The last of his kind, a Vampire
Lurks in the hallways and stairways
Of an old, deserted hospital.
The dim sunlight grows weaker.
Not even the sound of a passing car
Is heard in the desolation.
Nearby, a young
woman lies
On a bed of Summer
hay,
Waiting for sleep to
release her.
Standing guard and
alert to every sound,
Is a magnificent Dragon
With shimmering scales
of purple.
From time to time,
He goes inside the
roofless barn
And gazes at the motionless
form.
In the starlit room,
you can hear
The plop-plop of his
tears
As they splash on
the wooden floor.
The arrival of
darkness once again
Stirs the blood-passion
of the Vampire,
And he vanishes into
the wind-littered street.
In the stillness, and
with ragged breath,
The Vampire detects
the
Ancient and beckoning
scent.
“Ahhhh,” he smiles
weakly,
“At last, someone
has arrived!
Methinks they
deserve a proper welcome!”
With eyes closed, the
Vampire
Attempts to discover
the source
Of the tormenting,
sweet nectar.
Elsewhere, the
creature continues his vigil.
As yet, unaware of the
advancing Vampire
That comes swiftly
with the black night.
But then, with a sudden
jerk of his head,
And with heavy-lidded
eyes and fiery nostrils,
The Dragon takes to
the sky.
From the far North
it comes.
And though invisible,
the Vampire can be seen
By those able to traverse the Three Worlds.
(Long a matter of debate,
It is unknown which has the keener senses:
Dragon or Vampire.)
It is not long
before each
Is seen by the
other,
And for the briefest
moment, time stops.
With merely a few
flaps of his wings,
The Dragon glides
silently back to
The old barn doorway.
The Vampire’s need
is overpowering,
And he is unable to
resist the Siren-call
Of his sweet-tasting
salvation.
Soon, he faces the
Dragon,
His thirst
overcoming his fear.
He knows he will die
if he cannot feast.
The Dragon knows the
Vampire
Is weakening as the young
woman
Fades with each
breath.
At last, the Dragon
speaks:
“You have neither
the strength nor
The knowledge to
kill me.
“I, on the other
hand,
Am prepared to barter
for your
Foul and miserable life.”
“You have me at a
disadvantage.
I can think of nothing
you may
Have need of from
me.”
“Ah, but you are
mistaken,” replied the Dragon.
You have the need
for blood.
I am prepared to
offer you blood.
“Inside a young
woman lies dying,
I have protected her
from
Every manner of harm
for many years.
“It not only is my
sworn duty to do so,
But I have come to
love her.
And it is a love
which must not die.”
“But, my lord
Dragon,
How does this put me
in a position
To offer a trade?”
“It is a simple
thing, really.
All you must do is
what you live for:
To take blood in
exchange for life.
“I will live yet for
many ages;
It is too long a
time to be without
The one who has my
heart.”
So, an agreement was
then made:
The blood of the
young woman
For the life of the
Vampire.
“Once this is done,
I promise
To carry you to the World
Between.
And it is there I
will leave you.
“I swear by all the
gods I will do you no harm.
There you can feast
all you please.
For those who
arrive, cannot depart.
“And while some may
find this fate unimaginable,
I would rather have
her with me as such,
Than to exist
without her at all.
“You will have your
life,
And I will have my
love.
Forever.”
And so, it was done.
No comments:
Post a Comment