Hartman House

by A L Wright

  He turned toward the open window and peered through. The window opened to a catwalk that looked out over part of the warehouse.

  He slipped in through the window, Rodelle following closely and silently behind. They crouched down next to each other and observed the empty space, listening for any trace of sound.

  He looked over at Rodelle when he felt her tap on his shoulder. She pointed at her necklace and then drew the little bag down over the stone. He was confused at first until she closed her eyes and disappeared from his sight completely. He barely had time to register what just happened before he saw her once again, her hand resting on his forearm.

  She gestured to the necklace he wore around his own neck. He reached up and took the bag from the gem, then looked back over at her.

  He pointed at her and then back to himself, asking if she could still see him.

  Rodelle rolled her eyes at him. ‘Of course, I made these,’ she mouthed at him silently.

  Smiling he stood up and gestured at her to follow him. Feeling confident in their ability to find anyone in the warehouse before they found them, he headed off to find stairs that would take them down to the main level.

  They had made it to the floor and had searched most of the front of the warehouse before they heard any noise. There was scuffling noises coming from the back, an area partially blocked by stacks of old pallets.

  They walked up to the pallets and peered around to see what they would find behind them.

  There were two men, boys really. Couldn’t have been more than 17 years old. One was seated on an old plastic chair with his head down, and the other one was pacing back and forth looking quite angry with his hands balled up into fists.

  They were both dark haired, medium build. The one sitting had a dark complexion, like he had seen a lot of time at the beach.

  The sitting boy brought his head up and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. “Will you PLEASE stop with the pacing? I am trying to enjoy the silence.”

  The pacing boy stopped and whirled on his companion. “How are you so calm? How can you just sit there and wait? I’m starving!”

  “He told us to wait and we would have more than we need. Whatever that means. I’m content to wait for now. You got anywhere else to be? It’s not like we can go back to our families now.” He dropped back forward, putting his head in his hands.

  The other boy resumed his pacing, nothing else to say in light of what his friend just said.

  Dreven looked over at Rodelle and nodded. He touched the stone and thought to himself that he wanted the boys to see him now.

  The pacing boy stopped and turned towards him, and the sitting boy stood up so quickly that the chair scooted back several feet.

  “Who are you? Did he send you?” Said the boy with the darker skin.

  Dreven raised his hands up even with his shoulders, trying to show his peaceful intentions. “I do not know who you speak of. I had gotten word that you were in trouble. I came here to help you.”

  The dark-skinned boy took a step forward, then both his and the angry one’s faces turned slightly. Peering at the space next to him. Rodelle must have released her sight spell.

  The angry boy hissed at her, fangs springing forth instantly. He knew she was human, and he was hungry.

  “Darrin, no!” The dark-skinned boy managed to yell before his friend leapt at Rodelle.

  Dreven instantly saw red. He managed a glance at Rodelle, standing there so calmly, before he reached out and intercepted the boy called Darrin. His hand closed around Darrin’s neck and squeezed hard. His own fangs had emerged, and he silently snarled at the boy, before reaching up and snapping his neck with his other hand.

  He dropped the boy’s body and took a step towards the other one, who was still standing in the same spot with his hands up in surrender.

  Dreven was still seeing red when he felt hands close around his forearm. He turned to see what was going on and saw Rodelle trying to hold him back. There was definite fear in her eyes, but he could see it wasn’t fear of the boy now lying on the floor.

  It was fear of him.

  He stopped moving and snapped himself back to reality, letting has fangs recede back into his gums. She let go of his arm and took a step back from him, looking over towards the boy with his hands up.

  “I am so sorry for your friend. My companion is very protective. We really meant you no harm, I swear.” She said.

  The boy just stood there staring at Dreven, unsure what to do.

  Rodelle took a few steps forward, placing herself in front of him. Dreven did not like that one bit, putting herself into danger. However, even if she did fear him, he would not hesitate to snap this boy’s neck as well if need be.

  Her approach calmed the boy and he put his hands down.

  “Please, will you tell me your name?” She asked him.

  He was still silent, now looking back and forth between Dreven and Rodelle.

  She took another step forward, and Dreven tensed.

  “My name is Rodelle. I come from the Hartman House. You may have never heard of it, but we offer you sanctuary and peace. Something this man who left you here had no intention of doing.”

  The boy softened up as she spoke to him. “My name is Jeremiah. What do you think the man who brought us here intended to do?” He was now staring at the body of his friend as he spoke.

  Dreven hesitated to speak, seeing that her voice had a calming effect on this Jeremiah.

  “Honestly, from what we gathered, it seems that he wanted to starve you both until you went mad. Then unleash you upon the city to slaughter many innocent people.”

  Her revelation had the boy backing up a couple of steps, hands held up in front of him again. His eyes were wide, scared, thinking of what she just said to him.

  “No. No way! I would never do that, man. I’m just a diver, I study marine plant life for God’s sake!” Jeremiah yelled.

  “Unfortunately, after being starved for so long, you would have had no presence of mind to keep yourself from doing exactly that. I know. I have been to that point before.” Dreven finally spoke up.

  Rodelle glanced over at him, wide – eyed.

