Frantic, I tore open the cabin door and stumbled back in fright, because behind the open door a giant dog with its neck stuck out and bared teeth snarled menacingly at me. No, that was no dog. As I looked more closely I was overcome with horror and disgust, because the creature that stood before me was like a grotesque combination of human and dog.
“I see you've finally come to.”
Violette's voice made me start, and only now did I notice her form behind the growling beast. And there was something else I only noticed now. My heart beat much slower. Its throbbing was barely perceptible anymore.
“Be gone, Dymar,” she ordered the fiendish monster, which immediately turned around as bid and moved off, not without casting me one more grim look first.
“We should pull the curtains. It won't be long before the sun comes up. You'll soon discover the advantages of the night.” She stepped majestically past me and pulled the black velvet curtains over the windows.
“What are you? What have you made me into? A monster, like you or that creature before?”
The unperturbed smile she cast me exposed her sharp fangs. Stunned and strangely without fear I looked into the eyes of the woman I had taken for an angel on the beach of Almería. She fixed her gaze on me as she approached and started stroking the naked skin of my torso as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As she did, she scratched my waist hard with her ruby ring, and I flinched slightly. She immediately caught a few drops of blood on her finger and licked them off with an ecstatic expression. The wound closed within seconds.
“I've given you the gift of eternal life, Ramon. How many wretched years did you have left as a human? Twenty? Thirty? When faced with the prospect of eternity, frankly that's a ridiculously short period of time. As a vampire, you're far superior to humans. You're still confused now, but you will very soon learn to appreciate me and your new life.”
She had moved in very close to me at her last words, and the pleasant scent she exuded dazed and paralyzed me. The queasy feeling in my belly made itself felt once more, this time even worse than before. My stomach growled, loud and demanding.
“You are hungry,” Violette said, eyes shining. “Of course you are hungry. Come with me.” She left the room and I followed her hesitantly through the interior of the ship to a door guarded by another hybrid creature. It looked very similar to the other creature named Dymar, only its head was somewhat wider and the very human looking ears seemed to be significantly larger. As Violette approached, it crawled submissively back out of the way, white spittle dripping from its mouth like slimy juice. I paid it little heed, because the crying, whimpering and sobbing behind the closed door demanded all my attention. Violette looked at me before unlocking and opening the creaky door. What I saw inside the room stunned me. At least a dozen people were shackled to the walls and sometimes even gagged. Some lay tied up with ropes on the wooden floor of the ship. The eyes of some of these prisoners were so wide with fear, you could almost see nothing but the whites of them. It smelled of sweat, excrement and blood. I stood there motionless and was incapable of figuring out what I felt at this sight. In fact I seemed alien, not myself, as if an emotional numbness had settled over me. Did I feel anything at all anymore? Violette seemed to be watching me and my reaction carefully. I looked her questioningly in the eyes, expecting to find something there that I was searching for within myself.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Look at that. The new feller has already found his way to the pantry.”
A tall, sinister-looking young man stood in the doorway, arms crossed, and looked at me scornfully. His clothing was wet through and seawater dripped from his blond hair too.
“Only it's debatable whether he wouldn't have been better off on the menu.”
He shook his head like a dog, making drops of water spray in all directions. Laughter rang out behind him, and I could vaguely make out two more men in his shadow.
“Étienne.” Violette's voice sounded shrill and menacing.
A reluctant grumble escaped the throat of the blond giant. He stepped into the middle of the room to join us, looked down at me and then turned to the prisoners.
“Has he already made a selection? Which of you delectable morsels deserves the honor of being his first meal? You perhaps?” He approached an elderly woman, pushed her long, gray hair back so that her throat was exposed and revealed his predator-like fangs. I had to gulp. If what Violette said was true – that I, like her, was a vampire - did I have this mutation too? I ran my tongue over my teeth to check but couldn't feel anything unusual.
“No, no, no,” the visibly exhausted woman stammered with a vacant look in her eyes, and seemed to be trying hard not to faint.
The blond pirate laughed in amusement and a feeling of uncertainty came over me, because I felt a surge of pity. Pity, which stood in contrast to the fascination awakening within me too. Suddenly Étienne jerked his head to the right and stared, eyes like a hawk, at the face of a young woman who was also tied to the wall and was looking at him in horror.
“Or you perhaps?” he hissed, and was with her in a flash. He grabbed her violently by her dark blonde hair and ripped her head back. She cried out loudly and a desperate sob escaped her ill-treated body.
“I think this one here would be an excellent choice,” he said. With one hand he pulled a knife from his belt and cut through her bonds. In desperation the young woman immediately began lashing out in all directions and screaming, but he only laughed again, strengthened his grip on her hair and dragged her over to me.
“Compliments of the house.” He grinned scornfully and held her out to me. My gaze, however, rested on his eyes at first, since they were very unusual due to their different colors. While the left eye was a warm nut brown, the right shone a radiant and icy blue.
