by D L Blade
I stayed stiff as a board as his lips touched my skin. My heartbeat picked up, and I had to control my breathing, as my heartbeat pounded hard against my chest. I was afraid those lips would work their way toward my neck. Aside from his good looks and his charming stature, he was a killer, a sadistic predator who was keeping me against my will and had plans to feed on me.
“Goodnight, Akasha. I will see you in the morning.” Maurice shut and locked the door behind me. I had so many thoughts and fears running through my mind, but in that moment, I needed to sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this tired. I looked at the clock and it was now seven in the morning.
I crawled into bed and drifted off.
I awoke to a knock at the door. Assuming it was room service, I rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was two in the afternoon.
“Come in,” I called through the door.
I heard the door unlock and a tiny Japanese girl entered the room with a serving tray on top of a rolling cart.
“Good morning, Akasha. I have your breakfast,” she announced. “My name is Kyoko, I hope you like the clothes I bought for you.” She opened the armoire next to the bed. “You should wear this black strapless dress today, with your hair down, and that red clip in your hair.” She pointed to the dresser. “He will like that,” she said as she walked back toward the door. “It is very nice to meet you.”
“I don’t care what he likes,” I snapped.
“Oh, but you must. It is far better that way. He will make the process less painful if he likes you.”
“Process? Like when he drinks from me?” Was she a slave, too, or completely delusional?
“It only hurts if you fight it.” She winked and then shut the door behind her before I could get in another word.
I thought about my friends and family. Were they safe? There was a part of me that wanted them to bust down the door and help me take down these evil creatures, but that would just put them in danger. I needed to find out as much information as I could about this clan, find a way to escape, and then use that information to bring them down with the help of my coven. We weren’t thinking when we ran. We had no plan on what to do because we didn’t know what we were up against. I now knew, and I truly believed with my coven, Lily, Joel, and the werewolf pack, we could take them out.
My thoughts turned to Dorian. Would he come with me when I escaped from here? Was he loyal to this clan? Or was I kidding myself into thinking we could have what we had all those years ago?
After I ate and showered, I opened the armoire to pick out my outfit for the day. I decided against the black dress and chose a blue spaghetti strap tank with black jeans. I pulled my hair up and put on some light makeup. I didn’t want to be punished for not looking somewhat presentable. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I waited for someone to come get me. After an hour, nobody came, so I walked up to the speaker and pressed the button.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Hello, Akasha. It’s Kyoko. I will come get you now.”
Ten minutes later, I heard the door unlock. Kyoko opened the door and shook her head. “I said black dress, but I guess that will do. Let’s go.”
We headed downstairs and I had to ask her the question that had been lingering in my mind since I’d met her. “How do you know how it feels? Are you human? Were you turned?”
“I was a human two hundred and fifty-three years ago. I was brought here, just like you. I still remember the pain I felt when I was drained. If I laid still, it didn’t hurt, but when I struggled, I wanted to rip my own heart out. He took so much blood from me, he could either kill me or turn me. So, my vampire turned me.”
“Your vampire?” I asked.
“Every human the clan takes is assigned a vampire. He or she is yours, and you are theirs. The older vampires have seniority on the witches brought in. The blood from a witch tastes so much better than a human, but the blood from you, Akasha, well, it’s been prophesied to be the best. That is why our master wants you all to himself. I own a witch now, and each day I drink from him, I feel stronger and faster.”
This cannot be my reality now. I have got to get out of here.
We heard laughter coming from two men in the dining area. I recognized Maurice’s laughter, but I wasn’t quite sure about the other one. We entered the dining area and Maurice was sitting next to a man I hadn’t expected to see—Roland. He was strikingly handsome, just like his son.
Suddenly, I was having another memory.
Here I go again.
I was back in the training room at the age of thirteen with Caleb, Leah, Simon, and Ezra. This was the same memory the psychic had brought me out of. Roland reached out his hand to bring me to my feet after I had just turned my first vampire to ash. He brought me in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you,” he said.
I felt a sting to my face. “Wake up.” Maurice was standing over me.
Did he just slap me?
“Where did you go just now?” He demanded that I answer him.
“I don’t know. I just spaced out. I think I need coffee,” I lied.
He laughed and glanced over at Roland, who wasn’t laughing. “Weak and pathetic humans. Kyoko, make her some coffee,” Maurice barked.
I sat down directly across the table from Roland as Kyoko rushed to the kitchen. I looked into his eyes and my heart ached a little. Roland had stepped in as a father figure when my own father went missing and now he was a part of a malicious clan that was keeping me against my will.
“Akasha, this is Roland,” Maurice said.
Roland held out his hand but I didn’t take it.
“I know who he is,” I snapped. I felt rage build up in me. He was a traitor. He helped raise me, and he was sitting here as one of my captors.
“You remember?” he asked, tilting his head to the right.
“Do you, though?” I asked. “Remember me?”
Roland may have warned us about the clan coming after me, but he wasn’t trying to rescue me. He was next to Maurice and all he had to do was stand up and snap his neck and help me escape. No, he wasn’t my ally. He was Maurice’s best friend, and this was a game to them.
