Re-Forging - 1. Chapter 1

I had already processed my memories; I had originally thought them dreams, but I wasn’t shocked by Scott’s statement. It actually brought me some peace and some resolution. It made all the disjointed memories make sense. It also made me think back to some things that had happened over the last few weeks, and, with hindsight, the clues were there. Granted, there were contradictions, but there were clues.

Scott was still staring at me, seemingly waiting for me to panic, to run screaming from the room, or to tell him I hated him for making me what I now am. Instead, I reached up and caressed Scott’s cheek like he was mine and said, “And like I promised, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you, Scotty. I’ve said we’re together forever, and now I guess this just means that forever is a little longer than I imagined, huh?”

The tears that had been building in Scott’s eyes as he struggled to tell me what had happened finally started to fall as he leaned down into my arms. As the tears turned to sobs, I heard him mumble, “I thought I lost you.”

It took a few minutes for his sobs to subside, and when he had himself under control, he pulled back and gently slapped me. “That’s for making jokes about it.”

I smiled and replied, “It wasn’t a joke, hon. Unless I misunderstood, I’m now a vampire, and in everything I’ve ever read, vampires live very long lives. Or is that something else the books and movies have wrong?”

“What do you mean ‘something else’?”

I shrugged and said, “Well, you and I have gone on runs every day after sunrise, so obviously, we’re not killed by sunlight. I’ve seen you eat garlic; for that matter, I’ve seen you eat food. I’ve seen your reflection, although not always; you’ll have to explain that one. Anyway, I’ve had my tongue in your mouth more than my own lately, and I haven’t felt any fangs, so I guess you’re going to have to explain reality to me. Well, my new reality would be a better way of saying it, right?”

I heard James and Donna chuckle a bit, and I looked up, expecting to see them in the doorway. They weren’t there. I considered that and said, “I suppose the part about us having excellent hearing is true, huh?”

That brought a belly laugh from James, and I clearly heard him say, “Yes, Greg, it’s true. I apologize for listening, but Donna and I were concerned about how you would take this. We’ll focus on other things and give you boys some privacy.”

I turned back to Scott in time to see him roll his eyes as he said, “Thanks, Dad.”

“Before we do that, you two need to be aware that we’re leaving in an hour. Greg needs some time to adjust, and we think that would be best done away from human eyes. We’re going to the farm; Mary is expecting us for dinner.” James said before I heard him turn on the television. Wow, were they really in the basement?

“The farm?” I asked.

Scott nodded and explained, “Our farm in Pennsylvania. It’s not really a farm, more like an estate, but we call it a farm. It’s about an hour north of Pittsburgh. The house is huge, and it’s on a lake. You’ll love it, you’ll see.”

Considering what had happened, I saw the logic in what James said. I knew nothing about what it meant to be a vampire or how to be one. Well, I guess I am one, but I had to learn how to deal with it, and not having people around when I made mistakes was probably a wise move.

I shrugged and asked, “You mentioned two secrets that are related. I’ll take a wild guess and say that the vampire thing is one of them; what’s the second?”

Scott looked uncomfortable as he explained, “We’re nobility in the vampire world, Greg. Dad is a Baronet. I guess the easiest way to explain it involves a quick history lesson, so here goes.”

Scott went on to explain that no one really knows where or how vampires came to be. The oldest legends said they were descendants of the man called Cain in some religious texts and Qabil in others. Like most legends, there was no firm consensus, and there were many other competing theories. All agreed on one main point: vampires are simply another species, very similar to humans but unlike them in several key points. Most vampires are born having a male and female parent, but some, like me, can be created or changed from a human. The changing process involves draining the human’s blood until their heart stops, then before brain death, feeding the human vampire blood along with an herbal tea. As Scott was describing it, I remembered clearly how I had fed from James several times, as well as the nasty tea that Donna had insisted I drink.

Born vampires start life looking like a human infant. They feed from their mother’s breast, just like human infants, but they also feed on the blood of their parents. As the infants have no fangs, the parent will cut a finger or wrist in the case of older children and let the child drink. Again, I remembered seeing Scott feeding from Donna. At this point, I interrupted.

