by Kristen Reed
I glanced over at the nearby clock and saw that Amber was indeed right about the time.
I only have a few hours left as a human. At three o’clock, I’ll drink Augustus’ blood and have the most transformative nap of my life, I realized.
“Do you need to shower? I can help someone else get ready and come back later.”
“No, I showered last night. I just need to wash my face, but you can come in.”
Amber stepped in and as I eyed the long, mahogany fishtail braid that trailed down her back and cart of hair and beauty products, I wondered if she’d been a hairdresser or makeup artist before her abduction. If not, would she retain whatever skills she’d been taught when she returned home since the vampires’ compulsion would wipe her memory?
So many questions. So little time.
After I freshened up and threw on a robe, I sat down in Amber’s makeshift work area and ate the fruit-topped waffle she’d brought with her as she finished setting up. I wolfed down my breakfast in record time, so she didn’t have to wait too long to start working on my curly mane. Despite the lack of black vampires on the island, Amber had no problem working with my natural hair. Once I saw how skilled she was, I relaxed and decided to strike up a conversation.
“Did you do this for a living before you were kidnapped?”
“Yeah, I did hair and makeup for events and a few local TV shows,” she answered. “What about you?”
“Just boring office stuff that involved a lot of spreadsheets and emails.”
“I guess that’ll have to change when you get out of here since you won’t be able to go out in the sun.”
“Yeah, it will.”
“Any ideas about what you’ll do?”
“No, but Augustus said he could help me find a job.”
“That’s decent of him. I thought all vampires were jerks until he showed up,” Amber said as she straightened a lock of my hair. “He was using my friend Melody for blood up until the other day, and he never hurt or humiliated her when he did. He even talked to her like she was a real person. That’s more than I can say for the rest of the coven.”
“Yeah, he’s been pretty nice compared to the others.”
“Are you two a thing for real or are you just teaming up to screw Emmanuel over?”
“No, we’re just working together.”
“Why not? I’m not a fan of vampires, but you’re going to be one and he’s the closest thing to a nice bloodsucker I’ve ever seen. Plus, he’s pretty hot for a ginger.”
I shook my head with a chuckle.
“It takes a lot more than being nice and hot for someone to win me over. I don’t get involved with men who aren’t Christians.”
“Why not?”
“Because what I believe drives everything I do. It’s the reason I am the person I am today. If someone doesn’t share my faith, he’ll never fully understand me and we’ll be living our lives based on completely different motives.”
Even as I said the words, I felt as if I was reminding myself of my convictions just as much as I was trying to explain them to Amber.
“Maybe you’ll feel differently after you’re changed.”
“I hope not. I decided to go through with Augustus’ plan because I believe that I’ll still be saved and able to live some new version of a Christian life as a vampire.”
“For your sake, I hope you’re right. I gave up on God years ago.”
“Why?”
“If he was good, he would’ve gotten me out of this hell hole and wouldn’t have left me here to do hair and makeup for people who rip my throat and clothes open whenever the mood strikes them to begin with.”
“Then what does it mean to you that you may be going home today? I know you’ve gone through a lot here, but he’s giving you your freedom now.”
Amber stopped working briefly before continuing her craft with her brow furrowed slightly.
“I don’t know … Even if he’s finally answering my prayers, it’s not like I’ll remember any of this when I get home anyway.”
“No, you won’t, but God is bigger than some vampire’s compulsion.”
“Maybe.”
“So were you a Christian before all of this?”
“Well, I went to church with my family a few times a year and did the whole Sunday school thing as a kid. I liked the music and some of what I read in the Bible, but I was never really sold on the idea of there being an all-powerful god.”
I nodded as much as I could while she styled my straightened hair.
“Where did you grow up,” I asked.
“I was born in Florida, but I moved to L.A. as soon as I could after high school.”
“Is that where you were kidnapped?”
The stylist’s movements became a little more sharp and aggressive and her face and neck reddened slightly as she recalled her kidnapping.
“No, I went to the Dominican Republic for a music video shoot. I met Grayson at a bar after we wrapped up and we went for a walk. One minute we were making out on the beach, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in one of those gross holding cells in the basement with blood all over me,” she explained. “Apparently, the last slave in my position accidentally cut off too much of Marie’s hair when she giving her a trim. Marie scalped her and killed her when she got sick of the screaming.”
My mouth parched at the sound of her predecessor’s demise, so I took a sip of my juice before replying.
“Grayson and Marie aren’t my favorite people either,” I revealed. “When I talked Emmanuel into letting my friend go, Grayson demanded payment in the form of my blood.”
“Of course he did,” she said. “What about Marie? What did she do aside from being her usual nasty self?”
“She bought my friend Connor, and she’s been abusing him because he won’t give in to her.”
“They’re all a bunch of bloodthirsty whack jobs. I can’t wait to see them burn today.”
“Hopefully you won’t be here long enough to see that.”
“Hopefully.”
