The more he drank the more he liked it. When he finished, he set the glass on the nightstand and crossed his legs on the bed. It wasn’t long before Master Tepes came into the room. The man nodded in greeting and pulled a chair over to Mathias’ bed. He was tall, with long black hair and eyes that were so dark that they were black. He sported a long mustache and long shiny fingernails.
“Now, I believe it’s time for us to have a talk,” the man said.
Mathias nodded.
“How did you like the blood?” Master Tepes asked.
Mathias’ eyes grew wide. “The what?” Holy shit. His heart felt like it had stopped beating. No way was that stuff blood. It couldn’t be, not that Mathias had ever drank a glass of blood before.
“The blood, how did it taste?”
Mathias jumped off the bed. “That... that was blood?”
Master Tepes smiled. The man looked either amused or pleased with himself. Mathias wasn’t sure. Either way, it was so not cool.
“You gave me fucking blood? What kind of nut job are you?” Mathias said trying not to completely loose his mind.
“I am not insane, Mathias,” Master Tepes said.
The way he said it, Mathias could almost see the smile creeping onto the man’s face. Enough with all the crap. He was done with all the mystery, all the secrets. “And that’s another thing. Just how in the fuck do you know my name?”
Master Tepes laughed. “Oh dear boy, that is easy to answer. I am what you call a vampire.”
Mathias froze. “A vampire?” Thoughts whirled through Mathias’ mind. The things he read in books, Nic asking for a vampire skull, the pain he felt before he died; it all bounced around in his head like a ping pong ball. He shivered. Either this guy was a nutcase, or he was telling the truth. Both options sucked.
Master Tepes paused for a moment while he scratched him chin. After a minute, he stood from his chair. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vlad Tsepesh, spelled T.E.P.E.S, former Voivod of Wallachia.”
Mathias raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that you’re Dracula?” Mathias looked at the man and stared. “You seriously don’t expect me to believe that.”
Master Tepes wiped a hand through his hair. “Please do not associate me with Bela Lugosi, for Father’s sake! That is exactly why I wish I was never given that nickname. If Bram Stoker hadn’t come across it, I would not be the laughing stock of the vampire world. I am not “Dracula”. I am Vlad Tepes. There is a great difference,” Master Tepes reached forward as if to pat him on the head; Mathias dodged him.
He climbed back onto his bed and thought for a moment. The pain, the dark figure, it all made sense now. “Holy shit,” he muttered.
Mathias opened his mouth and touched his teeth. “What the...” he mumbled and looked down at his fingertips, they were covered in blood.
“Yes, Mathias. You are now one of us. But do not be glum; it has certain advantages.”
Mathias took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was a vampire. They had turned him into a vampire. “How did you do it?”
Tepes smiled. “Did you know that not just anyone can be made into a vampire? The person has to have a certain magic within them. This magic is passed down through certain familial lines and has been there since humans and vampires began walking the earth. If anyone could be turned into a vampire, the world would be overrun with them.”
Mathias nodded.
“Did you know that you are a distant relative of mine?” He pointed at Mathias. “Your last name, Drvar, is the clue.” He sat back down in the chair and crossed his legs.
“Is that why you made me like this?” Mathias asked.
“There is much more to it than that, but that is one reason.”
Before Mathias had time to brood, he felt a strange stiffness in his back... almost painful. He leaned back and tried to stretch it out, but all he felt was a painful pop. He doubled over. Something was broken. He could feel the bones move apart. Master Tepes came close.
“Mathias, will you let me help you?” Tepes asked.
Mathias tried to nod, but the pain was too great. The bones or whatever in his back felt like they were going to slice through his skin.
“Don’t do that, let me help.” The elder vampire smacked him on the back so hard that he doubled over in the bed. He was about to jump up and beat the shit out of the guy, but after the initial jolt of pain, it started to fade. Something had burst from his back. Tepes ran his hands over whatever it was and Mathias felt complete relief.
“What the hell?”Last time he’d looked, his back was a normal back.
