Vampire Hunter

     She had chased the vampire down that night to a clearing in the woods. It was lit only by a dim light and the pale moon above. It was a typical chase Sirena went on when she was called to do her most unusual occupation. He had stopped to face her and was staring with an unusual gaze. It was a chilling gaze that seemed to pierce her soul.
         “Heh, vampire hunter, is that what they call you?” He stood looking her over conspicuously. “You have no idea what you really are, do you?” She reached for her special pouch of holy incense and he threw a wad of dirt at her.
           “Not nice. Wouldn’t you rather be free from your curse?” she responded.
          The vampire stared at her strangely then threw his head back and laughed. “Sirena, you should really listen to what I have to say. I know much about you.”
         “My name—how did you….?” She knew it was no use asking suddenly and moved on to her next question. “Very well, what do you think you know.”
          “There’s no question about the fact I know what I know—no thinking required.” He smirked at her. “You have a mysterious ancestor that no one can trace a lineage prior to, is that correct?”
         Sirena wondered how the vampire could know this. Could he have some sort of sixth sense, a sight beyond normal? She was puzzled, but with vampires, one would never know what might be possible. The vampire looked at her in amusement, and seemed ready to laugh at her once more.
         “Do you know why you are able to find us?” He waited for a reply but she seemingly had none. “I can see that you do not.  How about the fact that we don’t like your blood?”
         She puzzled over it in her mind. She just thought that she was protected by God and the holy elements she used to vanquish her foes. “Don’t like my blood? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
            “Let me tell you the story of your ancestor, at least briefly. Under other circumstances, I might consider you part of my family.” Sirena was shocked but somehow not completely surprised. “The story was handed down to me by others of my type.  Care to hear it?”
          “I don’t want to trust the words of a vampire, but go on. This might be amusing.” She stood bravely, waiting his response.
           “More amusing for me than for you, I’m afraid.” He chuckled. “Long ago, there was a vampire named Bertrand. He somehow was not completely turned evil by his condition. After being cursed with an eternal life of craving blood, he married a regular human. He concealed his identity for a long time and they had a child together. No one knew his past, specifically because he did not mention it.”
      “What does this have to do with me?” Sirena interrupted.
      “Did they not mention your ancestor’s name to you?” He eyed her quizzically and she seemed to be serious in his opinion, so he went on. “Anyhow, his posing as a regular human went on for some time until they found a series of murders committed by hole punctures to the neck. First, a dog, then a young woman, and then a child.  Bertrand was not guilty of them of course, he just had an unusual penchant for blood pie and would drink the blood of butchered farmyard animals when people weren’t looking. Anyhow, old Bertie went missing for a town meeting on the subject. While people were at the meeting, another punctured neck murder took place. They were afraid old Bertie might have been killed as well. So they grabbed their torches and looked for him. The townspeople found him butchering some livestock, but there was something unusual about the incident. Apparently Bertrand was catching the blood from the animals and drinking it like a vampire drinks blood from his/her victims. They tackled him and examined his teeth closely and noticed they looked like a vampire’s—of course that was what he was. He was executed as only a vampire could be but there were some that couldn’t believe he was guilty. He seemed such a good guy and they were right. The real murderer—a soulless vampire—had escaped to another village at the time of the execution. “ He thought a moment then asked, “You were aware there are two types of vampires, ones with blood diseases and soulless ones right?”
            “Not really. What happened to the mother and child?” Sirena asked.
            “ I figured you would be interested in that. Anyhow, the mother and child escaped as well. There were too many people who thought she knew his true identity but she didn’t. All she could tell him she didn’t know much but of his strange liking for blood pie. They were suspicious of her, so she took the child and left one night. They moved very far away. She actually met a person who hunted vampires and married him. The line was quite vulnerable then as their blood was tasty to us. She never told the tale of the child’s father because she never really believed her Bertie was a vampire. He was too kind and generous.  After the vampire hunter took the woman and child in, he raised the child as his own. He found that the child had a talent for finding vampires and decided to teach the child the family trade even though he was not a blood relative. Some of the other children he had with the widow of Bertie became hunters too, but were either killed eventually in the trade or retired early. However, not the child of Bertie. He was a hunter well into his old age and lived past a hundred years easily. Now do you understand?” The vampire simply stared at her waiting for her to say just about anything.
