Change

by J. A. Smith

  I heard a low buzzing sound coming from the remains of the building, (Which meant a vamp), two other that were human, but nearly dead. I slowly crept through the debris, watching where I stepped until I came to a part of the cage doors that was in the basement. All of the bars were silver plated. I felt myself weakening as I began pushing part of it up with my head. I found Emily lying still as death bleeding badly from a piece of metal sticking out her neck. I didn’t waste time with the silver so close. I quickly threw her on my back and trotted as lightly as possible back to the Queen dumping Emily’s body at her feet. Amelia’s fangs were showing at the smell of Emily’s freshly spilt blood.

  “She will heal once we get this out” Robert said as he yanked the metal shrapnel out of Emily’s neck causing a gushing to take place. Richard pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket than placed it over the now healing wound. Amelia called over one of her vampire servants to take Emily into the house so she would be comfortable.

  Jason just had a discussed look on his face when Amelia kissed my forehead for a job well done.

  “So this is the pet that needs to be trained?” Amelia asked looking over Jason.

  “Yes your highness” Marcus said proudly at his catch.

  Jason was about to something that was going to get him killed, I read in this thoughts that he was about to try and hit Amelia in the face when she circled back around him. I jumped retracting my claws in a slower momentum then I would have used on anyone else causing us both to hit the ground.

  “Lana” he wheezed, thankfully in a whispered tone where only I could hear.

  I growled at him for his stupidity in trying something like that.

  “She’s very quick, I am so very sorry about his behavior but as you can see I need your help in this manner or I will have to put him down. I know how much you love your tigers and it would be a shame to get rid of such a prize.” Marcus gushed trying to remain on the King and Queens good side.

  “Let him up, he will not harm us Siberian” Robert told me using only my fighting name. With a warning growl to Jason I leapt off his chest, landing at Amelia’s feet. I received a grateful smile from the Queen, I had expected Richard to scowled Jason but instead he began directing us all to the house. Once inside I was told to go to my room and change.

  Once inside my room I shifted back to human form and leaned heavily against the door. I knew I didn’t have time for any type of emotional breakdown, I was going be wanted downstairs soon. I went to my closet to find something to wear for the rest of the evening. I didn’t think I would feel right clobbering my cousin in a dress, so I chose a pair of black slacks, with a sky blue button up blouse.

  Robert, Amelia, had Marcus brought to the reading room that was attached to the library. Entering I looked around wondering where they had stashed Jason since he wasn’t present.

  “Where is he?” I asked in a chilling voice silencing the king and queen mid-conversation. Richard frowned at my demand but Marcus seemed amused

  “Siberian, you may not retaliate against him, for he did not strike her” Robert said standing up I automatically bowed apologizing for my rudeness. After the attention level dropped about ninety degrees I stood and asked

  “Am I to train him” looking at Robert eyes.

  “Yes he needs to learn obedience, and you would be a perfect specimen to teach him the error of his ways” I smiled evilly more for show though I thought about a lot of evil things I wanted to do to Jason at the moment.

  “You must promise not to kill the man” Robert said in a chilling voice so I knew he meant it.

  “I promise” I stated bowing. Amelia looked worried I wouldn’t keep that promise.

  “Under one condition” Amelia said unrepentantly. Now I raised my eye brow.

  “Yes my dear?” the king said. She was looking at Marcus now with red eyes.

  “You are not allowed to challenge our Siberian if we do this” she said firmly. Marcus’s eyes widened a bit before he began shaking his yes in agreement.

  “Of course not your highness”

  “Go then, he is being held in the basement” Richard said dismissing me. I bowed and began walking slowly to the basement hoping like hell my steps didn’t look hurried.

  A large guard was at the cell door that housed Jason, he stiffened slightly at my approach.

  “I am this man’s trainer” I told him sternly.

  “I have orders from Emily no one is to go in without his master here… ” but before he could finish his sentence the little radio hooked to his belt loop went off, telling him the same thing i just had. With a grunt he turned to unlock the door.

  “Be careful he is a wild one” he warned leaving me to deal with Jason. I let out a deep breath before I opened the door. Jason was chained to the wall at the other end of the room which wasn’t very big I closed the door behind me thankful these walls were mostly sound proof. Jason growled low before calling me a Traitor.

  “Shut up Jason” I said still standing at the door.

  “We thought you were dead and this whole time you’ve been here shacking up with vampires” he said still yelling, seething with anger.

  I ran up to him in lightning speed quickly cupping his mouth with one hand and grabbing the back of his hair with the other.

  “If you want to live you’ll do as I say. If you don’t keep your voice to a whisper the next time you saw anything, I will break your neck right here understand Jason”. His body lost all color as he stared at me in fear. He nodded quickly after I removed my hand from his mouth. He was now looking at me like he had never seen me before.

  “What happened to you Lana?” Jason whispered.

  “What do you mean?” I asked looking at him.

  “You’re cold inside; it’s like your one of them or something. You’ve changed too; I don’t understand why you haven’t left yet. You’re not even wearing a collar” he said observantly.

  “I have changed” I said turning my back on him so he wouldn’t see the shame I felt.

