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I am a vampire For centuries I believed I was the last vampire on Earth, that I was the reat self-confidence I feared nothing because nothing could harm me Then one remarkable day, my supposedly dead creator, Yaksha, came for me, and I discovered I was not omnipotent A short time later another vath, and once again I was almost destroyed Yet I survived both Yaksha and Eddie, only to give birth to a daughter of unfathomable power and incomprehensible persuasion-- Kalika, Kali Ma, the Dark Mother, the Supreme Goddess of Destruction Yes, I believe my only child to be a divine incarnation, an avatar, as so vision she showed hter seems to have been born without a conscience

Actually, I do have three other small problems

I don&039;t knohere Kalika is

I know I must destroy her

And I love her

I don&039;t knohich of these dileerous combi?nation There is another child who has recently been born to rival hter I don&039;t know the child&039;s first name, but he is the son of my friend, Paula Ramirez The power of this child is still a mystery to me I only know that a tiny vial of his blood was able to bring my closest friend, Seymour Dorsten, back from the dead I don&039;t knohere Paula and her son are either I don&039;t know if they&039;re with Kalika If they are, I do know they are both probably dead Above all else, hter wants this child

But why? I don&039;t know

I am beset with problems

They seem never to stop

I stand outside the Unity Church in Santa Moni?ca, Seymour Dorsten by my side Three months have passed since ere last in Santa Monica, on the pier On that day Kalika first chose to spare Seymour&039;s life, but then threw a stake into his spine while he thrashed in the ocean water below us She said she did so to make a point

"Do you really need to know?"

"Yes"

"The knowledge will cost you"

The question I had asked ho Paula&039;s child was Killing Seymour was her answer to the ques?tion, a very curious answer Had Kalika not killed Seyht to use the child&039;s blood on a dead person I never would have known just how special the child was Yet Sey iht&039;s events He re thrown off the pier and into the water--that&039;s it Of course he is still pressuring reat sex, or at least some sex I don&039;t sleep with him because I am afraid it would destroy our delicate balance of love and insults

For the tenth tie lecture It is entitled: The Birth of Christ--an Egyptian Proph?ecy Fulfilled The speaker is to be a Dr Donald Seter, founder of the New Age group, the Suzama Society I want to attend Dr Seter&039;s talk because of two incredible facts he has publicly announced On a radio talk show he stated that Christ has been reborn--his birth took place on the exact day Paula&039;s child was born Of course he makes no mention of Paula and does not knohom the child was born The second fact is his claiyptian scripture that supposedly gives details of this rebirth

I would immediately discount the latter claim if the date had not been so personally coincidental, and if I had not happened to have known the original Suzao At one point Suzama was my teacher, and I know for a fact she was clairvoyant

Yet I have never heard of the Suzama scripture before

I wonder where Dr Seter obtained it, and how accurate it is

But these things I can&039;t explain to Seyht back to life by the blood of a three-hour-old Hispanic infant I feel there is a reason for his memory block, and I hesitate to taht not believe me if I told him the truth Who would? It is difficult to contemplate God and His Son and i like a potential fanatic Especially since Paula was not--in her oords--a virgin

"We could be at adinner Besides, this whole Christian thing borestwo thousand years for hi back, he would be here already"

"Krishna pronized"

"He won&039;t be bringing his flute?"

"I think he will return in hus"

Sey the lecture "You are history What can you learn fro slip or Seymour won&039;t attend Actually, I&039;ht him, but I suppose I know that at some point I&039;ll have to open my heart to him and ask his advice I always have in the past I want him at the lecture so that he&039;ll have all the facts when I need his advice

Yet I hesitate before speaking Every tier Still, I remind myself, it is his decision to stay with hter can do He at least knows that I a for her, even if he doesn&039;t realize I a Paula and her child Yet Paula hasn&039;t called the nuave her to call She should have tried to contact ood-bye to her It worries otten to her first I aive ht be It is unlikely, I know

"Dr Seter says he has a copy of a scripture Suzama wrote," I tell Seymour "She was a real person, a revered priestess of the Church of Isis, a high adept in ancient Egypt" I pause "I knew her, I studied with her"

Sey the white light above ht prirab his ar him toward the church door "I will tell you istration table and a donation basket I throw a few dollars in the latter A young reeting people Actually, there are a nu, handso navy blue clothes and shiny faces They are Dr Seter&039;s followers, I realize, but I hesitate to roups, or Christian groups for that nify sects Besides, I don&039;t care if he has formed a cult or not I just care if he knohat he&039;s talking about

The youngpeople pauses to say hello to me

"Welcome," he says "May I ask how you heard about our lecture?"

"On the radio," I say "Yesterday night I heard Dr Seter&039;s interview"

"KEXT?" he asks

"That was the one," I say "Have you known the doctor long?"

"I should say" The young man smiles and offers his hand "James Seter--I work for my father Have since I can remember" He pauses "And your name?"

"I&039; Jah with it But James Seter only has eyes for me

"Have you read Dr Seter&039;s book?" he asksto obtain a copy here"

"They will be on sale after the lecture," Ja, if I do say so myself"

"What allowed your father to predict so accu?rately the birth of Christ?" I ask

"The Suzae about the next co the first time very accu?rately"

I sreat gift Studying her words, I have never found her to make a mistake"

"It sounds like a reists, linguists, and theologians had a chance to study it?"

James hesitates "My father will address all these questions in the lecture Better to ask hie of the scripture is extremely compre?hensive"

"Just one last question," I say "Has he brought the original scripture with hiht?"

"I&039;m afraid not It&039;s a priceless artifact We cannot risk it at a public lecture"

I detect no deceit in his words, and I have a sharp ear for it Also, there is an ease in his manner, a naturalness He does not act like a fanatic His dark eyes continue to study h I think he likes me He is remarkably handsome, and cannot beSeymour&039;s hand, I step into the church and search for a seat The place is crowded but we e to squeeze in near the front The audience is re, tramps and profession?als I am disappointed I will not have a chance to study the scripture I am certain I would know if it were authentic Suzalyphs I remember her ell

Dr Seter enters five minutes later

He is a s e at seventy, although he appears less than sixty It is his vitality and bright gray eyes that er than he really is He wears a ray suit and expensive black shoes He is not so handsoical father, that James is adopted There is a scholarly air to Dr Seter that I find interesting The lines on and the planes across his face show intelli?gence and extensive education I see all this in one penetrating valance

James Seter comes forward to introduce his father He lists a number of acadey and archeology, from Harvard and Stanford respec?tively He is the author of numerous published papers and three books For the last decade, Ja the Suzae contained in it to the world James does not mention where his father obtained the scripture, probably to leave his father so of interest to discuss The intro?duction is brief, and soon Dr Seter is at the podiuh so us for co Then he pauses and flashes a warm but shy smile

"It is quite a claim for one to make," he says, "that one knows that the messiah is in the world That he has been born on such and such a day in such and such a country Had I attended this lecture as an observer ten years ago, I don&039;t think I would have sat through the introduction For as orous acadeht of the second co or even, quite frankly, much of Christ himself This y But the truth of the ion were purely acadenostic I neither believed nor disbelieved the world&039;s religions, yet I found the