SV02-06. Slave to a Vampire

by Katrina Kahler

  Near the front doors was one of the overseers who had greeted us. He was alone and I quickly bashed him across the back of the head, hard enough to daze him. I fed as quickly and delicately as I could then propped him up in the doorway and retreated back to my rooms for the remainder of the night.

  As the sun set the following evening, I made ready for my tour with Kitt, but I was no longer in a good mood. Bernard had reported a few disturbing things to me and I had not slept well while the hot sun beat down on the house. I might be a monster now by definition, but what Bernard heard behind Kitt’s back was nothing compared to the sins I’d committed.

  Bernard met me outside my room and we walked together to find Kitt on the front porch once the sun had fully set behind the trees. “Ah, good evening Master Lavelle,” he said. “Are you ready for your tour? I have asked the slaves to wait before they turned in so they could meet you.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him even as I smiled. “Thank you, Kitt,” I said and watched his smile fall just a bit. “Please, lead the way.”

  We walked to the main courtyard on the far side of the house and I stood before all the slaves on the plantation, nearly two hundred. They looked weary, but not from a long day’s work. They were beaten down mentally. I could see it in their eyes, their dead and cold eyes. I tried to keep my temper at bay. I would not act until I knew the truth for certain.

  “Good evening everyone,” I said. “I am Bastian Lavelle, the owner of this plantation now. It will take me a few days to become acquainted with you all, but I assure you that is my most sincere wish for this plantation to work well. I may make changes down the road, but for now, please continue to work as you always have. You may head to your homes now.”

  The slaves didn’t move at first until Kitt stepped forward and leered at them, gripping his whip tightly in his hands. Then they scurried off towards the shacks built along the edge of the trees. A few men towards the back stared at me long and hard. Their lips moved and though they thought I could not hear, every word met my ears crystal clear.

  “A new master, Tula. What do we do with that?”

  “Nothing,” the taller man said as he straightened his shoulders. “Same plan. The revolt must happen, for the sake of our women.”

  “He seems different,” the third man said as he glanced my way. I quickly averted my eyes. “Why does he only come out at night?”

  “Does not matter,” Tula replied. “We focus on the plan. Few more days and we will be ready.”

  “And most likely die in the process,” the third man grumbled.

  They turned and followed after the rest and I tried to keep my face blank. So, they were planning a revolt to save their women. I turned to find Kitt leering after several younger girls as they headed to their small shack.

  “Excuse me, David was it?” I asked the closest Overseer.

  “Yes, Master Lavelle,” he said and bowed his head.

  “The shacks that the slaves have, do their doors lock?”

  “No, sir. We’ve never had any run away. They’ve heard too many stories of what happens if they get lost in the jungle, or fall off a cliff,” he said.

  “Hmm. Thank you. Kitt! I am ready for my tour now,” I called out and he hurried to my side.

  ***

  Bastian turned when he heard Catherine curse under her breath. “I’m sorry?”

  She glanced up. “Oh, no I didn’t mean to interrupt. I do not like this man…Kitt. Sounds terrible.”

  “He was, worse than you can imagine. If you want to know about a monster, the stories that were told about this man, they made me want to go deaf.”

  “What happened to him?” she asked excitedly. “You got rid of him, didn’t you?”

  Bastian smiled as he went to the desk and leaned on the front, loving the way Catherine’s heartbeat quickened and her eyes narrowed in on his. He reached out a hand and tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear making them both sigh at the touch.

  “If you let me finish, I will tell you exactly what happened to dear Kitt.”

  ***

  After my tour finished of the vast amount of land I now owned, I retired to my rooms with Bernard and told him of the planned revolt. He immediately wanted to stop it, but I told him to wait. I needed to see what was truly happening. So I told him to spread the rumor the following morning that I was ill and would not be leaving my chambers for the day. But once the sun set, I crept from my room, into the shadows of the trees, and listened. Waited.

  The moon was halfway through the sky before I heard the heavy steps of Kitt and his ragged breathing. I peered from between the branches and watched as he went to one of the shacks. There were girls in there, young, and they all screamed at the sight of him.

  “Come here you little wench,” he growled.

  “No! Let me go! Father! Father!”

  I watched, my hands curled in anger as Kitt emerged from the shack with a young girl in his grasp. She fought and kicked, but he slapped her hard enough to daze her into silence. But Kitt did not head back to his quarters. I’d noticed the footpath the other day but had not thought anything of it. Kitt went to it now and headed up. I started to follow when I heard another set of steps and pushed myself back into the shadows once more.

  Tula. He held a crudely made knife in his hand and the look on his face said only one thing. He was that girl’s father and Kitt was a dead man.

  I waited ‘til Tula passed then followed silently behind, listening to Kitt talk to the girl, threatening her with her life and that of her family if she didn’t keep quiet and do as he said. Tula stayed far enough behind so he would not be seen. A tiny shack appeared out of the trees and Kitt took a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, then threw the girl inside.

  Tula went to the front door and crouched down, waiting. I made my way to the window, keeping out of sight, and watched as Kitt started to do what he apparently did every night on this plantation. He shoved the girl farther into the room as she cried then started to scream again. He rushed her and wrapped one hand around her throat, cutting her off.

