The vampirino known as Tomas looked down at the bones, a full human skeleton, stretched out and bound to an iron rod and grinning like a fool. . He studied the gunmetal metallic sheen gilding each blackened surface and waited for the spirit to gather it's thoughts. Was he frightened? Well, a bit. Even vampires can become unnerved at magic not their own. So he backed against the ruined cellar wall and waited. First he heard a giggle, low and muffled, as if from far away. Then he heard a sigh and the ether grew positively icy. Tomas said a prayer. You know how much he believes. I don't have to tell you that. Something moved in a corner. He could hear the scraping of tiny feet, but it was just a fat,little vole looking for late season maggots. Higher creatures, like dogs or cats, might notice the presence of spirits and such. Little mousy things do not. Maybe they just don't care? Then the vole moved on and the cold, icy silence returned.
Tomas noticed that the remains were fixed to the rod with iron chains, some about the neck, the waist and the ankles. The wrists, bound in similar fashion, were pulled 'round the back. And the chains themselves were melted into place, apparently the result of unspeakable torture. But no sound rose up from the horrific leavings and he prepared to leave, desirous of a sweeter place to sleep. It was at that point, when the silvery slivers of moonlight slicing into the place through spidery rents in the old, stone walls played across his shifting body that the 'presence' began to speak.
They put me in the 'soup' - it said in a low and sonorous voice. The vampire wasn't sure if he actually heard the words or felt them with his mind. But he knew that they were real, so he listened.... The thing went on - But the soup was too hot, so I died. Lead it was... molten lead, cooked in an iron pot. a great witches cauldron brought hence from Scotland and once used by the ancient Stewarts somewhere in the vicinity of Holyrood House. Edinburgh was the seat of great crimes and the souls of the tortured still writhe about the Old Town like banshees. But I digress. A well read man, I was and learned in many things.
Tomas, almost afraid to speak, whispered - Why did they do it? ... For he too remembered brutal acts.... And the soul of the learned man went on... Because they could - he said. Some people are like that. I fell afoul of a powerful man. You knew him too, Hebrew, back in the early days of this place. You are Hebrew, are you not? I can feel the resonance of souls and can discern even a Methodist from an Anglican. Tomas, also known as Jonathon said that he was, but with a certain reticence, for he remembered a time when such an affirmation meant martyrdom. But the tortured spirit, desirous of telling its own tale went on... Lead melts at nine hundred degrees. I knew than even before the killed me. Bound to his bar I was. I'm bound to it still. And they raised me up and lowered me in. I screamed. I pleaded... Please, crack my head. Shatter my skull. Please, throttle me before you do this thing. Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! I begged. I cried. I whimpered. I peed. They laughed. Said I was trying to cool the broth. And they dropped me down a little more. A whole apparatus they had... A series of chains. And there was some argument as to whether I should go in horizontally, facing downward, or feet first. But after some deliberation ( oh, how I relished those moments) they picked the later course, since it would prolong the pain. Logical to a fault they were. Nine hundred degrees... Twice as hot as an oven. And suspended as I was, maybe six feet above the thick and hellish brew, my toenails began to smolder, like hot glass pressed upon the delicate skin beneath. I begged again, but they ignored me. Eight of them there were. Two to do the job and six to watch. But they wisely stepped back, lest errant gobbets burn them too.
They say the body falls into shock. They say nerves shut down and those burned alive go numb, pathetic witnesses to their own immolation. They say a lot of things and they are wrong. I lived it all. A thick, heavy searing viscosity,bathed in Satan's own shit I was. And all I could do was tremble. How I trembled. I twisted. I writhed trying to smash my head against the bar. But I was bound too close. One of them joked and said - Oh, smells like roasting pork.... But I couldn't even scream and even the slop in my stomach began to boil...... Then the glassy surface of my eyes began to smoke. I was all alone in hell and didn't deserve to be there...
Now if spirits still had tears, this one would be crying. For that's what Tomas heard. And such a mournful, helpless sound it was. He touched the skull and it stopped. But after a time it went on. And Tomas was scared. Some ghosts hold on tight, binding the unwary like flies caught in a web.... locked in misery and sadness forever... with no way to break free... eternal partners in death...
But take your leave and rest now. I'll tell you more tomorrow...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
link~> EXPLORE THE VAMPIRE WONDERLAND HERE ...
twitter~> @wilkravitz ... please COMMENT. thank you.
