Kindred Tribune January 1,

2007
Volume 2
Issue 1
 Contact info:

Email: Kindred.Tribune@gmail.com
Web Site: www.myspace.com/KindredTribune

Editor: Melissa Brown

Contributing Authors and Artists:

Atlanta Vampire Alliance Vincent Grisanti Sanguinarius

William Blumberg Angela Pearson
Melissa Brown

PsiVamp
Ron Sawyer
Sk Bl H

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So we recommended this for those with a
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The material published in this paper does not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the editor or the Kindred Tribune as
a whole.
 From the Editor
Happy New Year Everyone!

Here we are year 2 issue 1!

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 Table Of Contents
Red Letters Of Love
Submissions Guide Lines
News, Events, Announcements
Contemplating Reiko
Cover Artwork
Provided By Jesse Peper
For any of you Kindred Tribune readers interested in
knowing; I am a painter, mostly. Although, I also
work with sound-related projects, sculpture, intaglio
1 and anything that looks useful for me to bring my
ideas and imagination out into the physical world.
10 Whenever I attempt to describe my work as a
painter, I find myself engaging in a process that
11 interferes with the actual paintings as individual
entities. Currently, I feel as if painting is a
14 language of sorts. One day my paintings will have
to live without me and speak for themselves. Titles
and sometimes inscriptions are as far as I usually
incorporate the use of words regarding my visual
ideas. Symbolism has a very strong impression on
my work. A great deal of what I use or see as such,
are thusly incorporated with some degree of
personal association and interpretation. If you
would care to view my works or correspond with me
please visit my website:
http://www.jessepeper.com
Thank you! - Jesse
 Kindred Tribune
Red Letters of Love
By : Angela Pearson & William Blumberg
-------------------------------------------
Chapter 6
Aine's glass was refilled, sitting in an ice
bucket for her when she woke. There was a note
leaning against the bucket, absorbing the moisture
from the condensation pooling around the metal
container.
When she woke, Aine saw both the glass
and note and for a moment could not decide on
which she desired more. Hunger still called to her
but it was her curiosity about the note that won.
She picked the note up lightly not wanting to tear
the wet paper.
Wynter had written his note in pencil.
Dear Aine,
I was glad to see that you were able
to keep your drink down. This will help you
heal.
I was called away for a while with an
important shipment. Some of those I engage
in business with will only deal with me. My
hope is that you will also become trusted
with my special clients.
Fortuna seeunda that this being is willing to
come to my office. I will return soon to your
bedside.
Your Wynter
Aine sighed and set Wynter's note back on
the table, away from the puddling moisture. When
it was dry, she would put it with the other notes and
letters he had written already.
Her eyes lingered on the goblet of deep red
liquid nestled in the clear ice. She removed the
goblet from the ice and commanded herself to not
drink its contents in greedy gulps. Sitting back in
the bed, she took a sip and savored the taste on her
tongue, like a fine wine. After swallowing, she
repeated her actions, idly wondering if all blood
tasted the same or did each individual taste
different, mostly depending on what they ate, like
each grape and region produced a different wine.
Glass empty, Aine rose from the bed to take
care of other needs. In the bathroom she watched
in the mirror, the scurrying repairs the blood she
consumed wrought in her injuries. The tingling she
had felt the first time she drank blood had lessened
this time. Each tingle she felt, she could watch as
the skin on her face healed. Each tingle in her
hand, she could see in the soft bathroom light as
the skin on her fingers shifted and renewed itself.
Always before, in her previous life, as she
was now beginning to think, she had marveled at
the form and function and grace in the human body.
~1~
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Each movement required a push and pull of muscles
and sinew that was taken for granted by the
average person. The time she had spent helping
her father with his physical therapy had shown her
how beautiful each body was, no matter the size
and shape.
Flexing her hands, she thought one more
glass of blood would completely heal the injuries to
her hands. Leaning in close to the mirror, she
studied her reflection. Having never been
particularly vain, she now spent the time to look at
each of her features. Individually, she felt she was
plain or maybe average. Leaning back, she thought
her combined features were pleasant, but nothing
spectacular. Other people's reactions, usually men,
had puzzled her over the years.
With a shrug, she decided she would be happy if the
injuries on her face completely healed without a
scar, but if they didn't, she would not be concerned.
Aine enjoyed a shower where she didn't have to
dash to the basin to be ill like she had been. The
warm water felt hot on her injured skin, like she
had a sunburn.
With a snort, Aine realized she had just that- a
sunburn caused by her lack of trust of a man who
seemed to care a great deal for her.
She sighed and turned off the water. She was
never one to blindly follow. More than once in her
past life, she had caused herself grief for not
following and being too independent. She didn't
think that would change anytime soon. She also
felt it was better to have a few mishaps than to be a
follower with no thought about the direction, like a
sheep. Sheeple, as she thought of people who
blindly followed.
Now dry and sleepy, Aine sat at the desk and began
what had become her ritual for sleep. Pen in hand,
she mentally composed her note to Wynter before
letting the ink mar the pristine white sheet in front
of her.
Dear Wynter,
You were correct about the blood healing my
injuries. One more glass should completely
heal them.
I understand you needing to deal with a
customer. As much as I miss your
company, I know you could not anticipate
when I would wake up again. I hope you
are here when I wake again. I am ready to
learn more about my new position, if I still
have it, despite my doubt and lack of trust
in you.
I am also curious about words you have
used in your letters to me. What does
"carus" mean? What about "fortuna
seeunda"? Will I have to learn another
language for this new position? If so, I
would request tapes or some kind of
