Behold the Nightmare


I wasn't prepared for this. I should have known he would alert the others to what I had done. Besides, it was my fault. I shouldn't be standing here ready to scream. If I had just stayed away this would never have happened...


The house looked quiet. As if everyone was sleeping inside. I really wish that was the truth. But I knew the moment I walked in there it would be my worst nightmare come to life. Yeah, they would be sleeping alright, the eternal sleep. The wind blew cold and angry against my jacket and whipped my ponytail around.  As I walked up to the front door the glass from the broken window crunched beneath my boots. It didn't matter, no one would hear me, they were long gone. They meant for me to find this. They meant for me to suffer. I took a deep breath, out of habit of course, and walked into the living room. The entire house was dark, some of the lights around the foyer had been broken. A small light in the kitchen shone. Most likely the night light Karen left on for Toby in case he needed something to drink. I knew one of them was in there. I could smell it. Their blood hadn't been removed, just spilled for my viewing misery. I carefully walked beside the broken kitchen table, there lying on the floor was Karen, her eyes lifeless , frozen in shock and terror. The blood pooled beneath her body in various places, she looked to be the first victim. I let my nose lead the way to the next site. My father. He was still sitting in his chair, his pipe he loved to smoke from after work still in his hand. His eyes were closed. How strange? I didn't think on it too much, the chair was soaked on one side with his blood. I noticed a few droplets  fall upon his knee. It was my own. I wiped my face with my handkerchief I always kept with me and fell to my knees beside him. I looked into his peaceful face. The pain and sadness was overwhelming and I felt more annoying tears fall.   
"I'm sorry Daddy." I got up and brushed some of the leaves they had tracked in from outside off my pant leg and moved upstairs.  I knew Toby was up here, he would have known who they were, I always warned him, he knew not to fight them, he wasn't strong enough.  The blood was overwhelming. They had saved their best for last. As the grief bested my strength and my legs began to falter, I couldn't begin to prepare myself for what I was going to see. He wasn't in his room or in our parents room, he was in my old room. I ran quickly down the hallway and opened my old rooms door, it creaked with my turn of its knob.  I watched as Toby's lifeless body came into view. He was lying on his back near my window. It wasn't until I took another step that I realized something. He was still alive. My eyes felt like they might bulge out of my head, and I noticed his faint heartbeat began to pulse in my ears. He was alive, just barely, but he was. I rushed over to him, my coat billowing out around me as I dropped to the floor beside him.
"Toby!" I frantically whispered. His ice blue eyes turned to look at me, I watched as the recognition sparked within them. After all these years, he still looked like little Toby to me. He smiled at me.

"Sarah..." He rasped.

"Shhh, don't speak Tobe, you don't have the strength." My hands were shaking, I was worried, upset and beyond furious.

I knew in that moment they had left him like this on purpose. The very thing I hated most of all.  The very thing I tried to keep people safe from, the reason I killed my master to begin with. They wanted me to turn him into a vampire.

20 years previous:

