Indulgence (238 page)

I stood up and walked over to the large wooden wardrobe. I
pulled open the doors and was surprised to find a large collection of clothes
and shoes. I flipped through the hangers and was quite impressed. Someone knew
me, knew my style. In my mortal life, I didn’t spend much money on clothes. I
had invested in an expensive work wardrobe, but didn’t see the need to spend a
lot of money on casual attire. But if I had, this was exactly what I would have
bought.

There were hangers full of jeans in every shade of blue,
black and some white, even a few pairs of leather pants. I grabbed the waist of
one, searching for a label but found none. At least 30 t-shirts were folded on
the top shelf, some plain, others adorned with Celtic crosses or tribal looking
designs, none of which had labels. There were fancier tops too made of fine
fabrics such as silk and cashmere and there were boots – lots of boots!

I mulled over the options, changing outfits several times,
wondering what I should wear to meet Vincent. I settled on a pair of tight, red
leather pants, a black blouse and black high heeled boots. I changed with
amazing speed, with almost the snap of a finger, and looked in the full length
mirror. Something was missing. I went back to the vanity and flipped open the
top where I found an assortment of necklaces, earrings and bracelets. I put on
a leather cuff and a necklace made of black, copper and silver chains. I looked
for something else to wear and spotted the oval ruby ring I had worn the night
of the Halloween party. The stone matched the color of my pants so I slipped it
on my middle finger and went back to the mirror.
Perfect
, I thought. And
not a hair out of place.

I glanced at the clock and realized it was time to go. I
walked to my bedroom door and gently opened it, careful not to make a noise
that the others might hear. I stuck my head out the door but no one seemed to
be around. I gently closed it and tiptoed across the room.

Once at the window, I leaned into the crank to muffle any
noise it might make and opened it. I hopped on the edge and turned to look one
last time at my room. I wasn’t going to miss this place. I hadn’t stayed here
long enough to feel nostalgic about it. But my siblings on the other hand, I
would miss. Especially Marlo. She had been the sister I never had. I would miss
my brothers also, but I had something much better to look forward to – my new
existence with Vincent.

I scaled the wall of the castle with ease, my high heeled
boots proving to be no obstacle. I reached the ground and looked up. It was
pitch black, the sky blanketed in voluminous gray clouds that rolled over the
full moon. I ran down the side of the castle and rounded the corner, speeding
along the back of the building as Vincent had instructed. I turned to look
behind me, but no one was there. I briefly glanced up and saw that Vincent was
right; the cameras were facing elsewhere at this moment. If they hadn’t been,
my siblings surely would have stopped me to see what I was up to.

I approached the corner of the castle and broke for the
woods. I glided across the dewy grass, the cool fall air pleasant against my
hot skin. My eyes narrowed on my entrance into the dense woods. I attacked the
branches and foliage as I pushed my body through the foliage, fluidly
navigating my way around the obstacles. I came upon a rock, pounced on it like
it was a diving board and threw myself into the air. I grabbed a branch and
vaulted over it, as polished as a trained gymnast, landing on another and
bounding to another branch and then another. I leapt from branch to branch,
having fun with my newfound skills until I thought better of it. I needed to
stop playing around and focus on the task at hand. I jumped to the ground and
concentrated on finding the river. I could hear it in the distance.

After several more yards I came upon water and stopped.
Vincent had told me to head north. I looked up the river, then down it.
Something inside of me told me to turn left. I dug my heels into the soft earth
and took off.

“Going somewhere?”

A familiar voice floated through the chilly air and stopped
me in my tracks. I looked in the direction of the voice but I couldn’t see
Marlo. I only saw a streak of black and gray moving amongst the thick shrubbery
and soaring trees. I must have imagined Marlo’s voice. I examined my
surroundings one more time and still didn’t see her. I took a step forward and
heard it again.

“Going somewhere, Allison?”

I looked in the direction of the voice but only saw swaying
branches as if someone had just run past the trees. “Marlo?” I called out.

