by Zara Novak
The sound of running water woke me. I slowly opened my eyes, a strange fog lingering over my mind. I was lying on my back, looking up through a car window, lights were passing by overhead.
Only then did the reality of the situation come back to me. I sat up with a start and saw the Don sitting across from me.
My husband.
I wasn’t sure what type of car this was, but if the interior was anything to go by then it was expensive. Two long seats faced one another, I was on one, he was on the other.
“Perfect timing,” he said as the car came to a stop. “We are here.”
A door opened and he climbed out. He extended his hand in my direction and I exited the car. I realized the sound of water had in fact been tires on gravel. We were standing at the top of a huge driveway, in the shadow of a huge gothic castle that loomed over us like a sleeping giant.
“This is your house?” I gasped. I knew that crime paid well, but I couldn’t have expected anything like this. Countless stories and windows stretched out before me. Towers and spires forked into the night sky, looking like a castle from some gothic fairy tale. It was impossible to say where we were because I had blacked out, but judging from the sprawling forest and mountains surrounding us, I was very far from home.
“Come,” he said, while still holding my hand. We started across the gravel, made our way up a tall set of stone stairs and through an open set of dark wooden doors. Breath left me as we stepped inside. We were standing in a huge hall lined with hundreds of candles. I looked up and saw an arched ceiling above us, which had to be easily thirty feet above me.
The interior was gloomy, in a way that was both dramatic and intriguing. Gothic detailing covered the dark stone ceiling and walls. A huge iron candelabra hung from the center of the ceiling. It alone had to have hundreds of candles. Checkered marble tiles stretched out across the floor, making me feel like a piece on a large chessboard.
Did I have any way of winning this game?
Vincent didn’t pause to let me take in the scenery. He held my hand firmly as we walked the length of the hallway. We had nearly reached the doors at the far end when he turned and took me down one of the many branching corridors. I followed him up stone staircases and through a weaving labyrinth of hallways.
Just how big was this place?
My vampire captor led further up into the castle, leading me deeper into the dark maze that was going to hold me. I couldn’t have memorized the way even if I wanted to, there were so many twists and turns it would be impossible to find my way out of here.
Our journey finally ended at a large black wooden door with small iron studs running across the surface. Vincent pulled out a long grey key and opened the door. The hinges creaked as he pushed the door open. We stepped inside and were met with a blank stone room.
The room was completely empty except for a torch sitting in a sconce beside the door. Vincent snapped his fingers and the torch ignited, throwing light across the room, further highlighting how empty it was.
“This is your new home,” he said, gesturing across the room with his hand. My heart dropped as he said the words. He couldn’t really be serious. Could he? I had to look at the surroundings again and really take in the space now that I knew I would be living here.
Although it was a good size, there was nothing homely about this space. The blank stone floor and walls were more like a prison cell than a bedroom. It looked like there had once been windows in the room, but they had been boarded up with black wood and nailed shut.
“You’re kidding,” I said, my own words misting on the air from the room’s lack of warmth. I was still wearing the same clothes from my apartment, a strap top and a knee-length skirt. My skin was already covered in goosebumps from the castle’s cool atmosphere.
He turned towards me, a dark expression surrounding those blazing red eyes. “Don’t forget why you’re here,” he said calmly, though his voice sounded like a faint growl. “You betrayed me, and you will now pay the price. If you didn’t have a use, you would already be gone. Don’t forget that.”
Vincent then turned and started for the door, leaving me alone in the cell. I called after him before he could leave.
“What is my use?” I called after him. “Making you an heir? Why me? I’ve never even had a child. I don’t know if I can. You could use any woman for that.”
He stopped mid-step, his body spinning around on the spot in a movement that looked supernatural and wholly impossible. He moved forward across the stone, his legs staying completely still, looking like they were gliding over ice.
His hand closed around my throat and he pushed me up against the cold wall, lifting me off the floor. “Don’t presume to tell me what I don’t know, Miss Chase.” The Don’s red eyes flickered down to my neck and my cleavage. “The fact of the matter is that you are one of the few that can give me what I need. An heir. A child. It is very difficult for my kind to reproduce, but you have the mating scent. It is unmistakable, and extremely rare. You’re a breeder.”
“Breeder?” I said, my words struggling against the hand around my throat.
“Hyper fertile. A human woman with the ability to carry a vampire’s seed. And that is exactly what you’re going to do. That is your use.”
“You can’t be serious,” I said, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.
“Oh, I am, and the sooner you realize that the better. I’m going to claim that little virgin cunt of yours and fill it with my seed. I’ll fuck you until you scream for more, and then I’ll fuck you all over again. You’ll pay for betraying me, I’ll punish you until you can’t take any more, and when you screaming for me to stop? I’ll punish you even more. You’re a slave now Miss Chase, nothing more, nothing less. I’ll turn you into an obedient little cunt, I’ll fuck you senseless, and you will give me an heir. There is no doubt about it.”
