The Art of Seduction

by Annie Harland Creek

  Meaghan tried again to enter her body to no avail. She tried to leave the van and will herself to wherever David was but that didn’t work either. She was trapped outside her body, waiting to watch herself die, knowing that her soul would be doomed to float around in the ether. Her thoughts turned to David. Would he still be able to see her? How awful, if they could see each other but never touch, never make love. She suppressed a sob, not wanting Nemesis to see how much pain she caused. She didn’t want her to have the satisfaction of knowing that she’d won. She bit her bottom lip, hard. A droplet of blood reached her tongue and she pushed down the wave of nausea as she remembered her last encounter with blood. She and David had mind bonded. An idea popped into her head offering a flicker of hope. If she couldn’t go to him, maybe she could call him to her?

  ****

  When Anna entered the lounge room, both brothers rushed to her.

  “What’s going on? Why did you call me back from the hospital?”

  “Someone stole Meaghan’s body from the cottage while she was astral travelling and we can’t communicate with her. Someone or something is blocking us. We almost got through but it failed. Derrick thought that we should all try together. Maybe your power will be the key.”

  “Do you think that it was the same group who attacked Sofie?”

  “I’d bet my life on that.” He grimaced. “Well, you know what I mean.”

  “It makes sense. The only way that they could have entered the cottage was if the protection spell was broken. Sofie and I cast that spell together. They must have gone after her first.”

  Derrick grabbed his wife by the shoulders. “That means they’ll be coming for you next.” He turned to David. “We need to finish this … now!”

  “How do you propose we do this, Anna?”

  Anna thought for a moment. “Come with me.”

  She led them to the dining room table and motioned for them to sit. “I think that we should hold hands, like a séance, only, instead of me, David will lead us.”

  “I don’t know how to run a séance.”

  “Just think of Meaghan. We’ll concentrate our energy on you while you try to communicate with her. Both of you, close your eyes and focus on Meaghan.”

  David closed his eyes and tried to connect. Something fluttered in his mind, he heard the tinkling sound of glass shattering and then he heard her.

  “David, is that you?”

  “Meaghan! Oh, kitten, it’s so good to hear your voice. How—”

  “I don’t have much time. I’m trapped outside my body. Terry and I are in a van travelling, I think, to the cemetery. They plan to sacrifice us to the demon I saw but it won’t work. The believe me to be a virgin so when the demon discovers their mistake, all hell will break loose. Terry is in a really bad way; I don’t think he’ll make it. David, if I don’t survive this—”

  “Don’t talk like that. We’ll get to you in time, I promise.”

  “The killer calls herself Nemesis but her real name is Clarissa. She’s the girl from the orphanage. The one who tried to kill herself. She blames me for her problems but I don’t believe that she will stop killing after I’m dead.”

  “If she does anything to hurt you, I will end her and all her friends.”

  “Just promise me that you’ll stop them. And, David?”

  “Yes, kitten.”

  “Whatever happens tonight, I need you to know—”

  “You can tell me in person my love.”

  “David, we seem to be stopping. I can’t…”

  “Meagan? Meaghan!”

  “We’ve lost communication, David.” Anna informed him. “They must be moving her.”

  David sprung to his feet and slammed his fist onto the glass table. His chair clattered to the floor as he turned to his brother. “I’m going to the cemetery, are you coming?”

  “Wait!” Anna grabbed her husband by his shirt sleeve. “You’re not prepared to face a demon. You must have a plan.”

  “I plan to kill the bastard.”

  “David, think for a minute. Do you even know how to kill a demon?”

  “I think ripping its head off will be a good start. What do you think Derrick?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “And how do you plan on doing that? Until it’s made corporeal, there is nothing to kill.”

  “She’s right, David. It would be akin to fighting a cloud.”

  “They’re going to kill her if we don’t do something. We must act now!”

  “What do you suggest?” Derrick asked his wife who was chewing on her fingernails.

