Dark Rapture

by Hauf, Michele

  Seeing the pain in his eyes, Scarlet laid her hand on his cheek. “I want you to talk to me, Sebastian. I want to know more about you. And you say you want me to trust you. What better way than opening up to me?”

  He sighed and started in a whisper, “He’s after you, I’m afraid.”

  “Why?”

  “Scarlet, I don’t want to upset you, but I suppose there are some things that I should tell you concerning Francesco. We enjoyed many years together as friends. Until he fell in love.” He lingered on the word love, making Scarlet catch her breath.

  “Her name was Serena, and she had the face of innocence yet the vixen mouth and fiery eyes of a woman. Francesco fell head over heels and after some months he strayed from me and we lost touch, until I rarely saw him. I suspected that it was Serena’s doing, that she was keeping him all to herself.”

  Sebastian paused and looked out the window. She could sense his discomfort but she placed a hand on his knee and beckoned him to go on.

  “I don’t want to say that I was jealous of him finding love. Heaven knows, I had no problem procuring women friends. But things . . . happened and I was caught in the middle.

  “To my surprise, Serena began to appear at my door in the early afternoons, just after I rose. She expressed her interest in me and, at first, I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with her. Soon, though, her advances became impossible to resist and we began seeing each other regularly.

  “You must realize the guilt I felt. But also, Francesco had barely spoken to me since finding Serena, we had grown distant. So, as terrible as it sounds now, the idea of taking his mistress wasn’t so criminal to me at the time. I was . . . a bit of a rogue.”

  Scarlet quirked an eyebrow. Sebastian had had an affair with his best friend’s lover. So, he wasn’t as sincere as he seemed after all. Perhaps her first impression of him had been closer to the truth.

  He sighed and began again. “One night Francesco discovered us. Serena was dressing in my bedchamber and I was standing next to her in my unfastened breeches. His fury unleashed like a caged beast.

  “He reached for his sword and I sprang for mine. At that instant I wasn’t fighting to save myself as much as to protect Serena from Francesco’s blade. I wasn’t sure what he would do, because while he fought me, he proceeded to blast Serena with the crudest language, laying the entire blame for the affair on her. After a few well-placed lunges at me, Francesco was feeling quite sure of himself—he always was the better swordsman. But then it happened. I’m not sure to this day how such a travesty occurred.

  “I could hear Francesco coming up behind me, and I felt the flash of cold steel miss me by a hair. Knowing he would try again, I bent and turned to dodge his incoming blade. I stretched out my sword and plunged forward, hoping to stop him in his tracks. But instead we both froze as Serena gave the most hideous shriek.”

  Scarlet swallowed and Sebastian’s face turned morbidly pale.

  “I had stabbed her in the heart. Her breast was stained crimson and the blood ran into the yellow fibers of her dress. I still remember that color vividly, the brilliant yellow of an egg yolk. She staggered and pulled my sword from her body, letting it fall from her fingers at my bare feet.”

  Scarlet gripped his shaking fingers. “It wasn’t your fault, Sebastian.”

  “I killed her with my blade. It was an accident but Francesco was right, I should suffer for my sins. I’ve waited for over two centuries, knowing that Francesco would someday seek his revenge. And now, as if he knew that I have finally found someone to love and keep me happy, he’s come for it.”

  “Oh my God.” Scarlet gulped and felt the lump in her throat bob. “Do you think he’s going to try and kill me?”

  “I don’t know, Scarlet. But I would be a fool to think his plans don’t involve you. I took his lover away from him. Now I’m sure he wants to do the same to me.” He pressed his head against the car seat and clamped his eyes shut. “I love you, Scarlet, and I've promised you that I’ll never let anyone harm you. I would die to give you life."

  They both turned at the flash of headlights. Gary was home.

  “I think you’d better leave. Quickly.” Scarlet opened the door and stepped out. “Go, before Gary gets out of his car.”

  Sebastian took heed and sped out of the driveway, leaving Gary standing by the side of his car waving his arms madly. Scarlet could almost hear his teeth grinding together as he closed the distance between the two of them.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Gary. I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions.”