One night he found a ruined house, a rather large house, probably a manor of some sort once belonging to an old land grant dynasty. Tomas liked exploring such structures. They reminded him of times past. This one dated from the seventeenth century, to the age of The Lord Protector (William Penn's title) himself. Our vampire friend came over with him, you know. Although he did take pains to hide his unusual condition while on board, some curious members of the crew were still able to learn things.I believe he devoured two or three of them. But they were seamen of the roughest sort and easily replaceable by the press gangs of the day.
He slept in a large, oaken chest more akin to coffin than luggage, down in the deepest part of the hold, surrounded by cold round stones brought on board to add weight and counteract the inherent instability of the craft. Sometimes an inquisitive sailor slid down to look around. 'Feel around' would be more apt, since they were forbidden candles, lanterns or any type of flame produced illumination. And they'd hear moans coming from the chest. Horrid sounds taken as the presence of an Earth-bound spirit sealed within.
But Tomas was just dreaming, as life-eaters often do, reliving a past when torture was a game... a much appreciated entertainment, staged by royals, nobles, or ecclesiastic types for the macabre delight and fearsome edification of the unwashed masses.... Imagine... sealed in a chest not much bigger than a casket. There was no opening and closing of the lid, there couldn't be. It was sealed shut. But that doesn't mean he didn't get out. Tomas' ability to sublimate through various forms of matter was already well developed. In some stories they say the chest was lead, but it couldn't be, for he wouldn't have been able to pass through that, though solid English oak was something else.
That's how he dispatched the curious seamen. That's how he ate them, or at least their blood. The first one came down into the dark with an ax, determined to breech his temporary tomb. But with the first strike our vampire broke free, moving through the specially hardened wood as you or I might walk through mist. And in that darkness he grabbed him. But there could be no killing on board, not vampire style anyway. For that would result in the cold, blue flame and although surrounding materials are usually not effected by it, one never knows. Vampires rarely take chances. Then he sublimated again, out through the stout, thick hull (also good English oak) and into the open sea, proceeding through the brine til the ship seemed little more than a toy floating on a silver tinged, nighttime sea. The soon to be victim gasped for air, as they bobbed among the waves. He'd yell. He cursed and he died out there in the frigid water, as a nosferatu (they all knew that word) pierced his throat and swallowed up his blood. Did the blue flame still happen? Yes, it always does. Every drained husk ignites and burns away. Some on board may have seen a phosphorescence out there in the dark. But maybe not. When it was done Tomas moved back, passing through the hull and into his box.
But what did Tomas find in that old, stone ruin, mentioned up above? What fearsome remnant lingered there hidden and forgotten in the deepest cellar? He found bones and they were glazed in a dull, metallic skin.... a 'banana man' plunged in molten lead, hotter than the surface of Venus, just like London costermongers did with that new, yellow delicacy from the tropics, only they used molten chocolate, an equally novel delicacy, instead.
And the bones began to speak...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
link ~> WANDER THROUGH WHAT WE GOT IN OUR CELLARS ... Twitter ~>@wilkravitz ... please share your COMMENTS. thank you.
One whose life is detailed in our ongoing narrative recommends you see this film. The Lady Baylah suffered a similar fate... and after two hundred and fifty years she still remembers. Ask one of our elferinos or elferinas what it was like to be welded alive into a leaden cask and thrown into the sea. Night-folk suffer many pains. The constraints of our primitive culture compel us to pretend they're fiction, yet they are very real. The events portrayed in this film are real too and positively Biblical in their proportions.
Tomas, also known as Jonathon, is traveling now, a night-folk Johnny Appleseed. We detailed his reality last night and will do so again. But watch the trailer down below and think what it was like back in a time when people were possessions and lives destroyed like pawns.
Who do you identify with? How much could you take? What would you have done? This time is not so far away. The last known person born a slave died fifty years ago.
Please share your views and COMMENTS. As always, more episodes and postings can be accessed via this link ~> browse.feedreader.com/c/Billy_Kravitz_vampire_wonderland ... Join me on twitter at ~> @wilkravitz ... thank you for your time.
