story
Volume 29, Number 3

Lost Love

Richard Lind

“Come on, Izzy. You need to get up,” Sebastian said, pulling on Izzy’s arm.

“Why?” Izzy asked, rolling over on his side, away from his partner in crime and all things unnatural. The silk felt good against his marble-like skin. It made him think of better times.

“Look,” Sebastian huffed. “I said I was sorry.”

“Sorry? You’re sorry!” Izzy snapped, sitting up. His eyes were red with venom. Sebastian just didn’t get it, did he? How could he say he said that he was sorry, and he’d think that would make it better? They had spent too many years together. It was such a weak thing to say. He looked into Sebastian’s baby-blue eyes and watched as they tried to blink back tears.

“Like you can cry,” Izzy said, his arms folded.

“I didn’t think that you would be such a bitch about it!” Sebastian retorted. His black tuxedo made that swishing sound that always pissed Izzy off.

“A bitch! I wasn’t the one—” Izzy stopped for a minute and said nothing. He couldn’t say any more, or it was going to be worse.

“Look! Nothing’s going on! I just don’t understand you. Tyrone and I are just friends! You know where my loyalty lies.”

Why’s he lying to me? Izzy thought. Did it really matter anymore? Was he just trying to stoke the embers a bit? Was it really over? Sebastian could be a real asshole. “I just don’t understand you! I’m the one who has been with you all these centuries! I’m the one who saved your ass when that woman tried to put a stake in you! I gave you all my undead years!”

Izzy climbed out of the double coffin. He was ready to fight this to the bitter end. He was going to have his say this time. He usually backed down. Not this time! Sebastian had broken a trust! He had crushed Izzy’s immobile heart! When was the last time they had done it, fed together, Izzy remembered when they had found the drunk old man—Stop it! Stop it! he howled to himself. This was no time to reminisce about the past!

“Don’t pull this on me!” Sebastian said. “The silent treatment just makes you act like a baby!”

“Tell me,” Izzy whispered, arms akimbo, eyes blazing. “Tell me everything.”

“What do you want me to say? How about this? He makes me feel alive again. He makes me feel like a young strong vampire! We’re an item!” Sebastian was screaming now. “I’ve fed with him!”

“What?” Izzy said his fangs quivering. Izzy scrunched his eyes up at him. “You’ve fed with him? I knew it! How could you?” Izzy looked hard at Sebastian. He wanted his soulmate back. He wanted to hold him again, tell him that it was okay. But he knew that Sebastian would be out prowling about with that young buck again. It was over! “I just don’t know you anymore!” Izzy said turning his back on his death partner. He held himself tightly.

“Don’t be a baby!” Sebastian snarled.

Izzy turned on him. “Why?”

“Why? You drove me to him!”

“You really did it with him?”

“Yes, I did it with him!”

“When! When did you feed with him?” Izzy wailed, holding up and gnashing his manicured claws. They had done it last week for their 2500th anniversary. Sebastian had given him a card. A freaking card!

Sebastian got quiet. “The first time? While you were passed out on the couch at Marty’s! There was one old man left. We just kind of—” Sebastian started. “I tried to stop but Tyrone was so young and so beautiful,” he cooed.

The words stunned Izzy. “During our 2500th anniversary party? My Satan!” Had anyone seen? “You should have saved him for us! You drank blood with that short-fanged bastard!”

“Maybe if you didn’t go drinking Bloody Marys all the time!” Sebastian snapped and put his hands on his hips. “You’re nothing but a raving bloodaholic!”

“You’re nothing but a cheap Dragula Queen!” Izzy countered.

“Huh! You take that back!”

“I won’t, and I’m leaving!” Sebastian said and tore his cape from around his shoulders. Izzy had given it to him for their 2500th. “You can take this piece of crap with you!” He stomped out and slammed the mausoleum door behind him.

“Don’t come back!” Izzy hollered after him. He then leaped into the air and stomped on the cape with his shiny black pumps. He twisted, scowled and then spit on the cape. He stopped, gulping huge amounts of stale air. Not that he really needed air. It was just something left over from his days in Egypt.

Maybe it was better this way, Izzy thought. He climbed back into their double coffin and slammed the lid down. He would feed tomorrow. He was not in the mood tonight. Perhaps a nice young man would suit him nicely. What more could piss off Sebastian?

*

Sebastian stood in the old graveyard just outside of the mausoleum. It had been their home for the last hundred years. Perfect for them. Perfect and quaint.

Tyrone lived in a small vacant warehouse near the center of town. He would go there and see him. Maybe he could stay there until he found his own place. The night was awash with humans. People went from place to place not noticing him as he lurked about taking his time.

He found himself, not in front of Tyrone’s warehouse, but at the little park where Izzy had saved him from that evil old woman. He remembered lying there paralyzed with the just-setting sun, looking up seeing the stake in her hands. Not only the sun had paralyzed Sebastian, for he had the power to rise at that point. She had covered his body with garlic. He could remember feeling scared, something very un-vampirish. Without thought, Izzy had jumped up from a spot behind her and dispatched her, saving his life. Izzy had sustained three burns from the woman’s cross but had managed to get rid of her.

He slipped into the darkness as two young humans, one male and one female, walked by. Sebastian felt a tug to feed on them, but for some reason only watched as they went by, content just to be around each other.

It had never made sense to him. All his life he had hunted and killed, preferring to be in Izzy’s company but never feeling love for him. Nor had he ever expected Izzy to feel love. It was alien to his kind. Anger was not. Their fight was not. Izzy’s jealousy was alien, but Izzy had always been weird that way. It was Izzy’s weirdness that had attracted Sebastian to Izzy in the first place. It was the quirky way he could cry or get jealous. Most vampires could not do those things, including him.

For many years, Sebastian had prided himself on being the strong one. On being the true hunter. Feelings were as alien to Sebastian as breathing. Izzy just tagged along and fed with him. It was Izzy who had stopped him from killing the puppy that had wandered onto their property.

What had he said? “It was cute.” Sebastian had let the dog live with them until it died. Izzy had been so happy. Sebastian had kept it as a guardian. Izzy had taught it to play ball.

Sebastian shook his head. He had never done anything to hurt Izzy like he had over the last couple of weeks. He really shouldn’t care. He had no feelings. He was undead, but somehow, something was stirring in him. Izzy wasn’t just another vampire. He was something more to Sebastian.

Sebastian sat down under a dead tree and put his head in his hands. It was all over. He would just sit here until the sun came up.

He felt something on his shoulder; it was Izzy’s hand. Sebastian closed his eyes and let his fangs jut out from his mouth in a smile.

“We shouldn’t fight,” Izzy said.

“I know,” Sebastian replied.

“I made some Bloody Marys,” Izzy said holding up a Thermos.

“O positive?”

“Nothing but the best.”

Izzy handed Sebastian a bottle of SPF 1000 Vampire Protection. He slathered it on the exposed parts of his body. It had a faint blood smell to it. Just then a large truck rumbled by. It stopped about three yards from them. Two men jumped out and began to dig.

“Oh look,” Sebastian said. “We’re getting some more neighbors.”

Izzy nodded and sighed. They were stuck with each other forever. For better or worse.

~