
By Carla Krae
Published by Carla Krae at Smashwords.
Copyright 2011 Carla Krae
First Edition
Cover art by Dara England.
The right of Carla Krae to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons--living or dead--is purely coincidental.
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Previously...
Why had this happened to me? Had I not been faithful and obedient? My brothers died and went to Heaven, yet I was denied. Why must I bear this curse...what purpose lay before me?
"Adamo, I am four hundred years old. Whatever you are planning, you will not get away with it," Juliet said.
"I do not have plans. On the contrary, I am lost."
"You would rather have died with the others?"
"Yes. It would be the natural order of things."
"Perhaps I will tire of you and give you your wish, Adamo. We do not grow old, but we are not invincible."
A seed of hope grew in my heart. I would do my best to bore this creature.
So many scents and sounds bombarded my senses on the journey. Cypress trees, olive groves, vineyards and wheat fields. Though the curtains were down---and I was afraid to touch them without the woman telling me to---an overwhelming amount of information came to my ears and nose through the thin walls. It was probably fifteen years ago, at least, since I'd been on the roads, so with no idea where we were going, I could only guess by the scents of the countryside flora. I longed to see Italy again and cursed the stupid curtains.
Her eyes were closed, but somehow I knew she still observed me. "Like a newborn, aren't you?"
"Pardon?"
"I forgot what it is like to be new. Like a puppy." She set her hand on my shoulder and squeezed a pressure point, making me near-curl off the bench from the pain. "I don't like dogs."
"Please..."
"Nose to the ground, dog." She kept applying pressure until I was bent double, then I felt her shoe on the back of my neck. "Stay."
She could stomp my head off my shoulders if she wanted. I felt as sure of it as there were four seasons and twenty-four hours in a day. Fear chilled me to the bone. For the first time in my existence, I didn't know if I would survive the next minutes or hours...but it was what I wanted, right? To end this?
No...not exactly like this. I no longer had certainty in the fate of my soul, but dying in this position would not weight the scales in my favor.
In a burst of energy, I pushed off my hands, knocking her leg aside and pouncing on her faster than I could have imagined. I wrapped my hands around her throat and she---
Laughed.
Laughed!
"So there is a backbone in you!" Faster than I moved, she rolled our bodies. "But I prefer being on top." Like the viper I'd thought her to be, she struck at my neck.
Her speed was too much for me. She bit deep and shook her head, mangling the soft tissue and causing the most intense, burning pain of my life.
You did it. She is going to kill you. Make your peace.
Blood flowed into the carpet of the carriage. My vision went black.
I welcomed oblivion.
"Juliet," one of the men barked. So that was her name.
She growled, but froze. The carriage had stopped.
"My lady...if you bleed him out now, the carpet will be ruined and the carriage of no further use."
She rose. "You are too practical, Vittore. Can't I have any fun?"
"When it is prudent, my lady, of course."
She moved to him and stepped out of the coach. The man, Vittore, leaned in, waved a hand over me while speaking in a foreign tongue and my neck tingled.
Oh merciful Heaven.
The excruciating pain played all over again and then I felt my flesh knit together. Lifting a weak hand to my neck, I discovered unblemished skin. "No..." I whispered, and curled in on myself. So close and the bastard pulled me from the jaws of Death.
A hand wrapped around my ankle. I was yanked out of the carriage feet-first to drop on the ground with a thump. They could kick me, stone me...I did not care.
"Get up, fool," he ordered.
"You don't own me."
He grabbed my shirt and hauled me to my feet, a surprising feat for a much smaller man. "I do not, but she does and you will not embarrass her by wallowing in the mud."
"Let me go. I am of no use to you, any of you!"
His eyes were black in the dark. "Listen, boy. You have no rights. You are a pet, one she will tire of soon, but until then, you will do as you are told."
I nodded. He released my shirt. Juliet petted his head, he turned to her, and she kissed him in a vulgar manner. I turned my head away.
Could I run while they were distracted?
