The Diary of the Vam’pir Jacques (The Diaries of the Immortals #1)

Chapter Four.

F ather saw me looking and smiled with great difficulty. “No, no, my anger is not aimed at you,” he cried, coming to take me by the shoulders.

Father was not a demonstrative man, and this small show astounded me. Mother moved and stood by Inka’s shoulder, sensing that we needed a little time to talk to each other. My parents had always approved of Inka and our relationship and treated her as if she was another daughter.

“Jacques, my foolish, impetuous son. Never should I have allowed you to go ahead with this stupid plan. Ah, what’ve they done to you both? My poor sacrificial angel. Never fear, we will get our revenge.”

“No. Forget what happened. Just show me your love, Father. That is all I need. Allow me to hold on, to know you are here for us,” I whispered.

Father sighed and grabbed me as if he was drowning, and I was his last lifeline.

Again, I started to cry.

This taciturn man had, as I’ve said, had never been physically affectionate towards his children. Father found emotions hard to show, but here he was holding me and… yes, crying. Crying! I would’ve sworn that Father didn’t know what tears were. Father sobbed now, though, making this the most painful moment.

Julia, my eldest sister, led Father away, and then I was face to face with my twin brother, Taran.

Taran and I had never been close, and indeed, there had been an intense rivalry between us. We were also very jealous of one another. We were one person split into two. I took risks and treated life as a joke, really. Taran was serious had a good sense of humour, but he was the responsible one. We were always trying to score points of each other. In all honesty, I expected nothing but recriminations from Taran.

“Father has been like this since the news broke,” Taran explained, nodding his head toward my parents. “The Core’s actions irrevocably damaged that part Father had locked away.”

“And you blame me,” I replied in a clipped tone of voice.

“Yes, brother dear, this is your fault. But everyone thinks Father is an improved man. Father needed breaking. He has never shown any emotion since his sister died. And the tragic event happened before we were born. Father now shows how much he loves and needs us. This is the only good thing to come out of this Great Experiment.”

Unsure, I nodded, still uncertain of Taran’s mood, then he smiled and held me in a powerful hug.

Shocked? Indeed, I was, but my arms rose to hug him back.

Taran released me, so I joined Inka on the floor with Mihal.

Mihal was confused but recognised his papa. He put out his little chubby arms for a cuddle, which I gladly gave him. Finally, we all sat on the cushions, Mihal firmly encased in his mother’s grip. Inka was glowing with contentedness.

Father coughed and cleared his throat. We looked at him.

“Is what Marel said true? Can nothing honestly be done?” he asked.

Inka and I nodded.

“Marel will be working to find some reversal, but he thinks it is impossible,” I replied.

Father nodded agreement. “You can’t reverse death. Jacques, I don’t pretend to understand properly, but I’ve grasped the basics. The relatives were notified the day after the disaster. Luckily, we’ve had a while to get used to the circumstances. You, however, have just been informed, and this must seem devastating. This family supports you completely. Inka and you remain our children, and that won’t ever change.” Father coughed to clear a lump in his throat.

Mother continued, “Obviously, we have given a great deal of thought as to what’s happened and to the future. Jacques, Inka, you will need help with certain things. One of the most obvious is Mihal. We would be honoured if you would let us keep Mihal here. Mihal can, of course, go to your parents, but we love him dearly and brought up five children. No offence intended, Inka, but your family wishes for a quiet life. Quite likely, they won’t want a noisy, boisterous child running about.”

“Well,” Inka dragged the word out.

“Look, my parents can watch Mihal for seven days and yours the next. That is fair. If your parents do not want to do that, mine will help raise Mihal,” I said, appealing to Inka’s better judgment.

I guessed Inka was thinking that her parents had only had her, and that Mihal might be compensation, but something made me cautious.

“Yes, Jacques, that’s reasonable,” Inka replied with a smile.

“Have you thought about what to do?” Father questioned, having regained his composure.

“What to do?” I asked, shrugging my shoulders.

