Vlad

by Stacey Rourke

  There, riding the pine scented breeze, came a whiff of possibility. Head whipping in Vlad’s direction, I watched hunger dilate his pupils to tarry black pits. Jerking his forehead toward Polaris—the North Star—he pointed me in the direction of the alluring smell.

  While Vlad dashed around the perimeter to box in our prey, I ducked under a low-hanging branch and fell into a crouch. There she was, a stunning doe lapping water from the brook. Thirst curled my lip from my teeth, allowing my fangs to lengthen.

  Before I could venture a step, Vlad slunk into the clearing. He made no attempts to hide himself, but cautiously approached the skittish creature with one-hand raised before him. Clucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he drew her attention to him. Survival instincts should have screamed for her to bolt.

  Not this night.

  Not with him.

  Contradicting nature’s laws, the timid beauty risked a step toward him, then another. Holding perfectly still, he quietly shushed her as she neared. A silvery beam of moonlight danced between the canopy of leaves overhead, illuminating his predatory splendor. His fangs remained tucked away, his motions deliberate and thoughtful.

  Dipping his head, he met her transfixed stare. To my absolute astonishment, the russet doe … offered him her throat.

  “No fucking way,” I murmured.

  Vlad motioned me over with the twitch of two upturned fingers. “Come, slow and easy.”

  Toes sinking into the dew-covered grass, I inched my way over to kneel beside them.

  Laying a hand to the doe’s neck, Vlad stroked her coarse coat. “Her loving gift should never be repaid by the pain of our vile affliction.”

  “Y-you want me to lick her to numb it?” I stammered, feeling every bit the awkward baby vamp.

  Vlad hitched one brow, amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You can feed from her, but deem a lick foul?”

  “I know, I sound like one of those selfish asshats that scoff at their roll in a sixty-nine.” Closing my eyes for a beat, I said a silent prayer of thanks that I was no longer able to blush. “You can ask your Court to explain what that is later.”

  “I know what a şaizeci şi nouă is, copil. The young didn’t invent the pleasures of the flesh. They just came up with new names for them.” Shifting his weight onto the balls of his feet, he supported the doe’s head with his palm. “To be clear, there is no need to lick her. I used my influence to dull any pain she would have felt. You need only feed, while she’s calm in her offering.”

  My vision zeroed in on the thick vein in her neck throbbing with life. Head turned, I lunged for that addictive pulse. She gave little more than a shudder as my incisors pierced her hide. One heady pull, and warmth flooded my lips in an intoxicating current. Falling back on my rump, I pulled her on to my lap, cradled protectively in my hold.

  “That’s enough.” Vlad laid a gentle hand to my arm.

  Nose wrinkled into a snarl, I snapped in his direction, an inhuman growl rumbling through my teeth.

  Eyes flashing with a deadly gleam, Vlad dropped fang. “Stop, or you’ll kill her.”

  Something deep within me recognized him as the alpha and slapped me from the fog of bloodlust. Hands on either side of the doe’s chest, I patiently guided her up on wobbly legs. “Should I heal her?”

  Brow furrowed, Vlad peered at the blood streaking from her puncture wounds. “I don’t know enough about the properties of your blood to trust it.”

  He ground the tip of his index finger into the point of his fang, then applied pressure until one ruby droplet swelled from his flesh. Rubbing that restorative elixir over her wounds closed them in an instant. Offering a snort of thanks, the doe flipped her head toward the bank of trees and bounded off into the night.

  “You speak of our kind with disgust, but that was nothing short of beautiful,” I gasped with audible awe.

  Rising to his feet, Vlad watched the dear’s white-cotton puff tail disappear from sight. “Don’t ever confuse what we are with loveliness of any sort. One way or another, death always claims those foolish enough to be near us.”

  With those as his parting words, he stalked in the direction of the castle without a glance back. Only then did I realize he hadn’t fed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Vlad

  “Stay with me, my love.” It would have taken a stronger man than I to refuse my beloved’s request. Staring up at me with emerald eyes, she batted her lashes and tempted me with a coy pout. “The baby and I miss you when you’re away.” To further her point, she rubbed a hand over her swollen midsection, ripe with child.