"Are you sure you don't need any help moving out Sarah?" Karen asked again as I packed the last of my things away into the very last box.
"Yes Karen, honestly, you guys have done enough for me." I smiled and taped the box.
"Okay, I know, it's just, well, it's not like I'm doing anything else, I mean I'm a housewife for Christ's sake!"
"Karen!"  I laughed at her colorful language. After high school, Karen and I had become better friends. She could never replace my mother, but she sure did her best. I was only moving to the other side of town, close to work.
After college I decided it would be best to move out. I found a roommate from college, her and I both got along extremely well, and I thought it would be a great opportunity. We got a really nice 3 bedroom townhouse next to the bustling area of town. It was quaint and quiet, just how I liked things. Karen and my father were really excited for me. I told them to call me anytime and come visit when they could. Toby of course wanted to spend the night every weekend, but Karen steered him from asking too much.  Toby was growing so fast, now 6 years old, he was adorable, and always eager to read his favorite book, the Labyrinth.  I didn't mind him having the book, but out of superstition I constantly reminded him of the power of words, and to never say things he didn't mean. About 5 years ago, I went on a journey, a journey to a place called the Underground, one would think such things weren't real, and I often question it still. In a fit of immature rage I had wished my brother away to the Goblin King. Instead of taking my dreams, I decided to challenge the Labyrinth and make it to the castle, the King gave me 13 hours in which to do so. Somehow, some way I did it. After everything happened and I got Toby back, it almost seemed like a distant memory. Although I could never forget the Goblin King.  After that night I was never able to speak to my friends I had made within the Labyrinth, I thought perhaps it was all a dream, but it felt so real. And every so often I'd find beautiful feathers of a bird on my windowsill, strange things always did happen to me after that, things I couldn't quite explain. But most of the time I kept it to myself. That was until I met my roommate Deanna. She walked right up to me one gloomy morning and took my hand and exclaimed I was "Fae touched". I had no idea what she was talking about, but she was very emphatic about it. She had offered me many books on mythology and books about the Fae, I had to admit it sparked my interest. She was one of those hippy new age girls, who read Tarot, palms, and loved everything nature and fantasy. She believed in fairies, and often conversed with them on the college lawns. She was rather amusing and fun to hang around, she often dressed me in her gipsy like attire and we'd head to local Celtic and Medieval style fairs. I never had so much fun. After 4 years of college we both decided to move in together.
I think it was that first night in our new place she finally got me to ingest one of her "famous" brownies, it was then that I told her what I had believed I had was a dream. Her eyes sparkled and her mouth had danced in amazing rhythms that night, she was ecstatic that I had actually met the Goblin King. She asked me dozens of questions about him, and after a long tarot reading  told me that one day I would meet him again. And she was the only one I ever told of the feathers I had found. I had kept every single one of them, wondering what they were. I showed them to her that first night, she explained they were Owl feathers, and that often Fae Kings and Queens had the ability to change into an animal. I honestly laughed because it all sounded so fantastical. Deanna merely smiled, she never pouted or grew upset if someone made fun of her and her beliefs, she would always smile as if she knew something the other person didn't. Often times she did.  She told me that night that she would love to see the Underground and that there was more to it then what I had seen.  Deanna never asked for the book, which surprised me, and I asked her why. She merely smiled and replied, "Because the book was for you, no one should take that away from you." I shook my head and smiled in turn, she could be so mysterious at times and I trusted her judgment more than anyone else's.
