by Toni Goode
She couldn’t believe this was happening. Demetri had locked her in a room full of silver. She finally looked out the window through the bars and all she saw was water crashing into the ground below. She was really high up and she couldn’t see land anywhere. Where the hell was she? She moved away from window as she ran a hand through her hair. How the hell was she going to get herself out of this one? She had no idea.
Natalie sat on the bed and waited. He couldn’t leave her in there forever!
Aidan paced his apartment. Sam had been gone for a few hours now and unless Aidan cut off his foot, well he wasn’t getting out of the state without alerting the authorities and he couldn’t afford to get into trouble now.
A knock on his door made him run to it as Dante stood there and walked inside. ”Is Eve ok?” Aidan asked as Dante huffed angrily.
“If I wasn’t so god damn worried about Eve then I would find that son of a bitch myself and kill him. He nearly drained her and to think that she could have ended up like a damn blood sucker!” He snapped. “No offense.”
“None taken. Sam should be back soon. He could have taken her anywhere.” Aidan paced again but then the front door opened as Sam rushed inside.
“I got nothing. He is fast. I lost his scent in England. He must of went far over the ocean. I lost her scent.” Sam said with a sigh.
“God damn it!” Aidan punched the wall hard. “I am so god damn useless right now!” He yelled.
“Listen were going to find her ok. We need to find his other hangouts. Someone has to know something.” Sam said quickly.
“I’m going to see if any of my contacts know anything. I will be In touch.” Dante said as he left.
“I’m going to check in on my contacts too. Why don’t you go back to the hotel room and see if he left anything there.” Aidan said seriously as he grabbed his cell phone and began calling people.
Natalie stared at the door. It had been nearly six hours since she was put in this room. Was he really going to leave her in there? She got up and went to the door. “Hello? Demetri? Hello!” She yelled as she began to bang on the door. “You cant just leave me in here! Demetri! LET ME OUT OF HERE!” She screamed as she beat her hands on the doors.
Two entire days had passed, and Natalie felt like she was losing her mind. Demetri hadn’t come by the door and now she was feeling sick. Her stomach hurt something awful and she felt weak. She leaned up against the wall and hit the back of her head into it repeatedly as she stared blankly into the room.
“Aidan help me. Find me.” She whispered as she sat there.
The sound of the door opening made her look up. Her eyes were so heavy she could barely keep them open. She held her hands around her stomach.
Demetri walked in and looked at her. “Ye look horrible wife.” He began as she rolled her eyes.
She couldn’t even get up as she sat there. “Go to hell Demetri!” She said with as much anger as she could muster.
Demetri leaned down and looked at her. “Ye haven’t eaten in days. Do ye know what happens when ye don’t eat Lass?” He said.
“You’re crazy. Do you want to kill me, then do it!” She snapped at him as she tried to stand but her legs were so weak. They couldn’t hold her up as she stumbled, and Demetri caught her before she fell. She looked up at him and glared.
“I dinna want ye dead me wife. Ye need ta see what ye are and that ye belong ta me. Only me.” He said softly.
“I would rather die.” She said dryly.
“Oh, my sweet wife, I wilna kill ye but ye will obey me.” He said as he brought her over to the bed and laid her down on it as he hovered over her.
“Screw you!” She snapped as she tried to sit up.
“So be it wife. Twill be painful. Ye will obey me. Ye will see soon enough.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead as she tried to shove him off but then he stepped back and quickly left the room as she laid there and stared up at the ceiling. Blood tears streaming down her face.
Nearly a week had passed since Aidan, Sam and Dante had gotten any good leads about Demetri. The man was secretive, and his past was questionable. He bumped around from place to place and he had multiple properties around the world. Dante and Sam had visited about ten of the different places but still nothing.
It had been over a week since Natalie had fed and she was starting to hallucinate as she laid on the bed. Her skin even paler than normal. She hadn’t moved in two days and she literally felt as though she was desiccating and that her body was turning to stone.
The sight of green eyes looking down at her made her look up. She felt like she was dreaming but then she saw Demetri come into focus. “Ye are looking pretty bad there wife. Ye hungry?” He asked as he brushed a piece of her hair out of her face. She tried to talk but couldn’t. “Ye now see what I was talking about? I canna have ye disobeying me. Ye are mine and mine alone. Do ye understand?” He asked as he kept looking down at her. All she could do was blink her eyes up at him. “Next time I will keep ye like this fer years. Do ye understand, wife?” He asked as he looked at her and then he walked over to the door. He yanked on the arm of the terrified girl with blonde hair who was screaming and trying to fight against him, but he didn’t budge as he got the girl over to Natalie. He shoved the girls neck towards Natalie’s mouth. The sound of fangs tearing into flesh and the girls scream filled the room as Natalie drank from the girl.
She drank into a frenzy until the screams became no more and she could finally sit up. By the time she was done feeding there was five dead bodies on the bedroom floor. Natalie looked on with horror. “What did you do to me?” She said with shock as she looked at Demetri.
