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The Shepherd

by Lynne Lumsden Green

There is one problem about being an immortal vampire that you never read about... you can't feed off your own descendants. I was turned when I was the father of seven healthy children, five of whom lived to marry and have children of their own. Back in the middle ages, people didn't travel far, and it wasn't long before I was the umpteenth-great grandfather to everyone in my village.

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One of my descendants was a one of Genghis Khan's concubines. Another fathered Niall of the Nine Hostages. Carolus Magnus--also known as Charlemagne--was another of my descendants. All of these children had many offspring and I am the progenitor of huge swaths of the modern population of the world, which makes things awkward when I am on the hunt.

But not everyone is related to me; it just takes me a while to sort the goats from the sheep, so to speak. And I am delighted to meet you, my little lambkin.

The End

This story was first published on Monday, March 29th, 2021

Author Comments

Lynne Lumsden Green is enjoying the ageing process, contrary to all expectations. She is an Australian who writes both fiction and nonfiction, and owns more books than bookshelves. She has had stories and articles published by the Queensland Writing magazine, DailySF, AntipodeanSF, Every Day Fiction, Aurealis magazine, and has appeared in more than a dozen anthologies of fiction. In 2021, she has a series of books coming out for middle-grade readers with Iron Bridge Publishing. Lynne is also caiming to publish a horror chapbook for an adult audience.

- Lynne Lumsden Green

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