  Seated on the settee at the foot of our bed, I cast my stare toward the window. Slashes of orange and pink zigzagged across the sky, the late day sun sinking in the horizon. As of late, night brought on more of my episodes, forcing me to take drastic measures.

  Tucking one leg beneath me, I turned to face my beautiful bride. Lounging on our bed, her back was propped up by a mountain of pillows. “The dungeon is safer, floare. I can shackle myself in the farthest cell and not have to worry about harming anyone.”

  One hand supporting the weight of her belly, Jusztina scooched my way on her knees. Her nightgown slid up, teasing me with the curve of her alabaster thighs. “I know you fear that thing that roosts within you. Even so, I shan’t believe for even an instant that you would ever harm me.” Noticing how my chin drooped to my chest, she shifted to a new tactic. “Plus, I’ve felt stirrings from the little one today. I would hate for her—”

  “Him,” I corrected with a soft smile.

  Lacing her fingers behind my neck, she pressed her forehead to mine. “He or she, would prefer you be here when they come into the world. Oh please, Vlad?” She pleaded, peppering my face with kisses. “Hold me while I sleep? I need to feel you beside me.”

  As I rubbed my fingers over her forearm, I caught sight of my wrist, chaffed an angry red from the shackles I clasped on each night. “How about this?” I bargained, kissing the tip of her nose. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep, then I’ll venture to the bowels of the castle for my own piece of mind.”

  “If our time together is limited, we mustn’t waste a moment.” Settling back against the pillows, Jusztina wriggled under the blankets and beckoned me to join her with the curl of one finger. “The baby is restless. If we’re still you may be able to feel the kicks.”

  I molded my body to hers and snuggled in. Reaching over her belly, I let her guide my hand to the proper place. If the baby squirmed, I didn’t feel it. My attentions were fixated on the setting sun, and what I feared would follow.

  By the time the sky deepened from brilliant violet to deep sapphire Jusztina was sound asleep. Curled in my arms, her sweet serenity revealed itself in a contented snore.

  I was attempting to wiggle my arm out from under her when I felt the first twitch. Moving by a will not my own, my traitorous fingers curled into a claw on Jusztina’s belly. Throwing a confining leg over hers, I pinned her to the mattress, breath coming in ragged pants. Darkness didn’t creep into the edges of my vision. Nor did I fade into a cloud of black. I felt every inkling of The Dragon’s pleasures rolling through me in malicious waves. He meant to paint the walls with my wife’s blood … while I watched.

  I planted a hand on the mattress, channeling every bit of my weakening resolve, and shoved myself off the bed.

  Stirring in the chill of my absence, Jusztina rolled onto her elbow. “Vlad? Darling, are you okay?”

  “Get out,” I hissed, palms slapping the floor in my frantic crawl away from her. “Run … now!”

  Face draining ashen, she pulled herself up on to her knees. “Is it The Dragon? Can you get to the dungeon?”

  “There isn’t time,” I forced the words through my teeth, the blood scorching through my veins. “I … can’t hold it back … long. Please, dragoste, go and call for the guard
!” My fingernails dug into floor, clawing divots in the wood planks.

  I both loved and hated her for hesitating. Face crumbling, tears slipped from her lashes. Both hands protectively cradling her belly, she backed off the bed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she sniveled. She filled her lungs, braced herself, then bolted for the door. Skirting around me, she escaped down the hall.

  Or, did she?

  By the glow of the candles lighting our bed chamber, I could see my reflection perfectly in the window opposite me. In that mirrored universe, I lunged for Jusztina the instant she ventured within arm’s reach. Catching her by the hair, I yanked her back and held her to my chest with one merciless hand to her throat. Tears flowing down her face in torrents, she shielded her belly with her arms. While I couldn’t hear her cries, I knew she was pleading with this monstrous version of me to think of our child. The vision was so real, so utterly horrifying, I glanced down at my own hands expecting to find the treacherous limbs actually choking the life from my terrified bride. One blink, and blood covered them in a thick slick of gore. A second, and they were clean. Stumbling forward, I squinted at the mysterious alternate reality playing out within the glass.

