“I am glad you did.”
He nodded. He began to walk away but I asked him to stay for I wished to tell him about Gascoyne. “I knew him a century ago...he raised me from death...”
He stared at me for the longest time. Then he said, “I will see how your friend is. Have you anything you wish to tell him?”
“Just tell him I send him my love.”
****
Fabio remained with us for some time—during the whole of my convalescence. I did not see Ramet—I relied on Fabio to bring messages back to me as I trusted him.
Ned stayed away from me and I was relieved. Anton I was told was recovering. When I made no reply to that, Fabio nodded. He understood how I felt about the little monster.
He was a glimmer of hope to me. He had stood up to Ned and Ned feared him. It was obvious. He’d bring me my feeds and tell me things. He was a good storyteller and I was grateful.
One night he told me, “Every creature has a story—mine is sad—well how can any undead being be completely happy?”
I wondered if he was raised up or created and I asked him. He took so long to answer that I regretted having asked him in the first place.
“Created by an enemy...”
“Is he an enemy still?” I asked
“Yes, and he will remain so.”
Here is a strange thing. Though I still grieved for Gascoyne, and always would, I felt myself desiring Fabio. My brief but fruitless hope that it was Gascoyne’s voice I heard was gone as he was.
Grief and desire are strange bedfellows, yet I felt them equally. If I mourned my dead love, I also craved his touch—his lovemaking. My dreams were filled with lust and longing.
One dream in particular had Gascoyne suddenly turning into Fabio. I recalled it when I woke and I cried. I think even as I did, I wondered who it was I cried for.
Then it happened. I was in my own chamber as I had been moved there so that Fabio could tend my wounds. Ned was elsewhere. I am certain it was Fabio’s doing.
Fabio came in as usual. When he touched my hand, I shivered. Yes, it was the cool touch of the vampire, but there was something else. It was like the feeling I had with Gascoyne.
I knew he would take me and he did. It began with the feeding, gentle at first then, voracious until it became sexual.
“My teeth will be a caress, Justine and nothing more...”
And so they were. The sting was hardly felt. It was the drawing of the blood that was thrilling. I cried out in pleasure and lust for I wished him to take me over and over and he did.
I knew he would be leaving and I asked him. That was the only time he looked annoyed. “Yes, of course I have to. I only came to tell Ned about some matters. I must go to my home now. Besides, England has never felt right to me.”
His words sounded hostile and I felt badly. My eyes filled with tears. I watched him leave. He didn’t look back, not that I expected him to, though I wished he would. Now things would return to how they had been.
If I still waited to see Ramet, I saw Ned instead and regularly. I saw too his knowledge of the affair I had with Fabio. He was afraid of him and it pleased me. Actually, he seemed different, furtive almost in his talks with me and there were quite a few. He was different than before. He wasn’t at all contentious nor was he cruel.
He told me he was pleased that Anton was recovering. I said nothing and I was certain he did not expect me to.
It seemed also he wanted to please me. He permitted Ramet to visit. In fact we fed together. I was so glad to see my friend, I wept as I embraced him. “Ned is so different, dare we trust him?” I whispered.
Ramet smiled sadly. “Who can say? His friend saved us. I cannot think why. I have heard he is not a kind being, this Fabio. What do you think?”
“I cannot figure him out. He is puzzling.” I added that I had thought he was Gascoyne. Ramet looked sad for me.
The shows went on and the punters came. Not Ned’s posh friends for which I was relieved. As far as the curse went, Ramet thought Ned would fear it until the end of his life. “When the curse becomes his deadly truth,” Ramet said. “Then he will know it was truth.”
Winter passed and spring came. That was when Ned informed me he would be going abroad. He looked happier than of late. “I have just had word from Fabio. He has told me of some acquisitions I can make... My son will accompany me. No thanks to you he is well enough to travel.”
Anton gone too, I could not believe it. As for the rest of it, I knew that meant exhibits for the hall. “There is another thing,” he added. “Quite pleasant I think. It is a surprise and I am certain you will be pleased.”
He would not say another word. If he looked pleased and much better than he had, I was disturbed. For I felt sure whatever pleased Ned, would not please me.
CHAPTER 44
With Ned and Anton gone I was more relaxed as Ramet was, despite the Handlers watching us and the eunuchs’ menacing presence. We saw one another and had time to speak, though we were limited in what we could say. We knew everything was reported.
The best thing about Ned being gone was there were no shows of any kind, no jeers or shouts from the lunatic patrons wanting more.
If I feared anyone it was the Handlers I feared the most. I knew they could take me at any time. I saw the look on their faces. They hated me more than any of the other vampire females. They hated my spirit. Thankfully, they left me alone. I was certain it was the eunuchs that ensured that they would. Ramet would later tell me Ned had told them to keep the Handlers at bay and not to allow them to touch me. That didn’t surprise me either Ned usually had other plans for me.
There was nothing to do but wait for Ned and Anton’s return. As for the surprise, I had no idea what it could be. Then, a letter came from Ned, posted from Varna telling me about the fine collection of stock he had acquired.