  He stared hard at her. The minutes seemed endless until he spoke. “I guess you can.” He brushed her shoulder as he walked by and slammed the front door behind him.

  Scarlet kicked the bottom step, cringing as the needles and pins traveled up her leg. It was going to come down to a choice. Sebastian or Gary. Common sense told her that it should, without a doubt, be Gary. But she'd been changed. She was a vampire now.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The mansion had changed considerably over the past weeks. The majesty of its exterior had been restored, the red bricks scrubbed, the crumbling shingles replaced. The lawn was neatly manicured, a fresh green carpet that harbored trimmed ground shrubs and palm trees.

  Gary had called minutes earlier; the vault was open and he and Vince wanted Scarlet to come check it out with them. Glad for an excuse to get out of the house and away from the memories of last night, Scarlet hopped in her Jeep, figuring that maybe she could clear things up with Gary, too.

  The lion’s head door knocker clacked loudly against the metal base. She waited and then opened the door to let herself in. Her heels clicked along the pristine marble hallway and she bent to admire her reflection in her handiwork. Who would have thought that such a remarkable change could have happened in so little time? She turned the corner to enter the grand room but collided with Vince.

  “Whoa, didn’t hear you coming.” He stood back and motioned for her to go first.

  Gary stood by the opened door of the vault, where an eerie blackness hung about a foot inside thick iron walls. The grand room was already growing cold from the air that leaked out of the darkness behind him.

  “Scarlet.” He put his arm around her. “Glad you could make it. We were just getting ready to go in.”

  “Yeah,” Vince called from the kitchen. “I’m going to get the flashlights.”

  Gary plopped down on the couch and looked at her. Scarlet knew what was coming and braced herself for his ‘I told you so.’

  “So, I guess you’ve made up your mind about Sebastian. You’re going to continue seeing that maniac?”

  “He’s not a maniac, Gary.”

  “Then what is he? Because he sure doesn’t seem like someone I want touching my sister.”

  What is he? If you only knew.

  “That first night we were together was a fluke. Sebastian wasn’t feeling well and he got carried away. He’s a very interesting person once you get to know him.”

  “Uh huh.” He wasn’t buying it. “Scarlet, I wish you wouldn’t get involved with him. He’s not going to change overnight. If the man does something like that once, it’s going to happen again.”

  “I know you mean well, Gary. But trust me.” To use one of Sebastians favorite phrases. “I’m going to be fine. Let me make my own decisions and mistakes.”

  “You just don’t see, do you?” Gary shrugged and shook his head. “You can’t see past the pretty face and the French charm. He’s going to hurt you, Scarlet, I can feel it.”

  “Don’t worry, I'll be okay.” Scarlet looked away, unsure of her own words.

  “Ready to do some ghost hunting?” Vince bounded in with a flashlight in each hand, his sunglasses dangling from the vee in his shirt.

  “All right.” Gary slapped his knee and nudged Scarlet. He whispered to her as they stood, “This is not the end of this discussion.” He turned to Vince, forcing a smile. “Let’s get to it. The treasure awaits!
”

  With Vince in the lead and Scarlet in the middle, they entered the darkened tomb. The dank smell from centuries of dust and dirt suffocated and pulled at their throats. The air was cold and the hairs on Scarlet’s arms and the back of her neck rose in apprehension.

  Once they were a few feet in, she was unable to see the light from the grand room. After last night’s gruesome adventure into the land of the dead she wasn’t thrilled to be taking another trip into a tomb. She hooked her fingers through Vince’s belt loop on the back of his jeans, extending her other hand back toward Gary.

  “Scared?”

  “No. Just . . . umm . . . yes.”

  Five feet into the darkness, the floor lowered to a slant and the flashlights shone across a winding staircase.

  “There’s a room just below,” Vince said and reached back to squeeze Scarlet’s hand. The sudden warmth of his hand on her cool fingers made her wish that Sebastian had never happened. She wanted him and everything he’d done to her to become only a memory. Especially now, since Francesco had entered the picture.

