With the sun setting behind him, Vlad slowly crept up the walkway towards the Inn, something he hadn't done for quite some time. He paused at the doorway, for he thought he heard the sounds of laughter coming from within its walls; that was impossible, of course -- no souls had entered the Inn since he closed it a couple of years ago.

With little effort, he removed the planks that had been boarded up over the doorway, and pulled a rusty old key out from within his cloak. With a scream, the lock slowly turned and clicked, and he pushed open the door.

A flood of memories came back to Vlad as he stepped through the doorway and entered the Black Raven Inn. "Not as bad as I thought it would be" he said, but he wasn't sure if he was referring to his memories, or the condition of the Inn itself.

Shaking his head, he mumbled a few words and lit the fireplace. The light from it, along with the moonlight pushing its way through the partially-obscured windows, was enough to brighten most of the main room.

"Not too much dust, I'll have to get Renfield over here to clean the place up", he said, and walked over to the bar. Behind it were a number of wine bottles; most were empty, but some still had a bit of liquid in them -- which smelled awful -- and were quickly emptied down the sink drain.

Smiling, Vlad muttered "... have to restock I guess ...", then leaned against the bar and gazed into the empty room that lay out before him.

He wondered if they already knew that the BRI was open again. He hoped that they would slowly return, but he knew that some would not, for their scars had not yet totally healed. But, in time, he was confident they would come back.

He left the bar and moved over to the couch in front of the fireplace. As he sat down, a lone bat flew through the open doorway, and settled up in the rafters, followed by a second. If they had returned, he knew the others would too.

Staring into the fire, in a low, baritone voice, Vlad whispered: "Come home".

Vladimir
January 21, 2001

Posted by Vladimir Sun, 06/10/2007 - 07:33

 

Man gets 20 years for killing woman he believed was a vampire

June 16, 2007 (Corpus Christi Caller Times / Barbara Ramirez / ROCKPORT) -- An Aransas County jury on Friday sentenced a 22-year-old man to 20 years in prison for shooting to death a Rockport-area woman he believed was a vampire. Nathaniel Chipps initially was charged with murder in the Aug. 15., 2006, death of 35-year-old Teresa Tracy McCartney, but a jury on Thursday found Chipps guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter.

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Vampires as Victims

As vampires gain in popularity, they start to appeal to a different kind of person as well: the self-styled vampire hunter. The long-running popular television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, about a group of teenaged vampire fighters in California, has influenced this subculture. While for many, it's just role-playing, some take this game with deadly seriousness.

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Twilight

The sun sets and looks like flames on the water of a bright blue ocean, dimming till only shadows remain and the waters of the world look black and the stars pop out all over the place.

Dew touches the tips of grass blades while crickets sing in the distance. A lone wolf howls from far off and a soft, white rabbit's ears perk up in alarm, barely shadowed in the dying light.

The last notes of a lone bird's song die out as the moon shines silver on the treetops and gives the earth an eerie gleam that's only there when the moon is full.

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The Dance of Dark and Light

She creeps up on silent feet, whispering in my ear to ready myself once again, for the first time....

We've shared this embrace, my long lost lover. Your pale hands wrapped round my wrist to drag me to this sea of moonlight.

And as we float on the shade and shadow, the bottom falls from beneath us and we plummet into the blackness.

That cold encasing blackness that fires my soul.

Did you miss me as much as I missed you, my dark beauty?

Did you miss our dance beneath the bright moon, full and heavy, dripping with ice?

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Teenagers Arrested in Vampire Cult Murder

December 2, 1996 -  A group of Kentucky teen-agers who claim to be members of a vampire cult face a court hearing today in a double murder case. Authorities say the teens were involved in a strange game that went much too far.

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