Being immortal is not as eternal as it sounds. Paradoxically, even those who do not age, those who are forever the same as the day they were killed, can die. Immortality, eternity - an illusion brought on only by the megalomania of those who reign the night.

The spell broke on the night when Alexander was caught. "Why do they hate us so?" Dominic wanted to ask, but he knew the answer. They were afraid, scared to desperation by the vampires who had settled in their midst. Dominic didn't kill anyone, and he tried his best to keep Gideon from doing it, but Alexander had gone too far. Young, innocent Alexander with his big brown eyes who had so graciously invited them to stay with him in town. Young, innocent Alexander who indulged in orgies of human blood and took pleasure in the screams of his victims.
It took seven men to overpower Alexander. Gideon was nowhere near, and Dominic had been too scared to act at first. The townspeople had come with torches and ropes and weapons. They had barged in without warning, and while Alexander was fighting them, Dominic was completely overlooked.
It was not until they had left, Alexander screaming in anger, terror and pain, that he came to his senses. He followed them outside to a square in the midst of the town where a large wooden pole had been erected. Alexander was tied to it. Dominic knew he could never hope to free the young boy with so many eyes watching. If he did anything now, he would be caught too, and it would not help Alexander.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! I'll rip your babies apart limb by limb! I'll rape your wives and I'll drink the blood of your virgins!" Alexander roared, "You cannot do this to me! You CANNOT KILL ME!"
The ropes were cutting into his wrists, and his face was bloody from the battle. Someone had torn his shirt half off, and a long, deep gash was visible on his chest. The townspeople were flocking around him, many of them watching at a frightful distance. The women stood holding their children close to them as if Alexander might break loose and attack them any moment. And yet they stayed to see. The men who had caught him stood quietly observing him. They were yielding axes and whips.
For a while he kept yelling and threatening them. But his voice grew hoarse and weak. The sky was getting brighter. Dominic lay watching on his stomach under a house.
"Please let me go!" Alexander pleaded exhaustedly. He had stopped fighting, and the furious beast was no longer visible. All there was left was a young boy in torn clothes, brutally tied up and seriously wounded. "Please ... Please! I promise, I won't ever hurt you again! I beg you! I beg of you to release me!" He was crying. So tortured and innocent ...
"What happened?" asked Gideon's voice beside Dominic.
"Alexander was caught! I couldn't ... we have to save him!" Dominic whispered.
Gideon shook his head, "It's too late. We can't escape in time ..."
Dominic looked at Alexander. The boy was still crying and begging for his life. His face was drawn with agony, his voice shrill and scared, so very scared. The sky was growing lighter still.
"No!" Dominic gasped.
Gideon grabbed his arm. "Don't. It's too late," he implored.
The first rays of the sun that had once been their friend struck the town. Alexander screamed, and he kept screaming as the skin was torn off his bones, as his hair caught fire. The flames licked at the pole and at the ropes, and for a moment he was free, for a moment there was hope. He stumbled, he crawled forward, pleading for mercy with outstretched hands.
The crowd just watched. His hands were turning into charcoal, and he must be feeling every moment of it.
"No ..." said Dominic again. But his eyes wouldn't close, and he saw it all, he saw how, in the end, Alexander was not even looking human, until even his bones burned and turned into ashes. All that was left to tell the tale was the burning pole.
Gideon pressed Dominic tightly against himself, allowing his little brother to cry silently into his chest. "We have to stay here until dark. Don't let them hear us!" he whispered.
They lay in the safety of the dark, clutching each other and not uttering a sound for what seemed like days. Hundreds of feet walked past them and over them inside the house, and the searing sunlight outside was mocking them. Children laughed and played.
When at last darkness fell, they crawled out, damp and dirty. Dominic's legs were trembling, and he staggered after Gideon towards ... towards what? They couldn't go back to Alexander's house.
No one in town had seen them in the company of Alexander, at least no one alive. They went to the inn and rented a room. Dominic collapsed in a heap on the bed as soon as they had closed the door behind them. He curled up in a ball, hiding his face in his hands.
Gideon was pacing up and down the floor. "He went too far," he mused, "It was their revenge. He should have been more careful ..." Suddenly he stopped and turned towards Dominic. "Are you scared? Are you frightened of them?"
Dominic looked up and nodded. "Yes ... yes, I am."
"I won't let them hurt you," his brother told him. He sat down on the bed and pulled Dominic close. "I won't ever let anyone hurt you, you know." There was a strange quality to his voice, something forebodingly disturbing.
"Gideon?"
"Those damned humans. We shouldn't have to put up with this. You shouldn't have to be scared."
"Gideon ... what are you thinking?" Dominic asked.
"They are just humans. They are mortal, fragile beings," continued Gideon, his voice growing almost gleeful. "We could break their bones with so little effort, we could kill them with our bare hands. And why shouldn't we? They're worth no better."
"No," Dominic exclaimed, "No! Don't you remember? We used to be like them. We were human, too!"
Gideon smiled at him, "Yes, but I lifted that curse off us."
"Curse? Gideon, they ..!"
Gideon put his finger on Dominic's lips to silence him. "Shh. You were always so soft. That is why you need me to protect you. Don't you see, Dominic? We shouldn't have to hide from them. We ought to rule them, we ought to be worshipped."
"No!" Dominic said, breaking free from his brother's arms. He stood up and strode towards the door, but Gideon was faster. He placed himself between his younger brother and the exit.
"Why do you want to leave? Where would you go? They are our enemies, our prey. We are different from them, and we have to stick together. Besides," he added, firmly pushing Dominic away from the door and against the opposite wall, "Besides, you would never leave me, would you? You couldn't. I'm your brother. I love you."
Dominic nodded. He leaned against the taller body of Gideon. Where would he go, indeed? Gideon needed him as much as he needed Gideon.

