“This is as far as I take you,” the vampire said as he turned towards me. He looked at me in the eye as I stared up back at him, the dim light from the room beyond made him appear as a silhouette before me. “I’ll be waiting upstairs for you when you’re finished. Please, do your best to be polite. He’s easy to anger, and I have a feeling his temper is roaring hot today.” And with that, the vampire sauntered past me down the hall, followed by his angry sidekick who had been lurking behind me thewholetime.
I watched them disappear into the darkness, and then turned back towards the room that glowed at the end of the hall. I swallowed hard as I let my eyes adjustmomentarily.
I mustered as much strength as I could and stepped through the threshold. I was greeted by the warm flicker of a fire that gently illuminated the cold, stone room. The room was long and rectangular, and at the end next to the hearth a large sofa sat facing toward the flames. My eyes immediately settled on the tall figure that sat stone-still on the edge of the sofa, staring intothefire.
I stood in the doorway and stared at him for a long moment in silence. Finally, the form slowly began to turn, and when he looked at me and our eyes met, my mind flared into a violent cacophony of color and a silent scream echoed through my mind. I fell to my knees and clasped my hands over my ears in panic. I knew then that the vampire that sat before me was the one that had bitten me two months before. The one that had taken away my identity and my freedom. The one that I had felt an unwilling longing towards for the past twomonths.
I held my head in my hands and gazed angrily up at him from across the room. Staring back at me in the firelight was a set of piercing ice-blue eyes and a handsome chiseled face that made my heart skipabeat.
A sudden desperate need consumed me as my entire body ached for him. We stared at each other for a long moment, and I knew completely and utterly that I needed to belong to him. To be with him. Tobecomehis.
My mindbetrayedme.
4
Our eyes remained fixatedon one another for what felt like aneternity.
My hands remained clasped on my head as I looked up and he stared back at me. Firelight flickered around the walls, casting long dark shadows across the room, the eerie orange glow filling the space like a smoky cauldron. After a long moment, the vampire slowly stood up out of the couch. His movements were calculated as if he was moving in slow motion. He turned towards me and his mouth hung open loosely, his fangs just barely visible throughhislips.
“Rise,” he said. I pushed myself up to my feet, dropping my hands, and stood facing him. I hadn’t even intentionally done so, but my body seemed to react to his voice as if oncommand.
“Don’t be afraid. Come forward,” he said to me in his smooth, enticing voice. I couldn’t make out his features in the shadows, but from the distance I could tell he was tall and strong, and yet his voice sounded young. I knew there was no way he was young, as vampires technically lived forever. If they weren’t killed,thatis.
Without so much as a thought, I stepped one foot in front of the other and walked towards him slowly through the dark room. But within a few feet of him I stopped and looked up into his piercing light blue eyes. He looked down at me with an amused look on his face, but remainedsilent.
“Hello,Charlie.”
Looking at him, I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest. The longing I felt towards this men, this vampire, was more than my body could take. My mind had finally quieted, and I no longer hurt from the soft chatter of his voice whispering to me, echoing in my mind. I hadn’t seen his face the night of the attack, but only heard his voice. The voice he spoke to me now filled my ears withfamiliarity.
He reached his hand out and touched my cheek, tracing my jawline with his cold fingertip. I stood there in place, my eyes fixated on his, unable topullaway.
“I…” Immediately shut my mouth as I didn’t know what to say. His eyes were like diamonds, as clichéd as that sounded, and I was lost in their depths. He took a step back from me and looked me up and down, and then smiled gently as he stood still,waiting.
We stood in silence for another moment, and the memory of that night came flashing back in my mind. An expression of fear and anger flashed momentarily across his face and I knew he felt the memory too. I was reminded of our mental connection, the link that was apart of me, and I was immediately pulled out the daze I’d fallen into the moment I came into this room. I shook my head and anger filled my body. I took a few steps back and glared angrily at him. “Stop with your games. That won’t work on me.” I looked behind me and noticed that the door to the room had closed, and I figured there was no way to escape apart from convincing him to let me go. I wouldn’t run as that would likely end in my death. I turned back to the vampire who stood before me and tried to make sense of the expression on his face. He looked confused and amused at the same time. Anger showed in his eyes but I could also sense a hint of kindness. He sat down on the couch and motioned for me to dothesame.
I stood angrily for a moment, but then decided I might as well join him. I had a lot of questions and I was only to get answers if we actually had a conversation. As much as I hated the creature for doing what he did to me, I knew he was my only chance at escaping here alive. I stepped forward slowly towards the couch and sat down at the farthest end from him. I leaned against the curved arm of the couch and pulled my knees up close to my chest. He watched me curiously as I settled into the corner of the couch and got comfortable. I stared into the fire as I tried to think of what to say. What could I possibly ask the creature whom I shared an unfortunate link between our two verybeings?
Finally I turned my attention back to him. “What’syourname?”
His face relaxed as he grinned at me. “Erik,” he said. His voice was smooth and icy at the same time, sending shivers down myspine.
“Eric with the C?” Iasked.
“With a K,” he said, Imused.
I nodded. “Ah, how modern and hip of you. So you’reyoung?”
“No.”
I nodded awkwardly and diverted my gaze around the room, focusing on anythingbuthim.
“What are you?” he finally asked. He squinted his eyes at me as if trying to peer into my very soul. I looked back at him and couldn’t help but feel strange and confused. I wanted nothing more than to run, but at the same time I knew so desperately my heart that I need to stay with him. The idea that I could no longer control my own thoughts and urges terrified me, and I needed to break the connection between the two of us. Although, part of me desperately wanted it toremain.
“What do you mean?” I asked. I raised my eyebrow at him and tried to give him my most courageous and charming look. If I wasn’t able to run, I might as well try and befriend the creature and maybe then he’ll let me go. It might be the alternative,anyway.
“You’re not changed,” he observed. He cocked his head to the side and looked at me curiously. “I’ve never met anyone who hasn’t changed from my bite, and yet I’ve never experienced the connection that I feel with you.” Fear and confusion flashed momentarily across his eyes before he narrowed his gaze again and looked at meexpectantly.
I shrugged. “Oh, you know. That good ol’ Chicago blood, I guess.” I then groaned to myself at my stupid response. I was nervous. Why was I nervous? Oh yeah, maybe because I was in the basement of some strange vampire lord’s lair, and was likely about to be the victim of the next savage vampire ritualisticmurder.
