I turned to look squarely at her. "Please, I am feeling very vulnerable. Can you not hold my leash instead?"
"I am going to be occupied," she said. "But you are free to release yourself."
I took her at her word, using my hands to follow the leash to its hook. I tried to release the latch, and I couldn't figure out how. She watched me carefully.
I already knew I couldn't release the end attached to me. The clasp was far too strong, and I couldn't open it.
"It's too tight," I said finally.
"I guess you're stuck here until I release you."
A waitress stopped by. She had a heart monitor on her arm. "Hello, Lady Dunn. Your donor will be along shortly. Will your blood slave be having anything?"
"A can of soda," she said, "diet clear, in an unopened can."
"Very good. Anything else?"
"No."
The waitress departed, and Lady Dunn turned me to face her. "You did not answer my question."
"I don't understand what game you're playing."
"We're playing the game where I ask you a question and you answer it. We've played it often enough, and the rules are very simple. Answer me now or I will strap you to this table and allow someone unsavory to drink from you."
I stared at her. "I don't remember the question."
"I asked what you thought if I told you I had thought about having you the way that woman was being taken."
"Twosome or threesome?"
"Twosome."
"I am your blood slave," I said. "Your property. I live to serve your pleasure."
"Yes," she said. "That is true. That is not what I want to hear."
"I have wondered why you haven't done it."
"And did you come to conclusions?"
The waitress returned, handing my soda directly to Lady Dunn. Lady Dunn inspected it for a moment then thanked the waitress.
"Once I hand this to you, it remains in your hands. If you set it down, do not pick it up again. When you are not drinking, keep a hand over the top."
"Paranoid?"
"Cautious."
I nodded. She opened it and handed it to me. I took a deep drink then protected it in my hands.
"I asked a question."
"I don't have any solid conclusions, but if I were betting, I would have bet it was because you didn't find me attractive for any of a variety of very good reasons."
"That conclusion is wrong. Do you care to try again?"
"No," I said after a moment.
"It is because that while I have desires, I can control them. I have hurt you enough through my needs and lack of self-control. If you ever want that sort of relationship with me, you will initiate it."
"And will I be humiliated when you reject me?"
"No. I would not reject you. My donor is here."
There was a human woman in our space, kneeling before my lady.
"Lady Dunn," the woman purred. "It has been so long. And your blood slave survives, I see."
"Hello, Penny," Lady Dunn replied.
* * * *
I stared at Lady Dunn's former maid, now a donor in a vampire restaurant. She was dressed far less expensively that I was, but as much of her was exposed as I was.
My lady glanced over to judge my reaction. I didn't have one yet. I was still trying to figure out what she was doing here.
"Did you want to talk first?" Penny asked. "Or get right to it."
"I am hungry now," Lady Dunn said. She moved away from me to the furthest corner of our sitting pod. "Close the curtains, then come to me."
Penny stood up and stepped away just long enough to close the curtains around us. Then she crossed to my vampire and began crawling up her body. She snuggled in, her head on my vampire's shoulder, her throat exposed.
"No," I said softly.
That was my place.
"I remember this throat," my vampire said. "I remember how much you enjoyed my bite."
"You were always my favorite. And I was yours. I don't know what you saw in the blood slave."
"That is none of your concern. But you are quivering. Are you frightened of me?"
"I need you," Penny replied. "My throat is here. My blood is here, ready to fill you."
I watched, I watched in horror as my lady smiled, and her fangs extended. She engaged in no preliminary licking like she frequently did with me. She buried her fangs in the woman's neck. Penny gasped and her back arched, but then she moaned as my vampire began to feed.
My vampire's glowing red eyes never left mine until I turned my back on them both.
I sat there stiffly, then moved as far from the two of them as I could, but it wasn't far enough. I could hear the whimpers of delight coming from Penny. I could hear the noises as my vampire drank.
I heard them moving, and when I glanced over, helpless to resist, Penny was writhing in my vampire's grip, rubbing herself against my vampire's leg. I stared for just a moment, then turned away again. I tugged on my leash, trying to move further, but at was at the length, and if I moved away any further, I would be forced to turn back and watch them.
I covered my ears with my hands, trying to block out the noises they were making. It wasn't enough.
I tried to concentrate on the noises from the rest of the restaurant, but they weren't loud enough to drown out the closer noises.
I couldn't move closely enough to the curtains and open them again, but I found there was a gap, and I could peer through it. I saw wait staff moving through the restaurant, and here and there, a human donor, men and women, moving to a table. Some of the tables were curtained, others weren't, and I saw one or two other vampires feeding from their donors. I imagined I would see quite a few more as well as other forms of hedonism, if the curtains weren't drawn.
Penny's noises grew louder and she gave out a scream of pleasure. I turned my back more pointedly and sat stiffly.
If that's what my lady wanted, she could have it, but she wasn't touching me afterwards.
Penny gave another cry of delight, and then the sounds they were making changed. When I cast a withering glance at them, my mistress was licking Penny's neck, closing the wound. But our eyes met. She had been watching me the entire time.
I turned away, not saying anything.
