The Dark Proposal (The Claire McCormick Trilogy)

by Megan Cashman

  Then Claire spotted something that nearly made her gasp. Not too far from where they were sitting, she saw two young women nuzzling each other. One raised her bare forearm to the other, who put in false pointy teeth into her mouth. The woman took the arm and bit into it. The other let out a pleasured moan as a single drop of dark red blood ran down her arm. Her companion started licking and sucking at the wound.

  Claire was ready to stand up when a young man approached the group. He wore a loose black t-shirt, with the collar cut up to give it a wide V-neck. He had bloodied marks on his neck and forearms.

  Arms stretched out in offering, the young man, who looked to be no more than twenty years old, smiled broadly as Antonius and Yvette stood up. His smile was like he was accepted by some people he had long admired. He held out his arms and asked them to “do that thing again.”

  Claire held in a gasp as the two opened their mouths and their fangs suddenly jutted forward. Yvette sunk hers into the boy’s forearm while Antonius went for a fresh spot on his neck.

  Claire jumped up and blurted out that she had to use the bathroom. Grabbing her arm and pulling her down, Daniel hissed over the loud music, “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “Why did you bring me here?” she said.

  He nearly sneered at her. “Why not?”

  Pulling her arm away from Daniel’s grasp. “I really have to use the bathroom.”

  “All right,” he said. “But can you wait?”

  “No.”

  “You’re going to have to.” He then turned around to a waitress who was delivering drinks to the people seated behind them. He crooked his finger at her, and she let out a giddy squeal. Putting down her tray, she hurried over and stood over Daniel. She also had bloodied bruises on her arms and neck, along with fangs in her mouth that turned out to be fake as she adjusted them while looking deep into Daniel’s eyes.

  Grabbing the waitress’s leg, which was fully exposed by a miniskirt, Daniel placed her foot along side of him and ran his hand languidly up to her upper thigh. His eyes were burning for the waitress just like the way they had burned for Claire weeks ago. When he got to the sensitive parts of her thigh, he squeezed the flesh. She moaned, and the others, especially Hilde, smiled delightfully.

  Claire felt intense fear while watching this. She knew what was going to happen and she was powerless to stop it.

  Daniel opened his mouth, bared his fangs and bit into the waitress’s thigh. She let out a cry that mixed both pleasure and pain. Claire watched frozen as Daniel began to suck away at the wound. Hilde and Carys cheered him on, while Michel rubbed his shoulders. Yvette and Antonius stopped feeding off of the boy and joined in on the cheering. He fixed his shining, now multi-colored eyes on Claire as they taunted her with his lust for blood. She could only sit with her mouth hanging open.

  She didn’t know how long Daniel fed off of the waitress, but at one point, the cheering turned into concern and her moaning began to fade. Michel stopped massaging his shoulders and began patting Daniel to stop. Claire looked up at the woman and saw she was about to faint. Yvette and Antonius caught her and called over a bouncer who carried her away. Antonius pointed out to Daniel that he got out of hand.

  “Yes, well,” he wiped his mouth, leaving a trace of blood on the back of his hand. “She’s always tasted delicious.”

  There was a communal laughter and Daniel looked at Claire. “You going to be okay?”

  As if his words unhinged her, Claire felt bile rise in her mouth. She stood up and pushed and shoved her way through the crowd to the exit door. She didn’t care who she knocked over, she had to get out of there.

  The exit door led to an alleyway behind the club. There, she let out a pile of vomit and heaved more of whatever was in her system until she was certain she would throw up her organs. She felt dizzy, and couldn’t get out her head the image of Daniel’s eyes while he drank from the waitress’s thigh. The greedy hunger, the callousness, and the snide laughter in them were still penetrating in Claire’s mind.

  She stood up and exhaled heavily. She could still throw up if she wanted to, but she felt too sick to even do that.

