A different day; a different time.
“You’ve been here several days watching her.” Tara noted. “Do you watch out of love, or another reason?”
He chuckled a little. “No, not love, though she is dear. My Father….or a spark of him, to be more precise, has asked me to watch and protect her. One of my brothers watches over her daughter – you may have seen him.”
“A special case?”
“Not particularly. She’s his granddaughter.”
“I didn’t know He had a family.”
“It’s a long story. He is many.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It became difficult for Him to manage all of your people at once. And so, he split himself into many, becoming the different so called pagan gods….”
“So which spark is he?”
“Ares, of the Greek pantheon.”
“I wish I knew enough to understand who that was. I may have learned a few things being here in the Shadowlands, but I’m still relatively uneducated.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Sometimes.”
“Tara….how are you really?”
“I…well…” she sighs. “Truthfully, I am not high on the totem pole here, so it can be rough.” she appeared a little sad. “But I manage.”
Samuel thought for a few minutes before speaking. “Tara…would you like me to take you to see Jakob? He won’t be able to see you.”
She mulled it over. “Yes and no.” she finally admitted. “I want to, but I’m afraid seeing him after so long will hurt too much.”
“I understand.” Samuel said.
“Tell me how it is that he is still alive? All you said to me the other day was that he is no longer human.”
“You must understand that you have to forget what you know about this term…there is much more to it than a simple definition.”
“What, Samuel? You’re killing it, with the suspense.”
Samuel took a breath and let it out slowly. “He is a Vampir.”
“Vampir? He has lived this long by taking life?”
“No…I told you, it doesn’t work like you think. He doesn’t kill unless he has to to survive.”
“This is a lot to take in.”
“I understand. I’ve done as you asked over the years, however, and have tried to help him considerably.”
“You can’t change him back?”
“No – I can’t completely undo a curse like that. I can, however, and did, make him immune to sunlight. He and his friend are able to move about in the day, able to do so much more than they could – and believe me, they are not bad people.”
“Is his friend Vampir as well?”
Samuel nodded. “They’ve known each other since not long after the night you asked me to protect him. But before you ask, no, his friend is not the one who made him – simply a brother-in-arms.”
“Very well.” she mused.
“Not today. Let me acclimate to the idea, please?”
“Of course Tara. Anything for you.”
“Samuel…have you ever pursued love?” she asked after a while.
“No…I cannot say that I have. I don’t feel that it is my right to experience such.”
“Why?”
“I was cast out by my Father, though I know not what I did wrong. I still don’t. I am residing in a body not my own, though I only inhabited it after the original owner passed.”
“That doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy of receiving love.”
“It’s alright, Tara. I don’t miss what I don’t know.”
“Alright Samuel. I won’t bother you about it.” she stated before leaving for the day. Samuel sighed. While it was true he couldn’t miss what he didn’t know…it didn’t mean he didn’t want to experience it like mortals did. He’d seen all different kinds of love over the years. What he felt for Tara was not romantic love, but was still an honest affection and love of a different kind. Romantic love…maybe someday.