  Do you let them feed off you too” He asked disgusted. I growled at him for trying to tell me how to live my life.

  “Yes I do but only for Amelia and Richard” I said defensively while crossing my arms. His skin paled more, if it were possible.

  “Yes I do” I said leaning against the wall. “You need to learn to listen to them, or you will die. I have been put in charge of training you, and if you try to escape I will have no choose but to kill you Jason do you understand me” I told in a chilling voice.

  “How long have you been here Lana?” Jason asked not answering me in the slightest.

  “Since I was taken” I said calmly.

  “Do you even care about the family you left behind?” he asked me frantically like he was talking to a mental patient. I didn’t bother answering him. He seemed to be deflated as he whispered “Are you going to kill me like you did all the others?”

  “No” I said taking a deep breath “The conditions of me training you doesn’t allow it. Amelia has made that very clear to Marcus” He seemed to relax a little, I knew he was scared, being a situation like his was never easy.

  “Don’t hate me Jason. I did this so no one else would die”. I told him. It was his turn to be silent for a moment to soak in my reasoning.

  “I don’t hate you, I just never thought I’d end up this way. A prisoner trained to kill those of my kind by my own cousin?” Jason asked bowing his head in defeat. I felt for him, I really did but him thinking of my as his family would only make matters worse, for both of us. Moving forward with the conversation I began explaining to him what things I would be teaching, but every time I said something important Jason would whisper more about those I left.

  “Quinn looked for you for year” Jason stated stopping my rambling in its tracks. I stepped back against the wall to c
atch my breath, I hadn’t thought of Quinn for a long time and right at that moment I felt the ping in my heart I thought I had lost. Jason noticed, looking at me with hopeful eyes waiting for my reply

  “Jason I can’t leave and neither can you. I will come back in the morning and we will start training” I said as I walked out of the cell. I ran upstairs to my room and locked my door behind me. I needed to be alone right now, since my body and heart seemed to betray my mind at the moment. I couldn’t catch my breath it felt like I was drowning. Maybe I had been brain washed, why hadn’t I left yet? It wasn’t like they were keeping me here against my will. I just had no desire to leave. I clinched my fists and hit the wall; my hand came easily broke through the wood, until it came out the other side.

  “Lana” I heard Robert yell from down the hall a few seconds before he came flying into my room breaking the lock on my door.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked looking around for danger.

  “Nothing” I said after calming myself down.

  “You’re bleeding” he said looking at my knuckles. They were indeed bleeding, it seemed if I caused self-harm my body didn’t heal as quickly as usual. Robert brought my hand up, licking it clean before the wounds closed. The fire that I usually only saw when we were doing bedroom activities began burning in his gaze as he savored my blood.

  “Will I see you later in my bed chamber this evening?” Robert asked hopeful. I had never said no before but I wanted to see what would happen if I declined.

  “Not tonight, I’m tired” I said watching his reaction, his face showed anger but he didn’t push the issue.

  “Very well then I will see you tomorrow night” He demanded as he stormed out of my room. I heard him slam his bedroom door closed. He was throwing a fit like a teenager because I had said “no”. Interesting, at least I wasn’t dead and I didn’t hear any life threating messages, just a demand for tomorrow night.

  I shrugged off the uneasy feelings I was having to get dressed for bed, before I could fall into the mattress I heard a soft knock at my door. It was Amelia. She too was dressed for her day sleep in a purple little baby doll nighty that had a laced slit up one side. I couldn’t seem to say anything, just kept staring like an idiot until Amelia smiled and pushed passed me.

  “Are you alright?” she said brushing my hair away from my face as we sat on my bed. “I’m fine” I creaked, my throat felt like the desert. I had come to realize in these years that I was just attracted to woman as I was to men, and Amelia was beautiful.

  “You seem distracted tonight, are you still mad at that pet for trying to hit me earlier” She asked. Amelia wasn’t one for idle talks so this was different, but it reminded me about times I used to sit and tell my friend Amber everything. Shaking off the images of her severed head, I changed the subject.

  “He is a stubborn pet, but I am happy to have the responsibility of training him, and I thank you for the honor.” I said looking at my hands not wanting to show any type of caring for Jason at all.

  “He should feel blessed for one as rare as you to train him, you will be a great teacher Lana” she said kissing my forehead, I felt a small satisfaction in her approval.

  “How is Richard?” I asked wanting to know what he had said to her, she wouldn’t have just came into my room to give me compliments.

  “He is upset, you’ve never said no to us before, now he is just worried you don’t want to be with us anymore” she told me. I know my face must have been in shock at what she was just telling me.

  “Amelia I love it here, I have everything I could ask for, and more than I could dream of” I said reassuring her I had no plans in leaving, but I was curious so I asked. “But if I ever wanted to leave would I be able to?” I watched as sadness crossed her face before she stood up to look down at me.

  “Do not speak of this again Lana, you are allowed to go where ever you want in this mansion and do whatever you want here, but if you were to leave and not return I don’t know what Robert might do. He likes to keep things with value close to him, and you are his most prized possession. He will not let you just simply leave” she told me harshly

  “It was just a question, I don’t plan of leaving here” I said shrugging.