He set me down then, my feet touching the cold stone floor. I was shaking from head to toe, trembling in the wake of this truly terrifying monster. A small part of me had perhaps hoped this was all some twisted game, a lie that wasn’t really going to happen, but as I stared into his eyes and heard the conviction in his voice, I knew that wasn’t the case at all.
He meant every word.
But the absolute worst part wasn’t the fear I felt, or the terrible things this creature had in store for me. It was the fact that my heart was actually racing every time he spoke. It was the spark I felt every time he touched my body. It was that pool of warmth between the tops of my legs.
This demented bastard actually evoked a visceral physical reaction in me. And I had no idea why.
“Where are you going?” I croaked as he headed for the door again.
“To feed,” he said. “It is vital I do, to keep you alive. I am seconds away from tearing your throat open and drinking you dry. As tempting as that would be, I will have to stay away. You have more important uses. I will be back soon, and then your training will begin.”
“Training?” I gulped.
He stepped through the open door and looked back at me one last time. “Your slave training,” he said, as though it was the most normal thing in the world. “That cunt of yours is the only thing of value. Everything else, it will be broken down and rebuilt from the ground up. When this is over, pleasuring me will be your only purpose in life.”
“Fuck you,” I said.
The vampire just smiled. “I fully intend to.”
With a flick of his hand the door slammed shut, locking me in my cell.
As soon as the door was closed, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. For a moment I didn’t move, I just listened to the silence of the castle around me. The only sound came from the faint flicker of the torch on the far wall. The flame danced and moved, casting fluttering light over the blank stone walls and floor.
“I will not be a prisoner here,” I said to myself.
A few seconds went by before I ran to the door to try it. As I got closer, I noticed there was no handle on t
he inside. I pressed my hand up against the smooth wood. It was solid and would have immense weight to it. There was no way I could break through this door.
I turned and ran to the two boarded-up windows. The wood covering them was thick and painted black. I couldn’t find any edges or seems that could be prized open, and even if I could, what then? Jump from a high window in a medieval castle and fall to my death?
Maybe death was better than this existence.
I ran around the room like a panicked dog, searching for a way out even though I knew there was none. I knocked on the walls and the large rectangular slabs on the floor, listening for any hint of a hidden exit.
Nothing.
In a few scant minutes my hope had ignited and burned itself. I sank down the stone wall across from the door and hugged my legs into my chest. Was this really my life?
No way out. Nothing you can do. How do you get out of here? How do you win?
Vincent obviously wasn’t stupid. He had left nothing to chance. I couldn’t get out of here, even with all the time in the world.
But then an idea came to me. Escape wasn’t my only option. I had another. I could fight my way out. Was that a stupid idea? Maybe, but it was also one of the only options I had left. My vampire captor had already demonstrated his inhuman strength and speed, so I had little chance of overpowering him.
I didn’t have to win the fight though, I just had to stun him, I just had to give myself a head start.
I could do this.
Looking around the empty stone room, I realized there was only one object inside that could help me attack my captor. I walked across the cold stone floor and pulled the torch from the wall. It was iron with open flames coming from the top. The torch was light enough to swing through the air, but also hard enough to do some damage.
And then I heard footsteps coming down the hall. It was hard to say how long I had been alone, ten minutes at the most probably, but probably enough time for my captor to have fed and returned. My heart racing in my chest, I tucked myself in next to the door, ready to strike as he walked in.
I heard the key click in the lock and then the door opened. My captor stepped inside. I lifted the torch up and jumped forward, swinging my weapon down through the air.
Chapter 2
Rachel
The torch swung down and connected with my captor, exploding in a shower of sparks and flame. Flames roared all around me and the air turned to fire. The vampire let out a startled shout and then he seemed to… vanish?
I couldn’t explain it. One second he was there and the next he had disappeared in a plume of black smoke that quickly dissipated on the air. I stood momentarily with the torch still in my hands, my breath racing from the assault. The vampire was gone.
The door was still open.
Without waiting a second I dropped the torch, burst out the door and started running down the corridor. I only had a vague sense which direction we had come from, but I couldn’t find much sense in heading that way. I took turns at random, flying down staircases and running down corridors with my own intuition guiding me. I would find another exit. I would escape this castle and run into the mountains.
As I ran it occurred to me that I had probably been lucky to make it this far. I was bolting around corners with little consideration that someone else might be standing there. I didn’t know if Vincent Cartello had many staff in this castle, I assumed he did, yet so far, I hadn’t seen another soul.
I carried on that way for at least another five minutes, sinking deeper into the labyrinth of gothic stone and iron work. In that time, I didn’t see another soul, and neither did I get the impression my captor was chasing me.
That was good. I must have lost him at least.
The old dark castle played tricks on my mind though. Torches flickered before I ran past them. Shadows seemed to creep over walls when no one was there. I put it down to my own fear and adrenaline. This setting was eerie enough to make anyone imagine things, the fact that I was running for my life only further exacerbated my imagination.
