Three Nights of the Vampire- The Complete Trilogy

by Amy Cross

  “They said I was insane,” Hugo sneered, stepping closer to me. He paused, before glancing to the right. “Don't bother me now!” he added, as if he was talking to some other, invisible figure. “I'm dealing with the situation. I need to -”

  He froze for a moment, as if shocked.

  “Where?” he stammered, turning and looking the other way. “I don't see her. Where is she?” He hesitated, before turning back to his right again. “More lies!” he sneered. “Did Matthias put you up to this? Is it part of his latest game?”

  Edging away slowly, I kept my eyes fixed on the empty cage.

  “You can't leave this place,” Hugo said firmly, turning to me again. “I've spent too long working on this plan.”

  I looked around, but there was still no sign of Matthias.

  “I told you I'd capture him one day,” Hugo continued, glancing at the cage before turning back to me. “People laughed at me, but -”

  He stopped suddenly, his eyes filled with doubt and shock. For a moment, it was as if he'd seen the empty cage but couldn't quite register the truth. Slowly, however, he turned and looked again, and I realized I could hear him muttering to himself under his breath.

  Still trying to spot Matthias, I began to make my way around the table, hoping to make it to the door. As I did so, I saw Hugo hurrying toward the empty cage, still talking to himself as if his rage was spilling over.

  Finally, I turned and bolted.

  Somehow I made it all the way to the door without Hugo calling out to me. Hurrying along the corridor, I glanced over my shoulder a couple of times, but there was no sign of him coming after me. Reaching the next corner, I began to make my way toward the stairs, until suddenly a figure dressed in white emerged from one of the side rooms. She stopped suddenly, as if she hadn't expected to run into me. Her head was covered by a white hood, and her face was turned away so that I couldn't see her features.

  “Please,” I stammered, taking a step back. “Help me. Please don't make me go back to -”

  Before I could finish, she hurried to another door and pushed it open, disappearing inside. I made my way over and looked through, but all I saw was an empty room, as if the figure had vanished in the blink of an eye.

  “I have to get out of here,” I whispered, realizing that there'd be time to figure things out later. There was still no sign of Hugo following me, so I quickly headed to the stairs and ran down to the main hallway. Just as I got to the bottom of the stairs, I heard a cry of rage from deeper within the house, as if Hugo had finally realized that his brother had escaped, and I glanced back up the stairs for a moment before turning to run again.

  “Not so fast.”

  Pushing me back, Belinda stood over me as I fell to the ground.

  “I'm a good guard dog,” she continued, “except in this case, my job is to keep you from leaving.”

  She flinched as we both heard Hugo's distant screams.

  “He's crazy,” I stammered, not daring to get up yet. “Belinda, he's out of his mind.”

  “Maybe,” she replied, with a hint of sadness, “but he's also in my mind. Partly, anyway. I'm sorry, Chloe, but I've got orders. You're not leaving.”

  Getting to my feet, I saw the main door in the distance, with the night sky beyond.

  “Don't even think about it,” Belinda added. “Chloe, please... He'll make me hurt you.”

  I stared at her for a moment, before slowly getting to my feet. “I don't believe that,” I told her.

  “Chloe...”

  “We'll leave,” I continued, “and then we'll find Matthias, and then we'll figure this all out.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn't work like that.”

  “I don't have a clue how it works,” I replied, “but that man back there is beyond help. Half the things he was ranting on about... I mean, he seems to live in some kind of fantasy world. He needs serious medical attention and -”

  “You still don't believe it, do you?” she asked, interrupting me.

  “I believe something's going on here,” I continued, still hearing Hugo's anguished cries in the distance. “I'm not quite sure whether the vampire stuff is real, or just in my head, but I know I have to get out of this place. I feel like I've wandered into the end of somebody else's story.”

  I paused for a moment, waiting for a reply, before stepping past her.

  “I'm leaving,” I told her. “We both need to -”

  “Chloe, no!”

