I felt his hand around the back of my neck; he pushed me into the room and held me there. He had promised that I would see Zachary, and it took me a moment to register what I was seeing. I hardly had time to be horrified before I felt Ash's hand shove me violently into the room. I stumbled, and might have fallen flat on my face if Zachary had not leapt across the room and caught my elbows. I turned just in time to see the door closing, and the faint click of a lock being turned.
I wrenched my arms away from Zachary and threw myself at the door. I surprised even myself; for a second, I had been willing to run back to the enemy, wanting even HIM to save me from this…my one last hope of escape. The door knob didn't even jiggle under my hands. I took a deep breath, and turned.
Zachary was standing were I had left him, watching me mournfully. The girl seemed to be out cold; her head was turned slightly to the side, displaying the bloody teeth marks on her throat. They looked fresh, and wet. I felt sick when my eyes traveled to his face, seeing the shiny coat of red on lips, dripping down his chin. Is that what Ash looked like? Did my neck look at mutilated as the young girls?
Zachary caught me staring at his face. Noting my expression, he lifted his sleeve and began furiously wiping away at his chin. I shrank back against the door when he began walking towards me.
"Sofia," he began, his voice muffled by the fabric over his mouth.
"What happened to you?" I asked, sliding down the length of the wall away from him.
"Nothing happened to me," he said. When he moved his arm away from his mouth, I saw the gleaming twin points of his fanged eyeteeth. In a minute, I ran out of wall; I was effectively cornered, with Zachary stalking towards me. Without taking my eyes off him, I reached for the first solid object I could find. In this case, it was a glass vase off the table. I held over my head threateningly. Unfortunately, my eyes caught his gaze and I felt the familiar feeling of another consciousness slipping into mine. Ash forced his will on me harshly, bombarding my head with voices and orders, until I wanted to just claw my ears off. Zachary's will came slower, and softer, flowing like water over me. I tried to fight the dizzying sensation, but it came in pulsating waves. I dropped the vase.
The smashing glass woke me up a little. I was startled to see that he was now standing in front of me. He had one hand on my chest, pinning me to the wall, and the other was reaching for the collar of my dress.
"Don't," I pleaded, "Zachary, please leave me alone…" He had been my hero just a few nights ago, and to see him like this…
"Relax," he said soothingly. I felt his fingers brush over the still-fresh marks of my throat.
"You're one of them," I chanted, "you're one of them, you're one of them, you're one of them…"
"And I see that you are not," he sigh after a second. He let go of my dress and stepped away. "I may be one of them," he said darkly, "but I'm nothing like them. Not like Ash." He bowed his head respectfully. "You have nothing to fear from me," he said, "and Ash will die tonight."