About a year into living with Deanna everything changed. Deanna had been dating a young man for the last couple of months, and I hadn't seen much of her. She'd been sleeping all day, and out with him all night. Which for Deanna was very unusual, not that she didn't love the evening. I couldn't keep track of the times she dragged me to full moon outings while she danced under its light for hours, as if she heard some unknown song I couldn't . It was beautiful to watch.  But this time was unusual, she became moody and often wouldn't talk to me after getting up in the mid-morning, I didn't know what was wrong, when I did ask her, that was the time she would get defensive and tell me to leave her alone. And for awhile I did as she asked. But after a few months I grew worried, I started waiting up for her in my room in the dark, hoping to catch a glimpse of this guy who'd stolen my friend. Every time he dropped her off I missed his face, or didn't see him. It was really strange. Things got worse, she starting missing work, and eventually didn't come home for a week. It wasn't until one Sunday night, around midnight I heard the door locks and keys drop on the floor. I jumped up and ran into the living room. Deanna was grabbing a chair and pushing it against the door. She stood up on it and started frantically writing runes along the top of the doorway. I slowly came up to her.
"Deanna?" I asked cautiously.  She quickly turned around, her eyes red and her face was pale white, she looked thinner then I had ever seen her. She looked really scared. She turned around and finished writing whatever spell it was she was writing.
"Deanna what are you doing?" She dropped the chalk and dropped down from the chair, she looked like she was about to say something but stopped, her eyes widened and she covered my mouth and pulled me over to the far wall away from the window.
"Please be quiet, don't say anything okay, promise me?!" She whispered. She began closing all the windows and drapes in the house and locked all the doors. She ran back to me with a dagger in her hand.
"Sarah, I need to tell you something and I don't know how much time I have, I need you to listen to me and not interrupt me ok, please."  As she said these things her frame shook uncontrollably and her eyes watered, she slowly handed me the dagger, instructing me how to hold it properly. I nodded and she slid down next to me.
"Sarah, I'm in deep shit. You know that guy I've been seeing?" I nodded again. "Well, I thought he was special, I mean I thought he was fae, like your Goblin King, but I was so very wrong."
"He's not Fae?" I whispered, I couldn't help myself.
"Oh he's fae, but not the right kind, he's dark Fae, the darkest kind. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." I watched her move her blue scarf away from her neck and there I saw two ragged puncture wounds against her skin, blood was crusted along her neck and now I noticed stained her dress too.
"Oh my God Deanna, what did he do to you?!" I was suddenly very scared, what kind of sicko was she dating?
"Sarah, he's a vampire." The seriousness didn't drop, I believed her. Her face never faltered, this was no joke. She believed this man to be some type of vampire, and even if that wasn't what he was, he certainly had some way of puncturing her neck.
"Where have you been Deanna?" I whispered.
"He's been keeping me at his home. They call it a "keep". Many of the other vampires there have human servants...it's always dark, even during the day, they have huge shutters that close off the light in the day, they're evil Sarah, it just so happens the man I was dating was just below the head master of the keep and he's been luring me for months. He finally bit me last week, and I've been trying this entire week to get away from him, I played it safe and acted like I was loving every minute of it. I guess most of the humans there are glamored somehow and I must have been immune or something, the humans walk around like zombies, it's sick. I tried my best to act enamored, anyway...we went out this evening, he thought it would be safe enough...that's when I made my get away. But I don't know how long it will last."
"Does he know where you live?"
"I don't think so, he never dropped me off, I always had him drop me off a couple blocks away."
"You don't think so? He's drank your blood, I've watched enough vampire movies to have an idea that this guy might be able to find you?!"
Her eyes widened. "I hadn't thought of that."
I was now shaking, I was just as scared, if these so-called vampires were the real thing, we weren't safe here. "Why did you come here?" It was a reasonable question.
Deanna started to cry, "I didn't know where else to go Sarah?"
I hugged her. "It's okay, I understand, I'm sorry for asking that. Look, if they are vampires, don't they need to be invited in?"
"I, I don't know?"
"Okay so what are those runes you drew on the door?"
"It's an old spell I learned, it's to keep evil out. But I don't know, if he brings the head master it could be pointless, that guy was powerful, I could feel him, he's dangerous Sarah, oh Gods I am so sorry for bringing you into this."
"It's okay, look maybe we'll get lucky and they won't find us, maybe we can pack up tomorrow and leave, we'll go somewhere during the day, somewhere we can be safe, I promise we'll get out of this okay, don't worry."