Dominic half hoped that Gideon had given up on his enraged words. He was beginning to think he had when, two nights later, the door to the room swung open and Gideon staggered in, a mess of tangled hair with blood splattered all over his face. A woman was walking cautiously beside him.
"Gideon! What happened?" Dominic asked. Was Gideon hurt? Had someone tried to kill him?
"We took them all!" Gideon roared. "We took them in their sleep, the lot of them!"
"Who? Gideon, what has happened?" panicked Dominic.
Gideon laughed and ran a bloody hand over his face. "Want a taste? Go on. Lick it," he invited, holding his finger up in front of Dominic. The blood, Dominic was relieved to smell, was not his. It was human blood. "This is Ayla. Alexander made her. She is joining us."
"Joining us? Hello, nice to meet you," Dominic greeted the woman automatically.
She nodded politely at him.
"We're not going to tolerate them anymore! We'll show those human bastards who are in charge! We're building an army, Dominic, and you are going to be my second-in-command."
"I don't want to ... An army, Gideon? Please listen to me! We can't just ... We used to be human. Please ... Don't kill anyone!"
"Oh, but we won't kill them all," Gideon replied,"We did what we had to tonight, to revenge Alexander, to make sure they won't try to hurt us. But I promise you, I won't kill them all. It would be such a shame. Such a waste."
"Every vampire I have ever met," spoke Ayla, "has been in exile. Has lived alone, has operated in the dark. Although strong on our own, we are all scared of being exposed, of ... of suffering the same fate as Alexander."
"Which is exactly why we need respect! Why we need to organise ourselves!" Gideon said ecstatically.
He was planning to find more vampires who would join them. He sent Ayla away to summon those she knew, and to make them spread the word as wide and far as they could. Since the brothers had abandoned their estate, Gideon wanted to establish a new home and ordered a large stone house built to serve as the head quarters of the vampires.
But the town was growing restless. The brutal slaying of seven men had not gone unnoticed. Some said it was the ghost of the devil who had come to revenge his death. Other rumours had it that the two mysterious brothers were somehow connected to it, that strange things had begun to happen since they had arrived.
Dominic was being extra careful when he seeked nourishment. Drunkards lying in the gutter wouldn't tell anyone, and even if they did, no one would believe them. Or so he thought. He was just pulling the clothes away from the neck of his prey when the night around him came alive with fire.
"Stop right there!" yelled a voice.
Squinting at the bright light, he discovered that he was surrounded by at least ten men with torches. They were pointing axes and knives at him.
Dominic carefully released the man he was holding. He slided senselessly to the ground.
"He's killed him!" someone shouted.
"No!" Dominic said, "No. I have not. You may see for yourself. He has passed out from drinking. I have nothing to do with it." He stepped backwards to allow them to examine the man. No one moved.
"Why are you here? What have we done to you and your kind?" the first man asked.
"I don't mean to hurt anyone," Dominic said. "Please try to understand."
"My daughter saw you enter the devil's mansion with your brother!"
So someone had seen them with Alexander after all. "Please listen to me. I ... I don't mean to harm anyone. What he did ... what he did was wrong, but he is dead now and ..."
"So are seven able bodied farmers!" roared the leader of the men. "You murderers! You cold-blooded murderers! You will pay for your crimes!"
They stepped closer.
"Please let me talk to you!" Dominic pleaded. "I want you to understand."
"There is nothing to understand, devil!"
Taking him completely by surprise, one of them lashed out at him with a long whip and hit him across the face. He cried out in pain. Blood was dripping into his eyes. "Please listen to me. I don't want to ..."
He was interrupted by another whiplash. Even as he was trying to recover, they stormed up to him and attacked him, punching, kicking and hitting him until he was lying face-down on the ground. He never fought back. He was trying to show them that he was not dangerous. How would fighting help?
"Aren't you a pathetic devil?" asked the leader.
Dominic looked up at him. He was being held to the ground by several people, and someone was pulling his hair painfully. "I'm no devil. Please try to understand. I will talk to Gideon - I will tell my brother ..."
"We'll tell him what needs to be told!" the leader interrupted. He lifted his foot and brought it down hard onto Dominic's hand, mercilessly breaking several bones at the impact.
It was useless, Dominic realised. They were going to kill him. If only Gideon were here ... But then they might kill him too. Maybe taking their anger out on Dominic would be enough. Maybe they would forget about Gideon, and Gideon would be able to flee from the town ...
He was pulled to his feet and tied up. They pushed him towards the town square, shouting and cursing him, kicking at him and swinging the whip at him. There was a new pole in the middle of the square ...
"No," he whispered, "Please - not that ..." Panicking, he finally tried to break free, but they were too many, and he was too injured. Within seconds, they had beat him into submission.