“That was all ye Lass. Ye are a monster dinna ye forget that.” He smiled at her as she gasped in shock at what she had done. She had killed five defenseless humans. She felt sick and upset as she looked at Demetri. “Just imagine what a years’ worth would look like. Ye may drain tha entire continent.” He smirked at her. He touched her face and she jerked back some from his touch. He was really insane. She didn’t doubt that he wouldn’t lock her away for years if she didn’t go along with his plan. “Dinna be scared Lass.” He pulled her close to his chest and she began to cry as he held her. “Shhh sweet wife. I know ye missed me. I’m not going anywhere.” He said softly as he held her against him as she cried.
He pulled back and wiped the bloody tears from her face before his lips crashed into hers. She had never been so disgusted in her life as she was right now. He was a monster, but she didn’t dare upset him again as she forced herself to kiss him and soon he was tearing off their clothes. He entered her as she fought through tears. He was much rougher with her now or maybe it was because she saw him for the lunatic that he was. She tried to go to a happy place as he used her body. She thought of Aidan and she tried to pretend she was with him. She wondered if he was still looking for her. She didn’t even know if she wanted him to find her now. Would he still want her after everything? She wondered if this is how he felt with Caitlin the entire time. She felt hopeless and helpless. It was overwhelming. She would have to play along with Demetri for now, but she honestly didn’t know how much longer she could pretend.
Aidan got off the phone with yet another dead end. Demetri was really good about covering his tracks. It was starting to feel hopeless, but he knew that he couldn’t stop looking for her. She needed him, and he wasn’t about to let her down. The thought that Demetri could be hurting her or torturing her made him feel ill as she stood there and then he remembered his witch friends. Maybe they could help. They were always finding things that were lost or hidden. Maybe they could find her?
He quickly made a phone call to one of the local witches. A woman by the name of Marianne. Her phone went to voicemail and he left a long message for her and now all he could do was wait. He wasn’t good at waiting but at the moment that was all he had.
Chapter Eleven
Another week had passed, and Natalie was still stuck around Demetri even though he allo
wed her to go out of the room, but it didn’t mean much because the castle was in the middle of the ocean on some weird cliff of sorts. Every window and door was laced with silver. She had tried them all, multiple times.
For now, she was playing nice with Demetri if that was what this charade of a marriage was called. He had gotten her an old Victorian dress that she wore and she wondered if he was trying to relive a memory from a different time. She was going to find her spot, something that could make him release her or an opportunity to kill him. Whichever happened first.
“Ye look beautiful Lass. That dress fits ye perfectly.” He smiled as he walked over to her and put his hands on her hips.
“Thanks. Whose dress was it?” She asked, and he looked perplexed as he shook his head.
“Just a dress.” He said as he smiled.
“Well it is beautiful. It seems authentic.” She said softly, and he pulled her close.
“Tis authentic, just like ye are.” His lips landed on hers in a soft kiss and then he slowly pulled back. “Ye are not happy here?”
“I am. I just. It would be nice to go out sometime. Dance or something.” She said softly as he smiled.
“We can dance. Just wait here.” He said as he left the room quick and then came back with an old record player.
Natalie sighed. Every time she tried to get out he would make up some reason to stay. She needed to get the hell out of here. She began to wonder what could happen if she tried to drain him. Would it weaken him? Could she even be able to drain him? Sadistic ideas ran through her head as he put on a slow song. It was classical, and he walked over to her and she forced a smile.
“Would ye dance with me?” He asked as he held his hand out to her and she swallowed hard as she took his hand and they began to dance. “See this is all I would ever need. Me wife by me side. Nothing more.” He said as they danced.
Aidan sat at the bar with Dante and Sam. They had gotten a reliable tip from a friend of a friend who said that they saw Demetri in Naples Italy. He had been alone but left with two human girls on his arm.
“Naples isn’t that big. I could scope it out and ask around.” Sam said seriously.
“You got to keep low key though. If you ask too many questions it could get back to Demetri and if he is in Naples, then we cant afford to have him running off again.” Aidan said seriously.
“I will go with him. That way he will have backup.” Dante said quickly.
“I’m sorry to break it to you Dante but you will stick out like a sore thumb.” Sam said quickly.
“He’s right but you shouldn’t go alone.” Aidan began as Lana came into the room with a gust of wind.
“I’m going with him.” She smirked as all the guys looked at her. “Don’t give me that look. I’m strong as hell.”
“She is strong.” Sam added as she winked at him.
“Not for nothing but she sticks out like a sore thumb more than I do especially with that hair.” Dante said with a smirk. Lana was sporting a fresh new haircut and color. This time around it was green.
“Do you have a problem with my hair Dante? “ Lana said sarcastically. “For your information I look more human than all of you.”
“She’s got a point. She does fit in quite well with todays young adults.” Aidan said seriously.
“Why thank you Aidan.” She smirked at him. “So, I’m going, like I was saying.” She smiled big.
Natalie walked around the large castle. Demetri was out once again looking for humans for them to feed on. The thought of killing another human made her physically ill. She was becoming a killer and she hated it. She moved around the castle swiftly as she looked for an exit route or even a weapon of some sort. Demetri was always one step ahead of her because it would seem as though nothing was around. Cabinets were empty except for clothes. There was furniture but nothing that she could use to her advantage. She made her way into the large dining hall and as she walked the floor board moved.
