Curse of Dracula

by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

  She stood from where she was and moved over to him. He released the wrap around her ankle as he watched her, curiosity etched onto his sharp features. She gathered up her skirt to straddle his lap, sitting on his thighs.

  “Well. All right, then.” He let his hands settle on her hips. His tail was once more wrapped around her leg, this time higher on her calf.

  She ran her hand through his hair. It was soft, despite its rough-cut appearance. She loved to rustle it with her fingers, mussing it up even further. He didn’t complain—indeed, he purred. Literally purred like some great panther. His violet eyes slid half shut as she watched him become lost in her embrace.

  He loved her.

  She had no doubt of it.

  And now, she knew she loved him too.

  Maybe it was too fast. Maybe it was wrong. Maybe she didn’t care.

  “If Eddie comes here, I will choose to stay with you.”

  “Bella! Oh, Bella!” He wrapped his arms around her fully and hugged her to him. He leaned his cheek against her chest and let out what she assumed was a happy noise, although it sounded more like a sob, if she were honest. She laughed and held him. His horn dug into her a little, but she did not mind it too much. “I have to ask. I have to. It is okay if you tell me no, but I—”

  “I will be your mate, Mordecai.” And there it was. She said it. She had taken the leap, and it was as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She would become like he was—she would let her humanity drift away. But demons could love. And she would taste the freedom that he knew, and she would do it with her hand in his.

  She was not frightened. She was…excited.

  Dampness touched her skin, and she lifted his head from her. A tear streaked down his cheeks. She dried it away with her thumb and smiled. “Why are you crying?”

  “I couldn’t honestly tell you.” He laughed softly. “I am just…I am happy, and I should not cry when I am happy, but here we are.”

  “How very human of you.”

  “Now you’re insulting me!” He glared playfully. “A cruel mistress you turn out to be.”

  She kissed him, and he met her full force. She wrapped her arms behind his neck as they embraced. She parted the kiss. “Let’s go,” she whispered.

  “Mmhh,” he groaned. “Say it. Please. Say the words to me.”

  She smiled down at him. “I love you, Mordecai.”

  And with that, she was free.

  Maxine could not remember much of what happened. Flashes of imagery. Of wings against a night sky, of ancient stars, of the endless night that he was. Of the feeling of him with her sending her soaring to the extents of the sky in his arms.

  She remembered the bliss.

  Pure and utter ecstasy had crashed over her. Both hers…and his.

  It had been more than simple physical affection. He had been inside her soul. She must have fallen asleep after it ended. She could not remember. Her hand went to her throat to search for a fresh wound that was not there. Someone chuckled beneath her.

  “I did not bite you. I am not sure as I could have much managed.”

  She looked up and realized she was lying in his arms. They were in his bed beneath the sheets. Both still naked, by the feel of it.

  He saw her quizzical expression and reached up to stroke her hair away from her face. “I felt the same as you. I think only by benefit of my years did I manage not to pass out. It was close.”

  “I did not pass out,” she tried to argue indignantly, then realized how utterly hopeless it was. She sighed. “I am sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “I did not know what my gift would do to us. It had exactly the effect I was worried about.”

  He stroked her hair. “I am not complaining. That was exquisite. In all my thousands of years, I have never experienced anything like it. I thought I had joined with another in all the ways that were possible. You have taught me otherwise.”

  She smiled, her face going warm. “I am sorry I am not more…skilled in the act. To someone like you, I must be quite awful.”

  “You have talent, believe me. If you are worried about skill, then…what is it they say? Practice makes perfect?”

  She slapped his chest. She tried not to laugh and won but did not manage to keep a smile from escaping. “How long was I out?”

  “An hour, maybe less.” He shut his eyes and held her close, a matching smile on his features. “The sun will rise in a few hours’ time, and you will have your ceasefire.”

  Snuggling into him, she let her head rest back on his chest. His heart had stopped, and his touch was already cold once more. It didn’t bother her. “Thank you.”