Nay, men on horseback had come around the coach on either end and flanked me. I couldn't outrun a horse, and they had sword sheaths on their belts. If any of them carried muskets, the risk was too great.
"Is it not precious how you can see his little mind working even in the dark?" she said.
"We need to keep moving. There isn't much time."
She sighed. "You are right, of course. Back in the carriage, dog." And kicked me.
I scrambled inside, my stomach turning at the wet sound of my shoe on the bloody carpet, and sat on the opposite bench from before. Vittore helped Juliet inside and closed the door. A word was given to the driver and we started rolling again.
She was grinning like a feral cat, fangs showing. "You are a tasty treat, Adamo. But attack me again and you will beg for the sun. I do not tolerate disobedience. Ask Vittore about his scars some day if you do not believe me."
"Yes, signora." I had no more energy to fight.
By the time we reached the villa, I only wanted sleep. She kicked my foot when the carriage stopped and gestured for me to precede her. I opened the door and surveyed my surroundings.
Unlike the typical garden style I remembered, the entrance to the house was shrouded by trees. Had this been done on purpose to protect the vampires, or did they overgrow from neglect? I wondered what region we were in and if I would recognize the name. The air was cold, yet I did not feel it like before. Strange.
"You. Boy."
I turned to one of the men.
"Follow your lady inside."
Juliet was walking up the front steps, Vittore at her side. She paused and looked back at me over her shoulder, the look in her eyes chilling my blood. Hurrying to catch up, I wished for my walking stick. The men laughed at my awkward gait. My muscles weren't used to speed.
The villa was old and smelled musty, like a cellar. It must have been closed up and empty for a while. A grand staircase led up to the living quarters. Her heels clicked to a stop on the polished stone floor.
"See to it he has the room next to mine. I need someone to eat," she said to Vittore, and turned down one of the halls.
"Come with me," he said, grabbing my arm.
"Unhand me, sir. I can walk of my own power."
He gripped the collar of my shirt and lifted me off my feet. "You have no power here. The men answer to me and I answer to Lady Juliet. Hold your tongue or I will serve it to you fried in oil. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
He smiled, an unpleasant expression. "Good." He dropped me, grabbed my arm again, and climbed the stairs.
We went right at the top and continued to the end of the corridor. He stopped at a closed door and took a ring of keys from his pocket. When the door was unlocked, he shoved me inside. It closed and locked behind me.
Once a grand room, it was quite opulent despite the coating of dust. A four-poster bed stood in the center with a dark red and gold coverlet. The chest of drawers sat against one wall, a pitcher and basin on top. A tall cabinet on the other side had a full-length mirror next to it. I walked to the mirror to see what I looked like now, and gasped.
"What sorcery is this?"
I tapped the surface of the mirror with my finger. It was hard, cool, and seemed normal, yet my reflection was absent. Was this an affliction of the vampires? How cruel to be granted my sight, yet denied my image!
Perhaps I didn't exist. Yes! Perhaps this wasn't real at all, a figment, an imagining.
A dream.
I pinched the back of my hand. Nothing changed. Thinking it might need to hurt more to wake me, I pinched the skin on my arm hard enough to bruise.
Still nothing.
Perhaps I could escape my captors, if not my fate. I went to the window and tried to open the shutters, but they were bolted shut.
Exhaustion and despair started taking hold. Tired of fighting, I stripped off my shoes and climbed into bed. It was a feather mattress, the first I'd felt since boyhood, and the softness lulled me to sleep.
\*\*\*\*
An intensely pleasant sensation coursed through my body. No sight, no sound---only these strange waves of elation. Then...the scent of roses and spice.
"There you are, bello. I thought you might sleep through the whole show."
Juliet sat on my lap, nude. I moved my arms to shield my eyes and found I couldn't. Chains jingled above my head where my wrists were restrained.
"Get off of me."
She rocked her hips and I felt another wave of sensation.
"What are you doing?"
Her brows rose. "You really don't know?" Then she rolled her eyes. "No, of course you would not. If it wasn't for making wine, a monk would be useless."
