Chapter 6

Two Weeks Later

Jasper eased himself into the chair opposite Rowan.  Slight waves of pressure from the intense energy being emitted from the vampire who had saved his life caressed his body.  Although he’d come to no harm since he’d been discovered by the ancient creature and was saved from death, he couldn’t help the nagging, unsettled feeling that remained constant.  He’d yet to discover Rowan’s plans for him.  Was he to become a vampire?  Or, was he being saved as a food source for the many vampires that openly roamed about the estate?

“I see that you are finally feeling well enough to be up and around,” Rowan said with satisfaction. “This is good.”

“I need to get back to my lab,” Jasper complained with a boldness that he didn’t actually feel.  “I cannot leave my work.”

“You do realize that you are no longer human, do you not?” the old vampire asked.

Jasper nodded as he said, “I do.”

Rowan raised a brow.  This was the first time anyone had insisted on returning to their former life.  Until then, those who he’d saved and turned vampire had placed their focus on their new life, not their old one. 

This man was so different from any of the others who he’d rescued. He’d been steadily giving him vampire blood for weeks. Normally, by now, he would have turned vampire.  Yet the man’s condition was still unidentifiable. Considering Jasper’s uniqueness, the lack of enthusiasm in joining Rowan’s family didn’t completely surprise him. 

“What is this work that is of such importance?” he asked.

“Research,” Jasper admitted.  “I am in the middle of a very important research project.”

“What type of research?” the vampire demanded.

“Genetics,” Jasper replied.  “I have been researching the longevity of life in relation to family genetics.”

Thinking this man far too attached to a menial act of labor and, thus, having only been half-listening, Rowan’s attention went into focus at Jasper’s confession.  Had he really been so fortunate as to rescue a scientist with the capabilities of helping him with his mission to shift the DNA of his vampire offspring so that they hold more human properties as well as to elongate the life of his humans without the use of his blood?

“Well,” the vampire mused with satisfaction.  Leaning back in his chair, he propped his elbows on its arms and touched his fingertips together as he continued with, “It appears that we have something in common.  I too have been on a quest to discover the secrets of a long life.”

Jasper gave a confused look.

“Don’t vampires live forever?” he asked.

Rowan gave a slight, slow shake of his head.

“Vampires appear to live forever because they exist for centuries upon centuries, but they are not truly immortal. If certain circumstances arise, they can expire,” he admitted.  Then leaning forward, he added, “It is not for the vampire that I seek longevity of life. I wish to find a way to provide the humans of my household with eternal life without the necessity of my blood each day or the need to make them vampire.” Thinking this scientist would hold more empathy for the human than the vampire, his tone was deceivingly offhand as he added, “For the vampire, I wish to provide them with stronger human genes so that they may enjoy a return of some of the pleasures that were stripped from them when they lost their humanity.”

“You wish for the fountain of youth,” Jasper noted without thinking.

“I have heard of such a thing but have acquired insufficient evidence of its existence to justify searching for it,” Rowan replied.

“Perhaps we are making a mistake by discounting it. I always thought of it as a simple fable,” Jasper offered. “Then, I thought the same thing of vampires, werewolves, and zombies.”

“Which is exactly how we supernatural beings wish you to think,” Rowan said with amusement.  “It is enough to have to battle each other without throwing the human race into the mix.”

“You war with each other?” Jasper asked with surprise.

Rowan nodded.

“Indeed,” he said, “The werewolf and vampire are fierce enemies.”

“And zombies?” Jasper asked. “What about them?”

“The zombie is a curious anomaly,” Rowan began.  “Unlike the vampire or werewolf, it is not a creation from another dimension come here.  A zombie is the result of a virus that takes hold of a recently deceased corpse and causes just enough animation to allow it to function in the most primitive of ways.”

“I thought that the vampire was also a walking corpse that was created by a virus,” Jasper said.

Rowan raised a brow. 

With a slight, condescending smile, he said, “Yet, you claim that you did not believe in the vampire prior to meeting me.”

Jasper shrugged.

“It’s the way they are explained in movies and books,” he admitted. “That’s what I meant.”