Famous last words. It wasn't but an hour later, whilst packing that we started hearing strange noises at the doors and windows. I heard Deanna crying, I walked slowly and quietly towards her room, when I looked through the door I saw him, he was already looming over her, whispering to her.
"Sweet Deanna, did you think you could run from me?"
Deanna burst into further tears and shook her head at him.
His face was obscured by the darkness, but I could still see his eyes, they glowed an eerie electric blue, I hid further back against the door as not to alert my presence. That was the moment I bumped up against another body.
My skin tingled and my bones froze. I could feel the immense power radiating off this person without even turning around. I had a pretty good idea of who it would be, I was wishing a thousand times for it to be someone else, someone I would have rather have bumped into.


It was the head master. He was beautiful. He smiled at me and my heart beat faster. His features as perfect as the Goblin Kings, yet where the Goblin King had the aristocratic look, this man held a warrior like quality, his long black hair was tied at the nape of his neck, and his crimson eyes bore into mine. He was tall and muscular and wore a dark gray suit slightly hidden beneath a large black coat. He moved his large pale hand across my neck and cupped my cheek.  
"You are truly exquisite." He whispered in a silky tone as he breathed me in. I shivered but not in desire, in utter revulsion. Most women might find him seductive and gorgeous, but I had danced with seductive and gorgeous, he did not come close to it and thus I was not as enraptured as he hoped I would be.
His face contorted into confusion and his brows furrowed. "You do not like me."
I don't know where my bravado came from, but suddenly I said with an upraised eyebrow, "I didn't say that, but now that I think about it, no I do not!" I said aloud.
I watched him frown, obviously unhappy with my little retort. I heard the rustling of fabric and then I heard Deanna scream.
"NO, not Sarah, you can't have Sarah, she belongs to another, you won't touch her you can't!!"
"Belongs to another, another human? Or another Vampire perhaps? Must be human for I smell no other Vampire on her." The head master smiled.
"I belong to no one, you'll have to kill me." I broke away from him only to have him pull me back to him roughly. And before I could think he'd taken the moment to sink his teeth into my neck. The pain was excruciating, I heard his voice in my head. 'Don't fight it Sarah.' I heard Deanna scream somewhere from behind me. I felt weak and tired. My mind reeled as I felt my pulse in my throat and his hands freely roam my body. I was no longer in control and the last thing I remember was whispering his name.

"Jareth."


When I came to the master's fangs were pulling from my neck, my vision was blurred, but my hearing was perfect. I heard him breathe in, blood stained his lips and dripped on my top.
"She indeed belongs to another", he was gasping, "a powerful other , a King of fae." He began to laugh in gentle coughs. I watched his glowing eyes look down into mine.
"Oh what an opportunity, I will make you mine, he cannot save you Sarah, nothing can save you."
All I could do was watch as he tore his wrist open with the dagger I was previously holding and feel the warm blood pour into my mouth. I think I remember trying not to drink it. I heard Deanna's screams, they were so loud I thought maybe the cops would come, the neighbors would definitely call by now. But no one came. Soon after Deanna was quiet and I watched as her vampire lover drained her. Tears flowed as I lay on the floor unable to do anything but curse The Goblin King for not coming. But then again, what did I expect, he had no power over me.
It was days later that I woke to my new life. An immortal servant , a vampire.  I would soon learn my maker went by the name Will. He was over a thousand years old and head master of his own keep. He was sadistic and cruel. At first he never let me out of his site, he liked playing with me, beating me, he taught me to drink, which I hated, he had many donors for his pleasure, they always seemed quite eager, which made me detest the whole thing even more. He never violated me or made me have sex with him, for some reason that thought frightened me more than anything, but then I found out that he didn't care for the opposite sex when it came to romantic affairs. He had many lovers in the keep and often made me watch. I detested him with my whole being and he loved it. The other vampires stayed away from me. For some reason I frightened them. Good I didn't want to get to know any of them. One night not far from my making he told me Deanna had been turned into a human servant.  I spent nights looking for her in the keep. Weeks later Will laughed in my face in front of all his little groupies as he explained she was sent away with her master to another keep. I felt the fire that once burned in my body when I grew angry completely extinguish, I didn't want to fight him, the beatings were worse when I fought against him. I was dead, literally, never to see the sun, never to eat a meal, never to see my family again. I had lost all hope.

Through the years I became friends with one vampire, his name was Vincent. He was made against his will like myself, and often I would spend many long hours with him, he was older than me by 100 years, he was someone I grew to trust. He was handsome and kind with his dark brown hair and green eyes he also had a charming Edwardian quality about him that I had never encountered, he taught me easier ways to feed. Will would eventually kill all he drank from, he was a glutton, but Vincent taught me that you never had to kill those you fed from and that the experience itself could be quite pleasant for both parties. He also taught me how to fight, I mastered swords and even guns, but I enjoyed hand to hand combat more than I did the guns. It made me concentrate on other things. Vincent also explained to me the powers of vampires, he was very surprised that I could glamour humans so well, he said it took many vampires years to perfect their glamour, he told me to keep this from Will, he never explained why, just that it wouldn't be a good idea for Will to know.  He also explained as Vampires grew older they came into others power, but it took hundreds of years for these powers to manifest, thus why the masters of the keep were always much older than any others.

