Delivered to Eternity, An Alesta the Vampire Book

by Yirak, Laura

  “Is that it? You don’t love it?” William shot a look at her, “Well I do!”

  The ballroom had already been built years and years before, but William had decided it wasn’t splendid enough and had changed quite a few details. The crystal had all been cleaned, the marble floor so flawlessly smooth and clean that it reflected the detailed ceiling giving the appearance that you would be dancing in the midst of heaven and hell. All the while it was just a fallacy.

  Maybe Alesta was feeling a little excited as she thought about it, but she didn’t want William to know. She was mad at him still and didn’t want a little material excitement to undermine the significance of his actions and her own, but goodness the room was spectacular. The workers looked tired and worn out with it all, but they kept plugging along for if they didn’t, well they didn’t want to know the consequences. Alesta knew quite well that punishment was always worse to those he considered feeble.

  “I think it is almost finished.” William looked about like he had created a masterpiece. “I can barely wait for the guests to arrive. Did you invite the Count?” he asked her, but somehow his words didn’t echo around as they usually did. He threw the statement directly to her so that only she could hear it.

  She did the same to him, “No.”

  “Good, good!” He circled around the room watching as the rest of the statues were placed as ordered, one of a rampant lion which seemed ready to pounce on command.

  It was on odd thing for him to ask she thought as she knew that William never enjoyed it when Nicholas came to visit on occasion, but William had no say in that. She especially wouldn’t ask Nicholas to join them in celebration of their marriage. It gave her a bad taste in her mouth.

  “Of course I wouldn’t ask him. You sound so happy.” She wanted to find out a little more.

  “Well we don’t need him around. It’s not appropriate.”

  “Yes. I assumed that, but why make sure. What are you up to?”

  “Nothing. Not a thing…..I want you all to myself. You are my wife.”

  The answer let her know that she should be aware at all times. William was up to trouble. Whether it was good or bad she wasn’t sure.

  “I don’t know if I believe you,” Alesta said hesitantly.

  He quickly shot over to her and whisked her back as if they were dancing, “Afraid are we? Think I have a secret plan? Well I do and you’ll find out the night of the ball. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Alesta said.

  “Nonsense, I’m teasing you.” He pulled her up to face him and twirled her around. “Have I told you how stunning you look in that dress? I’m teasing you and you’re teasing me as always. Come then it’s time we saw you without it!”

  William tossed her onto the red silken bed, their bed and paused for a moment leaning his sharp featured face against the black painted wooden bed post. He was a tall man, broad shouldered, good looking. His suit tailored to emphasize his chest. He watched her watching him. Alesta held the gaze as if to challenge him and he took it, before she could even blink he had pinned her down, his face in hers. She turned her head away in regret as she realized that she no longer wanted the great William McKenzie. He saw the look that she gave and it angered him.

  “Stop!” she cried out as he tried to force a kiss.

  William did and shifted on top of her with his knees pressing on her arms ready to go. She struggled under his weight.

  “Please. I’m not ready.” She looked at him his face with a hint of excitement.

  “I’ve given you weeks and weeks. How much longer do I have to wait?” He leaned harder.

  “My arms!” Alesta tried not to show weakness but she could feel the circulation disappearing.

  “William please don’t do this.”

  “It’s too late for begging, such a bad habit of yours to not eat as soon as you wake. It leaves you weak and vulnerable.”

  With those last words William took from Alesta what no man had ever done before and with it he took the smallest amount of feeling that she did have for him and turned it into a deep sorrow, which would fester into something much worse.

  He left her there on the bed naked and drained of much blood; her white dress lay on the floor torn to shreds. She managed to curl under the sheets, undermined and defenseless. At least he hadn’t killed her as she nearly thought he was going to towards the end of the heinous abuse, there were no room for tears as she had cried too many after the death of Ian. There was nothing left to give but her silence and sincere vow to end it all, but how?

  “I’ll have to kill him. I’m going to kill him,” she whispered the words with absolution before she finally passed out and unknowing to her William heard them several doors away as he bathed away his sins.

  Alesta awoke clothed in her own coffin. How much time had passed she wasn’t sure of and William was not there with her as sometimes they did sleep together in it. It was his good fortune that he wasn’t there however for her last memories of him turned red in her mind as pure hate replaced the void in her that he had created.

  After sitting up she listened carefully to see if anyone was near, but there was not a single sound. A hunger so intense came over her that it reminded her of the weeks in which William had locked her away. She felt so angry and the hunger and the anger became one.

  “I must feed.” The thought was single, pure and intent fierce.

  In her long black night gown she emerged and followed a faint step down the long hall towards the Manor house. One of the workers going home for the night had fallen behind the rest of them and was about to exit the underground by way of the kitchen pantry. Unfortunately for him his slower skills and unkempt work habits, the life behaviors his father had always scolded him for, finally caught up to him.