language program to hurry this along.
Speaking with you in this language will also
help increase my knowledge.
 Kindred Tribune
The bed is now shouting my name, so I will
end this. Again, I hope you are here when I
wake up again. Until I see you again, I
remain…
Yours,
Aine
Wynter was sitting in his office. For the most part, it
was plain with a single wooden writing desk and
three matching chairs. On it was an old ledger that
Wynter was adding to. Against a wall was a single
bookcase. It was made out of the same wood as the
desk and chairs. The shelves contained old books,
some with gold lettering on their spines, and
another ledger like the one Wynter was writing in.
The only thing that told a person that they were in
the twenty-first century was the modern, overhead
lighting. Wynter's thin laptop was stored out of
sight, along with the printer and other electronic
necessities of business in the drawers of the desk.
There were no windows in the office. Wynter
left those offices to his employees. In fact, the
employees of Between the Worlds, BTW, were often
surprised at the owner's generosity. They were well
paid and had a relaxed work environment. The
import business seem to run twenty-four hours a
day with Wynter, few called him Mr. Cruento, there
mostly at night. However, he could be seen, from
time to time, working during the day in his small
office in the basement of the building.
Besides having no windows and simple
furniture, there was one more odd thing about the
room. In the corner farthest from the door was a
stone basin. Being an import company, one would
expect to find many unusual things in the room but
there were only a few scattered about that
appeared almost ordinary and not remotely unique
as the items in the warehouse. Those employees
that had worked with other import business were
used to owners having their offices filled with
unique objects but Wynter seem to have little need
to keep those things here.
The employees were unique. Many of them took
the job in order to complete college and only a few
stayed after getting their degree. Few keep to a
nine to five schedule, unless their job required it.
On occasion, there had been a problem employee
but that person seemed to quit never to be heard
from again after Wynter had confronted them with
proof of their thefts.
As Wynter was looking over his ledger, he spoke, "I
see that you are on time." Even though no door
opened, a person had just entered the room.
She made no noise and paused for a long
time before speaking, "Yes, Wynter, we are both
creatures who are painfully aware of time."
She had on a heavy, black cloak on with the hood
draped around her shoulders. The visitor was small
~2~
Volume-2 Issue-1
but no one looking at her would think she was
weak.
"So, you were able to acquire the item that I
requested." She spoke in a cold and plain tone with
a young voice that matched her face but not her
hair that was long but white that only comes from
time or great trauma.
"Yes, I did. Seeing that you are one of those
clients whom I highly value, I was willing to use my
more… exotic contacts and acquired what you
requested," Wynter replied as he pulled a small vial
from his shirt pocket.
He stood up, walked around his desk, and handed it
to the small woman.
"Did anyone die to acquire the blood?" the
woman paused for a moment, "Well, that is, except
for the dragon?" A faint smile drifted over her cold
lips.
Wynter smile at her, "No one died, including
the dragon."
The woman looked puzzled, which for those
who knew her was remarkable.
Before she could form the question, Wynter
said, "My contacts are quite accomplished
negotiators and were able to reach a non-violent
means of acquiring your request."
He looked at her for a moment but the woman's
face was blank.
"Not everything needs to end in killing," Wynter
concluded.
"Very strange philosophy from a bringer of
death," she said coldly. "I will provide the service
you requested when you have the need." The
woman handed him a slip of parchment before
turning to leave.
Wynter placed the parchment in his shirt
pocket as he watched her turn to leave. He saw that
as the woman turned, she disappeared into the air
so that there was but a wisp of her left as she
walked toward the door. Wynter did not like this
woman but he did trust her. For him, it was the
practical that mattered.
Wynter walked backed to his desk, closed
the ledger, and placed on the shelf. Then, he
allowed his thoughts to turn to Aine. I wish that I
could spend more time with her but I do not want to
draw attention to her, to us, he thought. Wynter
turned and walked out of the room and down the
back stairs of his warehouse. He made his way back
to Aine.
Wynter enter the room where Aine was fast asleep.
He did not need to look to see if she had written
him a note. He knew she would.
He looked at her thinking, She still breaths.
Wynter knew that it was unnecessary for his kind to
breath. Yet some, including him, still did out of
habit. Some vampires stop the moment they are
turned while other must learn to stop this habit. He
had never bothered with such discipline. We are all
 Kindred Tribune
very much different regardless of what some
believe, he though.
Picking up Aine's note, Wynter first looked at
her writing before even reading it. He liked the way
she wrote.
Most people that worked for him did better
with e-mail and Wynter was comfortable with using
technology. It was only that he saw it as a mere
tool, not part of his way of living. His ledgers were
reminders of a time when everything had to be
done by hand.
Next, he read her letter, smiled and thought,
Oh Aine, I know you have your doubts. That is one
of the reasons I wanted you so.
Wynter sat down at the small desk in the room and
wrote.
My Most Dear Aine,
Yes, you still have a position with me. In
fact, I will need some of your unique skills
soon. You will need to be fully recovered and
I will need to instruct you how to keep safe.
I want you to be safe for you are my
beloved, "mi carus." It is Latin as is "fortuna
seeunda" which means "good fortune."
I do not expect you to learn Latin but
you may if you wish. There will be other
things that I need you to learn, some of
which I cannot teach. I believe that Virgil
said, "that no person could do all things." I
have found this is true. I want you but I also
need you, Aine. For I need you to build
contact in China. This is one of the reasons I
called you in for the interview.
I did not know that once I met you
that you would mean so much more to me.
Even though I believe you are better suited
to what I am going to ask of you, I am more
fearful too. I have tried not to become one