For the next hour, Amber worked her magic on my hair and makeup as we talked about our lives before and since our introduction to the world of vampires. She’d had a pretty normal childhood with two loving parents and had been briefly engaged to a fashion photographer before he ended their relationship to move overseas. Her broken heart had made her more susceptible than usual to Grayson’s illusion of charm during her trip to the Dominican Republic, but I reminded her that she wasn’t to blame for her current situation. Grayson would have snatched her up for his fellow bloodsuckers whether she’d been rebounding or not. My abduction was proof of that.
Since that fateful night, the coven had killed two of Amber’s close friends on the island and one woman had hung herself. Amber had hardened her heart to protect herself from the fear and hopelessness that many other slaves had fallen prey to and hadn’t formed any other close friendships with her brothers and sisters in bondage. The fact that Grayson occasionally sought her out to satiate his two equally violent lusts also contributed to her emotional shut down.
My heart ached for Amber as she recounted her suffering … not just because of what she had endured but also because she spoke about it with such indifference. I knew from experience that numbing your pain whether psychologically or chemically only postponed the emotional fallout of your torment, and I prayed that God would help her heal from her wounds when she returned to the human world whether she remembered them or not.
When Amber finished my hair and makeup, she went on her way to help the remaining vampires get ready for the party. After I pulled on my dress and slipped on the black heels and diamond earrings that someone had dropped off outside my door, I finally caught a glimpse of my uncharacteristically sophisticated appearance. Amber had styled my straightened hair in a soft, refined up do that made my usually unnoticeable cheekbones come out of hiding. The light contouring she’d done with a combination of bronzers and highlighters softly accented my bone s
tructure as well. She’d also given me a subtle smoky eye with shades of black and brown and paired that smoldering look with pink, glossy lips.
While being forced to play dress up for an afternoon of rubbing elbows with a coven of wretched, sadistic vampires wasn’t exactly something to get excited about, I was happy to see that I would at least look good doing it. I hadn’t worn a stitch of makeup since before I left for Haiti and I hadn’t done much of anything to my hair either, so seeing myself coiffed, plucked, and rouged into submission was a strange yet pleasant change.
Maybe I should switch things up more often when I get home, I mused. It can’t hurt to wear something other than concealer, blush, and lip balm every day.
Another knock sounded and I turned away from the mirror, slightly embarrassed that I’d spent so long admiring Amber’s handiwork. As expected, my escort for the evening was the one who quietly rapped on my door. Augustus had swapped the sophisticated suits he’d worn the past few days for a perfectly tailored classic tuxedo and he’d pulled his long locks back into a low ponytail. Seeing him dressed so formally reminded me of my first night on the island, and I marveled at how I’d gone from fearing the red haired vampire to trusting and even liking him despite my initial reservations.
A lot can change in a week.
“You look absolutely breathtaking.”
I smiled bashfully and looked away for a moment. Remembering our earlier conversation about me not being able to take a compliment, I bit back my knee-jerk dismissive response. Besides, it was hard to argue with his flattering remark when he said it with such conviction and beamed with approval.
“Thanks. You look really nice too.”
“The party has already begun downstairs. Are you ready to join the others?”
“Sure.”
Augustus extended his hand and I laced my fingers through his without hesitation. Even before we reached the first floor, I could hear the live music and boisterous laughter bubbling from the ballroom. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve felt nervous about walking into a fancy party. I would’ve questioned if I looked nice enough, if I belonged, and if I knew enough current events to make memorable small talk with people. Thankfully, those anxieties were notably absent.
While I did feel nervous that autumn afternoon, my anxiety was the result of a different kind of fear. After nearly a week in the company of vampires, I still didn’t know what I would be walking into. Would they be fang-deep in their slaves’ necks or spinning around the dance floor? Was I in for an hour of watching them trade barbs and belittle the humans or relative peace and mild discomfort?
The moment Augustus and I joined the party, I made a quick sweep of the room and relaxed slightly when I saw that no one had ripped into anyone’s necks yet and that no one was paying any attention to us. Instead, the vampires and their slaves were enjoying various non-bloody beverages as a string quartet filled the air with music. A few master-slave pairings and vampire couples were dancing, but the rest were just drinking and conversing. I also noticed that Marie hadn’t trotted Connor out again, which meant that he was still wallowing in his cell downstairs.
“It looks like we have two options,” Augustus whispered. “We can either avoid having forced conversations with the others by dancing or brave the offensive, tactless subjects they’ll no doubt want to discuss.”
“So what you’re saying is that we really have one option.”
My joke earned a grin from Augustus that I immediately returned just as a new song began.
“Do you know how to waltz,” he asked.
“No.”
“Then follow my lead and I’ll make you look like an expert.”
Once Augustus led me onto the dance floor, I placed my left hand on his shoulder as he held my right, and he began to spin me around the room. As expected, I didn’t feel the same body-tensing apprehension and revulsion that I’d experienced with Emmanuel. I was comfortable enough to relax in his arms, trust his leading, and enjoy the dance. Peals of unexpected laughter even bubbled from my lips when he deftly dipped me without warning halfway through the song and pulled me back up just as swiftly.