  “The elder vampire of the Hartman House found me, starved and desiccated. Fortunately, he brought me to the House, under a spell which took the edge off the hunger and I was slowly brought back from the brink of that madness.” Dreven spoke slowly, hoping the boy would register fully the fate he could be facing.

  “Please, then. Please get me out of here. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Jeremiah almost whispered. “I wish Darrin could have made it. I didn’t know him for long but being stuck here together kind of forged a bond, you know.”

  “Ah, well, we will be taking him. He is not dead. But he will need plenty of time to recover from that kind of injury.”

  Rodelle’s head snapped up to stare at him, eyes wide once more.

  Dreven shrugged. There was too much to explain and now was not the time.

  “Dreven.” Rodelle sighed. “It will take too long for us all to go together. Please take Darrin back first and come for Jeremiah next. You will need to get him swiftly through the city, so his hunger does not overtake him.” Rodelle said, recovering from her moment of surprise quickly.

  “I am not leaving you here with him. This one would have killed you if I had not been here.” Dreven toed the boy on the ground.

  “Look, Dreven.” Rodelle pulled a bag out of her pocket and shook it. It rattled, sounding of several stones inside. “He couldn’t have even scratched me. I am fully protected. I will be safe here with Jeremiah. Now please, let’s do this so I can go home.”

  Dreven scolded himself for underestimating her. Yet he had no regrets. He would always protect her, even if she could protect herself. But he also needed her to trust him.

  So, he picked up Darrin’s body and fled from the warehouse.

  Chapter 12

  Rodelle slept late the next day. Their rescue had technically been a suc
cess, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Dreven’s display of cold brutality.

  Of course, he had known that he had only disabled Darrin. He could have killed him. He had shown amazing restraint, really. And it wasn’t like she had taken the time to explain her protection spell. So, they both were at fault.

  But still, the ferocious look on his face after snapping the kid’s neck. She couldn’t get it out of her head. She had feared him in that moment. But it was fear born of ignorance. She had never seen a vampire angry before.

  And he was always so peaceful around her. It was just incredibly unexpected.

  She knew she needed to talk to him about, but just wasn’t ready yet. She went about her afternoon as normal, doing her own laundry, meditating with the girls in the back lawns and eating dinner in the dining hall.

  She was on her way back from dinner when Guy approached her. They hadn’t worked together in a couple of days, so he was probably seeking her out for some help.

  She smiled at him as he approached. He was a good-looking guy, curly brown hair and green eyes. Very light dusting of freckles across his nose. He had a full mouth, kissable lips.

  Wow, that thought came out of nowhere.

  “Hey Rodelle! I just had kind of a rough day, I was really hoping we could hang and do a bit of practice.”

  He had a pleading quality to his eyes and she couldn’t help but feel badly for him. It must have been rough. She knew some of the other guys in the House treated him poorly.

  “Okay, yeah, no problem. I’d like to keep my mind occupied tonight anyway.”

  He beamed a smile at her and it made her smile in return. She didn’t notice his smile before, really. It was nice.

  “Where would you like to go?” Back gardens?” She asked him.

  “No, the wolves have the pups out there tonight. I’d like to be somewhere else, much more quiet and less likely to be disturbed.”

  “Oh, let’s go on up to my room, then!” She said immediately before she even thought about what she was saying.

  He smiled at her again. “That sounds good. Should be peaceful there, I’d imagine.”

  Before she really even knew it, they were walking into her room, and the door was shut behind her. He walked around her room, looking at the odds and ends she had laying around.

  “Yeah, my room isn’t much. Pretty utilitarian.”

  “No, it’s perfect. How about I grab this chair, and you sit on the bed and we’ll meditate for a moment.” He walked over to the chair and pulled it up next to her bed and sat down.

  Moving over to her bed she climbed up towards the head and sat on it, cross – legged. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, she closed her eyes and relaxed. After a few moments she opened her eyes, seeing that Guy was staring at her.

  “Were you watching me the whole time?” She laughed a bit nervously.

  “Maybe I was. Who wouldn’t? You are pretty amazing, Rodelle. I always thought you were beautiful. That coupled with your powers and your compassion, it’s a pretty amazing mix.” He leaned forward a bit toward her and took one of her hands in his.

  Rodelle thought she should pull away from him, but something inside her kept her from moving. She felt her heart skip a beat, her hand grew a bit sweaty in his.

  “Here let’s change up our seating. I think we can meditate better facing each other.” Still holding her hand, he climbed up on the bed and sat across from her, knees and toes fully touching.

  He grabbed ahold of her other hand and held them both between the two of them, and then closed his eyes.

  Rodelle followed his lead and closed her eyes as well. She found it quite difficult to focus her thoughts on any one thing, so she let them drift a bit. Sometimes meditation was more about letting the random clutter drift away from your mind, than about focusing on one thing.

  Several minutes later she opened her eyes to find Guy’s hands on her upper thighs. Heat radiated from them and her breath began to get heavy.

  She closed her eyes and felt him run his hands up her sides and then back down. Everywhere he touched was left feeling hot, burning her from the inside. Her thoughts turned to mud as he ran his hands from her thighs down her legs to her ankles then back up to her sides.