  She was wiping her mouth of the vomit, when she sensed someone was behind her. It had to be Daniel, or at least one of the other vampires. Great. Now she had to face them. There was no use running away because they could always catch up with her. Or do something horrifying to her.

  She turned around to face Hilde, who looked at her with curiosity. Tilting her head to the side, the vampire asked if she was all right.

  “Yeah, I will be once I get away from this place and you guys.” Claire didn’t care what she said. Let the vampires beat her up. Let them torment her. She wasn’t going to put up with them anymore.

  Hilde didn’t look amused. “Have you lost your mind?”

  Claire thought for a second. “Yeah. I probably did. I probably had my mind twisted around, thanks to Daniel. He did that to one of my roommates, why not me?”

  “No, he didn’t have to. You lost it on your own.” She took a step towards her and Claire backed away. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. But you realize you’re going to have to come back inside?”

  “No, I won’t be going back in there.” Claire shook her head.

  “Why? Because you saw how much your man likes to blood? Because you saw what he - and all of us - really are?”

  “Exactly. That’s why I am done with him, and all of you.”

  “You were okay with us just minutes ago. What happened, Claire? You seemed to be on a road to acceptance.” Hilde’s voice, though soft, was also taunting.

  Claire tried to answer, but couldn’t form the words. Instead, against her will, tears began to brim in her eyes. She turned her head away so the vampire could not see.

  But she did. “Don’t cry. There’s no need to.”

  Sniffing, Claire faced her and said, “You guys are torturing me.”

  “You’re torturing yourself. Daniel is giving you quite a good opportunity, and the more you say no, the more the pain comes. All you have to do is say yes and everything will be fine.”

  “Why are you doing this to me? What do you get out of it?”

  “I want to see my Daniel happy. He’s lonely and we’re not as close as we used to be. He thinks, and I agree, that you are a worthy companion. It may not last forever, no, but it will last longer than most mortal relationships. You will always have each other’s loyalty. What more could you ask for?”

  Claire was afraid to answer her. She sighed heavily twice, trying to clear her mind so Hilde wouldn’t read it.

  The vampire reached out and took her hand. “Come. We can’t keep them waiting. Calm down.” Claire gritted her teeth to keep the tears from coming out her eyes. When she succeeded, she looked at Hilde who said, “All right, that’s better. Let’s go.” She guided her back into the club, where everything was the same as before. The music was still screaming, and the people were still biting each other. Several saw Claire and sneered at her. Hilde warded them off by telling them she was new to the club.

  They got back to their group. Carys and Yvette were sitting next to each other, looking amused to see a shaken Claire. Michel and Antonius stopped chatting with a couple of shirtless men, and Daniel was seated across from the two women, arms folded across his chest, looking very annoyed. He unfolded his arms and stood when he saw Hilde and Claire.

  “How is she?” he asked.

  “She’s a bit sick to her stomach, but she’ll survive,” Hilde smiled back at Claire before letting go and sitting down beside Carys and Yvette.

  Claire and Daniel stood looking at each other. She could feel the eyes of not only the vampires, but the others - the wannabes if that’s what they were - heavy on her. It seemed like time rested on one of them making the next move.

  Not wanting to cause any more problems, she lowered her head in near defeat. He squeezed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. He then sat down again, and she alongside of him, resting h
er head on his shoulder. He patted her leg, right above her knee and left his hand there.

  For the rest of the night, people of various ages - though mainly close to Claire’s age - came over to offer themselves to the vampires. When Claire wondered silently if those people knew for sure they were giving their blood to actual vampires, Daniel whispered in her ear that they often didn’t care. Being bitten and being sucked from was a form of sexual pleasure for these people. No wonder this was an exclusive club. She wondered who exactly owned this club, but Daniel didn’t respond.

  The other vampires stayed to themselves, leaving Claire alone but chatting with Daniel from time to time. Sometimes they would speak in accented English, other times they would talk in strange tongues, probably the Latin, Greek, or the medieval French that he knew. Claire felt more isolated.