“Of course I know who you are, Mercy. I trained you when you were a little girl.”
Maurice glared at Roland.
“Relax, Maurice. I helped raised this girl. She’s Mercy to me,” Roland told him and then tilted his head at me again. “Has my son been training you?”
“He’s teaching me well. When was the last time you saw him?” I said, taunting him.
“Akasha, hold your tongue!” Kyoko snapped at me while placing my coffee on the table.
“It’s okay, Kyoko. She has every right to be angry with me,” Roland said.
I didn’t know whose side Roland was on. What were his intentions? Was he going to help me or not?
“Mercy, I’m on your side.” A voice echoed in my mind.
Roland looked at me and nodded while Maurice was asking Kyoko to call in Dorian and Noah.
Apparently, we shared the power of telepathy. I was amazed he was able to still use those powers after being turned into a vampire. I wondered if it was just this gift alone he could use, or if there were more abilities he still had in this form. I also realized when I projected my words to Dorian, he may have heard me after all. The bracelet wasn’t blocking that power. Caleb told me I had to only focus on speaking with my mind to one person and that I couldn’t lose focus of the person I wanted to hear me, or others would be able to listen in.
Roland looked away from me and focused his eyes on Maurice. What was he planning?
“You have to let me go, Maurice. You can’t just keep me here.” I needed to distract Maurice somehow.
“Sure I can. I own you now, remember?” His voice was eerily calm.
“Let me go!” This time I was in Maurice’s face. He now looked annoyed with me.
“Easy, Mercy. Just let me drink from you.” Roland told me telepathically.
Roland spoke out loud. “Mercy, your blood is very much desired here in this clan. Maurice has allowed me, and only me, to drink from you, other than himself. That was the deal for me giving your location.”
“You gave him our location!? Jerk!” I projected.
“You’re not touching me.” This time I spoke out loud. I glared at them both.
Maurice laughed again. “Isn’t she adorable? She’s so defiant.” His demeanor quickly changed as his pale face grew stern. “I never break a promise and I won’t start with Roland. He gets the first drink.”
“You sold me out.”
“Trust me, Mercy.”
“Well, I don’t,” I said out loud. Oops. I was getting confused on what was in my head or from my lips.
“What was that?” Maurice asked, puzzled.
“I … I said don’t touch me.”
“You still don’t get it,” Maurice snapped.
“I get that you’re a sadistic bastard who I can’t wait to kill someday.” I waited for a slap to come, but all he did was laugh.
I understood now that Roland wasn’t warning us earlier at the safe house, he was fishing us out of there, so I could get caught. He had a plan but I wasn’t sure if it was in my favor or against it.
“Just think, moments from now, I will get to enjoy rays of sunlight on my face. It’s the only thing I hate about being a vampire.” He smiled at Maurice and they laughed in unison. “But I guess that won’t be a problem anymore, now will it, Mercy?” Roland smiled at me.
There was a moment of silence while two very attractive blood suckers grinned at me. A shiver ran down my spine. I was more disgusted than afraid.
Roland stood up and walked toward me slowly. Maurice was holding both my shoulders with a firm grip.
“Don’t do this, please,” I pleaded. I was not ready to be fed upon. This was a complete violation.
At that moment, Dorian entered the kitchen to inform Maurice that everything was set for tonight. Maurice smiled and quietly asked Dorian to call for Noah. Dorian left the room and quickly glanced over at me, then continued out the door.
Roland was now by my side and placed his hands on my shoulders. Every muscle in my body tensed the instant he touched me.
“What’s going on?” Roland asked Noah, who was now standing at the door.
Noah didn’t say a word. After a few more minutes, Dorian walked back in. Dorian looked at me nervously and drew in a deep breath while Noah approached Maurice. This time I kept my eyes on Dorian. What was happening?
Maurice placed his hand on Noah’s shoulder. “What is happening with her coven? You said this morning is wasn’t just witches. I want your full report.”
Noah straightened up. “I counted three other witches, a human, a vampire, and two werewolves. The witches and werewolves were the ones that were helping her escape. I didn’t see the other elements there.”
Maurice crunched his nose. “Werewolves, Akasha? Really? You have werewolves as friends?”
“At least they would never turn their backs on their own kind.” I glared up at Roland, who just shook his head at me.
“Once the werewolves could smell me, they headed toward the secret tunnel they think we don’t know about. I don’t know what they’re up to, but after Mercy—” he stopped and cleared his throat. “After Akasha had surrendered herself, they went back to the safe house. They didn’t sleep all night. They are planning something.”
“You surrendered yourself?” Maurice paused. “Interesting.”
I didn’t speak.
“Maurice, I’d like to test out the daylight while we still have it. Can I drink from her now?”
“Yes, of course. A deal is a deal.” He gestured toward me.
“Go ahead. Drink,” he instructed casually, as if I were just an appetizer he was serving a guest.
“You mean right now?” I cried
No! This can’t be happening right now.
Roland smiled. “Just relax. It won’t hurt you if you relax.”
So I’ve heard.
