In the Face of Darkness (Lily Culpepper Book 1) (3 page)

“You will need to try harder.  Once Castor is here he will expect you to make a kill.  I won’t be able to protect you” she said.  Castor was the vampire who had made Endora a vampire.  We were back in Laurel to meet with Castor.

“Can’t you just force me?” I asked.  Endora held control over both Tino and I.  I remembered the way Endora had forced Tino to stop touching her when I had watched them in her room.  It would be so much easier to kill if it wasn’t my choice, I thought.  I knew that if it came to kill or be killed I would kill to save myself.

“The bond between a sire and a vampire has limits.  If I were to use my power to force you to do something against who you are our bond would break.  This is something you have to do on your own” she said. 

“If you force me to kill then you’ll break our bond?” I asked.

“Most likely not.  In order for a bond to be broken I would have to ask you to do something that you would rather die than do.  I don’t think you would have chosen the life of that boy tonight over your own.  I could have forced you to kill him, but the first kill is more than just the action of killing.  You have to realize how fragile and pointless human life is” she said.  I didn’t think human life was pointless.  I thought it was wonderful.  I envied them; they got to die.  Human’s looked at their lives and saw decades of happiness; I looked at my life and saw centuries of pain and longing.

“I’ll try” I said.  I knew I couldn’t tell Endora what I thought, but I didn’t think I could see human life the way she wanted me to.

“One day you will have a victim in front of you and something in your nature will take over.  It will be over before you even know it has happened”.

“What was your first kill like?” I asked.

“It was a man I had known when I was human.  He told me we were going to be married, but instead he ruined me by marrying someone else.  My father found out about the affair and realized an unmarriageable daughter wasn’t useful to him.  He cast me out.  Castor found me living on the streets.  He saved me and he let me have my revenge on the man who jilted me” she said.  “I didn’t ask for this life anymore then you did, but now it is the only life I could ever want.  I want you to have that feeling” she said.  “Don’t worry; I know you won’t let me down again.  Next time you will kill” Endora said.  Her voice was reassuring, but the words told me that I didn’t have any more time.  I either made a kill or Castor killed me.

“Yes, I will” I said and I meant it.  I was tired of being a vampire with humanity and I wanted it to end.  “I want to make my first kill.  I’m not sure what stopped me” I said.

“I know you won’t let me down again” Endora said.

“Maybe it was because he told me his name” I said.

“Well, now that is the problem.  Next time you feed off a human the only thing you should think about is how good they taste and let your instinct take over.  Don't think about their name” she said. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.  I’ll take care of this” she said.  “Oh, and tomorrow night I will need you to pick up a few things”.

“A few things?” I asked.

“Some humans” she said.  “Castor will need to be entertained” she said.

“And these humans, do they know that they are going to be the entertainment?” I asked and Endora smiled.

“I’m sure they think they are coming for a different type of entertainment” she said.  “Try not to think about it too much.  You are going to have to kill one of them, because if you don’t, even I won’t be able to help you” she said.  “I’ll let you rest now” she rose from the bed and left the room.

A soft thud took my attention from my thoughts.  It came from my open window.  I looked outside, and saw that the rain was still falling with a vengeance.  Then I heard the soft meow.  The cat was soaked to the bone and was shivering.  I went to my bathroom and retrieved a towel to dry the cat.  Once it was warm and dry, it curled up on my bed and purred.  I had always had a soft spot for cats.  My dad had been allergic so I’d never been able to have one as a pet.

I looked outside and noticed that the rain had slowed.  It would be daylight soon.  I closed the window and covered it with the heavy curtain used to keep the sunlight out.  Then I curled into bed with the purring cat.  I wished I could keep the cat.  It's soft head burrowed into my chest.  I wondered how this little creature could love so unconditionally.  It was as if the cat knew I needed comforting, and he had showed up just in time.

CHAPTER 3

It was just before sunset when I woke up, if you could call it waking up.  It was almost dark, and the cat was gone.  He had probably gone home, I thought, and if he didn’t have a home I hoped that he would find another safe place to spend the night.  I quickly put on a pair of dark jeans and a blue tank top before going downstairs.

I found Tino looking completely at ease in one of Endora’s horribly uncomfortable chairs.  A slow smile spread across Tino’s face when he saw me “Endora tells me you are going to pick up the entertainment”.

“That’s what she told me” I said.

“Here’s the address.  Tell them you are there for a pick up for Tino” he said as he handed me a slip of paper.  “You should leave now so you can get back before sunrise” he said.  I looked down at the slip of paper and noticed that it was in Mobile. 

“Why so far?” I asked.

“Only the finest quality for Castor, you know that” he said.

“And quality comes from Mobile” I mocked.