  By 3 AM, everyone had had their fill and the crowd was thinning. Daniel had to nudge Claire awake as she had dozed off on his shoulder. She was stunned she had done so. Maybe it was mentally and emotional exhaustion that caused it.

  Outside of the club, Daniel kissed everyone good-night. They simply hugged Claire and kissed her cheek, and told her they would see her soon. As if nothing had happened, and everything was natural and normal between them. But when Hilde approached her, Claire was the first to hug, not wanting a kiss from her. That would have meant accepting what happened or what was said this night, and she did not want that.

  The vampire simply patted her back and kissed the side of her head. It was not a kind or friendly kiss. There was some snide laughter to it.

  As The Black Roses headed for the subway, and Hilde and Michel began to walk home, Daniel hailed another cab. “We’ve got to talk,” he told her as he waved down a driver.

  The ride to his apartment was quiet, with Claire staring down at her hands and Daniel with his hand on her knee. At least it wasn’t heavily across her shoulders, she thought with a hint of optimism.

  At his place, Claire immediately sat on his couch, not removing her coat. He locked up, put his jacket on a dining room chair, and sat next to her, his body turned towards her. She took note that his skin was a normal, healthy color. By morning, it would wear off to that albino hue.

  “Claire,” he said in his stern tone. She lifted her head, giving him a sideways look.

  “You can’t go on like this.” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “This is getting ridiculous. What happened tonight was not necessary. I brought you there to get a feel for what life would be like once you agree to follow me. I wanted to show you how fun it is and how it is not as isolating as you think. Perhaps I should’ve done this earlier.”

  She turned her whole body to him at this point and began to speak. “I would’ve had the same reaction anyway. What I saw scared me. You drank her blood, Daniel! You almost killed her!”

  “Yes, I got carried away, but she wanted it. What’s the problem with that?”

  “Nothing, just…its just…”

  He shook his head. “You’ve got to detach yourself from everyday beliefs and see things from my point of view. Then everything would be all right.”

  “No, Daniel. No!” she said. “I don’t want to see the world from your eyes. Based on what you’ve been telling me about your life and your ways, I know I do not want it. You know I do not want it! Why do you keep pressuring me?”

  Disgusted, he got up and began to pace. He did it for a minute before turning and telling her, “Why do you keep refusing?”

  “Because I have a right,” she said weakly. She could feel her will break more and more.

  “Not to us, you don’t,” he spat out. “What scares you? Huh?”

  “Killing people. Not seeing the sunlight ever again. “

  “You would see the sunlight. It may take centuries, but in the meantime, you’ve got the beautiful starry night. What’s wrong with that?”

  “And you want to take me away from my friends and family.” She stood up, using whatever strength she had left in her. “I love them and I want to be able to see them.”

  “You love them,” he echoed and went back pacing. “You can always speak to them on video, have them come into the city during a cloudy day. You won’t be parted forever.”

  “Yes, I would be. I want to able to see them without fearing the sunlight. Without having to explain my pale skin. And what about years from now? I’ll never age! How do I explain that? And I would like to see my niece Ava and whatever brothers and sisters she’ll have. I know I don’t see much of my family now, but I don’t want to see them through videos or photos. I like seeing them every few months for a few days. Dan, can’t you understand that?”

  He was thinking, though not on what she’d just told him. He narrowed his eyes a bit before widening them with an idea. An idea that made a near cunning light to his face.

  “You always speak about your niece. How much you love being an aunt. How much you can’t wait till she starts talking so you could talk to her. Oh, Claire, wouldn’t you be the good aunt and let her be?”

  Claire felt dizzy. She started to shake her head. “No,” she muttered, then she got louder. “No! You wouldn’t!”

  He put his hands up. “Why not? You say you love her.”

  She jumped on top of the coffee table and began hitting Daniel. “You wouldn’t! I won’t let you!”