           “I know of a relative named Bertrand—but could it be? Was the child named Samuel Solaris?” The vampire simply grinned.
          “Yes, he received the last name of his stepfather when his mother married her vampire hunter. You are the relative of a vampire. Your blood tastes bad to vampires for that reason only. I could bite you myself and run if I couldn’t sense your blood would not be very appetizing.  And now, I must bid you adieu.” She had been so enthralled in the story that she barely noticed his slight bow and then the item he threw at her before he took off. She was so stunned she couldn’t follow.
         The vampire had gotten some distance away before he hid and smirked. He had enjoyed telling the vampire hunter the story. What was the best thing about it is that it was true and now maybe he had caused some confusion to her. Maybe she would abandon her trade altogether.
         After a while of standing and staring off into the distance blankly, the shock of the truth seemed to wear off for Sirena. She began to wonder what it was that the vampire threw at her. It hadn’t hit her, well not hard anyway. She bent down to look at the object and it seemed to be a soft, black leather half-jacket. It had some letters a midst some fancy decoration carved into the back. It simply read “BTE” and there was a small book in the pocket. She decided to read it after she slept and paid a visit to her uncle, and mentor, Mordecai the next day.
         After exchanging their customary greetings, Sirena decided to launch right into discussing what the vampire told her the previous night. “Uncle Mordecai, I chased a vampire last night…”
          “Did you catch him?” he asked before she could finish.
           “Almost, but that’s beside the point. He told me an interesting story which shocked me so bad I couldn’t react when he tossed something at me and ran away. What do you know of an ancestor named Bertrand?”
           “I know that we are related to him. What did the vampire tell you exactly?” She could see he was hiding something by the look in his eyes.
         “He told me that our ancestor was a vampire and what’s more that there are more that are two types of vampire, those who have blood diseases and others who are soulless.  That after Bertrand was falsely accused of murder and executed, his wife moved away and married a vampire hunter.  That we have blood that tastes bad to vampires because we are related to one. How much of it is true?”
          “Oh, the family secret—I was not to reveal it until you turned 21. Yes, we have the blood of the vampire in our veins. It is useful for tracking the creatures—is it not?” 
            “Uncle Mordecai, how can you say that? How can we be both vampire hunters and be of the blood of a vampire? Are we not cursed before God? How can we serve our most holy privilege with the condemned blood running through our veins?” Sirena was stunned beyond belief.
              “Remember what the vampire told you—there are two types of vampire. The one is a cursed soul given the power to drain blood from his or her victims. This is the one of Satan and has lost control of the soul to him. They kill uncontrollably due to their soul being held by the dark master. The other is simply a person with a blood disease that simply has the desire to drink blood. They would not kill for it, just snitch the blood from butcher shop or something when no one is looking. These are not cursed by God—there is simply something lacking in their system to fight the urge to drink it. They might be curable by a certain treatment. They are only referred to as vampires and some can lose their soul to madness if mistreated and attack humans. We are related to someone who had a particular disease. The desire to drink blood lessens with every generation as we become more and more crossed with a normal human. You have to understand our disorder is not necessarily bad and may have been willed by God to help rid humanity of the cursed vampires.   Do not be afraid.” Mordecai gently squeezed her shoulder in reassurance.
          “But it seems wrong, uncle--almost hypocritical. I cannot believe it!” Tears began to well up in her eyes.
            “We must continue to rid the world of evil, Sirena. I do not believe God would hold a disease that mocks a truly evil cause against us. We must learn not to fall in the trap of condemning ourselves over a blood disorder. I have faith that you will want to continue our work. Please don’t give up on our cause.” Sirena threw her arms around her uncle and the tears gushed forth. All he could do was hug her for a while as she came to terms with the situation.
          Much later, Sirena had calmed down enough and decided to go home. Mordecai didn’t want to let her leave as he know she was not yet okay with what she was. He wanted to try to make her understand but knew she wouldn’t. She had to understand it on her own. He waved good-bye as she left his home.
       Sirena walked the distance to her car and gingerly sat down in the driver’s seat. After she slammed the door and buckled her seat-belt, she saw the half-jacket from the night before laying on top of some her things. She was going to show it to her uncle but had forgotten. Sirena stared at it halfheartedly as she ran her hands over the monogram. She decided now was not the time to go back and demand answers, but time to go home and understand the strange story that had just put her whole life’s work into question. Answers about the jacket could wait.