The moon is waning, the waxen crescent slipping behind the dunes. Waves lap in gentle rolls. Stars above become eclipsed with the promise of a new tomorrow. They say the night is darkest just before dawn but what do they know of darkness?
I was borne in shadow, conceived in gloom. Forever imposed into a prison of night, my chains have held me fast for centuries, it seems. I have kept to the back alleys out of sight for fear that someone would point and call me hideous, monster, a villainous scourge of evil. They treat me like a plague with no cure. Like an animal, they hunt me when all I desire is nourishment and to live in peace. Yet they do not deter so the beast becomes unleashed. Torn remains always reveal my true nature but try as I might the tears cannot flow. So I return home, back to the mountains where none dare venture.
Even amongst the slabs of hewn rock, I keep to the dank crevices. Solitude is my soul mate. We have travelled countless weary years together, blind bats leading the blind. Long have I desired the touch of another. Soft skin, gentle caresses, the breath of life against the nape of my neck. Can an abomination such as I be capable of love? I desire it with all my heart but the beast will always devour. I have tried to cage it but no cell can detain its thirst. Its growls echo through my throat until love dies. That is why they hunt me. A father’s cry, a mother’s wail, the rage of a brother hell-bent on revenge. I imagine their pain, bring it into my being to flow like blood but it as alien to me as the light of life.
Even in my haven, they try to torment me. Rearing spears and blazing torches, they sweep like a serpent up through the forest. I watch their approach from the cleft of the cliff, sniffing the scent of mingled fear and fury. Their roars ring through the night waking my brothers. The rabble halts as the howls of the pack pierce their souls. Panic seizes some sending them sprawling back to their little village but the brother is not deterred. My head rolling by his feet is his only desire. As he passes my hiding spot, I see the soulless stare which mirrors my own. No hint of humanity, only tooth, and claw.
I spot the straggler at the rear. He twists this way and that, pride and fear of rejection the chain to his group. I sweep down and strike. His gurgles are masked by the hammering of hearts and the howls in the night. Three remain. Dancing between the shadows cast by the torches’ glare, I tear, felling one then two. The brother spins. He calls out their names. His voice is a tremor of more than just vengeance now. I wait for him to turn. My hand shoots out around his throat.
“I am sorry.”
My words surprise me as they do him. Never have I uttered such sentiment before. His feeble swipe is easily parried and as I choke I see my plight for what it is. Forever imprisoned in this existence, I desire to be set free. Not free to love or live like this dying man struggling to draw one last breath but free of this beast within. Silence returns with a snap. Instead of casting another body aside I place it on the ground. I study what lies below me and see myself: dead flesh with no soul.
Determined, I make my way south towards the shore. Time is short. The whistle of the birds rings out to greet me. I embrace them even when they flee in terror. The damp moss and feral ferocity are left behind as I slide down the hills. The years of waging war against my nature are finally coming to an end. Tonight will be the last.
I think back to my oldest adversary and wonder will she save at the twelfth hour? The words of her Holy book fill my mind as I reach the dunes:
‘The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’
As my feet sink into the sand I stop to stare at the stars. I am tired, tired of the hunt, tired of being hunted, tired of endless nights and sleepless days. No longer will I be tied to the beast within. If it is to be freed then let be into a furnace.
The first rays peek over the horizon. My instinct is to fly but I hold fast. Long have I yearned to see it, much like an old man waits to greet Death. And then I am bathed. The burning glow bursts upon my face. I will my eyes open and I see the radiance of life for the first time. Glorious light, all enrapturing. Shadows flee at its awakening. Mankind was right to abhor the dark.
As my body bursts into flames I, Count Dracula, see my first sunrise and I am free. For it is my last.