A pair of lavender crystalline eyes emerged from the
blackness of the forest. The red hair followed and then the familiar pale face.
She wore black pants and a gray sweater that nicely showed off her toned arms.

“Marlo, what are you doing out here?” I asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I was just going out for some fresh air,” I replied.

“Really? And what was wrong with the front door?”

“I decided to try out my new vampire athleticism.” This
lying thing was really starting to get easy for me.

“Mmm hmm,” Marlo hummed as she approached me. She looked me
up and down. “Nice outfit for a walk in the woods.”

I looked down at what I was wearing. It really wasn’t
appropriate for a stroll in the woods.

“I uh, woke up from my meditation and decided to check out
the new wardrobe. I couldn’t resist wearing something new. Did you pick this
out for me?”

“Don’t change the subject. What are you doing out here?”

“I was going for a hunt,” I lied again, knowing I couldn’t
hunt this close to home.

“You’re going to see
him
, aren’t you?” Marlo
questioned, ignoring my response.

“See who?”

“Come on, Allison!” Marlo yelled with slight agitation in
her voice. “Stop playing these games. You’re going to see Vincent, aren’t you?”

“Marlo, I told you I was just taking a run; nothing more.” I
stared her straight in her eyes wishing I could make her believe my excuse.

“Which is it? A walk in the woods or hunting? They’re all
lies!” Marlo shouted. “My brothers were too blind to see it. But I can’t blame
them; men don’t pick up on such emotions.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, completely confused
as to what Marlo was referencing.

“You’re in love with Vincent,” Marlo simply replied, arching
her eyebrows.

The words hit me like a brick wall. How could Marlo have
known that? No one, besides Max, had been in the vicinity when I had confessed
my love for Vincent. My face must have given away something yesterday when my
siblings had grilled me over my Vincent sighting. Maybe I wasn’t as good of a
liar as I thought.

“I, uh, I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m just
going…”

“Stop,” Marlo instructed. “There are things you need to know
about your precious Vincent before you run off with him.”

“I’m not running off with Vincent!”

“Vincent isn’t the man you think he is. He’s not the man I
thought he was and I’ve known him for a really long time.”

Marlo now had my attention but I didn’t want my interest to
show. I had no idea what she could possibly be talking about or when she had
learned it. I wondered if Vincent had made contact with his siblings or if he
had left something behind at the castle.

“Marlo, if this is about Vincent transforming me without my
consent, I told you that it’s okay, I forgave him for that.”

“No,” Marlo said. “It’s not that. What if I told you that he
did something to speed along your symptoms? That he didn’t quite leave things
completely up to nature?”

“What? What are you talking about?” I demanded.

“The night of the Halloween party, the drink that Vincent
gave you wasn’t just wine.”

I thought back to that night and recalled going to the bar
with Vincent where he had leaned into the bartender to order our drinks. The
music had cut in just in time for me not to hear what he had ordered. I
remembered the bottles the bartender had grabbed including the green bottle
with the strange label that I had seen at the cottage. I recalled the taste of
the sweet liquid as it tickled my tongue. The drink tasted like wine yet was
different somehow. It had been quite refreshing, so much so it actually took
away the burning in my throat. Sort of like the blood of my first prey.

“Really?” I questioned sarcastically. “Then what was it?” I
couldn’t wait to hear the story Marlo was about to deliver.

“It was some sort of concoction. It was mostly wine but not
real wine.” Marlo shut her eyes and shook her head as if confused.

“Marlo, you’re not making any sense. It was wine but it
wasn’t wine? Which is it?”

“It was a wine made by gypsies. It’s a mix of red wines and
human and animal blood. Vincent had been drinking it for weeks and wouldn’t
share it with us. I don’t understand it and it doesn’t make sense. Gypsies and
vampires are enemies so I have no idea how Vincent got the wine or why he was
drinking it.”

