by J R Stone
Seth was already back on her neck, nibbling it, then sinking his teeth into it. She tried pushing him, but he would not stop feeding on her.
“Let go of me,” she growled.
He heard her, but he did not process the words. He wanted every drop of her. His hand held her even more tightly. He dug his fingers on her waist.
She felt violated. “Seth, stop!” she yelled. She did not want to hurt him, but she would do so, if he did not let go.
He stepped back. His eyes were an intense silver. “I’m sorry,” he said looking down.
“This will never happen again,” she said between her teeth. “Find someone who deserves to die to feed on.”
She stormed out of the room. She still felt a rush of desire burn her skin. She stopped walking. She wanted him so badly that it hurt.
She reminded herself that she would never see Tzeel again. She had no one to apologize to anymore. She walked back to her room. Seth was in the same place she had left him. His eyes were still an intense silver.
“I want you,” she said.
Even though he knew their actions were dishonorable, he walked over to her and kissed her passionately. She kissed him back with an intensity that surprised him. He pushed her gently against the wall. He wanted to go as slowly and gently as possible, but she seemed to have different plans.
She ripped his shirt off exposing his perfect body. She felt even more lascivious. She pulled him close and pressed her pelvis against his.
“Bite me,” she whispered, her eyes fixed on his.
When he sank his teeth into her skin, she could think of nothing else. She wanted to devour him.
He ran his fingers up her thighs, taking her dress off. He stepped back to admire her. He had waited for that moment for so long, he wanted to savor it. Every inch of her was perfect.
“You’re stunning!” He could not take his eyes off her. He took her hands and held them above her head. He nibbled her left arm and watched a drop of blood run to her shoulder. Under no circumstance would he allow himself to waste a drop of her. He licked her shoulder all the way back to the mark of his bite.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered. She would not have to ask twice, he had no intention of stopping. He wanted to make the moment last as much as she allowed him to. He nibbled her entire arm sipping her blood, licking her skin.
Sarah tried to bring logic to her mind, but there was no logic in any of that. He had only nibbled her arm and was on his way to her breasts when she climaxed for the first time. He felt her body shiver with pleasure. He could not help grinning. All he wanted was to please her. He did with her breasts and legs the same thing he had done with her arms. She could barely stand on her feet; she had reached one climax after the other. She ran her hand through his hair and kissed him. She was starving. She broke the kiss and sank her teeth into his neck. He tasted delicious.
“Easy,” he said. She heard him, but she could not control herself. She sank her teeth deeper into his veins. He felt dizzy. “Sarah…” he murmured, “I’m going to faint.” He felt her stop.
“I’m sorry. Come.” She took his hand and walked with him to bed. “Why don’t you lie down?” She pushed him kindly. “Drink me, you’ll feel better.” She gave him her wrist. She wanted more of that insane lust that consumed her when he drank her blood.
She got on top of him. Even though he was still dizzy, he kept his eyes open to watch her move slowly as he continued to taste her. The more he sucked her blood out of her, the more lascivious she felt.
He sat up and kissed her as they spun, getting him on top of her. She wrapped her legs around him pushing him closer. He wanted to keep the pace slow, but she forced a faster rhythm.
“On your stomach,” he said pulling himself out of her. She was clearly confused. He kissed her earlobe and insisted, “On your stomach.”
She lay on her belly. He wanted to prolong things. He kissed the nape of her neck, gently nibbling it. She thought he would do the same thing with her back, but instead of nibbling, he simply sank his teeth giving her a mix of pain and pleasure. She clenched the sheets and whimpered. His hands caressed her in her most intimate parts while he continued to bite her back and suck her blood several times. She lost count of how many times she had reached climax.
“Seth!” she murmured. He knew what she wanted. He wanted it too.
“On your back,” he said in a deep way. She did not hesitate.
“Please!” she begged.
He penetrated her, making her scream with pleasure. Again, she wanted to dictate the rhythm, but he did not let her. He stopped moving and kissed her lips. He started moving slowly as he continued kissing her. Her hands caressed his face, her fingers ran through his hair. He had never felt so much love and pleasure in his life. She scratched his back and bit his wrist, swigging his blood. He groaned as he reached his climax. He kissed her and crumpled on his back beside her.
“Sarah!” he whispered.
She hesitated. It was all too intense, she feared looking at him and feeling more than she should.
He insisted, “Sarah?”
She looked at him.
Seth decided he would take advantage of the moment to utter for the first time the words he had repressed for so long. “I love you,” he said, his eyes fixed on hers.
Tears ran down her face. She felt horrible.
“I’m sorry, Seth.” She got up and started looking for something she could wear.
He closed his eyes. The pain he felt was devastating.
“Tzeel will never forgive me.” She started crying helplessly.
“You’ll never know,” he said bitterly.
She gave him a cold look. She hated him for reminding her that she would never be with Tzeel again.
“There’s something different in your bite. It induces lust, an uncontrollable sexual desire.”
“What?” he exclaimed, feeling his world crumble.
“You heard me. I didn’t feel anything like it when the others bit me. Only you.”