  “You realize I will have a rather rabid need to do this again. You will not be rid of me now.”

  She laughed quietly and curled her hand against his chest. “Perhaps I will find the inspiration to trade you such a thing again in the future.”

  “Ah, I fear that is not how this works. You’re mine now. You are my prisoner of war.” He kissed her forehead, and she felt the playful twist to his lips. “You are powerless now to resist me.”

  She tried not to laugh again, and this time failed. She was exhausted, and the idea of sleep was more than welcome. It came for her quickly, and she drifted off to the sensation of his hand drawing lazy circles over her lower back.

  He was a monster. But damn if she didn’t want him in spite of it. Damn if this didn’t feel like happiness.

  Vlad could still feel her thoughts, echoing in the distance of his mind. Weaker now, as her blood in his body became less and less prevalent, but still there. He could hear her internal debate, but he sensed her surrender to the peace he brought her in his arms.

  When they had been joined in body and mind, he heard her love for him, echoing the call of his own. They were meant to be together. No matter her turmoil, he knew now that she truly was his. It was only a matter of time before she came to accept it.

  Beautiful child. So sympathetic. So bright-eyed and intelligent. Wise and naïve in the same breath. She was so gentle to those who did not deserve it. And it might destroy her. A lesser creature would have long since given up her morals and adopted his depravity instead. It only made him adore her more.

  Damn him to the pits. Damn his foolishness. Damn him to Hell that his heart seemed to have never learned its tragic lesson. All will die before me.

  She would share the same fate. How, he did not know. By his hands, by another, by old age or illness, by insanity if he turned her into a creature like himself, it didn’t matter. She would fade away into dust the same as all the rest. It was all just a matter of how soon it would come to pass.

  He kissed her atop her head again. She smelled like the fall, crisp leaves and fading summer light, and he adored it. She claimed to dislike death, but he wondered if she were not the end of life itself wearing the gorgeous features. Certainly, an angel of death had come to visit in him in her guise, promising him sweet relief from his eternity only to find comfort in his arms instead. It would be wonderfully fitting for him if that were true.

  He had called her perfect. He had meant those words as well.

  She nuzzled into him, the guileless gesture of a sleeping mind. He pulled her tight and tucked the blankets closer around her. He regretted that he had no body heat of his own, but there was little to be done about it.

  Not once had she flinched from his cold touch. Not once had she recoiled from his corpselike flesh. He stroked her hair, careful not to wake her, and he shut his eyes.

  How long he might hold his angel in his arms, he did not know. But he would cherish it for as long as it lasted. Even if it was by his hands that it would eventually be destroyed.

  The humans would have their day of ceasefire. They would be allowed to flee his city. And …she would witness the downfall of Alfonzo Van Helsing.

  If she could still love him after what he planned for that wretch, she could love him through the end of days.

  And if she could not
, he would embrace her wrath as much as he would embrace her forgiveness. Either would be a mercy. Sadly, he had business to attend before the sun rose. He slipped from her arms and tucked another blanket around her. He commanded the fire to burn brighter and heard it roar obediently. He would return before she woke.

  He laid a kiss on her temple. “Sleep, Maxine…you have earned it.”

  She murmured and hugged the pillow closer to her, no doubt dreaming it was him. It made him smile. She did not deserve to endure what he would put before her.

  But then again…who did?

  Eddie was sick of this shit.

  He really was.

  He shoved the corpse of the monster off him where it had pinned him to the ground with its literal dead weight. “Stupid, ugly bastard,” he grumbled at it as he managed to finally roll it off. It smelled like, well, shit.

  Some of the monsters would burst into flame when they were killed. This one, not so much. This one fell atop him like some sack of ugly, stinky potatoes. Once he had finally freed himself, he stood and brushed off as much of the muck as he could.

  Fifty-four monsters, twenty-eight ghouls, three lesser vampires, and one that might have been a bit older and more impressive. That was what he had killed so far during his trek toward the North End. He had nothing better to do but count. Count, walk, fight, count some more, walk some more, and so on.

