A tall, dark figure enters the room. This place was new for him and he paused just inside the doorway for a look around. A black blazer and royal blue shirt define his upper torso accompanied by a neatly pressed pair of black dress slacks. Black Wingtips finished the look for him. Obsidian irises gaze about the room, taking in the faces of numerous strangers. With slow steps he makes his way to the fireplace, sitting casually on a plush sofa near it. The firelight shone as it reflected off his slicked-back black hair, which had been neatly gelled into place. A few people made their way to him, curious and drawn to him seemingly. He beamed of elegance, sophistication and charm. Casually he glanced at a few gathered, and much to their apparent surprise, spoke to them. His voice perfectly mirrored his appearance in charm and subtle grace.


“’What does it profit a man, to gain the whole world. And lose him eternal soul?’ Stay by me this evening my friends, and you just may find out.”

With that he smiled and began.

“My name is Simon Nightheart. And this is my story…

“A soul… Every living thing begins and ends with one. No? Well, this story is no exception to that rule. It begins with a soul. A soul rent from its rightful owner. Rent away by the greed, hunger, passion, love, lust and thirst of one night. Taken away by the ivory fangs of a kindred.

“There I was.. Still a boy at heart. Just a normal guy from the middle class of a Western Tennessee suburb. Freshly out on my own, making ends stretch to meet. Somehow. So one night, I went to a nightclub a friend had told me about, ‘The Rave’ it was called. And on that very night, my life changed.. forever.

“As most good stories go.. I met a woman there who changed my life. A beautiful blonde named Lara. She was absolutely incredible in her beauty, intellect and charm. I would find myself spending that night in a lushly furnished condo alongside the river. And that night will forever haunt my memories.

“It was a passionate night, to say the least. I loved her, and I knew it. She whispered promises of forever. Of course at that point in time, I thought she merely meant it as mortals do. I’ll admit to you, she made me a bit nervous at first. Although I was twenty-four at the time, I still had not shared a bed with a woman. She was my first. She seemed so understanding and compassionate as she gently placed her crimson lips to mine. That single kiss brought more desires, cravings, and urges than I had ever felt in my entire existence.

“The next morning, I awoke to find her in my arms. A smile crept along my face as she stirred to consciousness. She smiled, yet said nothing. She merely let her arms snake around my chest and back, encircling me in her rather strong grip, laying her head on that muscle between the shoulder and the neck. In that somewhere I thought I heard an ‘I love you’. I closed my eyes as I felt her lips upon my skin. That was all I had left. I was lost in her touch now, delivered into her embrace as she took of me, draining my body slowly of my life-giving blood. And I allowed her to. That previous night she had taken my innocence, if such exists in a male, and thrust me into manhood headfirst. That glory, however, was short-lived, as she soon took that as well. It came seeping from my veins alongside my life. That morning, in a heavily shaded room, she embraced me.

“Over the next three years, we grew together as both sire and childe, and lovers. I was still new to this world of eternal night and she, my sire, was patiently teaching me all she knew. We were all but inseparable; she and I. Until, the one night came when we were to be separated. They barged in, a group of four powerful kindred. Three of them it took to hold her down; two to actually hold her, while the third drained her almost to the point of death. In that weakened of a state, she could provide little resistance.

“Now, you’re probably asking yourself, ‘Where was he?’ That is a good question. I was being held by the fourth one. The one who had taken her blood was their leader. This was the next in line. He whispered a warning to me as he forced me to watch the draining of my sire and love.

‘It is not your time yet childe, but make no mistake. It IS coming. This is her punishment for making you, mongrel.’

“Oh, now, I did put up a struggle, but against one who out-powered me by that much, there was little I could do save be dragged to the rooftop just behind Lara. Ripping an antenna from the structure, he circles her, one laying her atop a cement slab. They need not hold her down; she was far too weak from the blood-loss to fight back. I watched in horror as they plunged the rod into her chest. I cringed at the blood-chilling scream she let out, her pain echoing in my own heart. Downward they continued, drilling it more than a few feet into the slab, ensuring she could not remove it. A pitiful sound came from my lips as they let me go, watching the love of my life flail helplessly about a steel rod. I looked to where they had been, but they were no more. Simply, gone.

“Blinded by a mixture of pain and anger, I rushed to her side, hands grasping tightly at the pole. But as new as I was to my new strength, I found that even I did not yet have enough strength in me to undo the damage they had done. Regardless, I tried tirelessly, hands bleeding and raw, until finally she stopped me. Reaching a weak hand towards me she tried to smile, failing obviously through the crimson tears streaming from both of our eyes. For the longest time I merely looked blankly at her, noting the mouthing out of the words ‘I’m sorry’. Finally I found my hands cupping around hers and I laid my head upon her shoulder. From that view, I could see her doom coming. It was coming in a spherical shape in the east. Its long glowing tendrils just beginning to touch the eastern skyline. It seemed she too saw it, for she motioned me closer. So I leaned in closer.

‘I love you..Always’, she whispered and moved my face to hers, kissing me one last time.

“Oh how I cried as I returned her words of compassion. Streaks formed on my face from the blood tears that frequented there. Whether it was adrenaline or desperation I will never know, but frantically I again began tearing at the weapon lodged through her chest.

‘GO!’ she half-screamed, half-growled at me. But I did not go. Already my skin was beginning to steam, wisps rising from it like smoke. Still I labored away until at last she shoved me aside with the last bit of energy she could muster. As the pain grew unbearable from the rising sun’s rays, I finally gave in, taking refuge in a nearby stairwell. Helplessly I watched as the cruel sun took my love, reducing her to a pile of ashes upon a concrete slab.

“As my period of mourning ended, rage ensued. I knew I was still too weak to destroy them, so I began my studies, of all sorts of martial arts. And I also honed my kindred skills, perfecting both arts within the span of a decade or two. And then I began hunting them. One by one I subdued and destroyed three of them. The last, their leader..Marco Franchi, still remains, hidden, scared.

“After a few decades of searching, I settled down a bit, my rage cooling now as life moved on. I went back to our old condo and lived there as I bought a clothing company. I kept a pretty low profile among the remaining kindred in the city, still keeping an ever-keen eye for Marco. Soon though, I grew tired of even that. And the city. That is how I came to be here. I still have my company. I control it remotely from here. I am in the process of building another factory here.

“In total, it has been a year shy of a century and a quarter since the night she took me in her arms and showed me life..And made me what I am now. A vampire. A kindred.”