“Are you saying that all this happened because you were poisoned by my bite? Is that it?” He was outraged.
“What other reason could I possibly have?” She regretted each of her words as soon as she finished the sentence. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry,” she walked closer to him, but he stepped back. The hatred in his eyes made her furious. “What did you think? That I had forgotten your brother? It has been less than a month that he’s been gone, Seth. What did you expect from me? Love?”
There was an awkward silence between them. He looked down. She was right, he knew it. All the good feelings being with her had brought him were overshadowed by sorrow. He did not want to think of a word she had said.
“Are you going to see your mother?” he asked trying to break the silence.
“Never again,” she said sadly. She had lost the love of her life, the fruit of that love and the chance of one day being reunited with her mother. The curse went beyond a lust for blood.
Seth wanted to focus on her mother, on her pain, but he could not. He did not want to believe that she had felt nothing but lust.
“You don’t feel anything for me now?” he asked.
She looked away.
“Look at me!” he said between his teeth. “Answer me!” he shouted.
Sarah stared at him. She was the only person to blame for his suffering, but it was too late to regret having returned to the room. All she could do was tell the truth. “Seth, we are friends. I love you, but not like you love me.”
“I don’t want to be your friend. I don’t want that kind of love from you.” He walked to her. “Sarah,” he touched the nape of her neck and clenched his fingers in her hair. Before she could say anything, he pulled her hair and bit her neck. This time he would not let himself get lost in her. He wanted to analyze the way her body responded to his bite. He felt her relax and her skin burn with desire. When he looked at her, her eyes were an intense silver. She turned her back to him.
“Is it that bad?” he asked sadly.
“It’s nearly uncontrollable.” She clenched her fists. He saw her body contort in an attempt to control her desire. “Please, leave. Go feed. If you continue relying on my blood, you’ll starve.”
Seth stormed out of the room. He was sad and furious. What had been the best moment of his life had turned into a mere side effect of his own bite. Nothing but that.
He saw a soldier walking in the corridor.
“Take me to your dungeon,” Seth commanded. His eyes were an intense silver. The soldier was petrified in fear. “Now!” he shouted.
The soldier walked as fast as he could. With any luck, he would be far from that evil creature as soon as possible.
The huge size of the dungeon amazed Seth. “How many criminals can you possibly have inside your walls?” He was perplexed to see so many prisoners.
“Many,” said the soldier.
“Are there any women?”
“Two.”
“Take me to them.” Seth saw that the soldier was confused, but he did not think he had to explain his reasons. He desperately hoped that neither of them would feel anything but pain when he bit them. He wanted Sarah to be the only one to want him because of his bite. “What have they done?”
“The first one killed her child, and the second one killed her husband.”
“Great.” Seth was relieved; there was no need for remorse for killing two murderers.
The soldier took him to the first woman. Seth stared at her for some minutes. She was hurt. She had been beaten.
“Who hit her?” he asked ferociously.
“Mydian, our general.”
“Bring him here.” She had been beaten up so badly that her face was deformed. She could not even open her eyes.
The soldier came back with a tall strong man who had an arrogant look in his eyes.
“Would you like to see me?” Mydian asked.
“Are you responsible for this?” asked Seth pointing at the woman.
“That and other things you may not be able to tell just by looking at her,” said Mydian smiling.
“I see. Where I come from, rape is punishable by death,” said Seth.
“This is not the place you come from,” Mydian said harshly.
“You’re right, it isn’t. But here I am and we’ll play by my rules now. Your sword, soldier.”
“You don’t want to fight me,” said Mydian maliciously.
“Please, don’t make me laugh.” Seth picked up the sword and in less than a second Mydian’s head was rolling on the ground.
“Thanks,” said Seth giving the soldier his sword back.
All soldiers in the dungeon were motionless and speechless. They did not even know what had just happened. It was all too fast! The man standing before them could not be human. He was something else!
“Sarah has already said it, but I believe it may need to be reinforced. Any crime committed inside Gannan’s walls will be punishable by death. Make sure everyone knows that. Mercy is not our strongest suit, as you’ll see.” The soldiers in the dungeon just nodded. Seth walked to the woman. He put his hand on her face and something unexpected happened.
“What are you doing?” she shouted at a young boy.
“Mother, please, let him stay,” the small boy begged.
“I want him out!” she continued shouting. The boy opened the door and pushed a piglet out of the house. When he closed the door, a piece of wood hit the back of his head.
“Now you won’t disobey me anymore,” growled the woman.
Seth took his hand of her face. He had no idea he could do anything like that. It was the first time he touched a mortal after he had become immortal. He moved closer to the woman. He felt nothing but repulse. Perhaps he should not kill her; she deserved a lifetime of sorrow. He doubted he would find anyone better in the dungeon, though.
He did not hesitate any longer. He sank his teeth into her neck, but instead of getting any reluctance or pain, her body relaxed, and she moaned. He stopped. Sarah was not the only one.
