by Darci Darson
She did not know how long she had remained in this paralysed state, screaming each time Imre had touched her. He helped her to put her t-shirt back on and wiped her hands and face, using his t-shirt in the most gentle way possible and waited.
“What happened to me?” she whispered at last.
“You've absorbed a piece of my black soul, Birdie, but not as an undead,” Imre said.” You are a real freak. We have connected on a level I cannot understand. You've taken and yet not given anything back. As if you were scared... I don’t know what happened," Imre added, looking at her with pain in his red eyes. His expression was a torment. “I wanted to help you.”
Cherry did not know what he meant, too numb to grasp anything in this moment, but indeed she was terrified. She took a deep breath in order to check whether she still displayed normal signs of life. Her heart bumped irregularly. Her mind danced. She was deeply ashamed and shattered.
"Did it work, Imre? Obviously....You are still alive... And in perfect shape... You've nearly killed me. You bloodsucking Vampire Bat!" she complained, furious, regaining her will and control over her thoughts and actions. Her brain put all the pain and difficulties in the forgotten parts of her mind, as always when she encountered something above her abilities to cope. “And you fed me with your own blood. That’s just... disgusting.”
Imre let out a nervous chuckle, but a moment later his face became stiff and sad again.
“I'm sorry," he said harshly.”It wouldn’t have killed you, but it was close. I was dying and too weak to control myself. I’m sorry. I’ve never hurt my... my food, but with you, I just couldn’t stop. With every drop of your blood I wanted more of you. I wanted you all. It wasn’t feeding, Cherry. It was like making love with you and I’ve never felt this before. You are first and only one. And when you tasted me... You gave me so much pleasure. This is only for you and me, Cherry. Next time I will control myself, I promise. And I will help you to control this, too.”
“Stop it, Imre,” Cherry interrupted. She did not want to even listen, cutting herself off from his explanations. She had no strength to torture herself once more with the thoughts of how he hunted for his food, or how vampires enjoyed love. Staying away from his ‘desires’ was the best solution for this moment as she suspected that she would not withstand anymore. His suggestion to possibly repeat this whole ‘feeding’ scared her. “Our friend died a few hours ago and you just...” she hissed to him.
“I know this,” he hissed back.”But I’m happy that we are both alive and there will be more time for you and me.”
"I don’t want more time with you, Imre,” she shouted. “I am not able to comprehend it all at the moment. My head is a mess. Don't you dare to do this again, do you understand, Imre? Don't you dare mess around with my soul again. Never, ever again!” she yelled. She was frightened, agitated and shaky. She did not want to understand what he had tried to tell her. “Do I make myself clear?”
"Perfectly, let’s do something rational for a change. Let's find the way back to Wesfad Manor," Imre said in a dry voice.
“No,” Cherry said firmly. She felt a strong calm inside her. “And even if I could I wouldn't go back. I’m going to find out who I really am. I owe this to Felicia. And most importantly I owe this to myself, and I will do this for myself.” She rose to her feet and glanced at him. She was a decisive and confident young woman, for the first time in her life. “You can come with me or stay here, Imre, the choice is yours.” She was going to proceed with her plans with or without him.
“Ladies first,” said Imre, making a sweeping and frivolous gesture to her.
Cherry bit her lower lip and balled up her fists. Her narrow eyes locked onto Imre.
“How many people did you kill?” she asked as her shy voice stirred.
“Three,” Imre answered with a bitter coldness. “They wanted to kill me. And I fought in a few wars. Do they count as well?” His eyes wandered off to somewhere in the distance.
He was a killer, more than that; he was a serial killer. Cherry absorbed the information and accepted his past as a part of him. She needed him in this scary place and that was all that mattered at the moment.
“Why are you doing this to me, Imre?” she finally asked.”Why are you touching me this way?”
“You are mine,” he growled.”And you are very forgetful.”
