He turned his attention back to the semi-conscious Charles, picked up one of the broken chair legs and swung it at Charles. Vasile then picked Mary up and took her to one of the bedrooms. He found her slight frame, long black hair and full mouth appealing. He stripped her naked, tied her to the four bedposts, but decided to delay his pleasure. First he would dispose of the bodies.
Chapter 4
Three days after Elizabeth had been attacked she awoke in the parlor. A man was standing in front of her. Everything looked different, sharper. She could hear the sounds of insects and mice scampering about the house. There was a very faint, incredibly slow heartbeat, a second very fast heartbeat, and a low whimpering sound.
Elizabeth was scared, confused, and unsure. She didn’t recognize the man, but the room did have a familiarity about it. She looked around anxiously. “Where am I? And who are you?”
“We are in our home, my beloved,” Vasile said. “You will understand everything as soon as you awaken properly.” He stroked her cheek, and leaned down to whisper the words into her ear. “We are companions for all eternity. We were meant to be.”
Elizabeth was horrified. Nothing made sense. He must be a madman.
“You’re a vampire now.”
“What?” Elizabeth said, getting more and more upset.
He smiled at her, and at that moment he almost looked sane. “We shall live for an eternity together.”
A grave look crossed her face. “You are not making any sense. I think you should leave.”
“It will all become clear soon enough,” he said in a soothing voice. He knew he would have to repeat himself several times before she believed him and was prepared to be patient.
Her voice had become taut. “I want you to leave. You don’t belong here.”
“We belong together. This is why I made you. We’re the same now. We shall roam this world until the end of eternity.” He saw the look of disbelief on her face. “I am over two hundred years old.”
“No one lives to be that old!” Elizabeth tried not to show her fear and she locked her fingers together to stop them shaking.
Sensing her frustration, Vasile told Elizabeth his story.
“I was born in Transylvania in the year 1715, the son of a peasant, but born to lead my village as my father did.
“By 1734, when the stories of vampires and their attacks on other villages reached my home, I had a wife and four children. The villagers dug up all the recent graves and drove wooden stakes through the hearts of the corpses before removing their heads. One such corpse was that of my mother, who had died just one week before. I understood their concerns, but I was still upset at my mother’s corpse being violated.
“After I had finished my work and the villagers were in their beds, I went to visit my mother’s grave. I needed to ask her for forgiveness.” He shook his head, the sadness he had felt still vivid in his mind.
“As I was returning home, I saw a young woman sitting on an uprooted tree. It was very late and cold. I didn’t recognize her and none of the women of my village would be out on their own at night. Everyone was in fear because of the vampire stories, and the talk of them doing unholy things to women.”
Vasile smiled. “It’s strange, but at the time I had never thought of vampires being female.” He raised his eyebrows at Elizabeth as he gave her a sly grin.
“I approached the woman and asked her if she were lost. She told me that she was not lost, but alone, and had been for a very long time. She said she didn’t want to be alone any more. She began speaking in a strange language; her words made no sense. I decided then to leave her where she was and go on my way. She was obviously sick with madness, or so I thought. As I began walking away, the woman called after me.
“‘Please, do not go just yet. My name is Alexandria, and I have come a long way.’ I will always remember her words as if it were only yesterday. I asked what it was she wanted. And she shouted, ‘You!’ Then she lunged at my throat.” He gently stroked his throat, feeling almost orgasmic at the memory.
“When I woke, I had no memory at first, only rage and hunger. Alexandria explained what I had become. My memory began to return and I did not try to fight what I was. I enjoyed the power, the control over others. I still do, and you will too, you’ll see.
“At first I wasn’t sure what to do about my family. They did not seem important to me any more. But I didn’t want to just disappear, even though I didn’t want to go back to my old life. So I returned to the farm. I don’t know why. Maybe I thought it would bring things to a close with that part of my life.”
Elizabeth watched him look up to the ceiling, her eyes instinctively following the same direction. When she looked down, he was staring at her.
His face held no emotion as he spoke. “Alexandria joined me at the farm, but I could not control myself. I attacked my wife, and then we slaughtered the rest. I killed my whole family. I had no compassion, no humanity left. I lived only for the hunt, to feed my thirst. Nothing else mattered to me, not even killing my own wife and children; they were just food.”
“You killed your children?” Elizabeth found this hard to believe. She was right! He was a madman.
Vasile’s eyes turned black and he grabbed her hand. She yelped out at the pain that ran from her hand up her arm. His lips curled downward into a hellish snarl. “Do you think you are any different? Do you think you would not slaughter your own family if they walked in this room at this very moment?” he spat through clenched teeth.
Elizabeth yanked her hand away as his grip loosened. She held it to her chest. “I would never hurt anyone,” she retorted.
Vasile leaned in close, his face inches from Elizabeth’s. “I always find it strange when ones like you wake up and still think of yourselves as human, think that you will be different.” He sighed and moved back. “Soon the hunger will be upon you, and you will kill. You are undead, a vampire. You live only to hunt, to feed on the blood of humans. They are your prey. We are Gods and they live only because we let them.”
