As my eyes scanned the faces in the crowd, I was unsure whether I wanted to find the one I was looking for.
“Marqui!” a familiar voice called.
I turned. There was old John, looking, sadly, worse for the years. Any trained eye could spot him, I’m sure. It was no surprise, though; he was always a bit of a ghoul, even before he was turned. I suppose that’s why he had made such a good familiar.
“John!” I cried, half shocked at my own outburst.
He smiled his jagged, sharklike smile, the teeth pointing all which and every way. I leaned down a little, trying to get a clearer look.
“I’ve never seen a mouth like that on any vampire,” I laughed. “What, do you suck them dry in seconds?”
He laughed.
“I was never one for table manners,” he admitted. “Can’t seduce them like you. I have to bite ’em when I get my chance.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ll have to pull stakes soon.”
“Really? Did you overhunt? I’ve warned you about running out of game.”
“Naw, there are plenty of ’em still sitting around that lake, but they’ve caught on. I’ve got a name now; I’m a legend.”
“Worst thing that can happen to us,” I laughed. “At least practically.”
“Yes, though it is kinda fun to overhear the stories they come up with. I hear now that I was murdered by the townsfolk back in the founding. They even sent down a diver to look for my body or something. I mean, I’m just hiding out in the caves nearby. I make one escape by swimming away, and now they think I’m a fishman or something.”
“Careful,” I said. “You know how legends work on us. Those might be gills growing on your neck.”
That comment prompted another chuckle as he absentmindedly touched the folds of skin under his chin.
“You’re not wrong,” he admitted. “Hunting’s real good there, though. There’s always a place to run and hide. I can’t make up my mind whether to stay or go. I suppose, being a fish man isn’t the worst thing. How are things back at the castle?”
“Good, good. I mean, I had a mob of angry villagers burn everything down recently. All part of the game. They didn’t find my crypt, and the stones still stand.”
“Wild.”
We grew silent then, and my eyes began again to search the crowd.
“How’s, uh . . . ” he started to ask.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
He waited, patiently. He knew I could never stay quiet for long.
“She left a century or so after you,” I admitted.
“Flighty,” he said.
“Wanted to see more of the world.”
“You think she’s here?”
“That, or she got caught in a sunbeam. I mean, we all like to think we’ll live forever, but all it takes is one accident, one survivor vowing vengeance, some victim who knows a little more than you expect. Religion’s on the rise, you know? I used to feel pretty safe eating any western tourist, but half of them are wearing crosses now. Whatever happened to that Dawkins fellow.”
“Says he’s a Christian or something, I heard.”
I shook my head.
“What is this world coming to?”
“Well, I’ll keep my eyes open,” he said, though I wondered what those glossy, dead-fish eyes could see, or if he even could close them. “Maybe she’s here but, well, embarrassed. Maybe she doesn’t trust herself around you, master. You have a way with the fairer sex.”
I gave him a playful shove.
“Oh, for that matter, I’m not sure I trust myself around her either.”
“She was the one who convinced you to turn me,” he smiled.
“She was right. It was long overdue. Even I’ve heard tales of the lakeside shadow back at my chateau. You should feel proud that they fear you so much.”
He smiled that strange, sharklike grin again, and bowed.
Tale Told 