Vampire Of The New World

Earlier that night, Flora looked on as her master's guest dined alone. Pablo forbade her to talk to the guest lengthily and just reply when talked to. This guest seemed friendlier than the other one, thought Flora. He would smile at her and even greet her as he passed by. He even told her to just call him by his nickname, Jon. He seemed quite approachable unlike his prim-and-proper predecessor whose name Flora did not even get to know. Still, Flora talked to the current guest only sparingly and refrained from starting any conversation since Pablo was always looking on.

During dinner, Jon appeared sullen and he did not talk to any of the servants. His face seemed to have developed deeper lines and his hand was either massaging his right temple or his nape. He sighed as he contemplated deeply on something and slowly ate his food in silence. Flora wondered if he sensed the weird happenings around the house. If only she could talk to him and tell him about the things she had seen in the past week, Flora thought.

Flora took Jon's empty plate after he finished eating and replaced it with a small plate with a slice of chocolate and mango cake. Jon smiled at her and thanked her.

"This looks delicious!" said Jon. "Your food never ceases to uplift my spirit."

"Thank you, Sir…" Flora was about to make a longer reply when she saw Pablo looking on with a stern look on his face. Then, Pablo turned his head to the side, gesturing at Flora to finish serving the guest and return to the kitchen.

Flora withdrew hesitatingly and walked to the kitchen with the used dishes. She saw the other servants washing the cooking utensils and scrubbing the floor. They hardly gave her a glance although she heard their hushed voices as she entered the kitchen. She placed the used dishes on the table and thought of what she should do next.

Flora wondered if she could talk to Jon that night. She felt that it would be her only chance to warn him to leave the island as soon as he can and plead that he takes her and her daughter with him. She was really worried of worse things to come should they stay any longer.

Flora felt uneasy with the other servants. They seemed distant and at the same time suspicious of her. She tried making friends with them during her first few days, but they would always make excuses that they had something important to do. Except for Pablo, all the other servants would avoid her gaze as if they were hiding something. She tried talking to Pablo, but he would just tell Flora to mind her work and she would be well cared for.

When Flora was recruited by Pablo to work at the island, her friends dissuaded her. There were just too many bad stories that were told about Orsica and its owner, some too fantastical to be true; but Flora needed the money. With the father of her child abandoning them for another country and another woman, she could only count on herself to earn enough money to raise her daughter. She tried looking for work in Malen during the previous year, but the strain of having to work away from her daughter proved to be too much. She knew then that she had to find work where she could take her daughter with her.

Flora met Pablo two weeks ago after she submitted her application to a job site. During the interview, she was promised an attractive salary and free board and lodgings for her and her daughter. Flora thought that it was the miracle that she prayed for every night. She became convinced that the stories surrounding the island and its owner were probably just that – stories.

There were stories that the island was inhabited by demons and elementals that take the form of humans. Dante, she was told, was the ember ghost who would kidnap people and suck their blood. People of Cardena would say that all the calamities that they experienced were brought about by the ember ghost. How else could the island suffer no damage after the previous typhoon almost succeeded in erasing the whole province from the map? Then, there were the three female spirits that they collectively call the 'three sisters' who were said to haunt the island. It is said that these sisters would kidnap babies and little children as well as seduce young men before killing them. Personally, Flora had not seen any sign of the ember ghost nor the malevolent female spirits during her first couple of days at the island and had dismissed them as probably nothing more but stories.

That is, until her third night. Her master's guest had just finished with his nightly meeting with Dante and went for a smoke at the garden. He was a young man who seemed to have come from a wealthy background, judging from the quality of his clothes and the jewelry he ostentatiously displayed the whole time he was inside the house. He had an arrogant air about him and he rarely spoke to Flora except to ask for something during dinner.

The young man had finished his work with Dante and had emerged from the library. Instead of returning to his room as was his custom the previous nights, he went out to the garden to smoke. Flora passed by him after finishing her shift at the house and was walking down the path to the servants' quarters. She greeted the young man who did not respond and continued to blow smoke at the night air.

It was a weird night, Flora remembered. Mist had started to cover the ground despite the fact that it was the dry season. The moon shone on the misty ground, giving it an eerie glow. Flora walked on and opened the door to the servant's quarters. She then heard giggles and light laughter and saw that her master's guest was in the presence of three women, all in white flowing dresses. Flora did not mind it at all, but felt a chill in her bones upon hearing the laughter that sounded more like the cackle of crows.