Just a Taste

by Charlie Tran

  Haunt? Did they really believe that ghosts were here? While the dead did take up residency in this castle, they were no mere ghosts. The fools.

  It was then I could hear the loud barking and shrieks of another man, coming from the garden grounds. Lago was such a good companion; hopefully he wasn't hungry enough to try to take him down for a late-night snack. It was almost his feeding time, after all.

  I trailed back towards the main foyer, still crouching low in case they decided to flash the lights in my direction once again. While it wasn't the sunlight, those bright unnatural lights hurt my eyes.

  "What happened?!" the one that Lago had effectively scared off asked as he approached his friend.

  "What happened to me? What happened to you?!"

  "There was a giant dog out there, man! It might've been a wolf, it was huge! You didn't say anything about wild animals being here!"

  "Shit. I thought you saw the same thing I did."

  I arched a brow, listening intently.

  "What did you see?"

  "I heard something, like someone was walking around. And then it stopped. I flashed my light over there and saw a dark shadow, but it disappeared as quickly as I looked at it."

  "You're just seeing things."

  "I wasn't, man! I swear! And when I started to ask questions, something threw a fucking rock at me. We've got to get out of here. Maybe we should try this again when it's daytime."

  "Are you kidding me? After all the shit you gave Duke about not wanting to come here?"

  "I don't know, man. I don't know. I fucked up. We gotta get out of here. I bet Duke already left anyway."

  They continued to mumble on as they ran out of the castle, out of the hole they'd climbed through. Beautiful, just leaving their friend behind like that. I could already tell that this Duke was still here. I could still have a little bit of fun before he ran off like his friends.

  I whistled loudly, and the sound echoed through the stone halls. It wasn't long until Lago came bounding up from the gardens, his tail wagging happily. I nodded towards the stairs, allowing him to join me as I went on the hunt for this other person.

  I backtracked, passing the secret chamber and taking a flight of stairs up so that I could watch from an even higher vantage point. Lago reached me quickly, still panting from the excitement of getting to chase something that wasn't an animal. I bade him to calm himself, and to quiet down as I finally found Duke. He had ascended up the stairs already, but it seemed his magical light had gone out. He was shaking it furiously, but nothing would come forth.

  "Guys?" he called aloud, trailing his hands against the stone wall as he walked slowly. He dragged his foot in front of him, carefully tapping the stone to check for any spots where he might fall through. Smart, unlike his companions.

  "Hello?! I swear to God if they left me here…" He trailed off, slowly moving forward. Why he didn't go back down to where he came from, I was unsure. It was probably a difficult climb to even get this far due to how ruined the separate staircase had become. Most things here were crumbling, thanks to the passage of many decades without repair.

  I didn't play with this human. From the previous conversations, I already knew he didn't want to be here. It was only from the pressure of his companions that he’d decided to step in this place. And yet he was the last to leave. The bravest of them all, or did that make him the most cowardly?

  He removed his hard hat, his hair wet with sweat as he shook his tresses out.

  Lago stood and growled; he was able to sense the change in my demeanor again. I could feel my heart actually beat—a sensation I hadn't felt since before my wife passed.

  This human, this trespasser…

  was one of the most beautiful creatures I'd ever seen.

  Chapter 3

  Duke

  I told them it was a bad idea. I didn't really want to come here, and now I was lost. I couldn't go back down the stairs; it was hard enough to try and climb up those steps. A good portion of them was missing, and they crumbled even further beneath me when I was finally able to pull my body weight up. I did not agree to go rock climbing, especially in this dingy old castle.

  "Marcus? Jake? Where are you?!" I kept calling for them, hoping they’d shout back eventually. But I didn't hear anything, aside from the odd creak or another stone falling from above me.

  And the stupid light wasn't working either! What kind of cheap shit did Marcus buy for this expedition? I was gonna punch him the next time I saw his stupid face. I had time to keep thinking about all the bad things I was going to do to Marcus to make him pay for this, because as soon as I passed the next expanseof hallway, I felt my hand slide inward against the wall. I should've kept my helmet on, it was about to collapse!

  I dropped down to my knees, covering the top of my head. I braced for impact, but I didn't feel anything. I blinked, looking up and around to notice the wall I’d been leaning on, the wall that my hand was pressed up against, was gone. No loose stones fell from it; there was just an empty space that led up to a new staircase.

  There were secret passages here?

  Half of me wanted to go explore, but the other half was hoping that I would still find Marcus and Jake. I felt torn about what to do. Maybe the other guys were already filming, and getting some cool ghost experiences on camera. If they hadn't come running to my rescue yet, I might as well get some experiences of my own.

  And if I could document something in a hidden passage too? I'd get the best footage of them all. Who'd be the laughingstock then?

  Probably still me.

  I dusted my hands off on my pants and turned to the passage. With a deep breath I forced myself to go up although I was clinging desperately to the banister in case the steps fell through.

  The banister wound up two entire floors. While the castle did look extremely tall from the outside, I didn't expect it to go up this high. I made sure to flip around the camera on my chest so I could record everything.

