by Aubrey Brown
“You are still in existence,” he stated.
William watched as Gabriel moved Emma behind him and made a slow motion to his son James to run.
“Stop moving, Gabriel. You and your crossed whore wife and hideous children will stay where you stand, or I shall burn you to a crisp without a thought!” she ended on a screech.
Gabriel wisely stopped and held his shaking wife. “What do you want here, Josephine?” Gabriel asked.
William felt tired and woozy from his blood loss. He needed to feed. He looked to Rose, who was inching her way toward him. He shook his head.
“Tell your bitch to stay where she is, or I shall bite into her pretty neck and suck her dry.”
The man standing next to Josephine was shaking in fear. William could tell the man was in a strong trance. There was something familiar about him. And then it came to him. He was Lord Shelburne, Anuria’s husband.
“Rose, stay where you are!” he firmly stated.
“Aye, pretty Rose, stay where you are. William here is astounded to see me, and I would hate for you to miss our reunion. I see someone has ripped your body to shreds. Did Gabriel find out you were ravishing his daughter? That you went to her room every night and made love to her for hours before sunrise? You did know that, did you not, Gabriel, for my pet here saw your supposed friend sneak into her bedchamber more than once.”
Gabriel’s eyes flashed hellfire, but the wiser human part of him kept the monster within contained. William simply did not respond to her, and that sent a shaft of hatred through the air.
“Are you not happy to see me, lover? Or are you trying to understand how I survived your cruel killing after Gabriel left and I remarried another man?” she sneered.
“The thought did cross my mind, Josephine. Pray tell me,” he said.
Her eyes turned an evil red. “I would think your rapier wit would be concealed, considering I have the love of your life within killing distance. You do love her, do you not, amour?”
William replied easily. “Nay. I do not. I used her for pleasure, and she thought we were to be married. I simply brought her back here to leave the chit with her parents. Why do we not go somewhere else and leave these cretins to their family reunion? I have a sudden urge to kill and maim. Leave the silly boring chit with her parents and we shall leave.”
Rose stood stiffly still at his words. He just hoped she stayed where she was.
“Clever, William, very shrewd, but no, we shall stay here so I can play. You remember how we played? You must. You see, my dear Rose, your lover was once my lover, and he attended to my every wish. He killed relentlessly for me. He even secured a friendship with your father, so I could play with him. You did know of that, did you not, Lady Halverson?”
Emma growled at the woman and tried to remove herself from her husband. William silently watched as James began to back away slowly.
“Bring me the boy, slave! He wants to leave our party, and I wish for him to stay and play to be my new pet. He is darling enough.”
William moved. “Don’t…”
However, he stopped. In a flash, Josephine had taken Rose and was now standing with her, claw extended upon her throat as Lord Shelburne brought James to her other side.
“Take another step, lover, and your pretty little flower will die.” She ended by slicing another cut into Rose’s face.
William winced internally, but took on a bored expression. “I tire of this, Josephine. This kind of play is tedious. I want to leave and take on much more amusing game.”
“You wish to have a more amusing game? Fine, slave, take the boy and dispatch him,” she ended on a screech.
Lord Shelburne took out a pistol with a shaking hand and then held it to James’s bright head.
William saw the gun and shouted, “Nay! Josephine, please do not hurt him. You came here to seek revenge upon me and me alone. Leave Gabriel’s family and I will go with you, anywhere you wish for however long you want.”
“So you do care for this slut?” Josephine then licked the side of Rose’s cheek, removing her father’s earlier cut.
“I can taste why, my pet. She is the most delicious girl I have ever tasted. She is pure of soul and innocent of life. I could take her to my home and feast upon her blood for hours.”
Feeling a rage that he had never known build within him, he stated, “What do you want, Josephine?”
“Please, do not hurt my daughter,” Emma implored.
“Gabriel, keep her mute!” William ordered.
Gabriel then placed his hands upon his wife’s shoulders and held her rigidly still. Emma’s face was covered in fresh tears. It was agony to watch his friend’s helplessness.
“Aye, Gabriel, keep your whore silent, or I will simply slit her pretty daughter’s throat and bleed her dry. You would like that, would you not, William? We used to play this diversion every night when we were together. Did you know that, sweet Rose? We used to hunt and dispatch every night.”
William prayed that Rose would hold her tongue and keep her counsel, for Josephine was a monster.
“I know that William used to be a monster, but he is no longer. He is a kind and decent gentleman, and you are nothing but a monster. A creature to be hated and disregarded,” Rose said.
“You little, bitch! You do not know to whom you are speaking. If I were you, I would hold my tongue, before I cut it out! I have laid siege to countries and many humans. I thrive on blood and flesh, and your dear sweet William flourished along my side. Do not make the mistake that he has any love for you, for he will stab you in your heart and leave you for the sun!” Josephine replied.
“Is that how your relationship ended then, with him murdering your unholy soul?” Rose replied.