of those beings that wishes everything
would be as immortal as I am. Yet, now that
I have found you, I do not want anything to
happen to you, to take you away from me.
I do not mean to worry you, but
there are many dangers in who we are.
Aine, I will be asking for you to do things
that are important to me and to us. I will not
ask that you perform some task that I did
not think you could. I hold you in high
opinion. I will begin my instruction on how
you need to be safe soon.
Your Wynter
Wynter drew an unnecessary breath as he finished
the note to Aine. He turned toward her and thought,
Oh Aine, I need you so much in my life. I was
selfish to make you like myself. Yet, it is done and I
would not change it if I could.
~3~
Volume-2 Issue-1
He placed the note next to a fresh glass of
blood in ice, pausing to wipe away the condensation
from the marble top of the chest. Soon, you will
need to taste the warm, flowing blood what will
course through you and fill you with pleasure.
Wynter tuned one more time as he left to
look at her, knowing that soon she will either truly
love or despise him for making her a vampire. It
will be the hunt that will resolve this question,
Wynter thought as he closed the door behind him.
Chapter Seven
Aine awoke to Wynter turning a page in a
leather bound book. It was a slight noise and Aine
was sure he had been reading for some time before
she woke up. Just that slight sound grabbed her
attention.
She listened intently as Wynter shifted in
the chair at the desk. The whisper creak of the well
cared for leather was as loud as a shout to her ears.
The faint smell of oranges drifted in through
the open bedroom door.
Hunger surged in Aine's stomach and she
lurched upright with a faint growl.
Wynter marked his page with a folded paper
and carefully placed it on the desktop. He was
deliberate in his movements, nothing overly fast or
sudden.
Aine watched his every move. Each of her
senses had been heightened. Her jaw ached.
Thirst joined her hunger.
"It appears the time has come for me to
being your lessons," Wynter said in a neutral voice.
"Hungry," Aine said in a low voice.
"I can see that. I can see from here that
your eyes are dilated. I know from experience that
all your senses are screaming at you." Wynter
looked at Aine, ignoring the way the bedding pooled
at her waist, forcing him to concentrate on her face
and not her figure, as he would have liked. A false
move on his part could cause Aine to attack him.
"Yes," Aine snapped. Her mouth watered at
the faint scent of oranges in the air, the taste of
blood she had drunk lingering on her tongue, and
the smell of Wynter himself. She wanted to eat
him-to consume his blood until he had not a drop
left. The urge was nearly overwhelming.
Aine began to crawl across the bed toward
where Wynter sat at the desk. Her hand caught the
heavy pendant strung around her neck. She looked
down at the silver piece, blinking in a dazed way.
"Aine," Wynter asked, shifting in his seat to
defend himself if the need arose.
Aine looked up at him. "I'm confused, I
think."
"You wanted to attack me?" he asked.
"Yes," Aine nodded.
"Then it is time for your first lessons."
Wynter stood slowly. "Go and get dressed in
 Kindred Tribune
something comfortable that you don't mind getting
rid of later."
When Aine nodded, Wynter turned and left
the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Aine sat on the bed and trembled. She
trembled in fear of herself and her desire to harm
Wynter. She also trembled in fear of know what
was to come. Her lessons would start with her
hunting and taking a human life.
Tears welled in her eyes and dripped onto
her hands and the bedding below them. The feel of
her warm tears on her hands moved her into action.
She slipped off the tall bed and went to the closet.
A soft light turned on when she opened the door.
All of her clothing had been brought from her
apartment and was neatly arranged next to
Wynter's clothes. With a heavy sigh, she began
searching through her clothing to find something
comfortable that she didn't mind if it was ruined.
She looked for something dark, just in case.
Forcing aside her fears and the morals of her
past life, she tried to be practical: she needed to
feed to live; to feed she must take a human life.
She kept this in her mind while she looked through
her clothes. Hunger would surge in her belly at
different times while she made her selection. The
texture of her clothes made her hands tingle in
anticipation. The smell of leather from coats caused
her jaw to ache with longing. The subtle shifting
sounds of fabrics brushing against each other made
her pause as her ears focused on each individual
sound. She could tell her pupils were still dilated
because with the soft light in the space, all the
shadows had been chased away where normally
there would have been darkness under the hanging
clothes.
With her clothing in hand, Aine left the
closet and went into the bathroom. She took a
quick shower and dressed in ancient sneakers she
had forgotten in the back of her old closet that
Wynter had discovered when he brought her things
here, along with clothes to protect her from cold
night air. With her hair pulled back in a low
ponytail, she left the bathroom and crossed to the
bedroom door.
A twinge of fear caused her hand to tremble.
She had tried to leave once and had been terribly
hurt. She couldn't see the scars any more, but the
memory of the was vivid in her mind. She took a
deep breath, opened the door, and took the first
real steps into her new life.
As Wynter walked across his apartment,
leaving Aine to dress, memories from many years
ago struggled to the surface, forcing him to
remember the first time he took a human life.
Wynter was lying on his back in a small room. It
took some time before he felt his senses come back
to him. He struggled up on his elbows and looked
around the space. The small room looked as if it
was a tool shed. There was a shelf and some pegs
~4~
Volume-2 Issue-1
on the wall above him. The idea of time was still
denied him.
Why am I here, Wynter thought.
Then, slowly, he remembered being attacked.
Kidnapped came to his mind. Why would someone
want to take me? Wynter could not think of any
reason.
Then the pain for wound on his neck came to him.
The wolves must have gotten to me, he thought.
Wynter lay back down and fell into
unconsciousness.
Next time he woke, Wynter could feel a hunger
stirring inside him. How long has it been since I
have eaten?
Wynter stood only by pulling himself up using the
shelf. Shaking, he moved towards the door.
Was I kidnapped or did I find this as protection for