My eyes shut against her nudity, I said, "I don't understand." Her weight shifted and I felt her arms rest on my chest and pressure on my manhood.
"Adamo...look at me." Though I didn't want to, I looked. Her face was right in front of mine. "Do you feel this?"
Something squeezed down there. I nodded.
"I did that, Adamo."
"Yes, but--" Another squeeze. The corresponding feeling was...amazing.
She pushed up on her hands and rocked her hips again. "It gives you pleasure when I do this, yes?"
I nodded. My breaths came in time with her movements. Then I remembered, "Wait, no, you shouldn't--"
She pressed her hand over my mouth. "Adamo, you're dead. No longer bound to the rules of man or deity. We do what we want. Feel what we want. Do not argue with me or there will be consequences." To enforce her point, her nails dug into my chest, drawing blood.
God help me, but the pain enhanced the pleasure I was feeling. Something called to a part of me and I felt something answer back. Fangs suddenly poked my bottom lip and an animalistic noise rumbled in my throat.
Juliet smiled. "Better." She bent down and touched her lips to mine.
I watched her move on my lap like she was riding a horse and became entranced by her bouncing bosom. They were lovely, with rosy centers. Feeling an urge to touch her, I strained against the chains. The manacles cut into my wrists. She moved faster and faster, then her body convulsed and she let out a loud cry. Was she in pain?
She sighed and it sounded happy. "Thank you, childe." She moved off my lap and the bed, then put on a robe from the floor and secured the tie around her waist.
"My lady..."
"Yes?"
"The chains are still on my wrists."
She smiled again. "I know." And she opened the door. It locked again after she left.
Confusion, then frustration, took over my mood. I was hungry, restrained, uncomfortable, and my body still needed...something. Left naked and exposed on the bed, I also felt ashamed for falling asleep so deeply and letting her take advantage of me. Now I was tainted.
Impure.
I prayed for forgiveness, then yelled for help. The vampires might ignore me, but surely someone would show compassion?
\*\*\*\*
No one came for hours and I drifted back to sleep. I woke to feeling the cuffs removed from my wrists and gnawing hunger pains in my belly.
"Thank you," I said to the maid. The wounds on my wrists were closed, a ring of dried blood around them. The bedclothes had been pulled up to my ribs.
She was a plain-faced girl in peasant clothes, her skin browned from labor in the sun.
"Please, miss, what is the time of day?"
"Not yet evening, sir, but the sky is dark. They say it might rain."
Late enough to escape the house. "Is there a way out that the guards cannot see?"
She turned to me with wide eyes. "Do not ask such things, sir. Please." So she was a captive, too.
I wouldn't endanger her. There had to be another way.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
What was that sound? "Do you hear a drum?"
"No, sir." She brought my clothes to the bed. The sound grew louder.
I was so hungry.
She glanced at my face and screamed. My hand shot up to cover her mouth and muffle the sound. The drum beat faster.
The girl was in my arms and my teeth in her throat before I could think to do otherwise. Oh, sweet... Hot blood filled my mouth as I gulped it down like water from an oasis. She struggled, but it was useless, my arms bands of iron.
The drum beats slowed.
My God, what was I doing?
I dropped the maid like she'd burned me and scrambled to the far side of the room. The beat of her heart pounded in my ears. I almost killed her. Almost took an innocent life. Curled naked in the corner, my mind chanted monster, monster, monster.
Juliet found me this way minutes later, the maid sobbing quietly on the other side of the bed. I felt the presence of my maker the moment she entered the room, though I hadn't looked up when the door opened.
"Pathetic," she spat. "Take her to the cellar. I'll deal with this."
"Yes, my lady," a man said.
She crossed the room to me, heels clicking on the wood floor and skirts swishing around her legs, and grabbed my hair, hauling me to my feet. I howled in pain.
"We do not cry over food!"
"Please...end this."
Her blue eyes narrowed, her lip curling up when she snarled, "No." Yanking my head back, she forced me to look at her. "Look at me. You will do as I say when I say without thinking, Adamo. As of this moment, your mind is no longer your own."