“The books and movies are incorrect,” Rowan informed him. “The vampire and the werewolf originated in one of earth’s alternate dimensions. It is a dimension that is far more beautiful and pleasant a place to be. We were exiled here as punishment for angering Goethe, a powerful god being.  Each holds the other at fault for this exile.  Hence the hatred, resentment, and constant battling. 

“We are not humans who have mutated as a result of a viral infection.  We are humanoids who were created and lived elsewhere and were forced to adapt and survive on a plane of existence that can be hostile and foreboding.  The integration of humans through the infection of our venom did not begin until the threat of extinction occurred.  It was done out of desperation for the survival of our kind.”

“So, you are alien,” Jasper mused. 

Upon seeing the vampire’s exasperated expression, he immediately regretted his comment.  He quickly made a mental note to think before he spoke in the future.

“I was under the impression that you were an intelligent man,” Rowan practically hissed.  “Coming from a different earth dimension does not make one an alien. It simply means that we are from an alternate earth vibration.  There are many vibrational dimensions for this planet. The surface one being the densest and most difficult to exist in.  It makes for a perfect place of punishment. If anyone is to be considered an alien, it is the human.  You do realize that you are not native to this planet, do you not?”

Jasper gave a confused scowl and shook his head.

“I had no idea,” he said with wonder.

“The humans came from the planet Maldek several millennium ago,” Rowan patiently informed him.  “With their planet dying from their abuse of it and warring with others, they were fortunate that earth’s composition was close enough to allow their bodies to adjust to its atmosphere and, thus, the species survived.”

“Woah,” Jasper exclaimed. “That’s powerful information.  Had I known that over these months of laboring in my lab, I would have done things differently.”

“You will do these different things in the lab that I will provide for you,” Rowan declared.  “I wish for you to continue your research here. You will have all that you need.  I will spare no expense.”

Jasper thought for a moment.  He was uncomfortable being the guest -or was it a prisoner? … he was still trying to determine which one was fact - of a vampire.  Yet, the temptation of having a lab provided for him without the constant worrying and begging for funds, along with the storehouse of knowledge of the origin of man that this vampire possessed, was too great. 

“I will need to retrieve my notes,” the scientist quickly stated.

“It can be done,” Rowan said with a nod. Motioning for the young woman who had just appeared in the doorway of the room to join them, he added, “Forgive me, I must partake in my daily nourishment.”

Without waiting for Jasper’s response, he pulled the woman’s face close to his, stared into her glassy looking eyes, and ordered her to fall asleep.  Her supple body immediately fell across his lap.  After gently clearing her hair from her neck, his powerful and frightening looking impalers dropped from their hiding place in his gums.  Positioning his mouth over a prominent vein, he sank them deep into her tender looking flesh.  Her body gave a slight jolt, but she made no sound.

Jasper’s mouth fell open as he watched in both horror and wonder as the vampire ingested a goodly amount of the young woman’s blood.  When Rowan finished, he pierced his finger and rubbed his own rich looking blood over the sizable puncture holes that his impalers had made.  Her pale flesh immediately healed.

A tall, slender male entered the room and lifted the comatose woman from his master’s lap.

“She will be fine,” the vampire said as he watched his assistant remove his blood victim from the room.  “She will be given some plasma to assist in rebuilding her blood and then her memory will be erased so that she remembers nothing of this.”

“She didn’t seem afraid,” Jasper mused. “She walked right over to you when you motioned for her.”

“She was ensorcelled by my assistant,” Rowan admitted.

“Ensorcelled?” Jasper asked. “I believe I know this word.  It means hypnotized, correct?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Rowan said with a nod.  “There was a time when I only partook of animal blood.  Then, after centuries of it being so, I came upon an occasion of the necessity to drink human blood.  It was then that I realized the acute difference in the way my body reacted to the blood.  Since it is necessary to drink from humans in order for my body to function at its best, making sure that the humans are calm, willing, and relaxed create an easier process for both me and them.  I do not drink to kill.  I feed more frequently than would be necessary so that I can take less at each feeding and stop before the damage is done.”

Jasper, somehow, found this fact both impressive and comforting.

Standing up, Rowan offered his abnormally cool hand to Jasper as he asked, “Shall we retrieve your notes?”