Thursday, February 14, 2013

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Three Bite Rule


The jet-black carriage raced down the darkened road.  The horses pulled it with ease as two of its occupants watched the quickly moving scenery.  Eliza’s red eyes peered into the night and Annabelle mused at how strange the two of them must’ve looked. 

Thomas said, “I just want to thank you both, again.  Henry can be a pain, but he’s my brother.”

“Think nothing of it.  He’s a friend of ours.  The children were right.  We shouldn’t leave him to those monsters.”

“You’re amazing, Eliza.  If I was a vampire and someone said I didn’t have a soul I wouldn’t risk everything to save him... oops.”

Eliza’s head snapped towards Tom’s direction.  Annabelle’s mouth fell open as she asked in shock, “What?”

“I’m sorry.  I need to keep my mouth shut.”  Tom sighed.  “Henry thinks when you become a vampire you lose your soul to the devil.” 

Annabelle’s blood boiled. “How dare he?  My brother and I have always treated him with the utmost respect.  What have we ever done to him?” 

Eliza spoke up with her usual calm voice.  “Now, Ann, don’t be too upset with him.  This is the same paranoia we’ve heard throughout the ages.  Besides, I cannot say I blame the mortals for fearing us and making up stories.” 

“But Eliza, it’s wrong!”  She stood up and paced, moving her hands to emphasize her points.  The carriage rocked as it rumbled on its way over the gravely road, but Annabelle had no problem keeping her balance.  “Of course I have a soul!  I’m still the same person I was before I became a vampire.  How can you defend him for saying such lies?” 

Eliza wasn’t reproachful or angry when she replied, “You have known less than a handful of vampires in your short life.  Most are evil, or at least indifferent.  True, there are good ones out there, like my troupe of gypsies, but there are many more rotten ones as well.  The mortals have gained a deep fear because of the atrocities these bad vampires perform.” 

Calm followed by shame washed away the anger.  Annabelle promptly regained her seat.  “I’m sorry I was upset.  It really bothers me when people say things they know nothing about.  I can see what you mean about the bad vampires, but why say we have no souls?” 

“First of all, it’s ignorance.  See, most people do not even know what a soul is.”

“What is a soul?”  Thomas asked. 

“A soul is the combination of your body and your spirit.” 

“Spirit?” 

“Yes.  Here, let me show you.”  Eliza pulled out her white satin gloves from a pocket in her cloak and held one up.  “See my hand?  This represents my spirit.  Your spirit is the ‘you’ inside.  Your dreams, likes, dislikes, everything that makes you who you are.  See this empty glove?  This is my body.  This represents the physical part of you.  When we were born our spirit went into our body.”  She put the glove on and then moved her fingers inside it.  “When we die, and I mean really die for good, our spirit comes out of our body.”  She removed the glove and placed it down on her lap.

“Our body goes into the grave and our spirit goes to a sort of Spirit Realm.  Many religions teach one day our spirit and body will be reunited.  The soul is the name for your body and spirit when they are together.” 

“So vampires have spirits like everyone else.”  Tom reasoned. 

“Of course.”  Eliza sat back and put away her gloves.  “As for the devil, I’ve never met such a thing.  I do not believe vampires owe their existence to the devil.” 

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