It wasn't until about 10 years into my making that Will gave me the freedom I was going mad over. He allowed me to leave the keep. He had new play things and I had been on my best behavior, attempting to win his better side, and like most single-minded men, he liked to be pleasured. If I watched, drank, obeyed, he was happy. Vincent and I took off into the city that first night and drank from the most evil we could find.  That first night of freedom was painful too, despite Vincent trying to talk me out of it I had him drive me to my family's home. We drove a few blocks down and I walked quietly to the house by myself, promising him I would be back in awhile. I peered through the windows to see my family doing their normal routine. My father was smoking his pipe in the living room. Karen was cooking chicken in the kitchen. And Toby. Ah Toby, he was in my room and I gasped aloud when I finally saw him looking out through the window. He should be about 15 now. He was adorable still. His blond hair long but slicked nicely back against his skull. A few wisps fell into his face and he constantly readjusted them. He looked wistful and sad sitting in the window sill. His fingers twirling around two feathers. My eyes glowed, I could always feel it when they did that. He looked down and I know he saw my eyes. I moved away into the trees. When I looked back up he was gone.  I heard the front door  open and he stepped out onto the porch. His eyes scanned the area. He placed his hands in his pockets and stepped off the porch very near the bushes and trees I was hiding in.
"I know your here Sarah, I saw you." He whispered.  I froze. It had been a long time since emotion had curled its way into my heart. All it took was Toby's voice to break all I had tried to hide. He huffed and walked back inside. I spent hours standing there frozen, even after everyone went to sleep I stood there. Vincent would be looking for me soon, I knew it, but I couldn't help it, I wanted to see Toby. I carefully maneuvered myself onto the tree above his window and climbed inside to see him. I thought he was asleep at first, but his breathing wasn't level and I knew he was awake a moment before he sat up on the bed. I stood there, still as a statue, unsure of what to say.
"Sarah?" I crumbled. My legs gave in and I fell to the floor.  He quickly pulled the covers and came to crouch beside me.
"Sarah I knew it was you out there, I never could forget you."
I pulled him into my embrace and cried. "Oh Toby."
I sat there for another hour and a half telling him everything. He was patient and not afraid ever. He told me he spoke with the Goblins. That was when I grew frightened.

"You speak to the goblins?"
"Yes, the book is real Sarah, but you already know that don't you?"
I nodded. "If I didn't then, I do now, I mean with all the shit I've been through, I wouldn't be surprised if pigs could fly." I chuckled softly.
Toby echoed my chuckle. "Yah well, I know what you mean."
I suddenly thought of the Goblin King. "Do you speak to the Goblin-"
"-King? No, only the Goblins, I wanted to know what happened to you, the goblins weren't sure, they only knew you were still alive, and that gave me hope. Oh Sarah I'm so glad I could see you, I've never attempted to speak to the Goblin King, the goblins told me there was nothing they could do to save you, nothing, they were powerless, Mom and Dad tried for years to look for you, they couldn't understand, all they found in your apartment was some blood, but no bodies, Deanna and you just disappeared, it took Dad a long time to come back from his depression, I think he finally thinks you're dead. He gets mad at me sometimes because I don't act upset enough for his conscience."
"I know Tobes, and some of that is my fault. But that's neither here nor there. What's important is that you're okay. And I want it to stay that way." I turned very serious."I want you to never tell Dad and Karen that you saw me, you have to promise you won't tell anyone, not even the Goblins okay?"
He nodded, hesitantly. "Okay Sarah I promise.
"Thank you Toby. You know I love you."
"I know Sarah."
"Look, dawn is coming soon, and I've over-stayed as it is. I have to go now." I got up and began to exit from the window.
"Sarah? Can you come again?" His eyes full of hope.
"I will try." I smiled. He hugged me again and I noticed the feathers on the sill.
"Where did you get these?" I asked picking them up.
"From your apartment, I don't know why but they are the one thing besides the book I keep with me."
I smiled at him and placed one in my pocket."Goodbye Toby, remember say nothing alright."
"I promise Sarah."
"Thank you."


After that night I couldn't resist, I saw him whenever I could. Some nights I went without feeding just to see him. A few times Will knew I hadn't fed and asked why. I told him I was testing my abilities. He seemed perturbed with my behavior and I took a break from seeing Toby after that. I didn't want Will to find out. Vincent had become distant, I knew he had been spoken to by Will. Will did not like others playing nice with me, at least when he cared to notice me at all, which was fine by me. For some strange reason, he liked to see me suffer on occasion, it was as if I had done something to him to cause him an immense amount of displeasure, never could figure it out, I felt like yelling at him that he was the one who made me, what the hell was his problem, but that would have just given him a reason to beat me like he use to in the beginning.


