THE BIBLIOTHECA VAMPIRIC:

JOHN’S BEDROOM AT THE TOP OF THE LIBRARY’S TOWER.

AFTER THE EVENTS THAT TRANSPIRED AT THE PURPLE PEARL THEATRE, THE SUSPECTED CRIMINALS, VIOLA AND THADDEUS WERE APPREHENDED.

THE UNEXPECTED ATTACK FROM THE CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE ROA HAS YET TO BE FURTHER INVESTIGATED…

Tired after the day’s events, John Jackdaw figures to retire within his own private space for the night. Having climbed the lengthy and winding staircase to the summit of the library’s tower, John notes the faint aches within his legs.

John: “Whaaa…. Man, chasing those musicians around all day has really got me feeling my age….”

He makes a dramatic effort to stretch his back and leg muscles, popping each of his joints individually. With some much deserved alone time, John allows himself to relax, puffing out a deep breath with a resounding sigh. He paces across the room, lifting his feet over the various piles of laundry, books and other knick knacks that litter the floor. Through minimal observation, John had realized that despite Edwin’s honest efforts at keeping the library clean and in order, John’s mere presence in his own bedroom seemed to cause the state of the room to be in constant disarray, no matter what he did… Despite this, his bedroom’s ever persisting chaos never bothered John much at all anyway.

He kicks off his shoes and plops down into the office chair at his work desk. John initiates the power on the computer sat before him, intending to update the database about the day’s activities for VLAD officials to process at HQ.

He types away at his keyboard, enjoying the satisfactory clicking sounds the keys make as he presses them. In the middle of his work, John stops typing with the sudden halt of his fingertips, staring at his cursor flickering on the screen for a long while.

John stares at his computer monitor without blinking his eyes once, as if he is in a trance-like state, eyeing over the black and white text before him. Not being able to hold his gaze any longer, John looks away, squeezing his eyes shut with a deep grimace.

With watering eyes, John looks over his shoulder. In truth, he’s been dreading the presence of something he senses at the far corner of the room. Something he had not expected to be there. It's this dreadful sensation of being watched that had prompted John to quit doing his work in such an abrupt manner. A thought crosses John’s mind… In the same way he often has these epiphany-like realizations where he’ll come up with a new joke or witty remark to recount to his trainees, John finds this situation ironic…and it strikes him as quite amusing.

He turns in his spinning office chair to face the far end of his bedroom. He places his hands on his knees and relaxes his arms, hunching over in his chair like the lazy, old vampire that he is, behind any of the facades constructed by the extravagant personas that he often portrays himself as.

John: “Ahhhgh…. You know, Syd, if you’d stop staring at me like that, I might actually get some paperwork done this time around… You're the one who’s always nagging me about it….”

If Edwin or one of the trainees were to walk into his room at this moment, they’d likely assume that John is talking to his bedroom wall right now. Whether they would find this hypothetical scenario a cause for concern or not is besides the point… John is not talking to the wall. He’s directing his attention to the corner where the two walls meet. Within the narrow corner, an intricate spider’s web has been woven, with delicate threads almost invisible to the naked eye hanging from swooping ridges. The web’s glossy exterior gives the impression of microscopic crystal formations, each line spindling over every other thread; the spider’s silks are masterful in their craftsmanship.

Within the soft yet sturdy threading of the web a small, round spider sits nestled with its legs curled up underneath its abdomen. In the next moment, the spiderweb disintegrates into a minuscule cloud of dust, and in a shadow shrouded ‘poof’ of steam, Syd regains his true form.

Syd, looking more casual than he is usually seen, with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up and his socks mismatched, sits on the edge of John’s bed. The light shows the shine of the wetness in the corners of his eyes as he squints at John with the scrutinizing glare of pure death. John can only bear to look at Syd for another second before getting the inkling that the upper VLAD official is not pleased with him.

Syd: “Oh, please…. Some unimportant paperwork should be the least of your worries… You should be more concerned about what happened with your trainees at The Purple Pearl Theatre while they were under your authority… Heh, if it's paperwork you're so inclined to fret over, then I suggest you start signing your resignation papers right now…”

Syd crosses his arms tight over his chest. He shuts his eyes, smirking with his fangs sticking out of his mouth at defiant angles. He sighs and looks to John once more.

John: “Hmmm…. And that would just make your day, now wouldn’t it?”

Lacking all seriousness, John snorts and murmurs through his teeth as he holds back laughter.

Syd: “Really, John…. What was that today?…. VLAD assigned you and your trainees to investigate a theft case at the local theatre, and what did you do?… You ran off to chase some petty, musical criminals, when you knew well enough that sending a few of the agent trainees after them would’ve been a sufficient call…”

John says nothing, letting his hands hang relaxed as he places them within his pockets.