“He clearly did not murder me, for his missed my heart. I have been waiting and wandering for years to find your father and lover. When I finally met a man in Sussex that was filled with drink and merriment over taking an exuberant amount of money from an insipid young chit for an adoption to a reclusive earl, I felt in my bones it was Gabriel. I found Lord Shelburne, and he told me of your association to the earl and our duke here. I then had my plan in place.”
“Mister Wimble,” Rose stated.
“Indeed. After I gathered all his information, I seduced our more than willing lord here, and he spied upon you and your lover. I will finally have my revenge,” she ended with a laugh of pure hatred.
Feeling sick to his bones, William tried again. “Josephine, I am sorry I left you the way I did. Please let us go and leave these people in peace.”
“Do you mock me, William, for I will not leave. Killing this chit will satisfy my hunger for blood and vengeance. You will watch as I torture her and then bring her eventual death.”
“How do you live with such hatred?” Rose asked.
“Rose,” her father warned.
“How do you live with so much hate flowing through your veins? Who hurt you, broke your spirit and your heart? It must have transpired long ago, before William or my father.”
Why was Rose questioning a mad woman who had her sharpened claws upon her neck? “Rose, stop,” William instructed.
James was whimpering next to Josephine as the gun was pressed harshly against his temple.
“No person has ever hurt me, girl. I am who I am without the benefit of a trifle emotion such as anger or harboring hatred for a fictional character you want me to name. We all come to be monsters someday. I have been in existence since before the man who called himself Jesus Christ came to be slain by the Hebrews. You are an annoying, insipid child who will die this eve.”
Inhaling quickly, William decided it was time to react.
* * * *
Rose felt the talons upon her neck and winced at the red hot pain coursing through her body, for the woman with the horrid contorted face held onto her as if she was a stuffed doll. It was clear to Rose that William’s former amour was insane. Rose was mad with anger and knew that she was going to surely die this evening
by this insane woman’s hand. However, if she could save her family, she would.
“My lady, please take me and leave my brother and loved ones alone. If it is revenge you seek, I shall pay your price,” Rose begged.
“You are willing to die for your family and William, are you?” she asked.
Rose looked upon her lover and felt a tear escape her eye. “I am willing to do whatever I have to, to secure their freedom. For I love them with my heart and soul.”
“William as well? One would think that you would have felt immediate disgust for the man he is.”
Rose felt the other woman’s hand firm upon her neck. She sucked in a harsh breath. “He is no longer that man. He is kind and caring. He cares as no one else can. He gives of himself every day to those who are not a blood relation to him. My father tore him apart this evening, yet he did not raise a hand to him. I love him more than I have ever loved another person in my life. He has brought me so much happiness that I cannot describe the emotion in simple terms. He may have been a monster when he lived his immortal life with you, but now he is a feeling man with tender touches and soft words. He has shown me the man behind the monster, and I love him for all of those reasons. He saved my life last evening, and I will repay my debt. Take me and I give you leave to do with me what you wish,” Rose pleaded.
“Plead, beg, child. I love to hear the words of desperation and fear. To see the pain and anguish course down your face as you scream in mercy! Your William begged me to love him, for I had taken his mortal soul,” Josephine replied.
Rose could not simply wait for death nor could she watch her loved ones die. She had to do something. She had to react and not be a coward! Perhaps if she made the other woman angry enough, Rose could distract her from her family, and they could flee into the safety of the castle. She looked to William, who was standing in fear and anger. Rose then mouthed to him, “I love you.”
Rose then looked to Josephine. “You may incite fear in others, but I feel nothing but pity for you. You have never known real love. You will at no time feel your heart fill with warmth. You may have taken William’s mortal soul, but I will always have something of him you could never dream of possessing. I have his eternal trust and his heart.”
She then heard Josephine spit a vile hateful word as Rose watched William’s face go pale as the moon.
Rose then heard James try to move quickly away from his captor and watched as he succeeded in hitting the other man to the ground. Feeling her jailor move her hand slightly upon her throat to scream out, Rose flipped up her night rail and removed her silver letter opener from her garter. Throwing the back of her head toward Josephine’s, she felt the stinging pain as she connected with the side of the other woman’s head. Rose’s eyes went blank for a second and then before she knew her own actions, she turned to plunge the opener into the demon’s heart to the hilt. Or what she hoped was the other woman’s heart.
Watching in fear, Rose trembled as the woman turned fully around to face her and screech. Rose put her now-bloodied hands to her ears and felt strong arms grasp her from behind. She began to fight, for she did not know who was clutching her.
Rose watched in terrified relief as the creature tried to clutch at the object now protruding from her chest and could not remove it to find relief. Josephine then inhaled one last time in pain and hatred. Subsequently, her eyes turned to a lifeless gray as she fell to the ground in a deceased heap. The fear and anger seemed to lift from the air as Rose watched the other woman’s immortal life dim and then die.
“Rose, Rose!”
It was William’s voice trying to reach her. She then heard a pistol shot ring through the air. The smell of gun powder filled her nose as she heard her mother’s terrified scream and then her father’s bellow.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“James, James!” Rose screamed as she scrambled out of William’s arms and to her brother’s side.