“I don’t belong to anybody except myself,” she said to him in an outburst of her cry. “Remember that.”
She knew that the hunger belonged to him and she could absorb the darkness from him. She had felt this struggle of Imre, this constrained killer within him; this relief that he had received in her arms. She did not want to give anything back as she was unable to trust him. His addiction to the touch of her skin, his uncontrollable lust after the intimacy with her; it pulled her towards him like she was insane. But there was this fear that in one moment, he would not control this monster inside him. She dreaded that she would not control herself, either. She was his salvation and peace and he might be her curse.
It was as if she took out the worst from him and had the ability to calm it, if she had decided to give herself back. She was not sure what was that she could offer him as with every instant passed, she became more and more aware that she had to discover herself first.
“I don’t want you to touch me now, Imre. I need you to stay away from me. You’ve had one thousand years to adjust and I just can’t accept it in one day. I don’t know whether I can accept it at all.”
He glanced at her with sadness in his red eyes. It was the glance of a heartbroken man and she saw the he needed her close to him more than ever, but she was unable to fulfil his yearning. She would have fallen apart. A moment later, an arrogant smile curled his lips.
And Cherry could not deal with more drawbacks of his vampire nature at the moment, having doubts whether she would ever accept this darkness of his soul, to be entirely his as he desired.
Her compassion and feelings for Imre were not enough for her to comprehend all his suffering and loneliness. This was all too much for her and she could not bear the pain that he had endured.
CHAPTER 11
AS THEY WALKED through a wood of sparsely planted, monumentally large trees, the sunlight burned in patches of brightness between the shade provided by the silver leaves. Cherry tried desperately to calm herself. Obsessive thoughts stung her brain like a hive of irritated bees. Most of all she wanted to be alone, to clear her thoughts and to settle with her recent discoveries, but in her current situation this was not an option. Imre's company did not make her struggle any easier. Nor did his half naked body. He had not put his t-shirt back on. His aura attacked her and enslaved her thoughts, her skin still tingling, longing for his touch. Her anger somehow dissipated as though she had an ocean of good will for him. For a while, she had wanted to escape from him as far away as possible as felt she could not breath around him. She was ashamed of what had happened between them before. But as time passed, she felt this unexpected urge to just hug him and take all his pain. Glancing at him as he walked beside her, she was not scared anymore. She simply felt unsure of what to think, her tormented spirit craved for a single, reassuring sentence from him, or a simple chat about stupid things. Imre, however, was so distant and unavailable; mute like a medieval graveyard. And she began to suspect that a lot more had happened between them both than her poor memory was able to recollect for her. She had thought that he had another woman but in fact, everything indicated that Felicia had been furious about Cherry and him.
“Imre,” she squeaked.
They both stopped and he began to circle around her with his fingers rolled into fists.
“Say something, Imre.”
“I can’t chat,” he said with reproach. “I can touch you.”
“No!” she yelled. “Your darkness is dangerous for me.”
“I am a vampire,” he growled.”I don’t want to hurt you. We have to learn how to be together.”
“It’s not tha
t simple, Imre.”
”If you don’t want me, walk then.”
“Your communication skills have not improved since the middle ages.”
“And you are slow and clumsy,” he hissed. “You also have a constant dementia,” he added with pain and resentment. “I forgive you for this dementia all the time.”
She did not answer, taken aback by his comments and her head seemed empty. She was unable to react so they resumed their pursuit. The invisible wall between them grew higher with every step just like an impenetrable glass separating them completely.