Elizabeth shook her head at him. “You are insane! Vampires exist only in tales told to scare children.”
“My creator, Alexandria, was a vampire. She made me a vampire and in return I have made you a vampire. You are to be my companion. It is a very lonely life and you will need me. We will live forever, Gods amongst the humans.”
Elizabeth huffed at him. “If you live forever, then where is this Alexandria now?”
“We can still be killed.”
“She is dead?”
“Yes, she is dead. After Alexandria and I left my village we traveled together for over twenty years. One night we came across a village Alexandria had hunted many years before. She was recognized by one of the elders. He knew instantly what she was. She had not aged in the thirty years it had been since she had last visited. And three bodies, drained of blood, were discovered.”
For the first time Elizabeth saw the emotion on his face. It held a hint of sadness.
“Alexandria and I were caught by a dozen men from the village. We were feeding on one of the other villagers who had been chopping wood alone in the forest. I managed to get away with minor injuries, well, minor to a vampire, and I killed two of the villagers in the process. Alexandria killed another three, but the rest beat her down. They cut her head off and burned her body.” Vasile still felt a sickening pain when he thought of her death; she was his reason for being what he was, she had given him this gift.
“Alexandria taught me everything I know: how to read and write, to speak many different languages, how to blend into the human world. I will do this for you.”
Elizabeth thought she was going mad, or maybe she was still asleep and would wake from this nightmare.
***
It was not long before it became obvious that this was no nightmare. The thirst came upon her; she couldn’t fight it any longer, she needed to feed. The other heartbeat in the house became louder and louder, pounding in her head. She thought she was going to go insane
as she imagined the pulsing veins, the taste of the blood. She paced up and down, pounded her fists against the wall, but nothing would stop the noise, or the thoughts of blood. Her mouth began to salivate. She felt a pressure on her gums as she imagined the thick, crimson nectar flowing over her tongue before sliding slowly down her throat.
Vasile knew the signs well; she was not the first to be created by him. The hunger could not be denied. He brought the girl into the parlor and ripped her throat open, offering her to Elizabeth.
A pleasurable pain made her body shudder as her teeth became elongated. She did not hesitate or think; she did not see a face, just the blood, and latched on to the throat. Elizabeth’s body convulsed orgasmically, the thick red liquid seeming to flow through every cell in her body. When the body stilled in Elizabeth’s arms, she could no longer hear a heartbeat. Hunger began to fade and she let the body drop to the floor.
Elizabeth gradually returned to her senses and saw what she had done. She was horrified at the sight of the slumped body and her returning memory of the past few minutes.
Elizabeth buried her head in her hands. “Oh, God! No! Mary, what have I done?” All she could think about was Vasile’s story. What will happen when Cain returns home? How could I have not known it was Mary whose blood I was draining?
Vasile was pleased with his new creation. “Now you see. Now you know the things I have told you are true.”
“What have you done to me? What have I become? Mary! Oh, God, Mary! I was there the day she was born. I watched her grow up. This cannot be happening.” She glowered at Vasile. He just stood there smiling at her. “Get out! Get out of my house! Get out, now!” she screamed at him.
“I told you what you are; you are no different to me. You will feed and kill anyone, even people you once cared for, just as I did. They are nothing, only food. You are mine now, and I am yours.”
“No, this cannot be happening!” Elizabeth pulled at her own hair as she gaped at him. “I will never be yours.” She ran out of the room. She could not bear to look at Mary’s body any longer. She locked herself in her bedroom.
***
The next morning Vasile knocked gently at her door, insisting she come out.
“Leave me alone. I told you to get out of my house!” she yelled.
He easily forced the door open. “We have much to discuss. Come.”
Elizabeth refused to look at him. “Are you lining up the rest of the staff for me to kill?”
“There are no more staff.”
Her face filled with anguish. “Charles? And Mary’s parents?” She clenched her hands in horror.
“Dead,” he replied with no emotion.
The memory of what she had done to Mary the day before flooded back into her mind. She could take no more. Rage engulfed her and she ran for Vasile, clawing at his face. “You monster! You’re the one who should be dead.”
Vasile was stronger than Elizabeth and easily subdued her, throwing her onto the bed. She screamed, pounding the mattress with her fists.
He stood there for a minute staring at her. “The sooner you learn to accept what you are, the easier this will be. You cannot change what you have become. We can be happy together.”
Elizabeth sat up on the bed, put her head in her hands, and didn’t speak.
The days turned into weeks while Elizabeth fought with all her strength against the urges, the hunger. She felt as if she was going mad. She could not…. No, she would not kill again.
Vasile would not leave and the hatred she felt toward him was consuming her. She had never hated anyone in her life. But this monster, for what he had done, what he would try to make her do, make her hunt and kill, he deserved more than her hatred. She wanted him dead, but he was too strong for her to fight. And he was under the illusion that she would do things his way. There was nothing she could do about him, so she locked herself away for days at a time.
***
Vasile had had just about enough of Elizabeth’s games, pretending she actually cared about these creatures. He burst into her room, dragging a terrified young woman with him. “If you do not feed, you will die. I know you are hungry. You have not fed in eight days.”