Gideon was furious. They had taken Dominic. Ayla had told him. Why now? Why tonight? Three more vampires had arrived tonight to join them, and he had hoped to have gathered more before it came to any kind of battle. But it was time now, time to act. At sunrise Dominic would die if they did nothing. It was time. It was time to wage a war against humans.
The four vampires followed him to the town square. It was crowded with people reday to watch the execution.
Dominic had been tied to a pole. Had Gideon ever wondered if his decision was right? If he had had the faintest bit of doubt, it vanished at the sight of his brother, bloody and wounded, unconscious and undignified.
"Who is in charge?" he shouted.
"I am!" answered a large man who stood near Dominic.
"I have come for my brother!" Gideon stated. "Will you let me take him?"
The man laughed, "We had no trouble defeating him. Why should you be any different? You are a devil as he is, a weak devil. Why should we have to be afraid of you? It is time that we get rid of you and your kind for good."
"That's very interesting. I was having exactly that thought!" said Gideon. He smiled, baring his sharp canines at them. "Nobody hurts my little brother. Understand? Nobody. I won't forgive you."
Before anyone could react, Gideon had charged at the leader and broken his neck. The man instantly fell to the ground. There was panic and screaming. Some started running away, others took up their weapons to fight the vampires.
"Kill them! Kill them all!" Gideon ordered his followers. "Take as many as you want, spare no one!"
He picked up an axe and split the pole apart, catching Dominic as the ropes broke and he fell to the ground. "Dominic!" he said. "Are you all right?"
Dominic slowly opened his eyes. "Gideon?" he whispered. "You came ..."
Gideon smiled at him, "I'm here now. I'll make everything good."
But the danger was far from over. The vampires were strong and fast, but the townspeople were many, too many.
"I have to help them out. Stay here," Gideon told him.
"No ... Don't ... go," Dominic tried getting to his feet, but to no avail. All he could do was watch Gideon take on an impossible struggle. A struggle for him ... "Please don't ..."
He heard the sound of something heavy fall beside him. A man. No, a corpse. He looked up. A white-haired woman was standing next to him. Dominic had never seen her before, but there was no doubt in his mind that she was the one Gideon had told him of. The one who had made Gideon what he was.
"Damned fools," she said, picking up the axe the dead man had been yielding.
"Why ... why are you here?" Dominic stuttered.
She looked at him with icy orbs. "I can't say I approve of what he does, and I shall never join his little group. But like him, I want to protect the bloodline. So I shall help in this one battle."
And she was gone before he could thank her, a while whirlwind cutting through the fighting people, leaving a trail of corpses behind her. Dominic closed his eyes, wishing this wasn't happening, wishing there didn't have to be this much death, wishing the smell of blood would go away, wishing the pain would disappear ...

The next time he opened his eyes, he was in Gideon's strong arms. They were sitting on a hill, and there was a giant bonfire below. Were they back? Were they back in their childhood watching a summer bonfire?
The bonfire smelled odd.
"I told you I wouldn't let them hurt you," said Gideon, carefully running his hand through Dominic's hair. "Don't move, Dominic. You're hurt. But you'll be all right. And they can't ever hurt you anymore."
Dominic looked around. The white haired woman was gone. Behind them, Ayla and two other vampires were standing, looking at the fire.
"My lord," said Ayla quietly, "we need to take cover before sunrise."
"Yes," answered Gideon. "We will spend the day in the caves to the west, and tonight we move towards the next town to settle there."
"Gideon ..." Dominic clutched his arm with the hand that wasn't broken. The awful truth was starting to sink in. "What is that fire?"
"I burnt it," Gideon said seriously. "I burnt them all."
"The town ..?"
"Yes. The town. They deserved it. They were going to do the same to you."
Dominic gasped. "All of them ..? The children - You set fire to the whole town?"
"Yes. I told you so. It's what happens when humans go against us. Now, we need to get to safety. I'm going to carry you. Please don't look so sad, Dominic. I'm going to take care of everything."
Dominic clung to Gideon's neck. He was watching the flames lick at the dark sky as the small group walked away. "I'm sorry ... I'm so sorry," he whispered. But at least he was alive. At least Gideon was looking after him, and Gideon would make everything all right, somehow.

Back.