  Suddenly I felt her grabbing my hand, and I gasped as I felt her ice-cold skin. Turning to her, I saw tears in her dark, shadowed eyes.

  “You have to stay,” she continued, on the verge of sobbing. “Believe me, I'm so sorry...”

  I stared at her for a moment, before pulling my hand away. “Make me,” I said finally, turning and hurrying toward the door.

  With each step, I waited for her to grab me again, but I'd almost reached the door by the time I finally felt her hand on my shoulder.

  “Belinda, I -”

  Before I could finish, she pulled me back, throwing me to the ground and sending me cluttering to the foot of the stairs. I gasped as I tried to get back to my feet, shocked by the force she'd used.

  “Don't make me do that again,” she said, sniffing back tears. “I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you make me. I'm not in control anymore, Chloe.”

  Once I was standing again, I saw that she was blocking the door.

  “What happened to you?” I asked, hoping that somehow I'd be able to talk her round. “You're my friend, you'd never hurt me. Who did this to you?”

  “I'm so cold,” she replied, shivering slightly. “He says that 's just something that happens to people who've been turned recently. He says our bodies struggle to adapt, but that eventually I'll be warm again. It's hard, Chloe, not being able to warm yourself in the sun. I spent so long, shivering in the shadows, desperate for heat. He says I'll feel good again eventually, but that first I need to...”

  She paused, stepping toward me as tears flowed down her face.

  “First I need to feed,” she continued. “My temperature will keep dropping until I feast on the blood of a human.” She wiped the tears away. “I won't take much, Chloe. He told me I can take a little from you, he promised it'd warm me up. I've never been so cold.”

  Shaking my head, I began to back away.

  “You won't end up like me,” she added. “I don't have the ability to do that to you. I'll just take some blood, and then you'll sleep for a while, and when you wake up Hugo will... I don't know what he's planning, but now he has his brother in that cage, he can do whatever he wants.”

  “His brother isn't in the cage,” I told her, as I tried to work out when to bolt for the door. “Matthias got out somehow. I don't know how, but he's gone.”

  “That can't be true,” Belinda replied. “Hugo would never have allowed it.”

  “Matthias can help you,” I continued, even though I wasn't entirely sure that was true anymore. “At least he can try. Let's just go and find him and -”

  “I have my master now,” she sobbed. “He's telling me to do bad things to you, Chloe. Really, really bad things, and I can't say no.”

  “Belinda -”

  “Please, Chloe, you have to forgive me.”

  She reached out to me, and I immediately turned and run. Racing toward the door, I almost managed to get outside, but once again she grabbed me and pulled me back. This time I tried to fight back, but she twisted me around and then slammed me down against the floor with bone-shuddering force. As I let out a pained gasp, she climbed on top and straddled me, and when she opened her mouth I saw two long, sharp fangs.

  I waited, too scared to move, but something seemed to be holding her back. Fresh tears were rolling down her cheeks, dripping onto me, but still she seemed unable to strike.

  “What are you waiting for?” a voice asked finally. “Your prey is defenseless.”

  Turning, we both saw Hugo standing at the top of the stairs.

/>   “There is not much time,” he continued. “I promised you some of her blood, Belinda, and I am a man of my word. Drink, but be prepared to stop when I tell you. If you continue to drink when you know you should not, that will be a sign of great weakness. I shall have to punish you accordingly.”

  Belinda turned back to look at me, and I realized her whole body was shivering.

  “I can't stop myself,” she whimpered, tilting her head slightly. “Forgive me, Chloe...”

  “He can't make you do anything,” I told her.

  “Oh, he can,” she continued, leaning closer. “You have no idea. He's my master, he gave me life after death, but in return I have to obey is every word.”

  She opened her mouth wider, exposing her fangs. I tried to push her away, but she was holding me down with too much force and no matter how much I struggled, I could feel her cold breath on the side of my neck, and more of her tears dripping down onto my skin.

