Part 1
Paris, France
"The sun'll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun. Just thinkin' about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow 'til there's none. When I'm stuck with a day that's grey and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say: Oh, the sun'll come out tomorrow, so ya gotta hang on 'til tomorrow come what may. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow you're always a day away. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow you're always a day away…"
Isley hugged herself and repeated the song in her head over and over again. For some reason this song was always the first one that popped into her head when she needed to distract herself. She couldn't recall anyone ever singing it to her, but perhaps someone had. Perhaps someone had held her in their arms and sang her to sleep. Or perhaps not. Not that it mattered. Right now she had to stay awake, no matter how tired she was. This was the last place where she could fell asleep.
"I'll raise!" a tattooed bald man announced cockily. He spoke fluent English, but he had a thick German accent. Some men at the table were French, some British, American and who knew what else. Apparently vampires were an international bunch. Good for them. Isley pressed her lips together and rubbed her arms in order to stay warm. Apparently none of the vampires were cold, but she however was.
She tried very hard not to look at the compelled women who were serving drinks. All kinds of drinks. They kept smiling sweetly as they were bitten. That was nothing but messed up. This was actually her life now. How had that happened? How had she ended up in a place that seemed to be a renovated wine cellar to watch a group of vampires playing poker?
The answer was sitting at the table. Cedric. Her father. Or at least he had used to be her father. She didn't know what he was now. Unfortunately she was stuck with him. Trapped. There was no way out. Well, there was one way. She could finally end it all. Yes, she could, if she wouldn't have been a coward. Despite of everything, she wanted to live. She wanted to believe that there was something better for her. A chance for a new life.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow you're always a day away…"
Oh, shut up. How long had she been here? She had no idea. She could only pray that the morning would come soon. When he would go to sleep, she could finally sleep. Unless of course he would send her to run some errand. She was nothing but glad by the fact that he couldn't go outside after the sun would rise. At least vampires had some weaknesses.
Cedric hadn't told her much about vampires, but she knew for sure that he never should have become one. A violent drunk with an inhuman strength. A perfect combination. Now he was a sadistic vampire drunk. He probably felt right at home here. As always, Isley had avoided looking at anyone in the room, but she had certainly felt their eyes on her. Again she prayed for this night to be over already. She hadn't paid any attention to the game, she was too tired.
"Come on, fellows!" she suddenly noticed Cedric's voice saying. "You know I'm good for it!"
"You know the rules," their host, a Frenchman called Carlisle or something, replied. "No credit."
Oh great, apparently Cedric had lost all his money. Isley crossed her hands, although she doubted that anyone up there heard her or cared. She knew what would happen as soon as they would leave here. He would take his anger out on her, like the whole thing would have been her fault.
"Well… I still have something," Cedric stated after a brief silence. "Her."
Isley froze as all the eyes were suddenly on her.
"She's my bet," Cedric continued. "All in."
Isley stared at him disbelievingly, he couldn't mean that. He couldn't.
"Alright," Carlisle replied grinning. "Gentlemen?"
"I'm out," one of them huffed.
"Me too."
"And me."
"And me."
"Out."
"Me too."
"I'll call," Carlisle said.
Cedric grinned and placed his cards on the table.
"Tough luck, my fried. Full house."
He was just about to grab the money in the middle of the table when a calm voice stopped him.
"Just a moment."
Isley had just been about to sigh with relief, but now she tensed. The man who had spoken seemed very relaxed and somewhat careless as he looked at his cards. He had short dark brown hair and dark eyes; he was wearing a pair of black jeans and a leather jacket.
"I'm still in," he stated as he put his cards on the table.
No, no, no, this couldn't be happening… The man looked at Cedric and smiled.
"Straight flush."
It took a moment before Isley's mind managed to register what had just happened. All color left her face; she prayed that this was a nightmare. Cedric glared at the man furiously.
"You… You cheated!"
The man raised an eyebrow.
"That's quite an accusation. I have no need to cheat, the stakes weren't that high."
"You're not getting her," Cedric snapped.
"I believe I will. She was your bet, wasn't she?"
"Enough," Carlisle snorted before Cedric managed to argue. "Elijah is right, she was your bet and you lost, so she belongs to him now."
Isley was shaking; all she could think about was that she needed to run. She couldn't think clearly, she was in panic, so she ran towards the door as fast as she could. Of course it was useless, her pathetic attempt only made the vampires laugh. One of them grabbed her from behind and dragged her to the table.
"Here you are, mate," he chuckled with his English accent and shoved her towards her new "owner". She lost her balance and would have fallen down if he wouldn't have grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. Her heart was beating so fast that she feared it would break her chest. The man, Elijah, observed her carelessly as he brushed her hair aside, exposing her neck. She didn't have time to scream when he bit her. No, no, no, no, no, no… She was sure that she was going to die, but he raised his head before draining her.
"Not bad," he stated, like she would have been a bottle of wine.
"Ce-cedric…" she managed to breathe out.
"Oh, he left already," Carlisle chuckled. "Sore loser."
Isley was shaking as Elijah pushed her off his lap and started to collect his winnings.
"Well, this was a lot of fun," he stated. "Thank you for a very pleasant evening." He paused and glanced at Isley. "Come on, time to leave."
