A Reluctant Vampire by Carla Krae Page A

peace.
    A horse and rider
passed by the small open window opposite the door. I hurried to it
and shut the hatch. Perhaps they were robbers. That would certainly
explain the hurried actions of my brothers. We didn't shelter
jewels or priceless artifacts, but we did keep volumes of value.
Knowledge was priceless to some.
    I shouldn't get ahead
of myself. There had been no sounds of fighting.
    Yet.
    The thunder of horse
hooves passed by again, accompanied by the shouts of men. The scent
of smoke seeped in from outside. Had they set the outbuildings on
fire?
    “Adamo!”
    I opened my door.
Michael grabbed my sleeve. “This way.”
    “What is
happening?”
    “No matter what, do
not leave the building.”
    “Michael, I don’t
understand what--”
    He stopped, deeper in
the monastery, and I heard hinges creak. He grabbed my wrist and
pulled me down. “Feel the ladder. Hide in the cellar until all is
quiet, even if you have to wait till morning.”
    “What trouble has
befallen us, Brother?”
    “Agents of the Devil
himself, Adamo. Promise me.”
    “I swear it.”
    “Hide now.”
    I climbed down the
ladder, tremors of fear dancing in my stomach, and felt along the
wall to a pile of sacks of grain and crouched behind them. The
hatch was shut and I heard something scrape across the floor and
stop above me.
    Would the cellar
become my tomb this night?
    God
in Heaven, please help us I
prayed in whispered Latin, clinging to the cross hanging from neck.
The sounds of struggle carried further out into the monastery. I
heard the screams of men and their cries in death. My sanctuary, my
home, was being destroyed. It didn’t make sense! My tears fell onto
the dirt floor.
    I don’t know how long
I huddled in the dark listening to my brothers dying.
    Then…the sound of
footsteps, light and close together like a woman’s or a child. They
stopped above and then the hatch was pulled open. I tried to not
make a sound, but my breaths were rapid, dragging harshly out of my
lungs.
    The footsteps came
closer. I heard the swishing of fabric brushing against the burlap
sacks, and smelled roses. The footsteps stopped in front of my
hiding place and then I was suddenly yanked by my robe toward the
ladder.
    “Unhand me!” I’d only
heard one set of footsteps, but it wasn’t possible for a woman to
move me so. “I have no riches!” The hands let go, and I regained my
balance. “Who are you?”
    “What is your name,
boy?” a husky female voice asked in Italian.
    “ Adamo, signora . You shouldn’t be here. It isn’t
safe.”
    She laughed. I wished
I could see the owner of that lovely voice. “Of course it is.”
    “Oh, please help us.
My brothers--”
    “Shhh. I will take
care of you, Adamo.” She caressed my face with a cool, soft
hand.
    My body sagged in
relief an instant before I felt an intense sting in my neck.
    ****
    Noises. Scratching
and whooshing and pounding and—
    So much overwhelming
sound.
    Hide. Run.
    Curled in a ball
covering my ears, I moaned, “I’m dying!”
    A woman laughed and
the loudness of it shattered my head. “Adamo, focus. Relax.”
    “ Speak
softly, signora .”
    “I whisper, child.
Sit up and show some dignity.” Her voice carried a note of
authority and I did what she asked. “Good boy. I will get you
something to eat.”
    The swish of her
skirts faded away. She’d left.

    There was a draft, so
we were no longer in the cellar. I sat on a wood floor, so it must
be the dining hall. Though I didn’t expect to see anything, my eyes
opened by reflex.
    “Jesu be praised!
I’ve experienced a miracle!”
    Instead of the
shroud of obscurity I’d come to expect for over half my life, the
room was visible. Not perfectly, if I remembered correctly from
childhood…the details were blurry and there was little color to my
world, but I could see .
    I moved to my knees
and praised God for this gift. It was not disappointing to receive
imperfect sight since it must be the will of the Lord to keep my
humble,