  “Quiet! I will kill you and then I will kill your entire family!”

  The girl whimpered as Kitt released her neck, his hand trailing down her neck to the top of her nightdress. He gave it a good yank and the dress came free, exposing her body. She cried out again and he slapped her before he turned her around and shoved her against the table in the shack. Holding her down with one hand, he started to undo his buckle. I tensed, ready to crash through the window when the front door was kicked opened and Tula was there. He placed the knife at Kitt’s throat and the man froze.

  “Touch my daughter and I will slit your throat,” Tula growled.

  But Kitt just laughed. “You are a dead man the second you leave this shack. You and your whole family,” Kitt spat. “What do you think will happen to your daughter then if you’re dead?”

  Tula’s daughter cried against the table, unable to move. I watched as Tula made his decision and dragged his blade across Kitt’s throat. Kitt’s hands went up to the wound, eyes wide in surprise as Tula shoved him away and quickly grabbed his daughter, holding her head against his chest so she could not see the man bleed to death. It took everything within me not to rush in there and drink that blood being wasted, but I dared not be seen.

  When Kitt had gurgled his last breath and his body fell limp to the floor, Tula pulled his daughter to the door, pulled his own shirt off to cover her then told her to run. “Get back home, clean the blood off of you. This did not happen, understand me girl?”

  “But father,” she said shaking. “You killed him!”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Go, child, quickly!”

  I watched her take off through the trees, holding the shirt as she ran, headed towards the nearby creek. Tula paced around the tiny shack and I watched him closely. He stared at Kitt’s body for a moment before he took a deep breath and dragged it from the shack. Then he took a bucket of water from the corner of the room, foun
d his daughter’s torn dress, and scrubbed as much of the blood away as he could. I thought perhaps he would be a fool and bury the body, but instead, he dragged it off into the trees and I followed. There was a cliff up ahead.

  Tula gave it one good kick and Kitt’s corpse tumbled end over end into the murky waters. It didn’t take long before the body drew sharks and I watched from a distance as Tula smiled grimly as the body was torn to shreds. He hurried back towards the plantation, but I stayed and watched. That slave had just done what I was about to. Kitt had ruled the plantation with an unjust iron fist. Beating slaves for pleasure and raping at least one woman every night from what Bernard found out. He deserved his fate. Though I would have enjoyed draining him dry and listening to his screams of terror, I was satisfied knowing at least justice had been served.

  Now the only question was, what was I to do with this man who wanted to revolt?

  The following day, I heard the men searching and calling for Kitt. Bernard was the only other person that knew what occurred last night. I had woken him and sent him back to the shack to make sure there wasn’t a single drop of blood left. And as the sun set once more on the Isle, I had him bring Tula to me.

  The slave man entered my library staring at me, holding his straw hat between his hands. He didn’t look afraid. He simply looked determined to deny whatever I might say to him. I asked Bernard to wait outside and he left me alone with Tula. For a while I didn’t say anything, too interested in watching how this man behaved. For someone who just committed a heinous act of murder, he was strangely calm.

  “Tula, is it?” I finally asked, standing before him.

  “Yes, master, that’s what I’m called.”

  My lips twitched at the defiant tone in his voice. “Do you like this plantation? Do you like being here?”

  He seemed to think about his answer before he nodded once. “I do not like that I am a slave here, but there are worse places to be.”

  “And I trust you are much happier now that Kitt is dead.”

  His eyes widened, but other than that he didn’t react. “Overseer Kitt is dead, master?”

  “Yes he is and I know exactly what happened,” I whispered as I leaned in. “I was there last night, Tula. I saw it all.”

  “Master, I’m sorry, but he had my daughter,” he said quickly. “I couldn’t let him do that to her. He’s hurt so many women! But my daughter? I couldn’t, I’m sorry.” He fell to his knees before me, but I immediately brought him back to his feet. His eyes narrowed in confusion as I started to smile grimly.

  “I was there that night to catch Kitt in the act and dispose of him myself,” I told him quietly. “You beat me to it.”

  Tula’s mouth gaped open as I paced around my library. “You were going to kill him?”

  “Yes. He needed killing. I do not tolerate any man that abuses a woman in such vile ways.”

  “And now that you know I did it?”

  I sighed and ran my fingers along the spines of the books. “You see, therein lies my problem. You have done a great deed for the slaves of this plantation and I am keen to let it slide. However, this revolt you are planning, that I cannot tolerate. So what should I do with you?”

  I of course had already decided what to do, but I needed to see who Tula really was. See how he reacted to my words of knowing everything about him and his plans. If he was the wrong type of man, he’d attack me here and now. But when I turned around, I saw the calculating look in his eyes.

  “Will you make this place better? We are slaves, that is our fate here, but things have not been good.”

  I nodded, knowing just how bad it had been because of Kitt. “Are there any other overseers that should be disposed of?”

  “You are asking me?”

  “Yes, I am. Your people trust you so I will trust you, too. Are there any others?”