"My mind is no longer my own," I heard myself echo. I couldn't look away from her eyes despite wanting to.
"You live to please me and perish only when I wish you to."
"I live to please you and perish only when you wish me to."
Her grip on my hair eased. She stroked my face with her other hand. "There...that feels better, does it not?"
"Yes."
"Now, Adamo, dress your self and come downstairs. It is time for your lessons to begin."
"Yes, signora." Mechanically, I walked to the bed where my clothes had been left and picked up the folded shirt. From inside, I watched my body go through the motions, following her commands, and felt an all new level of fear.
If she could command me to do anything, what would she think of next? What might she make me do?
I found her waiting in the foyer dressed in a simple shift, like an undergarment. Had she no modesty around all these men?
"You are hungry, Adamo, are you not?"
"Yes, my lady." My voice came out in a dull monotone.
"Follow me." She headed down the same hall she went to when we first arrived and opened a door to stone steps leading down into the earth---the cellar.
A lit torch on the wall at the bottom of the stairs led the way. It was an open room under the house. The scent of earth, dirty humans, and old blood came to my nose. Chains scraped and rattled somewhere in the dark recesses.
"Welcome to my larder, Adamo. What is your preference? Young, old, man, woman?"
"I do not--"
"Adamo."
I felt a stronger wave of compulsion hit me and was forced to say, "As is your will, my lady."
"Good boy." She took a set of keys from her pocket and walked into the dark. I waited. She soon walked back, guiding a young woman by the arm. The girl's eyes were empty. "Eat her."
My feet moved forward though I did not tell them to, my arms reached for the young woman, my head bent to sniff her neck, and my fangs sunk into her tender flesh. The first bite was into muscle and didn't feel right. The monster inside me took over using my new senses and bit into the girl's neck where the drumbeat pulsed in her throat, releasing a hot flood of blood into my mouth. To that dark force, it was the best thing I had ever tasted.
The more I swallowed, the more I felt Juliet's pleasure, first from her smile, then her soft hand petting my hair and the nape of my neck. When I heard the young woman's heart slow and stutter, I dropped her and looked to my mistress for approval. She stepped up to me and reached out to wipe a dribble of blood off my chin with her finger, licked it, then kissed me to suck up the rest. The monster inside kissed her back and purred, holding her curves close to my body.
The girl didn't move, but she was still alive. I hadn't taken a life.
One victory for the night.
"Juliet."
"What is it now, Vittore?" She let go of me and faced him, hands on her hips.
"Full moon tonight, my lady."
"What is the significance of the moon?" I asked.
"We have not heard a wolf howl throughout this countryside, Vittore," she said, ignoring me. "I am not worried about the hunt."
"More things are ruled by the moon than the lycan. Take the boy out once it has passed."
"Vittore...do you honestly think I cannot take care of myself? I walked this earth a hundred years before you were born."
"I have eternal faith in you, my lady, but the boy is a weakness the clan does not need. Send him out to Fate or be done with him."
A low growl started in my chest. The demon was posturing.
"Silence, childe." She walked to Vittore on silent feet. "Are you jealous of the puppy, lover?"
"Of course not. I merely question the strategy of bringing a newborn into our house. He could bring ruin upon us with one night of folly."
"Pffft. The boy is enthralled. He can't scratch his nose right now without my command."
Vittore did not look convinced. My mind was open to her, yes, but I was listening and learning and so was the darkness inside. Juliet might make my life miserable, but she had a short attention span. He was the bigger threat. Could he be made into an ally? Perhaps we could reach a mutually beneficial agreement that would let me escape.
His eyes narrowed at me. He could see me thinking. I lowered my gaze and waited for instruction.
"Come, Adamo," she ordered. I followed her upstairs, through the house to the kitchen, and out the back door.
The moon was the only light for miles.
"It is time for your first hunting lesson, childe. If you catch me, there may be a reward."
Juliet took off running, her ebony hair flying behind her like a horse's mane. Feeling excitement and anticipation well up from the demon inside me, I gave chase.
