importantly...you're all mine," Grace answered as she knelt down, letting her eyes meet mine.
I looked into her eyes as she grinned. She had a childlike innocence, and it was then that I realized — I was a victim of Grace, more so than the Jacob brothers. I sensed an eternal loneliness within her; her intentions weren't malicious, she was desperate to fill the emptiness in her heart. Unfortunately, the price of companionship was my soul.
My new life began. I had been reborn a vampire. Later that night we left the cave and went out into the world. Grace stayed by my side, teaching me, loving me, but mostly, satisfying her need for companionship. People meant little to Grace. She killed with no remorse whatsoever, and she taught me to be the same way. In the beginning, killing came frightfully easy to me. There was no getting around the fact that I needed to feed; without blood, I would become sick and eventually suffer a horrific death.
The drive to feed is intense, it could even be described as overpowering. It builds up inside you, slowly at first, but it doesn't take long for the need to become all consuming. I still remember the first person I killed. It happened the night we left the cave. We were making our way up the coastline of the Chesapeake Bay and came across two fishermen. They were tending to their nets after having unloaded their catch. While I watched from the tree line, Grace approached the men. She acted lost and scared, and the two men quickly lowered their guard and offered her help. They had no idea how vicious Grace could be, and that within a few moments, their lives would come to an unspeakable end.
She was incredibly strong and fast, striking the first man, he fell to the ground. Then, before the second man understood what was happening she shifted her attack in his direction. With one hand, she grabbed him by his throat and lifted him several inches off the ground. It was odd to watch such a small, beautiful girl unleash such a brutal attack on a grown man. But for some reason I was drawn to it; I couldn't stop myself, I had to watch. In the blink of an eye, she tossed the man to the ground; rolled him onto his stomach and launched her attack. Her body moved swift and gracefully. In a way, her ruthless nature was a blessing; it didn't allow her victim much time to suffer or feel fear. Within a moment, the man was dead, and Grace fed at her leisure.
It was then, I noticed the second man as he unknowingly ran in my direction. I stepped from the shadows, into the light of the full moon, and blocked his path, causing him to stumbled back and fall. For the first time in my life, I saw genuine fear. He had accepted his fate, but as I looked deeper, I saw the sheer terror awoken in his soul. In a way, his bravery impressed me. He rose to his feet and squared his shoulders; his eyes never wavered from mine as he looked death in the eye and faced his fate with steadfast resilience. I noticed his pulse racing as he clenched his fists as if he was preparing to fight, and for the first time, I felt my fangs extend down. It was a painful sensation at first, but the drive for blood quickly distracted from my discomfort. Suddenly, with one fluid motion, I attacked the man. Pushing his head straight back, I was able to find his jugular vein with ease. My fangs tore into his neck, and I felt a sudden rush of euphoria. The warmth, the feeling of power was like nothing I had experienced in my human life. He struggled briefly, but within a second or two, it was over. He fell straight back, but my grip didn't waver in the slightest. I felt his breathing weaken to the point of shallow, wispy pants, and then there was one last gasp as his life slipped away. There was no last hurrah, no valiant fight for life, only the empty silence of death as I crouched over him, feeding on his blood.
When I was done, I looked to where Grace had been, but she was gone. I promptly jumped to my feet only to realize that she was already standing behind me.
"That was impressive," she said, clearly proud of her new creation. "You learn quickly."
"What's so impressive about a cat killing a mouse?" I asked her.
Grace just smiled. "I was trying to compliment you, Daniel. Now let's go, we have to get to Baltimore."
We walked most of the way to Baltimore. I used the time to try and get answers; I asked her over and over: where do we come from, how many of us are there, how can we die? Most importantly, I wanted to know why she chose me? Grace told me that there were only a few hundred vampires throughout the world, no more. As for where our kind came from she claimed not to know. She was tight lipped about information and insisted that I not worry about such things. Grace was a master of manipulation; she understood that information was power, and she wasn't about to relinquish that power. As for why she chose me, she refused to say. She would only smile, and then change the subject.
