“You are most welcome.” Victor hummed while prepping her plate. He floated to the table and set her plate down in front of her. “Enjoy.” He said and sat across from her.
“Aren’t you going to eat? I don’t want to eat alone.”
Victor shook his head. “I’m saving my appetite. I have plans later tonight and will eat then.” The smug expression on his face told her Victor was talking about feeding on a human and drinking blood.
“Ok. I don’t want to hear about it.” Katrina said. Here she was sitting at the dinner table with a vampire. How crazy was this? How crazy was she? She dismissed her thoughts and picked up the burger and took a big bite. “Delicious.” The burger was gone in less than five minutes. She knew it was probably bad manners to eat so fast, but she couldn’t help herself. This would give her strength and help her heal quicker in order to make her escape in the near future. She sipped her wine and stared at Victor. He sat sideways in his chair, looking out the window at the full moon, a hard menacing look on his face.
“Yes, Katrina. Do you have a question?” His expression softened when he returned her gaze.
“You look a thousand miles away. What’s on your mind?” She asked.
Victor shifted in his chair. “I have business to attend to this evening, so I will be leaving you here alone.” He stared at her and added, “So don’t try to escape and run away from me. There’s no way out. The doors and windows will not open for you.” He said an evil glint sparkled in his eye. “Get that thought out of your mind immediately.”
Katrina blushed. “That’s not on my mind. Stop being so paranoid, Victor.” She said with a wave of her hand. “I mean, really, did everyone in your past leave you or something?” She figured she might as well try to get to know him and that started with his past.
Victor’s gaze was cold as ice. “No, not everyone in my past left me, my dear. I left quite a few people myself,” he paused and placed his hands on the table, “dead.” He laughed, his fangs showing. “My past does not concern you. I want you to get to know the ‘me’ that is before you, not the ‘me’ I left behind.” He said. Victor knew it was time to change the subject. One thing he knew was that women, in general were persistent on topics. They wanted answers and wouldn’t stop asking questions until they were satisfied with the specific answer they were searching for. That would be deadly for Katrina and Victor didn’t want to hurt or kill her, so it was best for the subject to change. And fast. “Would you like some more to eat?”
Katrina got the message. “No thanks. I’m stuffed. Maybe later I’ll find something sweet to eat.” She smiled. “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?” She asked. The thought of being locked up in some small room like a caged animal made her angry. She hoped he would let her roam about the house freely, but she wasn’t sure he would after her last escape attempt. How could she have been so stupid? Waiting until daylight would have made more sense. She shook her head and cursed herself for acting on impulse.
Victor held his hand out to her. “Come with me. I have a wonderful entertainment room that I’m sure you will find amusing.” He said and led her through the house to the basement stairwell.
Awestruck, Katrina followed holding Victor’s cold hand. Every time she walked through the house, she was amazed at the beauty. It was dark with a gothic twist, but so elegant and rich at the same time.
She stopped and looked up. “I love the chandelier,” she said. It was black with red crystal shimmering throughout. The bulbs were placed under small white lampshades that illuminated the walkway with an eerie red color but it was breathtaking.
Victor smiled and allowed her to admire it. “Thank you. I purchased it in England on one of my many trips. It reminded me of Count Dracula.” He laughed. “It was an impulse buy. I knew I had to have it when I saw it.” He tugged her hand and led her toward the basement.
A few minutes later they stood in front of a closed door with a sign posted to it that read, ‘Enter at Your Own Risk.’ Katrina wondered why in the world anyone would put a sign up like that on a door in there own home. She glanced at Victor. Ah yes, a vampire would. But, no one in their right mind would roam through his home. Victor would sense the presence of an intruder and that poor soul wouldn’t live to see another day.
“Why in the world do you have that sign on the door?” She asked puzzled.
Victor pointed at the sign and smiled. “Think about it for a moment. Why do you think I would put that on there?” He asked and studied her face waiting for an answer.
