The Turning, by Kent Rosenberger

Caleb, the Grand Master Vampire, staggered into the common room of his nest, his long-fingered, nail-sharpened hands pressed against the side of his neck with all the strength he could spare, his footing uncertain as though he was drunk. He only made it a few steps past the stone threshold when his knees gave out. He fell awkwardly to the floor, struggling to breathe, his whole body quivering.

He was instantly surrounded by his spawn, an odd vibe circulating throughout the lair.

“What has happened, oh Grand One?” asked Uriah urgently. “Who has done this to you? Is it the werewolves again? We will retaliate immediately!”

Caleb could barely speak, color returning to his cheeks. “All is lost,” was all he could manage to breathe. “All is lost.”

“They will pay,” Jehoshaphat threatened, flinching his jaw to call forth the retractable fangs that lay just below the surface of his gum line. They failed to appear for the first time in as long as he could remember. A second attempt proved to be just as ineffective. “What…?”

Nova screamed, her undead eyes staring at the claws she had used countless times to part flesh and rip muscle slowly melt back to healthy skin and trimmed nails.

“What is happening?” The cry from Jezebel sounded like she was being boiled in holy water.

“All is lost,” Caleb repeated, his ancient body vibrating with change like a wild jackhammer. “As you were all turned by me, so you shall all turn back as I turn back. It was not the werewolves, nor the trolls, nor the goblin kind.”

“Then what?” Jehoshaphat felt like he was going to explode. He was shocked to hear his long-quiet heart start beating in his ears again, a sound he had not heard in over a century.

Caleb writhed like he was being roasted on a spit, all feeling returning to his previously inert nervous system. “I am sorry my Children of the Night. We shall all be as we were before. Alas, I have been bitten by…a human!”

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I am the author of over thirty e-books available for review at Amazon.com/kindle and Barnesandnoble.com under my name, including novels, poetry and short story collections. My work has previously been published in such magazines as 365 Tomorrows, The Absent Willow Review, Aphelion, Big Pulp, Bumples, Creativity Webzine, Danse Macabre, Deadman’s Tome, Death Throes, Digital Dragon, Dark Dossier, Flash Shot, The Horror Zine, The Literary Hatchet, Morpheus Tales, Orion’s Child, Resident Aliens, Schlock!, Title Goes Here and Weird Year. I am also the winner of the 2011 Title Goes Here short story contest and the Fall 2018 Creativity Webzine Flash Fiction contest.