The Vampire's Pet: Part One: Prince of the City Page 3

  He came to my side and reached out to touch my face once more as he had done earlier. I tried to avoid him, but he was faster than me and cupped my cheek.

  "No, no, no," he murmured. "Let me touch you. Your skin is so soft and warm."

  I was unable to resist and slowly met his eyes, my cheeks hot under his piercing gaze. He was beautiful, his face perfectly symmetrical, all angles and straight planes, his jaw square, his nose strong and straight. Dark brows arched over large blue eyes fringed by thick dark lashes.

  His black hair fell around his face and down to graze his shoulders.

  "What are you?" I managed, despite being immobilized. “Are you using magic on me to keep me from talking about you?”

  "Not magic,” he said, a slight quirk of a smile on his mouth. “I'm someone who needs refuge for a few days," he said, his voice was soft, and not at all impatient. "That's all you need to know. To tell you more would put you in danger." He stepped closer and brushed my hair back from my cheek. "I've been imprisoned, held captive against my will and have a need for safety and secrecy until the danger I face passes."

  "I saw you disappear into thin air," I said, wanting to know more about him. "If I'm letting you stay, I think it's only fair that you tell me what you are."

  He smiled. "Letting me stay?"

  I frowned at that. Of course, I wasn't letting him do anything. At that moment, I had the sense he was letting me live.

  "As to what I am?" He exhaled and considered for a moment. "You wouldn't understand."

  "Try me," I said, unwilling to give up so easily. "I'm going to study engineering next year in college. I'm majoring in bioengineering. I think I can understand most things. How is it that you can dematerialize?"

  He said nothing for a moment and then sat down, his feet propped up on the coffee table, one arm thrown over the back of the sofa.

  "I can't tell you," he said simply. "It would put me in a great deal of danger. It would put you in even more. Just know that I won't hurt you."

  I said nothing, not satisfied with his non-answer, but I couldn't exactly force him to tell me anything.

  “Are you a vampire?” I said point-blank.

  There was that smile again. Coy. “What do you think, beautiful Calla?”

  I shook my head. It was ridiculous to suggest he was a vampire, but I had seen him materialize out of the flock of bats.

  "I have to go," I said and pointed back to the cottage.

  "Come back later." He rose from the sofa and came to my side. "We need to talk." Once more, he touched my face, his skin cool on my cheek.

  "About what?" I managed, my voice barely audible.

  "Things. Just come back once Chelsea's asleep."

  I wanted to say no, but found I could say nothing. Finally, he let his hand drop and I was free to move.

  I opened the door, crossing the threshold, a sense of relief flooding through me that he was letting me go.

  "Remember, come back later."

  I glanced at him one last time where he stood a few feet from the doorway, almost naked, his pale skin glowing in the light from the lamp, the scars already healing.

  When I arrived back in the cottage, Chelsea was in her pajamas and was in the kitchen heating up some water for tea.

  "Where the hell were you?" she said, frowning.

  I was in the guesthouse with a nearly naked man who came out of the sky and apparently can dematerialize at will. As crazy as it sounds, I think he’s a vampire.

  That was what I wanted to say.

  "In the guest house looking for a book."

  "What book?” she said, her face softening. “Did you find it?"

  I shook my head. “Dracula, by Bram Stoker,” I said, saying the first title that came to mind.

  She shrugged and pointed to the kettle. “That’s weird. Want some tea before bed?"

  "Yes, thanks," I said and sat on a stool at the island. While she poured hot water over the tea, I wondered if I would actually go through with it and return to him once Chelsea was asleep.

  Despite my fear, and despite knowing I shouldn't go to him, I knew I would.

  Kier

  Everything was new to me.

  I wandered through the cottage, examining the devices in wonder at what the world had become since I'd been imprisoned. The material the devices were made from was like nothing I'd ever seen – dark glass, hard shiny materials. It was a fabrication that was unknown to me.