Master Tepes stepped in front of Mathias and smiled. Before Mathias’ eyes, wings, like those of a bat, billowed out from behind Tepes and settled gracefully around his shoulders. “It was time to pop out your wings.”
Vampires had wings. He took a deep breath. He had wings. Sweat pooled on his upper lip. His breath became short. Don’t have a panic attack, not now. “Wings?” He gasped. “I didn’t know vampires had wings.“ He gasped again. “I mean, I knew they changed into bats-“
“Mathias, relax. You have much to learn. Forget what you think you know. Your books and movies will only confuse you. Come. We have much to do.”
Calm down, yeah right. Somehow, though, he suddenly felt calm. It wasn’t natural; it was just there. Mathias tried to speak, but the only thing that was coming out of his mouth was gibberish. What did he do to me?
“You needed to calm down, did you not? I simply aided in that process. You do not want to spend another minute in the infirmary, do you?”
Mathias shook his head. It wasn’t as if he needed to be there, but he didn’t know what to do. Could he trust Tepes? He had no idea, but he wasn’t going to accomplish anything just sitting there, so he leapt from the bed and trailed Master Tepes down the hall.
* * * * *
It wasn’t that Mathias trusted Master Tepes; he just didn’t know what else to do. No one had hurt him... yet. But that didn’t mean much.
The hallways were cold. The cold that only occurs in building made of old stone. The walls were dotted with numerous arched wooden doors, each more ornately carved than the last. Finally, he let himself be lead into what turned out to be an office. Now, he was confused.
Master Tepes patted a chair in front of the desk. Mathias sat, not wanting to piss off his possible captor. He watched the tall vampire cross the room and sit behind the massive desk, place his elbows atop it, and lace his fingers together.
“Now, Mathias, what are we going to do with you?”
Here it is. The catch. “Well, that depends on what type of scam you’re running here,” he said to the tall vampire. He reached out and grabbed one of his wings. They felt soft and velvety, but strong. There were muscles in there. He let go of his wing.
Master Tepes sighed. “Mathias, we have no scams,” he leaned back into his chair.
Mathias glared. He felt that everything was just going way too easy. “Then why am I here? And why did you—“
“Make you one of our kind? Mathias, what else was I to do? I am not a cruel man, contrary to what you may believe. I saw a young man in dire straits, so I helped in the only way I could. Would you rather have died?”
Mathias took a deep breath and slouched into the chair, “No.”
“You are here because this is where the children of our kind learn. You are currently housed inside the walls of the only school for young vampires in the entire world. It is called a simple name, the University. It is taken from the old Latin meaning of the word.”
I’m in a school? Great, just great. He twitched, his wings rustled.
“It isn’t as bad as that, Mathias. Yes, we do have rules here, but for the time being, I only expect you to try to stay out of trouble and pretend to respect me. Most of the rules will have no use for you. But we expect you to respect your elders, keep your bad language at a minimum, and above all else, try to be a kid. You will not be attending classes with the ot
hers. The rest of it will come in time. Is that agreeable to you?”
Mathias thought for a moment. “I either stay here or go back on the streets. Not like there’s really a choice there.”
“Now, we need to get you some clothing and show you where you will live while you are with us.”
He hoped he wouldn’t have to wear some dorky uniform. And again, Master Tepes seemed to read his mind. Mathias felt a strange probing in his brain, a probing he could not see.
“Mathias, you will have regular clothes. You are completely unfit for a classroom environment. Mostly because the moment one of the children makes you angry, you will become violent. I understand; you are used to that. You’ve had to learn to do it to survive, but we cannot have that here.”
He stopped in the middle of the hallway. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
Master Tepes stopped and turned seeing the anger in the young man’s eyes. “I apologize, Mathias. It is something that our kind is rather adept at. Remind me to teach you to block your thoughts before the day is out. Now, may we continue?”
Mathias decided not to fight any of it. It was better to go along with things for the time being. So, he allowed himself to be led down another maze of hallways. It was all so different. He never felt so out of place in his life, and at this point, that was saying something.