I am gone. I left the town house yesterday evening and now wander about somewhere in the western suburbs. Of course you know it is I, Jonathon, also known as Tomas. My thoughts manifest upon the screen via the fingers of wilkravitz. I project. He types. We've done it this way before. Our disembodied spirit 'helpers' don't like it, but they soon forget and are easily distracted. You know they travel at the speed of thought, so God knows where they are now. Mister Never-You-Mind likes casinos and whiskey bars. I know that. Baylah says she feels him sometimes around Atlantic City. And sometimes he feels showgirls. Zebulon likes to explore. He claims he's seen some of the other planets in our own star system. But I'm not sure he can do that. It's not that easy maintaining coherence so far from home in spirit form. Some extremely powerful vampires, like 'Papa' can do it, but other beings tend to diffuse into a weak and vaporous state. I don't know why, even after a thousand years. But that's just how it is.
So far I saved a suicidal boy walking along some train tracks. He knew the schedule. One was due to come by any minute. Dumb kid. Thought it'd be fast, instantaneous and painless. But that's not how it is. A body can live as long as the heart and lungs still work. That's why some poor souls burned at the stake trembled so long. Didn't scream anymore. Just trembled. Even the eyes would pop and explode. But they were still alive. I told the kid this. He said - Dude, how the hell do you know?..... I showed him my fangs. You know. I made that face. Didn't even scare him at all. He just went 'oh.' Asked if I had any money. Told him I didn't. Could get some. I could always call a 'familiar.' But he wanted it now. So I walked him over to this mall and we sublimated through the entrance. He liked that. Said he felt a buzz when the energy entered his body. You know, if a vampire holds someone real tight when they sublimate, that person goes with them. He closed his eyes. I told him too. Takes half a heartbeat , even less, and it's over.
The mall was closed for the night. I suppose they have watchmen, but I never saw one. I'm sold they eat cheese sandwiches and bananas at a desk in front of security monitors. One night I'll look. Took the kid into a department store for sneakers and blue jeans. Wrote down all we took. Later, in a few days or so, I'll have one of my financial 'familiars' send a check. He wanted a leather jacket, but we couldn't get the plastic rope security thing off. And I didn't want to break it, because I didn't want to set off an alarm. Think he took a plastic bag full of tropical fish from a pet store too. Told him we'd have to get them home fast, or they'd freeze. Then I grabbed him and sublimated up through the air. He thought that part was cool. I knew he was afraid. I could feel his heart pound, but he'd never admit it. Now I don't know this area, so I couldn't ask him for directions. But I basically felt the route via telepathy and 'dropped' him in his parents' driveway eight minutes later. Old neighbor lady across the way saw us from her bathroom window. But he said she was mostly senile, so it didn't matter. He asked me what else I was gonna do. I said - I'm gonna kill a guy, but he shouldn't worry, 'cause it's a bad 'dude' I saw in a vision.... He said - Is that how vampires operate?.... I said - Yeah, that's how I do.... Kid just nodded. I said - You want to watch?... Then I gave him this little grin.... Kid goes - Nah. I once saw a dude accidentally hang himself at the circus. So that's OK.....I asked him if he was glad he didn't kill himself... He nodded. We said 'see ya' and I left.
Twenty five minutes later I 'culled' a real low life outside a convenience store. He just robbed the place. Old Korean lady inside was all beat up. Gave her a few drops of blood to fix her up. She was happy to get her money back. Offered me a free Slurpee. A blue one, I think. Told her thanks, but no thanks. Then I left, just like the Lone Ranger.
Just before dawn I went back to the mall and slept in a storage room. Place was filled with all this shrink wrapped Easter stuff, so I figured nobody's gonna go in there. Washed up in a little toilet. Even got a new pair a boxers with little Easter eggs all over them. For a vampire, living on the road is easy. Some don't live any other way.
Funny how my speech patterns change depending where I am. That's a night-folk survival mechanism. You should have heard me in Restoration London. 'Me thinks, gadzooks!' and all that. But if I spoke that way here it'd sound real schmucky
You know, there's not always a lot of big drama in a vampire's life. What you see on TV is just fiction. and I hope you all know that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
link~>THIS IS WHERE WE KEEP ALL THE EPISODES ...
Twitter~>@wilkravitz ... could use some COMMENTS, if you're willing to help me out. thanks.