  “Please,” I whispered. “Don't do this...”

  Feeling the tips of her fangs pressing against my flesh, I tensed my body. Slowly the tips pierced my skin, slipping deeper and deeper into my neck through small puncture wounds that became larger as the base of her fangs began to enter. I could feel a faint burning sensation, and my body seemed a little heavier, and then a moment later I realized I could feel Belinda drawing blood from my neck. A shiver passed through me, but I was powerless to stop her.

  Finally, after a few seconds, she pulled out.

  I felt hot blood dribbling onto my neck, but I barely had the strength to look up at her as she got to her feet. There was blood smeared around her lips, and she was staring at me with wild, fearful eyes.

  “Please...” I whispered.

  “I won't do it!” she shouted, turning to look up at Hugo, who was slowly making his way down the stairs to join us.

  He smiled. “You surprise me.”

  “She's my friend!” Belinda yelled, as if she was getting angrier and angrier. “I don't care what you want, but I won't hurt Chloe! You can't make me do it!”

  “I think we both know that I can,” he replied darkly.

  “Not if I refuse,” she continued, her voice trembling with fear. “You can threaten me all you want, but you can't make me to this to her.”

  I tried to get up, but my body still felt impossibly weak and heavy.

  “I can make you do anything,” Hugo said firmly, stopping in front of Belinda. He paused for a moment, eyeing her with a hint of amusement. “But I don't have to,” he added finally. “Fine. If you don't wish to help me, I can just as easily release you from my service.”

  She turned to me. “Chloe, I -”

  Suddenly she let out a cry, before stumbling and dropping down to her hands and knees. I watched in horror as her body convulsed, and a moment later black blood began to dribble from her lips. She tried to say something, before rolling onto her side as the flesh on her face began to shrivel.

  “Stop,” I whispered, looking up at Hugo. He was smiling now, as if Belinda's agony amused him. “Don't...”

  Before I could finish, I heard a rattling cry from Belinda, and I turned just in time to see that her flesh had dried and darkened now, and that flakes were falling from her body, leaving her charred skull exposed. Too weak to pull away or to help, I simply stared in horror as she tried one final time to get up. Most of her flesh was gone now, but she still managed to open her mouth, as if she was screaming.

  “No!” I shouted. “I'll give it to her! I'll give her blood! Don't do this to her!”

  Hugo merely laughed as Belinda tried to drag herself forward. For a moment she began to lift herself from the floor, as if she might yet be able to escape. Finally, however, the remains of her body slumped back down, with enough force to shatter the back of her skull.

  “How utterly ungrateful,” Hugo muttered after a moment. “She could have lived forever, if she'd just been willing to accept a few limitations. Still, she was useful while she was here.”

  With that, he placed his boot against the front of her skull and pushed down, crushing what was left of her bones. After a moment, he turned to me and smiled.

  “A vampire's bite contains a mild toxin,” he continued, “that sedates the victim. But don't worry, Chloe. You'll only sleep for a short while, and I've already devised a new role for you to fulfill. Before I kill you, I need to use you.” He leaned closer. “As bait, for my brother.”

  I tried to cry out, but I could barely even move my lips as I slipped into unconsciousness.

  Chapter Thirty

  Matthias

  Feeling another burst of pain in my chest, I slumped against the chair, desperately trying to get air into my lungs. The pain was coming more often now, and it seemed much stronger, but at the same time it gave me strength. I couldn't rest, I knew that, so my only hope was to turn the pain around and use it so that I might keep going for a little while longer.

  “Here,” a voice said, as I heard someone slipping into the room. “It might help.”

  Turning, I saw a figure approaching, wearing a white cloak and with a hood hiding her face.

  “You should leave,” I whispered, as she knelt beside me and held out her hand, turning it to expose the wrist. I saw the familiar veins I'd come to know so well, but I knew the time was long gone when she could save me. She'd freed me from the cage. That was enough. “You've done all you can.”