The half-naked young woman was covered in dirt and dried blood; she cried out, “Please, I beg of you, let me go. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
Vasile looked at Elizabeth and laughed. “If you care so much about these creatures, end her suffering. I can keep her alive for weeks, months. Every day I will do as I desire with her.”
Elizabeth was fixed on the blood as Vasile threw the woman to the floor in front of her. He grinned at Elizabeth before leaving the room.
She could not resist the urge for blood any longer; the girl’s racing heartbeat was pounding in her head. Without thinking, her fangs appeared, her body shuddering as they did so. The woman screamed as Elizabeth grabbed her and bit down on her neck. The girl’s heartbeat started to speed up in its struggle to pump enough blood around her body. Elizabeth’s frenzy receded and she opened her eyes wide. She recoiled in disgust, and her fangs receded.
The woman appeared to be in a trance. She just stood there making no sound.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to hurt you,” Elizabeth said.
The woman looked at Elizabeth, confused, and slowly started to back away. “Hurt me?”
“You have no mark upon your neck?”
The woman fingered her neck, then shook her head. “What’s happening? What did you do to me?”
Elizabeth quickly picked up a shawl and walked over to the woman, who began to struggle, not realizing that Elizabeth only intended to cover her with it.
Elizabeth grabbed the woman’s hand. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to get you of here. When I tell you to run, just run. Don’t look back.”
When they entered the hallway, Vasile was standing there. Elizabeth’s face filled with rage when she saw him. “Get out of my way.”
“What are you doing? How could you let her live?”
“She remembers nothing. Why didn’t you tell me this?”
Vasile ignored Elizabeth and grabbed the woman by the neck. The woman screamed out.
“Leave her alone!” Elizabeth tried to get to the woman.
Vasile grabbed Elizabeth by the hair with his free hand. “Finish her or turn her, but be warned, you can never be sure what kind of vampire humans become. Some are a great disappointment.”
Elizabeth pulled her hair out of his hand. “What do you mean, ‘turn her’?”
“Feed her your blood.”
Elizabeth jumped back, her eyes opened wide. “No, I couldn’t.”
“Enough of these games, you need to learn what you are. This is food, only food,” Vasile shouted and jerked the woman, snapping her neck. He threw the lifeless body to the floor. The corpse landed at Elizabeth’s feet, its lifeless eyes staring at her.
“No!” Elizabeth fell to her knees.
***
He would always come and get her, to offer her petrified victims. He laughed at them, amused that they pleaded to be released, pleaded for their lives. She had to learn to control the hunger, for her sanity as well as for Cain’s sake. I must not lose control when he returns home. I must never harm my son.
***
Vasile was getting tired of Elizabeth. It had been nearly three months and she was not doing as he commanded. She needed to be taught a lesson. He forced his way into her room; as usual, she had tried to lock him out. She sat on the large, four-poster, dark mahogany bed. “I am your creator. I created you for a companion.”
Elizabeth gave him a slow burning look of hatred. “What do you want?”
“I want you to fulfill your duty as my mate.” He walked over to her, grabbed her arms, and held them tightly to her sides. “We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way. The choice is yours as both will bring me pleasure.”
“I will never give myself to you!” she screamed. Her fangs deployed and she snarled.
&n
bsp; “So you have made your choice.” He laughed, baring his fangs. His eyes as black as the darkest night, he lunged at her.
He grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to force her down on the bed. Her jaws snapped at his face and she dug her nails into his arms. He slammed his forehead into her jaw. She fell back onto the bed and he took the chance to tear at her dress. She lashed out at his face. He lowered himself on top of her.
He felt the skin being ripped away and the warm blood start to trickle down his neck. She spat the flesh into his face. His left hand gripped her throat and his right hand repeatedly punched her body and face. She scratched, slapped, and punched back until there was no strength left in her body. She closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable, praying it would be over soon.
***
The next morning Vasile entered Elizabeth’s room, his wounds almost healed. She was curled up into a tight ball on the far side of the bed. He sat down next to her and gently moved the hair that was covering her face. Softly, he stroked her yellowing skin with the back of his fingers. “A few more hours and the marks will be gone.” He smiled. “You are so beautiful.”
“Just go away.” There was no emotion in her voice.
“Things will get better, you will see.” He stood up. “Clean yourself up. I have a surprise for you. Meet me in the parlor. ”
***
Vasile paced up and down the room, breathing in and out loudly through his nose. A whimpering sound could be heard coming from the far corner. He glared in the direction of the noise.
Elizabeth sat at her desk, her diary in front of her and her pen next to it. How can I put these atrocities into words? They will seem all the more real. Am I going mad? I can still hear the girl crying, her heart beat. She jumped as the bedroom door swung open with a loud bang. Her hands went to her mouth. “Oh, God, no! Please no!”
His black eyes latched on to her, a throaty growl echoed from him. “I have been waiting for an hour.”
She shook her head. “Not a child, please. Not a child.” She felt frozen to the spot, her body would not move.
He pushed the boy to the floor. A small yelp left the boy’s lips. “This one’s for you. I know you miss your son.”