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Chapter 7

“I had a pretty normal childhood. I had a wonderful mother, a beautiful little sister, a kind little brother, and a loving father. We used to have a wonderful life. We had a house in a different city at the time. It wasn't big, but it was home. My mother, Irene, would always wake me up for school really early. She always said 'the early bird gets the worm' so that's why she always woke me up at the crack of dawn. The entire family would get together and have a family breakfast. Me and my brother Alfred, or Al for short, would always be first to finish eating. Afterwards my sister Elizabeth would finish, and we would all head off for school. The school we went to housed all grades, so it was easy to get there on time. I was in junior high while my brother and sister, who were twins, were in fourth grade.
After school, we would get together and walk home together. We had fun talking about our days while walking home from school. When we got home, mother would be waiting to hear about everything. After we each told her what happened, we went our separate ways. My siblings would go to their room and play, but I went somewhere else.
My backyard was pretty decent-sized, but most of it was taken up by a spacious greenhouse. In it, I would usually find my father, Edward, in there. He was a botanist, as well as a plant biologist. He would use the plants he grew to make medicines for different diseases. I would always go there to help him with his work by tending the plants. But the one thing he was famous for was his knowledge of our ancestors. Nearly every one of my male ancestors were vampire hunters, each with a rather large story behind them. He once told me of Alexander Donovan, the man who single-handedly defeated thirty vampires by himself during the 1700's. There was also Vladimir Donovan, who once liberated a village held captive by an evil vampire lord. However, he never did praise any of my ancestors for what they did; and to prove this, he told me about one of my earliest ancestors, William Donovan.
William did exactly what my father did for a living. He was an honest man, who worked hard for his living. But he was always lonely, having no one to share his life with. However, that changed when he met a woman named Elda Sinclair. She changed his life for the better, and he was determined to win her heart. They soon fell in love. After a few months, she revealed to him that she was a vampire. She was afraid that he would not love her anymore. But William told her that he did not care about what she was, but rather, he cared about who she was. They were going to be married, but his journal stopped. We think he was killed in an accident, but we aren't sure.
My father would use this story to tell me of the possibility of vampire and human co-existence. He always said that if humans and vampires could get along, the world would be a better place. But there would always be war between them, so long as they continued to be hateful to one another. I used to believe him. I wanted to be the first person to bring peace between the races, and unite the world with human-vampire co-existence. But that was never to be.”
“So what happened?” Maeve asked quietly.
“I was coming home from school one evening. It was late, so I was alone when I walked home. I was carrying with me the ocarina my father gave me the evening before. I walked in the door, but I wasn't greeted by my mother like usual. I wasn't quickly mauled by my brother and sister. Then I smelled it; that painful smell of wet iron: blood. I ran into the living room to only see them lying on the floor, dead. It was a horrific site to see. The only thing that told me that they were attacked were the marks of the vampire on their necks. I dropped to my knees and wept openly. But after a while, I realized that my father was nowhere to be found. I ran frantically through the house searching for him, but he was not in the house. The only other place I did not check was the greenhouse in back.
When I got to the greenhouse, I would not believe what my eyes were telling me. My father's blood was spread all over the greenhouse walls, and in the middle of it laid my father. He did not have his blood sucked dry. Instead, he was brutally murdered. The marks of the sword and the claw were on his body. I was so frightened that day. But as I left the greenhouse, there was a man standing a few yards away from the entrance. He wore a long coat. I thought he was the attacker, so I was terrified. But then he spoke to me, saying he was not my enemy. He told me that he was investigating the crime and looking for survivors. He then held out my father's necklace. He told me that if I wanted vengeance against my family's murderers, I should come with him. I was afraid at first, but then I went with him. It was then that I learned that he was a vampire hunter, and that if I went with him, I would fulfill my legacy as well as get vengeance for my family.”
“So that's why you tried to forget your past,” Maeve said quietly. “You've had a traumatizing thing happen to you. No person should ever have to feel that kind of pain.”
“I went with him to a place near England where vampire hunters were trained. It turns out that there was a whole clan, dedicated to eradicating the vampire menace. At first, none of the hunters accept me as one of them; but when they heard that I was the descendant of a legend among hunters, they immediately started my training. I was trained in the martial arts, swordsmanship, among others. I learned rapidly due to my will for justice, and my deep desire for vengeance. It was after I finished my training that I was told who my family's killer was.
My family was murdered by Henry Sinclair, one of the members of the infamous Sinclair family. Those from the Sinclair family have special abilities different from normal vampires. Some call it magic, others psychic force, but they have the ability to manipulate their inner energies to create fields. They can use them to hurl bolts of energy, or create a barrier to shield them from harm. They can also use it for hypnosis, telekinesis, and other techniques. I was not afraid; I believed I could handle them easily. Then they told me that no one has ever faced them and returned alive. So to combat this, they enlisted the help of scientists who specialized in genetic manipulation. They came up with a way to have humans mimic the abilities of vampires. The only thing that prevented it from becoming widespread was the fact that no one ever survived the surgery. But I was determined to defeat them no matter what the cost.