  The element of surprise thrilled Alesta as she fed on the lone worker. She didn’t just feed she feasted on his hot blood, his fear, and his very soul. There was nothing left of him but a dried up corpse as she pushed the body aside like a worthless animal carcass. The power she felt was everything and more. All she wanted now was William’s head on a stick.

  “There you are my dear! Did you just wake up?” William sat at the head of a full table of guests in the Great Hall.

  She was speechless but radiated heat and energy. All the vampire guests turned to look at her all of them pale in face as they were about to eat but had not yet. All sensed what she had just done. A few wet their lips in anticipation glancing at the three live naked bodies that lay on the dining table. William never let his guests go uncared for in all aspects.

  “You are just in time for dinner, my dear!” William motioned with his hand at the nude spread.

  Alesta was caught off guard and William knew it, “Uh no not this time, perhaps another.”

  “Yes!” he said and smiled so slyly, “The ball is tomorrow night. Some of the guests are already here. They have traveled very far. Why don’t you take a seat with us and we can all catch up. It’s been so long,” he held the smart grin.

  It took the remainder of her sanity not to scream, she was ready to just end it all right there and then in front of the crowd. She pictured herself flying across the room, grabbing a sword from the wall, slicing off that smirk on his head and tossing it into the fire after ripping out his wicked heart.

  William noticed the quick glance at the swords and so stood up and came towards her. She watched his every move and he hers, it was like they were slowly dancing with each other as she moved away holding him completely opposite herself across the table. They made one full circle. Everyone watched with a little confusion, but all felt the tension flow between them. It was pure entertainment to them. William always knew how to throw the best dinners.

  “Alesta, why don’t you get dressed?” he broke the silence as they came to a standstill, he had his back to the fire and she had her back to the exit.

  “Certainly…..Dear!” and she took off.

  If it weren’t f
or the guests William would have followed her but he never, ever left his hosting duties.

  “Come now! Enjoy! My wife will be back I’m sure.” But he wasn’t sure at all about Alesta.

  Those words followed out after her as she heard the group of starving vampires go for it. The ripping of flesh almost made her want to go back rip some of her own, mainly her despicable vamp of a husband.

  “Curse him!” she shouted out loud into the foggy night air. The words seemed to hold there mixed in her raging fury.

  Feeding from humans was a necessary evil for her kind to survive. Vampire powers were always based on energy levels, who had eaten the most the most recently, that and age mixed with experience. Her current levels posed an advantage just not the right timing for her plans to rid herself once and for all of all that stood in her way of enjoying the long, long road ahead of her.

  “I want peace!” she called out just before she slammed the door to her house. She smashed about the floor putting her anger full force into each step and making quite the indent on the wood flooring.

  “I want his head on a stick. I want to…..” she just screamed as she entered the living room and smashed one of her very old and rare vases on the floor. “That man!” There was no consoling her as her power reared and overflowed wanting to go somewhere, anywhere. It was a hard thing to contain.

  The living room therefore ended up being completely destroyed as she ripped down the curtains, the paintings, picked up chairs and smashed them against whatever suited her fancy. The despair and anger took their toll on her prized possessions and she didn’t stop till every little piece was scattered all around. It was like a hurricane had visited, Hurricane Alesta.

  With all the destruction came a little liberation. Alesta stood at the window and looked out, but fog gave her nothing, it wanted to conceal her, it knew better. It was like a soft dark blanket waiting for her to climb in and help her forget about her woes. Its softness made her think about better things like contacting Nicholas, Alesta decided against it though. It was too late anyways; she had to take care of it herself. He probably would have agreed on the notion of solving your own problems, still though she hesitated none the less. The time had come to tuck her anger deep inside and pull it together. She visualized the anger and condensed it down into a small little ball of fire, dense and intense and tucked it away to be used at a later time.

  The ball had come so quickly. Thinking back, it must have taken a week to recover in her coffin, time she could have used to make better plans.

  “I must get ready.” Alesta would think more about it later, for now she needed to put on a pretty face.

  “Yes, something fabulous!” She went back down to the underground to her large dressing room.

  The racks were packed with dresses upon dresses, she decided upon yellow, a good strong color, representing her independence and strong will. The color of the sun and life, the reverse of everything William represented. It showed plenty of bosoms, tight at the waist, bustling all around her, lacy and delicate. Her hair fell to her middle with a light curl, but not too much, her lips were a bright red, cheeks a light pink.

  She picked up her bright white petticoats and made her way back through the tunnels passing her previous meal without a glance and went back into the room that held her husband.

  “My, my, Alesta!” William looked pleased to see her return and looking so radiant. “There’s still a little left if you care.”

  The bodies were still alive, two portly women and one younger male. It was not customary to finish them off at a formal vampire dinner. That would seem too barbaric.

  The humans would be returned from wherever they were picked up and hopefully if they had good genes and a strong will they would make it through the ordeal, but its not like the vampires ever went back to check on them to see if that was the case.

  “I’m doing just fine, but I will join you, maybe for some dessert.”

  Dessert was William’s favorite part as she knew and it was always a surprise as to what he would deliver, sometimes something live sometimes not.