Syd: “While you were gone making a complete fool of yourself….not only did you endanger the lives of trainee agents, but you also inadvertently caused them to fall deeper into this…ROA mess!…”

John: “Ahh…. Nothing pleases you, Syd, in fact, it seems that you yourself don't even know what it is that you want… I had not the slightest idea that particular group of hooligans would show up today. Trust me, if I’d had even a morsel of an inclination that the ROA, an enemy organization who we know little about, would be making their sorry faces known, I never would have gone after those musicians…. To you, does it seem of character that I, John Jackdaw, would leave my dear trainees in the inevitable wake of a known danger?… Why, certainly not!”

Syd: “…Hmmmrgh…”

Syd places his hands behind his back. He looks to the floor, his frown lines deepening into darker wells within his pale cheeks.

John: “…. I agree, Syd. Today was almost a complete disaster…and I am…mostly to blame…”

Syd snaps his head up at that, his eyebrows curling so far up his forehead his skin might peel off his face.

John: “Okay. I get it… My actions were undoubtedly reckless. I should have known better…”

Syd: “Heh! As a vampire who’s spent well over one thousand years in this world, one would think it would deem you a genius…. But apparently it's quite the opposite!”

John: “Oh, you’re well aware that a vampire’s age as measured by revolutions around the sun has little to do with their intellect, Syd… Why, the vampire trainees themselves are each over a century old, apart from our new halfling, Luke. Yet, in fact, they and the human trainees share much in common between them…”

With his right hand, John combs his fingers through his raven and silver hair.

John: “Ah, yes… The trainees… You know, I’m quite proud of how they handled things today. They really are something… Surely, it has nothing to do with my instruction towards them, I’m afraid…”

John shifts his gaze back over to the other vampire. Syd sits on the edge of John’s bed, still with his attention close to emptiness, thought long absent in his eyes.

John: “Syd?… You’ve gone quiet. Tell me, Syd. There’s another reason why you’re here, isn’t there?… More than that…you’ve been spying on me longer than just this evening… Isn’t that the truth?”

Syd: “Hmmm…. It seems you’re well familiar with me, at least.”

Syd stares back into the other vampire’s crimson pupils, his lips parted, pondering all that goes on behind John’s unreliable eyes.

John: “So, I take it I’m spot on?…”

Syd: “Let’s just put it this way… I’ve made it no secret that I’ve had some suspicions about you, as of late…. And since you won't come clean to me…. I’ve decided to put forward the best interests of VLAD into my own actions…”

John: “Ahh… That’s why I’ve been feeling like I’m being watched, here, in my own private space…. And have you enjoyed sitting here twiddling your thumbs, waiting for me to show up during the long hours of the day?”

Syd: “Well…. I’ll say this… It turns out my suspicions weren’t completely false.”

John: “Oh?… And, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are these suspicions of yours, my good friend?…”

Syd: “Heh. Don’t play dumb, you old rooster… You know I’m not going to tell you that…”

John: “Ahh, well. There’s no crime in trying, is there?…”

Syd: “My examination of you is authorized by VLAD, so there is no misconduct here…. And before you ask me to leave….I’ll tell you now. I’m not going anywhere just yet…”

John: “Oh, my then… It seems I really am powerless against you Syd… You know, I never would’ve thought things would turn out this way between you and me… Not with how much I know about the current state of things pertaining…you and him…”

As if John’s words could choke him, Syd’s breath hitches like a blade in his throat. He stands now, his eyes wide and unmoving.

Syd: “You!… You have no right to speak on that matter!…”

John: “Syd… Calm yourself…. I still see you as a friend, you know, despite our differing views on some things. I’d never take your actions as a sign of cowardice—”

Syd: “Shut up!…. Didn’t you hear me?!… I told you not to speak on it!”

Syd’s eyes are blaring and spewing stray tears in wayward disarray. He grabs and clings onto the hem of his shirt, as if he might take a swing at John, if he does not restrain himself.

John: “Haah…. Fine… This is about your kismet, after all…”

Syd: “…Aahhck!…. It's…funny…”

John: “Ohh?… What’s—”

Syd: “You’re mocking me…. Yet, it's your kismet that I’m curious about…”

Syd’s face is curtained in shadow, his teeth making a severe, gnawing slash across his face, as he grins through his sudden mania. He speaks in a low voice, gruff, with tendrils of saliva gleaming on his lips.