“Everything you’re saying makes sense, and I’m remembering things from last night. I’m confused, though; when I saw you feeding from Donna, you looked, um, different.”

Scott blushed and said, “You saw that, huh?”

“I did.”

“What you saw is our vampire form. It’s all of the physical things that myths are based on. We are stronger, and faster, and we heal better when we’re in that form. I shifted to break the board off and carry you back here. The sun was still up, and it burned me. I was feeding to heal.”

“So the sun is a danger? But I’ve seen you out in it all the time?”

“The sun only harms us if we’re in vampire or beast form. I’ll explain that at the farm, but yeah, we avoid the sun in those forms.”

“So you risked your life to save me?”

“Not even close. Compare it to…” Scott thought for a second, then said, “OK, imagine you’ve wrecked your car, and Jake comes along. The car’s on fire, and he climbs in to pull you out, cuts himself on the jagged metal, and gets some second-degree burns. Did he risk his life? Or just hurt himself?”

“In hindsight, he only hurt himself while risking his life. The car could explode, or he could burn to death.”

Scott rolled his eyes and said, “I know how much sunlight I can handle, Greg. I was never in any real danger.”

I leaned in and kissed him, then said, “I prefer to think that you risked your life to save me; it’s more romantic.”

“Fine, you stick to that. Anyway, where was I?”

“Risking your life to save me.” That got me a slap.

Scott thought for a moment, then said, “Oh yeah, the nobility—”

“Let’s get moving, boys. You’ll have time on the drive to explain more,” James said from somewhere downstairs.

“Alright, Mr. Romantic. Get up, and let's get packed. You won’t need much; we’ll stay naked most of the time.”

Scott jumped up and grabbed a small gym bag as I turned and started to stand. I wasn’t fully standing when I got dizzy and forced myself to fall back onto the bed. “Whoa, I guess I’m still not ready to walk?”

Scott was at my side in an instant, holding onto me and steadying me as I sat there. When he was sure I wasn’t going to pass out, he raised his voice slightly and said, “He’s dizzy, Dad. Do you want to come let him feed a bit first?”

I heard several noises from what I thought was the kitchen as James said, “Donna’s getting him some stag. It’ll be fine for now, but I’ll feed him before we leave.”

Before I could process his words, Donna appeared in the doorway holding a plastic cup. “Let’s see if you like this as much as your father does, Greg.” Stepping forward, she handed me the cup. As I looked down into it, I could see the dark, thick liquid, and the meaning of the words hit me. Stag, a male deer. This was deer blood.

I lifted the cup to my lips and slowly tilted it until I felt the blood hit my lips. I stuck my tongue out and got a taste, then quickly gulped it down. It was heaven in a cup. I had tasted blood before; everyone has. You bite your lip or get a nosebleed, and you taste that salty, sweet mixture that you learn to recognize as blood. This was nothing like that. It tasted like, well, it tasted like chocolate milk with a tang of, the only way I can say it is the tang of a sweet red wine. I then remembered the night in James’ office when Scott brought the same cup to me filled with wine. I now realize his and James’ likely held stag’s blood.

I looked up at Donna and grinned. Holding the cup in the palms of my upturned hands, I used my best cockney accent and said, “Please, ma’am, I want some more.”

Scott looked at me like I was nuts, but Donna laughed. As she took the cup, she said, “Yes, Oliver, you can have some more when you come downstairs.”

As Donna left, Scott was still staring at me, so I explained, “It’s a line from an old musical called ‘Oliver!’, based on the Dickens novel ‘Oliver Twist’. We’ll have to watch it; then you’ll get the joke.”

Scott just shook his head and helped me to my feet. I didn’t get dizzy, but he insisted on helping me down the stairs and pushed me into a chair in the kitchen, then ran into the living room, where I heard him digging around a bit, and finally, I heard the jangle of keys. When he returned, he was holding my keyring.

“You’re not up to going to your house yet, and even if you were, you would probably move too fast. I’m going to go pack a bag with some underwear, socks, shorts and shirts. We have everything else you’ll need.”