  “You need to drink.”

  “Not from you.”

  “Matthias -”

  “Not from you! Not again.”

  “You have no choice.” She waited, with her wrist still turned to me. She knew I'd be able to smell her blood, that her scent would be too strong for me to resist. She'd known that for so long, and it had become her way of enticing me, of getting me to move beyond my instincts. She knew me better than I knew myself.

  “Please,” I whispered, already feeling the urge starting to rise through my chest. “Take it away.”

  “Just a little,” she replied, tapping her wrist to make the veins more visible.

  “It'll do no good.”

  “She almost saw me,” she continued, still tapping her flesh, still teasing the veins closer to the surface. “After freeing you from the cage, I got distracted. I blundered right out in front of her.”

  “Did she see your face?” I asked.

  “No, but only thanks to sheer luck. I can't believe I was so foolish. I'd been so good up to that point, so careful, and then that moment of stupidity almost ruined everything.”

  “Don't blame yourself,” I told her, still eyeing her veins and imagining how it would feel to feed one final time. “Everything's going according to plan so far. Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. The cage was an unexpected twist.”

  “It's a massive exaggeration,” she replied matter-of-factly. “I did everything that was necessary. I even managed to slip something into her pocket at the police station. I had to disguise myself as a smelly old tramp, though. That was totally gross. Now, are you going to drink from me, or not?”

  Staring at her wrist, I somehow managed to fight the urge, even as it threatened to swell again in my chest.

  “I don't need it,” I whispered. “I still have a little strength left.”

  She sighed, before taking a knife from her belt.

  “No,” I continued, “don't -”

  Before I could finish, she ran the blade diagonally across her wrist. Even before she'd set the knife down, I saw beads of blood starting to run down her flesh, and now the scent – no longer bound beneath her skin – was too tempting for me to resist. Unable to help myself, I grabbed her arm and pulled it closer, letting drops of blood fall onto my lips. I immediately felt a rush of strength, but I still held back for a few more seconds before finally dipping my fangs into her veins.

  She gasped and I felt her body become more tense, but for a few seconds all I could focus on was the need to drain her blood.

  Her blood.

  Of all the bloo
d I had ever tasted, hers was a thousand times more potent.

  Hers was the blood I could never resist.

  She knew that.

  And she was using it against me.

  I knew I should stop drinking from her after just a couple of seconds, but instead I drank for almost a minute before pulling back. I wanted to drink more, but I suppose some faint stirring of pride made me refrain.

  “Take more,” she said urgently.

  “That was enough,” I gasped.

  “Take more!”

  I shook my head.

  “Don't be a hero, Matthias. You need it and I can spare it. Drink!”

  “You can't make me,” I replied, looking at the hood that covered her face. I waited, before looking at her wrist and seeing that along with the line she'd cut, there were now two puncture wounds. “It's a good job you're immune to the toxin after all this time,” I continued. “This would be a really bad time for you to fall asleep.”

  “You've bitten me enough times over the years,” she pointed out, wiping her wrist. Already, the puncture wounds were starting to heal. “My body's more than used to it. It doesn't even hurt anymore, it's more just a kind of... faint tickling sensation.”

  “That's a lie,” I told her.

  “Maybe.”

  “Now you need to leave,” I told her. “You've done more than enough, and you're only going to be a distraction. You've done everything I asked and more, but we agreed that when the time approached for me to make my final stand, you'd get out of the way.”

  “I can still -”

  “You almost let her see you!” I hissed. “You said it yourself, you came close to making a huge mistake! I need to do this, but I have to be alone when it happens. You know why. You know the curse that all vampires face when we approach death. We have to be alone.”

  I waited for her to reply, but she seemed almost frozen, as if she was scared to admit that I was right.

  “We knew this day was coming,” I continued, reaching out to move the white hood aside. “We prepared for it. We promised that when it came, we'd be strong.”