  Oh, and talk to himself.

  “I told him we shouldn’t split up. Should’ve gone with Al. Maybe I could’ve done something to stop all this.” He sighed as he started walking again toward the center of the city, reloading his revolver. He was happy he had plenty of ammunition. He preferred his rifle, but it was crap up close.

  “Or maybe I’d be dead. Fuck, Al, I hope you’re not dead.” He grunted and sighed, shaking his head. “This is stupid. I should leave and go home.”

  “Then why don’t you?”

  Eddie whirled to the source of the voice—his gun instantly pointed at the creature who had spoken. A tall man in a long black peacoat, his long black hair that shone in the crimson light of the perpetually red moon. The creature was imposing—a monolith that seemed to seethe with pure darkness. On seeing him, Eddie could only think of one thing to say. “Fuck.”

  Dracula.

  “Fuck!”

  The vampire smirked at his second outburst. Holding his arms out wide at his sides, he invited Eddie to take a shot.

  He knew he didn’t stand a chance. He released the hammer and lowered the weapon. “If you wanted me dead, you’d have attacked already. You had the jump on me. You’re here to talk. Am I right?”

  “Very good, boy.” The vampire tilted his head slightly, watching him studiously. “Do you not wish to kill me?”

  “No, I do. I’m just not stupid enough to try.”

  “You are smarter than you look.”

  “Thanks. I think.” Eddie grunted and kept his gun in his hand, even if he didn’t aim it at the monster.

  “What is it you wish for, then, boy? If not to try to kill me?”

  “I want to free Bella. I want to take her and go.”

  “Noble, but futile. I’m afraid to say that Bella does not wish to be freed.”

  “What?”

  Dracula sighed and tucked his hands behind his back. “She is mated to an incubus.”

  “What have you done to her?” Eddie pulled his gun out again and pointed it at the vampire, his hand shaking. “You’re lying!”

  “She is likely already beginning to change. She is a demon now. She will become a succubus before long. And she did it out of love for the creature who has taken her. If you find her now, she will choose to stay. But I do not think you have dignity enough to let her have such autonomy, do you?”

  “You perverted freak!” He was trembling. Even if he thought he stood a chance against the vampire, his hands were shaking too hard now to try. “You’re lying…you have to be lying.”

  “I fear I am not.” There was an odd look of sympathy on the vampire’s face. As if he…truly regretted what he had come to communicate. “The girl does not love you, Edward. Let her go. Spare yourself this pain.”

  “I can’t…I can’t give up on her.”

  “She has given up on you.”

  “No. No. I don’t buy that. I don’t believe Bella wants to be with—with—” he stammered, broke off, coughed, and refused to say it. There’s no way she’d pick an incubus over me. “It’s bullshit. She’s not like that.” His eyes stung, and he bit back tears.

  “Mmhm. And you know her so perfectly, do you?”

  “We’ve traveled together for years. I’ve been in the trenches with her. We’ve fought side-by-side. Yeah. I’d say I do.”

  “Not well enough, it seems. Zadok masqueraded as her for two days and two nights, and you did not notice the charade.”

  “Shut up!”

  The vampire sighed. “You are young. Your heart has been misplaced in the girl. She does not care for you. By her own admission to the incubus, she never held you in any more regard than a trusted friend. She is gone to you, and Alfonzo’s life is as good as over. Spare yourself the pain. Spare yourself the torment. Leave this city. This morning, the sun will rise. For the duration of its journey across the skies, the survivors here will be free to leave. And in a few days’ time, I will be gone from this place, and so will my creatures. There is no war left here for you to wage.”

  “See, you make sense. But that’s the problem. The devil always makes sense.”

  “Then perhaps you should listen.”

  Eddie grunted and shoved his gun into its holster. If the vampire wanted to kill him, they both knew he could. It was stupid pretending he stood a chance. He’d only be wasting bullets. “I can’t give up. I can’t. Not on them.”