  He shifted a bit closer to the side of the bed net to the wall and pulled her with him. As he settled against the wall his hands brought her up between his legs and against him, leaning her back against his chest.

  She could feel his hot breath against her right ear, and he kissed the back of her ear ever so softly. His hands continued running up her sides and back down, again leaving a hot trail that made her skin tingle.

  Briefly Rodelle thought that this wasn’t quite right, maybe things were going much faster than she wanted them to. But she did want this right? Why not now then? They had time, and space, and comfort.

  Guy’s hands came up around her shoulders, and he ran them down her arms. He hooked his fingers into hers and bringing them up, kissed each one before lowering them to place her hands on his thighs. He let go of her hands and resumed his touching of her body, moving towards areas that she thought maybe she wasn’t ready to have touched yet.

  By the Goddess she was a virgin! Why was she acting like a heated slut suddenly? His hands tracing circles across her stomach made her thoughts cloudy again and she leaned her head back on his shoulder.

  Before she knew it, he had her shirt unbuttoned and pulled open. The sudden feel of his hands on her bare skin brought her head up. Guy wrapped his arms around her in a hug, kissing her on the neck and beginning to trace his tongue around her ear.

  Melting back into him she lost all coherent thought. The feel of his tongue on her skin was too much, yet suddenly it wasn’t enough. He brought his hands up her bare sides and cupped her petite breasts.

  Him pinching her nipples through her bra had her gasping for breath. She had never felt such sensations before, and these were running through her body like sparks on her nerves. His hands lingered on her breasts for several moments of agonizing pleasure.

  When he removed his hands, she took a deep ragged breath. She was feeling quite light headed, foggy-brained, and like she was in a trance. The feeling continued for a moment before she felt Guy reach for the top button of her jeans.

  Wait. He couldn’t do that. What was wrong with her? Her mind snapped back to reality like coming out of a dream. He was doing this! He was doing all of this, had her completely enchanted with his powers.

  She had fallen for it, and now she couldn’t move. Oh Goddess! She couldn’t move! Guy continued to kiss her neck and ear, while attempting to undo the button. He fumbled a couple of times before it finally sprang open, the zipper coming down easily after that. His fingertips met with the top of her pubic hair and he made a small moaning sound in her ear.

  She was completely helpless. She was going to lose something precious to her to someone she really didn’t even like. Why did she say that they could use her room?

  She had been so consumed by thoughts of Dreven and his savageness the night before that she was completely distracted. She had let Guy in without even knowing. He had said it before himself, he was in tune with her. He knew she was vulnerable.

  Dreven! Oh, how she wanted him here now. She probably wouldn’t mind him snapping Guys’ neck. She wished he was here, if he was the one touching her it would be alright. He was the one she really wanted.

  Her mind coming to that conclusion was like a slap in the face, a bucket of cold water to the mind. She still couldn’t move but her presence of mind was back in full.

  She stilled her mind and concentrated, against all the unwanted sensations she was being assaulted with. In her mind’s eye she imagined a bubble, white and bright. She needed the bubble to carry a message.

  Help me. Please Dreven, help.

  Guy’s hand slipped just a bit lower and she released the bubble from her mind. The warm feeling, she felt before was threatening to come back, creeping up on her nerves. Her mind started to be
come fuzzy again. All thoughts fled away, her vision slowly darkening down to a pinpoint.

  The last thing she felt before the blackness overcame her was being laid back upon the bed, and her jeans slowly being tugged downward.

  ---

  She came to in darkness. It wasn’t completely black, there were candles lit. The flames dancing along the edges of her blurry vision.

  Without moving she began to assess herself. She was mostly undressed, still wearing her bra and panties. Her body was covered by a soft blanket, pulled up to her shoulders.

  She couldn’t help but be completely terrified. He may not have hurt her yet, but was he here in this room with her? Waiting to come back and finish what he started? Maybe he hadn’t intended for her to pass out and wanted her to be awake and completely helpless when he took her.

  Tears slipping down her cheeks, she let out a sob. She had meant to be quiet until she could figure out where she was but couldn’t help it.

  A slight noise from across the room startled her. It sounded like the scrape of a chair. Before she could even look in that direction, the bed sank as someone sat next to her.

  Silver eyes stared down at her. Dreven. Oh, thank all things pure and holy!

  “Rodelle, my sweet Rodelle. Please do not cry, I am here.” He put the back of his hand to her face, gently wiping away her tears.

  She sat up quickly and threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. This savage man, vampire, who she feared the night before was now the one person in the world she felt she could trust. She cried harder into his shoulder as he pulled her against him.

  “Sajaliavam, my sweet, I am so sorry. Ne se trevoji, he will never hurt you again. Shhh... shhh now. Obicham te, my little light.” He pulled her away from him and looked down into her eyes. “I will never let anyone hurt you ever again.”

  The pure emotion swimming in his eyes had her completely believing him. She hadn’t understood half of what he had just said to her, but it had been incredibly calming. She ran her hand down his smooth cheek as they stared into each other’s eyes.