I heard Penny roll over, and then there were kissing noises followed by a thump of a body hitting the floor. "We're done," said my vampire. "Get out of here."
"I know you want more," Penny said.
"I said get out. Now."
The table creaked lightly as Penny used it to lever herself to her feet. Then she moved into my field of vision, stopping before me and looking at me. She was smiling. "Did you enjoy watching, blood slave?"
"I might be a blood slave, but my sentence ends in another year. You'll be a skanky whore the rest of your days. What will you do when you lose the last remnants of what few looks you have remaining, and even the most down-on-his-luck, destitute vampire won't touch you?"
"You bitch!" she screamed, and she would have thrown herself at me, but my vampire was there in an instant. She caught the woman and threw her from our space.
"Get out."
Penny flew through the curtains. My vampire hadn't thrown her hard, and Penny could have recovered, but she stumbled and fell. From the floor, she looked up at my vampire.
"You'll be back for me," she said. "Now that you remember what I taste like, you'll be back."
She picked herself up and hobbled off, her back stiff, but there was no pride in her walk.
My lady turned to me. She leaned over the table and unclicked my leash, then tugged me to my feet. "Let's go."
"Don't you have to pay for your whore?"
In an instant, she stood before me, our noses nearly touching. "Do not take that tone with me, blood slave!"
I stared at her for a moment before lowering my eyes, but I didn't sink to my knees like I might normally.
"Yes, m'lady."
I didn't apologize. I wasn't apologizing to her. I w
as done apologizing to her.
She stared at me for another moment, then she tugged, fairly gently, on the leash. "Let's go."
She stepped away, and I teetered after her, the tall shoes nearly impossible to stand on, much less walk. She tugged again then turned around, remembering my shoes. She moved to my side and took my arm. "Let's go," she said gently, and I could walk, leaning heavily.
* * * *
We rode home in silence. I sat stiffly, staring out the window, the temperature in the car frosty.
I was livid.
How dare she treat me like that? How dare she make me listen as she pleasured that bitch?
How dare she cheat on me!
And it all happened just seconds after she suggested I open my legs to her? Well, that was never happening, that was for sure. And while she was at it, she could take her fangs and stick them somewhere else. If she intended to bury them in my neck again, she'd have a fight on her hands.
We pulled up in front of the house, and I had the door open before we were even at a complete stop. I stepped out of the car, and stood, using the car for balance. I took a cautious step away, and then the vampire was at my side, supporting me, her hand wrapped in my leash.
I stiffened, needing her help, but decided I would rather crawl than accept her hands on me.
"Until you have fumigated yourself, get your claws off of me." I pushed her away. "I don't want to catch whatever she just gave you."
For a moment, I thought she was going to strike me. Her eyes flashed anger, but then she stepped backwards, holding her hands up. I turned away from her and struggled to reach the door, stepping carefully in the tall shoes, spiked both at the heel and the toe. I made it to the font door, barely catching myself and grabbing the doorframe for support.
"Let me help you," she said quietly from behind me.
"Having fun watching me?" I asked over my shoulder. "These shoes are another brilliant way to humiliate me. Congratulations."
Her eyes flashed again. "I told you not to take that tone with me. You are a blood slave. Have you forgotten?"
"How could I possibly forget when you remind me every moment of the day? What I am is a continual source of sick amusement to you and your friends and a walking meal besides. Because, of course, I was previously such a threat to the fabric of society that I deserve nothing better. I have never believed that drivel about needing to protect society from me. I am a blood slave for the simple fact that it gives my vampire overlords a good laugh. Well fuck you!"
It was not my most intelligent moment. If I wanted to survive my third year, I should have swallowed my pride and pretended I hadn't cared.
I blinked, and she was upon me, her hand on my throat, her other in my hair. She bore me backwards, her fangs flashing and her mouth an angry rictus.
"That is enough!" she screamed. And then she dragged me into the house, pulling me by the head and neck, my heels dragging across the floor. My hands flew to her wrist, trying to take some of the strain from my throat as she dragged me up the stairs.
"Go ahead!" I screamed. "Kill me! That's what you're going to do anyway."
"Shut up!" she screamed back, spittle flying in my face. "Just shut up! Melissa, shut up!"
She dragged me up the stairs, me screaming from the pain, and then down the hall to my room. She threw me inside and screamed, "You have no privileges until further notice!"
The door slammed closed. I didn't hear the lock over my own pain-induced screams.
* * * *
I pulled myself back under control, the pain in my neck receding to a dull throbbing. She hadn't taken anything from the room, and the tablet was next to the bed. I grabbed it and composed a very short, distinct note.
"Fuck you, bitch."
It was another moment of stupidity, but I was so angry I couldn't see straight.
Five minutes later, while I was composing a much lengthier diatribe, the screen flashed and the words appeared, "All privileges revoked." I could turn the tablet off, but nothing else worked. I screamed and threw it across the room.
I was still wearing the cursed shoes, and I couldn't release the latches myself. I struggled with them anyway. I made no headway, so I began kicking my feet against the floor. For such spindly shoes, they sure were sturdy. I managed to bend the spikes, but I couldn't break them off.