“Get him some jeans, dress pants, and a nice shirt too, Scott, maybe even his suit. We don’t know yet how long we’ll be there, and he might have to go somewhere. He certainly won’t fit into anything you or Billy own. And my pants would fall off his hips,” James said as he came in from the garage.

Scott only took a few seconds to run upstairs, throw on some clothes, and return, holding his gym bag. Tossing it to me, he asked, “Anything special I should grab?”

I thought for a second, then realized that I had no idea what to expect, so I shrugged and replied, “No clue. Where’s my phone?”

Scott darted into the living room and returned in a flash, handing me my phone. When I looked at it, I realized that it was covered in blood; I glanced toward the living room. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see it, but some part of me knew I needed to, so I stood and walked in to survey the carnage that was their living room. The first thing I noticed was the blood. There was a trail on the floor that started at the front door and ended on their formerly white sofa. Laying on the floor in front of the sofa was the board, the board that had ended my human life. Seeing this, my knees buckled as the realization finally hit me: I had actually died. Before I could fall to the floor, Scott was at my side, holding me tightly to him as I sobbed.

I felt James wrap his arms around me and heard him whisper to Scott that he should go get my things while James fed me. After Scott left, James led me to a chair and explained things as he did them. I saw his fangs for the first time as he lowered them and bit into his wrist. He didn’t need to tell me what to do next. The smell of his blood was like catnip to a cat. When he held his wrist out, I pulled it to my mouth and sucked like my life depended on it. As I fed, I heard him speaking to me in my mind. I heard him tell me that it was natural for me to mourn my own death, but for me, that death was the start of a new life. He encouraged me to embrace that new life. As his blood flowed across my tongue and down my throat, I could feel the love he had for me, the love of a father for a son.

I could sense, rather than feel when I was done feeding. It wasn’t the sensation I was used to, that sense of being full. Rather, it was a sense of being sated, of being whole. As I drank the last few drops, Donna came in and handed James a coffee cup that was full of what I now could identify by scent, stag’s blood. She set another cup on the side table and went back to the kitchen. As I pulled away from his wrist, I licked the last few drops from his wrist and watched, intrigued, as the bite wounds healed. He saw me staring and laughed.

“So much for you to learn, young one. The first thing you should know is that my blood will heal you the same as if you were one of my natural-born children. Unfortunately, Donna’s will not, although it will heal you better than animal blood. The second is, as you saw, we heal rather quickly.”

“And what about human blood?” I asked.

“Human blood will help you heal the same as your maker’s blood. We try to refrain from using it to heal except in a dire emergency, though. We’ve come a long way from the ancient days, but those are a lesson for later. For now, if you’ll focus, I think Scott has a question for you.”

I tilted my head and tried to focus, then I heard it. “Thanks, Dad. Do you have a bigger suitcase than the one in your closet, Greg?”

I could hear Scott from my house. How good is vampire hearing anyway? And how do you handle all the noises from everywhere? I realized that I had been handling it fine, and then I realized I needed to answer Scott. “In the garage on the top shelf, in front of my car,” I shouted.

“Thanks,” I heard Scott say as James laughed.

“No need to shout, Greg. With little effort, we can hear a normal spoken voice from your house. That is roughly the range of our hearing while in human form. If I apply my beast, I could listen to a whispered conversation from the house on the corner.”

That was amazing. The house he was referring to was roughly half a mile away. For some reason, it occurred to me that Scott’s parents could have heard everything that happened in my house, including the conversations and noises we made when we… I blushed.

James smirked at me and said, “No need to blush, son. We’re experienced at tuning out those sounds that are private, even those made by our children. Soon, you’re going to start hearing everything around you. That’s part of why we’re going to the farm: to help you learn to tune your hearing, among other things.”

James was right. When I wasn’t focused on his speaking, I could hear all sorts of noises. There were two dogs barking somewhere down the street, there was a lawnmower beyond the backyard, there was a motorcycle somewhere, and there were three conversations going on. I recognized the voices and made an effort to push all of this to the background, forcing myself not to understand the private conversations. I knew I was successful when their words became like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon, ‘Wah Wah Wah’ in place of words.

