Genevieve: A Witchblood Story

by Emma Mills

soon. Stay here. Do not leave this room.’

  He pushed her back and seconds later he was gone, the door clicking behind him.

  Eva’s immediate instinct was to follow, regardless of the command and she darted over to the door as quickly as he left, but found that no matter how much she wanted to, she could not pass the threshold. A hiss of frustration left her lips and she darted over to the window and stared out at the now darkened sky.

  Below her the cobbled lane was almost empty. As Sebastian’s house was on the very edge of town, there was just the odd villager hurrying back through the streets after a day in the fields. Memories tugged at the back of her mind, making her wonder why they were so empty. Something seemed wrong with the seemingly urgent nature of the peasant’s quickened steps, but she shook the thoughts away and instead returned to her new obsession with the fluttering heartbeats passing below her window. She noticed that the stronger ones, the louder ones belonged to the young men. A slower, more uncertain thumping belonged to a man with wrinkled skin and greying hair; the details of which all stood out in full colour regardless of the faded light. To Eva’s eyes light was now unnecessary, unwanted even.

  Eva was so absorbed in the street below her that she failed to notice Sebastian slip out of an adjacent alleyway and dart towards the house, a middle-aged man pulled along in his wake.

  ‘Evie… Eva, stay where you are. Don’t move.’ His voice coming from behind the salon door startled her and had to be instantly obeyed, but as he opened the door a blast of dry, burning hunger crushed her like a tidal wave, pounding against her, hammering relentlessly until a sob left her lips.

  ‘Sebastian, help me. Give it to me. It hurts… so much,’ she whimpered as the scent of the human assaulted her senses and burned her like nothing else. Her fangs were instantly fully protracted, her eyes huge, dark pits of desire.

  ‘Okay, now Eva… slowly. I want you to slowly come to me,’ he commanded. ‘And why are you still naked?’ he sighed, a half smile lingering on his lips.

  Every muscle in her body craved to leap, to dive, to attack, but the iron leash held her steady. She moaned quietly as she neared them, the burning increasing with every step. She failed to notice the man’s glazed expression, didn’t care about his trance-like attitude. All she saw was food; all she heard was his beating heart.

  Sebastian lifted the man’s arm up and held it out towards Eva, pushing up his worn shirt sleeves and exposing his wrist. Eva’s eyes darted to his exposed skin and zeroed in, noticing the network of blue and purple veins criss-crossing his skin. She could see the slight pulse of the blood there, hear it throbbing. She whimpered again.

  ‘Please Sebastian…’

  ‘Okay, but gently Eva. I don’t want him scarred. Here…’ he said urging her forward and towards his wrist.

  She bent her head and sank her fangs into his wrist, the instant burst of blood flooding her mouth, prompting a moan of pure pleasure as she sucked hungrily. The blood cooled the burning desert in her mouth, flooding its parched surface with cool nourishing liquid. She bit harder and drank deeper.

  ‘Eva, enough now, he’s paling. Eva stop!’ Sebastian barked.

  As his words took effect, she found once more the invisible iron leash encircling her neck and pulling her back from her prey. She snarled in frustration, licking her lips as Sebastian led the dazed man out of the room, and away from the house.

  Eva watched from the window as they crossed the street quickly and disappeared into the shadows. Her hunger was partially satiated, the pain dulled, but the dryness was still there. The dry thirst remained and the darkness called to her. She darted to the door and her eyes widened as she found she could pass over the threshold. Sebastian had forgotten to replace her iron shackles. She leapt down the stairs three at a time and crashed through the door into the street below. Instinct told her to hide herself and keep to the shadows as she had seen Sebastian do; so she edged round the perimeter of the building, pausing occasionally to sniff the air and taste it, but there was nothing. The lanes were empty now.

  She reached the crossroads with a village square and something seemed recognisable; it pulled at an uncomfortable memory, and irritated her like a gnat she couldn’t swat. She took a step out of the shadows, towards the square and paused.

  ‘Eva, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay inside?’ Sebastian’s voice coming from behind her was cold and controlled. She swivelled round and his eyes bore into her and touched something warm inside. Her memories of him were intact. This man had watched her grow up, protected her and saved her from something she couldn’t quite remember. Her craving for more blood evaporated and she smiled at him.

