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that hampered him as a human: his conscience. The amoral aggression of the animal was now his, a gift bestowed upon him by the giant supernatural beasts of the air. He now purged his flock of blood relatives and companions without batting an eyelid. It was almost as if the vampires had opened a Pandora’s Box and loosed an evil never seen in the history of humankind. Once in charge, Deadulus forbade his kind from making human vampires in his image. Henceforth, they would tear bodies to shreds during an attack, depriving the human victim of a mortal shell. Thus, Deadulus had stamped out any threat from other vampires. The only danger now would come from humans themselves.
                  “Impinging progress brought the creatures’ tenure in the land of the Northmen to an end. Improving weaponry, better combat tactics and a loss of fear of the vampire all contributed to their downfall in that land. Deadulus and his fellow vampires fled the area and had to seek refuge elsewhere. They eventually found their way here, to Nocturne. We are a closed, rural community, an area already rife with superstition. They knew they could control us. The village provides a haven for them until we catch up with the rest of the world.”
                  “Where will they go if they leave here?” Vlad said.
    “Deadulus will cross that bridge when he comes to it,” Mattna said. “There’s always somewhere they can go. Our world is an enormous
    place, filled with isolated areas and willing prey. The vampire is a scavenger, a nomad and a survivor. It is an opportunistic creature if nothing else. Is that what you wanted?”
                  “Tell me more about Deadulus,” Vlad said.
                  “More?!” Mattna laughed. “You are a glutton for punishment!”
                  “I want to know my enemy as best I can.”
                  “You must embrace your nemesis, Vlad.”
                  “Embrace the thing that killed my father? NEVER!”
                  “You and Deadulus may not be aware of this, but he’s forcing you to grow and become stronger. The stronger our enemies are, the stronger we must become to defeat them. So they do us good in the end.”
    “He’s trying to kill me too! Putting my father and me in our graves is not a kindness!”
    “You have to spoil a good theory, don’t you?”
    “I am open to persuasion…for a price!” Vlad said laughing, knowing that Mattna lived in penury.
    “I crave not the opacity of riches, nor the clarity of paucity,” Mattna announced pompously. “I look not for a heroic nor noble death. I hope it’s quick and painless, but it’s not for us to decide these things. It is for the great goddess of nature herself. I will abide by whatever she decides for me.”
    “Our beliefs differ, my friend,” Vlad said. “If anyone else heard those words you have just spoken, it would be your end. I do not wish harm on folk who differ from me, nor do I object to their existence. I am curious to know more about them. People fascinate me.”
    “A good way of thinking, my boy,” Mattna said, patting Vlad paternally on the shoulder. “You will learn much in this life that way.”
    A silence fell, and they were comfortable enough with each other to let it hang in the air there between them.
    “Deadulus fears you, Vlad.”
    “Me?! Why would the NightLord be afraid of me?”
    “Deadulus knows that you are the son of a warrior and that you have courage flowing through your veins. The darkness in your heart is a powerful weapon against him. He knows this. That is why your farm is targeted for attack more than the rest. He and his kind are trying to frighten you and your mother into leaving Nocturne for good. They know that without your presence, this village is at their mercy.”
    “I can’t defeat Deadulus,” Vlad said.
    “Why do you say that? Do you doubt your own ability?”
    “It’s