  Eventually the stairs cut off, and the only thing in front of me was a door—a simple wooden door with a knocker on the front but no handle. I made the sign of the cross as though that would save me from anything supernatural on the other side, and pushed the door open.

  A fire blazed in the fireplace to the side, a large massive armchair with a tall back placed in front of it on a dusty old rug. Several different knickknacks and items of interest were scattered around, but most of them were covered in cobwebs and dust—except for a few that looked to have been recently touched. Like the stack of tomes next to that armchair, they looked like they'd been read through recently. They didn't have a speck of dust on them.

  "I-is anyone here?" I asked, hoping that nobody would answer back. This place looked lived in, but who would be living in this old building? I thought it was abandoned; we’d had to break in. Nobody could simply waltz through the front doors of their own volition.

  "Hello?" I repeated, still hoping no one would reply. Off to the side of the room, there was another doorway, but as I peeked inside, the only thing in there was a single large bed. No dresser, no clock or cell phone, no plates from food or even a mirror to look at yourself in. There was no place to bathe, no toilet. Nothing.

  "How could anyone live here?" I whispered, turning away from the room—and freezing in my tracks.

  "It suits me just fine," the stranger in front of me said, one hand on his hip, the other on the head of a gigantic black dog.

  "I-I'm sorry. I was just leaving." I tried to rush past the man, but his beast growled at me ferociously. The man placed an arm out in the doorway, completely blocking the way out as he leaned against the stone wall.

  "You smell much better than your friends."

  What the fuck was that supposed to mean? I didn't want to say anything that would put him off. Only a crazy person would be living here. And dressed like that, like he came out of the fifteenth century?

  "I was just leaving,” I said. “I'm so sorry."

  "Leaving? Now why would
you be doing that? You only just got here."

  "And now it's time to go. I promise I'll leave. I'll take my friends with me. We'll never come back here!" My knees shook against one another; I probably looked like a scared little puppy to him. He was so much bigger than me, and I could tell even through all his layers of clothing that he was definitely stronger than I was.

  He laughed at my words, his bright white teeth flashing in the light from the fireplace. I saw how sharp his teeth were.

  How extremely sharp they were.

  "There are no ghosts here, if that's what you were looking for. Only…"

  "A-a-a vampire," I stuttered.

  "Very smart. Quite the scholar, aren't you?" He took several steps towards me, and while I kept looking at the door I noticed that his beast was blocking the way out. I was stuck here.

  "Please, I don't want to die!"

  Vampires didn't exist. They couldn't exist! But this guy fit every movie description for every vampire ever—the long dark hair, the pale skin, the creepy red eyes. Even his clothes and his inhuman handsomeness. He reached out to me, pushing my hair back. There was no point in trying to fight him off, so I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed that he'd at least make it quick and suck me dry with no pain.

  "Are you scared of me?" I could feel his breath against my ear, his nose against my neck as he sniffed.

  "Y-yes."

  "Good. But I expected as much, if you were able to find this room."

  The vampire kept running his hands over my hair, putting his mouth close to my neck. Was he just playing with me?

  "Aren't you going to eat me?" I asked.

  "I don't eat people."

  "I mean, aren't you going to drink my blood? Turn me into one of you or just finish me off?"

  "While I do enjoy toying with my food before draining them, I think not."

  I was immediately relieved, but still wary of this man.

  "Does that mean you’ll let me go?"

  "Again, I think not. You see, I haven't had much company. Or any company since the passing of my family. All I've had here is Lago and my books."

  As he stepped away, an idea popped into my head. Maybe not the smartest idea, but an idea nonetheless.

  "I could keep you company."

  His smile grew, and it was a frightful yet pleasant sight to see at the same time.

  "Do tell."

  "Well, you said you haven’t had any company. I'll keep you company, so long as you promise not to kill me."

  "But I haven't had human blood in so long. Do you know how disgusting it is, day in and day out, to drink from animals?"

  I chewed on my lip, pondering what more I could do to offer myself to him in exchange for my life.

  "You could… drink. From me. Just don't turn me or kill me, and I'll let you have as much as you want. Please."

  "What do you think, Lago?" he asked his companion. The dog wagged his tail, ceasing his growling as he sat and stared up at his master. He barked a couple times and then fell quiet.

  "Interesting, even Lago wants the company. He’d also like to eat your face. I could've given you to him when I was done. Let him have the remains and all."

  The vampire circled me, and I could only squint my eyes and pray he wouldn't kill me after having me beg pathetically.

  “Please...”

  "Yes, yes I think that would do. Once I grow bored of you, of course."

  My legs finally gave out, and I found myself falling to my butt. I raised my hands above my head, clutching them together thankfully.

  "Thank you, thank you so much. Whatever it is, I'll do it. I can clean, I don't know if you eat but I can cook, I could read to you if you want. Whatever you need, I'm yours."

  "Yes. You are mine."

  I hoped I hadn’t sold my soul to the devil just now, but it kind of felt like I had. I was sure somebody would come looking for me eventually..

  "What should I call you?" I asked.

  "My name is Sebastian de Beauregard. But you can call me Master."

  It felt as if someone had just punched me in the gut. The de Beauregards. That was the family that was run out of town here back in the day!