  Vince stopped at the bottom of the steps, and Scarlet and Gary moved in close behind. The two beams of light fell upon a small, dirty room about fifteen feet square. The low ceiling provided about a half foot of space above Vince’s six-two frame. Flashing their lights over the walls and floor, they revealed many drawers and boxes, some with decrepit books and papers sitting beside them. Iron candle holders of gothic design, shrouded in thick white spider webs, grew out of the stone walls.

  In the middle of the room stood three stone mounts, and on top of each was a stone coffin. Scarlet’s stomach quivered. This was too much. Two nights in a row! She breathed deeply, using the relaxation techniques Sebastian had taught her. Anything to keep her cool.

  Gary scanned the coffins, thrusting his flashlight to and fro, and Vince disappeared into the corner.

  “Oh man.”

  “What?” Gary rushed to the corner opposite the entrance, following the sound. Their voices were muffled in the darkness. “Are you okay?”

  “What’s wrong?” Scarlet felt her way along the cold dirty walls until the two crossed beams of light came in view and she saw Vince crounched on the floor against the wall, his hand clutching a rotting box for support, looking as though he was ready to puke. Even though the air was frigid, his forehead glistened with beads of sweat.

  “Nothing,” Vince said. He dropped his flashlight and looked away from her as though ashamed.

  Scarlet walked to her brother’s side and touched him on his back.

  Gary turned around, blocking her view of Vince. “He’s all right. He has these attacks once in a while. It’s nothing to worry about. I don’t think he wanted you to see him like this.”

  “Shouldn’t he go to a doctor?” She peeked over his shoulder and saw Vince staring up at her, his mouth squeezed shut while he pressed the side of his head to the stone wall. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “We don’t know, but it’s been happening for a long time. Let’s give him a few minutes. Don’t make a big thing out of it, okay?”

  Seeing the concern and the genuine love for his friend on her brother’s face, Scarlet agreed and stood back, while Gary bent to smooth the hair that had fallen into Vince’s eyes and talked to him quietly.

  “Are you going to make it?”

  Blowing out a deep breath, Vince nodded and let Gary help him to his feet. “I’m sorry, Scarlet.” He staggered toward her. “I didn’t want you to—”

  “Vince, don’t be embarrassed. You just scared me. Are you all right? I mean, really okay?”

  Putting a hand on her shoulder, he blew out another breath. The attack had zapped his energy. “I’m cool. This has been happening for a long time and I’m still here. So don’t worry about me. But damn, this one really hit unexpectedly.”

  Gary handed him the flashlight, and he walked past Scarlet back toward the coffins, swaying a bit, until he finally regained his equilibrium.

  While the two men resumed their explorations, Scarlet held back a few feet near the entrance, keeping a concerned watch over Vince. They both acted as if nothing had happened. But if this had been going on for some time, she felt sure Vince should see a doctor. God, sometimes men could be so stubborn.

  “Cool! Check this out, guys.” Vince blew the dust from the top of the far stone coffin and scanned the flashlight beam across it. All evidence of his attack had disappeared. "Alexander Lyons. Hey, one of my relatives is in here!”

  Leery of venturing toward another coffin, Scarlet knelt by a dusty box whose contents spilled over the edges.

  “You said your great-grandfather was gone? Maybe he’s in one of those.”

  “Nah, he really did disappear, Scarlet. I mean, poof, gone without a trace.” Vince jumped to the next coffin. “No one in the family was ever able to locate him. Very bizarre. Reminds me of the father I’ve never known. But hey, look at this, Gary.”

  Dismissing his mention of family, Vince blew another cloud of dust from the coffin and traced his fingers along the words carved into the stone.

  Gary cast his light across the lid and read out loud. “Vincent Lyons? Shit! Isn’t that weird? Must be one of your relatives, or else—” he chuckled “—they’ve planned ahead.”

  Vince pushed on the stone lid finding it wouldn’t budge. “Damn. Would have liked to see whether or not it was empty.”

  “Maybe one of these can answer that question.” Scarlet leafed carefully through a yellowed scrapbook whose pages were littered with flourishing script, although badly stained and smeared in spots. “Looks like some sort of family diary. It’s written in French. There are an awful lot of water spots.”