  “No more questioning Lana. If word got out that we care more about you than we should it would make us look weak in the vampire community. Being the King and Queen means we must look and remain strong, but having a pet talk about leaving would cause dangers I care not to think about. You are our property Lana, what you do and say reflects on our ruling.” She said simply, I didn’t like being called property like I was a piece of land, but chose not to comment as Amelia kiss my cheek before taking her leave from my room.

  I much preferred the illusion I could have left when I wanted to, but now knowing I couldn’t, the spark of rebellion began to grow.

  Chapter 12

  I awoke the next morning to a note laying on my pillow, I hadn’t heard or sensed anyone come into my room at all, but then again the night had started out with imaged of me killing others, so I shouldn’t have been surprised I had begun sleeping hard at some point.

  Good luck today, remember do not kill Marcus’s pet.

  Love Richard.

  I felt exhausted as I got up and began dressing in the pair of jeans and tank top that had been laid out on the foot of my bed like a good little servant.

  I hadn’t worn jeans since my arrival here, but I remembered the looks I used to get from Quinn when I walked around. I was getting the same looks from a few of the vampire servants in the house as I came downstairs for first meal. Incredible, I wore less clothing around here for the past three years and yes I had received the appropriate reaction when wearing practically nothing. But being fully dressed and nearly causing a servant to run into a wall boggled my mind.

  I sat down for first meal in the kitchen with Jake who was my personal cook. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw me, I could hear his breathing quicken like I was giving him a strip tease instead of sitting in blue jeans and a black tank top. Shaking his head, probably to clear his dirty thoughts, he sat down a heaping pile of pork chops and eggs in front of me.

  “I take it you like the new look” I commented

  “It leaves more for the imagination” he said smiling down at me.

  “Jake you have seen me nearly naked for a while now” I pointed out.

  “Yes, but you have to remember Lana, most vampires are pretty old, we were not raised in a society that showed a lot of skin. This look you have makes our minds wonder more” He stated grinning.

  “Good point” I replied staring at my plate of food. For once I wasn’t hungry, but I would bet my bank account Jason was.

  “I’ll be right back” I told Jake, as i walked over to the hidden panel that would lead to the cell area.

  Once I saw Jason I knew he hadn’t been fed at all for what looked like days. His ribs were showing, making him look like skeleton. Marcus must have known how weak he was because he hadn’t even bothered shackling him to the wall. I knelt down beside his still form, and touched his pale cold skin. If I couldn’t hear his heartbeat I would have thought he was dead.

  “Jason” I whispered into his ear, he smelled foul but I needed him to wake up. When he didn’t move I repeated his name louder causing him to moan a little as he curled up tighter into a ball.

  He didn’t fight me even a little as I pulled his arm around my shoulders and stood, though he sucked in air making me wonder if he was injured. Once back in the kitchen I sat him down as easily as I could in front of the meal that had been prepared for me. His head bobbled a little, threating to plant face first in the eggs. I grabbed the back of his dirty hair causing him to wince as I began pulling his head back so I could look at him. Jake didn’t say anything but I knew he watched me closely.

  “You need your stre
ngth if you intend to live through today, I suggest you start eating” I growled. His eyes flew open finally and looked at me. His eyes had sunken in to his skull making him look like a drug addict. He licked his chapped lips before trying to speak but nothing came out. A tall glass of ice water touched my shoulder; Jake apparently didn’t see Jason as a threat anymore. Nodding my head towards him I took the glass he offered, slowly I let Jason take a few sips, he wanted to guzzle it down but I knew he would probably choke on it. Jason began growling at me as I put the glass down out of his weak reach.

  “You can have more after you’ve eaten a little, I can’t train a dead animal” I stated coldly. Jason glared at me before moving his head down to look at the plate of food in front of him. “Poison” Jason crooked out. I let out a sigh of frustration before I cut a piece of pork, eating in front of him proving him wrong. Did he really think I wanted him dead?

  Jason still glared at the food like it would try and eat him, which in turn offended Jake who chose that moment to comment “This meal was prepared for Lana, I would not ever try to hurt her, the fact she is giving it to a pet makes my fangs hurt, but she must have a reason to break so many rules this morning. If I were you I would not look a gifted horse in the mouth” I held back my smile, Jake and I had become friends over the years, but I too was reluctant to eat his food at first, I remember him having more patience with me though.

  I ended up having to feed Jason by hand; his arms were too weak to do it himself. He didn’t eat much but it was enough to give him more energy; half way through he began feeding himself. Jake and I both watched just in case Jason felt the need to use one of the knives on himself. Once he was through Jake gave me the remote to Jason’s collar telling me Marcus had gave him strict instructions to deliver it to me as soon as possible. My stomach dropped as I touched the damn thing, I had been trusted with their main weapon against my kind. It wasn’t heavy, it felt as light as a remote to a T.V, and yet to kill the person wearing the receiving end. I wanted nothing to do with it but had little choice. Jason eyed me wearily as I came over to him “Let’s go” I instructed lifting him out of his chair easily, I kept a firm grip on his arm for show as we made our way out into the training area, that Richard and Amelia had built for me shortly after I had arrived.