“She has the tenderest skin of them all.” With a mixture of greed and lechery in his eyes, he stroked the soft skin of her décolleté with four fingers, his thumb still wrapped around the handle of the knife.
“Come on, get it over with. Savor her.” He pushed her roughly into my arms. I instinctively caught her, only to immediately release her again and back away.
“No.” It was the only word I could get out, and it was also the only thing I felt. There was no way I wanted to do anything to the woman.
Étienne's smile was contemptuous. He cast Violette a triumphant look, but she proved unimpressed.
“Have you already forgotten what your first meal looked like? I haven't. Do I have to remind you in front of Darius and Aryzeth?”
The two forms by the door stepped further into the room at the mention of their names.
“Now it gets interesting,” said the bigger and stronger of the two and grinned maliciously around the room. With his long, red hair he looked like a Viking.
“Shut up, Darius.” Étienne cast him a menacing look.
“You be careful, Skin. Better not make Violette mad,” he replied and crossed his arms over his chest. “Or in the end, the same thing will happen to you as Dymar.” He opened his mouth to say something more, but Violette's stern look silenced him. Intimidated, he lowered his head and his shaggy hair fell over his face. Aryzeth too, who looked small and weedy next to Darius, stared nervously at the ground in front of him.
“You chose this life yourself, Ramon. You agreed to it. Have you forgotten already?” Violette came over to me and her green-brown eyes looked harmless, her smile gentle.
“No, you duped me. I certainly never agreed to this,” I objected calmly and held her gaze. I saw Darius and Aryzeth exchange looks.
“And I won't do anything to this woman.” Determined, I gestured to the young woman, who Étienne had firmly in his grip again.
“And you won't have to kill this woman,” Violette said kindly, with the same gentle smile. “I'll do it for you.”
Lightning fast, she grabbed Étienne's knife and stuck it in the woman's throat with a single thrust. With an agonizing groaning sound,
she slumped down and yet didn't fall to the ground, because the vampire still held her up by her hair. The whimpers and cries of the prisoners in the room became louder. Paralyzed, fascinated and filled with horror, I couldn't turn my eyes away from the picture before me. Blood seeped from the entry wound and trickled in thin rivulets over her skin. Violette ran her tongue along the woman's neck with obvious enjoyment. Her eyes shone, enraptured, and the next moment she was by my side, pressing her lips to my mouth. I offered no resistance. The enticing aroma she exuded seemed to make me weak and submissive. Only when the explosion of flavor suddenly erupted on the tip of my tongue did energy abruptly return to my body. Never before had I tasted anything sweeter, anything tastier, anything more irresistible. Like a madman I started sucking on her tongue, with increasing intensity and greed. I only noticed one of my teeth had torn her tongue when a warm gush poured into my mouth and made the greed in me unbearable. But in that moment she drew away, ripped my head back by the hair and watched me, smiling in delight. With a jerk of her head, she instructed Étienne to bring the woman closer, which he did with a hostile air. Blood spurted from the gaping wound when she pulled the knife out and then released me from her firm grip. A rumbling sound escaped my throat. Wild and dark. For a moment I looked at her in confusion. Then I turned my gaze away from her and fixed it on the red spring before my eyes, while my tongue felt out the long fangs in my mouth. The abundance of saliva made me swallow over and over, and the rumble in my stomach hurt.
“Your instinct knows the way. It would be foolish to fight it.” Her voice sounded sympathetic. “Eat,” she insisted, and I didn't hesitate a second longer. . . I ate.
11
Amkaya
Black earth flies through the air and the tweeting of birds echoes loudly in my ears when I come to. In the same moment something stings me on my left leg. Judging by the familiar buzzing it's a mosquito. Strange, I've never been bitten by one before.
I turn my head to the left a little and see Noah, vacant expression on his face and shovel in his hands, digging a hole.
Memories slowly find their way back into my consciousness.
“What are you doing?” I murmur and have to cough, because my throat feels extremely dry and sore.
For a moment Noah freezes, but then he throws the shovel aside and rushes to me.
“You're alive!” Stunned, he pulls me into his arms, running his hands over my face in disbelief and kissing me on the forehead.
“Your heart's beating,” he then confirms. “You were dead. For five long hours you were dead!”
He's crying, I realize and wipe the tears from his cheeks in fascination. Even an arrogant Nephilim can shed tears. On the other hand, right this moment Noah looks anything but arrogant and composed. This is a whole new side of him and I notice that this mixture makes him even more interesting and attractive to me than he already is.
The mosquito bite itches and I realize the insect must have fancied me dead, since they usually give me a wide berth.
“What have I got on here?” I gesture to the sleeveless, black and white tube dress I'm wearing.