If everything was like dancing, life would be a lot less complicated, I thought. If all I had to worry about was missing a step or running into other dancers, I wouldn’t have to fight my feelings for Augustus. Unfortunately, the kind of stumbling he could cause is a lot worse than tripping over my own feet, and waking up with the sire bond tonight might cause some serious staggering.
“Either dancing requires a lot of concentration for you, or you’re worried about the day ahead,” Augustus commented while we moved across the floor.
I weighed my words carefully, acutely aware that the vampires whirling around us could hear every word I said.
“I just feel like I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop since the moment I decided to become a vampire.”
“Well, your wait will be over soon enough. When you awaken at dusk, your life as you know it will be over, but I will give you all of the support that you’ll need to adapt to your new one.”
The bright ring of metal tapping on glass cut through the room just as the quartet stopped playing. When Augustus and I stopped dancing, we saw that Emmanuel was the source of the well-timed chime. The tuxedo-clad coven leader stood in front of the musicians with a glass of champagne in hand while slaves quickly served flutes filled with the bubbly beverage to everyone in the room. Manuel flashed me a quick smile and bowed slightly as he handed me my drink. I returned his grin and prayed that God would multiply the little joy he had within the hour by getting him off the island.
“Thank you for joining me for today’s much anticipated eclipse,” Emmanuel greeted once everyone had been given a drink. “In a few moments, we will all venture outside to enjoy the sun’s harmless rays and toast to the year ahead. However, as some of you know, we are also celebrating the addition of a new member to our coven. Lord Augustus and Clara, would you join me please?”
Augustus took my hand again and I tried to shake the skin-crawling discomfort the vampire’s predatory gazes caused as we walked to the front of the room. When we reached the grinning coven leader, he bowed to Augustus then kissed my hand. When he finally released me from his cold grip, I fought the urge to wipe my trembling hand on my dress.
“Clara will be joining our coven this evening with Lord Augustus as her sire, and this bond will usher in a newly strengthened alliance between our coven and The Vampire League.”
Emmanuel raised his glass.
“To Clara,” he toasted. “May you find greater joy in the darkness than you ever imagined in the light.”
“To Clara,” the vampires chorused before drinking their champagne as the three of us did the same.
“Now, please join me outside for the eclipse.”
Emmanuel turned to exit the room with the other vampires, but Augustus stopped him.
“Clara and I are going to enjoy the eclipse in private and then I’m going to turn her,” he said. “We will join you after sunset.”
“Will you be giving her first feeding,” Emmanuel asked.
“Of course.”
“Would you mind if I have the honor of the second?”
“Only if I’m present when she feeds,” Augustus answered after a moment of hesitation.
“Wait a second,” I interjected. “What about—”
“It will be good for the two of you to bond since you’ve gotten off to such a rocky start,” he interrupted gently. “As your maker, I am well within my rights to grant Emmanuel’s request.”
While I had enough disdain for Emmanuel to feign that brief protestation, I didn’t want to push my luck. Instead of continuing the faux argument, I simply crossed my arms and pressed my lips together firmly while the two men shook hands.
“I will see you after Clara awakens tonight. Enjoy the eclipse, Emmanuel.”
“And you as well, my lord. Have a good afternoon.”
As Emmanuel joined the ot
hers outside, I thanked God that I wouldn’t have to go through with what Augustus had just promised. I could barely stand to be in the coven leader’s presence let alone hold him close, bite his neck, and drink his blood. Heck … I still had a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I would be drinking Augustus’ blood in the next few minutes.
“Shall we,” he asked.
I nodded and we left the room, closing the door behind us. Within the next few minutes, the slaves who had been left behind to freshen up the room and prepare for the next indoor phase of the eclipse celebration would begin their work. Manuel and the others would create crude Molotov cocktails with the high proof alcohol Emmanuel adored and other flammable liquids, douse the ballroom and the rest of the house with various fuels, and set the house on fire. As he and I walked through the house, we passed several slaves who were carrying a few of the coven’s soon to be unsalvageable fire extinguishers as well as containers filled with gasoline and oil.
Augustus and I hurried down to the basement and released Connor from his cell. My friend and I embraced for a barely a second before the vampire, who had deemed the other cells empty, urged us on.
“We need to leave now. The eclipse will reach totality in a few minutes.”
Heeding his warning, the three of us fled to the ground floor and quickly headed for the slaves’ entrance with Amy, who was in charge of overseeing the humans’ efforts that afternoon, trailing behind us. The brusque blonde cook quickly caught up with us just outside the door and delivered an update.
“The guys are ready to set the fire in a heartbeat. They have the stakes we made with them, so they’re going to grab whatever personal slaves they can before we leave.”
“Good,” Augustus said. “Have them start the blaze beginning in the inner rooms as soon as the eclipse reaches totality.”
Amy nodded and went back inside as Augustus reached down to scoop me into his arms. With his supernatural speed, he would get us to our hiding place in less than a minute, but the sound of Connor’s voice briefly distracted me from my impending travels.
“Good luck, Clara,” he said.
