O. G. Tomes: AVAILABLE NOW!

O. G. Tomes: AVAILABLE NOW!: "No Harm to Charm", the new edited and revised edition, along with "The Charms of the Sisterhood" series are currently available at amazon.c...

MARIANNE IN THE CHAMBER OF DEATH

The housekeeper is all right. We laid her out on the little sofa in the morning room  and ladled some Jack Daniels (spiked with a few drops of Roland's blood) down her throat. That did the trick...healed her up real quick. You regulars know that. You know what Life-Eater blood can do. So did the Nazis. That's how Hitler survived the Stauffenburg Affair. But that is another story. Five minutes later I was back in the salon. A few people had stepped out for cigarettes, so we thought it was only right to wait for their return. We sang show tunes til they came back. Everybody knows a little 'GYPSY.'  'Once I was a schlepper. Now, I'm Miss Mazepper'..... old, rich , humans love that stuff..... Oh! That gives me an idea. you know who I look like?.....Eponine, or whatever her name was. You know. The poetic looking one from 'Les Miserables?'  I have hair like that too. And being Walloon, which is a witches nipple away from being French, possess a certain way with hats. The pointed ears contribute a gamin quality as well, don't you know. 


Now, back to my 'transformation.'


The power of suggestion works on vampires too. My brood...my protectors feared Jews' Blood, especially shed from saintly rabbis. They believed it came down in an unbroken line from Biblical times and so was closest to what might rest in The Holy Grail. When sprinkled with the easy-to-come-by commodity (the crime of Jew-Killing being a gray area at best), said vampires collapsed onto the ground and proceeded to thrash around, clawing at their cheeks and shrieking fitting verses from Dante........ That (the blood, I mean) coupled with a few slashes from the 'murdered bride' swords, rendered them helpless as little girls. Vicious men-at-arms walked among them, pinching vampirina tender spots and kicking the vampirinos most cruely.


I raced from victim to victim, trying to revive them...trying to make them feel their own strength, but it was no use. They cried and convulsed and pushed me away. As dawn was approaching, they also feared the sun. Perhaps you cannot imagine what that's like...solar immolation, I mean. Or maybe you can. Ever see the shadows left behind in Hiroshima?.....Four thousand degrees Fahrenheit... twice as hot as lava. Each molecule of matter torn away from all the rest. Is it instantaneous?...... No, it is not..... Every neuron that can possibly feel pain, feels pain and to a degree unmatched in all creation. So you can well understand how easy it was to herd them into the leaden carriages. What did they do with them after that? They tortured them. What did you expect? This is The Inquisition we're talking about. My God..... True, certain comely specimens were sold to nearby princelings, where they were used for life-extending cocktails.... curiosities held in menageries, the same as talking parrots, or  nimble little pygmies. And in return for a 'life' of pleasure, some were quite content. Vampires have a 'physical' side too. It's not just about the blood.


I, on the other hand. was fated to be killed..... a mortal child.....a baptized mortal child, sullied by my companions and so destined for the flames. They locked me in a cold, stone room and left me there for days.........Just darkness..... Just silence..... Just sorrow......Small bundles of fetid life scurried 'round in the blackness, but I was blind to them, though I sometimes felt their touch...


My only chance was the 'dominee'..... for that one still roamed free...


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O. G. Tomes: AVAILABLE NOW!

O. G. Tomes: AVAILABLE NOW!: "No Harm to Charm", the new edited and revised edition, along with "The Charms of the Sisterhood" series are currently available at amazon.c...

A Place of Reflections: Letters From Mama

A Place of Reflections: Letters From Mama: Last week our Tulips finally came to full bloom here in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We have experienced some quite cooler weather and intermittent...

THE MOMENT OF REDEFINITION APPROACHES....... Birth of an ELFERINA - VAMPIRINA

They came closer. Occasional chairs inches forward. Heavier pieces stayed where they were, but the occupants leaned in. A log popped in the ornate fireplace, scenting the air with fine, cured apple-wood. Every eye focused on the'kiss.' Even the K.C.C. spaniels watched. 


An ormolu mantle clock softly counted heartbeats. The 'young' elferina - vampirina released the old man's hand and stepped back. She smiled. She nodded. Her benefactor did the same. Then she licked her lips (surprisingly quite clean) and helped him to his seat. He exhaled and sat down. The small, precise wound on his palm had already begun to pucker. Soon it would be healed........ A glass of wine, please - said the waif-ish enchantress....... And when it was brought forth, she gave it to the dapper, gentleman. He drank it down and mouthed a quick 'thank you.' A woman to his right bent toward him and whispered - Are you all right?......... He nodded and waved her off.


