"They say a green eyed ghoul haunts the cemetery. He howls at the moon," Christov said, reluctantly joining into the conversation.
"Who do you think that ghoul might be?" Pete said, a faint smile on his face.
"Damion," Henri and Christov said in unison.
"I wager Damion came to the cemetery to pay his respects to Charles Dickens' brother. You know what a Dickens fan he is."
"I wonder how he must have felt when he saw this statue," Pete said reading the name on the black plaque, "Inez Clarke."
"If he wasn't a fool he would have enjoyed the craftsmanship of the sculpture If he was fool I'm sure it added fuel to his already mope of a personality," Chrisotv said lightly.
"I'm a sure a mortal must have seen him. And he did a disappearing act. And thus the legend was born with certain embellishments. I'm sure Damion must of thought of her. Tara. When he saw this statue," Henri said kindly.
"Did you know Tara?" Pete asked Henri.
"Non. But, we all heard stories of her. The beautiful seductress with a child's tyrant heart and the desire to be loved as a woman. How her spirit must have smashed repetitively against the body she was trapped in. Damion did a horrible thing the child. Crippling her the way he did."
"I'm sure he's paid over and over for it," Christov said, "Les is with Dora. Can you think of a worse punishment than that? Your teenage lover you left your partner for having an affair with a woman old enough to be his mother? Rest well Tara. Believe me if you knew Dora you would know you had the last laugh on Damion."
"Have you ever killed a child? Either of you?" Pete said n a hollow voice.
A weathered smile played patently on Henri's white face. "I killed mortals. Some were children, some were not. It touches me to see flowers at Inez's grave. It gladdens me that she is being well cared for. She was struck by lightening."
"Accidents, acts of nature, acts of God, these things happen," Christov said.
"Is murder an accident?" Pete said feeling chilly.
"Of course it is. It's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Christov said, putting his arm protectively around Pete's shoulders, "Look up boys."
There in the late night sky was a flock of Canadian Geese flying south. The full moon made luminous their dark wings and their long, graceful necks. The whole cemetery took the tint of silver. The glitter of sharp, hard frost shone on the graves like jewels. Inez's statue took on a soft human look. The little girl inside the glass was gray and she was so very cold.
Now it was finally silent enough where Christov could really enjoy his friend and his child. He bought the early September air into his dead lungs. The air slowly filling those barely animated bags which no longer served the purpose of helping to keep him alive.
"We have to find a crypt. Not a fresh one," Henri warned Pete, "Emptying a coffin of a fresh death is a messy task. The best coffins to hide in are the ones containing old deaths. One simply with great respect dumps the ashes and bones out of the coffin. It's less smelly and there's less bother with liquids being in the coffin."
"But the smell, and it's grave robbing," Pete protested
"Ashes to ashes dust to dust. What does coffin have to do with dead bodes anyway? A very, very old coffin smells less of a rotting body. Granted there is that linger of corpse body odor to deal with. A good splash of cologne will take care of that." Christov advised.
"If I sleep in a coffin all day long the next night I will reek!!" Pete said, thinking of how clean and fresh smelling Josh was.
"Perish the thought. Don't worry Pete. I happen to have a small vial of cologne in my coat pocket. You're safe from being malodorous at least from coffin smells," Henri said pleasantly.
Leading the two to an ancient crypt dating to the early ninetieth century, Henri deftly used his mind to force the door to slide slowly open.
Inside the tomb were four wooden coffins. Cracks were in the lids.
"The wood has dried out on them," Henri said, approaching one coffin. He easily opened it up. Inside was a skeleton. Its condition badly decomposed. The bones were a discolored yellow green hue. Moss once flourished on the bones.
"These older corpses were once buried at a cemetery near a river. They were all moved because of over crowding. The populace back then worried about the corpses being so close to the city drinking water. Looks like moisture hastened the decay of this corpse," Henri said, sliding the now dry bones out, "If we were ancients, we would burn the bodies. I feel that would be unsafe. Christov, we could bury them," Henri said as Christov slid a body out out his chosen coffin.
Nonsense." Christov said, climbing into his coffin, laying down, "Just leave them where they are. We can gather up the bones later and put them back into their coffins."