Of course, we hadn’t. Hell, we were still coming to terms with what had happened. Right now, we were reeling, and we weren’t even considering long-term plans. The present was all that concerned us. Dear Creator, we hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Well, I was thinking. The land we’ve given you, I am prepared to extend that. Perhaps you can expand your plans for the Villa, and all the changed ones who’ve nowhere to live could reside there.”

“But we can’t stand the sunlight.” “Jacques, you don’t have to. We’ll excavate deep into the ground. You were building on bedrock, which would provide protection for everyone. Build rooms underneath that’ll keep sunlight far away. The villa itself… make into a series of workrooms. Jaq, I’ll finish your training. You only had a little way to go, anyway.

“Current understanding is that twenty-four patients remain. Shared accommodation isn’t for everyone, which is perfectly reasonable. However, some may face cold welcomes from their families and will require a place to stay. Honestly, I don’t mind having everyone here on my land, and indeed, it would be a great honour.”

Father drew a deep breath. “Jacques, Inka, I have failed you once by letting you do this Experiment. Never again. This shall always be a safe harbour for you. Everyone affected has a place under my protection for as long as I’m alive. By making the land yours, everyone will have somewhere to call home after I’ve gone.”

“Don’t speak like that!” I cried, distressed that Father was even considering this. “How did you fail us?”

“Son, I allowed you to participate. Jacques, I guessed what you two were planning, and I could’ve stopped you. Tragically, I did not. Now I pay the price, but so do you.”

“Father—” Inka began, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“Consider my proposal. I’ll not rescind it.”

“Of course, we’ll be honoured to live here. We’ll build a home for everybody,” I said firmly.

If the others didn’t want to, fair enough. Some of them would, D’vid for one. The others would join us when their families died out. There would be a haven awaiting everyone affected. That was what mattered. I would ensure that everyone knew they had my father to thank for this.

“We would like you near so we can make sure that nothing ever hurts you again,” Mother said softly, wringing her hands.

“Mother, we will never leave you. Even if you demand we do, we’ll be here always,” I replied, kneeling at her feet and taking her hands.

“Mother, you do us a great honour by offering this. You are only responsible for Inka and I. This shows how big your heart is, how great your capacity for love is. A few will definitely join us.”

“Currently there’s only us, but there could be more in the future. Just knowing that there is somewhere they’ll be welcome will gladden their hearts,” Inka stated, standing.

“And I’ll finish my training, Father, and do you proud,” I declared.

“Son, you make me proud already,” Father replied, rising to take me by the shoulder. “You’ll always be my child. Nothing will ever change that.”

I swelled with confidence and pride.

My family had not rejected me. Although I hadn’t expected them to, there’d been doubt. I knew now just how much Father loved me. Sadly, he wouldn’t have told me if this hadn’t happened. But I was loved, and that made all the difference.

This fact made Inka’s betrayal all the more difficult to deal with.

Honestly, I can’t understand the mentality of people who let fear rule their lives and hearts. We hadn’t changed other than our bodies. Inka and I remained untouched inside. To my way of thinking, surely that was all that mattered.

However, terror, a powerful emotion, breeds in others. Hatred and cruelty stems from fear. As you read on, you will see what happened to the innocents caught up in this terrible nightmare. People react differently to threats or perceived ones.

◆◆◆

Once, I would have thought Kaltons above such negative emotions, but obviously, they weren’t. As I have previously stated, Kaltos was meant to be an enlightened, superior race. Kaltons were meant to have put war, hunger, and starvation behind us. Our lives were planned routes meant to be full of carousing and happiness.

Nothing had prepared us for what two wicked assholes would do.

The men, Claudias and Maurick, in their infinite wisdom, had decided that their warped ideas took precedence over everyone and everything else. Their goal wasn’t knowledge but achieving immortality for our people and claiming the credit. Both wished to be worshipped.

Only, everything turned terribly wrong.

Claudias and Maurick had only seen what they wished and had overlooked the consequences. They had unleashed twenty-four monsters into the community. Kaltos didn’t want this and wasn’t prepared for it.

Once again, genetic tampering was forbidden. Not a surprise, really.