\*\*\*\*
The weeks that followed were a blur to my conscious mind. Juliet existed to shun boredom. Never satisfied, she moved the clan from town to town, region to region, acting like a noble or princess all should bow to one night, then masquerading in boy's clothes the next. From how skilled she was at it, I guessed she'd been keeping the ruses for most of her four hundred years.
She dressed me in fine clothes and made me dance at balls while she lured some poor unsuspecting gentleman to his death. Women fancied me wherever we went and I did not understand why. Though I wasn't experienced in the ways of the world, I had been classically educated and could handle small talk with them. I wanted to scream at them to run, but that was the first thing Juliet took from me when she allowed me in public. Couldn't they see...sense...I was evil? A wolf in sheep's clothing.
The sights, though...sheltered in the monastery, I had lived as if wrapped in wool batting. The vampire senses were so acute, even the taste of human food still appealed to me. She never ate more than a bite or two at the fancy suppers, but I reveled in every normal morsel served to me, hoping they would lessen room for the blood she would force me to drink later. For minutes, a precious hour, I could pretend I was like them.
I would give it back in a heartbeat to be the master of my thoughts again.
When we weren't charlatans, there were lessons. So many lessons. Vampire codes of conduct, human codes, languages, politics, fencing with Vittore where he took pleasure in every drop of blood, and pleasing her. A prisoner to her spell, I watched myself do things I never would have imagined. I retreated furthest into my mind during the sex, letting the demon take over. She was sick and twisted, and pleasure and pain went hand-in-hand, though the pain was usually mine. She punished me until I got the lesson perfect.
There was no such thing as perfect.
Juliet left me with few moments of autonomy, preferring to mold me into her image of the perfect vampire.
Bits of information tucked into the back of my mind, though, the safe place where I plotted my escape or revenge in my dreams. I took note of Vittore's jealousy of the attention she showed me. She made me hunt, but didn't order me to kill. The discovery of that loophole gave peace to my soul and I drank only enough to quiet the hunger. The compulsion made me answer her commands with honesty, but the literal nature of the magic gave me choice.
I watched, and I waited, and hoped something would break me free of her will.
\*\*\*\*
My moment came in 1731; nearly a year after Juliet changed me. She ordered me to tell her my past.
We were in her bed, after a morning of fornication. She sat up, her palms on my chest, and asked, "Do you still have family alive, Adamo?"
In my fatigued and sleepy state, I made the mistake of saying, "What does it matter? I could never go back."
She leaned her weight on her hands. "Look at me."
I felt the compulsion make me meet her eyes, and locked my jaw. She would have to take information about my family by force.
"You will tell me where they live, Adamo."
"I...will not."
Her eyes widened. "You refuse me?" Her nails sunk into my skin. "How dare you, you insolent little worm." Her hand shot for my throat, but I caught her wrist.
Months ago, the pain would have helped her cause. Now I was used to bearing it.
"I've let you corrupt me in every other way. My past is not important." Using all my speed, I grabbed her at the waist and threw her off the bed.
She'd landed gracefully by the time I was on my feet. Her eyes were glowing red and I had never seen her so furious.
"Vittore!" she yelled.
I put on my trousers and dove for the window. With any luck, the awning still shaded the wall outside and I could get away without burning.
Damnation!
The shutters were nailed shut. The moment I gripped the edge of them to rip them off the wall I felt Juliet's claws in my back, shredding skin while she shrieked like a banshee. Striking on instinct, she was knocked back, a ribbon of flesh going with her. The scent of cold blood filled the room. Her nostrils flared and she pounced at me again. Using her momentum to roll both of us, I caught her and flung her away.
Despite the power of her age, she was a small woman and light in weight.
With another burst of speed, I reached the door and opened it, prepared to run.
Vittore was there.
When I regained consciousness, I was chained to the bed. I hated chains almost as much as I hated Juliet. They were arguing, and she was dressed again.
"How can he fight me? It should not be possible!"
"Perhaps you underestimated his will. I told you he was trouble when you found him."
"Say 'I told you so' one more time and I will wear your tongue for a pendant."
