I have lived a long, long time. And with that time, I have extinguished the lives of countless others. I kill nightly, sometimes slaughtering entire families. Mothers have begged for the lives of their children, and husbands have pleaded for lives of their wives. Children have huddled in a corner, crying and screaming as I tore open their parents’ throat and drank their lifeblood.

I care not a whit for them. It’s the circle of life, as you humans would call it. Survival of the fittest.

I am not human. I was born a human, but I have not been one for over two thousand years. I have been called a demon, a devil, a murderer, a shade, and a monster, among other things. Others call my kind toneelluik, sanguisuga, and vampiresa. I myself have traveled the world and been called such.

We—my kind—we call ourselves vampires, named after the first vampire, Vampris. Vampris means first in our language.

Yes, we have our own language. We’re not stupid or uncultured or uncivilized—well, not all of us. I’m not stupid, and I’m not uncultured, but I have been justly accused of being uncivilized.

Ask me if I care.

Or better yet, ask me if those who have spoken rudely to me are alive. My answer would not surprise you.

Can you see me smirking? I can see you shudder and turn up your lips in disgust, but that’s to be expected. You’re only human.

I know how humans behave. I have watched them for two thousand years, and once upon a time, I was one of them…

/-0-0-0-0-

“Robin! Birdie, where are you? You’re needed!” Áine screeched. I dropped the milk pails and ran outside to meet her.

“Who is it? And where are they? At Grandmother’s house?”

My cara nodded, leaning on her knees and gasping for breath. “Aye. ‘Tis a newcomer. A man. Patrick; he’s barely conscious. Said a demon was hunting ‘im.”

“What?” I was aghast. There hadn’t been a demon in these parts for generations; the only person in the village who remembered the last attack was my grandmother, and she was the oldest person around for miles.

She nodded seriously, eyes wide with sincerity. “It’s true. That’s what he said when I found him, out in the edge of the forest.”

I grinned. “Finally hooked yourself a man, eh?”

Áine blushed and looked away. “You shouldn’t be talking,” she accused, silently adding, At least I’ve found someone, unlike yourself. She didn’t have to say it aloud; I knew she was thinking it. Áine and I were close like that. We were the best of friends in those days. “Actually, about that—”

I barely heard her, just laughed and started running in the direction of my grandmother’s house. I knew about my best friend’s secret crush on my older brother, Alastar. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to him!”

“Good!” she yelled after me. “But—”

“But you have to do the milking for me!”

“What? Robin, no! I’ve got my own chores to do!”

But I was already gone.