* * * * *
After getting some clothing that fit from the tailor, Master Tepes led Mathias back to his office.
“Just wait out here, Mathias. I need to make a call that I forgot about.”
“You mean you can actually forget something?” Mathias asked, smirking.
Master Tepes smiled. To Mathias, it looked kind of friendly, but he’d learned not to necessarily trust that.
“Give me a few minutes and I will show you your quarters.”
Mathias nodded and watched the great door close without the Master even touching it. “It’s gonna be cool to learn how to do that.”
Suddenly, he heard a roar. Wind hit him so hard that his wings blew backwards. He looked around, but saw nothing. It was odd. Wind wasn’t supposed to blow at random moments indoors, but then, he had to wonder if there was anything normal about this place. He felt something coming toward him. Dread crept up his spine. His heart hammered in his chest. Some sort of suppressed instinct was telling him that bad crap was coming. He readied himself.
And then the wind stopped. In front of Mathias, there stood two young men who looked to be around his age. The taller of the two seemed to be in charge. He had a presence, like he knew he was better than everyone else. They were both dressed in the school uniform, which was opulent enough, but he could tell from the snobbish expressions on their faces that both probably had money.
“The first rule here is that the lesser look only at the feet of their superiors,” the tall one said.
Never one for rules, Mathias glared into their eyes. “And who the fuck do you think you are?” he asked and crouched down with his hands up in front of his face in case he had to fight.
The tall one looked shocked. Mathias guessed that the kid had expected him to cower or something
He was blonder than anyone Mathias had ever seen, except maybe that elf guy from those Peter Jackson movies. “I am Konstantin Nikolayevich Karsavin, of the Moscow Karsavins. If you were not a member of the lower class, you would know what that name means.”
Mathias allowed the taller boy to push him. The kid didn’t understand that death was staring him in the face.
* * * * *
His mind flip-flopped. Instead of this Karsavin guy in front of him, he remembered Timmy, Rick, and Claire. His own bullies. His cousins. Mathias couldn’t imagine how they were related, but they were.
* * * * *
Mathias was sitting outside, his back up against a tree. There was a dog pen beside the tree. The dog inside it was a scruffy old thing with fur that was a mixture of brown, white, and tan. Mathias didn’t know what type of dog he was, just that he was a mutt. Timmy, Rick and Claire hurt the animal, and Aunt Annette allowed it. Mathias was starting to feel like he had more in common with the dog than his relatives. There was no escape.
He stuck his fingers through the box wire of the dog fence.
“Here boy.” Mathias said softly.
The dog came over, sniffed his fingers, and began licking them. Mathias sank to his knees by the pen keeping his fingers where they were. Tears fell. It was as if everything, his parents, his situation had come to a head. What hurt the most was that the only thing around that cared enough to comfort him was the dog. He missed his mom so much. “If I ever get out of here, I’m taking you with me,” he said to the dog.
And then, he heard footsteps behind him. Mathias turned his head. The bulk of his cousin stood over him. At sixteen, Timmy was about six feet tall. He wasn’t fat, but he was solid. To Mathias, he looked like a bear.
“Aww, widdle baby misses Mommy and Daddy?” Timmy said in a bizarre high-pitched voice.
Mathias wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Just leave me alone, okay?”
Timmy grabbed Mathias by the front of his shirt and pulled him so close that their noses were almost touching. “Listen, you dick. You don’t order me. I’m in charge, get it?”
The big oaf dropped Mathias to the ground with a thud. Before Mathias could move, he kicked him hard in the ribs.
Timmy stood there, grinning. “Remember, cross me, and you’ll get it.”
Timmy turned and went back into the house. Mathias watched, trying to catch his breath. As Timmy walked into the house, Mathias looked up and saw his aunt at the window. She was smiling. She had to have watched the whole thing. But, what scared him the most was that it was a proud smile. He was doomed.