“We do what we can” he mocked back.

“I should go” I said as I took the keys from the
crystal ash tray on the table.

I walked out to the black BMW that was parked in the driveway.  I wasn’t looking forward to driving all night and having so much time to think about what would happen tomorrow night.  I had only met Castor one other time.

It was right after I had become a vampire.  Castor had wanted to meet the new addition.  Castor had wanted me to make my first kill then, but Endora had told him it was better to wait.  I was glad for her interference then, but now I wished I had made a kill back then.

There was something about Castor that unnerved me.  I had never asked Endora who he was before he was a vampire; I didn’t know if Endora even knew.  It was in his eyes and the way he looked at me.  The first time I met Castor I expected him to give me little more than a passing glance.  Vampire elders normally didn’t notice younger vampires, but Castor more than noticed me.  It was hard to explain the way he looked at me; it was as if he was looking at someone else.

I drove for several hours until the GPS told me I was at the address Tino had given me.  I looked at the GPS one more time before I could believe it.  I sighed as I looked up at the sign that said ‘Baby Dolls’ with the silhouette of naked women painted on it.

I sighed again as I walked thru the double doors.  The tackiness was oppressive and the music was too loud.  I could barely see because the lighting was low with a yellow tint.  The rest of the room, including the walls, was covered in red velvet.  And then there were the girls.  I realized that even though my sensibilities had changed over the last few years there were still things that shocked me.  I had never seen so many nearly naked girls before.  I wondered how they could be so free with their bodies.  I didn’t think I could ever walk around a room full of men in nothing but a thong.  Then there were the men; I didn’t want to think about the men at all.  All I wanted to do was find the person in charge, get the girls, and go home.

“You must be Lily; you’re even prettier than Tino said you were, but then Tino didn’t say you were pretty” the voice came from a portly man dressed in all black.  I knew the moment I saw him that he was the man in charge.  I also knew that he was a vampire, but looking about at the humans around him no one else did.  He gave me a conspiratorial look that silently told me not to tell his secret; not that anyone here would believe me if I told them that their boss was a vampire.

“I’ve got a long drive back” I said.

“Of course” the vampire said.  “You have the payment I was promised?” he asked.  I handed him the white envelop Tino had given me, and he put it in the inside pocket of his jacket.  Then he led me into the back room.

“This is Jane” he said as he pointed.  She looked like she was in her early twenties.  She had pale blonde hair that was curled to perfection.  Her hooded, deep blue eyes were framed with dark lashes.  She was wearing a pair of black, skinny jeans, and a low cut black lace top with a thin red ribbon tied around her waist.  Then he showed me Candy, Brigit, and Vanessa; all were blondes and all of them were pretty.  Castor would love them.  I loaded the four girls into the BMW.  All of the girls except for Jane fell asleep soon after I started driving back to Laurel.

“So what kind of party is this?” Jane asked.

“It’s just a normal party” I hoped I didn’t sound nervous.  I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to tell her.  “So how long have you been a…?” I attempted to change the subject.  I wished Jane would have gone to sleep like the rest of the girls.

“An entertainer?” she finished my question.  “Not long.  The money is good, but the hours suck” she said.

Jane continued to talk the rest of the way to the house.  I tried to tune her out by turning on the radio, but that just made her talk louder.  When we finally arrived back at the house, I couldn’t wait to get out of the car.

“She’s pretty” Tino said to me as I walk into the Langley house behind Jane, and I knew he meant Jane; she was just his type.

“Pretty annoying” I said.

“You sound jealous” Tino said.  I glared at him.

“I’m not jealous” I said.

“Wow, this place is beautiful.  It must be amazing to live here” one of the girls said as she looked around the room with apparent wonder.  I tried to see the house though her eyes, but all I could see when I looked at the room was a gilded cage.

“Yes, it’s like a dream.  Isn’t that right Lily” Tino said, and I forced myself to smile and nod at him.

Endora choose that moment to walk down the stairs.  I watched as all the eyes in the room turned to look at her.  Endora had an other-worldly quality that made her the center of attention in any room she walked into. 

“Good, you’re back.  Are these the girls?” Endora asked.

“Yes, these are the girls” I said as Endora looked over the girls.

“They’ll do.  Show them to the room in the basement” Endora said.  “I’m going to rest for the remainder of the night, and I suggest you all rest as well.  Castor’s party will be here at midnight tomorrow” Endora turned to climb the stairs to her room and Tino followed her.

I showed the girls to the set of non-descript rooms in the basement.  The rooms were only used when we had humans in residence.  Endora didn’t like the party snacks to sleep upstairs. 

“So this Castor guy is the one ya’ll are throwing this party for” Jane said.

“Yeah, he’s a good friend of Endora, and she wants to make sure he has a good time” I said.

