Page 29 of The Diary of the Vam'pir Jacques

Despite his beauty, Nathan possessed a darkness. None of us wished to admit it. Nathan was young, and the young do not have darkness in them.

Bullshit.I wonder if I recognised it because I have a dark side, too. But mine is of cruelty and temper tantrums. Truthfully, I can be very spiteful and sometimes act like a child. As I write this, I am shrugging my shoulders.Honestly, I know what I am and admit it. Can you do the same?

I might be your worst nightmare or your best friend, all-depending on the mood I am in. I’m not as bad as Satan, but I am no angel, either.

However, Nathan had a definite dark side. He would be moody, slamming through the Coven and ignoring us for days. Nathan had just discovered the pleasures of women when he underwent the transformation, and at times, yearning showed in his gaze. He used his beauty and his charms to bed many. Nathan would sulk and frown beautifully, and this was excused as growing up. But I saw exactly what he was. A Dark Angel.

Like me.

With one redeeming feature. Nathan did idolise Raymone because the man had taken him under his wing and looked after him. Raymone flattered Nathan and, as I said, boosted his ego, which needed no bolstering at all.

If Nathan hadn’t been changed and had Vam’pirism as a reason for mood swings, just what his excuse would have been? When he killed, Nathan could be extremely nasty. Nathan would play with his intended victim, sometimes pretending to have mercy only to give them a lingering death. It was Nathan who drew first blood from a living person, and he never ever apologised.

How I love him. My very own Dark Angel.

I am telling you more of Nathan than anyone else, but Nathan truly belonged to me. We thought on the same wavelengths, enjoyed the same things, and had similar mannerisms. My heart aches to have his arms around me, his lips on mine, hear his soft, sensual voice.

I did not ‘hang’ with Nathan as it is so quaintly put today. We kept meeting through the years. We both grew colder and harder. Harder in our emotions as well as in our bodies. Hit me with a crowbar, and you would probably shatter it, not me. Nathan and I would often spend a decade together and then go our separate ways, only to meet up a century or two later.

We didn’t experience the need for constant proximity, as we were aware of being just a thought away.

Nathan is one of the most powerful Vam’pir’s alive. He’s out there; I sense him. But like Inka and me, we too had a big fight. I threw him across the Tower of London when it was newly built. Nathan might be one of the strongest alive, but I am the strongest.

There is nobody who can defeat me. There is no Vam’pir stronger than me. I have the blood of two Vam’pirs, although I suppose you could even say two and a half. My own and one and a half of two others, if that makes sense.I’ll explain that later. Sorry, I do keep throwing in these exasperating little titbits. It’s to tempt you to continue reading.

If I tease you enough, then you’ll remain engaged.

When it is time for bed, you will stay up late, snuggled in your quilt, your cup of hot chocolate growing steadily cold as you forget all about it. That noise at your bedroom window.Is it me, the Vam’pir Jacques, or is it the tree brushing against the glass? You’ll never know, will you?

But Nathan, one of my most favourite people in the world, kept gaining strength as he slept. Nathan gained when others didn’t. I think that, somehow, Nathan stole what should have been theirs. How, I wasn’t sure, but Nathan did. Or did he? I don’t know, perhaps I am talking silly now. How could he steal their strength?

Anyway, there are very few Vam’pirs who would be able to stop Nathan on a rampage.

I am one, and there are maybe three or four others, and I’m only speaking of stopping him, not killing him (although I do not want to). Nathan’s death would necessitate a significant effort. Nobody alive would bother wasting that energy. Nathan crosses the line, but he is not evil. Nathan is, like me, truly immortal. I could probably outlive time itself or even another Reckoning.Let the future come; I can do whatever I wish. Perhaps that makes me a God, or Satan might be more appropriate.

I laugh.

Maybe I am Satan?

I could give old Boney a run for his money.

Actually, please do not believe me, I need no more worthless worship.Hey, that rhymed, didn’t it? Worthless worship, I’ve never tried poetry, perhaps I should.

Second thoughts, I’m into none of that.

And to continue introducing the first born Vam’pirs…

???

Next is Julius, who had a large study. He was a writer and certainly had the temperament to match. He was a quiet, studious man who paid attention to you. I mean, Julius really listened, something unusual by today’s standards. Julius is a tiny fellow, only five feet three inches tall, which differed in our society. He was what we called a dwarf, but it wasn’t meant to be degrading; it was a term for his height.

Julius wore large glasses usually perched on the end of his nose, and he would blink through them like an owl. His hair was a sandy brown colour, and his eyes a watery blue. He appeared a youthful-looking two hundred- and forty-six-year-old.

Just out of interest, Kaltons didn’t begin to show their age till they reached the five hundreds. Kaltons lived to be six hundredyears old, some survived to their seventh century. Though Julius is a first born, he is the weakest. However, Julius could still beat any creature to a pulp that attacked.

Julius loved his library. His study overflowed with books and countless scrolls, ancient by our standards. He wasn’t a writer of stories, but he used to publish reports and works based on what the ancient texts contained. Julius held a position of high regard in his area of expertise.

As I said, he remained a quiet man, lacking a sense of humour. Julius tended to ramble about what he was reviewing at that moment. At first, it was quite interesting, but over time, I thought he was tedious and repetitive.

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