A Different Hunger

by Lila Richards

  Tears started in his eyes again as he thought of Serafina. Was he condemned—albeit by his own stupidity—to be alone for the rest of his life? However long that might be?

  With a shake of his head, part anger and part despair, he turned to make his way home, then halted as he sensed something familiar nearby. It wasn’t Serafina – that was too much to hope for – and yet it seemed to have a hint of her about it. He noticed two women huddled together near the entrance to The Fitzgerald, deep in conversation, and the sense of the familiar grew stronger. Rufus drew back into the gateway he’d just left, where he could watch without being seen. Facing him was one of the raddled women he’d seen in the bar, but it wasn’t her who was familiar or he’d have sensed it earlier. It must be the other one, but she had her back to him so he couldn’t be sure. He reached his mind out to hers, but it was blank. Just like…good God, it was just like the woman he’d followed the other night! How many of them were there, controlled by—well, perhaps this time he’d find out who it was.

  His mind a ferment of hope and anxiety, Rufus focused all his attention on the two women, every sense alert to their murmured conversation.

  “You must have it all by Friday.” the woman facing away from him was saying in an urgent whisper. “Otherwise she’s going to be angry. And you don’t want that, do you?”

  The older woman, clearly tense and worried, replied, “I’ll have it. I’ve already said so haven’t I?”

  The younger woman gave a curt nod. “Well, you’d better hand over what you’ve got, then. I can’t go back with nothing.”

  She held out her hand, and the other fished into the neck of her gown and pulled out a brown paper package. As she offered it to her companion, she said, “I swear I’ll have the rest for you by Friday, come hell or high water.”

  “You’d better, or you may find that those are the easy options.”

  As the woman spoke, Rufus realised with a start that the words were not her own. Someone was speaking through her—or at least telling her what to say—just like the woman the other night. This was beyond coincidence. They must both be under the sway of whoever had kidnapped Serafina. He withdrew further into the shadows as the woman turned and began to walk in his direction. She was tucking the package into the bosom of her gown, and as the light above the tavern door shone on her face, Rufus suppressed a gasp. No wonder she had seemed so familiar. She was the woman from whom he’d been feeding when Serafina had vanished!

  With that realisation, pieces of what had seemed an insoluble puzzle began to fall into place. What if she’d been a decoy, sent to distract him while someone else went after Serafina? Who else but a vampire would know so well how best to distract him, and when? So it must have been a vampire who had taken Serafina, and who else could it be but the vampire she had sensed for those few, mystifying seconds? How could he have been so stupid as to believe for a second that Serafina would willingly have betrayed their love? Far from being a willing party to what he’d seen earlier, she must have been acting under the control of her captor. Rufus was overcome by self-loathing to think he’d been so close to her, yet had left her in danger because his precious feelings had been hurt.

  But this was no time for self-recrimination, however well deserved. He was no closer to understanding why Serafina had been taken, but here was a possible information source, and he must not let her escape him. Withdrawing further into himself, lest the woman’s controller should sense him, Rufus began to follow her down Symonds Street.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  The young woman seemed to be following the same route as the previous girl, and Rufus decided to do nothing beyond keeping her in sight and himself unnoticed until they reached the outskirts of town, where the unlit areas of rough land offered better cover should he need it. Meanwhile, he set himself to considering how he might break the mind control she was under, since he knew he’d get nothing from her while she was in thrall to some other vampire. The trick would be to free her without allowing her controller access to his own mind, assuming that was possible.

  Along Symonds Street they went, past the Grafton Gully cemetery where he and Serafina had fed together, and past the mean houses of Newton to Mount Eden Road. Unlike the other woman, however, instead of skirting the Mount Eden Stockade, she continued striding down Mount Eden Road. It seemed likely to Rufus that she was going straight to the Epsom Avenue mansion. He would have to act quickly. They were approaching an area between the road and the stockade that had been cleared of native bush but allowed to grow wild again since. It was very poorly lit, so Rufus decided to act on the only idea that had come to him; he could only hope it would work. Veering off into the murk beyond the streetlamps, he swiftly cast about him for something he could use as a weapon. There were a number of fallen branches lying about, but they were from the thorny bushes that seemed to grow everywhere, and were too spindly to be useful. If he didn’t act now, however, he’d miss his chance; he’d just have to improvise. He began to stamp on the dry branches, hoping the girl – or the one controlling her – would think the noise worth investigating.

  He was in luck. Almost immediately, she left the road and came towards him across the open ground, stumbling a little over the uneven surface, heedless of the thorny branches tearing at her gown. Rufus ducked behind some bushes, breaking another branch with a sharp crack to draw her to him. Then, when she was almost upon him, he leapt out and knocked her to the ground, using all the force he could muster. It was not that he wanted to harm her, but he’d decided his best chance of releasing her from mind control was to render her unconscious. She gave a cry, half pain, half surprise, as she fell, then lay still among the fallen branches and weeds. Rufus bent over her, then, seeing her eyes begin to flicker open, struck her hard on the side of the head with his fist. She gave a grunt and her head lolled to one side. He shuddered, hoping he hadn’t done too much damage. Hitting a woman was not something he had ever thought to do, even in the hope of releasing her from a form of hypnosis. He got to his feet, and then bent to pick her up. A sudden panic assailed him as he wondered where on earth he could take her. He couldn’t very well interrogate her where they were, much less on the street, but he was reluctant to take her home in case she later recalled where she’d been and gave him away. Still, if he could change the memories of those from whom he fed, he supposed he could do the same with this girl. At least he hoped so.

