The trembling boy’s tear-stained face and urine-soaked trousers made him appear younger than his twelve years. Elizabeth looked into his amber eyes. “You will not be harmed.” She looked up at Vasile. “I will do as you wish, just don’t harm the boy. Please.”
A smug grin crossed his face. “Then turn him.”
She slowly shook her head. “No, don’t do this.” She looked back down at the boy. “Just let him go, please.”
“I would have been better off killing you and turning your friend.” He hissed.
Elizabeth gripped the arms of the chair. “What do mean? What friend?”
He turned his head slightly. “You called her Ann, on her last visit.”
Vasile grabbed the boy then turned away, dragging the boy with him. The boy yelped as his arm was forcefully wrenched up. His cries were turning hysterical. Elizabeth grabbed the pen and ran at Vasile. She plunged the pen into his neck with all her strength. Vasile turned and grabbed her by her throat and threw her against the wall. She punched down on the pen as hard as she could, making it almost disappear completely under his skin. He lifted her up over his head and slammed her back into the doorframe. She screamed as she felt her spine snap. Her body fell to the floor, and she was unable to move.
Vasile pulled the pen from his neck, blood splattering on the wall as he did so. He looked down at her broken body. “You will heal.” He looked across at the boy. “He won’t.”
Elizabeth looked at the boy lying on the floor, his skin pale, his eyes looking lifelessly toward the ceiling. She desperately tried to hear his heartbeat, but there was only silence. She let out a loud lingering scream as Vasile walked away.
***
Vasile eventually conceded defeat and decided to leave. The mate he had created for himself with such high hopes would have nothing to do with him, and he had grown tired of having to take her by force. Nothing seemed to work. No matter how hard he tried to please her, she would always disappoint him.
Chapter 5
Fourteen months after his posting to France, Cain returned home. Elizabeth rushed down the stairs and threw her arms around him. “I have missed you so much.”
“I have missed you too, but if you don’t mind, I can’t breathe.” He chuckled.
She let go of him and held him at arm’s length. “I’m sorry. Now, let me look at you.” She cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “You’ve lost weight.”
“And you look very pale.” Cain took hold of his mother’s hands. His face creased with concern. “Your hands are cold. Are you ill?”
She turned her head away, unable to look her son in the eye as she answered. “I’m perfectly fine. I’ll get Grace to make you something to eat.”
Confusion crossed his face. “Who’s Grace?”
“She’s the new maid. It’s such a shame, she’s only seventeen and both her parents were killed.”
“Where’re Charles and Mary?”
Elizabeth turned to face Cain, full of remorse. “Something happened while you were away, but that’s nothing for you to concern yourself about. We’ll talk about it later.”
A pretty blonde girl appeared in the hallway. She had the biggest eyes Cain had ever seen. “Grace, this is my son, Master Sutton. Will you prepare lunch for him?”
Cain stared at his mother. Her tone was different, very tightly controlled. There was something strange going on here.
***
Cain made his way to his old bedroom. There were pictures of him and Emily everywhere. He picked up the photo from their wedding day and sat down on the bed. His finger caressed her face. He wiped his tears away when he heard a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Grace entered the room holding two towels. She smiled at him, then immediately blushed. “I brought these in case you wanted to freshen up. I’ve prepared some salad with cold chicken left over from last night. Will you be wanting it served in the dining room, Sir?”
He looked up, confusion on his face. “Is my mother not joining me?”
“No, Sir. Lady Sutton barely eats. I don’t know how she survives.” She watched as Cain sat up straight. “I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t mean to speak out of line.”
“That’s okay. I will eat in the kitchen, thank you.” Cain looked away from the girl. Now he really was concerned about his mother.
Whilst he was having lunch he met the new gardener, who hobbled in to the kitchen looking very frail. Cain judged him to be in his late sixties, or maybe more. Why had his mother dismissed able staff he had known all his life and taken on a young, untrained girl and an old man for whom gardening was probably too onerous a task?
***
Cain went looking for his mother. He was worried. What if the maid was right? He hadn’t seen her eat anything in the two days he’d been home. And where were the staff he’d grown up with? Elizabeth refused to answer his questions. He couldn’t sleep for the tumult of his thoughts. Cain looked out of his bedroom window into the darkness. He was holding Emily’s picture, remembering the walks they had through the forest at the end of the garden. A figure running across the grass caught his attention and he strained to see who it was. Mother! What was she doing out so late? He looked at his watch. It was midnight. He went downstairs to wait for her return. Much later Cain opened his eyes to the sound of his mother’s gentle voice, her hand cool against his. “Mother, what time is it?”
“It’s nearly two. Why were you sleeping in the chair?”
He sat up straight. “I was waiting for you.” His eyes narrowed and he bent forward to see more clearly. “Have you hurt yourself?” She gave him a confused look. “There’s blood on your collar.”
Her eyes opened wide with fear: she saw a vision of herself, fangs dripping with blood. She moved away from Cain’s throat, saw his eyes staring at the ceiling, the color drained from his skin. Her body shook and she stifled a scream. She snatched her hand from his, and backed up a few steps.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” He stood up.
