A Vampire's Dominion

by Vanessa Fewings

  “From me, no.” I sighed. “Next time I might not be around to save your life.”

  Ingrid reluctantly acknowledged what I’d done for her back at the club. “This case won’t be closed until it’s solved.”

  I moved closer. “One day you’ll rally the courage to ask for that which you desire. The very reason that has you searching for an underworld.”

  “The truth?”

  “And you and I both know where it really lies, don’t we?”

  “I’m dedicated to seeing this through.”

  Realizing I wasn’t getting through to her, I closed my eyes, considering how far to take this . . . take her . . .

  I ran my fingers over the lid of the sarcophagus admiring the limestone. “Ever been in one of these?”

  “What kind of question is that?” She glanced at her handbag.

  I walked over to it, reaching for the flashlight balancing precariously on top of it and switching it off, sending the chamber into darkness. I peeked inside her bag. “Pepper spray?”

  Ingrid blinked furiously. “That was rude.”

  “I’m not the one carrying round an arsenal of weapons.” I rose. “You’re not frightened, are you?”

  She wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s freezing.”

  I glanced at the sarcophagus. “You’d soon warm up in there.”

  She backed toward the door. “Don’t even joke about that.”

  “Where do you think you’re going?” I gestured. “I’m not done. I’m still trying to decide whether or not to forgive you.”

  “What for?”

  I motioned for her to come closer. “Your lapse of judgment.”

  “Trying to get to the truth is a crime now?” She took a careful step toward me.

  “Your job is to uphold the law, not break it.”

  “It’s not working, this attempt to intimidate.”

  “You misunderstand,” I said. “I’m merely considering which punishment is best suited to the situation. Something that will leave an indelible reminder that you can’t tamper with things that don’t concern you.” I considered the vase. “After all, that came from the last ruling dynasty of China.”

  She lowered her lashes.

  “It’s priceless,” I added.

  Outside dead leaves whirled against the door.

  Her face darkened. “I’m going to get this body exhumed.” She pointed to the sarcophagus. “Dissect the corpse.”

  “Perhaps you should go. I can’t be held responsible if you stay.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I moved closer, lingering over her. “Go home.”

  “What if I don’t?” Her eyes burned with determination.

  Gently I caressed her cheek with the back of my fingers. “Am I not getting through?”

  “Don’t . . . touch me like that.” She was breathless.

  “That’s not what your thoughts suggest.” I reached for her coat, easing it off her shoulders. It slipped to the floor.

  “If you can read my thoughts . . .” Ingrid’s lips parted in anticipation. “You’re a vampire.”

  “Exactly.”

  She reflected defiance; perfectly silhouetted by the balmy moonlight, yet her apparent strength was unwavering and, despite shaking slightly, she reflected dignity.

  “You’re perfect in every way,” I said. “You know that don’t you?”

  Puffs of cold air left her lips and her breathing became unsteady as her delicate expressions revealed she wasn’t ready to let go just yet.

  “It was the Marquis de Sade that once said, ‘It is always by way of pain that one arrives at pleasure.’” I ran my thumb over her lips. “The term sadism, that is to experience pleasure while inflicting pain, was first presented by the Marquis de Sade.”

  “I know what it means,” her words fell away like a frightened whisper.

  “I was once locked up in a Parisian cell with him.” I recalled the date. “1810, if you can believe that.”

  A low mist seeped in beneath the door gathering at our feet, seemingly trying to encroach without being noticed and hoping to share in the dark drama unfolding.

  Ingrid’s eyelids fluttered but other than that she didn’t move.

  I flicked a few brunette strands from out of her eyes. “I taught him everything he knew.”

  She raised her chin higher, hinting I had no effect.

  “In the end he went quite mad.” I nodded, remembering how far I’d pushed him and then slid my fingers around her neck. “Do you understand why I’m telling you this?”

  She stood there quite still, hoping to understand her dangerous fixation, lulled by the numerous frissons I was causing her to feel.