Almost 5 years went by and I was content as long as I got to see my brother, the one person who I could share everything with, the one person I could go to. He asked on many occasions if we could run away. I was tempted, I'd like nothing better than to leave the keep, but I was still so afraid of Will and what he could do, what he might do if he ever found out.
It was one night when I decided not to go to Toby that everything turned for the worst. I had been sparring with Vincent in his rooms when Will came and took me away. He dragged me to his lower cells in what I considered the basement of the huge mansion. He beat me repeatedly, bled me weak, and remained calm and silent the entire time. He was obviously upset about something that he wasn't willing to share. After he was finished he left me down there alone. My broken flesh would heal soon, I wasn't too upset, although he hadn't beaten me so thoroughly in such a long time, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Later he came back, followed by Vincent. I stiffened, this wasn't good.  He chained Vincent to the wall, normally he chained his lovers to this wall, Vincent had never been among them. My eyes remained placid, I wasn't going to show any sign of fear for Vincent or myself.

"Oh yes Sarah, you've been playing your part well these years haven't you? He sneered.  Shit ,he knew.
Vincent looked at me and shook his head.  “I want you to know I know your little secret.” He began.
“And what would that be?”
He smirked. “You’ve been seeing your other, haven’t you?”  I know the confusion rolled across my face.
He laughed and pulled my old feather from his pocket and gently caressed Vincent’s throat with it. “I can honestly say Will, that I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
He frowned and quickly pulled a blade from its sheath. “Oh no?” He smiled that feral smile and sliced into Vincent's wrists. Vincent moaned in agony. Silver. The blade was made of silver. The bastard was going to now torture Vincent, my only vampire friend in this horrible world, to get back at me. I knew to keep my mouth shut, it wouldn’t matter, he would only make the torture worse.
"Answer me!" He shouted.
“I don’t know what you're talking about Will.” I responded calmly.
“Lying does not become you Sarah.”
I actually huffed, he was so annoying! “It’s true, if you had taken the chance to actually acknowledge my apartment all those years ago you would have noticed the feathers, I don’t know what they're from but I like feathers, big deal.”
He sliced two more times into Vincent. I couldn’t resist the flinch. “You are weak Sarah, pathetic.” And he sliced Vincent again. Vincent cried out. At this rate he was going to kill him. I could see it in his eyes, he was angrier then I had ever seen him.
"Of all things I detest most, people who lie to me, people who cannot seem to obey my rules. I gave you freedom Sarah, perhaps I've allowed you too much." The blade glinted in the dismal light as he ran its sharp edge along Vincent's forearm. He turned to me and smiled. "We will remedy that little issue tonight."
Vincent broke one of the chains. Will turned to him. “You dare defy me? You cannot best me.” Vincent choked on his own blood. “Sarah, don’t listen to him, he knows the truth-“ Will smacked him across the face.
“You’re…strong, stronger than him, he fears you Sarah, something in your blo-“
Will took the blade and sliced his throat open. I screamed and ran towards Will. “No!” Will looked surprised, he probably thought I was too weak to move that fast. First mistake, never assume anything.

I kicked him where it counted and pulled the blade from his hands. My eyes were glowing so bright they lighted Wills face. I hadn’t felt anger well up in me like this since I was human, my blood was boiling beneath my skin and I felt every fiber in the air, like magic. I flipped the blade in my hand and plunged it deep into Wills heart. His eyes bulged and he fell to the ground. He looked up at me in utter shock and dismay. I hadn’t known I was gasping for un-needed air until I felt the heat of the silver blade in my hand. He smiled slowly, “They all know now, and they will hunt you, you will die for this.” His eyes glowed a deep crimson as his body began to ash.