She stood, shaking her head. “Stay away.”
Cain took a step forward, his arm outstretched toward her. Turning, she ran and locked herself in her room, refusing to answer him. He spent the rest of the night outside her room. He didn’t know what to do, whether to call a doctor or just wait for her to come out and talk to him. He dozed for a while but was woken by his mother’s voice. She was praying loudly in her bedroom. He heard her beg the Lord for forgiveness, for Him to keep her strong, so she would not hurt anyone. What was going on? She was the most loving, caring person he knew. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.
He forced the door open and entered the room. “Mother, what is wrong?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about.” She wouldn’t look at him.
He wiped away a stray tear. “Whatever it is, I am here now. Please talk to me. Maybe I can help?”
“I cannot burden you with this. But evil has entered this house.” He went to speak to her but she cut him off. “That is the end of this conversation, Cain.” She crossed her arms over her stomach as she looked at him.
He looked like a child again in her eyes, his face full of bewilderment and concern, like it had been when he found his pet rabbit dead. He had thought it was his fault and was too scared to tell anyone about it.
“You must not worry. Things will be all right,” she said as she held her hand out toward him, then quickly pulled it back to her.
He stood up, looking nervous, his mind trying to comprehend what could cause his mother so much distress. “I’m worried about you.”
She turned her head away from him, her heart breaking. “I need to be alone for a while, Cain.”
He felt helpless as he edged toward the door, then back. His mother still wouldn’t look at him, so he left without saying a word. Yet what could he say, when she wouldn’t talk to him?
Over the next two days, Cain tried to talk to his mother. She denied being ill, telling him she would eat when she needed to. And he could not get an expla
nation from her as to what had happened to all the staff. All she would say was that the devil himself had paid them a visit. Then she stopped coming out of her room altogether.
After three days of her ignoring his knocking, he could take no more. “Mother, please, open the door.” He waited for her answer, pacing back and forth.
“I just want to be left alone.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
He let out a deep sigh and leaned his head on the door. “I’m not going away until you speak to me.”
Elizabeth opened the door, a look of shock on her face when she saw how sickly Cain looked. His skin was pale with dark circles around his eyes. “You look terrible.”
“I’m going out of my mind with worry. I can’t sleep. I need you to talk to me.”
Elizabeth stroked his face. “I don’t know how to tell you the things that have happened. What it has turned me into.”
Tears welled up in his eyes, and he pulled his mother into his arms. “Just tell me, please. Are you ill? You feel too cold.”
***
Elizabeth and Cain sat on the edge of her bed. “I was attacked. It changed me.”
He took hold of her hand, and closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Mother.”
“He killed everyone, except Mary.” She could hear his breathing deepen.
He opened his eyes, relief visible on his face. “Mary’s okay? Where is she?”
Elizabeth slipped her hand out of his. She looked down at her lap.
Cain took hold of her by the shoulders. “Where’s Mary?”
“I didn’t mean to.” She looked up to see a tear falling down his cheek.
He let go of her and clasped his mouth. “What are you trying to say? What didn’t you mean to do?”
“I killed her, Cain. I drank her blood.” Elizabeth turned away from him. “She died in my arms.”
Cain stood up. He glared at her. “Why are you talking such madness?”
“I’m no longer human.” She turned back to face him. “I am a vampire now. I live off the blood of the living.”
Cain got on his knees in front of Elizabeth. A single tear slips down the right side of his face. “We’ll get you help, I’ll speak to the doctor—”
She cut him off. “I’m not mad.” She stood up, nearly knocking him over. She held her arms out toward him with a gentle smile on her face. Taking her hands, he stood up. “I want you to close your eyes.” Cain looked at her. “Please, just for a second.” Cain did as she said and felt himself being lifted off the floor.
“What the hell?” He looked down at his mother. She held him just above her head, large fangs covering the corners of her lips.
Elizabeth slowly put him down. Her face was full of worry as she looked at her pale, shaking son. She slowly backed away a few steps. “I won’t hurt you, Cain.”
He walked forward, his eyes filling with tears once more. He took hold of his mother, sobbing into her chest. “I didn’t believe you.”
“I think that’s enough excitement for now.”
“I’m all right. I want you to tell me everything. Do you really feed on people?”
Elizabeth looked up to the ceiling as she clenched her jaws. “Yes.”
He released his hold on her and looked down at the floor. “Have you killed many people?”
She lifted his head up to look at her and managed a sad smile. “No, I have not allowed myself to kill again.”
Cain looked at her in disbelief. “Are you not worried they will go to the authorities? The ones you feed on.”
Elizabeth stroked his face. “They do not remember what has happened to them after I have fed on them.”
“Do you hypnotize them?”
She smiled at him but this time it lit her face up. “No, I cannot hypnotize people. But they have no memory of the feeding.” Her face saddened, and she looked dejected, closing her eyes against the pain of the memory. “If I had known….”
Cain took his mother’s face gently in his hands and kissed her on the forehead. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Elizabeth could not look at her beloved son.
“Look at me, Mother.” He smiled as she peeked through her lashes. “I will always be here for you, no matter what. I will do whatever I can to ease this burden.”