Anguish overshadowed the goodness that still inhabited his heart. He felt ravenous. He got back to the woman’s neck, lacerating it. He looked at her dress soaked in blood, her neck hanging by a piece of skin, and he felt disgusted at himself. But he was still hungry. He wanted to drink them all up, and so he did. Not a single prisoner was left alive. The dungeon was all covered in blood, just like Seth. Each and every prisoner desired him ardently before dying, men and women. His bite was the problem.
Seth took deep breaths trying to calm himself down. He wanted to see Sarah. He walked to her room; he did not knock this time. She was standing by the window, lost in her thoughts. When she looked at him she was shocked to see that he was covered in blood.
“I did what you told me to do,” he said. “You were right. I’m sorry, I had no idea.” There was so much sympathy in her eyes that he could not hold back his tears.
Sarah walked over to him and hugged him. She looked him in the eye. She did not want him to suffer. “It meant something; it was not only lust,” she revealed.
He frowned, he was not expecting that. He felt a burst of joy which he tried to conceal.
“But I’ll always love your brother. And I can’t do this to me, to you, or to him,” she added.
He caressed her hair. “I want to know what it feels like to have you without the lust caused by the poison in my bite, or without the anger of an argument with Tzeel. I don’t want your pity either.”
“I’d never kiss you out of pity,” she protested.
“I’ve loved you ever since the first time I laid eyes on you. There hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t wanted you.”
Their foreheads touched. She admitted to herself that she wanted that kiss as much as he did. She held his face and kissed him with passion. The sensation he felt was indescribable. She was giving herself to him in that kiss, he could feel it. His fingers went through her hair, causing her body to shiver. It was a long kiss and it would have been longer had she not broken it.
“I can’t,” she murmured looking down.
“You’ll not surrender to your feelings for me, will you?” he asked, frustrated. For a moment, he had had a glimmer of hope.
“No. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever!” she said firmly, her eyes fixed on his. “Please, leave!” she yelled, turning around to stare at the city.
As soon as she was alone, she started crying. “I’m sorry, Tzeel,” she whispered. “It’ll never happen again. I promise.”
XII
Seth closed his eyes for a while. The carnage they had been responsible for in Zuvia was far worse than any blood bath he had ever witnessed. But he couldn’t deny that the hunting, the rush of adrenaline, the hot sweet blood running down his throat brought with them a different sensation, one of power and of connection with the others like him. A monster like him was unworthy of being loved by Sarah and it was easier to deal with that than with her rejection.
“I guess Gannan doesn’t need to worry about Zuvia anymore,” said Vincent triumphantly.
“I guess not,” Seth replied. He looked at Vincent who did not seem to feel any remorse for killing so many people. “I hope you understand we are not going to turn annihilating entire cities into a habit.”
“Are you sure? Because I can see Sarah asking us to do that more frequently than you would probably like her to.”
Seth turned his back at Vincent and got on his horse. Vincent was most likely right. Sarah needed a distraction, something to keep her away from killing. She needed a purpose.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Adam as he approached.
Seth was taken aback. “Excuse me?” he asked as he continued trotting.
“You’ve heard me. I’ve been thinking about it too, you know,” said Adam.
“No, I don’t know. I have no idea of what you are talking about. Perhaps, you should make yourself clearer,” said Seth unwilling to let anyone know about his con
cerns.
“See, this curse, because that is what this is – a curse, has brought to the surface the worst in each of us, but that does not mean that we’ve become completely evil. I don’t approve of everything we’ve been doing. Yet I’ve been having a hard time controlling myself,” he fixed his eyes on Seth’s for a second. He knew they were in the same boat. “I believe it will be easier to keep our darkest instincts under control if she encourages and supports a more restrained behavior from us.” Adam stopped talking, hoping Seth would react to his words. However, not even a slight sign of agreement was visible. Certain that he had nothing to lose, Adam continued, “I come from a family of witches and wizards. Both Vincent and I have been taught a few dark magic spells and we’ve heard a fair share of sinister stories about evil witches and wizards. Since humans have always been afraid of dying, some of those stories were about the never-ending search for immortality.”
“Is that related to the spell you cast on Sarah in Totkan?” asked Seth curiously. It seemed to him that Adam was about to reveal some important information about what had happened, but he was wrong.
“No. No one could ever predict the outcome of the combination of that spell and Sarah’s abilities. I’m not even able to tell if the spell Uno and his cohorts were casting had anything to do with this curse.”
Seth was growing impatient. He had too much going on in his mind to waste his time with nonsense. “Is there anything useful you would like to tell me?” he asked threateningly.
“There is no need for hostility. I’m not your enemy.” Adam gave a short pause. “There was a story about a stone that was a portal to the other side. The portal would allow a living person in, and more importantly, it would allow the person to come back to our world bringing someone else from the afterlife.”
“A stone?” Seth could not hide his incredulity.
“Yes, a stone,” Adam answered firmly.
“Have you ever heard anyone else telling that story?”
“Does that matter?”
Seth stared at Adam. “I don’t want to give her false hopes.” The truth was that, for him, her feelings were what mattered the most.