I smiled when I realized that I had heard my front door closing. I focused in that direction and could actually hear Scott’s footsteps as he crossed the street. When he walked in, I was standing at the door to greet him with a kiss.

After pulling out some shorts and a shirt, Scott carried our stuff to his dad’s truck while I dressed. Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the farm. I was confused when Donna turned and handed a sandwich to Scott and me. She nodded, so I took a bite as she explained.

“While we can survive on a diet of just blood for several weeks, we need human foods as well as blood to really thrive. Just as a human can live for several weeks on a diet of just peanut butter, over time, they’ll weaken from the lack of a balanced diet.”

I nodded as I chewed, then asked, “You’ve given me vampire blood and stag’s blood, and James, you mentioned healing with human blood. What’s the difference between them for my new diet?”

James replied, “For the next few days, you should feed from me twice a day, as well as sticking to your normal meals. After that, I think I’ll have you feed from me each evening, along with having your normal meals.” Glancing in the mirror, he must have noticed that I was confused about something, so he asked, “What is it, Greg? Don’t be shy; we need to get you educated and quickly.”

“Well,” I said slowly, thinking as I spoke. “Are you saying that Scott feeds from you or Donna every night?”

“Oh, I see. No, Scott was born a vampire; he stopped feeding from us daily when he turned four. He now feeds from us once a week, although we’ve recently introduced human blood. After his seventh birthday, he’ll transition to an adult diet, which means he’ll survive with animal blood daily, along with human blood every six to eight weeks.”

I heard everything he said, but I turned to Scott in shock when I heard ‘his seventh birthday’. Scott realized why I was shocked, and he nodded as he said, “I turned six in February, Greg. I distinctly remember telling you that we ‘age faster, but I’m almost done with it’. You thought I was joking, but it’s the truth.”

I listened in shock as Scott went on to explain how vampire infants age just over three times as fast as humans until they hit puberty, close to the age of four but looking like a typical human twelve-year-old. At that point, they can transform into their beast, and aging slows to roughly one and a half times that of humans until somewhere around their eighth birthday, when aging again slows to a rate that is slightly slower than humans. Somewhere around the age of sixty, aging further slows to a rate that is roughly half that of humans. My mind was spinning as I tried to do some calculations; I finally gave up on the higher end and focused on one fact. My boyfriend was seven months shy of his seventh birthday.

I was staring at Scott, and he must have known what I was thinking because he smacked me and said, “Don’t you even go there. I may be coming up on my seventh birthday, but I am every way your equal; physically, mentally, and emotionally. You are not robbing the cradle!”

James and Donna were laughing as I sputtered, “But I… but we… but you’re six!” I finally exclaimed. Thinking of our time in bed, I blushed as Scott continued to glare at me.

“Scott’s right, Greg, relax. As our children grow, their minds grow just as quickly as their bodies. We can’t really explain how, but most think it has to do with their feeding from their parents as they grow.” Donna explained. She then asked, “Have you noticed that when you feed from James, you can sense his thoughts?”

I was still staring at Scott, but as I considered her question, I remembered how I had heard James in my mind, comforting me. “I don’t really remember any details from other feedings, but that last time, yeah, I could hear his thoughts, I guess.” I thought about that for a moment; then it hit me. “So, young vampires learn through their parents’ blood?”

James nodded, saying, “That’s the theory, yes. No one has been brave enough to put an infant on a human diet to test it, and I hope no one does, so it will likely remain just that, a theory.”

Scott demonstrated by saying several things in languages I didn’t recognize until he got to Spanish and German. I had taken Spanish as a freshman, and I had heard Mr. Z speaking German, those I could identify. “I speak nine languages fluently. Well, ten, if you count English, and I’ve never had a lesson. Between Mom and Dad, they speak all of them; it’s the only way I could have learned them.”

I nodded, then smirked and said, “Still doesn’t change the fact that you’re six.” I dodged the swing he took at me, then asked, “So how will this affect my aging? And am I going to learn from your blood, James?”

“Two very good questions, Greg. I wish I could answer them, but you’re the first changeling I’ve made in my five hundred years. I’ve put in a call to Prince George; when he gets back to me, I hope to be able to answer you.”