The next night they wandered through the museums. Sarah liked that. She hadn't done it in a long time. One or two of the guards knew of their presence. Not that they understood exactly what they were, but they had an inkling. Strange things happen in a city as old as this. Of course I speak of New World standards. Europe, Africa and Asia have far older. But even that's not completely true. Some MesoAmerican cities go back thousands of years too. But I digress, as only a disembodied spirit who was in the flesh for a scant thirteen years can. It is I, Zebulon, the precocious Judean boy stoned for witchcraft back in the days of Rabbis Hillel and Yossi (known to the trinitarians as 'Jesus'). And please don't think such a thing was an ordinary event, for it was not. One or two executions per century was the rule. I was but the victim of circumstance and the focus of many converging occurrences.
They sit in The Cloisters. Tomas and Sarah, I mean. It's dark, though a few discreet, tiny electric night lights shed a feeble glow. He likes this space. Reminds him of medieval Europe. Actually, the installation is quite authentic. Romanesque, I believe and brought over from the vicinity of Rouen sometime after their First World War. We had many World Wars in Roman times. In that respect, unfortunately, no age is unique.
They whispered. He spoke first - I know I can't change humanity. I can only change individual humans and maybe, in that way, I can change them all..... Then he just sat there gazing at the paving stones of that enclosed space meant for contemplation and quiet study.... What will you do? Are you going to leave right away? - she asked..... Not leave, wander - he said. Much as I did before this time. I don't know how far I'll go. I know I'll come back often. To the house, I mean. Maybe they'll still think of me as 'Dark Mister.' I don't know. Perhaps I'll give that role to Blackie. He'd like that..... Sarah nodded and said - You did copy the look from him.... Tomas smiled and nodded too..... I liked it in the woods - he said. Some nights were peaceful. The spirits have their gentle moments. Last night's story isn't an every night thing. They don't like humans. But most people never penetrate too deep. and I didn't count..... So you're gonna be a nature boy? - she said..... No, just sometimes. I'll still be around here. You'll see me a lot, relatively speaking. But I won't stay at the house all the time. And I won't restrict myself to Center City. If I find other night-folk who resent that, we'll work it out. I'm not afraid of them. You know what I got from 'Papa.' I'm fairly powerful. The ones I'm liable to find round here don't scare me. And I don't think they scare you either. Look, you'll still have the house. Conrad and what's-his name... Leo - she said.... Yes, Leo - he added. Isn't he dead?.... I don't know - she said. I can't tell anymore. It's like we're bits of meat in soup. Sometimes we're stirred to the top. Sometimes we sink to the bottom. Peek-a-boo, I see you. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. I have to tell you, being a vampire is a really strange way to live. ... He hugged her and said - Believe me, I know.
So they passed through the galleries looking at paintings. The guards seemed to avoid them. Maybe due to vampire magic? Then they sublimated up through the vast building. You know it. You've seen it in ROCKY, and passed through the cold, night air (in itself, a kind of sublimation too), drifting over the city, til they settled on the roof of the townhouse and watched the sky turn gray. Then Sarah went inside. But Jonathon, also known as Tomas did not, preferring to find a different place to hide.
For years upon years he was stuck in a moment, trying to change the world. Now he's on a different path and seeks to change himself.
That's all I'm going to tell you now. If you want, this would be a good time to scroll back a post and listen to that song. It suits the mood quite well.
Zebulon says 'good night.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
link~>WANDER THROUGH EVERY GALLERY OF VAMPIRE WONDERLAND ... Twitter~> @wilkravitz ... please use the space down below and leave a COMMENT. I'd appreciate it a lot. thank you.
You got to get yourself together and listen to this. Tomas LOVES it. He was shocked to see only 16,021 plays on You Tube. Guess more of us gotta do that 'gettin' together?
It's like a clue to what's coming later in The Vampire Wonderland. Our vampiric hero been waffling for, well we've only shared the last three years, but he's been doing it for centuries... And now it stops
If you've never spent time with us, or if you have, but want to see more, please click on our FEEDREADER CHANNEL and look around. You can scroll all the way back to the beginning. Here it is ~>EVERY EPISODE, OVER 700,000 WORDS ... and lets like up on Twitter too ~>@wilkravitz ... thanks.