  “Is this what you think it will look like when your greatest fears are realized?” A familiar voice bounced off the stone walls, echoing all around. “When the normal life you’ve fought so hard for is destroyed by your hand?”

  “Dorian?” I called, turning in a slow circle in search of him.

  His form stretched from the shadows, birthed from absolute darkness. “I feared you wouldn’t recognize me, brother.” While the being before me wore the face of my friend, my skin prickled with icy awareness that he was not the same man who rode from Transylvania two years prior. His regal clothing looked handmade from the finest fabrics. The once unruly mop of his hair had been tamed into a sleek swoop across his forehead. Gold-jeweled rings decorated his fingers, which were steepled beneath his chin. A bout of good fortune could have led to those alterations. It was what I saw in his eyes that warned of a pivotal change. Where once a light of kindness brightened his ocean blue stare, now remained a vast sea of … nothingness.

  “How did you get here? Are ye taking pleasure in watching my wife sleep?”

  Prowling through the room, Dorian’s shoulders shook with a chuckle. “My tastes have matured far beyond simple voyeurism. Not that I didn’t once enjoy overhearing her mews of ecstasy during my stay here. She is a vocal little thing, isn’t she?”

  “Do not speak such filth about my wife!” I bellowed, hands curling into fists at my sides.

  Turning on his heel to face me, Dorian’s head cocked with interest. “Or, what? You’ll call forth The Dragon? Tell me, did its stirrings still once I appeared?” Not giving me a chance to confirm such a claim, he tapped the point of his chin with his index finger. “Hmmm … what do you suppose that means?”

  I thought to argue otherwise, to declare I was moments from tearing his head from his shoulders. However, the truth held my tongue. He was right. Drákon fell dormant, quiet as a sleeping babe. “You’ve learned to influence The Dragon. I assume that means you’ve finally come to claim it?”

  Rolling his eyes, Dorian’s posture sagged with annoyance. “I no longer wish to be infected by that parasite.”

  “Since we were boys, that’s all you ever wanted. What great revelation would prompt you to give up that quest?”

  Fiddling with his pinkie ring, Dorian paced the length of my chamber. “When I left here, it was out of fear of what was inside you. I sought strength by any magical means necessary to battle what I feared was yet to come.”

  “I’ve never blamed you, Dorian. We were children. You did what you felt you must to—”

  “Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m not plagued with guilt over the matter,” traces of laughter bubbled through his tone. “Quite the opposite, in fact. I’m giddy with anticipation at how this whole saga will unfold. As I was saying, I went in search of power, and found far more than I could ever imagine. It began with an ancient script describing a truly remarkable spell. One that required the rendering of a portrait. I sat days for it. It had to be perfect, you see, to capture the very essence of me. Once complete, I uttered the words that would bind me to that canvas for all eternity.”

  “W-what are you saying?” I stammered, failing to follow what seemed a questionable recollection.

  Plucking a bit of fuzz from his navy coat, Dorian rolled it between his thumb and forefinger and flicked it to the ground. “I’m saying, I mastered immortality. I can move through this world untouched by age, sin, or harm. The portrait absorbs all of that bothersome mess, granting me invincibility.”

  “That’s ludicrous. Such a thing is impossible.” Even as I uttered the words, I caught glimpses of the certainty behind them. The visible void within Dorian, that emotional disconnect from the spark of life, both hinted that his tie to humanity had been severed. If that was true, whatever made Dorian who he was—as the friend I loved and trusted—must have been trapped within the canvas of that portrait.

  “Says the man possessed by a demon.” Grabbing Jusztina’s hair brush from her bedside table, Dorian flipped it over in his hand and extracted one lone strand from between its bristles.

  Fearing his intent, a strode over to swat both brush and hair from his hands. “Enough of these games and diversions. Why are you here?”