She had tasted the pure darkness, its merciless freedom to kill and to enjoy doing it. As her initial shock wore off, a dread infected her mind, but there was also the temptation, the desire to join Imre. She knew that there was always a choice and with every second that passed she was more and more aware that she would have followed him if there had been love between them. Her difficult and dysfunctional childhood had given her skills to accept all sorts of difficult obstacles in her life, including dealing with the vampire who desired her so much that could have killed her in his madness for her. Her new found strength would make her capable of carrying the darkness and its consequences with Imre. She suspected that she would be able to release him from all his pain as well. The idea of what she possibly expected from Imre crystallised in a slow pace. She wanted his love because the love she would give him back. His desire for her was visible in his every glance that he shot towards her. Despite her previous decision that so far Imre had respected, it was now Cherry who wanted to touch him, to wrestle him down to the ground and take more of this dark pleasure with him. He was who he was and she could either leave him or accept and love him. Her mind filled with the craving for his touch whilst on the edge of her awareness another thought emerged. The evil had no conscience. Cherry knew that it would have also freed her from her remorse and guilt. The claws that had been drilling her heart after Felicia had died. Her dysfunctional personality refused to deal with this, burying it deep in her heart.
"Are you ok? With what happened to Felicia?" she started, aiming to interrupt that thick and electrified silence between them, once more. She also realised that her mouth had become slightly dry as she had not had any fluid for at least five hours. A wave of hunger cramps went through her stomach. She needed the bathroom, sooner rather than later. And she wanted to talk about Felicia as well as just divert her attention towards something else than the night that she was unable to recall and her other challenging problems.
"Don't... say anything," Imre said firmly and shook his head. His muscles tightened up, and he slowed down. His face seemed focused as if he were inspecting the surroundings. Suddenly, he stopped and pulled Cherry’s arm, drawing her to his bare chest and wrapping her in a tight hug.“Everything will be fine, Birdie,” he whispered in her ear.
She hid herself in that embrace. Her cheek rested on his chest. She sensed that some dark thread was getting closer. She put her palms on his muscular back and melted into him. A gust of cold wind spun around, touching them with its rotten fear and despair. The scarlet mist crawled ominously among the glassy tree- trunks. The Opyri were near.
“Trust me. Trust me one more time,” said Imre, his lips brushed tenderly against Cherry’s ear “They use telepathy. They find us intriguing... But I told them you were mine.”
“Are they going to attack?” Cherry's chin trembled. Her eyes widened. Her lips touched his chest as she lifted her head.
“I don’t know yet, but be sure that whatever happens, I will protect you.”
Cherry did not know what to think at first. Imre belonged to the same murderous darkness as the Opyri. What if he had chosen to join them? The curse had been broken. He did not have any obligation to keep her safe. She was not afraid of death. She was scared that he would follow his nature to drag her into a world worse than death. To the place of the blackest desires and cold urges, where the love did not count and life had no value, where the pleasure of destroying and torture ruled. There was only hunger in this place.
In the next moment, however, she decided to believe in his words, hoping that his desire for her would be stronger than the ruthless darkness inside him. Glancing at him, she saw his honesty and deep down she knew that he was a good man. She would be strong for him, pulling him towards the love and light, strong like him when he had suffered of his wounds to protect her. He had been with her all of this time and she believed that now he would choose her once more.
Cherry felt their deadly force encroaching on her mind, a perpetual winter that saddened her whole being. The tension of the unpredictable condensed around them, increasing in strength as the rotten demonic power approached. Unexpectedly, a glimmer full of agony also touched her soul. It was the misery of somebody... somebody who was like Cherry. It was like a blurry, outline of a forgotten memory, disconnecting her from the sinister reality.
“Birdie, focus! I need you to run as fast as you can!” Imre cupped Cherry’s face in his hands. His narrowing eyes demanded obedience. “Go, and don't stop."
“No!” she objected and shook her head. A strong, unexpected will emerged from within her. “I won’t leave you! You must be crazy assuming that I could leave you now.”
“I love you, too, Birdie, but you must go now. Stay alive, for me!”
Cherry froze, trying to understand. She was so surprised she could not think at first. A warm sensation spread in her chest. The world before Imre had ceased to exist. Everything had changed forever. The certainty in her took form. She had never been happier in her life than in that very moment. When she saw his honesty and devotion, only for her, she knew for certain that she would follow him to the very gates of Hell. She would embrace the darkness in him with its all consequences.