John: “Ehh!…. That’s…. Why, that is….quite unfortunate…because you aren’t going to find anything suspicious on the matters of me and my kismet… She’s dead, remember?… She’s been dead for many years now…”

Syd chews on his bottom lip and loosens his tie. He looks up at John, the silver of his pupils flickering with ambiguity, shimmering an inner rainbow of defiant colours.

John: “Syd…. You understand how…touchy…this subject is. It should be no concern of yours what my relationship with my kismet was…. That’s all past now… And as for how I have been coping with such an issue as…loss….I’d suggest that you…take some advice.”

Syd: “Advice?…”

John: “…. What you’re doing right now… Abstaining from contacting your kismet… It's foolish.”

Syd: “You have no right to judge—”

John: “Wait… I haven’t finished…”

John puts a bold hand over Syd’s mouth, making a risky effort to prevent the other vampire from speaking.

John: “You’re being foolish, Syd…. And you might not realize it now…. Now, you might think what your doing is noble….or empathetic… But it isn’t, Syd… Being alive for…forever…you’ll soon realize that there isn’t enough time for happiness…. Not in the way you’d want it, at least…. So, my advice for you is, be selfish for once… Take what’s there while you can take it!…. And, if that means you have to—”

Syd pulls John’s arm away and frees his mouth from John’s grasp.

Syd: “Enough!…. You don't even know what you’re saying!”

John: “Syd, I’m trying to help—”

Syd: “I don't trust a single word that comes out of that disgusting, sarcastic mouth of yours anymore!…. I get the feeling that you’re up to something…. Something that is certainly illegal, under VLAD’s laws, at least!…. I know what my instincts are telling me, and never once have I doubted my own decisions!….”

The younger vampire grabs onto the collar of John’s shirt, forcing him forward, Syd brutalizes John with each stress within his words.

Syd: “I will find whatever it is that you’re hiding…. And trust, I’m going to send you to Hell for it!….”

Syd heaves through gritted teeth, hushing his hot breath into John’s eyes. John blinks as he flinches, beads of sweat beginning to spill into the thickness of his hair.

Syd loosens his grip on John’s shirt. He lets his arms fall limp at his sides. Syd drops his head, his eyelids drooping slightly, as if he has become tired from all of the shouting.

John smooths down his shirt, trying to avoid looking at the vampire standing opposite to him. He returns his hands to their comfortable place, hanging slack within his pants’ pockets.

The two men stand this way in the nerve wracking silence for far too long, letting the awkward minutes scrape by, continuing to bring unrelenting ruin to the vampires’ already imploding relationship. Syd’s angst constrains his shoulders and perpetuates the aching throb that lingers behind his eyes. At the same time John does not worry over Syd, rather he worries for himself, yet these anxieties do not assault him any less…

The painful leers of passing time persists to torture the two vampires for not another sacrilegious minute, as Syd and John turn away from each other almost at once. With their heads hanging with the likes of purgatory, they make slow steps away from the spot at the front of the room.

Syd returns to John’s bed, setting himself down against the headboard and laying his legs crossed one on top of the other. John goes back to his computer. He turns it on once more, the screen lighting up a prompt brightness with the page he was previously on still open.

The VLAD agents stay this way for an even longer period of time, not once exchanging words with each other during this interval. The evening transforms into a cloudless night, the sky darkening outside the window in the outer wall of the soundless room. With the moon having fully risen in the starless night sky, John dares himself and forces a turn of his head, so again he looks back at the other vampire where he lay in silent rest.

John: “You aren’t as inconsolably restless anymore, Syd?…. Hmmm, yet, you aren’t exactly comfortable in this environment, I take it…”

Syd: “Ehem… It's as I said…. I’m not leaving, John…. So, don't even get on your knees and beg me—”

John: “It's fine.”

Syd: “Huh?…”

John: “It’s fine. You can stay…”

Syd moves himself from his lying position so he sits up in the centre of the bed.

John: “Stay for as long as you need…. I don't mind… You can watch me in all of my most intimate moments… Go ahead, but I doubt you’ll find anything.”

Syd: “Hummph…. I never asked for your permission…”

Syd shuts his eyes and sets a subtle smirk halfway across his cheek. John stands and turns to him.

John: “Hehehe…. Well then, I’m giving it to you now. I find your persistence incredibly amusing. Keep at it long enough and I might just…. Well, I might just tell you some of my secrets…”

Syd: “You can laugh all you want, John… But you can’t change the truth. And, you will not have to tell me anything… I have a job to do, and so do you, so keep laughing if you must…. That’s the only time when you are being honest.”

John: “Haha…. Syd,….I think you are right! Hahaha…. You are very right, my friend.”