Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter

Chapter One The Bohemian Occult

A twig cracked behind Charlotte. She stopped to see where the sound had come from. Her pulse leapt into her throat as her eyes sifted around in the dark for a pursuer. The Regime had increased the security around Occult borders recently, and being human was never a good thing when faced with the magic or their laws. Her grip tightened around the wrist of the other mortal woman beside her, one Charlotte drugged using a borrowed Witch’s spell.

Perspiration formed around her forehead as she stayed completely still, listening for another sign of movement. She had been so careful, waiting until the Lycanthrope guarding the Occult entrance became distracted by his supper, some passing animal. Now, it almost felt like she should feel his shiny eyes tracking her from within his hiding spot in the dense forest. Her hand quivered as she slid it up her chest, feeling for the little, silver pendant that normally hung there.

Damn. She had forgotten her whistle at home. Now there was no way to call for Valek if she needed him.

The woman groaned next to Charlotte, her head lolling to one side. Not hearing any further movement within the forest, Charlotte took the opportunity to get out of there. She sucked in a huge breath through her nose, straining to quiet her frenzied heartbeat. Perhaps it had been a rabbit or a deer, she told herself as she continued walking again.

Charlotte continued to pull Valek’s stupefied dinner through the shadowed tree-tunnel leading to the hidden Bohemian Occult city. Silvery haze off the Vltava River streamed down the dirt path, kicking up with every step. The sticky, August air made her clothes cling to her skin and sweat beaded on the back of her neck as she huffed over her fast pace through the tunnel, every so often glancing behind her. She struggled to keep her grip on the magically intoxicated woman close beside her as she swifted through the darkness, her boots crunching in the packed dirt.

The occult town was vibrant, busy with fiddles playing themselves on street corners, and enchanted paper lanterns hanging mysteriously string-less in the dead of night. Lycanthropes chattered with each other in alleyways between the hotels and inns. Fairies stalked in the shadows, preying on unfortunate cats and mice. Hearty Elves with round bellies and rosy smiles worked late into the night, pushing their wooden carts filled with baked goods and meats. They waved a greeting to Charlotte as she passed.

Charlotte had become part of the secret of these towns guarded by Witchcraft and governed by Magic; the safe havens of things that stalked the shadows of human nightmares. Though she had never been to any of the other Occults, she knew some were the most beautiful empires ever built on Earth, and by far the greatest secrets ever kept from her kind. Yet out of every last Occult city that stood, she was the one and only human to live among the monsters. Charlotte, the Vampire’s foundling daughter.

Charlotte grimaced as she passed tall, scandalous-looking Witches gossiping amongst themselves around the threshold of a smoky tavern on the square. They clutched their colorful drinks like an accessory as they lingered close to each other in the dense shadows. They spoke too low for her to hear under the sounds of the string quartet playing near the back of the bar, but she had no doubt they were talking about her.

One Witch in particular eyed Charlotte passing in the dank street just outside the tavern entrance. The corners of her wine-stained lips curled upward.

“Hello there!” Evangeline hailed from her circle of chatty friends.

They all turned their heads to snicker and appraise Charlotte. She rolled her eyes and stopped to watch the leather-clad figure snake through the tavern threshold to meet her in the center of the road.

“I see my spell worked.” Evangeline analyzed the drugged mortal’s glassy stare. “It took me ages to conjure it up, but it was the least I could do to help you hunt for Valek.” She tossed her long, chestnut hair behind one shoulder, revealing a circular scar.

Charlotte stared at her, stomach twisting in an envious fit. She remembered when Evangeline received that scar, another particularly warm night only a few weeks earlier.

“Yes.” Charlotte studied the catatonic woman next to her. “Your spell worked very well, actually. It saved me a lot of time. Thank you, Evangeline.” She muttered the last part under her breath.

She could never understand why the Witch made her skin crawl. She’d always been kind enough to her. Charlotte chalked it up to Evangeline being so sickeningly beautiful. Charlotte’s stomach turned again.

“Where did you find this…woman?” Evangeline asked, eyeing her Prague sweatshirt and torn jeans. “She must be a tourist.”

“She was alone outside a nightclub. It sounded like she was arguing with someone on her telephone. American, I think. It was very easy. I approached her, pretended I was lost…” Charlotte trailed off. “But I really have to be getting home now. Valek is expecting me.” Yanking at Valek’s dinner to follow, she started walking again.

Evangeline fell into step beside them.

“I’ll go with you!” the Witch chirped. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen Valek. He seems so busy with patients lately. I’d love to catch up with him.”