  Features blank of emotion, Dorian swept his arm in front of him in a dramatic arc. At the motion, an invisible force lassoed me by the middle. Thrown against the wall hard enough to knock the air from my lungs, his power pinned me there.

  The heels of his shoes clicking over the floor boards, Dorian calmly sauntered to my side. “What’s this?” he gasped in mock confusion. “The famed warrior—whose name evokes fear in the hearts of his enemies—rendered defenseless? Isn’t this normally the moment where Drákon appears in an explosion of violence and mayhem? Perhaps you should call out to him? Go ahead. Give it a try. It’ll be funny.”

  “Why are you doing this?” I grunted, struggling against his hold.

  Planting one hand on the wall beside me, Dorian leaned in close enough for his hair to tickle my cheek. “Because, it’s time for you to submit … to what’s inside you.”

  Pulling my head back as far as I could manage, I glared daggers of hate his way. “And damn my soul for all eternity? You’ve gone mad!”

  Head tilted, he considered that option. “No, not mad. Bored. You see, after becoming immortal I embarked on a rigorous experimentation process to determine if it was, indeed, true. Small at first. A cut to the hand. A sip of diluted poison. When I immediately healed, or suffered no ill-effects, I moved on to more … interesting stakes. No matter what I tried, the hand of death couldn’t touch me. Even so, I feared the wrath of God. Surely, such an all-powerful being could strike me down if He saw fit? That, my friend, is where the real fun started. I tested the All-Mighty with some truly deplorable acts. I mean, really vile deeds that would make Lucifer blush.” Pushing off the wall, he took a step back and spun in a slow circle. “Yet here I stand, unmarred by His wrath. The tragic part of all of this? With the urgency of a limited lifespan removed, it’s become far harder for me to claim a … thrill of any sort.”

  “That’s why you want me to submit to The Dragon?” I spat. “That you may have companionship as you wander the earth until Judgement Day?”

  “You took that from what I said?” Dorian’s mouth screwed to the side. “I feel part of my message got lost in translation. Simply put, there’s a demon inside of you, and I can’t be killed! I want to lure it all the way out, maybe poke it with a stick to get it good and riled up, then see what that unholy monster can do!”

  Head falling back against the wall with a thump, I shook my head. “You would damn my soul for your own entertainment?”

  A beat of silence as he blinked my way. “Yes. I thought I m
ade that quite clear.”

  “You heartless bastard.” Thrusting one shoulder forward, then the other, I fought for freedom. “This has all been for naught. I have withstood Drákon’s thrall this long. I won’t give in to indulge your sick fascination.”

  Jabbing one hand on his hip, Dorian wagged his index finger in my direction. “It wouldn’t be fun if it was as simple as your prerogative. I’ve lined up fascinating methods meant solely to motivate your decision. The first of which will be arriving in just a few days’ time. You see, my travels led me back to Ruler Murad’s plentiful domain. He was eager to hear the stories I regaled of your new life outside of his service. Unfortunately for you, I did take creative liberties with tales of your diminished loyalty. As far as he knows, you’ve been rallying soldiers in preparation of an uprising against the Ottoman Empire.”

  Dorian chose that moment to release his mystical hold, sending me stumbling for footing. “What have you done?”

  “You’re wise to be concerned.” His head bobbed in encouragement. “Murad did not take lightly to this news. Especially knowing you possess intricate details about his armies. The fact that you have the coordinates to each of the base camps is enough to lead to their downfall. That caused Murad to take incredibly drastic measures …”

  Dorian trailed off, waiting for me to take the bait and ask the question he was twitching to answer. “What measures?”

  Eyes widening with manic glee, Dorian sat on the foot of my bed and crossed his legs at the ankles. “He immediately formed an alliance with the Saxons in exchange for possession of your lands once you’re defeated.”

  A haze of black wrath stained the corners of my vision. For the first time, it had nothing whatsoever to do with my dark passenger. “You’ve cursed my family, and all the residents here to death.” Each word scorched on my tongue like a branding iron. “I could kill you, you treacherous wretch.”