Kaltons hadn’t felt fear since the Creator knows when. Now, the unknown had been visited upon them by force. By two selfish, immature idiots who, in my opinion, should have been stoned to death. Not just for what they had done but for what they had visited upon Kaltos and for the banished emotions they returned.

The fact that Maurick and Claudias upset our snug little world was a colossal crime. More than what they did to us.

Maurick started realising what crime he had committed after his betrayal. Claudias, I don’t think ever grasped it. Tough luck.

They didn’t comprehend that we would live forever. As clever as their minds were, neither really understood the concept of immortality.

Admittedly, it took me quite a while to get used to the idea, but I did. Within a short amount of time, I began to look forward to every new night with certain glee and curiosity. I may be very immature for all my years. However, I can see where my actions influenced history to take a turn for the better. That gives me a warm feeling inside.

Humanity would have wiped itself out just like the mortals of my race had. Truthfully, humanity is vain and greedy. You are children still waiting to learn the great lessons, and yet installed in your race is hope.

Vam’pirs gave you that. Hope . The human race needed it, or you would not be here. We gifted you the determination to carry on and demand answers. Vam’pirs have posed puzzles thousands of years ago for you to solve. Even today, you seek to find the answers.

You want an example? How about The Great Pyramid of Egypt? It’ll tell you about us, my race and my people. When you can understand the clues, then and only then will you learn from our lessons.

I hope you’ll be here when you do. You, the reader, I address now. Naturally, I don’t wish to witness humanity annihilated. Humans are much like Kaltons in their early history. In time, you could become Kaltos, possibly even greater.

Already, some look outside their own existence and ask, ‘Is that it? Is that my life?’ When everyone asks these questions, answers can be found.

When things are learned the hard way, the lessons are often remembered.

If subjects are preached, they tend to be forgotten quickly. Lessons were learned from the Nazi’s of Germany and the Japanese in World War Two.

Although the Allies claim they had to bomb Hiroshima, did they, in all honesty? Yes, it ended one part very quickly, but that callousness is still there, hidden beneath righteousness. Mankind should continue to learn and grow from these atrocities.

What happened during the war was barbaric, as was the killing of innocents.

While I write this, innocent lives are being taken in the name of one man. A hungry power dictator sits in a chair somewhere in a country and then decides that he wants what his neighbour has got. One man makes the decisions, and that leads to hundreds and thousands of deaths.

Now you see how easy it is for power to be taken and used wrongly. The Western civilisation thinks you are democratic. However, how can you say that when innocent lives are taken? Why not kill the dictators, the murderers? Punish them, not the innocent!

I speak from history’s side of things. In a hundred years, you’ll be dead, and I’ll still be here having watched another World War. This time, humanity may not recover and will be its own demise.

Kaltos nearly brought itself to extinction before its people learned. Maybe Man must do the same. Only you know the answer. But in all likeness, humans will follow in our footsteps and learn the lesson the hard way.

Enough with the preaching.

Let’s return to the betrayal of the one of the few ladies I have ever truly and deeply loved. I have loved others, but Inka was the first and foremost. Although if I were to say this to her face, Inka would probably laugh. Inka knows me, that damnable woman.

Far too well.

◆◆◆

Buoyed by the acceptance of my family, we took our leave to visit Inka’s parents. As we left, I caught Father’s eye, and he glanced at Inka and shook his head.

I frowned, as I didn’t understand what he was saying. I should have, as I could have prepared Inka for rejection.

Instead, I just nodded in return, and Father sat back with an expression of intense relief that I had understood. How I wished to The Creator that I had. It would not have eased her pain, but Inka might have been able to prepare herself slightly. At least, she would have been warned. Inka wouldn’t have believed me if I had told her, but she would have been on guard.

I wished and will wish to my dying day that I could have saved Inka that agony. A part of her died then, extinguished forever. However, when we reached her father’s villa, it was ablaze with light.

Inka said it looked like a welcoming beacon, but something pricked my danger sense, and I sensed impending doom. That sounds very dramatic, does it not, impending doom , and yet that is the best way to describe it.

