"My lord," he whispered. "My master."

The one called master smiled. A brief flash of fangs. "Yes, pet."

"Master," he repeated, arching his neck - a silent offering.

Master hesitated. "Amari.."

"Please."

Master hissed, baring his fangs. He crossed the distance in between them in a few steps and sank his fangs into the neck of his willing servant. The rich blood started flowing from the wound immedietly.

He fed for several minutes, drinking slowly. As soon as he glimpsed the full moon clear the horizon, he stopped.

Master lapped at the puncture wounds idly, stalling. They began to heal - he stopped. That wouldn't do.

Amari whined. His master chuckled.

"Patience, pet. You will be fed soon enough."

Master raised a hand from his servant's back and his used his fangs to rip a gash in his wrist. His blood flowed freely. The wound was pressed to the servant's mouth.

He drank.

The blood was always warm and sweet, with only a tinge of exotic spice. It was a delight, and a treat.

It took a few minutes, until Master's wound began to close. He withdrew his wrist, careful of the fangs that were beginning to develop.

"Next time, pet," he promised, "Next time, you will join me as the undead."



"Master?" his pet asked tentatively. "Master, may I ask you a question?"

Master looked at the half-vampire. He had been wrong - the boy was not completely Turned yet. Another month, another full moon, and another serving of blood.

"Yes, pet. You may ask."

The boy was beginning to feed on animal blood now. It was a risk, bringing an only half-vampire to hunt, but the boy was sharp. He had good instincts, and he hid his state well.

"Master, is your name truly Visucius?"

Master laughed. "No, Visucius is a name I adopted after my Turning. I was messenger, someone who traveled between Earth and Hell, mortals and eternal sinners."

"It is... appropriate."

Master - Visucius - laughed again. He couldn't help it. "Yes, pet, it is. Now ask again. You have that look on your face, that says you wish to know more." He added, answering the unspoken question.

"Master, what is your true name?"

Visucius thought. "It is nothing, my pet. It was a common, human name."

There was silence.

"Pet, do you know what your name means?"

"I do not, my lord."

"It is your name that is appropriate, pet. Amari - a hebrew name that means eternal. Eternal, as you shall be."

Amari took that in for a few minutes.

"Pet, my eternal pet," whispered the Master, "The next moon is approaching. You will join me then, Amari. I promise."




He had guessed rightly, that time. At the next feeding, Amari was Turned.

The full moon watched as Visucius slowly fed from his servant. The graveyard was silent, but the spirits of the dead were restless. The Turning had to be there. The death that surrounded the place would prove for an easier passage into vampirism.

There was another cut, more blood. This time, Amari savored it. It would be the last time he drank from his master. To feed another vampire was to acknowledge their superiority, and his Master would not allow it.

He felt his fangs itching to sink into flesh, but knew that such an action would cause punishment. He restrained himself, if only barely.

The cut was healing, and he let himself suck at the blood a little more insistantly before relinquishing it. His master chuckled softly.

"My pet," he whispered. "Relax. It will be painless."

It was a lie, but only barely. There would be pain, yes, but the power rushing into your body, gifting you with immortality, would override it.

He leaned back and watched his servant's face. His fangs bared, senses sharp - a newly Turned vampire would often attack anyone for blood. It proved unnecessary; Amari's dedication would not allow him to attack his master.

"My pet, Amari, you are eternal," he grinned wolfishly, "And now we hunt - this time for human prey.




Visucius and his pet, Amari, traveled the world. It was the year 2000, almost fifty years since the boy had been Turned. They moved from place to place, death following them closely. They fed from whever was around, and killed as they did. Neither had qualms about it - the only problem was the need to leave when too many died.

"Master," Amari ventured one day - despite Visucius's objections, the boy would not stop addressing him as such, "Master, have you ever taken a human lover?"

Visucius looked at him curiously. "No, Amari. Why do you ask?"

"I..." Amari started, "Master, have you had a vampire lover?"

"Yes, pet, I have."

Amari paused, looking into his Master's eyes. "Master... I think... I think..."

"Yes?" Visucuis - Master - was amused. His eyes twinkled as he leaned in to capture his childe's lips. "Amari?"

"Yes, Master."

Visucius smiled, then kissed the boy again. And again. And again.




"My lord," he whispered, "Master."

"Yes, childe."

"Are.. are you...?"

"Yes, pet, I am. I'm dying."

Amari looked at his master with wide eyes. "Master.. we are... immortal..."

"Eternal," he corrected mildly, "but not immortal. No one is immortal. God or Satan will come to us eventually."

Visucius stared into his childe's eyes. They were the same as they were the first time he had laid eyes on the boy. The time when he decided that he was going to have the boy as his own. He had fallen in love that time, despite warnings and none-too-few cynics that predicted the impossibility for vampires to love.

"Master... Visucius..."

He had never heard his pet call him by his name before. He smiled, even as death loomed closer and Satan cackled with glee to obtain another soul.

"Yes, pet. I'm dying," he repeated. His smile fell as he saw the devestated look on his servant's - no, lover's - face. "But we are eternal, childe. I will be with you forever."

The hope reflected on Amari's face made his master's heart thrum. Love. Yes.

"Master... I..."

Visucius closed his eyes. He didn't have the strength to keep them open any more. He didn't want to see his love's pain.

"Shh... pet... I will not leave you. I will stay with you forever.... eternally..."

Amari whispered something so quietly Visucius didn't quite catch it, although he understood it anyway. He smiled.

His pet smiled sadly in return and kissed him. He didn't move for minutes - hours - days - as if he could hope to bring life back into his master. Return the life that he had been given all those years ago.

He couldn't.

And his master died with a smile on his face, basking in the love of the one who held his heart.