the wolves. Wynter could not recall the other night
clearly.
There were people too. Wolves and people attacked
me.
He stopped at the door. Wynter could feel the heat
radiating off of it. He thought it might be daylight
outside.
Werewolves, he deliberated, but no that was not
possible. Maybe trained wolfhounds used by
robbers.
Wynter realized that all he had on him was his shirt,
pants, and boots. Robbers then, and with that idea
in his mind he opened the door.
The pain drove him back into a corner of shed, as
far away from the sunlight as he could get. Wynter
dropped to the ground.
"Oh, my dear God, what is happening," he cried
out.
The pain kept any other reflections from his mind.
All Wynter could do was sit there and wait. Through
the open door, he could see that it was getting close
to sunset. Yet, he did not move, couldn't move. By
the time that is was clear that the sun had set,
Wynter was still setting there. The pain had eased
some.
An unnatural hunger that kept him from any
thoughts.
"Looks like he tried to escape," said a man with loud
voice.
"Good, it should have taught him the danger of the
sun," another voice came that Wynter thought he
recognized, "also, he should be hungry and ready
for the hunt."
Hunt, Wynter snapped back from his shock, I am no
good at hunting.
A man entered the doorway, casting a short dark
shadow in the shed space.
When Wynter looked up a name entered his mind,
Damek.
Damek hung there for a moment, looking at Wynter
and then said, "Those burns will heal once you
drank enough blood."
He is insane, thought Wynter. Yet even with that
thought, Wynter knew Damek was right. He needed
blood. I have been dammed.
 Kindred Tribune
"No," said Damek, "you have been saved from
death. It does not matter if is came today or twenty
years from now, you were a dying man and I have
given you life."
All Wynter could do was stare in silence. This would
be one of the few times no words would come to
him. There were no sermons for this or theology he
could quote. He was left with an undeniable
understanding that the world was not what he
thought it was.
Damek commanded, "Get up Wynter and prepare
yourself for the hunt."
The man with the loud voice said, "What shall you
hunt for there are no humans anywhere around
here."
Damek looked at him and then said coldly, "You."
"No," said the other man with fear in his voice, "you
promised if we helped you would make us vampires,
too!"
"Why him and not us?" the man with the loud voice
retort with no fear, "we have proven ourselves and
he seems weak."
"You are right, I did promise," Damek said. "So, you
have one more duty, live to morning and I will give
you what I have promised."
With that Damek turned back to Wynter, trusting
that the two men would begin to run.
Both men knew of Damek's cruelty.
"Up," Damek commanded and Wynter stood. "I
made you and you will obey me." Damek continued,
"Those men, who are now running away, want to be
like you. Yet, if they become vampires, then, they
will take a human after human, with no thought of
right or wrong, no remorse, and no stopping until
they are full. If you let them go they will kill all
those in that little town of Bethel that was to be
your charge."
He paused to see if Wynter understood.
Wynter was standing, trying to make sense of what
Damek was trying to tell him. He was afraid and
hungry.
"Think of all those people in Bethel."
Once Damek said the word Bethel, Wynter broke.
He flew at Damek, grabbing his coat lapels and
saying, "What have you done to me!"
Wynter felt strong with this action. Stronger then he
ever has felt. Even with the wound and the burns,
Wynter felt as if he could pick up the man in front of
him.
"You are a vampire and you are mine," Damek said
coldly. "I am an elder of our kind and will one day
rule. I see in you much, to be one of my princes, to
rule this land while I return to Europe. I will teach
you how to rule, how to become powerful, and how
you can best serve me."
"I will not," said Wynter, even as he felt the hunger.
It was as if the burns demanded to be feed.
It was only now that Wynter realized that he could
see even though it was night. His sight was far
better than it should be for it being night. It was not
~5~
Volume-2 Issue-1
like it was day, but still better like it was a full
moon.
I am different, he considered.
Another pain of hunger whipped through him and he
let go of Damek.
"Yes, yes you will," Damek said softly, "Because you
have no choice, you are mine." With that Damek
bared his shoulder and cut open the top of his arm
with a small knife, letting the blood swell up onto
his flesh.
Wynter was transfixed by the blood. Ever bone and
muscle was striving towards it. The world around
him narrowed to the blood welling up along the cut.
Damek lifted his arm toward Wynter and permitted
him to drink.
Blood, Wynter mind raced, I need more. He could
feel the blood enter his body and start to heal him.
He moaned. I need more.
Damek moved his arm back quickly. "If you want
more then hunt for it. Find those men who would
kill those you wanted to protect, those you wanted
to save."
"How," was all Wynter could get out before realizing
that he smelled the men now. They smelled sweet
to him unlike Damek who smelled like…a large bull
was all that Wynter to come up with.
"Go now before they get away," Damek
commanded.
Wynter turned and ran after the men. He was fast,
and soon, felt that he was closing in on both men.
They ran together, that was foolish, he considered,
if they would have split up, maybe one could have
gotten away. He ran and could feel himself tire, but
the hunger drove him on.
Wynter came upon the slower of the two. He could
smell sweat and fear from him. Wynter leaped and
landed on the man's back, bringing him to the
ground.
Once there, Wynter knew what to do, he stuck his
teeth into the man's neck where his vein coursed
with blood. Wynter felt the flesh rip from the man,
and then, he drank and drank. Knowing that the
other man was getting away did not matter right
now, only feeding mattered; blood was Wynter's
only concern, that is, until he felt the man succumb.
Wynter stopped, stood up, dropping the dead man,
and only realizing then, what he had done, I have
killed a man for blood. He felt his own wounds
healing and knew that soon, he would be complete.
That is a complete monster.
Wynter stopped walking. With a hard shudder, he
forced his mind back to the present. He needed to
focus on Aine and what she was about to
experience. He wouldn't send her out as
unprepared as he was, forced to rely on instinct
alone, like an animal or a monster.
Aine took a few cautious steps into the apartment,