And if they were hard to walk on before, they were going to be impossible now.
I spent several minutes screaming obscenities at her, not knowing if anyone could even hear me. I eventually ran out of steam, my throat raw.
The vampire hadn't taken anything from my room when she had left. I found one of my pads and some charcoal, and I began drawing.
* * * *
I must have slept. It was some time later, perhaps morning. I couldn't have guessed at the time. There was a knock at the door.
"Melissa? It's Ashlyn."
I was curled on the bed, lying on my side.
"Melissa, if I open the door, are you going to do something foolish?"
I didn't answer her but laid my head back down and curled into a tighter ball.
Sometime in the night, my anger had fled, and now I was left with nothing but disgust, disgust for her, disgust for myself, disgust with the world that allowed all of this to happen.
I heard the door unlock. I had a brief image of running to it, slamming it open, and fleeing, but nothing had changed. I would have nowhere to go. And of course, I couldn't even walk, much less run. I had crawled to the bathroom earlier.
The door opened slowly.
"Melissa?"
"Go away, Ashlyn," I said. "You don't want to get in the middle of this."
"Are you going to hurt me if I come in?"
"I'm not the one who lashes out physically," I replied. It hurt to talk. I had spent a long time screaming.
She stepped in and closed the door, then stopped and stared. I knew why. There were drawings spread all over the room. I had left them for Her. The vampire. Most of them were crude, drawn hastily. But there was one, right in front of the door, featuring Penny as she rubbed herself off on the vampire's leg. Worms were crawling out of her, bugs crawling in her hair, and her skin was molting from her body.
"Eww," Ashlyn said, staring at the drawing.
"Don't look at it," I said.
She looked around the room. They were all horrible, of course. In some of them, I was forced to watch. In some, I was tied to a table while the lady and Penny, now a vampire herself, feasted on me. In a few, it was Penny that was tied to the table, the vampire forcing me to lick from between her wormy legs.
Ashlyn stared in horror at them.
"Don't look at them," I said. I moved from the bed, crawling around the room, picking up all the drawings.
"Did she-"
"We went to a vamp bar. She made me watch while she drank from that bitch!" I screamed the last two words. I took several breaths. "What do I care? Let her have that skank."
I tossed the drawings on the bed. "I have to use the bathroom." I slipped from the bed and crawled into the bathroom, did what one does, and returned. Ashlyn was still waiting for me.
"Why are you crawling?"
"These shoes!" I said. "Damn that bitch!" I screamed, banging the shoes against the floor, trying to break them. I bent them a little more, but that was all. "What are these made out of?" I sat on the floor, struggling with the shoes.
"I'm guessing steel," Ashlyn replied softly. "She's going to be mad when she sees what you did to them."
"Do I look like I care anymore?" I paused. "Why did she send you?"
"I'm supposed to take your things," she said. "I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me for it."
"I have never hurt anyone in my entire life, and I am not going to start with you. But I was wondering why she sent YOU to do it instead of coming herself."
"She didn't come herself because she's afraid of her own temper, and she didn't send anyone else because she was afraid I was the only one you wouldn't hurt."
"I suppose you don't want to remind her which of us was the one dragged up the stairs by her neck, and which of us did the dragging."
"No, I do not believe I want to be the one," Ashlyn said. "I'm sorry. I have to take everything."
I waved her away. "Fine." I crawled back onto the bed and curled into a ball again.
There wasn't that much to take. I had used most of the paper in the room, so it was just the toolbox with pencils and charcoal, the last remnants from the pad of paper, the drawings I had done, and the broken tablet.
"You broke it," she said. "I'm sorry. She made me disable it."
"Not your fault."
Ashlyn collected everything, then searched the room to see if she had missed anything. She apologized several more times. I kept telling her it wasn't her fault.
When she was done, I asked her, "She's an animal. Why do you and your mother stay here?"
"She took us in. She protected us and gave us a home. She's been good to us."
"I guess blood slaves shouldn't have the same expectations."
"Maybe you shouldn't talk back to her."
"Does she make you dress like this and go to vampire bars? Until she does, maybe that's advice you should keep to yourself."
She didn't say anything and stepped out of the room.
"I'm sorry," I said, not looking at her. "You don't deserve that."
"And you don't deserve this," she said. "I'm sorry." A moment later she returned, setting a tray on the table. "She stressed I was to remind you that you must eat everything. I'm so sorry."
I ignored the food but instead curled even tighter and pulled the covers over my head.
* * * *
For what I thought was the next two days, I did nothing but sleep and make the occasional crawl to the bathroom. I drank water, but I refused the food. Ashlyn didn't come back, but either Maria or one of the maids did. Every time they saw I hadn't eaten the previous meal, they reminded me The Lady would be angry. I stopped responding to them after the second or third reminder.
It was after an ignored dinner late on the second day that she came herself. She stood in the doorway. I recognized her without looking and kept my head under the covers. I would be damned if I was going to kneel to her.
"I would like to speak with you," she said softly. "If you are able to remain civil, I will remove the shoes."
Blood Slave Page 37