  “Cool.” Vince rushed over and she handed him the book and then went on to another box. “Gary, why don’t you check the boxes over there. If there’s anything of value in here it’s most likely in one of these boxes.”

  “What about the drawers?” Gary asked.

  Scarlet looked up from the box of clothes she had just opened. “Oh please, Gary, don’t even think about it. I’m sure there’re dead bodies in there, that is what they’re for.”

  “You think so?” he said fingering an eye-level drawer. He tugged and it cracked open an inch.

  “Oh wow! Guys, look at this!”

  Scarlet held up a dress of rose-colored silk and shook the massive skirts out before her. Volumes of dusty pink material fell over her legs. “This looks like something from—oh, I don’t know—the French Revolution! Isn’t it wonderful, it’s almost like new, it’s been preserved so well.”

  “Pretty fancy.” Gary fingered the cream lace-edged sleeves. “Hey, why don’t you try it on?”

  “Do you think so?” Barely able to contain her excitement, Scarlet squeezed the material to her chest and peeked through sprays of lace. “What do you think, Vince? I’ve never seen anything like it. Wouldn’t it be neat if it fit? This is your family’s stuff, do you mind if I try it on?”

  “Go for it.” Vince paged through the yellowed diary, glancing up at Scarlet for only a second. “It’s yours if you want it, not really my style.”

  “Give me a flashlight, Gary.” Scarlet started toward the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

  The mass of ruffles and lace proved to be heavy and Scarlet laid it out across the couch, spreading it flat and pulling the skirt to its full width so she could see every detail. She was unable to stop the smile that tickled her face as she ran her hands over the smooth, shiny silk. It had been remarkably well preserved, and, besides a light musty scent of time, it looked new.

  Extravagant layers of fine cream-colored lace and rose silk ruffles adorned every piece of the ornate printed silk dress. Lush shiny bows of diminishing sizes trailed down the bodice of the dress stopping at the tightly cinched v-waistline. The massive skirts opened to reveal layers of creamy lace petticoats, flourished again with ruffles and bows and tiny opalescent seed pearls. Three layers of ruffled cream lace danced from the bottoms o
f the three-quarter length sleeves, which fastened at the elbows with delicate pearl buttons for a snug fit. And over the buttons were huge bows the same rose color silk as the bodice.

  Eager to see if it would fit, Scarlet stripped off her jeans and t-shirt and stepped into the elegant gown, being careful not to tear the ancient material, though it seemed strong enough to withstand a few gentle tugs here and there. As she pulled it up around her waist she examined the back of the garment to find that it was fastened with fine satin laces to ensure a tight fit. She wondered how she’d manage them without help.

  The silk rustled against her bare skin, sending titillating shivers over her flesh. It was as if the dress caressed her with an unnatural coolness. Scarlet ignored the sensations and sucked in, pulling the dress up and over her shoulders. Smoothing her hands over the beribboned bodice, she decided that whoever had worn this dress before had probably been flat-chested, but after molding and poking at her ample breasts, she was finally able to squeeze them into the tight bodice until they rested snugly against the dress front. The cut of the dress pushed her breasts up and cinched her waist tightly, creating a curvaceous line down to the full puffy skirts.

  Again, her body shivered involuntarily as the dress gently squeezed her body, almost as if alive.

  “I can’t be gaining weight,” she said, thinking that the only reason for the tightness.

  Reaching behind her neck, she tried fervently to lace up the back, but couldn’t. Gathering the voluminous skirts at her hips, she started downstairs into the darkness.

  “Can you help me lace this up, Gary?”

  He met her at the bottom of the steps and she lifted her hair.

  “Where’s Vince?”

  “He’s around the corner digging through some more boxes. There you go.” He spun her around and drew his flashlight up and down her body. “Don’t you look the spectacle. Like a regular belle of the ball. Hey, Vince, come check this dress out!”

  Scarlet did a pirouette in the center of the room as Vince approached, twirling his sunglasses between two fingers.