         She smiled radiantly upward at me as I lifted the spell and she came to, causing my heart to flutter unexpectedly. I smiled back at her and helped her sit up, asking her how she felt. She conveyed that while disturbed by her constant dreams of blood lust that she felt better than she had ever felt before, aside from an unbearable thirst. I told her that this had been expected and presented her with the five containers that Jack and I had collected during our hunt at the zoo. Almost immediately after carefully unwrapping the first container she began gulping them down. The site was almost awe inspiring, perhaps only due to my own understanding of our condition. I must say though I have rarely taken greater pleasure in watching a youngling take to their condition with such ferocity. It was not long before she had devoured all of the containers. Then to my surprise she hugged me in a tight embrace and warmly thanked me for gathering her first meal. I informed her of Jack's aid in this and conveyed to her the events of the preceding days.

         She took the news surprisingly lightly. She seemed completely and fully unafraid of what we potentially faced. I did not dare ask why but I am sure that either she is confident in either my strength or that by some divine means we will reach our deliverance. Either way she may be foolish, however, I prefer her unafraid. It gives me hope, especially if she gains strength and remains fearless. She could be a great warrior.

         Almost shrugging off the news she asked me if the ritual was prepared. I told her that it it was and led her into the guest room of the house, which I had already purified for the ritual. Once inside the room, where Jack was already waiting, I handed them both a paper with the information that they required upon it. I cautioned them to take utmost seriousness with the ritual, as one false move or pretense could ruin the entire thing and cause their death. They both looked at me solemnly and swore they would take care and follow the directions as written. I smiled and left them to their work. It would take up the remainder of the night and require hours of deep meditation. So I left them in order to let them work undisturbed.

         At first I just decided to walk around the house, but that grew tiresome quickly. I was nervous about the entire undertaking at hand, and needed some distraction. So I decided to take a walk outside to hopefully find something to take my mind off of it. Silently I slipped through the front door and made my way down the street. As I have begun to love about this region the streets were deserted, excluding the few cats and other various nocturnal animals, and everything was calm. I took a casual stroll around the block, occasionally taking note of specific houses that seemed to have good potential for feeding from. Eventually I expanded my walk, and for an odd reason I felt drawn to the zoo again. I knew not why at the time, but it soon became quite evident.

         As I neared the zoo, perhaps only blocks away I sensed someone or something watching me. Still a little on edge, sadly but admittedly, from earlier I paid far more attention to this feeling than I normally would. As I grew closer, the feeling intensified and I began to feel an all too familiar aura. Though I could not place it at the time, I could recall having felt it before long ago. It was distinctly cold, like that of a serial killer. I did not like this feeling, in this region it could be none other than that of a vampire, but I did not believe it possible that I would know a member the Iron Sickle. It seemed implausible, after all every psychotic vampire I had ever known should still be in Europe. So it is reasonable to see why by this time I was desperately wandering who it could be.

         Eventually, I drew close enough to it to pinpoint where it was. Slowly I drew in a breath to calm myself, and called out to it asking for it to reveal itself. At this time I was in a small desolate and well shadowed alley near the zoo. Slowly he emerged from the shadows showing at first nothing but his pale, thin face smiling sinisterly at me. As he emerged I could see that he was dressed lightly, bondage straps with small blades criss-crossed his well toned muscular upper body, a pair of tight leather pants covered his legs perfectly contouring to his sleekly toned leg muscles and leading almost seamlessly to a black pair of boots.

         As he slowly walked towards me laughing coldly, almost to himself he began to speak in a cold chilling tone, "So one of the Five Civilized Vampires finally decides to show himself. I though you were all too afraid." His wicked smile curved with delight.

         Expressionless, I sat there motionless for a moment trying to remember who he was. I knew that I knew him, but from when? What era? A thousand questions blazed through my mind. Who was this cold being?

         "I can tell you do not remember me. What a shame too. I thought you might remember the one you could never hunt down. The one who killed so many, so gruesomely, expertly taunting the dimwitted bobby. All the while neither them nor the five of you could find me. Even when I revealed myself to you the most famed of all the Five Civilized I still escaped." I tensed, memories rushing back from all those years ago, "See now it is all coming back is it not? All these years, I bet you assumed I had died. Oh, how truly foolish you are. Yet, even going to these great lengths to avoid you," he began snarling angrily at this point, "you still manage to bumble your way in and meddle with my affairs!"

         My tenseness fell away. This monster was a master of stealth. I knew this, but he could not match my over all strength. In the open I alone had the advantage, as well as in such closed quarters combat. He knew this, he could not hide here. I smiled knowing this and drew a slow breath as I began to speak, "Reaver. I remember you. You prey upon the weak, the likes of you could never harm me. Why is it that you have revealed yourself to me? Why did you lead me here?"

         The smile once more returned to his face, "Perhaps I alone could never best you. But as I am sure you are now aware I am not quite alone." He began chuckling coldly once more. "I only led you here as a warning, stay out of my affairs and hand over the haud nomen that you shield or perish. What ever your decision I could care less, I will have my way one way or another." He smiled triumphantly, confidence blazing in his eyes, "You have until nightfall to decide. However, dawn approaches and I must take leave. I will leave you with one last warning though. Kill another of my clan and that girl you prize so much, she will become my next toy." He began laughing almost maniacally and disappeared dissipating into the building behind him without a trace.

         How had he known about Jane? Had he been watching me this entire time? A thousand more questions blazed through my mind like lit fuses leading to dynamite. I had not the time for this at the time, my concern was for Jane. Immediately I took off panicked, I had to ensure her safety above everything. With as much haste as I could muster I hurdled towards the house, making it there in record time. As I reached the door I slid in like a baseball player, making myself thin last moment. Slowing as I stood up, making sure not to disturb them in case they were still in the room. My heart beat fast as I made my way down the hall and peered into the room. They were safe, meditating quietly. My heart slowed, relieved. This was almost too much, we had to leave today. There was no way around it, if he could manage to bring the full force of his clan upon us we would surely perish.

         Trying not to panic further I forced myself to sit down at the table and write. Dawn breaks as I finish this entry, I must now go and break the news to them as they awake from meditation. Today, will be a grave day indeed...