  He shook his head. “Just Kitt, master. He controlled the others. Made them do his bidding, threatened to hurt them or their families, much like he tried to hurt mine.”

  I growled in anger at that wretched man, but he was dead and it was time to move on from it. “Very well. I have a proposition for you, Tula. You have taken one of my overseers and now I am short a man. I am giving that position to you.”

  Tula dropped his hat. “You are making me an overseer?”

  “Yes and you and your family will no longer be considered slaves. I need a man I can trust, Tula, and after seeing what you did to Kitt, I’d rather have you with me then against me.” I went to him and laid my hand on his shoulder. He flinched at my cold touch, but said nothing. “Together we will make this plantation better than it was, for everyone.”

  “Yes, sir,” he said. “Thank you. I am forever in your debt, truly!”

  I watched the tears well in his eyes. Instead of condemning the man, I had let him live and given him one of the greatest gifts he’d know his entire lifetime. I called for Bernard and told him to see to it that Tula and his family were taken care of.

  “And Tula? I would like you to arrange a feast for everyone on the plantation for tomorrow night,” I said. “It is time to celebrate a new beginning and perhaps bask in the knowledge that Kitt is never returning from his watery grave.”

  The man bowed his head and the two left me to my thoughts. With Kitt gone and Tula now standing with me, I felt that maybe my plan to take over this new life would work out for the best. The feast the following night was enjoyed by all and I began to see the true potential for this place and for what I could do with it.

  ***

  Catherine set the quill down and Bastian smiled sadly. “You were fond of that man,” she said. “You didn’t have to do that for him.”

  “No, but a man should be rewarded for his good deeds.”

  “For killing a man?”

  “For killing a monster,” he correctly quietly. “Kitt was no man.”

  She smiled a bit as she stretched her arms and stifled a yawn. “If you believe Kitt was a monster, than perhaps you should stop thinking of yourself as one, too. As far as I can tell, you have not done any of the sins that he did.”

  Bastian hardly heard her words. He was too busy studying her face and how sweet she looked in the candlelight. Her eyes fluttered a bit and he realized it was nearly sunrise. He could feel the coming sun just barely beyond the horizon.

  “You are exhausted. Time for you to retire, my sweet Catherine.”

  “I can continue, truly,” she said even as she was overtaken by another yawn.

  Bastian laughed quietly as he went to her and slowly pulled the chair back. She looked up at him with a sleepy smile as he reached down, but instead of just pulling her to her feet, he picked her up in his arms, hardly feeling her weight. At first she tensed and he saw the protest in her eyes, but then she relaxed against him, resting her head against his chest. Having her so close made Bastian feel as if he was alive once more. She was so warm against his cool body that he simply wanted to hold her.

  But he could not stand there all day and she needed a proper bed to sleep in. Reluctantly, he left the library, walking through the house as the servants headed out for the day. He caught sight of a few glancing his way, but all it took was a stern glare from him and they scurried off. Bastian cared not what they thought, but the one girl he’d spoken to the other day, she was there and it took her a moment longer to lower her gaze. He’d seen the anger in her eyes and the jealousy. He would have to watch her before she caused trouble to his Catherine.

  The words that ran through his mind made him pause. His Catherine? They had shared one kiss and already he laid claim to her? It was not impossible, but it had been so long since he’d felt love in his heart, or at least what remained of the undead organ that did not beat within his breast.

  He reached her room and pushed the door open. She shifted in his arms, but her eyes did not open. Once he’d laid her on her bed, he removed her shoes and pulled the blanket up over her body. She turned, muttering under her breath and reached out a hand
for him in her sleep. He took it, closing his eyes as he felt her skin. Unable to stop himself, he leaned down and brushed her soft lips with his.

  “Until tonight, my Catherine,” he whispered then backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  Chapter 5

  It was later than normal when Catherine made her way into the library. She glanced around, ready to apologize, but Bastian was not there. She frowned, stepping further into the room. “Bastian?”

  No answer came. She peeked back out into the hall, but there was no sign of him there either, so she stepped all the way in and closed the doors behind her. Part of her thought of leaving, but her heart told her to stay where she was. Last night he had carried her up to her bed and tucked her in. Before he’d left, she felt the kiss he’d placed on her lips. Without thinking, her hand reached up and brushed across them again, smiling at the thought of him holding her so close.

  Despite the chill to his skin, there was a certain warmth in it.

  Catherine couldn’t stop smiling as she walked the library, taking everything in. There were so many books that she wanted to read and wondered if she’d ever have the time to do so. Pictures hung from the walls, paintings of the ocean and island life. She had just neared the back wall where another small table sat, to find a painting of a beautiful woman. The fierce look of love in her eyes made Catherine pause and pick up the small-framed canvas. Her hair was dark and full, flowing long over her shoulders and her lips curled up in a smirk.

  But it was the eyes that drew her in. A dark shade of brown so deep they were almost black. Catherine reached her fingers out and delicately ran them over the woman’s face.

  “Her name was Victoria,” Bastian said from behind her and Catherine turned so fast she nearly tripped over her skirts. He was beside her in a blink, steadying her. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to startle you.”