by Donna Haley
I don't know why he allowed it, but his words gave me hope as he left the room. “Turn her.”
His question pulled me from my thoughts and I had to force myself to focus on what he was asking.
“He let you bring your sister over?”
“Yes, he did. I was just as surprised as you are, to be honest.”
“Is she still...?”
“Yes, Star is still undead and lives in New Orleans with her lover.”
His smile caught me off guard and I raised a brow at him yet again. This human was starting to surprise me and that is hard to do.
“How were you able to do it? I mean, she's your sister, wasn't it hard to kill her?”
“Yes, it was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do, but it had to happen. By killing her, I saved her.”
“Does she like it? Being vampire, I mean.”
I took some time to think about this before I answered. “I think she does. She's never complained and Star is not shy. If she wasn't happy, I'd have known.”
“Did she take to being vampire as easily as you did?”
Again, I took my time thinking this through before speaking. I could almost see it as I began to tell him the story.
Chapter Six
Draining her was the easy part. Getting my sister to believe what she was, that was hard. Star wasn't one to believe in foolish notions. She was very grounded, that girl, but sometimes the most unbelievable thing is the truth.
She woke three nights later and clawed her way out of the fresh grave Kieran had buried us in. I'd risen hours before and sat patiently waiting on my new child to join me in the dark and dangerous world she now inhabited.
I brushed dirt from her hair and hugged her tight to me when she rose. I felt her confusion at what she was and how she’d come to be here in this dark forest. I answered her questions as best I could, ignoring my own need to know what had happened to our family. An eternity loomed before us for me to ask those questions.
I explained the process of feeding and how she'd come to be a vampire. I nearly died laughing when my sister kept insisting that vampires didn't actually exist. Popping fangs at her, I ensured her that we did indeed exist. I walked her through the rules Kieran had drilled into my head. She easily accepted that she would no longer see the sun or eat bacon again. I held back a laugh when she claimed that she’d never been that fond of daytime anyway. All in all she took it quite well until I informed her that her husband and son could never know that she was still “alive”. Her tears broke my heart but I still felt I'd done the right thing by turning her.
At least I wasn't alone. I know that sounds selfish, and it probably was, but its how I felt. With Star around, I stood a better chance of escaping Kieran. He'd tire of us both soon enough and then I'd get my chance to make him see how releasing me was beneficial to him.
I'd learned long ago that if you wanted Kieran to do something, you had to make him see how he could profit from it. With Star around all the time, I had no doubt he'd be itching to rid himself of the two females that annoyed him.
I took her on her first hunt, explaining how we had to be discreet and make sure no bodies were found drained or with fang marks. When she questioned why, I talked about how leaving evidence would lead to fear and mass hysteria among the humans and that would considerably lower our chances of feeding.
Star was a quick study and excelled at the art of luring prey back into the dark recesses of alleys or bars. I was very proud of how quickly she picked up on this stuff. Kieran didn’t say much about it but I knew that his silence spoke volumes. If he’d felt I wasn’t instructing her properly, he’d have spoken up.
The nights passed in a blur and soon Star was venturing out on her own to hunt. As her strength and cunning grew another plan started to form in my mind. Could I use my sister’s strength as my way of escaping my maker? Could I risk the thoughts that ran through my mind and filled my dreams?
The risk made me question if we could pull it off and actually survive. Kieran had impressed on us the strictness of the rules of our kind. I knew that the consequences could be life altering if I destroyed my maker, but something inside of me screamed to be free of his control and true death didn’t sound like a bad punishment if it meant getting away from him.
A few short months later it would all come to an end. No amount of planning and plotting could have prepared us for what actually happened. It was a late summer night, the crickets chirped loudly in the forest, as Star and I walked back towards our townhouse. We'd been in Nottingham for a few weeks by then and the time was rapidly approaching that we'd have to move on. The humans were starting to question the unexplained deaths and local buzz was that they weren't buying the mysterious illness story. They'd soon be looking at the three strangers who'd arrived just before the bodies started piling up.
As we walked I voiced my need to be free of Kieran. Star listened closely and nodded in all the appropriate places. I could see the concern on her face as I laid out the plan that would free us both from his control. I talked of marrying him and then murdering him in his downtime. If I timed it just right, he’d never see it coming. If questions arose by our kind we could easily say a human employee figured out what we were and got him before Star and I could wake.
It was risky, but everything worth having is at some point. What we'd gain would far outweigh the risk, I rationalized. If we could pull it off and make ourselves look innocent, we'd have everything we ever dreamed of. My grin widened when my sister agreed to help me and we agreed that we'd start it immediately.
And that's just what we did. The next night, after we arose and fed, I set the plan in motion. It wasn't hard to lie to my maker; I'd been doing it since I felt the first pull to be free. But this time the lie could destroy me and my sister, but I went ahead with the plan without hesitation.