  Making sure to avoid going anywhere near the mansion, Rufus sped home, carrying the girl in his arms. Instead of taking her to any of the rooms he and Serafina habitually used, he carried her to the small sitting room next to the dining room and sat her down in an easy chair. He didn’t light a lamp. He could see perfectly well in the dark, and the less she saw the better. Pulling up another chair, he sat opposite the girl and reached his mind out to hers. It seemed he had been successful; instead of her mind appearing blank, he could now read it with relative ease. By sifting through her thoughts and memories, he was able to build a picture of her life in the household of the vampire who had controlled her. It was a chilling picture: an ancient vampire, far older than Anton, with almost no humanity left beyond her physical form, who seemed to keep a number of humans as slaves and playthings, toying with them as a cat would a bird, using them to do her will, and revelling in the control she had over them. There was no disputing, though, that her physical form was beautiful. She looked to have been brought across in her mid-thirties, with long, night-black curls cascading down to her waist, a pale, sensuous face and dark sloe eyes, and a voluptuous figure. She reminded him of pictures he’d seen on Grecian pottery at the British Museum, where his tutor had taken him on a number of occasions in an effort to improve his mind. But inside that lovely exterior lay a being filled with the vilest desires, the power to fulfil them as she pleased – and no conscience whatsoever.

  Her name was Viviana. Rufus laughed inwardly at the irony of that name, she was so far from any meaningful concept of life. He could only hope he never reached suc
h a state.

  Before he could glean more from the girl, her eyelids fluttered and she gave a moan and opened her eyes. To Rufus’s surprise, the seawater eyes he remembered from their previous encounter showed not fear, but cool appraisal.

  “Ah,” her voice was a seductive murmur. “I see now the reason for Serafina’s devotion.”

  “What!” Rufus exclaimed, startled. Then, as she continued to stare at him, her eyes like deep pools in her expressionless face, he suddenly realised she was not speaking at all. Someone was speaking through her. And that someone could only be—”

  He felt rather than heard a languorous sigh. “Oh, well done, Rufus! Clever as well as pretty!”

  “What do you want from me?” Rufus demanded with a snarl.

  “And spirited, too – an admirable quality, though a trifle awkward at times, as your beloved Serafina has discovered.”

  “What have you done to her?”

  “Oh, nothing more than a little—persuasion, and she’s been well rewarded for her compliance, as you saw for yourself…”

  Rufus grasped the sides of his chair with all his might as he tried to resist the urge to attack Viviana’s mouthpiece. “Why have you kidnapped Serafina?” he shouted. “What do you want with her? Or is she just another of your damned playthings?”

  His words were answered by low, sensuous laughter that seemed obscene coming from the lips of the young woman before him. “Oh dear, you really do love her, don’t you? Well, Rufus, since I’m in a generous mood tonight, I’ll give her back to you. But you must give me something in return.”

  “What? What is it you want?” Rufus whispered, barely able to speak for the warring emotions of hope and dread that seemed to choke him.

  “Just a little help, Rufus, that’s all. You see, I thought Serafina would be able to help me, but she’s proved to be of no use at all, and nowhere near as amusing as I’d hoped. Quite frankly, I’m growing bored with her.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Why, to find Anton Springer, of course. Once I have him, I assure you neither you nor your precious Serafina will be of the slightest interest to me. So, do we have a bargain?”

  “I don’t know where Anton is any more that Serafina does. We know he went to Australia, but he didn’t tell us any more than that.”

  “Oh, but I dare say he won’t stay away for ever.”

  “No, I suppose not, but—”

  “But nothing, Rufus,” Viviana’s voice took on an edge of steel. “Either you agree to help me, or you’ll never see Serafina again.”

  Rufus longed to scream at Viviana that he’d never betray Anton, but how could he, in the face of such a stark ultimatum? He had little doubt of Viviana’s ability and will to carry out her threat. What choice did he have but to agree to her terms? He’d just have to hope that Anton, when he returned to Auckland, would be able to find some way to deal with her. He was quite certain he couldn’t do it himself. Yet he daren’t risk losing both Serafina and Springer.

  “How do I know I can trust you?” he demanded with a sang-froid he was very far from feeling.

  “If you want Serafina, you’ll just have to take the risk, won’t you?”

  “And what about her mind, will you return that to her?”

  Viviana laughed. “It’s of no use to me. I thought we’d already established that. Agree to help me, and Serafina will be with you before dawn. Though of course she must never know of our bargain. I don’t trust either of you any more than you trust me. If one word of it reaches her...well, let’s just say there’ll be consequences, and I don’t think you’ll find them pleasant.”