Katrina had no clue. “I asked you the question. If I knew the answer I wouldn’t have asked.”
The door opened and a cold breeze swept over Katrina, covering her body with goose bumps. She rubbed her arms. What the hell was Victor planning on doing to her?
“Magic,” Victor said and placed his cloak around Katrina’s shoulders. “I suppose you want me to explain the sign.” Katrina nodded. “I’m a careful vampire, but there are always the curious who come upon my home and decide it’s their God given right to enter and take a self-guided tour. The sign is to keep them from coming downstairs and forcing me to kill them.” He said and turned the lights on in the basement. “This is where my lair is. Where I sleep and no one is to disturb me. Besides, what would they do if they found me? That’s easy. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.” Victor stated answering his own question.
Katrina was confused. “Why do you think they would kill you?” She assumed they would be more scared and run like hell to get away from the house.
“They would because I sleep in a black coffin.” He said. “Either that or they would have every cop in town here and I’d be on the news and have more people after me than you or I could ever dream of.” He dismissed the conversation and took her hand. “Come now.”
She followed but hadn’t forgotten the sign. “Victor, tell me the truth about why the sign is up.”
Victor floated down the stairs, his feet never touching one step. “I’m not a bad vampire.” He said knowing this was not entirely true. Evil dwelt in his heart and soul. It was possible that Katrina could change him, but he didn’t think so. He had answered the question the way he knew she would want to hear it but it was not the whole truth. Victor liked to pick his victims, not the other way around. “I wouldn’t want to kill someone just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, such as my lair. How fair would that be for that innocent soul?” There were humans he didn’t consider innocent and those were the ones he delighted in torturing and killing. The people he considered animals that abused children in horrible ways and deserved the deaths he dealt them.
Katrina swallowed hard. Victor’s eyes glowed red. She turned from him trying not to look scared. He talked about killing like people talked about the weather, as though it was just normal everyday conversation. Regaining her composure she faced him. “That’s nice of you to want to spare the innocent souls. So what do you like doing to the guilty souls?”
This woman was too smart for her own good and much too inquisitive. “Dear Katrina, let’s discuss this another time. I told you at dinner that I don’t want to share my past with you yet.” He smiled and pulled her into his embrace. How easy it would be for him to kill her. She was a small frail woman and he was hungry and thirsty for human blood. The sooner he got out of here and to Armani’s the better off they would both be. He was a powerful vampire and his powers knew no end.
Katrina forgot about their recent conversation and walked around the entertainment room.
“This is amazing. I love it. Do you play pool?” She asked and rubbed the felt green surface.
“Not much. Most of the things in my home are for decoration. I entertain myself in other ways. You’re free to do anything. Let’s just say everything in here is yours now.” He studied Katrina and tried to remember what it was like to be human. It was so many centuries ago and his childhood memories were all painful. Maybe he chose not to remember. When he became a vampire, it suited him well
. Loss and sadness were replaced with rage and hate. The older he got the colder his heart and soul became.
Katrina walked around and stopped at a large door. “What’s in here?” She asked and slowly opened the door.
“Seek and ye shall find,” Victor replied.
Being cautious, she peeked inside and gasped. “You must be so wealthy. This is awesome!” She exclaimed. The room had a large swimming pool with a diving board and slide. Patio furniture sat around the pool along with a wet bar. “Do you have a suit I can wear?” She asked and realized what a stupid question that was. Why would any single man just happen to have a woman’s bathing suit lying around the house? Let alone a vampire. She laughed and added, “That was a dumb question.”
“No question is ever dumb. Asking questions is how one learns. Only the foolish people assume they know the answers.” He said and smiled. “I’m sorry but I don’t have a woman’s swimsuit. I guess you’ll just have to swim naked.” He winked and motioned for her to follow him. “I have one more entertainment room to show you.”