Kieran was vain and self-centered so it wasn't that difficult to convince him that I wanted to marry him. I spoke words of love and how I'd been lying to myself for years because I was afraid he wouldn't love me in return. I told him how I thought he'd only seen me as his progeny and that my heart ached to belong to him fully. I wanted more than just a maker/child relationship and hoped he felt the same.
I could see the doubt in his eyes and quickly launched into how our marriage would benefit him. I explained that not only would I be at his side, I'd warm his bed every night. I nearly choked on my own lies as I rambled on about how he was the best lover I'd ever known and my body only felt alive when he was inside of me. I carried on about how the money I’d amassed through my kills and stealing would belong to him as well after our marriage and I could see he was starting to buy into it. It wasn’t long before I had him, hook, line and sinker.
Fool that he was, he agreed to a marriage, on one condition.
Kieran wanted his freedom to fuck his meals or anyone he wanted while I had to promise that I'd save my body only for him. Hatred consumed me but I smiled and agreed. I'd have done anything to get him to go along with this and I knew this wouldn't be an eternal sentence.
He insisted the marriage take place the next night and I agreed wholeheartedly. The sooner we married the sooner the rest of my plan could fall into place. I allowed the kiss he claimed, trying to hold back the bile that arose in my throat. I fumbled for an excuse to be away from him. The only thing I could think of was that I needed to find a dress sexy enough to tempt him into our marital bed. I breathed a sigh of relief when he bought the excuse and I raced from the room to find Star.
I sat with my sister, neither of us speaking. The knowledge that Kieran could hear anything we spoke kept us quiet. We couldn't risk him knowing anything about what we had planned for him. So we sat in silence, trying not to worry that we'd both meet final death if anyone caught wind of what we were about to do. Exchanging glances we each tried to give the other strength for what was to come the next evening.
We went to our coffins worried that our nights were numbered. Downtime was a welcome relief from
the doubts and I welcomed death with open arms that night.
The following evening dawned dark and dreary. It was as if Mother Nature knew that all Hell was about to break loose and had planned the perfect setting. I took my time with rising and dressing. It wasn't the night to be careless and Star and I exchanged nervous glances over the vanity as we applied our makeup.
Everything needed to go perfectly and we were both on edge. The door slammed downstairs, causing us both to jump. Kieran's scent wafted up the stairs and we knew it wouldn't be long before I'd be his wife under our laws and the human’s.
Star left me with my thoughts as she went to ensure that Kieran had everything set. Perching precariously on the edge of my chair I exhaled a long slow breath I hadn't known I'd taken and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
The white dress seemed out of place on my pale body. I'd never wanted to marry and yet I was about to walk down the aisle. I had strong opinions on the subject that had caused many arguments with my mother and father. Looking back, I think I was a bit ahead of my time but none of that mattered that night. I would go against everything I believed in just to gain my freedom from a vampire I hated with a deep passion.
Pulling the veil over my face, I arose, fully prepared to carry through with this plan, even if it killed me. Without a single doubt, I took my time down the stairs and smiled shyly up at my maker and soon to be husband. As the minister arrived to bind us as husband and wife under human laws, I played my part to perfection.
The vows flowed off of my tongue as if I actually meant them. Kieran seemed pleased that I was so eager to be his fully and when we were pronounced husband and wife he lifted me off the ground, kissing me passionately. I pushed the bile that rose in my throat back and kissed him back. If there was ever a time I needed to be the perfect actress, now was that time.
We waited for the minister to take his leave before doing the ritual that would bond us under vampire laws. Star handed him the gold dagger and both of our wrists were cut. Our blood mixed in a chalice and we shared the drink. A hand-fasting followed and within minutes we were bound for eternity.
Inside I was restless. I wanted to end it that night but as Star and I had discussed we had to wait a few nights so that we didn't draw suspicion to me. Not that it would have really mattered. We could easily have killed anyone who looked our way but we didn't want it to come to that.
I survived the night and kept up my act of the happy little wife all the while I was anxiously awaiting the perfect moment. Sharing Kieran's bed gave me ample opportunity but having to actually sleep with him was making me careless. I wanted him dead and I wanted it now.
I don't know what actually happened that led to his final death at my sister's hands but just a few nights after our marriage, my husband met his true death. As I've mentioned, my maker could be very violent and I was often on the receiving end of his anger. I never knew when he'd strike and I guess that night my sister decided it was enough when she heard my screams as he beat me. I lay beneath him, a bloody mess from the beating I’d endured for simply choosing a male for a meal the night prior.