Charlotte dropped her gaze, her hands curling into fists at her sides. Evangeline and Valek both looked about the same age — their mid-twenties. They had known each other for years before Charlotte was brought into the picture. She knew that. In all of those years, Valek had never tried to pursue anything romantic with the Witch, yet something still burned inside of Charlotte whenever Evangeline wanted to see him. The feeling twisted around like a tapeworm in her bowels.

“I don’t think he wants any visitors tonight. I’ll be sure to send him your regards, though.”

“Oh.” Evangeline halted. Her face fell for a moment, but snapped back into a fake, bubbly smile. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around then, Charlotte.” The Witch turned and began walking back toward the pub.

Charlotte’s conscience kicked her in the gut and the words spilled out before she could stop them. “But maybe you can stop by tomorrow night. I don’t think Valek has any appointments scheduled.” The truth was, Valek had not had any appointments in a long while, since Evangeline had been attacked by the Lycan-guard. That was the first night Charlotte realized how serious the Regime had gotten about their laws. She remembered the deep gash in her shoulder as she screamed and retched on the gurney as Valek sewed her up again.

Evangeline spun around, her eyes bright. “Perfect! I will be there when I get off work, around midnight.”

“Fine. I should be out hunting, but Valek will be home.” Charlotte forced a smile. She dug her nails into the other mortal’s arm as they began walking again. She swore under her breath.

Charlotte made her way down the small, stony footpath that branched out from the end of the square and led in the direction of home. Partially tucked away behind tall evergreens, the house used to be an old, abandoned cathedral Valek converted into his residence back when the Occult had first been created, years ago. Its stony facade made it look like a miniature castle sitting against the dreamy backdrop of the Bohemian forests. All of the lights were still on inside, casting an inviting glow from the windows as Charlotte trudged up the crooked porch steps, dragging Valek’s mortal meal along.

It was the only home Charlotte had ever known, and he was the only family she ever had. She always did whatever he asked of her, even if that meant luring her own kind to their fate so Valek could survive. It was the only way for him to feed due to the tyrannical laws of the Central European Magic Regime. Laws that forced all beings of magic blood to stay within the confines of the small Occult towns, so no mortal would become aware of the existence of magic. Valek could only feed if a mortal happened to stumble upon the borders of the secret village, or if Charlotte lured one in.

Charlotte parked the bewitched woman next to her on the stair. She shrugged out of her oversized pea coat and hung it on the oak coat-stand with the dozens of horrid faces carved into its trunk.

Valek bounded out from the library.

“Lottie!” He greeted her with a large, toothy grin and lifted her in an enormous hug that swung her around off the floor. “I was beginning to worry, my Lottie. You did not take your whistle.” He pulled it from his pocket and dangled it on the end of a long, silver chain in front of her.

The whistle was their only means of communication when they were apart. Valek’s acute ears could catch its sound from miles away. He had it made of pure silver, so nothing sinister could snatch it from her if she ever found herself in any kind of trouble without him.

“Sorry. I was in a hurry this evening. I suppose I forgot it.” Charlotte grabbed the ornate whistle and strung it back around her neck. She smiled at him, melting the worried creases in his forehead.

Valek examined the other woman standing emotionless by the front door and burst into laughter. “Who do we have here?”

Charlotte glanced back and had to laugh, too. The woman might have been considered appetizing when she’d found her at the start of the night, but now she looked like she was emerging from a coma.

“I found her outside of a tavern in Prague.” She chuckled. “She’s a mess now.”

Valek’s brow creased with worry again. “You went all the way to Prague? ” His tone turned parental. “Charlotte, you are never supposed to travel that far for me. You know it is very dangerous.”

Charlotte winced. “Yes. But Evangeline gave me a few spells she’d been working on. One for transportation, the other for half-life.”

“I see.” Valek's expression eased back again. “Please send Evangeline my thanks then. I am happy she is looking out for you.” He kissed Charlotte on the forehead and began leading the woman by the hand into his office.

There were only two instances when she was not allowed to be in the same room with Valek — when he fed, and at sunrise. He had established those rules as soon as she was old enough to understand them. An Elf had been her caretaker during those times, but now she was old enough to keep away on her own.

Charlotte was about to disappear for the evening, to immerse herself in yet another book, when something kicked at her memory. She called out, stopping him. “Oh! I hope you don’t mind. Evangeline mentioned stopping by tomorrow night.”

“Yes. Of course,” Valek said. “Is everything all right?”

“I think she just wants to visit you.” Charlotte smiled, in spite of the sick feeling forming in her gut again.

Valek chuckled, which made her frown. She imagined he understood the way she felt about Evangeline better than even she did. The psyche of an adolescent girl was probably not a difficult thing for a worldly Vampire like him to figure out.

“Are you okay with it?” He shifted an eyebrow, another bright smile playing on his handsome face.