  The lights were electrical in design, emitting a hum that was always just in the background of my super-sensitive ears. While we had electrical lights in Montreal where my family lived, they weren't like these. This light fixture turned on at a touch, increasing in intensity each time I touched it, before turning off. I explored every device, eager for Calla to return so she could show them to me and explain their function.

  It was a world of wonder.

  What had become of my family in my absence? When I left for San Francisco, my father had been sleeping for over a century and planned to sleep for another, disturbed with the wars in France so much that he vowed to sleep for three centuries, in the hopes that humanity would find its way to peace instead of incessant war. He was only to be woken in the event that anyone in his family was harmed or in any way threatened. With my abduction and imprisonment, I expected that my brother would wake him and the other elders so they could find me and bring me home. That over a century had passed and I still had to escape on my own was shocking to me.

  Surely, my family had sent soldiers to find me?

  While my prison was well-hidden, it was difficult for me to believe no one had thought to look there. I would be extremely curious to discover the efforts my brother made to find me, and was eager to get back to The City and the bosom of my loving family. Knowing they were looking for me was the only thing that kept me alive for all those years I spent as a dried out husk of a vampire.

  I waited until close to midnight, not wanting to leave the cottage until I knew Calla's friend was asleep. No need to involve another in this drama. I would if I had to, but I didn't want to endanger yet another young human.

  When Calla still hadn't arrived despite how quiet the house had become, I slipped out of the cottage and went to stand in silence outside the window to the main house.

  All was quiet except for an old grandfather clock in the living room. I stood outside the window to Calla's bedroom and watched, then went to the side door and waited, wondering if I could cross the threshold. As I waited, Calla walked through the house towards the door, wearing only a thin night dress. When she opened the door, she saw me and gasped, covering her mouth. When she jumped back, I stopped her, a finger to her lips.

  “Shh. Don’t want to wake Chelsea.”

  Then I held out my hand and she took it, obedient to my command. I had already implanted a suggestion in her mind using my powers of compulsion so she would obey me, not resisting anything I requested. It was the only thing that kept humans from killing us off and vampires coveted our ability to control them.

  Calla looked frustrated, her pretty brow furrowed. “Do you have some kind of vampire power to make humans do what you want?”

  I smiled and pulled her away from the cottage. “Something like that. Come.”

  She complied and together, we walked hand in hand down the path to the guesthouse.

  I opened the door and waved her in.

  “I thought you weren’t able to come to me,” I said and closed the door behind us, locking the deadbolt. “I see you were obeying me. I’m pleased.”

  “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

  “No, but you’re quite impertinent,” I said and smiled, enjoying her rebellious nature. “I like a bit of a will, but not too much. Now,” I said and pointed to the sofa. “Please have a seat. Can I fix you something to drink? I found a stock of alcohol in the kitchen cupboard. There’s scotch and white rum.”

  She made a face. “No, thanks.”

  “Very well.”

&
nbsp; I stood across from the sofa and watched Calla for a moment. She sat still, averting her eyes. I could sense her fear, and could only imagine what she was thinking. Did her kind know much about vampires? Or had we succeeded in keeping our presence a myth, a story to be told around the fireplace?

  I hoped the latter, because I couldn't imagine we would be able to fight modern humans if they knew we existed. The weapons I had seen while perusing a magazine I found in a pile on the coffee table were advanced beyond any design I knew.

  I sat beside her and smiled when she jumped, shocked at how fast I had moved. I took her hand in mine, enjoying the feel of her warm skin in my much cooler hand.

  “Are you going to kill me?” she whispered.

  “What?” I frowned when she met my eyes and shook my head. “I told you I wasn’t going to hurt you, but you have to realize that I need more than leftover lasagna to survive…”

  I let my voice trail off, hoping to prepare her for the inevitable. While I had fed well on my way up the coast, I needed more to maintain my strength. Besides, I left her chaste and one of my enemies saw her, they could in law claim her as their own. My enemies were not nearly as ethical as me nor would they fear assaulting her — or worse.

