Dark Rapture (13 page)

Again the pain arched her back. It was enough to make her decide to cooperate, if only to get away from him as soon as humanly possible.
Human or monster.
What was she now?

“Am I still human?” she whimpered, not turning to look at him.

“Yes,” he answered gently. “You are a human being, created by God. But now immortality has entered your life. You are not dead, Scarlet, but you’re something
more
than human now. Don’t be afraid. I’ll be here for you.”

She wasn’t hearing him now. The pain was still there and her stomach ached. “I’m hungry,” she said, sniffing away tears. Finally she forced herself to look at Sebastian, although she wouldn’t look into his eyes. It was too hard to keep a rational mind when she did, so she concentrated on the fine black stubble that had appeared on his upper lip. “I
think
I’m hungry. I don’t know exactly what it is I feel.”

“It’s the blood hunger. I know this is going to be hard for you. Acceptance will come soon enough. But for now you must trust me.”

Trust? Is that what comes after you secretly conspire to make an innocent human being into a blood-sucking vam
pire
?

She wanted to express her anger by screaming at him, but she could only sigh and nod at his suggestions. Her body weakened by the second, and she wanted to get out of Vince’s house before they were discovered. The idea of Gary seeing her in this situation was unthinkable. But first she had to get away from Sebastian.

He stood and walked around to the other side of the bed. She could hear a metal scrape the floor and he came back to her and knelt down, holding the bloodstained knife in his hands. It gleamed and flashed.

“Trust me,” he whispered.

***

“Shall I drive you to her house, master?”

Francesco picked at the red thread hanging from one of the loose metal buttons on his coat. “No, we’ve other things to take care of first, Matthias.”

I just hope you can hold out long enough to help me, he thought with a glance toward the boy. The lad was becoming more of a zombie each day; his movements were listless and his eyes fixed in a drunken gaze. All commands were obeyed immediately and mechanically. Francesco sighed. Poor child.

“I need you to take me to one of the stores so I can get some clothing. I must blend in with the rest of the people. And I want to search out the blond man you told me about. From there I’ll know better what the future holds for Sebastian DelaCourte.”

“Yes, master.” The boy bowed to the ground and using the bed to pull himself back up, he hustled to get Francesco’s coat from the window ledge and help him pull it on. “You’ll need money to purchase clothing, master.”

“Oh, yes, I imagine I will.” Francesco thought of the gold pieces tucked within the black satin lining in his coffin. “First we shall go to a bank. I’m sure I’ll have more than enough to make myself a respectable member of this modern society.”

***

The shower clattered in the bathroom as Sebastian pulled the sheets off Vince’s bed and bunched them into a pile. He would dispose of them, leaving no evidence of his evil doings. In the closet he found a fresh set of sheets, which he pulled out and spread over the mattress.

He could already feel the new power swelling within his muscles. Creating blood children increased a vampire’s strength tenfold. This would certainly help in his imminent battle against Francesco. But it was hard to appreciate his new strength with Scarlet acting so coldly toward him.

Why couldn’t his blood child grant him the unconditional love that he had expected? He sighed and smoothed the sheets out across the king-size bed. He would give her time. After all, he had an eternity. And so did she.

***

Scarlet toweled off and combed through her hair. She had been disgusted when she’d seen the dried blood running off in brown pools from her hair into the shower. Yet, at the same time, she was amazed at her nonchalance toward drinking Sebastian’s blood. It already seemed natural to her.

And what about Sebastian? Her feelings ran the gamut. Cringing and running from the monster was her first thought, but she also had the intense need to wrap her arms around him and renew their passion for each other. He had been an exquisite lover. But did she want all the complications that came with being his lover?

Of course, it was too late, wasn’t it? She’d already fallen victim to a major complication of his love for her. Vampirism.

She pulled her wrinkled silk dress over her body, hooked her fingers under her high heels, and started for the stairs, surprised to see fresh sheets as she passed the bed.
I wonder where he got those?
She looked around at the empty dressers and bare, freshly painted walls. Vince hadn’t moved in yet. Still wondering, she went downstairs.

“So,” she said as she walked into the kitchen cautiously, avoiding a patch of sun puddled on the floor. “Do I have to stay away from crosses, holy water and the sun?”

Sebastian laughed. “You’ve definitely seen too many movies.” He pulled the curtains away from the kitchen window, allowing the hot morning sun to come in full force. He stood before it, basking in its warmth, as Scarlet sat down at the table.
“Au soleil.
Does it look like you have to stay out of the sun?”

“I guess not.” She was surprised, but her earlier suspicions had been proved.

“Don’t worry,” he added, “it took me over a century to discover the truth, myself. Much of what you know about vampires, or at least what you
think
you know about vampires, is myth. Crosses, fire, and garlic necklaces make for exciting movies, but in reality, we are more human than monster. Although…”

"Although?"

"Are you baptized?"

"Of course."

"Hmm, well then. You will have to avoid religious objects. A baptized vampire can be destroyed with a holy object."

"Great. Never did spend much time in church anyway."

Scarlet leaned back against the chair, crossing her arms in front of her. The clock was ticking, and she knew that Vince and Gary had planned to come here today, but she wanted to hear more.

“As for the sun, it will not harm you as long as you don't stand in it for long. You won’t melt or burn or whatever else you’ve seen in the movies. Prolonged exposure will give you a nasty burn much sooner than a mortal and our eyes are more susceptible to strain when exposed to direct sunlight, but you’ll adjust. A pair of sunglasses will solve that problem.”

