Free Underground Vampire by David Lee

spirited her lover to Marseille and put him on a boat bound for
London.  He had been good to her and she owed him a debt for introducing
her to another way of life.  Their time together had been good; he had
introduced her not only to his social circle but also to the intellectuals swirling
about the capitol, so that her excellent mind had been influenced by some of
the best thinkers of the time.  If he wondered about her occasional night
long absences, he was sophisticated enough to tell her he was concerned only
about her welfare and secure enough to believe her when she whispered she would
always take care to be safe and would always be home before the sun came up.
    The revolution and turmoil that
ripped through France provided her the cover to continue her education. Finally
comfortable with the cycle of demand and satiation that was her lot, she
learned to moderate her beast although when it raged she fed easily in the
chaos of the streets.  Bonaparte’s ascension and the continent wide
warfare that followed provided her the cover to grow and to complete her
education.  A series of powerful lovers in government and the military
showered her with presents and indulged her with connections and tutors until
she was one of the most knowledgeable people of the time.
    One evening she went out to a fashionable
party and on her way home vanished from the streets of Paris and indeed from
Europe.  Taking passage to Buenos Aires under an alias, she knocked at the
door of a splendid villa located in the fashionable hillside district, a place
that she had spent the past years searching out.  Using her European
connections to identify the owner and confirm his history, she satisfied
herself that he was her maker. 
    At the door she claimed to be
related to an acquaintance from France and only wished to pass on a letter. 
The manservant admitted her and showed her to a waiting room furnished in dark
Teutonic furniture carved with scenes of mounted huntsman pinning pigs to the
ground with lances.  When the master appeared he broke into a broad smile,
as she was beautiful and dressed in the latest Parisian style. 
    He advanced towards her, saying he
did not recognize the name but wished to correct this oversight; he was suave
and used to impressing young women with his Old World charm and
sophistication.  As he reached out to take her hand, she grabbed his wrist
and plunged the stake she’d spent the tedious sea voyage carving into his
chest, puncturing his heart saying, “I never thanked you for your gift,” and
watched as he shrank and began turning to dust.   As the spark dimmed
in his eyes, he asked, “Who are you,” and finally, “why,” but she did not
answer.  He could not see the dirty little peasant girl in the beautiful
woman who had just ended his life.
    He had accumulated vast properties,
which she appropriated and liquidated allowing her the financial freedom to
live her life as she chose.  She roamed the world stateless, without
allegiance to any nation or Clan.  As word spread among the People of the
Night, she was asked to intervene in delicate matters or to lend assistance
with a dispute.  Since her maker was dead and she had never joined a Clan,
she was truly independent and could sell her services to the highest or lowest
bidder, as she determined. Over time she achieved a reputation as a formidable
and relentless opponent, and her powers grew to equal those of all but the
oldest and strongest Vampires.
    Tiring of the peripatetic
lifestyle, she sought a place where she could live in semi-retirement, avoiding
conflict and accepting commissions at her discretion.  The Pacific
Northwest was an attractive possibility; the geography lent it a certain
isolation, which served to shield her from some of the more unsavory People of
the Night who roamed the East Coast.  She hadn’t hunted in the Northwest,
so there were no unpleasant surprises lurking about seeking retribution, and it
had a nice