  Dracula bowed his head. “I acknowledge your commitment. It is a difficult thing to stand against a fight you cannot win, yet to hold up your sword and face the oncoming horde with your fate ascertained. It is for that reason I will let you live. You may wander my city as you wish and destroy my creatures until one might succeed in ending you.”

  “Why? Why let me live?”

  Crimson eyes glinted in the light, flashing like those of a wolf in the shadows. “Every now and then, a doomed soldier can turn the tide of battle. I think I am curious to see if that is who you are. Imagine my world, Mr. Jenkin, if you can. I can never die. Knowing such, do you not think I have not, from time to time, allowed myself to lose a fight to a worthy opponent?”

  “You have higher stakes this time. Maxine.”

  “True. Very true. And should you threaten her life, you will be a smear upon the cobblestones.”

  “She’s a nice girl. A good person.” Eddie shook his head. “I won’t kill her because she loves you. That would make me worse than you are.”

  “Oddly enough, I appreciate the sentiment. And for that, I will correct Zadok’s lie that he used to split you and your mentor apart. Bella is not in the North End, but dwells within my fortress with her new ‘husband.’”

  Eddie blanched. He barely managed to keep himself from being sick all over his shoes. “Why? Why do that to her?”

  “Nothing has befallen her that she has not embraced with open arms. That, and I fear she has a hand to play in my plans.” He paused. “At any point, should you turn back, your exit from this city will be unimpeded. I encourage you to leave. I hope you do. I have no desire to kill you.”

  “Appreciated and noted. I won’t come after Maxine. She loves you. And it’s plain to see you feel the same. I won’t get in the middle of that. But I’m going to do everything I can to save my friends.”

  “Appreciated and noted.” Dracula bowed. “Until we meet again.”

  And in an explosion of black bats that swarmed up into the sky, he was gone.

  Eddie exhaled in a rush as he scratched the back of his neck. He turned to walk deeper into the city. Yeah. This is fuckin’ shit.

  19

  Bella lay in their bed and pr
essed her hand to her abdomen. The deed was done. She was panting, covered in sweat. And it had been glorious.

  Mordecai was over her, kissing every inch of her. She basked in it. She was his mate now. She was pregnant with their child. She was a demon. She could feel it. Not just the life she knew would sprout inside her, but of the change that was slowly washing through her from the inside out. It was blooming in her like a flower, spreading out inside. Warmth was filling her.

  She had wondered if it was going to hurt. If it would feel like poison. Instead, she writhed beneath him, seeking contact with his body. Any contact. She needed him to touch her. Mordecai was happy to oblige.

  “The change will happen slowly. It will come over you piece by piece, then lay dormant for a time. You won’t fully be like me until you feed on your first victim. When you take them into you, you will be complete.” He was kissing her bare skin slowly, wandering feathered touches over her.

  “Won’t you be jealous?”

  “Never.” He grinned. “I cannot wait to see you take your first victim. I will be there to help you. You will be glorious. You will be a thing of pure beauty. No one will be able to resist you.”

  “Will I have horns and a tail?” She hadn’t thought about it. She hadn’t cared. She wasn’t sure she would mind. Mordecai certainly put his tail to good use.

  “No…you will have wings, my angel.” He kissed her stomach then wandered lower, kissing her abdomen over where their new life would grow. “And your transformation will feed our baby.” He crawled back up her form until he was over her. “I love you.”

  Wings. She was going to have wings! She smiled. It sounded incredible. She couldn’t wait. “I love you, demon.” She reached up to kiss him, and he eagerly matched her.

  Maxine awoke to the feeling of someone kissing her.

  It was a sensation she knew she would never forget. She blinked her eyes open and found Vlad lying next to her, propped on one elbow with his other hand holding up his weight on the other side of her, caging her in. The length of his body against hers was chill but not unwelcome.