  ‘I was looking for you,’ she said.

  ‘You have no clothes on… still!’

  Eva looked down at her naked body. She hadn’t even thought about it, and there was snow on the ground. She felt a freedom like no other.

  ‘I don’t like corsets and panniers,’ she said, disgust crumpling her features. ‘It’s impossible to move, and it’s hard enough just breathing.’

  ‘I know, you told me, remember? You wanted silk breeches and a ruffled blouse. It was difficult, but I have sourced them for you… specially made. You can’t walk around naked Eva. Apart from anything, I’ll never get you out of my bed! Now come,’ he said, and with a slow, sexy smile lighting his face he threw an arm around her bare shoulders and led her back to the house.

  It was as they turned the corner that Eva stopped suddenly and darted towards some rubbish. A small girl scrambled further back and hid her face sobbing. Her clothes were ragged and filthy, her face covered in grime. Her feet were bare and blue with cold.

  ‘Eva, no!’ In a split second Sebastian was behind Eva, his arms holding her tight, forcing her to listen to him. ‘Eva, we do not touch children. Leave her alone. Come with me.’

  The iron shackles were again replaced and Eva could do nothing but swiftly follow her master back to the house, leaving the small child wondering whether what she had seen was real or a hallucination.

  ‘She smelled amazing, Sebastian. Nicer than that man. Please Sebastian I want her, just a taste,’ Eva pleaded once they were back in the house.

  ‘No, I’ve told you already. Look at me and listen. We do not ever feed from children. It is my one unbreakable and unforgiveable rule. You break it and I will hand you in to The Council myself,’ he said, his face stormy.

  As she watched his face the words sank in, and suddenly her craving for the child disappeared. It even repulsed her slightly, as the sudden memory of herself as a child playing in the gardens, innocent and privileged came unbidden. She shook her head in confusion and looked at her toes. Sebastian’s arms wrapped around her, holding her tight, his breath tickling her neck as he spoke.

  ‘I know it’s confusing, my love. It will get easier.’

  His breath scorched her skin and awoke a new desire within her body, leaving her thirst forgotten about for the time being.

  She had never been touched by a man before, other than a brotherly hug, a pat on her head by her distant father or the unwanted surreptitious grope from her elderly fiancé… but it was never on her bare skin. Now she lay back on the bed watching Sebastian as he trailed his hand lazily down her body, sending pinpricks of desire zipping all over. There hadn’t been time to dress after all once they had reached the house, and with the memory of his words ringing in the air she knew he’d been right. She had wanted him… badly. Every atom of her being sang out to him. He’d made love to her slowly, gently, but desire had taken over and she’d pushed him back and climbed on top, wanting more… needing more.

  He leaned in and kissed her again, his lips soft and full, pressing against hers easily, now their fangs had retracted. Her insides quivered and she felt the connection between them grow, their subconscious entwining.

  ‘I can feel your soul,’ she whispered as he pulled back slightly. ‘I thought we didn’t have one?’

  ‘You can’t lose your so
ul Eva, contrary to what the humans may say. Your soul is part of you, be it light or dark, good or evil. It’s the essence of who you are, so you can’t lose it,’ he said bending back in for another kiss.

  ‘I’m thirsty again Sebastian,’ she said, a frown clouding her face as she felt the raw dryness begin to grow in her throat once more.’

  ‘I know. It takes time, but it will pass. I’ll hunt again for you in the morning before the sun gets too high. Now let’s see what I can do to distract you,’ he murmured, his eyes sparkling as he raked his fingers along her side and over her hip, making her groan with pleasure.

  Ͼ

  As the days passed Sebastian brought a regular stream of oblivious blood donors to quench Eva’s endless thirst and after that first excursion out, Eva found her desire to escape the confines of the house faded. Instead she spent her days in bed with Sebastian or sat in front of a beautiful looking glass watching the change in her appearance. Her dark curls became rich and glossy; the scratches, bruises and marks her face had acquired over the recent months on the run all disappeared and her skin became like porcelain. Her lips filled out and reddened, but it was her eyes that interested her the most. She had always had beautiful light hazel eyes which had a tendency to change colour between green and brown depending on her emotions, but with each new day