  I loosened my grip. “That little voice inside your head that’s screaming, ‘you’re daring too close to the flame,’ you should listen to it.”

  “So you admit I’m close?” She shivered against my touch.

  “I’m not sure whether you want me to protect you from it, or deliver it unto you?”

  The sound of rain striking the roof filled the tomb, disallowing any chance of tranquility and yet it seemed to calm her.

  Delicate blue veins teased along Ingrid’s neck and I tilted her head to better expose them. “It takes less than a minute to drain a mortal.”

  She inclined her neck further, revealing her fearlessness.

  “My sweet moth,” I said and held her gaze.

  Silence wrapped around us as time itself held its breath, quietly coaxing us to that secret place of sighs and whispers where we might just lose ourselves completely and truly find each other.

  I let her go. “I think I’ve made my point.”

  Disappointment danced in her eyes and she blushed softly.

  “You’re truly exquisite,” I said.

  Her lips trembled and her thoughts carried. I have to hold on.

  “I’m not sure that’s the answer.” I straightened the vase upon the stand and slid my fingertip over the chink. “Evidence of a moment frozen in time.” I caressed the porcelain. “What passed between us is captured here.”

  “Is Orpheus really in there?” she asked.

  “He is.” Though I hated lying to her and considered whether I’d started believing Orpheus was indeed entombed here.

  That part of me that had once reveled in cruelty, savoring the seductive quality of torture, was now more drawn to exploring the sublime, that which promised to hold my attention and I wondered if such a desire could ever be quenched.

  Orpheus seemingly reigned within me and yet, despite my dormant presence it was I, Jadeon who ruled each moment with an uncommon fierceness. And I could only surmise it was the result of having remained centered in death, honoring Snowstrom’s counsel.

  I met Ingrid’s eyes and felt her enrapturing vulnerability and reasoned she might just be the only one to understand me.

  Drawing from Ingrid’s strength, I was finding mine.

  And yet this moment had not been meant for me.

  “Orpheus can’t hurt you now.” I kissed her forehead. “Let’s get out of here. This place is starting to creep me out.”

  “Really?”

  I shook my head, assisting her into her coat.

  She reached for my hand. “I can’t help but think you’re using your supernatural ability to seduce me.”

  “I think it’s the other way round.” I picked up her bag and handed it to her, guiding her toward the door.

  Once outside I refastened the padlock, securing the tomb closed. I used my coat to shield us from the rain, guiding her back down the winding pathway.

  A black limousine’s headlights flashed on and the chauffeur stepped out from the front seat. He opened the rear passenger door. Ingrid climbed in first and then I joined her, sitting beside her. Within seconds we were navigating our way out through the cemetery gate, the windshield wipers working furiously to clear our view.

  “I’m taking you to James’s flat,” I said.

  Classical music struck
up, lulling me back into the leather.

  “Johann Sebastian Bach.” I raised my forefinger. “Ingrid, listen between the notes. Bach became the pain . . . for us.”

  The music consumed me, igniting my imagination and I searched the faces that seemed to come out of nowhere in my mind’s eye, appearing like grim phantasms, their mouths forming frantic words of anguish that I didn’t catch.

  Past ghosts ever haunting.

  Ingrid rested her head back, taking in Highgate.

  Notes tumbled out of the speakers.

  Savoring these last few minutes with her, I tried to rally the courage to say goodbye and actually mean it this time.

  Ingrid was staring at me.

  “I’ve seen inside your bag,” I said wryly. “If Orpheus were alive I’d be more worried about him.”

  She glanced at the driver to ensure he wasn’t eavesdropping and then shifted her position to face me, her thoughts taking her back inside the tomb.

  I gestured to her heart. “Don’t be afraid to look deeper.”

  The car pulled alongside the curb.

  She glanced up at James’s flat. “I can’t shake this feeling I’ve met you before.”

  “I’ll wait till you’re safely inside.”

  She flashed another glance at the chauffer.