Katrina was shocked. It sure was some entertainment room. Movie posters from all eras hung on the walls and candles were everywhere. There were even two old video game machines that looked like they came straight from the eighties. Katrina grinned, picturing Victor playing a video game. ‘Just for show’, she remembered him saying. He was the type who went out and created his own game. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she shuddered.
“Come,” Victor ordered. “This is the movie theatre. It’s small but I like it because it gives you the feel that you’re really sitting in a public theatre.”
Katrina stared. Five rows of ten seats each sat before a large movie screen. Two aisles with steps lined the outsides just like at the theatre. He wasn’t kidding. There was even the booth above everyone in the center where the employees put the movies in the reel. Well, not by reel anymore in this day and age. Most of the movies were by satellite.
“Wow. That’s all I can say.” Katrina said. “I’m sure I’ll have no issues with boredom while I’m down here.”
“No, you won’t. The only rule I have and ask that you follow is this. You are not to go into the room with the black steel door.” Victor said his eyes black as midnight.
Katrina assumed that was the room he called his lair. “What if I do?”
Victor hovered over her, grabbed her face and pinched her cheeks hard. “You won’t live to tell about it.” He pinched harder. “Everyone needs space and you are not to invade my space, my place of rest. Do I make myself clear?” Spittle flew from his mouth landing on hers.
Katrina flinched. Her cheeks hurt. She thought of spitting in his face but she knew better than to do that. Victor’s emotional mood swings shocked her. “Yes, I understand.” At least part of her understood. Damn her curious nature. The truth was she had a feeling she would have to take a look around in Victor’s lair. Curiosity already had the best of her.
Victor backed away never losing eye contact with her. “Curiosity killed the cat, Katrina and it may end up getting you killed as well. Think twice before you act on impulse.” He said and wagged his finger at her. “I must leave now.”
“What do you have to do?”
The questions from her would be the life of him. It was starting to drive him mad. “It’s none of your business. This is a personal matter. I will be at a friend’s home and that’s all you need to know.”
“Can I still go upstairs in case I get hungry or am I a prisoner of the basement?” She asked.
Victor handed her a key. “You are free to roam the whole house. Just make sure when you come upstairs that you lock the basement door behind you.” He kissed her cheek. He walked toward the staircase and stopped to face her. “Also, I have cast a spell around the house, doors and windows. There is no possible way for you to try and escape.” He laughed. It was an evil laugh that made the room temperature feel like it dropped twenty degrees. “Good night, Katrina.” He said and vanished.
Katrina stood staring at the spot where he stood only a moment before. A voice inside told her to check out his lair but she hushed it and headed for the pool room instead. How the hell would she ever get out of this house and away from Victor? Any hope of getting her normal life back was fading fast. Would she always be a prisoner of Victor’s? Questions flooded her mind. She stood at the pool’s edge, screamed, tore off her clothes and jumped into the pool, wishing she would drown and put an end to the madness.
Victor stood outside and cast a spell on his home. He heard Katrina’s desperate thoughts. She was correct, she would never escape and the more Victor thought about it the more he felt he could love her and make her love him in return. She would be the end to his loneliness.
Victor walked into the night, his black cape swayed behind him. He smiled. “Yes, Katrina. You will always be my prisoner. There is no escape.”
With a leap, Victor ascended into the sky soaring higher and higher. He gazed at the forest beneath him seeing things only the human eye could wish to see from such a distance. The enhanced vision was one of the many things he loved about being a vampire. The senses were heightened to exciting degrees.
Victor would be at Armani’s home within a few minutes, but he had to feed first. Blood lust beckoned to him and he felt the need to give Armani and Donovan more time. Was Katrina having a positive effect on him? Never in his years of being a vampire would he dream of giving someone time to complete a task he ordered to be done. Patience was not a virtue he had.
He soared higher and saw the prey he had to have. He could hear the blood flowing through her veins. She was a pretty red head strolling through Manhattan Park with headphones on, ponytail swaying back and forth. Victor inhaled. She had such a sweet aroma. Women were like flowers in that they served a purpose and once the beauty of their blood nourished him they were as good as dead.