looking around. She smelled Wynter before she
saw him at the far end of the large, open space
 Kindred Tribune
pulling aside the heavy curtains that shielded the
room from the sunlight. She crossed the hard wood
floors on cat feet, quiet in her battered sneakers,
driven by her hunger and pulled by the scent of the
man. It wasn't a smell that spoke of food to Aine,
but of something deeper, that pulled at her heart.
The fragrance of oranges distracted her and Aine
turned toward the smell. The scent of the luscious
fruit drew her down a hall to an uncluttered kitchen.
Sitting in a simple wooden bowl was a pile of vivid
oranges. Aine's mouth was watering as she picked
up a vibrant orb. She was tearing the skin from the
flesh, watching the oil spray out of the skin to
shower her hands and the counter when Wynter
appeared next to her.
"Am I wrong to think we can eat regular food?" Aine
asked, intent on peeling the orange.
"Vampires can eat, yes. We can't live on regular
food like you used to. There are those of our kind
who do try. In the end, they go insane and die of
hunger." Wynter kept his voice neutral and without
inflection.
'Oh," Aine paused in separating the segments.
"You can eat the orange, Aine. It won't hurt you,
but it won't take care of the hunger you now feel."
"Will it keep me from attacking you?" Aine slowly
looked Wynter in the eye.
Wynter was quite, studying Aine. He saw a fine
tremble in her hands holding the orange in the air.
There was a tightness to her mouth and her pupils
were dilated.
"It would help, I think, if you had some of the
orange," Wynter slowly nodded.
Aine nodded and passed half to Wynter. They ate
in silence. Aine collected the peels from the pale
granite counter and looked in askance at Wynter.
He showed her where the trash bin was and Aine
tossed the peels away.
Absently wiping her hands on her once-black jeans,
Aine turned and left the room.
"Wynter," Aine said when she reached the window
Wynter had been opening. "I know what I have to
do- in general, at least. What I need to know
before-" Aine stopped.
"You must use care when selecting your…prey,"
Wynter was going to use the word 'victim.' He
sighed and continued, "It is difficult to tell
sometimes who will be missed and who won't be. I
do still have morals; I make my selection from
those who deserve it."
"Your accountant?" Aine looked away from the view
of the night city.
"Yes," Wynter studied her face. "There are other
options, Aine. You don't have to take a human life."
Aine looked back out the window and thought. "An
animal?"
"Correct," Wynter allowed a half smile at Aine's
quick thinking. "Vampires must feed more often
from animals than from humans. I don't know why.
Those of our kind who were scientists or doctors
before being turned, don't always continue in their
previous fields or…they don't survive the change."
~6~
Volume-2 Issue-1
Aine watched Wynter's reflection in the glass. He
crossed to a table that looked like it belonged in a
refectory and picked up a folded paper. He was
returning to her when Aine noticed for the first time
how he was dressed.
Wynter usually dressed in slacks and button-down
shirts. Now, he was wearing stained jeans, faded
shirt, and an old, non-descript coat that looked like
it had seen its better days at the bottom of a refuse
pile. He even had on old sneakers instead of his
normal fine leather shoes.
"Aine," Wynter handed her the paper. "Here, read
this. I'm…I'm going to get a car." Wynter turned
and walked away from her.
Aine looked at the paper in her hand. It was the
same fine linen paper they wrote their letters to
each other on. With a deep breath, she opened the
letter and read.
Chapter Eight
Dear Aine,
Here is my advice to you- Trust your
instincts. I will be near you and will protect
you from any complications. Yet, you will
need to hunt on your own. As much as I
would like to help, to bring you fresh blood
or even prey, you need to do this on your
own. I have seen some of our kind help too
much, which ends poorly. If you cannot
hunt, then, we will speak upon what needs
to be done.
Nevertheless, you will never be whole unless
you hunt and take a life. We are known as
'bringers of death,' which is a very old name
and its real meaning is lost now to most of
our kind. We can speak of morals and
philosophical issues later. What you need to
know now is that this is your choice. To hunt
is to live, to become whole with who you
are. Yes, I turned you, but you still have a
choice, something which many of us did not
realize with our first hunt.
You will need to hunt and take a life, a
human life. I cannot make it sound pleasant
or romantic as seems to be the popular view
for those who never smell blood and felt
hunger. I will make sure no harm comes to
you, but I do not wish you to become
dependant on me. Yet, I will tell you that
you need to move quickly in your choice,
before the hunger becomes overwhelming
and you take a person you did not mean
too. I will guide you and give you my
opinion on who would make a good prey. We
will go to a part of town where there will be
those who will not be mourned or missed
after their death. Nor, will they become like
us unless you wish is so and they drink your
blood.
 Kindred Tribune
Do not worry about the prey being bigger
than you. For you are strong, now, and fast.
Also, it is hard to hurt you. There are
dangers, Such as sunlight. Fire can kill us,
too. There are other things I will tell you
later, but for now, know I will be near and
will not let harm come to you. The main
reason you need not worry about your prey
outweighing you is that you can instill or
heighten emotions in others. Most of our
kind can do this from the time they are
turned. You cannot control other beings,
although there are some of our kind very
skilled in this, and perhaps, you will be too,
one day. You will need to concentrate on the
mood or feelings you want them to have. It
works best if there is some physicality to it.
Our kind have employed sexual feelings,
which are powerful, to our advantage. Use
force only when needed. Yes, I did say you
were fast and strong, but not so much as to
be careless.
Once you have the person's attention, let
them make choices. It will lead them to
think they are in control and they will feel
more at ease. You will be surprised at how
easily they will lead themselves to their own
demise. Once in a safe area, one where you
are unlikely to have unwanted visitors or
intrusions, you will then use all of your
concentration to make them relax. Your
instincts will help here with taking their
blood. The neck is ideal, but there are other
areas, too. You will feel the blood throbbing