  Calla tensed when I raised her wrist to my mouth. I stopped, my mouth poised over her veins, and then looked in her eyes.

  “Don’t worry," I said softly, trying to calm her. "There are two kinds of humans: feedstock and pets. You’re not feedstock so please, relax.”

  “Pets?”

  I nodded and sniffed her skin, enjoying the scent of her blood. .

  “Yes. Pets. There are humans, like you, with blood so sweet that we don’t kill you—at least, not intentionally. It does happen on occasion when someone gets carried away, but most of us are very careful with a pet. We want to make you last for a very long time. You’re like a very fine bourbon—not to be drunk down like beer, but sipped and enjoyed.”

  “You have pets?”

  “I have had,” he said and nodded. “Obviously, I haven’t had one for, oh, about a hundred and ten years, so Karen is probably dust now unless someone turned her.”

  Karen. My last pet. I wondered where she was and if she were dead. I was silent for a moment, remembering her with a fondness I that surprised me. The memory hurt.

  “I suppose I have no say in this,” she said, and I knew she hated the thought that I could do what I wanted and she couldn’t resist.

  “Pets don’t choose their masters, Calla. It’s the other way around. Be thankful it’s me who found you and not one of my brethren or you’d be sorry. Not all of my kind have as much self-control as I do.”

  I pressed my lips against her skin, relishing the feel of her flesh, the scent of her blood. I could feel her body tense, sense her fear rising, but instead of biting down, I kissed her wrist and then pulled away.

  “Why do you have so much self-control?” she managed to say despite her fear.

  I glanced up knowing she'd see my true nature when aroused by human blood, my eyes bloodshot, my fangs extended. When I saw the fear in her eyes, I deliberately calmed myself, gaining control over my baser animal instincts. I kept hold of her wrist, my fingers over my pulse so I could check her response to me.

  “I’m old.”

  “You don’t look much older than me. You look twenty.”

  I smiled. “I was twenty when I was turned but that was so long ago that I can scarcely remember.” I glanced around the room. “So much has changed. There are so many things in this world that are new to me. I’ve only been awake for three days and have had so little time to adjust.”

  “You’ve been asleep?”

  “Well, technically, I’ve been desiccated. I was locked up and denied blood for over one hundred years. That eventually leads to the body drying out, and you exist in a kind of limbo, your mind only dimly aware of the surroundings, except you feel an incredible thirst that drives you almost mad.” I paused for a moment, remembering my long years of hell. “I was held prisoner, trapped in a dungeon beneath ground for over a century.”

  “You were in California when you were imprisoned?”

  “I was in San Francisco to examine the damage to our properties due to the earthquake and fire. Later, I was taken north and imprisoned underground.”

  “That was in 1906,” she said, her voice sounding surprised. “You’ve been imprisoned since then? That’s over one-hundred and ten years.”

  I nodded, wondering how much she knew about the world, and what level of schooling she'd acquired. There was so much to learn. I was eager to find out more about the modern era and most of all, why my family had failed to rescue me all these years.

  “Who had you imprisoned?”

  “A rival family who I believe wanted me out of the picture so they could have their way on the Ruling Council.”

  “The Ruling Council?” she said. I knew she would be confused by what I said, but I didn't want to give too much away about vampires – not yet. The less she knew the better so that when I left her, when I was rescued and returned to my family, she could go on living her life the way she had before I came along and found her. I followed the treaty. I was head of the Ruling Council – at least, I was before I'd been imprisoned.

  I had ethics.

  I patted her hand and smiled. “There’s a lot you don’t know. None of you know, and that’s the way we keep it. You won’t be able to speak about it to anyone except one of us, and only if we give our permission. Our secret’s safe.”

  “How many of us know?”