  Goosebumps begin flipped across my legs and my forearms, but I didn't pester him with any more questions for now. I was just satisfied that I was going to be seeing another day.

  "Yes… Master."

  "It is late, and you must be tired already. Aren't you, my pet?"

  I nodded as he walked towards the bedroom I'd seen earlier. His dog, Lago, still sat in the doorway to prevent me from trying to escape. Not like I could; I didn't think anybody could outrun a vampire.

  Sebastian snapped his fingers, and I got up to follow him into the nearly empty room. He pointed towards the wall, where I could just barely make out the shape of something. It was difficult to discern in the dark what exactly was over there. I went all the same.

  Chains clanked as he lifted something up and placed it around my neck. It was cold and heavy, and the sound of the metal clamping shut and locking echoed throughout the hollow chamber.

  "There. You can have Lagos' chain, since I trust him to not try and escape. And you can sleep on his bed, too."

  He stared into my eyes, grabbing hold of the action camera and ripping it off my chest straps before tossing it to the ground.

  "You said you were tired, so lie down. Sleep. Sleep…" His words trailed off, and they echoed just as loudly as the chains had. His voice felt hazy, and all around me, coming from every direction.

  My eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it I found myself collapsing to the dog bed.

  Chapter 4

  Sebastian

  The days came and went, and while I had originally sought after Duke to be my servant, I had only let him clean—and cook for himself, as he couldn't exactly enjoy what I was having. Several times I offered him a sip of the blood I would drink for my routine meals, but he was always disinterested. How it must've felt, to be able to actually enjoy cooked repasts, instead of only being able to survive on the blood.

  I could tell I was making him nervous by how frequently and how deeply I would find myself staring at him. I just couldn't help it; something was so familiar about him. His mousy brown hair, his doleful green eyes. There was a sadness there, one I didn't believe stemmed from me keeping him here. He reminded me of my late wife. Was that why I was so interested in him?

  I wasn’t too sure. Regardless, I did know one thing—that I never wanted him to leave. Even if I hadn't properly shown it.

  "Is there anything that you need?" I'd ask him on occasion, but it was always the same response.

  "No. I just want to go home."

  It had me thinking, pondering especially hard today as I watched him from my armchair. He was stoking the flames from the fireplace, on his knees. The chain that locked him in place from the bedroom extended quite far, enough to reach the rest of the room but not far enough to go through the door.

  What was it, who was it, that he was missing so badly? He told me nothing about his family, as I told him very little about my own. Did he miss his mother and father? Or was there a lover that he was hoping to see?

  "Pass me my goblet," I demanded. I couldn't help but feel furious at the thought that there was another he was waiting to return to. Was I not good enough?

  "Yes, Master." His head remained downturn, his eyes on the ground as he reached above the fireplace. He grabbed my goblet from the mantle, passing it over towards me and taking a seat down next to Lago. My hound had grown very fond of him over the past two weeks he'd been here.

  Still I watched him, sipping slowly from my chalice. He fingered the pages of the stack of tomes next to my chair. I offered him to read to him to help pass the time, but he objected. No matter how kind I had tried to be to him, he wasn't receptive to my advances.

  Before I could press him further to find the answers to his gloominess, Lago raised his head from Duke's lap, his ears standing straight up as he looked around the room.
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  "What is it boy, do you hear something?" Duke asked him, also rising to his feet.

  Lago’s lips curled upwards, his muzzle wrinkling as he snarled towards the door.

  "Visitors?" I questioned with a smirk, setting my glass on top of the mountain of tomes next to me.

  "But why would more people be coming here?" Duke ran over to the windows, staring out into the darkness outside. "Do you think people are looking for me?"

  "It's a possibility. Maybe you are more trouble than you're worth." I yanked part of his chain, hard enough to pull him back towards. I grabbed him before he could fall to the ground, pulling him against my chest, my arms around him as I made him look at me.

  "You made me promise. Do you want to go back?"

  "I-I don’t know.." His lower lip trembled. I couldn't tell if it was because he was scared of me or if he was lying. I wanted to shake him by his shoulders and force him to tell me what I needed to do to please him. Yes, he was bound by chains. Yes, he hadn't left my chambers in so long. Yes, this might be less than ideal…

  "Then let's see. We'll call this a test of faith," I smiled, reaching for the back of his neck for the lock that kept him trapped here. I pulled the small metal pin that kept the collar around his throat. With a forceful pull, it came undone. The shackles clattered down to the ground with a heavy thump.

  "Go, then. Go see who it is that's down there."

  He stared at me dumbfounded, quickly stepping away from my embrace to look around the room.

  "Are you serious?"

  "Yes. Now go," I told him.

  He wasted no time, taking a massive leap over Lago, almost tripping on him as he made his way for the door. He practically bolted as soon as it was open, leaving it ajar behind him as he ran down the steps. I didn't even bother to look out of the stained-glass windows to see if he was going to run out of the castle or not, instead just taking a seat in front of the fireplace and continuing to sip my blood.

  For the hundreds of years I'd been here, I’d never had a slave. And never did I want one. I only wanted him to obey, to keep me company, and to want to stay. If he didn't want that, now was his opportunity to leave.