At the end of the passageway was a large, spacious, dungeon-like room. The walls were big stones lying on top of each other and there were lighted torches on the wall. There also was a grand stair case on the other side that lead to two hallways opposite of each other. It looked like a medieval castle.
"Wow! This doesn't happen to be Dracula's lair right?" AJ asked not surprised if it turned out to be.
"Dracula?"
"Yeah."
Valencia had a confused expression on her face.
"Who's Dracula? What clan is he in?"
"Huh? You don't know who Dracula is?! He's the most famous vampire of them all! I mean, he wasn't real, but Hollywood sure loves him!"
"Dracula. Just some mortal fable I presume."
"Fable?"
"Yes. Mortals have made up stories about how vampires fear garlic and how we turn into bats, which I find rather insulting. Ugh, those ugly flying rodents!"
"You mean you don't? Turn into bats? Well the stake through the heart rumor is true and the sunlight one. What exactly is true and what is fiction? I'm totally confused."
"Well it all depends on the clan."
"What's a clan?"
She sighed. " Sit down, this may take a while."
They sat down on the cold stone stairs and Valencia proceeded to explain. "A clan is a family group. Kindred. There are three in this world that we know of so far. You belong to my clan, Desmondontidae."
"Desmon what?"
"Desmondontidae. Never mind trying to pronounce it. We'll work on that later. Anyway, the other two are the Daemoniacus, that's the one that killed you, and the Praedari. We are all the same, yet different. We all are immortal, we all have the power to heal minor injuries quickly and incredible strength, and we all have our weaknesses. But like individual human personalities, we all have our own unique characteristics that distinguish us from one another. Take us for example…do I look dead?"
"What?"
"Do you think I look like a rotting corpse?"
"No. But you are really pale. Other than that, you look human."
"That's one of our strengths. We could walk amongst humans. If it wasn't for the fact that we don't breathe, we could very well be mistaken for a mortal. Some of our other advantages are that we could read minds, hypnotize, and fly."
AJ's eyes grew wide with excitement.
"We could fly?! Really?!"
"Yes, we could. Just don't try it yet. You don't know how to yet."
"Cool!"
Valencia smiled, pleased to see that AJ was no longer in his suicidal mode. AJ had a clear view of her teeth and noticed that she didn't have any fangs. He cocked his head to one side in confusion.
"Where are your canines?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your razor sharp fangs. Where are they?"
He touched his teeth to see if he could feel any unusual sharpness. He didn't. He was alarmed. "Never mind yours! Where are mine?! What happened to them?!"
"Oh that. Calm down, Alexander. They're there. They're just not exposed. You know how cats insert their claws and expose them? It is like that with us. We don't need our fangs all the time. Just when we are feeding or when we want to intimidate."
"Damn. I don't know a thing about us at all!"
"That's why I'm here!"
"Ok. Can you tell me about the other clans?"
"Of course. Let's take the Daemoniacus now. They are pure evil. They are our enemy."
"We have enemies? I didn't know that. Aren't all vampires supposed to be evil?"
"Well haven't you noticed that I'm not evil? And you aren't evil either?"
"Yeah, but…I don't know."
"Wait until I'm finished please. Then I'll answer all your questions, okay, Alexander?"
"Wait, just one more."
"Yes?"
"Can you please just call me AJ? Or if you must, Alex?"
"Alex will do."
"Ok. Thanks."
"Yes, alright. Where was I? Oh yes, the-” she shuddered. “-Daemoniacus. They are the easiest to identify. They can't regain human form. Once they change, they are..... they are..... well, they are hideous! Believe me, you will know when you see them. I hope we don't see them. They are a true danger. They have these awful, black, knife like claws that drip with poison. Poison so powerful, it could even kill another vampire, except for them of course because they are immune to their own venom. God forbid we come in contact with them. They can swipe you with their claws in a blink of an eye. Their speed is their real strength. They are ruthless killers that slay not only for food, but for sport. They're malicious, merciless, and unpredictable. They have no souls at all."
A wave of fear and hatred swept over AJ finding out that such evil, horrible creatures lived in the same world that he and everyone else he knew inhabited.
"If they posses such power, why haven't they taken over the world or something?"
"Because I won't let them. I've fought them for hundreds of years. But I don't know how much longer I can do that. I grow weary of battle. They've been especially feisty lately. Probably due to the millennium mayhem."
"Umm, how old are you? If you don't mind me asking."
"I'm 524 years old."
AJ raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"524?! Wow! You look pretty good for your age!"
Valencia blushed. "Thank you. Umm, err, now to the Praedari. They're more of a peaceful kind of people. You can recognize them by their crystal blue eyes. Beautiful eyes that can sometimes prove deadly. When they transform, they still have their human souls. So if they were bad as humans, they'll be bad as vampires, as well. Their powers are to control mortal minds and change into wolves. They're probably the most human out of all of us. Another of their advantages is their ability to bear children. They can sexually reproduce, therefore they don't need to kill as much to make more of their own. But along with all those strengths comes their weaknesses. Like all of us, their immortality can be ended by a stake through the heart, decapitation, holy water, and fire. But they are even more vulnerable because they can also be killed by a bullet through the heart. They are neither our friend nor enemy. They are neutral in this never ending war."
AJ just sat there trying to take all this in. It all seemed so fictional. But he was living proof. No one knows the world as well as they think they do. She looked at his thoughtful face.
"Do you have any questions, Alex?"
He glanced up at her beautiful green eyes. "Umm, so the Praedari are the only ones who can have fun? I mean, we can't, you know, do it?"
"We can, it's just that it won't result in anything but personal pleasure. Is that all?"
He nodded his head.
"Ok. I don't know about you, but I am extremely exhausted. It's not such a short flight from Romania to here. I'm going to rest now. You should too. You have been through a lot today."
"I already slept. Last night. You go ahead. I'll keep watch or whatever."
"There's no need. No one knows about this place but us."
"I'm not tired. I have a lot to think about. Goodnigh---I mean day, or morning, or, umm, I don't know what to say. Have a good sleep. There you go."
She smiled and walked over to him. Then she kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you at dusk, Alex."
Then she elegantly climbed the stairs and walked into the left hallway. AJ assumed his room was on the right and decided to explore his new, temporary home. He entered his room and found it to be quite sufficient. There was surprisely enough, a bed! A big bed! A king-sized bed with red satin sheets!
'Wow! I kind of like it here! But where's the mirror? Oh yeah, vampires don't have reflections…how will I shave?!' He sat down on his comfy bed. 'Is there a good side to all of this? Well, at least I'll stay young forever. Forever. That's a fuckin' long time…I'm hungry. Oh, but I don't want to eat! Maybe I will go to sleep. That'll take my mind of blood. Blood. I never imagined I would drink blood to survive. Why did this happen to me? How am I going to get through this?
‘Valencia.'
And with Valencia in his mind, he lied down and went to sleep.
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