  She looked up from her hands and her eyes widened. “The girl that Meaghan mentioned. This … Nemesis. She’s the key. She controls the hell-hound and she is the one who summons the demon. If you destroy her, the demon will never return.”

  “What about the hell-hound?”

  “Have you seen it?”

  “Meaghan and I were chased by it and it howled outside her window but, we never actually saw it. Why?”

  David turned to his wife. “Yes, what difference would that make?”

  Anna sighed. “Thank goodness. From what I’ve read, the hell-hound drags a soul to hell after it has shown itself to that person three times. I don’t think it can hurt you … yet.”

  “That’s a useful piece of information and I thank you but we’re wasting time. How do we save Meagan and Palmer?”

  Anna’s shoulders slumped but her facial expression hardened as she told him, “You have to kill Nemesis.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Meaghan watched her body get dragged through the long grass and rubble towards a group of head stones. She considered herself lucky that she was unable to feel the pain of the bruises and scrapes that were coloring her skin black and blue. She tried to ignore the blood as it seeped through the open wounds and concentrate on Terry who was beginning to turn a shade of gray. His lips going blue. He’d passed out in the van and she hoped that he would remain unconscious throughout the ordeal to come. Nemesis would delight in torturing him and—as he would never beg for mercy—his punishment would be prolonged. She raised her head to the sky and silently prayed. If you plan on taking him tonight, please, do it now.

  “Here!” Nemesis ordered as she pointed to a patch of loose dirt. “There should be powerful magic over this fresh grave.”

  The men threw Terry onto the ground. He groaned and opened his eyes in time to see Meaghan’s body dumped beside him. He looked past the body to Meaghan’s incorporeal spirit. “Hey … Megs. Sorry, I must have taken a little nap.”

  She forced a smile. “Rest, Terry. Close your eyes and sleep. You don’t want to be awake for this.”

  “We made a promise to each other, back in the orphanage, do you remember?”

  “Yes, I remember. We promised to stick together.”

  “Well, I intend to keep that promise, kiddo. Together to the end.”

  “Very touching,” Nemesis interrupted. She turned to her cloaked companions and ordered, “Strip her.”

  “No!” Meaghan screamed as she watched the women remove her clothes. “Please Nemesis, why can’t you leave me with some dignity?”

  “Do you think the mental asylum treated me with any dignity? I want you to suffer as I suffered. Besides, when I bleed you, I want you to see every drop as the blood stains your skin crimson.” She leaned in towards Meaghan. “I want you to smell the blood on my master’s breath as he licks your skin, I want you to—”

  “That’s enough!”

  Meaghan turned to Terry who was trying to keep his face turned away from her. She knew he was trying to protect her modesty. “Close your eyes, Megs, close your eyes and block it out. From what you told me of the last sacrifice, it will be over soon.”

  “Slight change of plans.” Nemesis informed them as the others lifted Meaghan’s body into a sitting position against the newly carved headstone. “Cutting your throat will kill you too fast and we can’t have that.” She motioned for the o
thers to light the black candles and gather around. She accepted the sacrificial knife from Lilith and lifted it to admire the long, serrated blade before slicing it across Meaghan’s cast-less wrist. “This way I get to enjoy watching you as you go into shock.”

  Meaghan gasped and held her hand to her mouth. She couldn’t feel the pain of her bleeding wrist, but she could see and smell the blood as it oozed out of the cut and ran down into her open palm. Nemesis placed a cup under the wrist and collected some of the blood while she chanted in Latin. The others joined the chant and squealed with delight when Nemesis sliced through Meaghan’s other wrist. She caught some of the blood then left both hands resting on Meaghan’s legs so that the blood could drain out. It trickled down Meaghan’s fingers, snaked down her thighs and began to pool on the ground around her. She dry heaved as tears streamed down her ethereal face. She felt helpless. Helpless to save Terry. Helpless to save herself. The smell of the blood overwhelmed her senses and, through the rapidly forming fog, she could see the demon taking shape. Nemesis and her coven dropped to their knees before him and kept her head down as she addressed him.