  “Ingrid, promise me you’ll never go back to Belshazzar’s.”

  She waited until the driver had exited the car and then said, “You know I can’t promise that.”

  “Vampires don’t play by human rules,” I said. “They will kill you if you go back.”

  “This is what I do.”

  “Do you want to be one of us, is that it?” I asked flatly.

  She shot me a look of horror.

  The driver opened her door and she ducked low to climb out.

  Just a few feet away from the limousine, Ingrid rummaged through her handbag and already I missed her, regretting our last words shared.

  The chauffer was back in the driver’s seat, waiting for my next order.

  “Turn it up,” I said to him.

  He touched the volume, filling the car entirely with Bach’s Little Fugue in G minor.

  Ingrid’s scent lingered, interweaving chaos with clarity and I filled my lungs entirely with her.

  Despite the cold, I was burning up from the inside, trying to suppress my desire to ravish her and I let out the longest sigh as though it would help, wanting nothing more than to take her back into my arms.

  With her now gone, I allowed myself to finally imagine the taste of her blood and dared even further, envisioning the way she’d respond to me after drinking mine.

  Chapter 14

  THE MOUNT OFFERED UP its quiet familiarity.

  Leaving London at one in the morning, I’d reached Marazion within the hour, marveling at my ability to let Ingrid go. Though as I now strolled through the foyer, replaying those moments we’d shared, doubt crept in that I could ever forget her.

  From the doorway I watched Sebastian and Alex, who were sitting opposite each other, both of them focused on the checkered inlaid table between them, and by the way Alex’s hand hovered over Sebastian’s knight, it was his move.

  Alex smiled and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him so happy. It was good to see him emanating a peace he’d long been without.

  “Good choice.” I winked at him and then moved my attention to the chess piece he was holding, that just seconds ago had belonged to Sebastian.

  “Had a good teacher,” Alex said.

  Sebastian maneuvered his bishop. “How did your meeting go?”

  “Fairly well.” I headed toward them. “Ingrid’s staying in London.”

  “Permanently?” Alex asked.

  I gave a shrug and sat on his chair’s armrest. “I believe we’ve resolved all our issues.”

  Alex perked up and pinned Sebastian’s bishop.

  “Who taught you to play?” Sebastian asked him.

  Alex looked my way.

  “So that’s where he gets his killer moves from.” Sebastian said. “His brother.”

  Alex’s expression changed and I searched for the words that might lighten the moment, and then turned to see what Alex was looking at.

  “Hello, William,” Marcus said, having entered unheard.

  My first thought was for Sebastian’s safety and I quickly headed toward Marcus, gesturing toward the doorway.

  Marcus locked his gaze on Sebastian.

  I reached for his arm. “Let’s get some fresh air.”

  Marcus allowed me to guide him into the foyer. “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving Belshazzar’s?” he asked.

  “I had to deal with Ingrid,” I answered. “She’s out of the picture now.” I led him through the foyer. “So you can forget about her.”

  “That sounds like an order.” Marcus said. “Seems to me you’re trying to protect her. Let’s not forget Orpheus’s plan was to turn her. Weren’t you in the middle of doing that when this whole thing blew up?”

  I went to answer but the guilt caught in my throat.

  We stepped outside and headed toward the garden.

  “You’ll be happy to hear that Anaïs is thriving,” Marcus continued, “thanks to you saving her. Thank God you were there. She keeps asking where you are.”

  “A normal fledgling reaction,” I said. “Make sure Zachary keeps an eye on her.”

  “Of course,” said Marcus. “Who’s that man playing chess with Alex?”

  “I need Sebastian alive. Please don’t kill him.”

  “Now you’ve really got me intrigued.” Marcus jolted to a stop. “He’s a Stone Lord, isn’t he?”

  I shut my thoughts down.

  “Too late for that I’m afraid,” said Marcus. “What the hell is a member of the Stone Masters doing here?”

  “I’m gaining his trust in order for him to reveal the location of the Stone Masters’ headquarters.”