I stared at Marlo. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. At
the cottage on Rattlesnake Island, Vincent had drunk that wine but wouldn’t let
me have any. He had said that I didn’t like that kind of wine. If he wouldn’t
let me drink it then, why would he trick me into drinking it at the party?
Vincent couldn’t be that vindictive. Or could he? I glanced down at my ring
which had the same dragon crest – the Drake family crest – on it that the wine
bottle bore but couldn’t make sense of any of it. “Are you trying to tell me
that Vincent fed me blood with my wine?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

“Okay, suppose that is true, why would he do that to me? He
knew I would have to consent at some point.”

“Vincent gave you the concoction hoping it would accelerate
your symptoms and that you would agree to the transformation sooner rather than
later.”

“Oh come on,” I said in disbelief.

“Haven’t you noticed Vincent’s penchant for unique things?”
Marlo shouted.

I jerked back at her question.

“His motorcycle, for one,” Marlo pointed out.

“So, it’s an Agusta…”

“A custom made, one-of-a-kind bike, Allison.”

“And your point is?”

“And his car – it’s a custom Maybach. That’s just one of
many expensive or rare cars he owns. And then there’s the castle. He went ahead
and bought it without consulting any of us. Like we really needed a castle.”

I couldn’t understand where Marlo was going.

“And his clothes, custom made by Francesca,” Marlo carried
on. “Your clothes, too. He had those made for you, you know.”

“What’s your point, Marlo?” I asked, my voice full of
frustration, my mind not knowing what to think.

“My point is that my brother has a fondness for things no
one else has. Things that are rare, one of a kind. Sound like anyone you know?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was Marlo trying to
tell me that Vincent only loved me because of what I was…a mortal descendant of
Cain who was morphing into a vampire? That I was something so rare and unique
that otherwise he wouldn’t love me? That I was just another prized possession
he wanted to add to his collection?

“He had to have you,” Marlo said. “It’s not that he
couldn’t
wait for you to consent -- he didn’t
want
to wait.”

Her words lingered in the air for a moment. “I don’t believe
you,” I said, shaking my head from side to side. “Vincent loves me. He wouldn’t
hurt me like that.”

“Vincent only loves himself,” Marlo yelled. “He had no
regard for you and your choice. He grew impatient waiting for you to give your
consent. So when an opportunity arose, he took advantage of it…and you. And now
he wants to run off with you and have you all to himself, his precious little
trophy that no one else has.”

“How dare you,” I shouted. “Why are you saying this? Are you
jealous that your brother has found love? Are you jealous of me?” I felt the
pit of my stomach begin to churn with venom. The anger I felt was building and
about to spread through the rest of my body.

“Why do you want to run off with him?” Marlo shouted at me.
“Knowing what I just told you, why would you want to go to him? He only wants
you because of what you are, because you’re a descendant of Cain. The first of
your kind to show signs of vampirism.”

“I don’t believe you,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“What I do know is that Vincent loves me and I love him. Besides, I believe you
made all this up in some desperate attempt to stop me from being happy. Well
you know what? I thought you were the sister I always wanted, but I’m through
with you. If you can’t be happy for me, well then that’s too bad for you. But
I’m going to find Vincent and we are going to disappear and be happy together
for eternity.”

I threw all of my rage into a full sprint, ready to run off
and find Vincent, hoping the cool air would erase the lies Marlo had just
spoken. But as I took off, her next words stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Matthew is alive,” Marlo shouted. Her words were clear
though my back was to her.

My boots stuck in the ground and brought me to a dead stop.
I froze trying to comprehend what I just heard.

“It’s true,” she said.

“Excuse me,” I questioned, turning my head to look over my
shoulder.

Marlo stepped closer to me. “Matthew is alive.”

“Matt died three years ago,” I whispered, still looking over
my shoulder.

“No Allison, that’s what Vincent made you believe.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The night of your accident, Matt was with you.”

“No, no, no,” I stuttered. “I woke up thinking that Matt was
with me, but Jenna corrected me; she reminded me that he had died years before.
Doctor Frid said the accident report showed me as the only passenger that
night.”