  “All right, I agree!” His words sounded strangled, as though he throat wanted to prevent them from forming. “When Anton returns to Auckland, I’ll let you know.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” gloated Viviana, “I’ll know. From the moment you and Serafina are reunited, I’ll be there in your minds, waiting. You won’t feel me, but never doubt that I will be there, as often as I wish, until I have what I want.”

  Rufus nodded, gulping in air and finally relaxing his grip on the chair. “What about…? He glanced at the girl, who still sat blank-faced before him.

  “Elizabeth? By all means send her back to me. Unlike your Serafina, she’s still of some use, and a great deal less trouble.”

  As abruptly as she’d arrived, Viviana was gone.

  Elizabeth stared around the room as though wondering how she came to be there, her hand pressed against the side of her head where Rufus had struck her. For a few moments, her face relaxed and she looked human again. Rufus reached his mind out to hers, but was met by a force that hit him like a blow from a club, knocking him to the floor. He seemed to hear faint, mocking laughter, and then Elizabeth stood up and made for the door. Rufus clambered to his feet just in time to hear the front door open and close.

  * * * *

  “How long have I been away?”

  Serafina and Rufus were sitting together by the fire in the parlour, Serafina staring into the flames. Neither of them needed the warmth, but Rufus had insisted on lighting a fire as soon as Serafina had arrived, thinking to make the room look cosy for her. She’d arrived in the early hours of the morning, knocking at the door like a visitor as Rufus sat waiting, tense with the fear that she might not come at all, and terrified that if she did she’d immediately realise the appalling bargain with which he’d bought her freedom. But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d run into his arms and covered his face with kisses and tears. Yet, he thought, watching the flames reflected in her eyes, she was changed, in ways he had yet to understand.

  “Almost four months,” he told her.

  Serafina nodded, her eyes not leaving the fire. “It was so easy to lose track of time.” She turned to Rufus. “I still can’t quite believe she let me leave. I was afraid she never would.”

  “Why do you think she did?” asked Rufus, hating himself for pretending he didn’t know, but desperate to avoid giving himself away.

  Serafina gave a short, bitter laugh. “I was no use to her any more, since I’d done nothing to deliver Anton to her. That’s what she told me. The worst of it is I think I would have helped her if I could. Not at first, but afterwards, after she…”

  Rufus leaned across to touch her cheek. “Try not to think about it, darling, not just yet. I’ll go and draw you a bath.”

  When Rufus returned to fetch Serafina, he found her wandering about the room, touching various objects as though reacquainting herself with old friends. She turned when she heard him, and ran to him, wrapping her arms about him and kissing him.

  “I can scarcely believe I’m home at last!” she exclaimed. “I feel I’ve been living in a nightmare.”

  “So do I, darling,” Rufus said. “But we’re both awake now. Come on, your bath is ready.”

  In the bathroom, Serafina ran a critical eye over Rufus’s clothes, muddied from his encounter with Elizabeth, and his dirt-streaked face and hands. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been doing, but you’re more in need of a bath than I am,” she told him with a hint of her old, mischievous smile. “You’d better bathe with me.”

  Rufus needed no second bidding. Together the two of them shed their clothes and climbed into the water. For a time, they simply lay there, savouring each other with their eyes. Then Rufus took up the soap and facecloth and gently and carefully washed Serafina’s body as though to cleanse it of any last traces of Viviana’s influence. As Serafina washed him in turn, Rufus realised just how much he had missed her, how empty his life had been without such gestures of caring. He drew her against him and kissed her, pouring all his love and longing into her, and feeling her love flooding into him, feeding him as even blood could never do.

  Scarcely bothering to dry themselves, they hurried to their bed and made love, minds and bodies melding as they shared the sweetness of being together once more.

  Afterwards, Serafina gave a great sigh, and smiled at Rufus. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much! And
I didn’t even realise it until I saw you again. How could I not have realised?”

  “Don’t be upset, darling. It wasn’t your fault. It was Viviana. I’ve missed you too, dreadfully. I was terrified I might have lost you forever.” Serafina’s response was to burst into tears. Rufus held her, stroking her damp hair with gentle hands. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “We should have gone with Anton, at least he would have kept you safe.”

  To Rufus’s astonishment, Serafina began to laugh. “Oh, Rufus, if only you knew the times Anton has led me into danger, the times we’ve barely escaped with our lives. Not that I blame him,” she added. “If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from Anton, it’s that a vampire is always in danger. Wherever we may travel, there will always be those who wish us harm.” Her face grew sombre. “In the end,” she said, almost to herself, “we may not even be able to trust our own kind.” Rufus felt a stab of fear. Had Serafina already found him out? “Oh, Rufus, it was terrible! I tried to withstand her, truly I did, but she’s more powerful than I ever dreamed possible.” Her voice sank to a whisper. “I did try, Rufus, I truly did, but she was too strong for me.”