There was no sight of an exit at all in those few minutes. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t come across any identifiable markers while running. Every tunnel and staircase looked the same. With each new turn or story, I felt like I wasn’t escaping the castle, I was only running deeper into it. The haunted stone hallways really were a maze.
But then I found something.
A library.
Two large doors opened into a grand gothic library. Candelabras hung from a vaulted fresco ceiling. Shafts of silver moonlight poured in through arched windows, painting dusty black bookshelves and thousands of leather-bound books with radiant silver light. There was a fireplace, though it wasn’t currently lit, several couches and tables for private reading.
It was beautiful.
If I wasn’t running for my life, I could have quite happily spent the night in here, exploring the shadows and their literary wealth. It was then that I noticed I wasn’t alone in the library, another figure was standing at one of the windows, an open book in his hand as he read by moonlight. I was already still, but I froze and went to step back silently.
“You know,” the stranger said. “I do think I am a hedonist.” He shut the book he was reading and turned to look at me. The silver moonlight poured over his marble white skin and his red eyes, making them shine like blood-soaked diamonds. He had black hair shaved close to the skull, a light dressing of stubble on his face and a look in his eye that only inspired fear. He was wearing an old suit that looked like it belonged in the last century.
Another vampire.
“Excuse me?” I stuttered, unsure of what else to say.
“A hedonist. A person who believes that the pursuit of pleasure is the most important thing in life. You’re familiar with the term?”
“Well yes, but the Bible—”
He let out a loud laugh and walked forward. There was maybe fifteen feet between us, which shrank to a paltry five when he stopped again. “Let’s not bore ourselves talking about that.” He set his book down on a table and looked me up and down. “Good Christian girl, are you? That makes sense. You smell young. Ripe. What are you? Barely twenty? And still a virgin.”
“I am not—”
“Shut up,” he said, his eyes flaring as he said the words. A stern edge to the command suggested he was trying to control me as Vincent had. I did feel the faint suggestion of some controlling power, but it didn’t take hold of me. It washed over my body like a harmless wind.
“You are. I can smell the delightful stench on you. I’ve not seen you here before. Who are you? One of Cartello’s slaves? You’re obviously somewhere you shouldn’t be. I can feel your fear, I can hear your heart beating like a drum. You are damned delectable though. I don’t normally like the bigger girls, but the scent coming off you. God damn. It’s enough to make me rape that sweet cunt right now.”
I took another step back from the vampire. The small movement inspired rage in him. “Take another step and I’ll slice your fucking throat,” he said, his jaw tensing in anger. Again, I felt he wanted the words to control me, but they had no effect. I stayed still nevertheless, more out of fear than anything else.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“Rachel,” I said. I saw no use in lying.
“And how delightful you are Rachel,” the stranger said. He finally closed the distance between us and walked around me, circling the tip of his forefinger around my body as he did so. The movement ended with him in front of me, his finger hooked beneath my chin. “My name is Draco. Draco Varsi.” He took a deep breath, presumably inhaling my scent. “I don’t know what you’re doing down here all alone, but you made a mistake coming here. Your body is mine now, and I will not be gentle. A hedonist must indulge his pleasurable whims.”
“Please,” I began, but before I could say much more his hands flashed forward and ripped the clothes from my body. I tried to strike at him, but he was strong and fast. I started to stu
mble backwards, my panties the only thing left on my body.
“Still!” he roared, realizing I wasn’t under his control. “I told you to stay still!”
He gripped my throat and flew forward, thrusting me up against the wall outside the library. When Vincent had done this, it had felt rough, but he had cushioned me from actually getting hurt. Draco didn’t appear to have such considerations. My head hit the wall hard and I felt something hot flow down my back. I gasped as his hand crushed my throat.
“Please!” I said, looking into eyes that were now all black, shining with the endless emptiness of a predator in hunting.
“Change of plan,” he said, his voice now strangely absent of any human cadence. “I’ll kill you first and then I’ll fuck you.” With a snarl his upper lip pulled back and his incisors grew to two sharp points. He moved towards my neck and then—
Something flew out of the shadows.
A black shape, the size of a man but with impossible speed. One second Draco was in front of me, the next he was gone. I dropped to my knees, clutching my throat as I gasped for air. The black cloud thundered through the library doors and barreled through one of the tall black bookshelves, launching Draco through walls of solid wood and books.
“Don!” Draco screamed in reprieve. “It was a mistake, I beg you, a mistake!”
They went out of sight and then the black cloud flew back. It arched through the air from a distant end of the library, flying over the bookshelves and candelabra with Draco in its grasp. It skirted the high vaulted ceiling and then came down again, crashing through one of the solid oak tables near the front doors.
The table exploded as Draco’s smashed through wood and books. I even heard the stone slabs crunch underneath him. The black cloud then took on the form of a man, who straightened and looked down at Draco, still writhing and groaning amongst the shattered remnants of the table.
It was Vincent.
“You come to my house and assault my wife,” Vincent growled. “You hurt her. You abuse her. You make her bleed. You threaten her.”