  “Please excuse me.” Alesta brushed passed one of the guests and took a seat next to William at the head. She had a good view of the fire, him and the rest of the table.

  The crowd looked a bit livelier, not so pale and so dead, a normal person would not have been able to tell them apart from their own. Some faces were familiar and some new. She smiled at William’s brother James who as she hadn’t noticed earlier was at the other head of the table; he had the same sharp features. She gave him a nod and he gave her the same brotherly smile that William had. It almost made her wonder if he knew what had happened; of course her husband had plenty of time to fill him in perhaps.

  It all felt so forced and surreal.

  The Tootson twins dressed in their red matching gowns sat directly across from her, two dark haired, thin beauties, petite, but voluptuous. Alesta tried not to pay too close attention to them as William already was. Then there was an older white haired vampire who was unrecognizable and serious faced, not talking to anyone, and just giving the odd glance here and there like he was just fixing to leave. Alesta sympathized with him and gave him a smile, but he ignored her. The stuffiness was beginning to materialize.

  With a loud dull thud, the bodies were hauled away from the table, a few stood up to assist in clearing a space for them to leave, then the table was quickly reset with smaller silver plates and delicate little forks. The servers moved precisely and quickly as William did not tolerate anything less.

  William stood and raised his glass of freshly poured blood, “Now everyone, before we begin with our end, I would like to make a toast to everyone who has come so far and to my ardent wife for all our years together in this home.”

  Everyone stood and raised their glasses, chiming resonated across the table and each took a sip. Alesta drank the whole glass wishing it was alcoholic and didn’t even give her husband a glance knowing that it would bother him, but no one else noticed as the servants came through the kitchen doors.

  They carried two very large platters to match the rest of the décor with something red and jiggling on top. It was a definite crowd pleaser as they announced the bloodied trifle with a light brained cream sauce. It was cut and served and quickly fancied. Alesta took one bite and didn’t care for the texture. The Tootson twins across from her made inappropriate “mmmm’s” while they carefully took their minute bites. William, the vampire that he was, consumed it as he did everything else. Alesta suspected the three had been enjoying themselves while she had been recuperating.

  The rest of the evening went by quickly as they all stood and mixed themselves around, in the Hall, in the living room and outside. Alesta chose outside in the free air, with the fog gone mainly alone, till James decided to join her.

  “You look magnificent!” he said, “I would not have been able to tell.”

  “He told you?’ Alesta shook her head as she looked out, “Just like him.”

  “He is my brother, he tells me everything. What do you expect?” James was a little shorter than William leaving him at an even height with Alesta if it wasn’t for her heels. “Come now we don’t need to discuss all that.”

  “Yes. I can’t take much more of it,” she replied.

  This response made him smile as James had always like Alesta, had even kissed her one time long ago.

  “Tell me, what is new, where have you been staying and anything in between?” Alesta asked. It was just the two of them now outside, “I want to know.”

  “I’ve been in France mostly, staying at the Chateau.”

  “Ahhhhh! A lovely place, haven’t been there in ages,” she said.

  “You should come, stay with me for a while, take a holiday, or even a permanent…..”

  Alesta looked at him, gave him her signature smile, “And what would we do at your Chateau?”

  “Everything, anything, nothing. Whatever you so choose.” He raised his brows revealing his d
ark brown eyes and awaited her response though he new what it would be.

  She shook her head.

  “What a no, after all that William has been up to? Not even a serious consideration? Come now, think about it a little more before you really decide. William wouldn’t care now would he?”

  Alesta flat out started laughing, “Yes, and tempt fate, how bout it? Run off with his brother, to live in pleasure and sin. He’d have us both hunted down and well, we both know what he’s capable of.”

  “You’re taking the fun from my fantasy. We could go elsewhere, where he couldn’t find us. I have other places, new places not at his disclosure.”

  “Have you ever been to Spain?”

  “Well I don’t want an answer from you yet.”

  “You’ve always been jealous of him haven’t you?” Alesta threw it out there.

  “William? My arrogant, maniac of a brother. No, not jealous, he just doesn’t see everything that he has, takes it for granted, but he has never changed and never will.”

  “That is what drew me to him in the first place,” Alesta sighed and turned away from James to look at other thing, “and that is what has torn us apart.”

  “I knew it would happen.” James fixed on Alesta’s perfect profile. “He’s incapable of a true monogamous relationship.”

  “Yes, but what vampire is?” Alesta said. “It’s in our nature to have other partners, loves, whatever you want to call them. We’re not like humans, tied to procreating and obligated to tending offspring. We have no bounds.”

  “But you’re wrong. A vampire can choose monogamy, just like humans. It’s all about finding love,” James said.

  “Love and who have you loved?”

  “I have loved.” James looked away now.

  “Who? I’ve never heard of you being with anyone.”

  “I was once. She’s gone now.” The words became distant as he did.

  Alesta noticed his change in tone, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to James. I didn’t mean to pry.”