Eventually, Cain knew everything. He did not blame her for what she did, but admired her courage in being able to prevent killing the people she fed on. Life returned to a kind of normality. Elizabeth began painting and enjoyed her son’s company. Often they would read together and go for long walks at night. So for the next few months, things stayed the same, until Cain became unwell.
He developed a cough that just would not go away. And then the fatigue set in and he started to lose weight. His appetite became almost non-existent. Once he started coughing up blood he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Elizabeth never left his side. All her energy was ploughed into caring for her only child.
***
Cain did not respond well to treatment. After weeks of watching him deteriorate, slowly dying before her very eyes, she could bear it no longer. She could not continue to live this life without him, not with what she had become.
He was the only thing that kept her in this world. Vasile had told her how he had changed her, and that vampires were not affected by illness. Was it possible to change her son? Would being a vampire save him from this illness? What if he was too weak for it to work? And if it did work would he be healthy again? Elizabeth felt she had no choice. She could not lose him. She had to try.
She kissed his forehead then closed her eyes. She held her breath for a moment and then dug her fangs into his neck.
Chapter 6
It was the third morning after Elizabeth had drunk her son’s blood and forced her own blood into his mouth. Cain opened his eyes and saw his mother looking at him, but she looked somehow different. He noticed things about her eyes, how they sparkled. Her skin seemed to shine in the light, and her heartbeat was slow. These were things he had never noticed before. There was no pain, no more coughing. His arms looked more muscular.
His mother smiled at him. “Cain, do you know who you are? Do you know who I am?”
His brow knitted together. “Yes, of course I know who you are, Mother. Why do you ask? Was the illness that bad? Did I lose my mind?”
“No, you did not lose your mind. I was afraid you would not remember things. I had no memory when I first awoke.”
Cain sat up. He shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
Elizabeth looked away. She could not let him see the sadness that now gripped her heart. “From the change.” She screwed her eyes tightly shut. Please forgive me. I only did it to save you.
“I don’t understand. What change?”
She opened her eyes and turned toward him. “Are you hungry, my son?”
Yes, he was hungry. He was starving! This hunger was consuming him. A sudden rage overtook him and he sprang up off the bed. He clenched then unclenched his fists, sensing another heartbeat close by. It was fast, pumping the blood around the owner’s body. He could almost smell it, and he wanted to taste it. He had never wanted anything so badly, and the urge was uncontrollable. He paced back and forward across the room, muttering. “Make it stop. Make it stop.”
***
His mother brought in a man who was dirty and wore rags, but that was all Cain saw. He never noticed how old he was or the color of his hair. All he could think about was feeding.
His mother made a small cut on the man’s throat with her teeth, and as the blood began to seep out and trickle down his neck, Cain started to shake. Then his jaw started to part a little as a pain so pleasurable it was almost orgasmic overtook him.
Elizabeth saw his fangs, drool dripping off them.
But his eyes were transfixed on the blood. The smell, the sight of it, controlled him. The blood was all that mattered. Cain lunged at the man and tore his throat open with his teeth.
He began to drink and the world became m
ist. His eyes rolled back in their sockets, all his senses dulled to the outside world, every cell in his body immersed in ecstasy. He wanted the bliss and the euphoria to continue forever. He could feel the strength running through his body and he felt empowered. He heard a voice in the distance.
“Cain, stop! You are killing him. Please! Try to control it.” Elizabeth shouted at him, but it was too late. The body of the man slowly slid out of his hands.
Cain hadn’t even noticed his hunger had passed. He stared at the body, feeling confused. Why do I not feel sickened by what I’ve just done? Why do I not feel anything? No regret, remorse? “Mother, what have you done? You have made me into a monster!”
Elizabeth took a sharp breath and held her hand out toward him. “Cain, you are not a monster. But I could not let you die. I could not lose you.”
Cain slapped her hand away. “So what happens now? I’ve just killed someone in front of you!”
She took a small step closer to him. “I killed my first victim too. You will learn to control the thirst. You are like me, and it will take time. But you will manage it.” She tried to give him a reassuring smile.
Cain shook his head and looked deep into her eyes. “What if I don’t want to let them live?”
She backed away toward the wall, a look of horror on her face. “Cain, I can teach you. They heal within minutes if the wound is not too great, but you have to be careful. If you do too much damage they may not be able to survive….”
Cain ran at her. He slammed her against the wall, burning anger in his eyes. “Enough, Mother. Do you not realize what you have done? You have condemned me. I hate you for this.” He glared at her for a few seconds before he stormed out of the room.
Elizabeth slowly slid down the wall, her face buried in her hands.
***
As weeks turned into months, Cain still didn’t have any remorse for his victims. He simply didn’t feel the need to let them live. He was cold toward Elizabeth and hardly spent any time with her.
Elizabeth continued trying to teach Cain how to feed without killing. “These people have families. They have mothers, fathers, and children. Please, try to remember this. As soon as the heartbeat speeds up you must stop. That’s the sign that their body is starting to struggle from loss of blood so you must stop.”