Natalie looked down at the uneven floor and she saw that it was movable. She leaned down and pulled the floor board up and she saw a hole in the floor with a box in it. She reached down and pulled up the box that was no bigger than a shoe box. It was old and dusty looking. She put it on the dining room table and took off the lid. Inside was old black and white photos. One picture had a black-haired woman wearing that same Victorian dress that she had worn the other day and two other pictures were of two children. A boy and a girl. Both had black hair, and both looked just like Demetri. They were small, maybe two years old. They looked like twins. Did he have a family once? All she knew of was a woman Alana that he spoke of once. He never elaborated on her, but Natalie was fairly certain that was the woman in the picture. Had he been married with kids? Looking further into the box she saw an old bible, a few letters that looked like legal documents and then she saw two gold rings. She picked one up and inspected it. They were definitely wedding rings.
“What are ye doing?” Demetri said as she jumped, and the ring fell into the box as she spun around.
“I was. And then the floor board. I saw the box.” She rambled as he walked over to her and moved the box on the table. He looked into it and seemed lost for a moment. She took the opportunity to find out more about him. Something she could use to get the hell out of there. “I didn’t know you were married.” She finally said as he looked up from the box and he looked at her.
“Twas a long time ago.” He closed the box. He looked upset.
“Did you have children?” She asked as he began to walk away from the table but then he stopped with the box in his hand. “I saw the pictures.” She said abruptly. He turned and looked at her. She swallowed hard. “I just want to get to know you better. To get to know the man I married.” She said softly as he put the box down on the table and looked at her.
Demetri closed his eyes for a moment as he stood there. “Malcolm and Rose were a year and a half in that picture. Twas tha last time I saw them.” He spoke with a sadness in his eyes that she almost felt sorry for him.
“They were beautiful.” She spoke as he looked at her.
“They were me life and even though it has been over a hundred and sixty years or so, they are still in me heart.” He said softly.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” She asked, and he opened the box and held the picture of Alana in his hand. “Is that Alana?”
“We had married on a Friday in June. It was 1885. I was twenty-five years old. Twas one of the happiest days of me life. The second happiest was when we had the twins. I twas a father, a good father too.” He shook his head as he reminisced.
“What happened to them?” She asked, and he looked at her now.
“I was away on assignment with the Scotland military. Any one over 18 years old was recruited though none of us wanted that kind of life. We had wives and families, but we got stuck being away for months at a time.” He shook his head and continued. “Twas when I met me maker, her name was Isabella. She bewitched us all and she killed me entire squadron. I was naïve and young. I turned me back on me family, on me wife and became a killer.”
“I remember you saying that your maker was killed by a slayer and that you were happy about it.” She finally said as he nodded his head.
“She took everything from me. Me life, me family thou I am ta blame fer going back too late. The twins were taken by small pox and me sweet wife was dying of a broken heart. She rejoiced when I came back, but it was short lived. She saw what I had become, and she hated me fer it. So, I left. I gave her a chance at a normal healthy life but Isabella dinna like me visiting me wife and so she killed her. In front of me. She made me watch her die. Tha last thing she saw before her eyes closed forever was me looking down at her. I wilna forget that look. She hated me but I hated meself more fer all tha heart ache I caused.” He said as he placed the picture back in the box. “I dinna want ta tell ye about me past because I wasna a good man. It took me a long time ta do things the right way.” He said softly as he walked over to he
r. “I want ta do tha right thing by ye. Ye are my second chance.” He touched her face softly. “Ye will be happy with me one day.”
“I am I just. I miss my family, sort of like how you missed yours.” She said with a soft smile.
“I know what ye are doing Lass. I canna let ye go back, not yet. Not until…” His words trailed as he smiled. “Never mind.”
“What does that mean?” She tried to not sound to alarmed but she was. He had a look on his face, one she didn’t trust. He was up to something.
“Dinna worry wife. Soon everything will be in tha past.” He said as he kissed her forehead.
“I want to see my family, please.” She said a bit more urgently now as he looked at her.
“Ye mean ye want ta see Aidan.” He said as anger began to rise in him.
“No, I don’t. I don’t care about him.” She said quickly.
“Lies!” He yelled, and she jumped some as he smiled now. “Dinna lie ta me.”
“I’m. I’m not. You were right about him. I see that now.” She tried to sound convincing.
“Ye not a verra good liar Lass.” He said dryly.
“I’m not lying. I don’t care about him. I just want to see my brother. Sam. That’s all and Eve.” She said quickly as he smiled as he closed in the distance between them.
“Ye are so beautiful even when ye lie ta me face.” He said as he grabbed the back of her head and yanked her close to his face. “But twill be over soon enough and then ye wont have to worry about Aidan no more.” He said as he placed a bruising kiss on her lips and then pulled back roughly as he let go of her hair. He spun from her as she stood there.
“Demetri what do you have planned?” She asked as he kept walking. “Demetri what are you doing!” She yelled now as she ran after him, but he moved so fast and then he would out of the door as she stood there visibly shaking. “Demetri! Demetri don’t do this!” She yelled but he was long gone.