He wrote that there were Weres and vampires both Feral and not, as well as a Wendigo. I thought of the one I had seen that died. I was certain this poor creature would fare no better. At last I came to the part about the surprise.
“She is like you in many ways although she doesn’t have your spirit.
I want you to like her... Fabio was right when he said she was one of a kind.”
I knew what he meant by that. Ned had not changed. There was much expected from me, from us both I realized. He was preparing me with this letter. He wanted me to act right from the beginning, his sort of right. I wondered if I would, for I wondered if I could.
At the end of three weeks, they returned. I had done everything to please him. It would be easier for me and definitely easier for the poor creature he had groomed for something special.
I heard the carriage drive up and then three knocks and two, Ned’s distinctive knock. I opened the door at once. There was a young woman there—I saw she was not human, but vampiric. I whispered, “I am one, too.”
Ned laughed and said something about us being sisters of the night. “Sisters of the blood, too, you might say.”
I ignored him and introduced myself. “I am Justine Bodeau, would you come in please?”
“This is Dia,” Ned said.
As soon as Ned walked away, I whispered, “I have escaped many times, but he’s always brought me back.”
****
I was relieved when Ned asked us about feeding for I wished to talk to Dia alone. At last I was able to speak to her, “Dia, there is little we can do. I have been here for years. I forget how many. He has many friends who aid him. There is also his staff here ... they carry out his commands no matter how horrible. His elite guard of vampires are his eunuchs. They are loyal to him and would rip us apart as soon as look at us.”
I spoke to her as earnestly as I could. “I shall tell you my story sometime. Just remember Ned is a degenerate. He prefers vampire women to human women. He enjoys orgies and there is no telling what he will wish for you to do. I am used to the degradation. I used to be proud...I had self-worth, now I have only Ned and Anton whe
n I must. He threatens me with my friend, Ramet.”
I could see she understood the hold he had over me.
“You’ll have to make a choice, Dia ... to survive or not. If your will to get out of here is strong enough, you will make it. Mine has been strong, despite the numerous setbacks. I try not to think of them, I just want to get out.” I stopped then. “Ned!”
I was right. Ned came in carrying a tray with a pitcher and some goblets. “Only the best for my two lovelies,” he said as he set it down. “Dia, would you like to share in this rich, ruby bounty?”
There were three goblets. I poured the blood wine into them. Ned had begun to sip from his. He smiled. “You look surprised, Dia. No, I assure you I am not vampiric. But I have strength you cannot imagine ... it comes from the blood.”
“You are quite the lover, lover,” I said, to which Ned puffed his chest out. “I have great endurance.” He winked. “And I can satisfy any female creature, human or not.”
“Yes, and he has werewolves, too. In the human form of course, although sometimes...”
He protested. “Don’t mislead our new friend, Justine, or I shall be angry and you would not wish it.”
He handed Dia the goblet. “Drink,” he urged. Dia did when suddenly he pleaded. “Please, Dia, may I gaze upon your body?”
I drank too and wondered how Ramet was faring.
****
I knew there would be an orgy and there was not long after. His shouts of delight were as repulsive as he was. Later, he had the vampire eunuchs brought in. I nearly screamed when Anton appeared, for he was nude and already erect.
Dia tried to fight but Ned slapped her for that. “If my son wants to fuck you, he can!”
She endured it all until both Anton and Ned, drunk on blood wine passed out.
“Come,” I whispered. “We shall talk now.”
Dia asked me what would happen next. “I can’t stand the uncertainty. What will I do?” she sobbed.
“Dia, it is no use to worry. You will learn to cope here. For you haven’t any choice.”
****
She wanted to know about me so I told her. “I have had a varied existence...” I told her much of my living life. Then I sighed. “And then I died—drained by Rogue vampires. There were many throughout Paris in those days. When I was attacked and killed, my master raised me. His name was Gascoyne. He is a prince among Vampires, not a real prince although there are stories...he is gone now. His love for me destroyed him.”
Dia reached over to comfort me. “I am sorry,” she said. “We will never forget our creators.”
“Tell me of yours then,” I asked.
“He was Dracula. I did love him but he is gone now.”
“And you still mourn him.”
“I do.” She told me of others, of a young gypsy man and of Gabriel a Destroyer who hadn’t had the heart to harm her. I was going to ask her to tell me more but then she mentioned Fabio.
“Fabio?”
She nodded. “Do you know him?”
“I have heard the name...”
She began to cry. “Oh! Fabio how could you?!”
“He betrayed you...?”
She told me she had been turned over to Ned by Fabio to be in his Hall! I was going to ask her a lot more but suddenly I heard Ned and warned her.
Ned had roused himself from his drunken stupor. He looked at us and smirked. “Had a good time have you, girls?” Neither of us answered.
“It is near dawn,” he said. “Come Dia, I shall take you back to your stall where you will rest. There is a show tomorrow and much excitement.”
Ned looked shocked when I offered to go too. Dia looked relieved.
CHAPTER 45
Dia was suffering I knew. She had become another exhibit to be taken out and abused by Ned and his son whenever they liked. It was hell for her.
Every time I saw Ned, he’d smile in such a triumphant manner. Invariably I’d pretend not to notice. I had learned to avoid confrontations with him—when one is dealing with a sadistic lunatic, human or not, it is best not to antagonize.