We entered the villa and walked into the family room. Both Inka’s parents were there, as were two council members, Claudias and his parents. All were stone-faced, and that, in itself, should have warned me.

I took Inka by the hand, ready to give Inka the support I suspected she’d need. I guessed by looking at their faces what was going to happen and finally caught the meaning of Father’s nod. As we entered, the voices fell silent, and, as one, they all turned to glare.

“Mother, Father,” Inka cried with a beaming smile.

Unhappily, I cursed under my breath.

Inka was leaving herself wide open, and yet, why should she not? She would’ve never expected rejection from her parents. Inka had only ever known love and kindness from them.

“What do you want?” her father asked in a cold, distant tone.

Inka faltered.

“It’s me, I’ve returned home…” Inka trailed off in confusion as she stared at her parents.

There was no emotion evident in either of them.

“Let’s go,” I said, tugging on her hand.

Sadly, I tried to spare Inka this, but she was adamant.

“Jacques, these are my parents,” Inka replied, pulling away. “Father, what’s wrong? It is me,” Inka repeated with a slight emphasis on ‘me’.

Inka slightly raised her hand towards them beseechingly.

“You are not my child, so I’ll ask you to leave my house,” her mother snapped.

“Of course, it’s me. What is it? Did Claudias not explain properly?” Inka responded, frowning as she turned to the silent scientist.

“Oh, Claudias explained, along with the council members. My daughter died. She is not you,” Inka’s mother continued, refusing to look Inka in the eyes. “I have grieved for Inka since her death in service to her people.”

“But I didn’t die. Well, I did, but I’m alive again.” Inka frowned. “It is complicated. Do you want us to fetch Marel? He will explain properly.”

Inka stepped forward and took her father’s hand and smiled into his eyes. She tried to hug him.

With a great shove, he sent her sprawling across the floor.

The council members had the decency to turn their backs, but Claudias and his parents watched in undisguised fascination as Inka’s hair fell over her face.

Furious, I knelt beside Inka to help her stand, but she stopped me with a wave. With a shaking hand, Inka pushed her hair back and stared at her father.

“What?” Inka asked, her voice trembling.

“You are not our child. You sully her memory. I told you Inka passed serving her people. You are some type of monster that was created from her remains. Inka’s gone and left her body to go to the Great Plane of Existence. My daughter died! Inka is most certainly not some bloodthirsty creature. A dirty, hungry cadaver.”

Inka paled as each word was spat at her with venom by her mother.

“Leave this decent, law-abiding house. You are illegal, a genetic mutation!” her mother screamed.

Inka shrieked in pain and threw herself flat onto the floor.

Suddenly D’vid was there, and he knelt beside me. D’vid peered at me wordlessly and took Inka into his embrace.

D’vid’s expression was carved of stone as he picked her up and scanned the people in the room.

None of them met his eyes except Claudias, who silently gloated. The bastard was enjoying every sordid moment.

D’vid walked towards the entrance carrying Inka. I stood and began to join him when her mother said one last thing…

“Vam’pir.”

The single word froze the room. Inka froze and then began shrieking and thrashing about in D’vid’s arms. D’vid held her tightly, refusing to let go, and finally, when she stopped, and he left with her.

“Take Inka to the Centre,” I called.

D’vid nodded and disappeared. Inka’s cries drifted back to me on the wind and hardened my heart against these people. I turned to her parents and held their gaze. “Inka and Jacques are dead to you. Vam’pir, you call us in hatred and fear. Fine, that name we’ll take as ours. Yet you openly embrace the man who knowingly murdered your daughter. How dare you entertain the monster who killed your so-called beloved child?

“Claudias, even now, in front of you, gloats over the pain he causes, and you disregard him. Well, Vam’pirs will have our revenge.”

I pointed at Claudias, who faltered slightly.

Inka’s parents spun on him in anger.

“Oh yes, Claudias knew the serum would kill us alongside Maurick and kept that quiet. Just so he could kill D’vid. Such is Claudias’s hate for D’vid,” I explained as Inka’s parents paled further.