Victor descended in front of her. The girl stopped and stared at him.
“Excuse me, you’re in my way. Don’t you know it’s rude to stop and stand in front of someone?” She asked, trying to get around him.
Victor laughed. For her lack of manners, she would die.
“Well, well Madam, you sure aren’t very polite and for that you will pay.” He exposed his fangs, grabbed her ponytail and pulled her into the woods nearby. The girl screamed. “Shut up, Red. I’m hungry and I believe you should make sure you’re right with God.” He slapped her face and thrust her onto the snow.
The girl trembled. “Please just let me go.” She clawed the dirt and tried to escape but Victor had a hold of her ankles. “Help!” She screeched.
Victor pounced on her. “You must’ve never paid attention in school in the education of animals.” He seethed, his face inches from hers, eyes blazing red. “I smell your fear and it excites me. It drives me to want to kill you even more.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Eyes as big as saucers, she stared him in the eyes and spit in his face. “Do it then.”
Victor swore and wiped the spit from his face. “Oh, I will you bitch.” He punched her in the gut. “You will feel every second of this pain.” Victor’s fangs protruded and he tore into her neck, drinking slowly. He stopped, lifted his head and watched the girl struggle for her life. What satisfaction.
“You shouldn’t have spit in my face, you worthless piece of meat,” Victor yelled. He cleared his throat and spit her blood in her face and in her eyes.
Unable to move, the girl stared at Victor, her eyes pleading for him to have mercy on her soul.
“No mercy, sweetheart.” He said, and bit a piece of her arm off like a lion tearing apart a zebra.
The girl’s skin turned ashen gray and felt clammy to the touch. No turning back now. Victor grabbed her ponytail shoved her neck to his mouth, but before he drained her of all the blood in her body, he stopped to look into her eyes one last time. Her eyes were full of emptiness, sadness and hopelessness. “Good bye, my dear.” He said and sank his fangs deep into her neck
and sucked whatever blood was left in her body.
He stood and felt a renewed strength. He picked up the dead woman’s body, raised her over his head and threw her into the bushes. “May you rest in peace my dearest.” He licked his lips, wiped his hands on his black cape and leapt into the sky and flew toward Armani’s home to hopefully welcome Armani to the Dark Ones.
Chapter Eighteen
Armani stared at the ceiling and wondered if he was making the right decision to become a vampire. Well, the good news was that it was a temporary thing and once he avenged Simone’s death, he would die and be with her forever. That was the only reason he agreed to such a ludicrous idea.
“It is the right decision, Armani.” Donovan said while lighting the black candles. “When we are done with the ceremony you will need much rest. The cross over will drain you both physically and mentally.” Donovan paused and looked at Armani’s face. The charred flesh on the left side of his face would always remain, even after becoming a vampire. The men who did this to him deserved the vengeance that Armani would deal them. “Not that you asked, but I will be with you when you avenge Simone’s death.”
“When I become a vampire, can we kill these people right away?” Armani asked. “I don’t want to waste another minute on earth living such a tortured life.” He said with a choked voice. “The sooner it’s done, the sooner I’m with Simone.” He wiped the tears and looked at Donovan. “Thank you for giving me hope.”
Donovan cringed. Guilt pierced his heart like a double-edged sword. He had given Armani hope, but it was false hope. Maybe he should just tell Armani the truth and let Victor come and kill both of them. At least Armani would be with Simone then. ‘What a wicked web we weave when we deceive.’ That quote rang in Donovan’s ears. Lying was something he never liked to do, but felt he had no choice with Armani. The man was stubborn and wouldn’t agree to cross over if he hadn’t lied to him. But, Armani still deserved the truth. Good men always did. Donovan swallowed hard. “I have to tell you something important. You deserve the truth . . . . . . “ Donovan began.
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