B0089ZO7UC EBOK

by Strider, Jez

  “Thank you, Master. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.” With shaking hands, I gathered up my curls dangling on the base of my neck to show him I was ready for it.

  He kissed my forehead gently before fastening the collar around my neck. It was tight and I felt like I was choking. “You’ll get used to it.” One of his fingers curled through one of the D-rings and he gave it a hard jerk as a test. “Mmm…yes,” I heard him whisper, followed by a lick of his lips. “Are you going to behave or should I get a leash?”

  When I gulped, my saliva seemed to get hung in my throat, making me swallow again. “No…no. I will be good, I promise.” The vampire hadn’t been this extreme before. Antonio was correct. Dante had gone off the deep end. He was one of the last people on earth I’d consensually give power over me. Hopefully it wouldn’t be for long.

  “I’ll be lenient for now. You have much to learn about behavior.” Once more he jerked on the collar and I stood up. Leniency? I didn’t know the word was in his vocabulary. “More surprises are in store for the evening. There’s going to be many chances in the coming weeks for you to prove your loyalty.”

  I laced my arm through his as he held it out to me. We walked in time with each other. With each step I kept my posture straight. I didn’t look at any of the people we passed. The Queen may have been the King’s slave, but she was still above everyone else. I knew that much. It had been a long day and it was going to be one hell of a night.

  Luck was an evil bitch, I decided. Eventually, I hoped to catch a break, but the only luck I had so far was bad.

  The main gathering hall was packed to capacity, but everyone made way for us to walk through. At the moment we passed by a person, they fell reverently to their knees beside us. It was absurd. They were so brainwashed and fearful. I’d seen rebellions first hand. It only took one person to get them started.

  I faltered in my tracks and would have fell to my knees as well if Dante hadn’t squeezed my arm painfully and urged me forward. At the head of the room, Taya and Antonio were chained naked to the wall. Antonio had visible marks across his body from recent beatings. Taya just looked fearful with a tear soaked face.

  Dante leaned down and whispered into my ear. “I changed my mind about forgiving him.” A sadistic laugh erupted from him. It lasted until we reached the throne. We turned to face the crowd and his voice carried across the room as everyone hung on his words. “Rise!” He paused to let the people get to their feet. “I introduce to my legion of followers, the long awaited Queen, the soon to be Evelina Sanuto!”

  My legs were like rubber but I managed the formal bow to the crowd. I didn’t speak a word. If I had spoken, no one would have heard for the cheers. This was so much worse than I expected.

  “One more announcement!” Dante called out over the crowd until they hushed. “I understand your excitement, but hear me.” His loud voice made my wince. “Tomorrow is the wedding and you’re all invited. My Queen had the most wonderful idea for a gift.” He smiled at me and my blood seemed to freeze. “My own son, Antonio, and his whore, Taya will be executed! By who? None other than Queen Evelina herself!”

  The tears threatened to overflow my eyes, but I didn’t shed a single one. That nightmare wasn’t going to happen. I felt reassurance as I looked around the room. Not everyone was cheering. The rebels were there, hiding amongst the loyalists. It’s hard to explain, but I could see hate behind some of their smiles. Either I was seeing the rebels or I was just that desperate to believe it.

  “Isn’t that right, my dear?” Dante asked of me when I didn’t say anything.

  “Absolutely! My wedding day must be perfect and the most memorable day of my life!” The words came out steady and clear. This crowd seemed like they would cheer for anything.

  Dante gracefully sat down on his throne, giving me a push to the floor until I was sitting on my knees. He crossed his leg. The man was no doubt thrilled with himself. Taya and Antonio were on opposing sides of us.

  “Taya…” I followed his gaze as he spoke to the bound and gagged girl. “Did my Queen tell you why Antonio doesn’t love you?” He asked the girl, pausing as if she could actually respond. She just raised her eyebrow and looked to me. Her eyes held fear and confusion.