Claudias and his family began moving away as Inka’s parents stared at them. Ah, Claudias, you hadn’t told them that bit, had you?

“Stay away from my son. Mihal is in custody of my parents during the time we cannot be there. Leave Mihal with loving grandparents because you are not capable of love. Keep your distance from my family.”

“Damn you, you can’t take my grandson!” Inka’s father exclaimed, stepping forward belligerently.

I turned on him and narrowed my eyes. Never had they seen me lose my temper, and now I did. “If you go anywhere near Mihal, I will rip your heart out and eat it. You may have tried to destroy my wife, but you’ll not get your filthy hands on my son. Talk one word to Mihal, and I’ll kill you.

“I’m sure that dear murdering bastard Claudias has told you exactly what we are. You would rather embrace the company of a man who murdered one hundred people so he could murder his sibling. Mihal will have no part of your fucked up thinking. I swear, I will end your life. Is that clear? Stay away.”

Inka’s mother gasped as she took in Claudias and his smug look. Realisation crossed her face, but it was too late. Everyone blanched and stepped back.

Claudias studied me.

“You ever come near me, and I’ll have you for breakfast, or should I say dinner?” I smiled coldly before turning and leaving them in that room.

By my reckoning, we still had two hours before dawn. I rushed to the Centre to find the entire group there. Inka had huddled into a little ball and was ignoring all efforts to comfort her. My heart broke to see her thus, and I swore never to let Inka suffer like this again. My friends had surrounded Inka, so no one could get close.

I smiled grimly at the loyalty we still showed each other. The others watched, but none were willing to approach Inka and her protectors.

“What happened?” Ami questioned curiously, biting a red painted nail.

I looked at my group and saw Kait nod.

D’vid had told them.

“Are we all here?” I asked, slightly raising my voice.

“All except Julius and Eduardo,” Curtan answered.

“Well, we’ll have to take the vote without them,” I replied.

“What?” Ricardus sought, coming forward.

“Listen. I suppose you returned home to your families. How many didn’t get favourable receptions?”

A few of them nodded, while others looked interested.

“Go on,” Li’zel urged.

“Inka didn’t either. In fact, her parents were damn cruel.” I paused and took a breath. “My father has come up with an idea that would benefit everyone. Inka and I were building a home when all this happened. Father has suggested we finish it and enlarge it with a deep underground cellar for everybody to sleep in.

“We’ll build rooms to use as workrooms or studies. We can all live together, and this way, we’ll be safe from people who wish us harm. Believe me, they are out there and will grow.

“We can still live a fairly normal life and still trade and support ourselves. We won’t have to be dependent on anyone. There’ll be no prying eyes watching. If you decide that this is actionable, I want to make one thing clear. Touch my family, and you’re dead. I will stake you out myself, and trust me, I’ll do it. I’m sure Marel could stock a fridge up in the house with blood. When we rise, the bloodlust will be taken care of.”

There were nods of agreement.

“That makes sense,” Diana said, thinking it over.

They voted there and then, and no one disagreed.

“One thing. Maurick, you’re not wanted,” I stated.

Maurick narrowed his eyes, and everyone went silent. “Why?” he demanded.

“The reason is quite clear. You have betrayed us once. I’ll not give you another chance.”

“Too far, Jacques,” Maurick snapped.

The others had my back, and Maurick took in all the determined faces and understood he wasn’t wanted, so he backed off.

“Just one more thing. I have a name for us, courtesy of Inka’s mother. We are to call ourselves Vam’pirs.”

There were a few gasps, and someone muttered, “Oh, poor thing,” but no one challenged me.

Let me explain.

A Vam’pir is a small rodent, similar to a squirrel. The vicious animal has sharp fangs that it uses to drink its prey’s blood. Then, it rips the heart out of its victim and drinks from that. Sadly, we knew Vam’pirs could bring down a man or a woman, so we had hunted it to near extinction.

The Vam’pir emerge at night like us. It lived on blood, the same as us. And we would resort to cruelty if necessary. Vam’pir was a fitting name indeed. Only no one would be hunting us down to kill us. As a group, we would be invincible.

