{"id":262,"date":"2022-02-09T20:07:16","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T03:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cameroncorder.com\/?page_id=262"},"modified":"2022-02-10T21:21:45","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T04:21:45","slug":"thebargain","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cameroncorder.com\/index.php\/thebargain\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bargain"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Bargain<\/em><\/p>

By Cameron Corder<\/p>

I woke to the sound of rasping steel and a crackling fire. In the dark of the heavy night, the fire blazed with painful light. I winced, trying to shield my eyes from its glow.<\/p>

\u201cHello,\u201d came a dry voice.<\/p>

My eyes fell upon a crumbled form of a man, who sat against a log next to the fire. Dressed in a long brown coat, he could be easily mistaken for an old oak stump in a cold forest. And in his hands was a long-handled axe that he sharpened with a stone.<\/p>

\u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d The stone scraped against the axe.<\/p>

I rubbed my eyes, hoping to clear a dense mental fog. \u201cLike I\u2019ve been gutted and dried.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNot too far from the truth,\u201d the man said with a chuckle, pointing a gnarled finger at my chest.<\/p>

My shirt was in blood-stained tatters, hanging onto my frame by only a few threads. A large hole in the front left my chest open to the frigid air. The skin there was pink, as though a great scab had once covered its entirety.<\/p>

\u201cI… don\u2019t understand,\u201d I admitted as I curled my legs up to my chest. The fire did little warm me, seeming to only offer pain rather than comfort.<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s quite simple, really.\u201d He set the axe at his side. \u201cYou died.\u201d<\/p>

I blinked. \u201cPardon?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou\u2019re dead.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cCome again?\u201d I replied, my mind not grasping the idea.<\/p>

\u201cAs in passed. Not of the living,\u201d he said, each word more impatient than the last. \u201cWhat\u2019s the last thing you remember?\u201d<\/p>

My mind lolled as I fought through the fog. \u201cI… was at the manor, the Count\u2019s manor. Because… I saw a commotion, from the streets. Then I remember opening the door and… that\u2019s it, I think.\u201d<\/p>

The man looked up, with gray eyes squinting. \u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI believe so, yes.\u201d<\/p>

The man raised a brow, seeming to be perplexed by my words. He took a long look at me before he went on to say, \u201cAfter you opened the door, you saw Isabelle and ushered her outside. Then, you saw me, fighting the Count. At that point, the Count grabbed you and split your ribs open and drank you dry.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThat\u2019s…\u201d Impossible, I was about to say, but I knew his words to be true. I could hear the sounds of cracking bone and felt the icy sting of fangs all over again, and I grabbed at my chest. \u201cSo it is,\u201d I breathed. \u201cYou say the Count, yet it was clearly a beast that… drank me.\u201d<\/p>

The man nodded. \u201cAye. \u2019Twas the Count. Transformed, yes, but the Count all the same.\u201d<\/p>

The beast\u2019s image flashed in my memory, with its pale, varicose skin and gangly legs. \u201cThat is to say, that the Count is a monster?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cSo he was,\u201d the man nodded.<\/p>

I gulped, hearing the message beyond his words. \u201cYou killed him.\u201d<\/p>

The man nodded. He threw a log onto the fire, causing a spurt of ash and cinders to fly up. I shrank back from it, finding more solace in the dark.<\/p>

\u201cAnd I died,\u201d I murmured, half in wonder, the other half in fear. \u201cWere you the one to revive me then, sir?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNo. You can send your thanks to the late Count, Gods burn him. As I cleaved his head off he spat blood and venom into you, corrupting you to the very soul. And now you are counted among the dead, yet still allowed to walk the earth.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m…\u201d<\/p>

He nodded. \u201cYou\u2019re a vampire.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNo, that… cannot be.\u201d<\/p>

\u201c\u2018Let fire repel them, as it chases away the dark within them.\u2019 Tell me, does that ring true to you? Go on, lie to me, tell me that you cannot feel the poison in your very veins.\u201d<\/p>

I reeled, as my mind struggled with the revelation. I\u2019d only heard of such ghoulish things in rumors and tall tales, yet now I had become one. A vampire, a cursed creature, said to be an abomination in the Gods\u2019 sight. A punishment for crimes both temporal and spiritual. It was too dark and twisted to be true, or so I had thought. All this time, they were been real, enough for the Count to be one.<\/p>

\u201cPray tell, what are your intentions with me now?\u201d I asked.<\/p>

\u201cNow that,\u201d the man said, \u201cdepends on you.\u201d A red glint shone from beneath his eyes as they locked with mine.<\/p>

I gulped, suddenly realizing that I was alone and in the woods with this man. My hands groped around in the dirt as I hoped to find even a stick to use in my defense, should the need arise. But the loose soil held nothing for me.<\/p>

\u201cSpeak plainly, sir,\u201d I said with forced confidence.<\/p>

\u201cI could cleave your head too, as I did the Count\u2019s. I\u2019d do it cleanly, and as swift as the wind. You\u2019d be free of the curse and move onto meet your Makers.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cOr?\u201d I asked, hoping for another option.<\/p>

\u201cOr,\u201d he said slowly, \u201cyou could swear on your own flesh to use this curse to bless those around you. To hunt those that slink in the shadows, those that threaten the innocent for their own gain. You\u2019d bear the curse until the earth is ground to dust or until your death, whichever comes first.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cDeath or slavery, is it,\u201d I said.<\/p>

He shrugged. \u201cSuch are the choices allotted to all those who are turned,\u201d he said, a hint of sorrow behind the hard truth.<\/p>

\u201cBut as a vampire, could I not just overpower you, old man?\u201d<\/p>

The man laughed. The sound came rolling and rolling like an ancient boulder. \u201cYou\u2019d kill your savior, would you, boy? Challenge me then, and you\u2019ll be the second vampire I kill tonight.\u201d There was an edge to his tone, an eagerness. A thirst for blood. His hand fell to the axe handle, all the while keeping his red eyes on me.<\/p>

\u201cPerhaps.\u201d I suppressed the surge of rebellion in me, one that urged for a fight. No doubt that was the monster\u2019s blood thrumming for battle. \u201cBut how could I trust a man who bargains with an abomination?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cWhat of another abomination?\u201d the man asked with a toothy smile.<\/p>

\u201cI should have guessed,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd you promise that this is not some ruse or trap?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cOn my flesh,\u201d he said.<\/p>

Such a choice was unlike any I had before. On the one hand, I would be forced into a life of service. Not just that, but an endless life of service. It was questionable how much freedom I would have in such an enterprise, as vampires would likely be kept on a short leash, lest they turn to their base instincts.<\/p>

But on the other hand, I would be dead. Truly dead, not the state in which I presently found myself.<\/p>

So in both cases, my life was over. I could either slip away with it, or try to forge another. Despite its lack of freedom, I had admit that being a vampire hunter sounded like an exciting one.<\/p>

And<\/em>, whispered something cold and dark within me, maybe there will come a day when you could break the chains of service, and… well, do what comes naturally.<\/em><\/p>

With a sigh, I said, \u201cI will choose slavery. No sense in letting my talents be wasted, whether they be natural or otherwise.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cA fine decision. But don\u2019t fret,\u201d a crooked smile twisted his lips, \u201cif you change your mind at any time, I would be happy to oblige.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThank you, but I am quite certain.\u201d<\/p>

The man rose to his feet. \u201cCome now, boy,\u201d he said, \u201cthere\u2019s slaying to be had.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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