I wasn’t sure which part of that answer I wanted to address, so I chose the one I hoped was easier. “You’re over five hundred years old? I thought you said you, er we, age similar to humans until around sixty? Even with the extra slowing, you should look like you’re at least a hundred.”

“The simple answer is that we can renew our life with a combination of blood and herbs. When I start to feel the effects of aging, I simply renew and start a new life. I generally prefer to do it when I appear to be seventy or so; some do it earlier, some later, and many never do, choosing to live about one hundred and fifty years and die of old age. When I renew, I’ve always liked starting over as a twenty-year-old. That age gives me so many opportunities.”

Donna said, “Not that you would ever ask a lady her age, but I’m just a bit older than James.” She grinned and added, “I’m closer to seven hundred.”

I thought about that, then asked, “When Scott told me you emigrated to the United States before the war, which war was he talking about?”

James winked at me in the mirror as he said, “Your history books now call it The Revolutionary War. We called it the rebellion as it was happening and the war of independence for decades after.”

I sat back and tried to digest all of this. My head was spinning, and the questions were forming so fast that before I could ask one, three others were forming, pushing the first aside. I took a few deep breaths and felt myself relax. I thought it was the breathing, but I realized that I had relaxed the instant Scott had put his hand on mine. With my mind a bit clearer, I remembered the other thing that James had said. Scott had mentioned it, too.

“You mentioned Prince George. I’m assuming you’re not speaking about the infant in England. And Scott says you're nobility? Is that something you can talk about?”

James glanced at Scott in the mirror and gave a slight nod, so Scott asked, “Do you want me to go from the top down or the bottom up? Should I start now and work back through history or start in antiquity and work my way up to the present day?”

James and Donna laughed as I said, “Um, just give me the basics. I’m sure we can go into the line of succession at another time.”

Scott shrugged and said, “OK, but there is no monarch, so there is no line of succession, although there is a prophecy that says—”

“The basics, Scott. Prophecies don’t fall under the basics of any category,” I interrupted.

Grinning, Scott explained, “Dad is a Baronet, which means that—”

“I remember you started to explain this; then you got off track by talking about vampire origins and being born and such.”

“I got off track because someone kept interrupting me with questions. If you hush, I’ll continue,” Scott said as he tried to glare while hiding a grin. He failed at both.

I threw up my hands, signaling my surrender as I said, “Hushing. I’m hushing. Not another word from me, I’m hushed.”

After an exaggerated eye roll, Scott went on to explain about the Council of Nine, the Princes who oversee all the vampires of the world. Under them are regional leaders who use the title of Count. Farther down are Viscounts, Barons, and then Baronets, like James. Vampire society reflected human society, and throughout history, the titles used were similar to the humans they lived with. In other parts of the world, a man in James’ position might be called Boyar, Mubarak, Shishaku, Zhuàngyuán, or some other local variant. The title didn’t matter; the role comes from ancient times when vampires, like humans, lived in small family-based groups, usually called tribes by humans. Due to their beast, vampires chose to relate more to animals and called their groups a pack, with the leader being the Alpha. As vampire society evolved, so did their choice of labels. Under the Romans, Alphas became Decuriones. In the Middle Ages, Alphas took on whatever label was appropriate to the region they lived in. In the last few centuries, the council has retained the title of prince while regional leaders use an appropriate title for the human society around them. As the US was largely colonized by the British, we’ve stuck mostly with their titles.

I looked at James and asked, “So when I overheard that man call you ‘Excellency’, that’s why? Because you’re a Baronet?”

“Technically, he should call me ‘Sire’, but it happens a lot, especially when it’s someone who doesn’t usually deal directly with me. And don’t you dare use either when you’re talking to me. Things are complicated, and I need guidance from George.”

I had to do it. I just had to. I nodded and said, “Yes, Sire.”

Donna and Scott burst out laughing as James glared at me in the mirror. He couldn’t hold the glare for long, though, and he was soon laughing with us. Scott unbuckled his seat belt and slid closer to me, buckling himself into the center seat; then, he lifted my arm and snuggled up against my side, laying his head on my chest. I sighed and must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember was Scott pulling on my arm, telling me we were there.