"Christov it is impolite to just leave them here on the floor," Henry said crossly. "In fact it is down right obscene!"
"Fine. You bury them," Chrisov said lazily, "Pete, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and empty yours out."
"Can it wait?" Pete said. He silently said the last rites in his head, asking for God's forgiveness for stealing a coffin.
Sitting upright in his coffin, Christov said in a pleasant voice, "I understand. You have better things to do. Places to go. Josh is going to get a piece of ass tonight. Isn't he?"
Pete's face flushed angrily.
"I don't blame of you or Josh," Christov said hurriedly, "I'm glad you're a vampire. And you no longer have to uphold the impossible moral values you once held when you mortal."
"What do yo mean by that?' Pete said, feeling miserable to be in a crypt.
"I mean about waiting till marriage or till your in a committed relationship to have sex," Christov said smoothly, fingering his gri-gris, "I mean when you were going to be a priest that would be what you would have told young couples. Right? I mean you would expect kids not to sleaze around, not to be sluts. Of course you're gay. I guess the same rules and standards that straight kids are expected to follow do not apply to you."
"I don't know," Pete said embarrassed.
"Kid you got it made. It's not like you're going to make babes or die of a disease. Have at it. Through why the hell you would give your ass away for free is beyond me. Say hi to Josh for me," Christov said cheerfully, "You can party all night long on poppers and ecstasy. Suck anything which fits in a jock strap. You don't have to be held to the same standards your mortal parents are setting for your mortal straight brother. Let's face it. For boys like us it's all about sex. You were born to be damned."
Christov looked down at the skeleton on the floor, he said cheerfully to the body, "Wasn't he girlfriend?"
Going to the door of the crypt Pete started to open it. Cautiously, Pete peeked out. He quickly shut the door. Leaning against it, he whispered. "There's vampires out there."
Hurrying to the door, opening it carefully, Henri looked out of the narrow opening.
Three figures moved silently and quickly. They shone like snowflakes falling in the light of the moon. Their light dimmed as they moved further away from the tomb.
"Do we look like that?" Pete said in awe.
"We can look like that. If we want to seduce mortals and other vampires. I never taught you how to look like an angel," Chritov said dismissively.
"Why, why not?" Pete demanded.
"It's too dangerous. You could accidentally attract an ancient's notice," Henri said mildly.
"Can you teach me?" Pete asked. "Can you show me please?'
Looking at each other nonplused, Henri and Christov concentrated. In a flash their bodies took on a shimmering, sincere glow. All they were lacking for was radiant wings.
"Now, concentrate, this light is within you," Henri said.
Concentrating, Pete's body slowly being to glow like a faint star in the horizon.
"Very nice. Now if you want to seduce some mortal into thinking you're directly from heaven you know how do it," Christov said, going back to his normal self.
"Of if you want to cajole some vampire with the delight of your beauty," Henri said, "Keep in mind Pete if you attract an ancient you could be attracting fatal danger to yourself."
"This little coven we just saw must be orphans." Christov said, "Harmless."
"Should we go to another cemetery?" Pete whispered. His glow gone.
"No," Christov said smiling, "We're staying put."
"But, Christov," Henri said annoyed, "Do you think that is wise?"
"What I think would be wise," Christov said, throwing the crypt's door wide open, "Is for Pete to go out and do some hunting."
"On his own? With an unknown coven near by! Are you insane!! Pete, I'll go with you. Pete?" Henri cried.
Pete was already out the door, running as fast as he could.
"Chrisotv!!" Henri said scandalized.
Don't you see this is our chance to let Pete be free. He can't be stay our little bundle of so called joy forever," Christov said crossly, his throat tightening, "I'm hoping Pete takes up with this covens"
"But Christov," Henri said, his eyes widening.
"It's not like I'm completely abandoning Pete. Henri, he has to leave the nest some night. Neither of us desires him for a lover. Do you?"
"God forbid!" Henri yelled, "What do you take me for!!"
"Nothing! I take for nothing at all!!" Christov said hurriedly, "And this Josh situation. My gut instinct is telling me Josh is going to hurt Pete. And I won't have it. He's not good for Pete. I like Josh. If Josh could be a night walker I'd even approve of him. But he can't. Now stop bothering me. Pete's my fledging and I know what's best for him."
tbc