  This was just cruel. I gave a shake of my head to try to tell her that Dante was just trying to hurt her and turn her against me. It would have been great if such a small motion could convey that much. Once again, I bemoaned my vampire powers wishing I had telepathy or something as myth claimed. Dante looked at me and I put my smiling expression back on.

  “Evelina and Antonio had a great time sneaking around behind my back. I didn’t mind so much that my son was fucking her, many men kept her company.” Taya didn’t seem surprised, not that I could perceive. “The part that hurt,” Dante placed his hand over heart and patted the area. “It’s that my own son felt he had to sneak around instead of telling me he was in love with Evelina.”

  The room listened intently on every word he spoke. No one had heard this tale. Even I hung on every word, despite knowing it would no doubt be embellished with lies.

  Antonio seemed to be unconscious during the tale. “If not for the overwhelming impact of his betrayal, I wouldn’t have changed Evelina. My son searched the streets of Venice for days hunting for his love after she went missing. It was too late by then. She was mine. He’d planned to change her and flee. I found the ring in his room. He planned on marrying the girl whom I paid for entertainment!”

  My hand went over my mouth before I could stop the reaction. Guilt again hit me like a brick. I had been angry and hurt, asking why he hadn’t taken me away when we still had a chance. Why didn’t he just tell me? I carefully dotted at the corners of my eyes so I didn’t smear the mascara. I hoped I could tell Antonio I was sorry when this was all over. The sad fate of our love was neither his nor my fault. It was Dante’s. Always Dante.

  “Now, four hundred years later he betrays me again. I send him to retrieve my pretty Queen and he tries to take her for his own once more. It was his chance at redemption in my eyes and he failed.” With a nearly imperceptible move, he motioned for one of his bodyguards to show Taya the piece of paper he was holding. “That is what happened. What will always happen. Evelina will kill Antonio tomorrow and it will never happen again. He would never love you anyway, Taya.” Dante’s tone was dismissive saying nothing else to her, but telling the crowd. “The Queen will behead the girl first just to inflict pain on Antonio. Otherwise, she’s useless.”

  Fury and hurt turn the young woman’s face into something sinister. The paper must have been a photo of Antonio and I making love. She hated me now. I wondered if she thought I’d been lying to her the entire time about my motives. Love caused so much hate between people.

  A familiar musical number began to play. Dante rose to his feet and took my hand, helping me up. I’d danced many a long night away in the arms of my suitors. A choreographer friend of my mother’s taught me every dance of the time period in exchange for the pleasures of my body. I had never seen another woman who could rival my dance skills, in the 16th century anyway. Dancing raised me to a higher standard in men’s eyes almost as much as my sexual prowess.

  The years had been long since I’d performed something so elaborate. The times of dance like this were lost in the past. Easily, I fell into the comfortable rhythms. The guests moved back and as we danced began to encircle us. Each move was perfect and graceful. This was who I had been and Dante seemed pleased to see it. As I was lost in the dancing, I could almost forget what was going on around me and where I was. For that brief interlude, who I had been and who I am now converged into one.

  My vampire master pulled me close toward the end of the number and dipped me. Dante leaned over me and pressed his lips against mine kissing me hungrily. The desire to ravage me was building in him. He wanted my blood and my body. Victory was his or was it? My arms wrapped around his neck and he picked me up without another word to his congregation. We mad
e it about halfway down the hallway before he pushed me up against a wall. Kisses showered my neck and chest leaving behind little scratches where his extended fangs had grazed the tender flesh. His nostrils flare and he inhaled deeply the aroma of the miniscule amounts of blood.

  “Bedroom, Master.” I begged and it was sincere. I wanted him. Wanted him dead. He struggled with his urges, grinding up against me on the wall before easily carrying me to the bedroom. With a swift kick, he broke down the door, too needy to stop long enough to open it properly. I was tossed roughly on the bed as he started stripping off his clothing. Deadly, fully extended fangs met my gaze when I looked at Dante. If this didn’t go as planned, I would be hurting. Grinning, I worked my way out of my purple gown until I was just in the slip I’d worn underneath.