“Yes.” She hated the fact Valek could hear her thoughts. In most ways he was like a father, but in other more annoying ways, he was much like an older brother. Charlotte grumbled and disappeared over the library threshold.

The library was Charlotte’s favorite part of the house, the room where she spent the most time growing up. It was where she did all of her schoolwork, where she and Valek put the Christmas tree in the winter. Sometimes, on nights when she finished hunting for Valek early, she went in there to sketch elaborate works into a large, leather journal.

Finding she did not have an ear for music and was too clumsy for dance, drawing had become her most favorite form of self-expression.

Often, she’d emerge from the library in the mornings, hands and arms covered in graphite. Her magical world had become one giant muse. But when she did not feel inspired to sketch, she found herself studying, taking it upon herself to learn about the dark facets of Valek’s life and vampirism. This sort of studying, of course, being outside of her nightly curriculum Valek preferred — normal things like literature and arithmetic. Charlotte knew Valek hated when she became so engrossed in these books, but it fascinated her to no end.

Charlotte flicked a switch that illuminated a small, spidery lantern, which hung from the center of the ceiling. She was comforted by its faint glow, the way it warmed the familiar, forest-colored walls behind large, dusty oak shelves. Breathing in the welcoming scent of pipe smoke and pine needles, she entered further into the room to scan the shelves for her favorite book: The Anatomy of Vampires: Volume One. The damaged spine poked out at her from the very top ledge, as it always did. Stretching upward on her toes, she took the tattered volume. The pages shifted between the covers, loose because she had studied it so many times. She opened it to the page she had last dog-eared — a particular unit discussing feeding habits. This page focused on complications of only feeding on animals, something she often wondered about.

She hadn’t always known she was different from him. When she was a child, around three or four, she would go around biting Valek’s patients, trying so desperately to be like him. Most of them only laughed at her. They loved Charlotte. As far as they were concerned, she was one of them. But there was one day, she recalled, just before her fifth birthday, when she made what started out as an innocent mistake.

A Fairy had come in to Valek's office suffering a raging headache. It surprised her as a young child to find Fairies were not the much loved stereotypical little girls with wings and pointy ears that mortals revered in her childhood fairytale books. In truth, humans would not have expected the bloodthirsty monsters with large insect wings, jagged incisors, and slanted, electric eyes. They were androgynous and more bloodthirsty than Valek had ever been, even in his lowest moment.

The young Charlotte, rearing herself, let out a tiny roar and bit the Fairy on its claw after it had stalked into Valek’s office. The thing spun sharply on her, its jagged teeth bared. A horrible bellow ripped from the back of its throat, sludge spewing from its gums. Charlotte screamed and cried in fright, scurrying away as it chased after her.

The Fairy’s jaws snapped shut and opened again as it pursued her around Valek’s office. Pieces of equipment were trashed, important documents flew all over the room, and chunks of countertops and walls were in splinters — smashed by the Fae trying to get to Charlotte. Black saliva dripped from its teeth as it finally cornered Charlotte in a space between two, thick bookshelves. Its snapping jaws only inches from her face.

Valek appeared. Gripping its cranium with his large hands, he snapped the creature’s neck in half with a crunch.

The Fae fell to the floor, its wings thrashing in its final death throes. It became drenched in its own blue-black blood, which oozed from its mouth and soaked the bottom of Charlotte’s shiny, black Mary Janes.

She stood there screaming, watching the monster die. Valek quickly grabbed her into his arms and ran her up to his bedroom, all the while shielding her from the smell now permeating his office. It had been the only time in her life she had ever been welcomed into his room.

Valek sat Charlotte on the edge of his bed, her tiny legs dangling over. He knelt in front of her and wiped the tears away from her face. She only stared at him, crying, and screaming as loud as her little lungs possibly could. He wiped the stuff away from her nose with one of his puffy sleeves and hushed her gently.

“Hush, Lottie. Don’t cry,” he whispered.

She sniffled, but the tears continued to fall. He set her on his lap; the ruffles of her little, red dress upped around her knees. He brushed the hair out of her face and flashed the largest smile he could conjure. However, the sight of his fangs did little to calm her.

“Lottie. Little Lottie.” He hummed gently.

Charlotte was eased then by his velvet voice and quieted.

“You see? You are all right. It was just a big bug. I squashed it for you.” He managed to smile slightly less horrifyingly that time.

“S-squashed it?” She rubbed at her eyes. He took her small hands in his and balanced her on his knees.

“Yes. I squashed it,” he said valiantly.

She let out a tiny smile.

“That’s it. Everything is okay now.”

Charlotte nodded at him. He kissed her forehead and explained she really was very different from him and everyone else who lived in the Occult. He explained further how she was special because she was different and that was exactly why he loved her so very much. That was the first time Charlotte ever fully understood.