Her father and mother came to the opposite side of their son. Her mother was hysterical, and her father was screaming in pain and fright.
“We need to cross him, Gabriel. It is the only solution,” William said behind them. He was holding an unconscious Lord Shelburne in his arms.
Her father’s face contorted in pain and then he nodded his head in acceptance. It was the only way.
Rose held her brother’s bleeding chest, where the fluid would not stop flowing. “He is going to bleed himself into a grave, please help him!” Rose begged.
William placed his lordship upon the ground and moved quickly to her side. Just as he came to his knees, an English fall rainstorm descended upon them.
“Gabriel, you know what we must do. Either you or I have to take the rest of his mortal blood and replace it with our blood. The more the better, he shot him through his heart,” William yelled over the thunderstorm.
“Oh dear God!” her mother screamed.
“You take the blood, William, as I flow my wrist over his chest. We then feed him through his mouth and hope he survives. Emma, we need your blood as well,” Gabriel warned.
Everyone nodded in acceptance and then moved in unison. William bit into James’s wrist and depleted him of his life’s force as her father sliced his own wrist open to place blood into his chest. James took one last gasping breath and then let go, his young body contorted in immense pain as his mortal life died, and he was reborn into one of the undead.
“My blood thinned and flowed away from his chest because of the rain, William, I hope he received enough,” Gabriel stated.
George came running down the hill at that moment.
“Beth has been awakened and she is screaming for you, my lady. The thunder has her terrified,” he gasped. Water was coursing swiftly down his concerned brow.
He had seen the state of James and of what the two vampires were doing.
“Go back inside the castle and tell a nurse to keep her calm until we have cured James,” her father replied.
William then sliced his own arm open to pour his blood into James’s mouth. The rain made it look as if he was bleeding more quickly than he was. Moving his throat, he made him swallow.
“Emma?” William asked.
Her mother nodded her head and bit into her own arm and then added her blood to that of the other two men. Her bun had come undone in the rain, and she kept moving her matted hair away in impatience.
When they gave James as much as they could, William stood and staggered. Gabriel then picked James up. “I will take him below the castle. You need to feed, William. Emma you go now to Beth and calm her. I implore you to feed as well. I will prepare James for what is to come, and I will then leave to nourish myself. Understood?”
“I have to remove Lord Shelburne first,” William stated.
“I will take care of William,” Rose stated with intent.
Nodding, her father and mother disappeared with her brother, and they were left alone. “What are we to do with him?” she asked as a bolt of lightning brightened the dead of night.
“He was processed by a demon. He had little or no control over his actions. I know this is Anuria’s husband, and perhaps we should return him to her,” he stated.
Rose turned to William and held him within her arms. He was such a good and kind gentleman that she could no longer contain her tears.
He moved her face away from his chest and cursed. “Besides the obvious, what bothers you, my sweet? Your brother shall be fine. Your parents will see to him and Beth.”
“I am just so overwhelmed with love for you at this very moment. You saved my life just last evening. You bore a brutal attack from my father. He pushed you through walls and a window. He slashed you open, and not once did you fight back. You tried to bargain your eternity to save my life. You were willing to leave with Josephine, so I could live. Do you not understand what you have done?” A river of tears began to flow freely from her eyes.
William sighed and moved her wet hair away from her face as he brought her back into his arms. A mom
ent later he moved her away to say, “We can discuss my heroics in the future. For now, I must take this man back to his home.”
“William, Anuria loves him. She tried to make him jealous by using you. She’s dying for his love, and I believe he loves her. Can we not somehow fix this? Can we not let him find his way back to his wife? It is clear to me that he was spellbound, and I believe two people who love each other should be with one another.”
Smiling, William responded, “Ever the helpmate and optimist. You seem to be a romantic. I will do what I can. However, I am not as strong as I should be. I need to feed.” Most of his wounds had healed, but some of the deepest cuts were still visible.
Rose immediately moved her wet hair and offered him her neck.
“Please, William, I told my father I would take care of you, and I will forever. Acquire what you need now and then feed after you have reunited Lord Shelburne with his wife.”
She watched as he paused for a moment, smiled, and then moved toward her. He kissed the side of her neck and felt her shiver.
“You are astonishingly beautiful. You meant everything you said to Josephine. You…”
“I what, William?” she asked.
He did not answer her, but bit into her neck and drank deeply. “Ah, William…”
He finished feeding by licking the puncture marks closed.
“Return to the castle, I will come back after I have deposited him in his home. I will also take care of Josephine’s body. We have much to discuss, you and me, upon my return. And please change out of your nightdress. The rain has soaked you clear through. And I need a level mind to speak with you, and dressed as you are now, you would tempt a saint.”
With that said, he left in a swift mist, and Rose was left to walk back to the castle. She was not the least bit sleepy. She was wide awake with anxious fear. Her father was still very upset with her and William. However, she meant what she said about who she would choose. Tears began to slide down her face as she contemplated a life without her loving family. So she changed out of her wet clothing and into a dry dressing gown. The fire was lit and warmed her cold bones as she cried for her loved ones.