  Just before he pinned me to the mattress I heard him whisper, “Once a whore, always a whore….

  Murder? I wondered. No, self-defense. Retribution for centuries of pain. Definitely.

  Casually I glided my hands up underneath the pillow I was lying on. The movement wasn’t unusual for a woman with lips feasting on her cleavage while she writhed in pleasure. I wrapped my right hand around the shot of concentrated blood thinner. One…. I counted down in my head as Dante kissed his way back up to my lips. Two…. The sound of motorcycles in the near distance interrupted his advances and he turned his head slightly toward the broken doorway, listening. Three! Not an ounce of hesitation. When he turned his head I could sense the faint pulsing artery in his neck. The needle hit exactly where I had aim it and I pushed the stopper injecting every last drop of the drug into his body.

  Immediately, the vampire enraged, grabbing my neck and holding me down against the bed. Where was the knife? I fumbled around underneath my head, struggling for air as his fingers coiled tighter around my throat. Eventually, the cold touch of steel hit my palm, gashing open the flesh. Closing the butterfly knife before hiding it would have made it too difficult to attack with, but now I’d cut myself and the scent of my blood would push the vampire further over the edge.

  The whites of Dante’s eyes turned red as he glared down at me. In his fury, he hadn’t pulled the needle from his neck. A lower set of fangs extended on his bottom row of teeth. Never had I seen anything like it. It was a horrific scene to witness. He was a monster. Pain from his grip made it hard to think and I was running out of oxygen fast. The leather choker was digging into my flesh.

  “Ungrateful slut!” Droplets of his spit splattered my face as he hissed down at me. “Death is too good for you, but it will satisfy me!” And then he lunged at me with all four fangs. I brought the knife around and stabbed him in the opposing side of the neck. This time he stumbled back and the knife clattered heavily to the floor. I rolled off the bed gasping for air and making my way toward the desk. The stashed kitchen knife was right where I had hidden it when I jerked open the drawer. God, I wished it was a gun instead.

  I brandished the weapon at the evil bastard. “Stay back!” The threat in my voice was real and he knew it. Evelina Angelis, the one he abused, was long gone. Evelyn Angel wasn’t taking anymore shit from Dante Sanuto. Blood profusely gushed from the open wound and it was not healing as it normally would. He jerked the needle from his neck and tossed it to the floor. My plan was working. I’d done a small test on my own blood in a glass and the effects of blood thinner on vampire blood had been promising enough for me to take this risk.

  Fighting had broken out in other parts of the house when the motorcycles had arrived. I heard gun shots, screams, and furniture breaking. If I could get out of this bedroom, I could probably find some support.

  Dante taunted me, walking side to side with his arms ready to catch me if I ran. “You’re dead. You know it’ll take more than this to kill me. Trapped again, my love.” He made a tsk sound and mock pouted at me.

  “I could have loved you for saving me. But, no. Nothing was ever good enough.” Stalling seemed like a good tactic. The longer he bled, the weaker he would become. “Were you always like this? Self-absorbed and cruel?” I questioned him and I was honestly curious. The desk was between us and I was hoping to keep it that way.

  He let out a maniacal sounding laugh. “Oh, Evelina, when you have lived as long as I you will be much the same. Even after all this you will find yourself changed, much more….” He tried to pick the right word for me, taking his time as if I wasn’t a real threat. “Cynical?” was the word he finally chose. “You don’t think I loved? Cried to the heavens and wrote poetry about my heart breaking?” He asked. Whether or not he was being truthful or mocking me was impossible to tell.

  My hand throbbed from gripping the knife handle so tightly. “I’ll never be like you.” I spit the words at him and I hoped he could tell how much I hated him.

  “It’s true. You won’t live long enough to be like me.” With that, he finally came for me.