"Threaten me all you like, my love, but truth is truth. The boy isn't right. His heart still rules the demon too much."
"Killing his heart is the point of finding his family!" She suddenly turned to me. "You understand that, don't you? We are your family now, Adamo, and the sooner you accept that, the easier the world will be. The humans did not want you. Cast you aside. Couldn't see your potential." She leapt onto me. "I do. Don't you want to be powerful? Feared? I gave you sight, childe. Would you throw that away over people who never loved you?"
I laughed. I couldn't help it. A recruitment speech? "What do you know of love, demon? Kill me or let me go. This farce has reached its end."
She shook her head, clucking her tongue. "Silly fool. I always get what I want. Vittore."
He handed her a flask. When she moved it toward me, I struggled with the chains, trying to buck her off of me and make her spill whatever potion he had concocted. She punched the side of my face, rattling my brain and making my jaw go slack for a second. It was all she needed to force my mouth open and poor the foul brew down my throat.
Drug or magic, I felt it start to work, slowing my reflexes and making sounds seem far away.
"...Tell me, Adamo...tell me where to find your family."
"I don't know! It was years ago."
"He's lying. Push harder."
Juliet took hold of my chin and bent down to stare into my eyes. She pried one lid open with her other hand. "Adamo. Tell me the absolute truth. Where are your family and what are their names?"
God help me, I did. She wormed so deep into my mind, she might have snatched the information out. The psychic attack left me shaking and colder than my dead body already was. My only hope was the knowledge was over a year old, from Mother's visit for my last birthday in the monastery, and rural Italy wasn't the streets of Rome, Paris, or London with street names and addresses. Any of my sister's husbands could have moved them away. From our current location in Vienna, it would take days to reach one of the settlements.
"Tell the men we move at nightfall," she said.
"What about him?"
"Keep him in chains. He cannot have the chance to warn them." With a final cold look in my direction, she stomped out of the room. I didn't want to know what she would do to exercise her temper.
Vittore remained.
Staring.
"Get it over with," I said.
He continued to glare.
"Whatever punishment you think I deserve today, do it."
"You possess intelligence, Adamo, but you are an idiot. I don't understand why she keeps you. You have been a constant disappointment. If you had any sense of self-preservation, you would have recognized the gift she gave you the first night she lifted you out of the dark."
"You are the deluded fool for worshipping her, Vittore. It will lead to your eternal ruin."
He laughed. "Back to the Bible again, are we? We're gods on Earth, Adamo. It is just words on paper."
"The Book and the cross wouldn't burn without power behind them. How much more proof do you need?"
"The people give them power, boy, not any deity. Belief gave the legends of old power until the belief faded away. No one worships Zeus or Odin anymore, and one day no one will worship your god, either. It's the nature of mortals---they change their minds."
It wasn't the first time we'd had this argument, and if I remained a prisoner, I doubted it would be the last. But I knew---I knew---he would burn in Hell one day.
"No retort?"
"You are hopeless," I said. He laughed.
"Hope is the denial of reality, boy. Sooner you accept what is, the better off you will be. I'll return for you at dusk."
\*\*\*\*
Juliet set out to sever my ties to the mortal world and make me watch while she did. One of my younger sisters' homes was first. Compelled to knock on her door, I rapped my fist on it three times and waited.
She blinked when she saw me and it took a moment for the memories to surface. "Adamo?"
"Good evening, Serafina."
"How...what...Mama will be very cross with you for not telling her you are alright!"
"I am sorry. I have not been able." Please don't ask, please don't ask...
"Well, come in, come in, and tell me all I have missed."
Her fate sealed, I walked across her threshold with Juliet behind me. I watched, unable to act while she attacked and drained my little sister of her life's blood. Serafina's mouth was covered by Juliet's hand, but her eyes...her eyes begged me to help her, then showed such betrayal I could not stand it.
When my sister went limp, Juliet looked up at me and laughed at the tears streaking my cheeks. Then, she bit her wrist and trickled her blood into my sister's mouth, and dropped the body.