As I slipped in and out of consciousness I heard her enter the room and struggled to yell for her to get out. For all of our existence I'd protected Star at all costs but that night my little sister protected me. It all happened in slow motion, or so it seemed. Kieran turned to raise his hand to her and was met with a sharp stake to the chest. As blood and goop exploded from his body, covering everything in the room, Star's words echoed in my head.
“No one fucks with the Spencer girls.”
Chapter Seven
I hadn't realized that I'd been crying until I felt the warmth of a human hand on my own. My eyes lifted to meet his and I saw concern shining in them.
“I'm fine,” I managed to say while wiping the tears from my face. “He got everything he deserved.”
Severus' growl rocked the entire house it seemed and both the young man and I nearly jumped out of our skin. My eyes found him leaning against the door and I gave him a sad smile. He closed the distance between us and pulled me to my feet and into his embrace. His hand was warm against my cheek as he caressed it, a look of worry furrowing his brow.
“These are memories best left buried, my love.” His voice was deep with his concern for me and I smiled up at my husband through tears.
“It must be told, Severus, if he is to know the truth.” My own voice was quiet and reassuring. I could feel how much he wanted to send the young man away and protect me from reliving things that obviously upset me. Yet, he remained silent. It went against his nature to hold back from demanding that this meeting end at once and I knew he sensed my intense need to let this all out.
Without a word he sat in my chair and pulled me onto his lap, his hands resting on my hips. I shifted slightly finding the perfect spot and lightly touched his cheek with my lips. These were the intimate moments that no one got to see. This was the side of my husband that caused me to fall more in love with him every day. And this young man that had come to find out about my life was seeing firsthand just how much a demon meant to me.
The young man interrupted us by clearing his throat. “You two seem very much in love. Was it always so?”
I nearly choked on my laughter and turned to look at my husband then back at him. “No, Severus didn't believe he was capable of love until he met me.”
Sev rolled his eyes and shook his head. “My wife is very persistent.”
“So how long did it take for you to realize you were in love?”
“I knew instantly, from the moment I laid eyes on him again. It took Sev here a bit longer.”
His smirk sent shivers through me as his hands slid lower to rest on my thigh and I was transported almost instantly back to that night a little over five years ago when our paths crossed once again. I looked down at my husband with love as I began to tell the story.
I'd just arrived at the party and it was in full swing. As I made my way through the crowd I found myself bored already. Eight centuries on Earth would do that to you. It was the same routine almost every night. Wake, feed, party, die for the night. If I was lucky, somewhere between the waking and dying thing, I'd find someone interesting to converse with.
Glancing around the room the possibility of that seemed hopeless and I grabbed a bottle of blood and found a seat poolside. Scrunching my nose I took a sip of the god awful concoction that was supposed to help nourish my kind and slid my shades into place. I stretched out on the chaise under the artificial lighting that was designed to make us feel as if we were in the sun without the devastating and debilitating consequences of actually being so.
The idle chatter of the party around me faded into the background as I closed my eyes. I guess I'd lain there, ignoring those around me, for at least an hour when I smelled the most delicious scent ever. Sitting up involuntarily, I looked around the room until my gaze landed on the tall, dark haired man who stood next to my Queen. Forcing myself to remain seated I watched him closely as he spoke and laughed. Several times he glanced my way and for a brief second time stood still. There was something oddly familiar about his scent and my curiosity was piqued.
My thoughts ran wild and I knew I had to meet him, but I waited. I waited for him to come to me. You see, I never chased anyone and I wasn't about to start, not even for the perfection of this man. Faking disinterest I lay back down and adjusted the dark glasses over my eyes again.
Minutes later the shadow I'd been waiting for fell over me and I slid the shades down my nose, peering over them at him. I gave him a bored smile then pushed them back up into place. His chuckle was melodic and inviting as he sat next to me. Neither of us spoke. Words weren't necessary then and at times they still aren't.
The silence was comfortable and it wasn't long before I could no longer control my desires. Pulling the tank top over my head and wiggling out of my cutoffs, I dove into the pool knowing he'd follow. I heard the splash and turned to find myself in his arms.
Our lips met in a fiery kiss that rocked me to my core. Unaffected by the crowd of people around us, we gave into basic primal need and sought pleasure from each other. As our bodies became one the nagging thought that he seemed too familiar crossed my mind again and I couldn't shake the feeling no matter how hard I tried.
As his hands and movements brought my body to heights I'd only known once before I pushed aside all thought and reason and became his, if only for just that moment. My body arched to meet his, his kisses seared their memory into my skin and I was hopelessly lost in this man.
His whispered words drove me over the edge of sanity and I fell, hard and fast, for him and all that he was, without even knowing his name.
As our bodies relaxed I clung to him. I couldn't let go and neither could he. We stayed joined in that pool for a long time before either of us could bear to move away from the other. As he tied the top of my bikini for me I longed to beg him to stay with me, for an hour, a night, or perhaps eternity.