He did enjoy telling me all that Dia was going through. How he was mating her with the Weres and Ferals. “Don’t worry,” he smirked. “I will not let those Ferals kill her, I prize her too much.”
My only comfort was, in knowing he wanted her and would not have her destroyed. He was obsessed with her. As for bedding me, he did not bother mostly because he was drunk or tired. Anton didn’t bother me either—he was busy in the hall with his duties. I only hoped he was not annoying Dia.
I did not see Ramet for the longest time. I always worried about my friend for Ned had often used his welfare as a weapon against me. And then I began to have a sense that something was about to happen. It was due to a dream I had, one of the most strange I’d ever had. There was a young man in it—Dia was in it too and she was happy.
When I woke up I was smiling. For I felt sure something good might at last happen. Perhaps it was an omen of things to come.
I soon forgot about it because a caller came. We didn’t have many. Mercifully, I was alone. When I opened the door I beheld a kindly looking young man. Could it be the one I had dreamt of?
“Please,” he said. “I need to speak with you.”
I ushered him inside.
“This is the right place, I hope. I am told there are shows here. Rather unusual ones. It is called The Circus of Delights?”
I said it was. He looked hopeful. “Do you know Dia, by any chance?”
“Yes!”
His eyes shone with tears. “She is here?”
“She is.”
He was emotional and could not continue for a few moments. “This is difficult for me. I have searched...” He went on to tell me how he had met her. “I was a Destroyer.” He stared at me, looking embarrassed. “I travelled to Transylvania with others. We were to destroy vampires. We were thorough too. We destroyed many, but there was one...I could not harm. Her name was Dia. Dia thinks I am dead. She thinks I drowned because I was thrown off the ship that sailed from Varna with her and with Ned and his shipment. My poor, Dia ... I am so relieved I have found her.”
I asked him how he had.
“I knew about this place, Ned boasted about it. I was to be turned you see. I tried to save Dia on the ship... Another ship picked me up.” He looked at me and smiled, for he realized he hadn’t yet given me his name. “I am Gabriel,” he said.
“And I am Justine.”
He was so nervous and worried he would be discovered. “I know what they are. I have seen them...I have thought of a way for Dia to escape... and for you, should you wish to join us.”
I sobbed for I couldn’t reply.
“Could you please have Dia see me as soon as possible?”
I assured him I would. He left me to consider all that he said.
“Dia,” I thought. “You will be free!”
****
He returned a few more times, but each time Ned was present and I could not see him. Luckily Ned was drunk each time and not aware of Gabriel’s visits.
I told him I would let Dia know. “I will have messages passed to her. Come back, but be wary for Ned knows you, best if you write a note and pass it under the door. I will keep watch for it.”
This entire time was so difficult I had never known a time like it. There was Ned to consider—what would he do if he discovered this plotting behind his back?
During this fearful time, Ramet managed to get word to me that Dia was alright. Despite his positive words, I knew all was not well for her. How could it be for a freak in the Circus of Delights?
I knew I had to begin to prepare Dia to see Gabriel. After all, she thought he was dead. That was why I wrote a few notes to her. One of which informed her of his visit.
I just wanted to tell you there has been a young man asking about you. I didn’t know if you wished him to know where you were. I did ask him to return tomorrow evening. He said his name is Gabriel...
; Ramet told me how excited she was. “Excited but happy Justine!”
There were two more notes passed to her. It was that third note that informed her that her love had come and was waiting to see her. I could just imagine her excitement when she read my message.
Ramet will take you to see me. Be gladdened, my friend. You will be pleased.
Justine.
****
I drugged Ned so that they would not be disturbed. Ramet brought her up. I saw them pause before rushing into each other’s arms, the vampire and the human. They laughed and cried and kissed. I waited in the parlor. I heard Fabio’s name come up. I could not help hearing much of what they said. Gabriel was outraged that Fabio had turned her over to a freak show operator.
When they eventually came out it was to tell Ramet and me what was planned. Gabriel spoke, “There will be a disturbance, tomorrow evening allowing you to escape. All of you.” He nodded toward Ramet. “You will aid me, I am certain.”
Ramet swore that he would.
As happy as Dia was, she was frightened. “But Gabriel, they are violent, evil murderers Ned and his guards!”
“I know what they are,” he said. “I have seen human monsters before.”
****
It started around ten at night. Not many people lingered in the hall at that time. I was worried. Time seemed to stand still. Suddenly there were angry shouts accompanied by gunshots.
I rushed as close to the Hall as I dared to go. I heard both Ned and Anton shouting. “Well, that takes care of them. Doesn’t it, lad? Now you are quite alone. Your murderous plan has come to nothing. But guess what? You can’t imagine what your fate will be!”
I heard Ned taunting Dia. “Look!” he cried. “There’s your lover! Gabriel’s plan has been foiled!”
It had all gone wrong for they had Gabriel! Dia pleaded for his life but was answered by Ned. “Oh, I won’t kill him! That would be too easy. No, I’ve decided to let him live!”
I shuddered for I knew what that might very well imply.
CHAPTER 46
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