Roland pulled my ponytail to the side and leaned down toward my neck. I felt the heat from his mouth crawl up to my ears. The only thing going through my head was why in the hell was I just sitting here. Without thinking of the consequences, I pushed the chair back, toppling Roland over and onto the ground, and ran for the door. It took only one second before Noah had his hands on my shoulders and yanked me back, placing me back into the chair.
Son of a bitch!
“Noah, allow me.” Dorian walked up to me and Noah backed away. He pulled my ponytail once again to the side and gently tilted my head. His touch was soft and gentle. I instantly relaxed, not looking up at Dorian or even acknowledging him. With my eyes closed tightly, I took a deep breath.
Roland walked up behind me while Dorian continued to hold me still and I felt sharp fangs pierce my skin.
It didn’t hurt like I had anticipated. It was almost pleasurable. My body relaxed. Everything about me had enhanced since the ritual. As the blood was being drained, I could feel it pulling through my veins, and every now and then, my wounds tried to heal around his fangs. A relief hit me that I could still heal, even with my powers being blocked by this bracelet. The drinking only lasted less than a minute before Roland released me. After he let me go, I felt a slight moment of euphoria and lost my balance, falling toward the floor.
Dorian caught me and I landed gently in his arms. I looked up at him. There was a feeling of peace and hurt at the same time. This was never Dorian’s desire. He hated that he had to feed on humans to survive. He never once wanted to be a vampire from the moment he was turned.
“I don’t want to waste any more time, Maurice.” Roland licked his lips and then wiped the remaining blood off from his chin with a towel from the kitchen. “It was nice doing business with you.” They didn’t shake hands and he didn’t say goodbye to me. He quickly turned around and headed toward the front door. I wasn’t a person to any of them. I was property, and this was a vampire testing out the merchandise. The vampires in the room shielded themselves from the light outside as the door opened and closed.
Dorian helped me to my feet and Kyoko went to grab a wet rag. My wounds were now healed, but I was covered in my own blood. Dorian softly dabbed the blood from around my neck with another kitchen towel. Maurice grabbed the rag from Dorian’s hand and signaled him to move away from me.
“Burn this rag, Kyoko, then escort Akasha to her room to shower off her blood. Noah, mop the floor until every drop of her blood is cleaned up.”
My strength was now coming back to me and I stood straight. I looked over toward Dorian, but he wouldn’t even look at me. Was he ashamed he hadn’t helped me? Could he help me? I didn’t want him to risk his life for me, but I needed to know if I really had someone on my side.
Maurice turned to exit the room, but I needed him to know I was going to be the worst prisoner he had ever had. I wasn’t afraid, I was angry.
“What are you waiting for? Just drink from me, you demon.”
His laugher came out over the top as if mocking my defiance. “The first time I take a drink from you, my love, I do it as part of a ceremony. It will bind you to me. I will feed from you and then you feed from me.”
The hell I will!
“I have a loyal witch that performs a ritual while I drink from you. This is what binds us. I will always know where you are and what you’re feeling, and you will feel the same way about me. You’ll want me to feed on you. Tonight, we do the ritual. And to make sure you don’t fight it, Noah is bringing me some leverage.”
I didn’t like the sound of this. “What kind of leverage?” I gulped.
“A little human friend seems like a nice appetizer for me, don’t you think?”
No. This can’t be happening.
“Maurice, I swear I will kill you if you
touch her.” My hands balled into fists. “I promise you, I will make you ash before dawn, and I don’t need my magic to do it.”
“I would love a little sparring match with you.” His sinister laugh made my blood run cold.
My fingers dug deep into my palms.
He leaned in toward me, no longer grinning. “I’m going to bathe you in her blood.”
Without thinking, I leaped out of my chair and lunged toward Maurice. I knew I may not have my super witch powers with the bracelet on, but I knew a little bit of kickboxing from the short training sessions I’d had with Caleb, Lily, and Joel. I used all the strength I could to knock him to the ground. Once we stumbled to the floor, I kicked him in the face, causing him to fall back. He was up on his feet before I could kick him again. His hands were on my wrist, twisting it back, and his other arm wrapped around my neck in a chokehold. He used his knee to slam into the back of my legs, bringing my knees to the ground. My knee caps slammed against the hard tile floor and I winced.
“You are no match for me, witch. I am eight hundred years old.” He let go of me and left me in my defeat. While my body repaired itself, Maurice stomped out and signaled for Noah and Kyoko to follow, but Dorian was still standing by the wall. He slowly walked toward me.
“Here,” Dorian said as he reached out his hand.
“Um, thanks.” I grabbed his hand and stood to my feet.
He let go of my hand and turned to walk out, but I grabbed his hand again. He turned around but wouldn’t look up at me.
“Look at me, Dorian.”
His head tilted up, only slightly, and he looked ashamed.
“You know who I am, don’t you?”
“You’re Akasha.” He wiggled his hand from mine, releasing my hold.
“Why are you pretending to not know who I am? I’ve seen visions of my life before this one. My face is the same.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
His tortured stare that followed was familiar. It was the same way he had looked at me when the crowd took me away to be hanged. The look that told me he loved me but couldn’t stop what was to come. He tried to turn away, but I grabbed his wrist, halting him.