“What else?" He leaned over the table. "Oh yes. You’ll no longer need to eat food of any sort to maintain your body. You’ll need liquids, but solid food is a mere luxury. So your grocery bill will go down.”

“But you eat. You did the night I came to your house.”

“Yes, I do occasionally, for appearances sake. And of course I’ll always have cravings for that delicious concoction called Jell-O. I love it.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. Sebastian’s passions were as eclectic as his lifestyle.

“Though I do wonder about the garlic thing,” he said thoughtfully. “That is one substance that I cannot bear to be around. Whether it’s the horrendous smell or if it does have some vampire repellent capabilities, I’m not sure. But I can’t stand to be around someone who has garlic on their breath.”

“So, I guess that means no more pizza, huh?”

“I’ve never tasted it, myself.”

“You’ve never had—” Scarlet gaped. To have never tasted pizza?

“I was never baptized, so I have no worry for crosses.” He plucked out the silver cross hanging around his neck and flashed it in the sunlight.

Scarlet swallowed hard, remembering how the thin silver metal had trailed over her naked body last night, following his mouth as it moved slowly across her skin.

“From the limited knowledge I have, vampires are not created by the devil. You were made from my blood, Scarlet.” He paused and tipped her chin up so she looked directly at him. “I created you from my soul. And my soul was once mortal.”

“But what about my soul? Isn’t that what makes me . . . me?” She was trying to understand though it didn’t make sense. “With your soul inside me, wouldn’t I be more like . . . you?”

“The soul is an entity, Scarlet. It exists inside of you and becomes your spiritual self. Your own individual personality is what makes you who you are and that is something that can never be replaced. It can change, of course, over time, as almost every person grows and matures, but the exchange of our souls won’t have a major effect on you.”

“Hmm.” She fingered a wrinkle in the material on her leg and thought for a while. Sebastian’s soul was inside her now but her personality would make it her own. He had created her and supposedly the devil had nothing to do with it. But weren’t vampires of the devil, wicked and evil and cursed by all God-fearing citizens? “How do I know you’re not the devil incarnate?” she asked.

To her surprise, this made him snicker.
"L’homme n 'est ni ange ni bete.”

She didn’t have the patience for his French today. “Meaning?”

“Man is neither an angel nor a beast. I am not the devil, though it may seem that way to you right now, and the devil did not rise out of the ground to create me. I don’t have proof that a devil exists. I’ve never met him, or been called upon to do his bidding. We are human beings, Scarlet. We did not die and rise from the grave to become the living dead. We are flesh and blood. The only difference between you and the man next door is that you now have to drink the blood of others to survive.”

“That’s quite a difference.”

“Yes, but do you understand me? You are not evil.”

“How do you know? Have you taken a vow? Are you schooled in vampire history 101?”

“Scarlet, I’ve lived many years and though I’ve encountered few other vampires along the way, I’ve learned enough to know what I say is true.”

Not created by the devil, she thought. Humph. God would never create such beasts. And he cursed the drinking of blood in the Bible.

But she thought about it for a while, putting her hands on the table and trailing her finger through a slash of sunlight. Holding them there in the hot light felt good and her flesh did not sizzle and melt off as she’d seen happen in so many vampire movies. God
had
created the men and women that became murderers and rapists. It was a possibility, she thought.

It occurred to her now that Sebastian may have walked the earth for quite some time. He looked her age but perhaps the vampire myth about eternal life was true. “How old are you, Sebastian?”

“I was born in 1750, and I was changed into a vampire in 1769, right after my nineteenth birthday.”

“Time has certainly been kind to you.”

She was amazed that he’d been alive for two and a half centuries. How could one possibly fathom living that long?

“A vampire’s aging process is nearly brought to a halt. Different kinds of vampires have longer life spans, such as the ones who are born vampires. I’ve barely noticed a change in my physical appearance over all these years, except that I’ve grown physically stronger and mentally I’ve expanded my horizons. Your depth and capacity for learning will astound you, Scarlet.

“You’ve much to look forward to in your new life of wonder and learning. An eternity of new experiences awaits you. And I’ll be there to enjoy it with you.” He leaned across the table, his gaze making her squirm. “Oh, Scarlet, you can’t imagine how happy I am. Finally, after all these years of loneliness, I’ve someone with whom to share my life.”

His words didn’t enter her mind. She was still stuck on the word
eternity.
The idea of being around to witness and take part in the future and all it offered did excite her.

“When will I die? Or
can
I die? I mean, you know, a stake through the heart or something?”

Sebastian laughed and took her hand into his. “A thick stake would cause your heart to burst and would kill you. But you’ve nothing to worry about regarding anything less than that. Don’t ask me how it works, but it’s a miracle I’ve been witness to.”

“You have?”

“Yes. I was shot once. Years ago, during a gang shooting. It was in the 1920s, outside a speakeasy I frequented. I was shot by a misdirected bullet. It went through right here.” He pulled his shirt aside, exposing the taut muscles on his shoulder. There were no scars, no marks of any kind. Only the tight, hot flesh that taunted her seductively.

“And it came out on the other side. Within minutes of being shot, I could feel this intense, for lack of a better word
healing
sensation. My flesh closed up and healed right before my eyes. Just like my neck.” He rubbed the smooth circle of flesh where the knife had slashed through less than an hour ago to provide Scarlet with her morning nourishment. “Yours will too, eventually,” he said as she fingered her own neck. “Though you’ll have a bruise for a few more hours, I’m sure.”

He spoke with great enthusiasm now. “Vampires are the supreme immortal, unable to be killed or stopped in any way, shape, or form. I feel that time is our only master.”