I grabbed his collar as his body smoked and whispered on his lips “You first.”  I think he looked angry as I pulled the blade out. His remains scattered across the floor. I stood up and pulled Vincent into my lap and placed my fingers across the severed flesh of his throat, Will had cut deep but had not severed his vocal cords, he started to talk and shushed him.
“Vincent, here drink from me.” I was about to shred my wrist when he stopped me. I looked into his dimming eyes.
“No.” he whispered. “But you’ll die!” I cried.
“I want to Sarah, I never wanted this life.”
“No, please, you’re my only friend Vincent, don’t leave me.” He smiled.
“You’re not alone, and you have more protecting you then you know. Will was afraid of you, that night he saw you, he turned you to keep you close, he saw something in you that frightened him.  He was a fool.” He slid away from me and leaned against the wall, he grasped the blade from the floor, I think I had dropped it after I removed it from Wills body. “Go Sarah, they’re coming for you, I know you feel them, get out of here while you can, take my keys and go.” I licked my lips and stood frozen for a few seconds. I was so confused, I wasn’t ready to die yet. And in that moment, staring at Vincent watching his body slowly die for the second time, images of memories  flashed through my mind, all the pain, all the fighting, all the tolerance for this evil creature that made me what I am now, I found a purpose to survive. Vengeance. My eyes simmered and I grabbed his keys from his pocket. I kissed him gently on the lips.
“Goodbye, my friend, I will never forget you.”
He looked into my eyes and smiled. “And that is all one can ask for.” I bit my lip as I moved away and into the night.  I could feel the keep moving about like frightened ants. They had all felt the death of the head master. They seemed confused, they weren’t sure if it was me or Vincent who had done the killing. Vincent was old, he was stronger than me in some areas, I had a strange feeling he had bought me some time by making them all think he had done the killing. No matter, they would come for me soon enough. Dawn was approaching and I needed to find a place to hide. Before I made it far enough from the keep I felt Vincent take his own life.

About 40 miles from the keep I found an abandoned cemetery with an old crypt. I grabbed my belongings and stayed away from the light as best I could. I headed out just as the sun kissed the horizon. I exchanged cars as soon as I hit a mild suburban area. It wasn’t too hard, most people are easy to glamour and although I don’t like using it, I needed to. Vincent was good about one thing. He always kept a steady supply of weapons and money in his car, and so I loaded up my newly acquired Audi and headed out of town. I rented a hotel room that night and tried to decide what to do next. I needed to check on my brother and I wanted to see if Deanna was still alive. I needed to get to the other keep, which would be very dangerous, they would already be aware of my killing Will. And Deanna’s master Marcus was next in line. It would be a dangerous task. But Will and Marcus were the only strong and very old vampires I had ever come into contact with. I wasn’t sure what I would be dealing with and that scared me. How was I going to pull this off? I called my brother with a cell phone I purchased. He answered on the first ring.
“Sarah?” He sounded scared.
“Toby, why are you whispering?”
“Sarah, they’re here.”
“I’m coming.”
I dropped the phone and drove as fast as the car could take me to my old home. I was not prepared at all for what I would encounter, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

Present-
“Sarah, they killed Mom and Dad.”  My heart sank.
“I know Toby, I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen, this is all my fault, Oh God Toby.” I started to cry.  Toby pressed his fingers against my cheek and caught my bloody tears.
“Make me one.”
I didn’t move. Make him one, was he crazy, no way!
“No.”
“It’s the only way.”
“No, it can’t be, maybe you can call the Goblins maybe they can help us.”
“No they can’t Sarah-“ Toby began to cough up more blood.
I sat there with another person I cared deeply for dying before my eyes. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to condemn him to a life of blood, death, and forever night. It was horrible. What I wouldn't give to be human again! I looked down at him and he turned his eyes to me.
"Don't be stubborn Sarah, just do it." He replied raggedly. I had only seconds left.
I closed my eyes tightly and opened my wrist. Once my brother always my brother.
After I fed Toby, I took  him to a secluded apartment Vincent had purchased years ago, none of the keep knew of it. He slept for days. I read in the newspaper of the strange homicide of my Dad and Karen, and the mysterious missing body of Toby. My death was brought up in the story also. The police found it the most peculiar homicide and missing persons investigation they had ever viewed, yeah no kidding. I wasn't sure what to do from here on. All I knew was that I would need to teach my brother how to be a vampire, and I wasn't looking forward to it.


