Page 27 of The Diary of the Vam'pir Jacques

The constellation of Leo served as the centrepiece, and the surrounding stars precisely mirrored those visible in our sky. Leo was used because we lived in the age of Leo.

A trained astronomer would not have been able to find fault with their rendering of our night. Remember, I informed you that wealth had no meaning in our culture. Now, perhaps you will believe me.

When we rose, we would drink first. Indeed, our appetite wouldn’t allow us to do anything else. The Vam’pirs withchildren would spend a few hours with them. When the kids or families left, we started work. The villa had become a series of workrooms.

A number of chambers had multiple uses, including bathing and living, yet the majority were workspaces. One of the rooms held a potter’s wheel and a kiln, for example. That remained Pal’s domain, and may the Creator help you if you entered uninvited.

Inka and D’vid shared a space for them to paint in. It was huge, and the walls and ceiling were glass to allow the maximum light to work with. After several arguments, they drew a big yellow line down the middle of the room, and Inka quite happily made a mess of her side.

D’vid, on the other hand, kept his scrupulously tidy. In his half, D’vid had a lute hanging on the wall, a reminder of the days when he would travel as a bard. Sometimes after we had finished work early, D’vid would fetch it and play it for us.

Inka still refused to part with her paintings. In fact, she clung harder to them than what she did before. She’d take her time getting details perfect; that is what Inka now had in abundance—time.

Inka’s obsession with detail intensified; she spent months perfecting shading. She would splash pigment everywhere and often didn’t bother to clean it up. Inka’s side of the studio was covered in bits of dried paint. Sometimes, while furiously painting, she would end up smothered—more paint on her than on the canvas.

A favourite memory of mine was one where she had her hair tied back with strands flying loose. Inka wore a sky-blue tunic and was barefoot. She had a smudge of green paint on her cheek, a smear on her forehead, and red and orange streaked through her hair. Inka had been painting a landscape, and she looked up from it and smiled.

In that moment, my heart melted, and I grinned in return, both of us secure in our love for each other.But now I’m getting sentimental and silly, and if D’vid was here, he would make me laugh these thoughts away.

D’vid was a total contrast to Inka. He embodied Mr Tidiness to the extreme. His paintbrushes, paints, pencils, and crayons all had a system. D’vid allotted a certain amount of time to each task, and no matter what, he kept to his timetable. He always ensured his brushes were washed and his pallets. Even D’vid’s paintings had a symmetry about them. For all of D’vid’s wanderings (which I’m sure had a lot to do with his bloody awful family), D’vid liked order.

Eduardo had his own small study. He had appointed himself as our observer and record keeper. Eduardo had once trained as a counsellor. Kaltos needed people to help others whose partner had died or suffered some other mental trauma. Eduardo admitted his services were rather superfluous concerning us. However, Eduardo would keep meticulous records. Unluckily, Eduardo had been the only registered therapist in our region. They needed to recruit a replacement, who fell short of Eduardo’s abilities.

My brother reported the daily complaints from those who didn’t like Eduardo’s replacement.

Taran informed Eduardo how people missed him, and that helped him soothed his wounded pride a bit at being so easily led into a trap. Seeing Eduardo at night boosted the confidence of some clients, which was uplifting for the quiet man. That meant his skills continued to be used.

Anyway, Eduardo was a good listener and was patient with the Vam’pirs. And boy, did he need it. A week never passed without one of us sounding off about this slight or insult, real or imagined. Eduardo kept records of all changes in our abilities. Eduardo also maintained a diary so that if something importantor memorable happened, we would be able to look back and remember.Eduardo proved a dependable man, and I mean that with all sincerity.

“Jacques, I wait for the day for you to truly understand your worth,” was a comment he once made to me.

“Eduardo, I already do,” I retorted as I continued with my childish plan to pay Kait back for a trick.

Eduardo had grabbed my arm, and I looked at him. “Jacques. I don’t think you do. You hide behind a shallow personality, but you’re deeper than most realise.”

I’ll not forget his words. Eduardo had seen beneath the front I utilised and glimpsed the real me. How disconcerting that had been.

Mera had her own workshop in which she did her metal work. Before Mera’s change, she had been a Master at her job (the only person higher had been the Grandmaster). Mera loved welding and happily spent hours in her area working and drawing designs. She worked with most metals but preferred steel and iron, making pots and pans and other things that were practical.

But Mera liked to make pewter ornaments or what would be called today ‘contemporary works of art’. She showed a bit of unconventionality in her designs at times, but that only heightened their appeal.

Tobais and Kait occupied a very large and, might I add, messy room with Antonio. Tobais and Kait worked as wood smiths, and Antonio crafted toys. In this workshop, all three shared similar views. Chaos reigned with any semblance of tidiness shown the door. It was very dangerous to poke your nose in. When visiting, you usually ended up cleaning with a dustpan and brush in hand.Honestly, I swear they waited for one of us to intrude, as they never tidied themselves.

Their workshop, situated at the corridor’s end, again boasted large windows. As the moonlight streamed in, the dust particles floating about in the air were visible. It was full of them. How the three of them stood it, I wasn’t sure, but they did—and quite cheerfully.

Antonio would eat, sleep, and live in the workshop if he’d get away with it. Not terribly practical in daylight. This was his domain, his security blanket. Antonio was a very shy fellow who had hardly mixed with people throughout his life. Honestly, I doubt he missed going out.

Strange, really, considering his job. How much the Great Experiment affected him, I couldn’t be certain. Antonio remained a private man. Even with us, it took time to gain Antonio’s trust, and it was often Tobais, if anyone, he turned to.

Tobais, who always gave his love and support so readily.

Antonio, a slim man with a rangy build, owned light brown hair and blue eyes. His face was long, with a regal nose and high cheekbones. A jagged scar ran from the corner of his right eye across his cheek and down to the tip of his mouth. No one quite knew how he had got this, but rumours claimed Antonio had fought a duel over a girl when he was younger.

Since no woman claimed responsibility, nobody truly believed this.

Though frowned upon, duels remained lawful.And in all honesty, I can’t see Antonio ever feeling that passionate about someone or something.

One thing helped keep the rumour alive, and that was the fact Antonio said he kept the scar as a matter of honour. He could easily have had the blemish removed, but he didn’t. Antonio basically kept himself to himself and stayed out of other people’s business.

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