“I found it in the closet too,” he explains and adds, “you have to admit, it suits you.”
His frank, sheepish expression elicits a smile from me.
“Looks like I only just escaped my burial,” I say and gesture to the already quite large hole in the ground.
He looks embarrassed, but instead of answering he lifts me up.
“I can walk,” I protest, but he doesn't put me down, carrying me the five hundred yards from the forest back to the holiday home, to which he has already lugged me once before. Only once inside the house does he let me down.
“You've got no shoes on,” he explains then, and I look down at my naked feet.
“I'll get us a means of transport. You'll probably want to freshen up.” He gestures to the bathroom.
He's right about that, my body longs to be refreshed. I'm still not feeling quite alive yet.
“Is there anyone who will be missing you?” His question sounds casual, but I can feel his strong interest.
Airas. Suddenly my brother pops into my mind. I totally forgot about him, and Wilson too, who is quick to worry at the best of times.
“Yes, there is,” I admit. “I completely forgot.”
“Oh, I understand,” he says, jumping to the wrong conclusion and I grin to myself. He's jealous.
“You'll meet him,” I say and, without a guilty conscience, leave him in the dark. For now.
After a quick shower I slip back into the tube dress and look at myself in the mirror. It really doesn't look bad, only without underwear I feel a little naked in it.
Maybe I should keep an eye out for the shirt and shorts instead, they must be somewhere in the bedroom. In the way of shoes, I only found a simple pair of flip flops, but since I lost one shoe in the crash it's still better than nothing.
I can't tear my eyes away from my face, scrutinizing it carefully. Something about it has changed since last night. I wonder whether it's obvious to others too?
“You're devastatingly beautiful.” Noah is back, standing in the doorway. His eyes reveal that they're not just empty words. Okay, I'll leave the dress on.
I try not to look embarrassed, although I really am a bit. Like I said – in terms of emotions, I'm developmentally delayed.
“Do you know what I found incredibly beautiful?” I ask quietly and walk past him.
He catches me and turns me to him. “Well, what?”
“Dying in your arms.”
He looks surprised, but even before he can react, I free myself from his grip and go to the door.
“What kind of car did you get?”
I'm quite shocked to find a motorbike instead of a car in front of the house.
A fairly old motorbike. It's similar to one Airas was once the proud owner of, back when it was a brand new model. This one here looks pretty dirty and hardly confidence inspiring though.
“It'll make it to the next city at least,” Noah assures me and climbs on.
I awkwardly take a seat behind him, pulling the elastic dress under my behind and down my thighs, but it keeps riding up again. He watches me with amusement in the rear vision mirror of the motorcycle. I give him a light slap.
“Drive already,” I command, holding on tight to him as the engine revs loudly and comes to life.
Just when I think the bumpy forest path will never end, it does, and we find our way onto State Route 89.
“Stop, please,” I yell in his ear after a few minutes, and he brings the old bike to a standstill. Before us lies an enchanting cove surrounded by thick greenery. The sandy beach at the end of the cove reminds me more of the Caribbean than a mountain lake.
“Nice view. Where are we anyway?”
“This is Emerald Bay,” Noah informs me. “Over there you can see part of Lake Tahoe.”
I wish I could get him to drive us down there, but I can't do that to Airas and Wilson, who are surely already worried.
Besides, the morning sun is already quite uncomfortable and I don't even have sunglasses with me.
“I've never seen such blue water,” I murmur and nod my head toward the magnificent scenery.
“They also call the lake 'Jewel of the Sierra Nevada'. It has this intense deep blue color because the water is free of silt. That's why it's so crystal clear you can even make out objects deep below the surface.”
“A paradise for fish.”
“There are no fish in Lake Tahoe. They'd die of starvation,” he explains matter-of-factly.
Without a word, I wrap my arms tight around his waist again, turn my face away from the sun, and we keep driving along the winding road. But now I no longer have eyes for the beautiful panorama. With my eyes closed, I feel the wind blowing through my hair and breathe in his scent, nestled into his body. This is enough. Right now I don't need anything else.
Thirty minutes later we're in South Lake Tahoe, a little city in whi
ch tourism reigns, it seems. We drive onto a car dealer's premises and I'm glad he parks in the shade, because I've already got a bit of a headache.
“Wait here.” He enters the building and comes out again a short time later with a man in a suit, who heads straight for a dark Ford.
I climb off the motorbike, quickly pull my skirt down and follow them.
“Have a nice trip,” the dealer is already wishing my companion when I arrive, handing him the car keys and leering at me a bit as he does.
I simply ignore him.
“That was quick. How do you know if it's a good car?” I ask him once we're inside.
“It's a good car.”
I give him a skeptical sideways glance.
“I just know these things. Now it's you who should trust me.” He winks at me. “Buckle up.”
The Night Within Us: Dark Vampire Romance Page 8
