Who Is the Monster and Who Is the Man? (7/?)
Author: Rebecca
Pairings: No pairing
Ratings: R
Archiving Permission: here and my site; anyone else please ask
Disclaimer: Nope never happened but it would make a freaky movie ;-)
Summary: Cliff is a master vampire. Enough said.
Lars had just returned a few minutes ago and laid down in front of Kirk and Randy and gently played with the younger vampire�s hair for a little while. He looked over at me and said in a soft voice, �I saw Jason. He said they shouldn�t be much longer. They are looking for an easy kill for Randy to make.�
�If he can kill at all,� I muttered under my breath.
Lars gave me a sharp look and said, �He will make the kill. Alright he might need a little help in doing it but he will make the kill.�
LILLE BARN (�Little Child�)
*1349, small village in Denmark*
We entered the town outskirts three nights ago, there was no one left. There was no chorus of the dying and the living wailing into the night. The Black Plague had reached Denmark just a few months ago and was now wiping out huge numbers of people.
You would think that this would be a vampire�s paradise, with people begging death to take them. It was the farthest thing from that. While we can feed off sick people, the Black Plague is a living death, and we get �food poising� from anything dead.
The smell was horrible. Even James looked a little green around the gills.
�Cliff,� whispered Jason as he looked around the dead town square, �I don�t like it here. Can we please go? Now?�
�He�s right Cliff,� said Kirk as he looked around from the high wagon seat. �Only the souls of the dead are here now.� It had been close to five hundred years since Kirk became my child. Both he and Jason can withstand sunlight. Although, right now it was dusk and there was a slow fog rolling in from the near by coast.
�There is nowhere else to go,� I answered as I slid off my chestnut gelding. �The horses need to rest. At least here we will not be bothered by anyone.� Well that is what I thought at the time.
The next night we noticed there were new graves neatly lined up in the cemetery.
�I don�t remember smelling any one that was still alive,� commented Jason as he looked at the smallest grave with sadness in his eyes.
�None of us did,� added James as he looked around the packed graveyard. It was then we heard something heavy being dragged towards our general direction. We quickly slid back into the shadows and waited.
After a few minutes, a small person came into view dragging a corpse behind him to an opened grave. Then he gently slid the body in and started to shovel the dirt back in. At first I though it was a child burying a parent, but at closer inspection the �child� turned out to be a man in his twenties. He had long brown hair that was tied back it a hasty braid and green eyes.
I quietly walked over to him and said in a soft soothing voice, �Hello.�
He swung around and brought his shovel up in a defensive position. With feared filled eyes he sputtered out, �Who are you?�
�A traveler, along with my friends,� I answered as I nodded to the others as they come out of the shadows.
He glanced nervously over at them before looking back at me. �Then it might be best if you keep traveling. There is nothing here except the dead.�
�You�re here,� I pointed out as I studied his face. So child like and yet so very old; it looked like he hadn�t slept in ages. He looked at me for a moment longer before turning back to finish filling the grave. �Why haven�t you left yet?�
�I had to finish burying my family. Besides,� he said as he stood up straight after he finished his task, �there is no where to go.�
�Couldn�t you go to a new town,� asked Jason as he watched the small man finish packing down the dirt a little bit.
�The townspeople won�t let in any strangers,� he answered as he carefully brushed the dirt off the shovel. �Besides,� he added quietly, �I don�t want to leave.�
�Why not?� asked Kirk as he drew his cloak around him.
�This is where my family is.�
�But they�re dead,� said James as he looked around the packed graveyard.
�No shit dickhead,� snapped the smaller man as he glared at James. �Do you think I�m either blind or stupid? I know they are dead you shit for brains!� James gave a deep guttural snarl as his eyes gave off an unsettling glow. The other man gasped as he took a hasty step back and walked into Jason.
�It�s alright,� Jason murmured, �His bark is worse than his bite.� I used those same words when I first settled Kirk down when he saw James� teeth, I couldn�t help but laugh.
Once I had my laughter cut back to snickering I asked, �What is your name?�
�Lars.�
�Lars, would you like to come with us? We need someone who can speak the language to translate for us.�
�What about him?� Lars asked as he watched James with worried eyes.
�Don�t worry,� said Kirk with a bright smile, �Once he gets use to you he won�t be so snarly.� Lars snickered at that comment and James muttered something about killing off a brother to keep his sanity.
�If you did that James who would annoy you on a daily bases,� asked Jason as he gently wrapped an arm around Lars� waist.
James looked at Lars and said in a serious voice, �He will.�
James was right.
Lars became the fourth of my children in three years time.
TBC