She blinked back the memory and rubbed at her eyes as they grew heavy. She decided she would just go to sleep early instead of staying up into the wee hours of the morning. Valek had preoccupied himself for the evening anyway. It had been a while since she had been awake during the day, and she decided tomorrow she would escape for a few hours in the sunlight.

She took one last glance at the following chapter in the volume entitled The Daily Death of a Vampire and put the book away on the very top shelf. She didn’t want Valek to find out she had been studying it again. Though, as she did so, she recalled the unnerving information the previous chapter of the book withheld.

Every morning at sunrise, Valek’s body stopped working. His eyes sunken deep into their sockets, his breathing growing more and more staggered, his joints popping and whining as his last breaths rattled from him. The death of any type of person was not something pleasant to watch, but the daily death of a Vampire beat out most. He never wanted Charlotte to see him like that. Normally she locked herself in her own bedroom, shut all the curtains, and tried to muffle out the sound of Valek’s moaning with her pillows until she eventually fell asleep.

“Lottie.”

Valek’s musical voice stopped her halfway up the staircase. She looked down to see him quickly wipe something away from one corner of his mouth. Charlotte appreciated Valek always being careful to never expose her to his feeding habits, though seeing blood barely bothered her anymore.

“Going to sleep early tonight?”

She shuddered, trying to dispel the deathly images of his “sleep” from the book. “Yes. I think I might go for a hike tomorrow…while the sun is out.”

He smiled uncomfortably. “Yes, well…say hello to it for me.”

Charlotte understood his unbridled fascination with the sunlight — like an unrequited romance.

When Valek turned to retreat to his office, she began once more up the stairs.

“Lottie?” He stopped her again.

She turned back again to see he had returned to the same spot, as if he had never moved.

“Be careful tomorrow, please.”

“I’m always careful.”

“I still do not like the fact that you had to go all the way into the city for me tonight.” He sighed and pushed back an unruly lock of dark, brown hair which had fallen into his severe face, the rest tied neatly back with a black ribbon.

Charlotte waited for him to continue.

“I know it must disturb you on some level to have to hunt for me. I simply…do not know how else to handle our unique situation.”

Charlotte’s mouth fell open, but nothing came out. Valek had never addressed his feelings about this before. He rarely revealed his personal feelings at all. She descended a few steps to stand eye-to-eye with him.

“It's okay. I don't mind it, really. I much prefer things this way than what the alternative would be.” She smiled.

“It is not a joke to me, Lottie,” he said seriously. “If anything is ever bothering you or makes you uncomfortable, I expect you to come to me about it.”

“Of course I will. Who else would I go to?”

He squeezed the bottom of her chin affectionately. They regarded each other for the last time that evening and retreated to their own corners of the house.

Charlotte thought about her five-year-old self against the Fairy again as she crawled into her bed and pulled the covers around her shoulders. She smiled when she thought of Valek’s horrifying grin that day, but the memory of how he’d bounced her on his knee, like a daughter, stung insatiably. The Fairy’s long jagged teeth were much scarier than Valek’s fangs.

She gripped the covers tighter around her neck and closed her eyes. The image of Valek wiping the blood away from his mouth flashed in her mind. Blood, from a human just like her. Frowning, she turned over and thought of Evangeline again. Charlotte noticed Valek’s eyes brighten when she told him about the Witch’s plans to stop by tomorrow. Her heart sank a little deeper in her chest and she flipped over again, staring at the ceiling.

Charlotte recalled Valek’s smile after Evangeline hugged him as a “thank you” for fixing her. If he’d been physically able to blush, he probably would have. Flesh wounds never took Valek very long to sew up, but he gave so much attention to Evangeline’s that night, taking a longer amount of time to ensure that the gash would scar as little as possible. Nothing would ruin Evangeline’s perfection.

The Witch was beautiful, with the brightest eyes that always seemed to pop against her tanned skin and dark hair — Moravian. Nothing like Charlotte’s spiraled, red curls and pallid skin. Evangeline was tall, like the models advertised on the sides of the building walls in Prague. If she were human, she’d probably be plastered there with the rest of them.

To Charlotte’s surprise, she felt her eyes well up with stinging tears. She squeezed the bottom of her own chin, replaying in her mind Valek’s action from just a few moments ago — how parental it felt. Valek would never see her as anything other than a child. She couldn’t remember what the catalyst was that caused her feelings for him to change, but Charlotte needed to live with the fact, as his adopted daughter, she could never be anything else to him

A single tear rolled down the side of Charlotte’s face. She needed to guard these embarrassing, miserable thoughts from him at all costs. He would never understand the way she felt.

She turned on her side again, and let herself drift to sleep.