Baltimore
Although I only lived about seventeen miles south of Baltimore City, I had only been there three times, and I had never been to the city docks. At the time, I had a cousin that lived on the outskirts of the city, and I always stayed with her and my Aunt while my Father went to the docks. So, Baltimore was a new experience for me. The smells were the first thing I noticed. The unpleasant stench of trash and human waste was hard to stomach, but the most intense odors came from the people. People smelled delicious, and at times, it was difficult for me to control the urge to feed. But Crace kept a close eye on me, making sure I didn't reveal our secret. She was always in control of her nature, and constantly emphasized the importance that our kind remains hidden to the world. It was then that Grace told me that we would be staying in the city for several weeks. She said it would be an excellent opportunity for me to learn self-control.
My education was swift and straightforward; feed when I was hungry, clean up after myself, and never attract attention to our kind. Grace was abundantly clear about exposing vampires to the world: it was not permitted. Although we were immensely powerful and humans were no threat to us in any way, we didn't make our presence known to them. On our third night in Baltimore, Grace took me to an area just west of the city, to a logging camp. She said the trip would be an important part of my education. I was to enter the compound and feed within one of the tents, housing the men, without waking a single person. I thought she was joking, and wondered why I needed to be so careful, in fact, why care at all? It was a small camp, and one vampire, even a new vampire, could easily kill every single human within a few moments. Nevertheless, I did what she asked. When I was done with feeding, I met up with her just outside the camp.
"Grace, why are we playing these games? There is no need to test me?" I said, concerned that I had disappointed her in some way. "Have I done something wrong in these last weeks?"
"No, Daniel. You've done nothing wrong," she answered.
"Then why must I continually prove myself to you?"
"It's not that you need to prove yourself to me," she said as she gently took my hand in hers. "You need to know what you are capable of doing, and there is no better way to learn. You are capable of much more than you realize." She paused for a moment and turned away from me. "Maybe even more than I realize," she muttered under her breath. With that being said, Grace never tested me again, and I never questioned her again. We spent the next several months in and around Baltimore. We hunted the locals to the brink of discovery and were forced to move on. Newspaper articles about the missing bodies found drained of blood, was too much for Grace's liking, and she insisted that we move northward.
New York
After leaving the carnage we created in Baltimore, we traveled to the great city of New York. We arrived there in the winter of 1792. It was cold, but the temperature mattered little to me. Actually, I loved the weather; as a vampire, the weather didn't affect me too much, and the crisp cold air of winter made the scents of the city smell cleaner, and even more intense. Hunting came easily to me. I had an animalistic drive to feed that Grace said was unusually strong; a quality she embraced and nurtured. According to Grace, I truly blossomed as a vampire during those first few months in New York.
However, it was in New York that I experienced my first touch of remorse. It was early one evening, and I was walking along restaurant row when I noticed a young wo
man sitting on a bench, crying. She held no immediate appeal for me, and I almost ignored her. As I walked passed her, I decided to see what all the commotion was about. So, I turned and introduced myself.
"Hello, Miss. I'm Daniel," I smiled as I offered my hand in friendship, "Are you ok?" The young woman continued to cry, just barely choking out her name as we gently shook hands.
"I'm Rachel...Rachel Delmore," she said with tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.
"Well, Miss Delmore, what seems to have you in such a wretched state this beautiful evening?" I asked.
Rachel looked up at me, "My fiancé left me for another woman," she sobbed. "What am I going to do?"
As I sat beside her that night, I couldn't help thinking of Kristina. She had been an important person in my life, and I missed her dearly. Grace promised that she had left Kristina and my friends alive, but I always wondered if she had been truthful. Sitting there consoling Miss Rachel Delmore brought these memories flooding back, and I decided to offer the young lady an escort home. After walking with her for several blocks, we were approached by her fiancé. I started to introduce myself when, without warning, he struck me on the right side of my