  “Master. I have, at last, delivered you a virgin sacrifice. Take her and grant me what you have promised.”

  “Do not presume to make demands of me, human. I have not yet tasted the blood.” His gaze drifted over Meaghan’s naked body and he sniffed the air. “I approve of this one. She is quite beautiful. I may keep her in your stead.”

  “No!” Nemesis’s head shot up and she stared defiantly into the demon’s flaming red eyes. “You promised that if I made you corporeal, that you would send her soul into the ether and give me her gift of astral projection.”

  He smiled and bared his fangs. “We shall see.” The demon ignored the extended chalice and lapped the blood from Meaghan’s thigh. He turned back to Nemesis. His eyes blazing as he roared. “What-is-this? You continue to try my patience!”

  Meaghan watched as color rushed to Nemesis’s cheeks. “I don’t understand, I—”

  “This woman is not pure. She has known a man. You have dared to deceive me again.”

  Nemesis turned to Lilith. “You told me that she was still a virgin.”

  “She is … was … she told me—”

  The punch caught Lilith off-guard. She held her hand to her cheek as it began to bruise and glared at Meaghan. “You told me that you hadn’t done the dirty with Spartan boy. Why would you lie?”

  Meaghan didn’t answer. She couldn’t answer even if she’d wanted to. Her body and corporeal body in shock from blood loss. As her body began to die, she felt her spirit drifting away. She stared at the blood, unable to think, unable to care what was going on around her. Blood surrounded her. Her own blood, Terry’s blood. It was more than she could bear.

  “She is dying,” the demon announced. “And when she is dead, I will allow her to join with her body and I will take her with me.”

  “No!” Nemesis screamed. “You are to send her soul into the ether. You promised me. You said that you would do this if I supplied you with blood sacrifices.”

  “Stupid girl. You offered me those sacrifices and I agreed to take them. I never promised to give you anything. I was promised the blood of a virgin and you tricked me. I will take this woman and punish you for your deceit. You will be stripped of all the powers that you were given.” He waved his hand, first over Nemesis and the Meaghan. Nemesis fell to her knees and pounded the ground with her fists.

  “You bastard. You promised!”

  The demon laughed and turned his attention to Meaghan. She felt the familiar tug of her body and found herself hurtling back. Once joined, the smell of the blood overpowered but she was too weak to vomit. She gagged and slumped back against the grave stone as the demon leaned in towards her.

  “It’s nearly time to go little one.”

  “Over my dead body!”

  Meaghan recognized the voice immediately and weakly cried out. “David.”

  “Corel? How is that even possible?” Terry tried to raise his head but didn’t manage it.

  Clarissa’s crew scattered in all directions.

  “It’s a long story, Palmer.” David turned to face the demon. “This is not your world. You have no power here.”

  “So, she is your woman, vampire.”

  Terry turned to Meaghan. “Did he say vampire?”

  She nodded weakly as she listened to the conversation going on beside her.

  “Yes. She’s mine. Go back to your dimension and take your hell-hound with you.”

  “I will go … this time, but my pet has unfinished business.” He glanced at Meaghan, “I suspect we will meet again my lovely.” In a puff of smoke, he disappeared.

  David tore off his jacket and wrapped it around Meaghan. “Hold on, kitten.”

  “Corel. You must get her to a hospital. She’s—”

  Derrick suddenly appeared before him. “What the fuc—”

  “Terry Palmer. I’d like you to meet my brother Derrick.”

  “Sorry to startle you, Detective Palmer. David, I have four of them tied up in their own van. Looks like they were trying to escape. How is Meaghan?”

  David shook his head.

  Terry struggled to sit up. “No. She can’t die. You have to do something, Corel. If you and your brother really are vampires, surely you can help her.”