I underwent the procedure, but there were complications. My body started to reject the procedure, and I slipped into a deep coma. I was comatose for almost a month until I finally came around. It was a success. My body's own natural abilities were tripled. And over time, I had figured out how to channel my own inner energies to use the same techniques as the Sinclair family.”
“So that's how you were able to defeat the man that tried to hurt me that one evening.” Maeve replied, astonished.
“Yes, my abilities are far beyond normal humans.” Victor said calmly. “When I recovered fully, I left the hunter sanctuary. They believed I was the one who would end the vampire menace for good. They gave me a special broadsword that was coated with a special ultra-violet substance, standard for hunters from our clan to carry, and gave me the name 'Eisenfaust – The Iron Fist' to commemorate my ascension to a full-fledged hunter. As I was leaving, the hunter that found me gave me his sword as a gift. That sword was the one I had yesterday.”
“So now you want to slay your family's killers.” Maeve spoke coldly.
“I will bring my family's murderers to justice.” Victor's face was stern, his green eyes revealed his inner emotion. “Those monsters will pay for what they did. Only after I do this will my family, and myself, rest in peace.”
“What do you mean, 'yourself'?” she asked.
“The surgery to increase my abilities has most likely halved my life span. That is just one of the side effects of it.”
“I'm sorry,” Maeve said regretfully. “I did not mean to be harsh about earlier.” She paused for a moment. “What other effects does it have?”
“Whenever I start to dig into my inner strengths, my body's energy drains at double the rate. I tire quicker than normal.” Victor said.
“I noticed that your eyes change color from your normal brown to green. Is that due to the surgery as well?”
“Yes, whenever I prepare to fight, or my emotions wander, my eyes will turn an emerald green.” Victor said calmly.
“What will you do after you have gotten your revenge?” she asked coldly.
“I plan to retire. Start over and make a new life for myself. I want to perhaps find someone who cares for me, and maybe start a family.” Victor seemed to smile as he said this. “But that will probably never happen.”
“Oh, why do you say that?” Maeve said slyly.
“Who would ever believe that I am a vampire hunter? And besides, who would ever care about a guy like me...”
“I would...” she said softly. The two of them were really close to each other on the park bench. Their faces were close together, and the air between them was heavy with swirling emotions. But before anything happened, they each realized what they were doing and pulled away from each other.
“I...I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been doing that!” Maeve said quickly. Her face turned red with embarrassment.
“No...I should not have acted like that! The blame is mine.” Victor was embarrassed also, seeing that his face was red as well. They each took a minute to recollect their thoughts. As she was pulling herself together, Maeve looked at a clock on one of the far off buildings. It read 1:00.
“I need to be heading home soon. I enjoyed spending time with you. See you around.” Maeve started to leave.
“Wait, Miss St. Clair!” Victor stood up and called to her. Maeve seemed to be afraid to turn around and speak to Victor. “Yes?” she replied back.
“I was wondering... well...” Victor was at a loss for words.
“What is it? Is there something wrong?” Maeve asked.
“I would like to have the pleasure of your company tomorrow... if at all possible.”
Maeve was stunned to hear those words come out of his mouth. She was speechless. “I... I don't know what to say.” She couldn't talk.
“It's all right if you have something else planned...” Victor said.
“No, no. It's fine!” Maeve quickly replied. “I would love to join you tomorrow.”
“Can I meet you in the park center at around 11:00?” Victor asked shyly.
“Sure! I will be there!” Maeve said rapidly. “I have to go. Good night Victor.” She turned and left the park. Victor turned away and headed back towards the city.
“Maeve is a wonderful woman.” Victor thought to himself. “Once I bring my family's murderers to justice, I would like to perhaps see her more. Who knows, maybe she really would like to be with me more.” He continued his patrol of the city.
When Maeve got home, she quickly walked inside. Maria was in the hallway.
“Sister, I have to warn you that...”
Maeve walked past her and went upstairs. “Not now Maria, I have to take care of something.” She went into her room and shut the door.
“What have I done?” Maeve thought to herself. “I can't do this! I can't be with someone like him! He's a hunter; our mortal enemy on that note... Wait a minute!” Her eyes widened. “He was around me and didn't have any feelings of hate towards me. Could it be that...” She gasped quietly. “He doesn't know that I'm a vampire!” A smile developed on her face. “Maybe there is still hope; maybe I can convince him that the hunting is wrong. He seems to want to be with me, so maybe he will listen to me!” She sighed and sat on her bed. “I'll give it a shot tomorrow. And who knows; maybe it will all work out.”