in their veins. Use your teeth to pierce the
flesh and take their blood. You have drunk
blood, so you will know the taste, but each
person will be a little different. Alcohol and
drugs affect taste as with some illnesses.
You will be drinking a lot of blood, so how
drunk or high they are could effect you, but
I would not worry too much. It is hard to get
a vampire drunk.
You will need to drink until you feel the life
slip away from your prey. Make sure that
the person is close to death and cannot
move or be found. With modern medical
care, some can survive being close to death.
If you cannot do this, you need to make
sure the person cannot remember you
clearly to identify their attacker.
Oh, Aine, I wish I did not need to tell you all
these things, but it is because I care about
you that I do. Know that I would not have
done this to you if I thought that you would
suffer. I believe you will thrive, that you will
become more alive than you have ever
thought. We will know soon. I will be there
for you and give to you what I can.
Your Wynter
~7~
Volume-2 Issue-1
Aine was reading Wynter's letter for a forth
time when he entered the apartment. Aine walked
toward him, placing the paper on the old table as
she passed by it.
Neither said a word as Wynter guided Aine
down a narrow flight of stairs that zigzagged down a
tall building. Aine had suspected she had been in
an apartment over the warehouse, but didn't feel
like asking right now. She had a choice to make
and the thoughts that flew around her head,
combined with the hunger beginning to gnaw at her
stomach again, were making her dizzy.
At the bottom of the stairs, Wynter opened a
heavy security door and let Aine pass him. While
he locked the door, Aine looked at the car parked
under the brilliant overhead light. It was not the
same one she had seen him in before.
The only words Aine could use to describe
the car were, plain, brown wrapper. The was
simply plain- a small, import sedan much like the
one she used to drive. Its dark color would hide it
in the shadows. Aine looked closely at the windows
when Wynter held the door open for her. They
were darker than normal. That would shield them
from view of anyone they drove by, but it may also
attract the attention of the officers patrolling the
night. At least, it is clean, Aine thought buckling
the seat belt, I hope it doesn't break down.
Aine fidgeted in her seat. She picked at a
spot the knee of her jeans, fraying the denim.
"Aine, we do not have to do this," Wynter
said, steering the vehicle onto the desolate street.
Aine stared at the time on the dash without
seeing it. "I know. Your letter said I had options.
What are they?" Her voice trembled a little.
Wynter was quiet through a couple of signal
lights. With a sigh, he said, "You can choose to not
take a life and not fully become a vampire or you
can choose to take a life."
"That's it?" Aine blinked.
"Not really. If you do not take a human life,
you can survive by eating the way you used to, but
you will not live long that way."
"Why is that?"
"The vampire…," Wynter paused looking for
a word, "virus will slowly, painfully, destroy your
brain and drive you insane, if the hunger for blood
does not do it first."
"Oh," Aine said softly.
"If you cannot hunt another human, I can
provide you with vic- prey."
"That would make me dependant on you. I
don't think I would like that."
"I would not want that for us, either. There
are some who do. They do not learn how to defend
themselves, usually. If something happens to the
vampire who cares for them, they become victims
to those of our kind who are less than scrupulous.
Those who cannot fend for themselves become
slaves to those who have no problem using them.
They do not tend to live very long after that."
 Kindred Tribune
They were quiet for some time.
"I would not like that to happen to you,
Aine. I would not enslave you," Wynter said to the
windshield.
"I don't want that to happen either,
Wynter." Aine turned toward him in her seat.
She waited for the car to roll to a stop at the
next red light, studying Wynter's profile. She
reached out with her fingertips and stroked the side
of Wynter's face. She felt the stumble of his beard,
rough against her fingers. "I didn't think you would
do that to me. You know, enslave me," she said
softly.
"Thank you, Aine."
"So, if I don't take a life, I will go insane."
"Yes," Wynter's hands tightened on the
steering wheel.
"What about animals?" Aine asked.
"They will stave your hunger, but not
enough to sustain you. Unless you are willing and
able to drink the blood from an entire cow, which
few of our kind can do, animal blood will not satisfy
the hunger you feel. Vampires need human blood
to live."
"I see," Aine said and fell silent. "Probably
something to do with missing hemoglobin."
"That is close, but there are other, more
exact reasons. We can talk about it later, though."
Aine said nothing. She had to think, but
there wasn't much of a choice for her to make. Not
to drink more blood and go insane and die or to
drink the blood of animals, go insane and die, or
let- force- Wynter to provide her with prey. Aine's
mind shied away from that. Forced dependency,
after taking care of her father for so long, was not
an acceptable choice for her to even think of. Even
if Wynter provided only one or two prey for her to
learn with, she didn't like that as an option.
"Wynter," Aine said. "I will take a life.
What do I need to know before I hunt? Beside what
you wrote in the letter?"
Walking through the pools of light from the
dingy windows of a tiny dive bar on the far side of
the city, Aine watched a man leave the building.
She thought of everything Wynter had told her
during the car ride. He had been hunting a certain
man for a while now and felt Aine would benefit
from taking this man for her first time. Over Aine's
protests, he told her he could find another when he
needed to.
He stopped and watched her walk toward him.
"Hey, baby," he leered and staggered a bit
in Aine's direction. "Wha'sup?"
Aine forced herself to smile at the man. She
studied him and decided he wasn't drunk enough to
harm her, but drunk enough for her to… to do what
she needed to do.
"Not much, sugar," Aine put a heavy
Southern accent in her voice that sounded so fake
~8~
Volume-2 Issue-1
to her own ears; she hoped the man wouldn't
notice.
She concentrated on what Wynter had told her to
do. She focused on the man in front of her. She
wanted him to relax and go with her, to think he
was going to have a good time.
The man moved next to Aine and put his arm
around her shoulders. "You wanna have a good
time, baby?" He asked.