  “Enough, but none of you can reveal it to each other without our approval. Calla, there’s a whole other world that exists under the surface, right there side by side with yours, but none of you can see it because we don’t let you. If we let you, we make sure you can’t talk to anyone about it, or write anything down about it. The secret remains safe.”

  “So you do have mind control…”

  “Of a kind.” I nodded, smiling at the look of awe in her eyes. “Along with the curse, there are certain gifts, such as compulsion.”

  “Curse?”

  I shook my head and picked up her wrist again. “Enough talking for now. I’m going to have a sip. This will hurt, but not for long.”

  Then, I could feel my face transform and I bit her wrist. I knew the pain would be sharp and she cried out, trying to pull her wrist away, but I was far stronger than her and held on with no difficulty, my lips on her skin, my mouth covering her wrist, sucking the wound. I pulled away almost immediately, and then ran my fingers over the wounds until they stopped bleeding, leaving two red punctures.

  Finally, I let go of her wrist and she examined the wound, cradling her arm against her body.

  “That much can keep you alive?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  I shook my head and licked the blood off my lips. “No, but that much will keep you alive. Now that I’ve tasted you, I’ll be able to find you wherever you go, in case you need my protection.”

  “What do you mean?” She shrank back, apparently horrified at the thought.

  I leaned back, my arms spread out across the back of the sofa. “I’ve claimed you as my own. Now, none of my brethren will touch you unless I give them permission. However, there are a few who don’t obey our laws. If any of them were to try to take you by force, I’d be able to find you.”

  “That’s terrible,” she said, frowning. “That sounds a lot like slavery.”

  I shrugged and rubbed my chin, feeling a considerable amount of stubble on my jaw. “Life isn’t fair, Calla. You’re old enough to understand that. Now, the rules are as follows,” I said and tilted her chin up with a finger, staring into her eyes, using my powers to implant a suggestion. “You are not permitted to speak to anyone about the existence of vampires. If someone asks you if you believe in them, you say something like, oh, they’re just an old superstition. If anyone asks you about your bite mark, tell them a dog bit you. That’s it. Reveal nothing. You are not allow
ed to mention anything about me unless I give you permission. While I’m staying with you, you many not leave without my permission. Do you understand?”

  She nodded.

  I could feel her desire to resist, but of course, my powers were stronger and she was unable to argue.

  “You’re going to let me go, right?” she asked, moving a little farther away from me. “You just need shelter for a few days until you can,” she said, “do whatever it is you need to do.”

  I moved closer to her and stroked her hair gently, trying my best to calm her. “I wasn’t planning on taking you with me, although you’re quite lovely and very tasty.”

  “Good,” she said, relaxing visibly. “I have a life. I have a family and friends. People would miss me if I was to go away.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said, and shook my head. “If I were to take you, I’d make sure they were compelled to accept it. I wouldn’t want them trying to track us down or raising any alarm.”

  “You’d make them happy that I was gone?”

  I nodded and straightened my jacket. I had no plans to take her with me, but if, for some reason, I had to, I would ensure her parents wouldn’t come looking for her. It would be the humane thing to do. Besides, parents who thought their daughter had been abducted would move heaven and earth to find their beloved. “They’d believe you were off to college and would be back for the holidays or something. They’d miss you but they’d be so proud of you…”

  “That’s so deceitful.”

  I frowned. It was deceitful of course, but it was necessary for our very survival. “Vampires exist today because we’ve managed to hide ourselves in plain sight all these thousands of years. Our ways work and so we all follow them religiously. I certainly wouldn’t want to be the first to not follow them and get us in trouble. Humans have weapons that could eradicate us if they wanted.” I smiled and touched her cheek, not wanting to scare her. “But don’t worry about that. I won’t be taking you with me.”

  She nodded and exhaled in relief, the tension in her body diminishing slightly.

  “Do you have a boyfriend?” I asked, keeping my voice light, watching her response. The last thing I needed was a suitor showing up looking for her.