  “You’ve lost your mind,” he snapped.

  “Sebastian has no idea I’m a vampire.”

  “Five minutes with Alex and most people catch on that something’s amiss.”

  “Did you do it?” I asked, trying to stay calm.

  “Close the club?” asked Marcus. “No.”

  “Leaving it open is a liability.”

  “You really believe someone’s poisoning vampires?” he asked.

  “Yes.” My frustration rose. “Closing Belshazzar’s is temporary, just until we can isolate the cause.”

  Marcus stepped onto the pathway. “We’ve weathered storms like this before.”

  “That’s true.” Still, my desire to protect Marcus from the harsh reality of what was really going on would be no good to him in the long run.

  With each new century another challenge had arisen, bringing an ever advancing threat to our survival. As such we’d evolved, adapting to societal changes by flawlessly integrating with each generation. But this present danger of poisonings was altogether different and though my thoughts had focused primarily on finding my way back, I also had to face the evidence—our extinction was underway.

  Marcus nudged up closer. “William, your rightful place is with me.”

  I navigated the rocks, wanting to harness the serenity of the blue ocean lapping at the shoreline. Marcus hung back. He was sulking.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You didn’t answer me.”

  “Once I have what I need from Sebastian, I’ll return to London.”

  “Well get back in there,” Marcus pointed to the castle, “and take care of it. I’ll wait here.”

  “I get one chance,” I reasoned. “I’m not rushing him.”

  Marcus looked at me sharply. “Drink the knowledge out of him.”

  “I’m not that vampire anymore.”

  He glared at me, hating my reticence.

  “Look,” I said. “Imagine what it’s like having memories of being in two places at the same time.” The idea of it sounded impossible.

 
Marcus fixed his stare on me.

  “Have you ever woken up from a dream,” I asked, “and believed that’s where you should be, still in the dream and not the place where you just woke up? That’s what I’m going through.”

  Marcus’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. I miss you, that’s all.”

  Jacob appeared just over the ridge, making his way toward us. His long black cassock buffered by the breeze and there was something in his expression, fragility perhaps as he considered us with trepidation.

  Marcus squinted. “Jacob?” He snapped his head back to me. “I feel like I’m being mind fucked.”

  Jacob quickly joined us.

  “When was the last time I saw you?” Marcus’s voice strained with disbelief.

  “Four hundred years,” Jacob said, flatly. “Wasn’t it?”

  “First Sunaria, and now you!” Marcus studied Jacob. “Everyone’s crawled out of the woodwork.” He frowned his way. “What’s with the outfit?”

  “Had the pleasure of meeting Paradom,” I said, not wasting any time.

  “William, I did warn you,” said Jacob.

  “Seriously?” Marcus said. “What are you, a vicar?”

  Jacob looked annoyed. “Yes.”

  “Since when?” Marcus asked.

  “Since I was ordained,” Jacob said.

  I motioned for us to get back on track. “Jacob, you failed to tell me you know Paradom. And what’s with the cat food?”

  “Didn’t you notice Paradom’s confused?” Jacob asked, then realizing this tact wouldn’t work, he said, “I didn’t actually think you’d find him.”

  I peered at Jacob’s hands to see if he was wearing a signet ring. His fingers were bare.

  “Paradom told me you’re a Stone Lord,” I said. “He really believes you’re still one of them. He mentioned something about a ring you were wearing?”

  “Don’t go back there,” Marcus said. “This thing, whatever it is, sounds crazy.”

  Jacob stared at me as though judging my reaction to that.

  Marcus grabbed Jacob’s arm and yanked him round. “You knew all this time where Sunaria was and not once did you tell us.”

  “It wasn’t my decision,” Jacob said, easing Marcus’s hand off. “Snowstrom thought it best—”

  “And how does Orpheus feel about his son betraying him?” Marcus asked me.

  “Am I really going to end up looking like Paradom?” I asked, almost choking on fear.