The smell of alcohol was strong and burned Aine's
eyes. "Sure, sugar. You know a place?"
The man smiled hugely. "Sure, I know a place." He
pulled her along with him. "I just live around the
corner."
He led her down a darker alley and to a flight of
stairs on the outside of the back of a building not
far from the bar. Trash bins over flowed and threw
the stench of decay into the air. The smell nearly
overwhelmed Aine's need to feed.
The man stumbled on the stairs. Aine was glad to
know Wynter wasn't far away in case she needed
him.
"Watch your step, sugar," Aine told the man.
The man smiled at her. "Just a bad step. The
landlord doesn't take care of the place," the man
chuckled like he knew a secret. "He pockets the
money he is supposed to use on repairs."
Aine made a sound of acknowledgement. She
disliked the man pulling her up the stairs. She
knew, she wasn't sure how, but she knew this man
was the landlord and he was stealing money and
more from the people who had no other place to
live but in this dump whose stairs she was now
climbing. Removing this scum from the planet
would help many people who needed it. Wynter
had selected the perfect victim in the bar.
Victim, the word made Aine pause. Aine pushed it
away when she couldn't find another word to use.
The man paused to force open a sticky door and
pulled her inside. Just on the other side of the
door, he roughly grabbed Aine and kissed her.
Aine shoved him back before she remembered what
she was supposed to be doing.
"Slow down, sugar," Aine told him. "I like my
privacy."
"No problem, baby. My place is just down here."
He pulled Aine down the hall. Its stained,
threadbare carpet was a color that had been
popular twenty years ago, if not longer. There were
six doors on each side of the hall and the man lead
her to last one on the right.
He drug Aine into the space on the other side of the
door. The brief look she had of the space told her
the man now groping her in the dark room didn't
spend his stolen money on his living space.
Aine focused her thoughts on the man mauling her
breasts and behind and various parts of her body in
between. The more she concentrated on making
the man think he was having a good time, the more
he relaxed and the busier his hands became.
 Kindred Tribune
Soon, Aine had the opportunity she needed. She
placed her lips on the throbbing vein on the man's
neck.
He moaned in pleasure and turned his head to give
Aine better access to his neck and, unwittingly, to
his demise.
Just like Wynter said he would.
Cautiously, Aine opened her mouth and moved her
arms to hold the man closer to her, in case he
fought. She felt stronger than she had ever felt in
her life. With that thought, she sank her aching
fangs into his neck.
She felt his flesh resist for a second. Then, a pop
was followed by a gush of warm coppery blood
filling her mouth and nearly gagged her with its
flood. Aine swallowed and swallowed.
The man moaned in a combination of pleasure and
pain, drawing Aine out of the stupor she was
slipping into and forced her to concentrate on
keeping the man relaxed.
When the flow of blood began to slow, Aine began
to suck, shifting her teeth to open the wounds
more.
The man relaxed against her and Aine was able to
pull her thoughts away from his.
Releasing her mouth from his neck, Aine leaned her
head back to study the man now dying in her arms.
Even in the dim light of the room, she could see his
eyes had dilated to pinpoints.
The man was heavy in her arms, so she lowered
him to the floor. He moaned and shifted a little. He
was slowly breathing.
Aine knew he wasn't dead yet, or close enough to
death that she could leave him and hope he would
die on his own. She turned his head and pushed
her teeth into the wounds on his neck that were
sluggishly seeping blood. She began to suck harder
again.
He moaned once more and relaxed further. His
breathing slowed further and Aine strained to listen
and could faintly hear his heart beat slowing. She
began to counts the seconds between heartbeats.
She released his neck and sat back on her heels.
She was unsurprised when Wynter handed her
some paper towels to wipe her face of the blood
that was smeared on it.
"You were right. The man was a slime." Aine looked
up at Wynter.
Wynter said nothing to that. He held out his hand
to help Aine stand. When Aine was standing, he
asked, "How are you feeling?"
Aine looked down at the man laying at her feet.
"I'm not sure yet. Ambivalent."
She looked at Wynter. "How did you feel the first
time?"
Having just killed a man by drinking his
blood, Wynter stood there and felt
the warmth grow within him. His wounds felt almost
healed. Then, he could hear the
man's heart stop, it was over.
~9~
Volume-2 Issue-1
What do I do now? Wynter thought. He
could still smell the other man and
knew he could catch up to that other man. What do
I do now?
He believed Damek's threat.
If I kill again, I can save many more. Yet,
Wynter rejected this line of
thinking. He thought about killing Damek but knew
that he was ill prepared
for the task.
Then, Wynter thought, What do I want to
do? It was a simple question.
Wynter knew the answer; he wanted to live, and to
do so, he needed to embrace
what he had become, a monster. The other man
was simply more prey to him now.
"I was surprised by my feelings the first
time," Wynter answered. "There
were many things I did not know about myself,
then."
Then, the coldness lifted from Wynter's face
and he said, "I have not been
that surprised about my feelings until I met you."
He smiled briefly at Aine then looked away.
"At the end of my first hunt, I embraced the
idea that I was some kind of
monster. That I wanted to live and could only do so
by killing others." Heavy bitterness entered
Wynter's voice. "It took me years to realized that I,
we, could live with taking only a little blood and
could do so without any permanent harm to
humans."
Aine looked at him with a mixture of
curiosity and compassion.
Wynter could see the question in her mind
and gave an answer to it, "It is
only the first time, or when you are severely
injured, that you need to drink
so much blood, all at once." He continued, "I have
learned many things in my
life and I will try to always give you my best advice
and choices you may
have."
Wynter studied Aine's face in the shadows.
"So Aine, how do you feel? Do you wish to live this
life with me?"
Copyright 2007
By Angela Pearson & William Blumberg
Stay tuned for the next installment of:
Red Letters of Love
Will Aine join Wynter or will she seek another path?
Find out next time when Angela and William bring
you the next installment of Wynter and Aine's story.

