“I am your vampyre of light. I can help you with your immortal freedom.”
“Come, take my hand.”
“Let me drink from you and you will be in my possession.”
“You don't understand the meaning of a blood bond, do you?”
...all you wanted was a servant of your own!
“But it means more than that between us”
Warmth and softness overshadowed my deep memories of Lucious...
I awoke to a tepid, comforting home. “Where am I?”
“Shhh, calm down.” I heard a soft, feminine voice behind me. “You must have been dreaming.”
I turned and saw a woman, about in her 30's, sitting in a plush mauve chair with a book planted in front of her. She refused to look back at me. I continued to look around the room. It was nicely decorated and everything was sparkling clean. She probably dusted on a daily basis.
“Lay back and rest if you need to. You've been sleeping for two days,” she added calmly.
“Why am I here?”
She sighed realizing I was going to do what I wanted. Putting her book down on the coffee table, she met my gaze with empty emotion.
“I couldn't help but watch your brawl from my porch.” She gave a faint smile. “Ah, sorry, not much of an introduction. I'm Patricia.”
“You saw it?” I asked.
“Of course, the screams were quite loud outside my front door.”
Front door?
I sought out the nearest window and focused closely. Diagonally from her home sat Serena's mansion basking in the early fall moonlight. My heart hammered. Lucious, you're in there now, aren't you?
“Denial, correct?” Her voice caught me off guard.
“How did you know?”
“My husband suffered as well. When I finally found out about his problem, it was too late.” The hitch in her voice spoke more than what she said next, “He killed himself five years ago.”
Her eyes turned somber at that moment as she stared at the floor. I knew she missed him. It was surely the depressing tone I read in her gaze.
“I'm sorry to hear.” I gasped.
Is Denial so hard to bear?
“No, it's okay.” She wiped a rouge tear away from her cheek. “He never revealed to me his vampire ways until he became sick. One day while resting in bed he explained to me he was a vampire and that he couldn't feed for the distress was too great. He died a few days later.”
“So why did you save me?”
She looked up from the floor as I hastily moved my eyes away, not wanting to meet her lonely stare.
“Why? I don't want the same thing to happen and I hope you will eventually cure your denial. You need to find the one who gave you your curse and save yourself,” she explained. “If it wasn't too late for my husband I would tell him the same, if only I had known back then.”
“How do I do that when no one knows who or where he is?”
She stood from her chair and walked over to the couch where I sat. I couldn't help but meet her stare then as my head lifted from my hand. This time shades of concern and faith gleamed forth from her eyes overshadowing any dismay she was in earlier.
“I don't know, but I do know you haven't fed in quite a long time.” She sat down on my lap. “Please...”
She moved away the hair that had shuffled across her neck and my focus was immediately shifted. But, she was correct, my hunger at this point was too extreme for me to deny her.
“Y-you don't call the police?” I cleared my throat. “I mean, how do you know so much?”
“I've spent a long five years searching for answers as to why my husband died,” she said. “Now I know.”
Her breath was heavy from nervousness, I could only guess. Rapidly, I felt shaken by my denial as well. I felt sorry for her as she sat in my arms but I desperately needed to feed.
“And if I kill you now?”
“I just wish to be with my husband,” she admitted.
At that point, I knew she was serious. I wrapped my arms around her tightly as she looked at me with a pleasant smile. I bent her back upon my lap with my eyes planted straight on her neck.
“Forgive me?” I whispered before lowering my fangs.
****
Afterwards, I unwrapped the bandage from my wound to notice it had healed on it's own, then I walked out the door into the night.
I had two options. I could have stayed at her home to rest up a bit before setting out but I chose to leave immediately, knowing too well that I could be found easily being so close to where Serena was.
I wanted to get out of town. I wanted to end this so-called bond with Lucious but how?
I didn't recognize the neighborhood at all as I stood outside that home peering down the roadside. I noticed Serena's mansion, which sat silent in the moonlight diagonally from where I stood. Hopefully, no one would spot me as I started my journey down the street.
This part of the city was new to me as I drew closer to the downtown area. Cars quickly zoomed past and pedestrians walked by me without a second glance.
Now if only I could find a bus stop...
The small downtown district was very engrossed this night. Waves of night owls flocked past me as they closed in on their destinations. As I drew near a pub, a young inexperienced vampire stood with a whore next to the outside wall.
“Come on, baby. Just come with me.” He leaned in against her.
I walked by trying not to glance at the two as they scuffled in the light of the neon sign next to them.
“I told you no, Johnny!” she hollered, pushing him away from her.
Just as I thought I could get by the building without any hassle of my own, the door opened and a familiar face stood out in front of me.
“Shit... I'm going. Don't push me, damn it!” Sebastian yelled inside the bar at a bouncer who cracked his knuckles together.
He eventually turned his head to notice me desperately trying to walk past him in the shadows.
“You! Ah, shit man, I knew you were alive.”
He stepped towards me and I took one step back, prepared to walk in the opposite direction.
“Hey, don't worry, man. I won't hurt you. As a matter of fact, she kicked me to the curb. Fucking bitch!”
“That's too bad. Now if you kindly move so I can be on my way,” I said, trying to walk around him.
“Wait. You're just leaving like this?” He narrowed his brows.
“And?”
“I figured you would want to save Lucious from that place.”
“And why, exactly, would I do that? He's done absolutely nothing for me! Letting you jab me without a single glance. I could care less about that asshole!” Though my heart panged every time I even thought his name.
He moved to the side of the wall and I was able to walk past him for one second until Sebastian tapped my shoulder. I stood still facing away from him as he rested his hand on my shoulder. I wanted to yell and tell him to leave me alone but I was frozen there.
“You do have a blood bond with him, right?”
“Unfortunately,” I answered.
“And he has not told you who your creator is?”
Are we playing 20 questions?
“Why would he know?”
“Well, with all the huff and puff he's made about you...” Sebastian paused. “I just figured he... Why would he go to all that trouble to make sure Serena didn't touch you?”
Could he be right?
Standing there in shock, the thought ate away at me.
“What are you saying?”
“Doesn't it ring a bell in your tiny brain? I'm saying he could be your maker!”
There's no way he could be right... but then, it could explain why he didn't talk much about our blood bond.
“It's not possible.” I gasped.
“Oh, it's very well possible,” he affirmed. “What you need to do is find out directly from him.”
“How do I go about asking when he never answers my questions?”
Sebastian stood there silent and still. He crossed his arms together looking down at the ground like he was deeply analyzing the situation.
“I guess I could help you,” he said looking at me with a smirk.
I didn't know how to respond.
How was he going to help me? The last time I saw him, he tried to kill me.
“Meet me outside of the mansion tomorrow at 4 o'clock,” he finally said. “I'll explain everything then.”
I stood there confused and motionless.
“Oh, and put a shirt on man. The city's got a 'no shirt, no service' attitude.” He patted me on the shoulder and walked away with that same dastardly grin.
This entire journey was just completely disastrous. Not only was I brought to this new city against my will, bloodied and bruised, but now I was teaming up with Sebastian to break Lucious out of his cell.
I couldn't understand why exactly Sebastian offered his help but I wanted to know who gave me my curse and I never expected...
Lucious could be the one?