◆◆◆

Now you are aware of the circumstances that led to the creation of the Vampire myth. You’ve learnt the truth behind it. I have told you of my birth and rebirth. As time went on, we discovered other abilities, too.

Vam’pir’s are indeed dangerous. Not dark, evil creatures like the modern Count Dracula, nor were we the Devil’s children. We did not worship at an altar or sacrifice people. Vam’pir’s didn’t have any rituals, and we are not frightened by holy ground or garlic.

The cross has no power over us in reality. Sure, we spawned vampires, but Vam’pirs are the most powerful and I know now I could survive the sun. I have the blood of two Vam’pirs inside me. Nobody else alive does. Vam’pir’s don’t hug the shadows and hang around graveyards. Vampires might, but not a Vam’pir. Vampires are the much-weakened version. Vam’pirs are a power unto ourselves.

We built our home, and Father finished teaching me the gold trade. At night, when we woke, we drank the blood and went about our jobs. D’vid and Eduardo set up a trade link through my brother and father, and we exchanged for what we needed.

Which, in all honesty, was minimal. We traded for books and tapestries, items like this. Vam’pir’s made our own clothes, as we had weavers and tailors amongst us. Food and drink were unnecessary. For added protection, my sister Julia carved us stone coffins to sleep in. We didn’t really require them, but they did make us feel that little bit safer. My mother and father took to sleeping late in the morning so they could stay up later.

We never saw Inka’s parents after that night, and they stayed away from my family. Inka healed, but sometimes she would drift off into memory, and I know she thought of them—and their cruelty.

Our lives were certainly not idyllic, but they were settled, and we were happy. The others who had family they visited, or they came to us. Everybody was welcome as long as they came in friendship, and we often held parties at night, and everyone was invited. There was biasness against us all, but we tried not to let it bother us.

As the story of my creation comes to an end, I hope you are still reading and will finish my tale. Are you awake, or I have I bored you enough to put you to sleep?

◆◆◆

One last thing… I did get my revenge on Maurick.

The hospital room had one window, and a dark cloth covered it so the sun couldn’t get in.

For added security, we had all moved our stasis chambers away (we didn’t get our coffins till we moved into the villa) from the window.

One night, when the others were out, I unnailed the cloth and tied a string to it. When I tugged, the cloth would fall down, and sunlight would stream in.

I pushed Maurick’s chamber under the window, as I know he usually left, arriving to the very last minute to avoid everyone.

Then, I scratched little holes out of the protective glaze on the top of the chamber. Hundreds of tiny pinpricks. The light would stream in and torture him.

I was determined to cause Maurick deep pain; I wanted him to suffer—needed him to suffer. This was incredibly nasty, as Maurick had suffered the same as us. But you don’t betray your friends, no matter what happens. Let that be a warning!

I would remind Maurick of that lesson as he died his final death.

The others were all safely in their chambers when Maurick returned, and, indeed, he had left it till the last minute. He noticed the chamber had been moved, but he didn’t have time to move it back.

I waited whilst he climbed inside, and I felt the sun come up. Sleepiness washed over me, but by sheer willpower, I kept my eyes open.

Then, I pulled the cloth off, and sunlight streamed in as dawn broke. The pain of the light beams were excruciating to my eyes but well worth it.

Maurick began to shriek immediately. “Jacques!” he screamed, making his throat raw.

Yes, he knew who was behind this.

Good.

Boils appeared on Maurick’s body as the sun found him through the hundreds of tiny holes. One by one, they burst, and his blood splattered on the top of his chamber.

Maurick was a writhing, undulating mess of blood, muscle, and bones. It did make me feel a little sick, but I continued to watch. Then Maurick exploded, and with thankfulness, I sank back into my chamber and slept.

Upon waking, Eduardo reprimanded me, stressing respect and understanding and sticking together. But Maurick was never one of us, was he?

Eduardo told me I would try the patience of the Creator himself.

Over the years, I’d striven to achieve this goal and probably succeeded.