“How can I leave you now, Imre? We should face them together.”
“I’ve survived for over one thousand years. I know them. I will survive now. I promise.”
“I want to stay with you,” Cherry insisted like a stubborn child.
“And I want to touch your glowing hot skin again,” Imre said and caught a wisp of her hair between his fingers. “Corpses do not have glowing hot skin.”
“Ok. I get it, but I hate you for this, Imre. If they don’t kill you- I will!”
“That’s a good attitude, at last, my girl.”
Three figures popped up from behind the trees. Cherry stared at them, immobilised. They resembled Drasa in height and crimson glances, but their eyes seemed to be lacking any positive emotion, just a sheer hunger and cold desire to kill. The dark beasts in navy, hooded capes stopped and remained still. The alluring perfection of their faces frightened her; it was as though they were the purest representation of death. Amongst them stood a girl of exceptional beauty, who looked no more than twenty years old. She was tall and slim. There was an esoteric and deep sadness in her violet-blue eyes. A shadow of despair darkened her unearthly, olive expression. Her sky-blue hair cascaded down to the ground, concealing the sharp, bone-like fragments appearing from her back. Her gown danced with the wind, just like the dramatic, grey and green sea surf, mourning over her bleeding loss. The strange woman lifted her eyes and sent a telepathic greeting to Cherry. A ray of her calming light touched Cherry's mind and then her suffering followed. The name vibrated. Taharial. Taharial... She was the beasts’ prisoner. They had fed on her and had hurt her.
“Kiss me, Birdie,” Imre said with a cheeky smile on his face, running his fingers through Cherry’s hair.
Cherry’s soul stirred in the turbulence of her excitement and fear. She desired that more than anything. But she also wanted Imre to stay alive.
“No,” she said slowly but her voice was firm. “You must survive. Stay alive. And when you come back to me I will give you a lifetime of kisses,” her last words drowned in her weeping.”Just come back to me...”
“You will give me much more,” he said.”I will take you as my wife.”
“Come back to me and I will be your wife. I wil
l walk with you, Imre. We will walk together on this one path of yours and mine. I will make you happy.”
Imre winked at her, smiling with an unexpected warmth and glanced at her like he was able to know everything about her. Like he knew something that she was not aware of. A painful longing filled his eyes and he pushed her back, with his hand frozen as though he wanted just one more touch and was not sure whether he could claim it. He exchanged a glance with Taharial, nodding to her and said, “Run, Cherry.”
She reached out for his hand and pumped it once. She started to run, leaving behind the noise of roaring trees deprived of their leafy limbs. She raced with her heart beating against her chest as if it were aiming to free itself from a cage. She dashed through the grass, her soul falling apart. On she flew, numb inside, meandering among the monumental trees. Her eyes were blinded by the waterfalls of her tears. She ran, for Imre.
Her doubts caused her a physical pain. Imre had no weapon and no protection and was one against three. And the sense of connection between Taharial and her took her breath away.
A cold hand grabbed the back of her neck and hold her back. The odour of decay broke into every cell of her body as the hand lifted her from the ground like she was a porcelain doll. She did not see anything, choking, dying, trembling. Her limp fingers clutched on his, legs kicking the air, weaker and weaker. He did not want to drain her, or feed on her suffering. His aim was to erase her. She made another futile attempt and sadness poured into her mind. She would not stay alive for Imre. Hoping that Imre would survive, she inhaled once more, but her throat did not allow any more of the air. She hung like a piece of fabric and he played with her one moment longer as the metallic taste of her blood alarmed the receptors on her tongue. Her head filled with blackness and red flashes. A ridiculous silence settled itself all around them as if everything was dying with her. There was a vibe of her regret that her happiness had ended so soon. Her last thought was his name. Imre.