  He grabbed her hands so tightly, she fell to the floor. She began heaving tears, knowing what could possibly happen.

  He let her sob for a few minutes before squatting down and running his fingers threw her hair. She didn’t want to look at him, but knew she had to.

  “Perhaps I should show you what life would be like as a slave to the Brothers,” he said calmly.

  He took her arm, pulled up the coat sleeve. He flexed his upper lip.

  “No, Daniel! No, please, don’t do it!” she began screaming.

  His fangs appeared and he plunged them into her arm, near her elbow. She let out a cry of pain and fear.

  He began licking and sucking at the two holes, his eyes shut with pleasure. Claire kept begging him to stop for what seemed like hours. She feared she was going to pass out like the waitress.

  Finally, he dropped her arm and looked at her. His lips were smeared with her blood.

  Claire thought she would die. She didn’t know how much blood she had just lost, but it felt like enough to make her faint. Or at least, she wanted to faint to escape her horror.

  He then lifted his wrist, bit it and hovered over the two punctured holes on her arm. Drops of black blood fell on her arm, healing the wound in seconds.

  She could have been impressed, but she wasn’t. Nothing about vampires amazed her.

  “You should be thankful,” he pulled back his wrist and rubbed her arm. “I could have left that wound for your friends to see.” When she didn’t answer, he snapped, “Wake up, Claire. You’re at a crossroads in your life now. Either you become a slave to us or join us. I gave an idea of what both choices would be like, so you need to make a decision fast.”

  She felt like throwing up again. Swallowing the bile, she felt as if Daniel’s words were spreading a sickness inside of her.

  “All you have to do is give me your word. Do you become like me or do you go to the Brothers, never seeing your loves ones again? Knowing that they will die so they won’t go searching for you? Even Ava would be a victim.”

  She heaved a sob. She wanted to ask how would he find Ava if he had no idea of Zachary’s address. But the look on his face told her all: he would simply read her mind or slither into her apartment and look through the contacts on her phone. Either way, all would be lost.

  Lowering her head, she squeezed her eyes shut and slowly began to nod.

  “Are you going to join me?” he said in a more gentle tone.

  She coughed and then muttered, “Yes. I will.”

  “Good. That’s all I needed to hear.” He leaned over and put his arms around her as she sobbed. He rocked her tenderly, kissing her hair, telling her everyth
ing was going to be okay.

  But Claire wanted to vomit again. She fought to do so, but nothing came up. Her insides were still, as though she had already died.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Claire lay in Daniel’s bed the next morning, eyes closed trying to get whatever rest she could. She had spent the past several hours curled in a ball, nearly catatonic, dozing from time to time. What kept her from staying asleep were images of her family, particularly Ava. She kept seeing the little girl’s smile, hearing her baby talk and smelling her fresh scent. She also kept seeing the sinister gleam in Daniel’s eyes, how they shone with the thought of going after infant blood. How many babies had he drunk throughout the centuries? Did he even care that they were so young, barely aware of their own lives, especially when he was once a father himself? Or did he just care about nourishing himself? How could he forget what it was like being human?

  There would be no answer to those questions, especially the ones Claire wanted. Daniel would just say it was part of his nature and that someday she would get used to it herself. He was a monster.

  She didn’t want to open her eyes that morning, but knew she had to face him sooner or later. Especially when she realized he was sitting on the small arm chair in the corner, watching her. He must have stayed there all night, trying to make sure she didn’t leave. How could this be love? Did he ever know what love was?

  There was no time to be questioning everything; she couldn’t lie there forever, even if she wanted to. She made her decision last night; she now had to face the consequences.

  She opened her eyes and stretched her body. Daniel went over to sit beside her. He patted her arm and wished her a good morning.

  She was about to answer back but was shocked to see that the curtains were pulled back from the windows, something that had never happened before. It was always dark in the apartment during the day.

  “It’s going to be raining all day,” he said, seeing her reaction. “There is no sun to affect me.”