“And what is Endora to you?” she asked.

“You ask too many questions” I said.

“Yeah, I get that a lot” she said.

“You should get some sleep” I told her.  They didn’t know it, but I locked the basement door behind me.  We couldn’t have the guests escaping.

I climbed the stairs to my room, and I sighed when I opened the door to the pink room.  It wasn’t much, but at least it was one place in this world that was mine.  Once I was inside my pink room, I stripped off my clothes, like stripping off everything that had happened that night.  I stepped into a steaming hot shower, and I scrubbed my flesh until I felt like I had washed the whole night down the drain.  I stepped out of the shower into a big fluffy towel.  Then I changed into my favorite pajamas and crawled into bed.

Every time I closed my eyes all I could think about was Matthias.  I didn’t know why he wanted me to come with him or where he wanted to take me, but I wasn’t going to let myself hope that he could give me a better life.

With Matthias on my mind, I knew I wasn’t going to get any sleep.  The whole house would be closed up for the day so I wouldn't have to worry about the sun.  I walked down the hall to the stairs, deciding to take a walk through the house and let my thoughts wander.  I'm not sure how far I had walked, but I was brought back to reality as I heard a crash in what Tino called the training room.  Tino said that you never knew when a war between the vampire clans was going to break out, but the last vampire war happened in the early 1800’s.  I was inclined to believe that vampires had risen above the need for wars.  Tino said that it meant we were due for war soon.  I think Tino was hoping for a war.

I stood in the doorway of the training room and saw Tino practicing with a wooden sword.  We used wooden swords because it was the only weapon that could kill a vampire.  I watched Tino for a while.  For someone who was used to killing with a gun, Tino had acclimated to using a sword very well.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Tino asked when he noticed me standing in the doorway.

“No” I said.

“Well, since you are here you might as well train with me” he handed me a wooden sword.  I didn’t like to train, but after the night I’d had I thought that maybe a fight with Tino was just what I needed.  I picked up one of the wooden swords and turned it over in my hand.

Tino swung his wooden sword in a large circle that framed his body.  It was a challenge that I could not ignore.  I mimicked the sword movement.  Then he struck.  The blow would have decapitated me had I had not blocked it.  Becoming a vampire had its advantages, like extra strength and lighting fast reflexes.  But even with my vampire strength, I was never a match for Tino, and he knew it.  He was playing with me, and I would let him.  I wanted to get in every blow I could before he tired of the game.

One of my blows had more power behind it then I expected.  Tino looked at me in surprise when it knocked him to the ground.  I felt something new rage through me.  It felt cold and empty.  It made me forget where I was and I hesitated just long enough for Tino to trip me.  Then I felt the pain of his sword as it pierced me just below my heart.  He twisted the sword till it broke inside me.  I cried out in pain and fell to my knees.

I could feel my organs being ripped apart as I felt the wood splinter inside me.  Vampires heal very fast except when wooden splinters are in the wound.  The pain had been the worst pain I had ever experienced.  I could feel my organs trying in vain to put themselves back together.

“I got a little carried away” Tino said.

“A little carried away” I yelled back at him.  I tried to stand, but the pain was too much, and I fell back onto my knees.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get Endora.  She will know what to do” he said as he left me alone in the training room.  He returned with an angry looking Endora.

“Damn it, Tino, of all of the times.  How could you do this?” Endora yelled as she knelt beside me on the floor.  “Lily dear, I’m going to have to get the pieces of wood out of you, and it is going to hurt”.  Endora and Tino moved me from the floor of the training room to a couch in the main room.  I had to lay still as Endora cut me open in ways that would have killed me if I was still alive.  She had to use a sharp, wooden knife.

“You’re lucky none of the splinters got in your heart” Endora said.  Any wood in my heart would have killed me instantly.  It made me think that even though vampires were technically immortal we could still be killed.  “Of all the stupid things that the two of you could to do the night before Castor’s visit”. 

I knew that letting Tino goat me into a fight was a mistake, but then I seemed to be making a lot of mistakes lately.  I wondered where that power had come from.  I had fought with Tino before, but I had never come so close to beating him.  I could have beaten him, and it scared me.  I didn’t know where this power came from, but I knew I didn’t want it.  I flinched as Endora removed the last splinter.  I felt my body close its wounds and heal.

I climbed the stairs to my room.  After showering I put on a pair of dark jeans and a pink cotton cami that I covered with a black sweater that wrapped around and tied into a bow at my waist.  I dried my long, candy red hair.  I overly applied the dark eye shadow and then red lip stain to complete the look.  I thought the dark eyes and red lips would make me look more dangerous, but I just looked like a little girl playing in her mother’s makeup.