  Instincts can be powerful, so I just let them guide my actions. The desk was thick, heavy wood but when I gave it a shove it went careening into my foe. I had the knife still gripped tightly in my hand. In the split second that Dante stumbled I made a run for the door. Since it was broken it gave me just enough time to get through before he could grab me. There were people everywhere. Vampire against vampire, humans crying for help, and bikers beating up anyone in their path. Where did these bikers come from? I didn’t have time to think about it. The vampire leader was on my trail chasing me at full speed down the hallway. I ran as fast my legs would take me.

  I turn briefly when I reached the end of the long hall and ran smack into someone who’d just charged into the corridor. Someone must have flipped a switch and slowed down time during the next few seconds. The jolt of the collision knocked the blade from my hand and it dropped to the floor. I didn’t know if the person I’d run into was friend or enemy. My gaze turned to the person, but he wasn’t looking at me. He just slipped his arm around me and held me close to his chest. His other arm was extended, pointing down the hallway at my pursuer. One shot rang out and after a brief moment I heard the heavy thunk of the body hit the floor. The shooter guided me over to the body. A single bullet hole was in Dante’s forehead. It was incredible, but the vampire still wasn’t dead. His hand was lifted and he was reaching out toward me. Marcus glanced at me and time returned to full speed when he unloaded the rest of the clip into the vampire’s vital organs.

  “Babe, I like your friends. Except for the damn vamps.” It was so good to hear his voice. He removed the choker from my neck and tossed it onto the corpse of my maker. Chaos ensued around us, but we seemed to be apart from it. He took my hand and led me toward the main room. His biker friends had secured that much of the house. I followed his lead in mute shock.

  Antonio was yelling at the person who’d just set him free. He was wearing a long leather jacket now to cover his nakedness. I assumed one of the bikers gave it to him. “Get out of my way. I have to find, Eve!” He gave the man a shove and started the hunt. It was a short hunt, but I was grateful nonetheless. When he saw Marc and then me, he walked up pulling me into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” He was still badly wounded, but I could visibly see him healing before my eyes.

  “I’m sorry how everything happened and how I blamed you.” I told Antonio and he kissed my cheek softly. We were good for now.

  After a few moments he pulled away from me and turned to face Marcus with an extended hand. “You saved her.”

  Marcus accept Antonio’s hand shake. “Of course, I did.” Suddenly, Antonio pulled Marc into a hug as well, giving him a firm pat on the back. I would have probably laughed at the awkward look on Marc’s face if I wasn’t still standing there in shock.

  “You’re a good man, Hart. Eroe!” Antonio cheered, calling him a hero in Italian. He’d gained freedom just as I had and I could see the weight lifted off his shoulders.

  “I don’t even know what that means, but thanks.” Marcus said and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to him.

&nbs
p; It finally dawned on me that I didn’t see Taya anywhere. “Where’s Taya?” I asked with concern.

  Antonio’s expression grew grim and he shook his head. “She ran when they let her go. When I get this place under control, I’m going to hunt her down. Whatever happens with her, it’s not your fault. Okay?” He waited for me to respond and I nodded. “Take her home. We’re going to have a vampire beheading and burning. It’ll symbolize me taking control and Evelina doesn’t need to see any more of this.”

  He was right, but I rolled my eyes. I’d been the one with the plan that defeated the vampire. Now they were back to taking care of me. I worried about Dante’s followers still in the house, but the fighting had mostly died down now. The only thing I was hearing was everyone talking heatedly.

  “My friends will hang out until you have everything settled. I paid them well.” Marcus told Antonio before turning away and guiding me out of the building to where his motorcycle was parked.

  In the distance, I could hear the new leader of the vampires shouting out orders and directions. It was a great excuse for me to get out of there quickly. I used to miss the things from my past but now I just wanted to live in the present and forgot it all.

  Marcus and I stood there in the moonlight next to his bike just looking at each other. Once again, I didn’t know where our relationship stood. Marc seemed to be having the same problem. He reached into jeans pocket and pulled out my engagement ring. “This….” He held the ring up at my eye level. “This means no more secrets, no more tricks, and no more running away.” My hand was shaking when he reached out and took it, holding it steady as he slipped the ring back on my finger. “No more crazy vamps.”