Vampire Civilization Ch. 07

"I must get back to my husband Hiram and our son Erebus," Lady Nadia said, and the tall, curvy West African-born vampire shook off the last vestiges of slumber as night fell over the City of London, United Kingdom. The situation of vampires worldwide was becoming dire, not the least due to the fact that the undead refused to put aside their petty differences and unite against the resurgent humans. Eternity had made the undead complacent, and they were paying the price for it. The human warriors were slaughtering the vampires in droves, diminishing their numbers every night...

"As you wish, madame," replied Lady Nadia's faithful acolyte Noor, and with that, the two of them left their lair, a rented mansion from the Victorian era in the Watford area. It's a forty-minute drive from the town of Watford to London proper, and from there, the two vampires would begin their long journey back to North America. Europe has the vampire situation under control, or so the European military forces think. In the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, the war between human and vampire rages on.

The vampire Noor, a short, slender young woman with dark bronze skin and short, spiky dark hair, had been Lady Nadia's friend and confidante for a long time. Noor was born in 1898 in the environs of Marrakesh, Morocco, and met Lady Nadia in Fez during the turbulent summer of 1920. In those days, Noor, an orphan, was a prostitute on the streets of Fez, and one of her clients, Malik, had grown possessive of her. For the unfortunate young woman, the situation did not bode well, to say the least...

"I don't belong to you, Malik," Noor cried defiantly as her former client, a burly, dark-haired, swarthy thug named Malik grabbed her by the throat and pressed her against the wall. The son of a wealthy Imam, Malik was clearly used to getting anything he wanted. In this dark alley, somewhere in downtown Fez, Noor was about to breathe her last. Malik drew out his blade, ready to end her life. Like a lot of men, Malik despised that which arouses him, and women like Noor are always made to pay the price, often with their lives. Still, the young Moroccan woman refused to go down without a fight...

"You filthy whore," Malik bellowed, and he was about to cut Noor's throat when something unusual happened. A shadow fell upon the prostitute and her would-be killer. A living shadow. Dropping out of the sky, Lady Nadia waded into Malik, and made short work of him. Noor watched, aghast, as a tall, woman-shaped shadow overpowered the burly Malik like he weighed nothing. The shadow woman's eyes glowed red, and she flashed her pearly white fangs before sinking them into Malik's throat. Malik struggled, but soon went still.

"What are you?" Noor asked, more curious than frightened of the apparition. The shadow coalesced into the form of a tall, dark-skinned African woman. A beautiful African woman from the regions below the Sahara. Noor had seen such women on the streets of Fez, Casablanca and Morocco before. They came from distant places like Senegal, Nigeria or Ghana. The dark woman standing before Noor was almost ethereal in her beauty, and her eyes shifted from bright red to light brown, while her sharp fangs morphed into normal teeth. For the moment, the shadow woman looked almost ordinary, but Noor wasn't fooled.

"I am Lady Nadia, and I am a vampire," said the shadow woman, and Noor nodded as though she understood. Noor looked at Lady Nadia without fear. As a young prostitute on the streets of Morroco's biggest cities, Noor had seen much of the dark side of human nature. The creatures of the night couldn't scare Noor any more than the serial killers, the creeps, the thieves, the murderers, the rapists and the stalkers did. Lady Nadia seemed puzzled by the absence of fear in the young Moroccan woman's gaze. Most of the time, when humans met a vampire, they went mad with fear...

"You are beautiful, Lady Nadia, I am Noor, from nowhere, I wish I were like you," Noor replied, and it was the vampire's turn to be surprised. In her many centuries of life, Lady Nadia had met many fascinating men and women, but none of them had reacted the way this young Moroccan gal had when she revealed herself. Noor looked at the vampire and then, amazingly, she smiled. Lady Nadia held out her hand, and the young woman took it without hesitation. Thus, two formidable women from different worlds met, and for either of them, life would never be the same...

"Join me, Noor, and the world will be yours," Lady Nadia told the young woman, who smiled and nodded. On that very night, Lady Nadia bit Noor and turned her into a vampire. Noor became a formidable vampire, one whose toughness and loyalty amazed even Lady Nadia, her esteemed Maker. Lady Nadia introduced Noor to her husband Hiram, one of the most powerful vampires on the planet, and their son Erebus. Noor became the vampire triad's constant companion and protector. Wherever Hiram, Lady Nadia and Erebus went, Noor fiercely defended them against all enemies.

"We will get back to your great family in America, madame, don't worry," Noor said reassuringly as she and Lady Nadia boarded a flight bound for North America. After the nuclear war, and the advent of the vampires, commercial flying nearly died. Things were slowly getting back to normal in Europe, while the rest of the planet was still at war with the undead. Strangely enough, Africa and the Arab world didn't seem to be affected by the vampires at all. Of course, the undead weren't hunted to extinction in these lands, so that might have something to do with it...

For vampires, just like the wealthiest of humans, money talks. Lady Nadia, the matriarch of the Enclave has had centuries to acquire wealth and power. With her faithful Noor by her side, Lady Nadia intends to return to the City of Boston, Massachusetts. If the rumors are true that humans are taking back North America from the undead, then the African vampire matriarch intends to be with her son Erebus and her husband Hiram, the legendary Sidonian vampire overlord. What does the future hold for Lady Nadia and her brood in this post-apocalyptic world? Only time will tell...