It was too cold to sit out in the small back garden. They liked that spot and as vampirici were immune to germ borne illness. But the icy chill was uncomfortable and offensive to them, for it brings to mind the dead, cold nihilism of the tomb. Most night-folk, save for deranged individuals given to haunting cemeteries and ossuaries avoid it. They can tolerate it, but do not chose to. Vampires are by nature epicures, favoring comfort and fine trappings. Tomas is no different, though from time to time they like to get away, as he did during the recent wanderings into the north woods. So he and Sarah sat before the orange glow of a waning fire and he told her what he saw. Her concerns regarding his new 'superhero' thing, though very real, would wait. Impatient she is not.
The warm and comfortable 'family room' is a good place to talk. The trim, 'youthful' vampirino considered the tiny flames for a moment and began..... I'd forgotten how alive it is. No, maybe I always knew that, but I'd forgotten how aware it is too. - he said. Knowing entities are everywhere. And what we see as physical form is immaterial to them. Oh, they can project such a thing. They can be sprites, or Pucks, or I don't know, even Smurfs if they want. But most times they're just there, watching, knowing, whispering and sharing. Some are no more than glorified thought. Others are able to focus and manifest real, physical strength. 'Spirits of the wood' we call them. And by 'we' I mean vampires and mortals too. For what are we, but enchanted humans. I like the word 'enchanted' better than 'infected.' What kind of candle is that on the table there?..... Sarah leaned over and picked it up..... Is says 'Big Sur.' I guess it's a woodsy, ocean thing. - she said.... Then she lit it, for that's what he really meant. After a few heartbeats the aroma, which was really quite good, began to fill the room.
Tomas went on - But humans are just things to them, walking, farting puppets. Hikers fart a lot, you know. It's what they eat. Or perhaps it's all the exertion walking over rough track. I don't know, but they do fart a lot. And the wood spirits pick up on it. Maybe that's why they leave vampires alone, because we don't do that. But I saw what they did to a twosome. A father and son I believe they were. All decked out in new fall gear. Pants tucked into socks, the better to avoid the little 'vampires' crawling there. So careful they were, with their knapsack filled with food and all. I wanted to warn them but it happened so fast. As it was daylight, I was deep in a cave, drifting rather then sleeping. But I monitor my surroundings via remote vision. You know how I do that. We all do, especially in strange surroundings. So I was helpless and couldn't have done anything anyway. Looking back, I think they meant to torture me too.
The boy seemed to be about eleven, or twelve. Just shy of what we would call an elferino (pubescent vampire) and such a good, little fellow he was, talking and smiling. He liked the animals, the chipmunks and all. But he slipped, just like that, down a steep embankment strewn with fallen trees, rocks, leaves and all manner of things. I think there was even a half rotted deer carcass. Tumbled down like a tossed doll. But one foot caught under a fresh, heavy tree trunk, while the rest of his body continued on its way. I don't know if that would have happened in nature, or if the wood spirits did it, but the trapped limb twisted and tore right off his body, just like a chicken leg chopped through the joint, though this was much more ragged. Even his pants ripped free. I can't remember if he made any noise. Remote viewing is like that. He just lay there, wide eyed and stricken, gasping like a fish. The father skittered down in an instant. I heard him. He screamed - No! No! No! No! No!.... Two heartbeats later he lost his footing and smashed his head on a jagged rock. He died quick, but the boy lingered for perhaps two or three minutes more. Oh how the blood drew flies. I couldn't hear it but I knew, no, I mean it... I really knew the wood spirits were laughing. They hate humans, you know. View them as bumbling interlopers. That's why they do what they do.... 'Lost in the woods'.... 'Killed by a bear'.... 'Drowned in the rapids'..... Do you think those things happen in and of themselves all the time?
Later, when it got dark, I came out and there in the moonlight said prayers for them. The old Hebrew Kaddish prayer. Magnified and sanctified be the Kingdom of The Lord and all that.... But the spirits still laughed. A few hours later I found a shuttered supply hut, a place where hikers could stop and buy things. I sublimated through the door, found what I needed and left a note telling them where to find the bodies. God knows what they made of that note, or how it got there. Everything still locked so snug and tight.
Then he stopped talking. He just sat there. And Sarah knew why he needed the solace of games. So she never said much about that 'Dark Mister' thing. Edith came down to remind them it'd be light soon. They thanked her and said that they knew. Then they went down together and slept...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
link~> SCROLL BACK AND SEE ALL THE EPISODES ... Twitter~> @wilkravitz ... there's a place down below if you want to leave COMMENTS? thank you.
Posts