Kindred Tribune Volume-2
Issue-2
Release Date:
April 1, 2007
Topic:
Awakenings: Magical, Vampiric, &
Otherkin
Share about YOUR
Awakening!
Vampiric awakenings, Otherkin
awakenings, & Magical awakenings
Would you like to share what your
awakening was like?
How it came about, what you
learned during it, and the best
advice you can give to someone
who is going threw there
awakening.
If you would like to share your
story you can contact us at:
Kindred.Tribune@gmail.com
Get Involved!
Do you have a topic you would like to
see the Kindred Tribune cover?
Send us an e-mail at:
Kindred.Tribune@gmail.com
Kindred Tribune Volume-2 Issue-1
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~Fiction~
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~10~
 Kindred Tribune Volume-2 Issue-1

will be used only for copyright records and

News, Events, & Announcements
contacting you in relation to the publication.**

To find out more information and to obtain the

Sanguinarius Book Project Copyright Release Form please visit:

http://www.sanguinarius.org/project.shtml
Working title:
How to Act Stupid Around a Vampire

Do you have a tale to tell?

Did your brother do something really DUMB when
he found out you were a vampire? Did your boss
set a trap to try and "out you"? Are rumors going
around, but nobody can prove anything, but they
treat you funny, anyway?

I am collecting stories and anecdotes about stupid

things that real vampires' bosses, coworkers,
friends, family or anyone else they know, have said
or done because they suspected or found out the
person was a real vampire. If you would like to
contribute your story for consideration to be
included in a future publication, please submit it
along with the completed and signed Copyright
Release Form. Read below for the requirements.

Submissions should be in .txt, .doc, or .rtf

format. The text needs to be black on a
white background, and an easily readable
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etc.; nothing fancy or decorative. The text
size should be in a normal sized range (i.e.,
no really, really tiny or large font sizes!),
preferably size 10 or 12.

Proofread! Please check your submission for

spelling, capitalization, punctuation and
grammatical errors before you submit it;
submissions may be edited for these errors,
clarity and brevity.

Do not submit in ALL CAPS.

Completely fill out, sign, and include the

Copyright Release Form along with your
submission. (Tip: You can print out a copy,
fill it out and sign it, and then scan that as a
graphic to attach with your submission.)

If sending by postal mail, your submission

(and Copyright Release Form) must be
included on a floppy disk, or typed or
printed out on plain white paper.

* If sending by email, submissions and Copyright

Release Form should be sent as email attachments.

** Personal information you submit via the

Copyright Release Form will remain confidential and

~11~
 Kindred Tribune Volume-2 Issue-1

The Vampire & Energy Work Research
Survey (VEWRS) & the Advanced Vampirism &
Energy Work Research Survey (AVEWRS) have been
integral components to a soon to be year long study
of those who identify themselves as real (psi/sang),
living, or modern vampires conducted by fellow
members of the Community.
We would like to thank everyone for their
participation up to this point & take the time to
update everyone on the progress & current status of
this project.
We have high research standards to which we strive
to adhere & therefore request that you complete
your VEWRS & AVEWRS surveys as soon as possible
& e-mail them to response@vampiresurvey.com
We will accept surveys through March 31,
2007 while we’re engaged in the correlation, data
entry, & analysis phase.
We have received 203 digital responses of the
VEWRS since March 22, 2006 & 61 digital responses
of the AVEWRS since August 1, 2006. In addition
we mailed VEWRS & AVEWRS surveys to over 200
postal addresses & have received 47 printed copies
as of December 1, 2006.
the future are futile, counterproductive, & moreover
hypocritical.
We sincerely appreciate every moment you
spend taking these surveys, value each word
written, & every question or conceptual critique &
clarification you provide.
The Community ultimately determines the
outcome & quality of information received in this
study; thus justifying calls to those who have been
instrumental in the formation, mentorship,
teaching, and overall leadership of the Community
to step forward & convey their mature & insightful
perspectives through the framework of these
surveys.
We appreciate the fact that these surveys
are being used as resource, teaching, & self-
reflective tools, however, to be of particular value in
this study they need to be returned.
Download BOTH surveys from
http://www.vampiresurvey.com

We would greatly appreciate a reciprocation

of participation on the part of those who requested
printed copies & were mailed surveys in good faith
with the understanding that they would be
completed & returned.
To date, the total cost incurred for this study is over
$2,850 & the analysis & interpretation phases will
last well into late 2007.

We're fully aware many of you have waited

to see how this study progressed, the follow-
through on commitments, the attention span &
sincerity of the researchers, & the scope of
participation before sending in your responses.

We hope thus far we have shown a

commitment on our part that would warrant your
participation in this study; be it whether you are
adamant or lackadaisical as to the final outcome or
overall spirit of the project.

Please realize that without actual

participation from a diverse cross section of our
Community such arguments or postulations for

~12~
 Kindred Tribune Volume-2 Issue-1

VEWRS & AVEWRS Statistical Overview

Orange County Vampire Meet up

http://vampires.meetup.com/3

This is a group for vampires,

donors, and all those interested in
vampires and the vampire culture.
This is a place for you to seek help
and guidance, support, and to just
have a place were you can meet
with other people like yourself and
who have like interests.

~13~
 Kindred Tribune Volume-2 Issue-1

It’s the Holiday Season

www.Taintedink.com

~14~
Kindred Tribune Volume-2 Issue-1

~15~