And Marianne continued - My life assumed a pattern. We followed a circuit, if you will, stopping in small towns and cities for blood. They fed in turn, never taking more than one victim in each locale. Our sleeping bowers kept by trusted familiars. A grotto here. A cellar there. A mausoleum made of stone. And I went  with them..... a stolen life (though not devoured) meant to give them luck. For had not God said He would spare Sodom for the sake of but one righteous soul?.... Well, I was that soul. They pampered me and bought me clothes, fine bisque dolls and soft, warm boots. I dined on savory, meat-filled pies and danced on graves 'neath moonlit skies. Raccoons and spiders were my friends. They tickled me and made me laugh.....(we interrupt to bring you this special report------- Just saw a clip from the new THREE STOOGES movie on Jimmy Fallon...the portrayals are spot on, exact. EVERYTHING  you remember from old classic two reelers and MORE. Sofia Vergara as a scientist. Larry David as a nun.... It's 'nyuk, nyuk, nyuk' time folks. Sneak in some passed date, dollar store candy and HAVE FUN!)......But then it happened. A certain familiar, a rather moon-struck (old term for lunatic) farm boy tried to manipulate the ether with a bit of purloined vampiric magic. And when fifteen rancid bats scurried out from Frau Burgermeister's vagina (causing her great consternation), escaped from her skirts and flew about the church, much to the chagrin of the prayer-foreman, or whatever they called him, the die was cast. Fingers quickly pointed to the deliriously pixilated youth (who had only meant to conjure up a fresh, hot, blackbird pie) and with the crushing of his second best big toe, the Inquisition discovered all. Seven weeks later, when next we came  to town, they were ready. Sentries watched from the trees. Men-at-arms, wielding specially blessed swords fashioned from the iron wedding rings (gold being too dear) of murdered brides, squeezed themselves into hastily excavated burrows. The leaden casks were waiting. The trap was primed and set. 


Did the 'dominee' sense something? I think he did. But as he had such low regard for mortals here abouts, he denied that which he knew to be true. Vampires can be foolish too. And so we suffered greatly. 


I'll have to continue tomorrow. The forty seven year old, cigarette stained housekeeper fell from her stool and cracked her head on the granite counter. Please forgive me. Roland needs my help. Let me see what I can do.


Until the night time comes again. And ghosts from all the churchyards rise.~~~~~~the Lady Marianne


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AND NOW IT GETS PERSONAL.......Marianne's Substantive Moment

And the room just stopped. All the furnishings and  souls therein became props in a tableau vivant. For they understood that she had seen things. She was 'there' and she was magic. No one knew what to say. But it was more than that. The very concept of speech seemed to evaporate. The people simply continued to breath and that was all.

Marianne, herself, was no different. The 'young' Elferina - Vampirina just stood there, waiting for new thoughts to wash across her brain. She knew it was coming. She knew they would ask. And in a sense, she was prepared. Play the scene again. Why not? She'd done the role before.

Maybe that was the signal? Creation shifted ever so slightly. A luncheon sized (now they say 'tapas' sized) white, bistro plate smeared with the remnants of an impromptu rigatoni bolognese supper slid from an inattentive knee and went 'thud' onto the fine, old Aubusson carpet. The old lady said - Excuse me....... and bent to pick it up, depriving the matched King Charles Cavalier Spaniels of a flavorful slurp. And they cursed her royally, as only the most aristocratic canines can, before returning to their seats under the costly, tufted, velvet settee.

Another reticent voice said - But how did it happen to you? The 'translation,' I mean. Isn't that what you call it?........... Marianne looked down and quietly answered - Yes.............. Roland cleared his throat to remind her he was there. The gesture gave her strength. 

We were passing through a forest north of Brussels. The trees were tall and dense and dark. The air was cool and moist. Imagine the blackness, down near the ground, far away from prying, starry eyes. And even the moon was sleeping. The dominee conjured a small, yellow flame and fixed it upon some kindling. Quick vampire fingers caught a hare. I had to be fed. The human girl needed meat. And so the food was cooked. How fresh. How flavorful. Rather like duck, in a way. And it was all for me. I had wine from a stolen skin and greens  from the woodland floor. An aged vampirina, or aged at the time of her translation, stayed with me while the others searched for blood. And their tastes were indiscriminate, unlike the Tomas, known as Jonathon, you've heard about. They took no vows. They made no promises. 'Cull the wicked?' ... Please, don't be dense. There were prosperous hamlets scattered about, filled with snug, little cottages and sleeping, farmers' daughters..... plump ones too. So you know the rest. Waste not, want not. Blood from the inner thigh tastes best....... or so I was told. But it happened that agents of  The Grand Inquisitor also hunted there. And they followed my protectors back to our temporary home......

The 'lucky' charm became the weak link and I was borne away........

She knew they wanted more. And she knew that she would tell them. But reliving the past can be taxing. She stopped and asked for help............ Could one of you be of service?.... I promise not to take too much. But my heart grows weak and I need the warmth..... 

A gallant, age defying gentleman said - Allow me to assist you, my dear........ He slowly rose from his seat and walked toward her. She thanked him and took hold of his hand. Then she brought it up to her lips and kissed the palm.....

Some in the room snapped pictures. Cameras were ubiquitous in this age, stowing away deep within the golden circuits of the phones. Did she mind? Not at all. Who would believe them?... especially in a time when everything can be 'photo-shopped.'

And the gallant gentleman knew the rapture only a vampire's kiss can bestow ....... Maybe later, when this was over, she'd steal away to his bed and give him some drops in return. And he would know a few more years of life.......... A recipient of the sweet gift shed by the Elferina - Vampirina known as Marianne.....

Tomorrow night, when next the embers glow, come back. Sit down and we'll tell more.....

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My Four-Legged Best Friend

My Four-Legged Best Friend