* * * * *
On the day of his parent’s funeral, Mathias woke to the sun shining. It was ironic that on the day that made it official that he was never going to see his parents again, the sun would be shining. Most people would think that it would be a sign from God that everything was going to be okay, but Mathias knew better.
He was in a daze getting ready. Almost as if he was trying to make it all not happen by not being consciously there, but when he saw his parent’s caskets he couldn’t stop himself and began to cry.
He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Mathias turned him head and saw Timmy, smiling.
“Fucking pussy.” Timmy whispered.
Mathias didn’t grace his cousin with an answer and turned his head back in the direction of his parents. He didn’t want to say goodbye like this, but it wasn’t as if he had a choice.
He stood there as long as he was allowed. But eventually, he felt fingernails press into his arm.
“Come on Mathias, we need to get going.” His aunt said.
He let her to lead him away. There was no sound. No breeze. No nothing. It was almost as if time has stopped for that one moment.
He didn’t remember being in the car. He didn’t remember the reception at the church, although he was somewhat aware that he’d eaten. The only thing that he was conscious of was his head hitting the pillow and everything going black.
* * * * *
The day his aunt decided to leave him alone with the “monsters”, that had been the worst. It was a normal day; at least it felt like one. Up at dawn to start breakfast, Mathias hurried through his chores. He was just placing the food on the table when Aunt Annette stormed in.
“I’ve had enough of this rat hole. I’m going to Harrisburg. I need a new dress anyways. I’ll be home sometime this evening. Timmy, you’re in charge.” She smiled. “Make sure to take care of things the way I like.”
“Yes, Mommy,” Timmy said.
A chill crept into Mathias’ bones. Timmy was the mastermind behind most of the tortures that he was always being subjected to. He watched his aunt leave and hoped to be able to hide out the day, but he wasn’t that lucky.
Timmy was a giant compared to Mathias. And he had the mind of an amoeba, but he was stro
ng. Mathias knew that if the larger boy managed to catch him, he might as well figure he was done for. Rick and Claire wouldn’t be any help. Nine and ten respectively, they adored their older brother and did everything he said. Nothing ever seemed to faze them. They were like smaller smarter versions of their older brother.
Hiding became impossible very quickly. Before he had a chance to run, Mathias found himself slammed against the wall of the dining room.
“Listen here, you little creep!” Timmy snarled. “Everything that happens here today, it never happened. Got it?”
If he hadn’t been so scared, Mathias would have commented on the ridiculousness of his request, but he knew making comments like that would only make things worse.
“Yes.” Mathias said.
“Yes what, Pussy?” Timmy asked.
“Yes, sir.” Mathias took a deep breath. He knew that if he didn’t call the idiot sir, the beating would be worse than usual.
Timmy looked at the others. “Rick. Claire. Grab his arms. I think we’ll play with him in the basement. The little ones giggled and complied.
Don’t cry. Whatever you do, don’t cry. He knew he had to be strong. Dumb animals responded to fear. There was a possibility that if he didn’t show fear, he’d have a chance.
They dragged him from the kitchen into the dining room. Timmy threw open the old basement door; it shook on its hinges. They lugged him down the basement steps and his arms felt like they could go out of socket any minute.
The basement was dark, but not as dark as he expected it to be. The air was musty, clouded with years of mildew. To a normal person, it was a typical basement complete with piles of moldy boxes. To Mathias, it was, at that moment, the scariest place he’d ever seen.
With Timmy on one end, and Rick and Claire on the other, they threw Mathias on their father’s work bench. He tried to get his arms free, but they must have planned this for a long time. Rick and Claire quickly tied his arms down to the legs of the workbench.
Come home, goddamnit. Please God, let somebody save me. He breathed hard. No one came. There was no escape.
Timmy stripped Mathias’ pants and underwear off. Mathias kicked at Timmy’s head and the giant slammed his leg back down to the table and secured his legs with more rope tied to the table. As much as he wanted to do something amazing to save himself, he couldn’t. Timmy was stronger and he was helpless. He felt tears roll down his cheeks.