  “I want to, but it would mean turning her and—”

  “You’re concerned about her phobia?”

  “I don’t know if she would be able to cope.”

  “She’s a lot stronger than we give her credit for, Corel. If you love her, you have to at least try.”

  “I concur, David.” Derrick told him as he knelt down beside them. “We’ll all help her to manage her phobia.”

  ****

  David gazed down at Meaghan’s face. The color all but gone and dark shadows were beginning to form under her eyes. He whispered, “Forgive me, kitten,” and as he gently cradled her in his arms, he drank from her. When her heart slowed to almost a stop, he opened a vein on his wrist and put it to her lips. She lay still. He had expected her to gag or at least pull away but she remained motionless as the blood filled her mouth and dribbled down her chin.

  “You’re too late.” Nemesis’s face twisted into a smirk. “I’m glad that she’s dead.”

  David’s first reaction was to tear the smirk from her face but Derrick’s expression reminded him that it was against their code to kill a human, even if it had been their intention. The demon was not likely to return. The police could deal with the Clarissa.

  He stared down at Meaghan and noticed her eyelashes subtly flutter. It was barely a movement, but it was there. Again. He looked across to Derrick.

  “Yes, I saw that too.”

  “You saw what?”

  “She moved her eyes.” Derrick told Terry. “The blood seems to be taking affect.”

  David leaned close to Meaghan’s ear. “Come on, kitten, you can do it, I know you can.”

  Nemesis balled her hands into tight fists and screamed. “No. It’s not fair. She was supposed to suffer and die. She can’t—” suddenly she stopped talking and looked around before asking, “Did you hear that?”

  Derrick stood up. “I heard a howl.” He paused to listen. “Yes, there it is again. Definitely a howl.”

  Terry groaned as he tried to raise his head. “I didn’t hear anything.”

  Nemesis smiled. “At least I get to watch the four of you die. He’s coming for you. My hound will gnaw off your limbs and eat you slowly. I can’t wait to see the look on your faces when you see him. He’s fucking big and his fangs could tear through a rhino hide. He looks like a friggin’ nightmare.”

  “You’ve seen the hound?” David asked as the significance of her brag became clear to him.

  “Of course I’ve seen him. He belongs to me. What a stupid question.”

  “How many times have you seen him?”

  “Twice.” She motioned with a flick of her head as sh
e looked over their shoulders. A twisted smile wrinkled her nose. “Correction, three times.”

  David and Derrick shared a look. David rose to his feet keeping Meaghan tight to his chest. David nodded his understanding of their telepathic conversation and helped Terry to his feet and then lifted him over his shoulders. Together they started walking towards David’s car which was parked beside the black van. Terry strained his neck to look in the direction of Nemesis’s gaze.

  “I don’t see a thing.”

  “Don’t look back,” Derrick told him. “No matter what you hear, don’t look back.”

  “Wait! Stop! What are you doing?” the woman screamed as a throaty growl pierced the silence followed by a roar and the crunch of shattering bones. A blood curdling scream tore from her throat. Then the sickening sound of tearing flesh dulled the scream. She gurgled as her mouth filled with blood. Then, nothing.

  ****

  Pain surged through her body and Meaghan clutched her stomach as she dashed for her bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

  “Oh god, these cramps are unbearable, I feel like I’m dying,” she called out to the man in the other room.

  “You are dying, kitten. At least your body is.”

  Meaghan rested her forehead on the cold marble of the vanity and contemplated what David had said. She remembered the events of the previous night. Nemesis had cut her left wrist. The wound had been deep enough to slice through her vein. She had lost a copious quantity of blood. Blood. She waited for the nausea to overwhelm her but while she experienced the familiar quickening of her heartbeat, she discovered that she could not only tolerate the thought of blood, she suddenly craved it. Opening the bathroom door slightly, she poked her head out and saw David sitting at the foot of her bed.