"Follow me," she ordered, searching the rest of the house.
No...Please, God...
We found a nursery. A baby's room.
Juliet didn't bite the child and I began to hope some mercy had befallen upon my nephew. That seed of hope died when my sire laid the baby in my sister's arms.
"Sit and watch."
I did. There was no other choice. Time passed, I don't know how much.
My sister opened red eyes, the eyes of a monster.
"Sera--" The baby cried.
Those red eyes dropped to the squirming prey in her lap and I saw her new fangs descend. To my everlasting horror, she greedily fed from her own offspring. I wanted to snatch the baby away and run, but my feet wouldn't move. My fingernails dug bloody welts into my palms, the only sign of my impotent rage.
"This is only the beginning, Adamo. Keep fighting me, and I will make everyone you love just like this."
Serafina dropped the corpse and rose to her feet to meet her maker, blood dripping from her chin and staining her dress.
"Is everyone in your family so pretty, Adamo? Maybe I'll keep this one."
"No."
The command to watch complete, I regained use of my limbs. The chair leg plunged into my sister's chest with ease.
Her eyes faded to brown an instant before her body disintegrated to dust.
"That was rude, childe. Oh, well..." Juliet cleaned her face with a rag, stepped over the pile of ash, and went to the door. "Follow, Adamo."
Feeling the tug of my supernatural leash, I was forced to leave the scene without burying my poor nephew. Serafina's husband would receive a terrible shock when he came home and it was all my fault.
I could not let this happen again.
When Juliet let me go to bed that morning alone, I lay there trying to overcome the command on my body. And prayed. I did not deserve forgiveness, but my family was innocent and I was the only one who could save them. I fought with the demon's fear of disobeying its master until I felt it weaken in the face of my resolve.
Grief? Rage? Divine intervention? It did not matter why I moved, but I sat up, hung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood. A lead weight gathered in my stomach, the warning to not push against her command. Breathing through the unease, I gathered my belongings in silence.
The clan had partied due to Juliet's good mood about her successful evening and I could feel the house was dead this close to dawn, but I still needed to be quiet to have any chance of escaping. She had taken Vittore into her bedchamber, so that was one more plus in my favor. I crept down the stairs and encountered no one in my journey out the back to the stable.
Vowing to one day be strong enough to kill Juliet, Vittore, and the whole damn lot of them, I left on a stolen horse and urged the beast to put as many miles between them and me as possible before sunrise.
\*\*\*\*
Stopping at an inn in the opposite direction of my foe's next target, I got safely inside just in time and grabbed the stable boy. "Can you ride?"
"Y-yes, sir."
"Good." Finding quill and paper, I sketched a quick note. "Deliver this where I tell you with your best speed and there's a whole coin in it for you."
"Yes, sir!" He was a spindly youth, not yet grown into his limbs, but he seemed capable enough.
I told him where to deliver the note and what to say and sent him off. The innkeeper eyed me warily at this hour until I produced twice what the room was worth for the night. He took the coins without complaint and handed me a key.
"You need a meal?"
"No, sir. Just the bed will do, and to not be disturbed."
He grunted and left once he'd pointed to the right door. The bed was serviceable. I didn't need much after living a monk's life for so long, though the luxury Juliet preferred had been nice. In another bit of providence, the room was without windows, so I would be hidden from the sun.
I could not move about during the day, but neither could my enemies. The tension easing between my shoulder blades, I sat down to write more letters to send off. I hoped Mother could leave home in time. If Juliet was truly determined to exterminate my family, she might resort to more drastic measures now she didn't have me for invites.
For the moment, I was safe. First time in a year. With a dagger and wooden stake under my pillow, I slept.
My days of independence started with a routine of running the horse most of the night and finding shelter for the day. Sunlight stung, a lesson Juliet taught me. She thought it amusing to compel me to hurt myself in the early days. The months with the vampires showed me many things about the modern world. She wasn't a patient teacher and left most of the work to Vittore. His contempt for me was evident in every word and deed, but he was fair, possessing an odd code of honor for a murderer, and instructed me in the current affairs of men. Most importantly, I knew how to avoid trouble.