2 years later-
"Does this seem to be getting easier or is just me?" Toby winked at me as he took another drag off his clove.
I frowned at him. "It's never easy Toby, start getting cocky and they'll have you for sure. It's exactly the reason I was able to kill my master."
Toby straightened up and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I was only kidding Sarah, you know, you need to gain a sense of humor or immortality is going to get quite boring."
I snapped my neck and looked at him. "Who say's I'm going to live forever?"
He frowned at me, he always remained silent when I said things like that, he then quickly took another drag and looked out over the city skyline. We had both been tracking my old keeps members. After I killed Will and they killed my family I went on a rampage. I glamoured a few humans to burn the mansion. Some survived, most likely in the lower catacombs of the keep. Those were the ones I sought now.  They were the oldest, not master level vampires, but just as dangerous at times. For two solid years we did nothing but fight and kill all of them we could find. We had made many enemies on the way. Marcus knew I was out looking for him, and he was also looking for me. He had sent some of his best henchmen after me, but they never seemed to get close. I knew some little Goblins had been assisting us occasionally, but they never came out and told us. It was difficult to kill the vampires of the same keep. When members of the same keep came into close contact with each other they could feel one another, never good for a surprise attack. I seemed to be able to surprise them better than most. I don't know why Toby and I were having so much success. But I knew it couldn't last. The oldest ones were wiser, it's why they were older, they had survived such things before.  After two years of training Toby he was an expert  killer as good as myself. We both seemed to have the same ability in glamour, we were always together.
Toby seemed to have a remarkable eagerness to learn everything there was to being a vampire. I taught him everything Will and Vincent had taught me, I was still teaching him. I often asked him about this eagerness. He replied that it was because I was teaching him. He often times reminded me that our making's were very different, and that he had been given the choice, and he was happy with his. I couldn't understand why someone would be happy with this life. Never to bask in the warm sunshine, what I wouldn't give for a nice tan. Always drinking from someone for sustenance. It was disgusting. We never fed together, I taught him how and he instantly was able to take care of that on his own. I never wanted him to see me feed. He often found willing females to satiate his appetite, he loved making them swoon in lust and desire. It was a side of Toby I wasn't comfortable acknowledging. He liked to play fun at me if I caught him, admonishing me for constantly thinking of him as a child still. He was right. I did.  I never enjoyed taking blood from humans, I did it as quickly as I could, always had. I killed enough people in Will's keep to know that it wasn't always pleasure in the end for the victim, it was death.

The fighting seemed to slow after a couple years and I wasn't sure where many of the older vampires had run off to. Vampires were inherently arrogant, especially the younger ones, they thought themselves invincible. We had killed many young ones who were the drones of the older ones, always eager to please their masters. But the older ones held their own arrogance and I was surprised and confused by the non-retaliation. Most likely the calm before the storm. I Never assumed anything.
It was a cold evening, the wind blew harsh, you could smell the rain for miles. Things were about to get pretty crazy.
I watched Toby drop from fifteen flights to the pavement below. He loved doing that. I followed.

"What's up?" I asked.

He took a long drag, the smoke curled around his long fingers. I actually enjoyed the smell of cloves, it reminded me of someone. Toby looked far ahead of us both, he motioned with a quick chin down movement, eyes glowing, something was coming.

It moved faster than anything I had ever seen, even with my skilled vampire eyes I couldn't catch it in time, I felt leather clad hands on my throat a second before my entire body was thrown to the ground, whatever this creature was he was strong and very fast and I wasn't sure if I had the power to stop the large curved black blade that was heading straight for my heart.  Then he stopped. There above me he seemed to hover, I say a 'he' because it looked like a human shaped male, maybe he was another vampire. Pale strands of his hair glistened in the street light above, it looked to be swirling around him in a low ponytail. I watched alertly as he sheathed the blade and slowly loosened his hands on my throat. He moved closer and that's when his face came into view. His gorgeous multi-faceted eyes bore into mine, his brows furrowed in confusion.


"Sarah?" He asked.


It was the Goblin King.