When I reached Rome, I hoped the great population would help me hide. I secured a room and discreetly asked for a young woman to be sent to me. Vittore taught me prostitutes were easy prey, though my plans for them were slightly nobler than his.
There was a knock on my door a few minutes after I went upstairs.
"Enter."
A girl came in, maybe no more than seventeen. She was reasonably pretty, with black hair to her waist and delicate bone structure. "How may I please you, sir?" When I turned around from washing the road dirt off my face, she smiled. She still had good teeth.
I extended my hand. "Dance with me?"
She put her hand in mine, an amused glint in her eyes. "But sir, there's no music."
Twirling her around, I made her laugh, and proceeded to lead her in a simple waltz. She picked up the steps with ease, enjoying the unique request. Women found me attractive and mastering the ability to charm them hadn't taken much time with Juliet compelling my confidence. When I kissed the girl, she eagerly participated.
Making her breathless, I kissed down her throat until I found the artery and gently slid my fangs into her skin. She moaned, her fingers clinging to my shoulders. I fed until she grew sleepy and laid her on the bed. I always slept on the floor.
The routine repeated every time I got hungry. By the time the girls awakened, I was out of the room and they thought they'd had a gentle customer.
I'd never kill again if I could help it.
\*\*\*\*
Rome had been my home for nearly two weeks when I received a visitor. I sat at the back of another tavern, sipping ale, when I felt the presence of family---vampiric family. Slipping my hand beneath my cloak, I felt for the dagger always at my side.
"Still, Adamo. If I wanted you dead, you would be." Vittore sat at my table and signaled the bar maid for a drink.
"Why are you here?"
"Curiosity. I wanted to see how the young wolf was faring on his own. Ate anyone good lately?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be sharing."
He grinned. "Touché." The bar maid came to take his order. "A bottle of your best wine for me and my friend."
"Is Juliet here as well?" I asked, hoping the query sounded casual.
"Nah. She wanted to head north. I didn't."
"Thought you were her devoted dog."
His dull brown eyes narrowed on me and I worried I had pressed my luck. "Careful, boy."
"Speak plainly---are you here to drag me back?"
He dropped all pretense of friendship. "No. Even if you wanted to beg forgiveness, I would strike you down."
"Then why find me if you despise me so?"
"To tell you, boy, that you owe me for your freedom. Do you think you broke her thrall all on your own?"
He helped me? "I thought--"
"Oh." He laughed. "You thought--" He continued to laugh, drawing eyes to our table. Done with his mockery, I stood to leave. Vittore grabbed my arm with an iron grip. "Sit."
I took to my seat again, but only to avoid trouble. "Why would you break her spell?"
"Because, you idiot, you don't belong--"
The truth dawned on me. "You're in love with her."
Certainly, I had heard him say the word before, but I never thought he meant it. His jealousy had seemed like nothing more than possessiveness over his mate, the same many animals showed every day. He wasn't capable of true love, but he felt enough for her to view me as a threat.
Knowing his weakness gave me a feeling of power.
A growl rumbled in his chest at the interruption. Crimson bled into his irises and for a second, I thought he would give away our nature in front of all the humans.
"You deserve each other," I continued. "The only threat either of you face from me is at the point of a stake."
"Try it. Vampires have a rule, Adamo---you do not kill your maker. Leave them, hate them, curse their name, but you do not slay an elder."
"Do you mean to say you would forfeit your life if she attacked you?" The idea was absurd.
"Yes," he said with absolute conviction. "My body and my blood are hers, same as you."
"I belong to no one."
He shook his head and stood with his bottle of wine. "You really are a fool."
Vittore left with the last word, but I felt I won something from the exchange. While I hated the idea of him assisting me, I valued his presence as an obstacle to Juliet reclaiming me. The constant fear of the past ten days released its grip on my chest and I could breathe.
I ordered another pint and considered where in this world of wonders I wanted to go next. For an immortal, the possibilities were endless.
The End
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