Chapter One:
Little Red and the Wolf's Curiosity
It was the pungent smell of roasted meat that woke Thea up.
That and the bellowing of somebody's loud voice! Could it have been any louder? She was a sensitive gal. This noise was just … so very unnecessary.
Then there was the fact that she could barely move. Thea was lying down, that much she was sure about. She felt that strange weightlessness that comes when the stomach kind of sticks to the spine.
You know, the one that makes girls feel like they have abs? The kind that comes on when the body is hurtling down an incline on a rollercoaster?
Oh yes, it was definitely that kind of sick, mutinous feeling she knew was coming.
Usually this would have preceded puking of the Exorcist variety, but Thea felt that to puke at that precise moment in time would mean to possibly choke herself.
She tried to move her body up off the place it was resting upon, but to no avail. She only succeeded in pissing off the Voice.
At least, she thought she did, if his anger was indicated by a rush of even louder sounds.
"Now, Thea, do you really want me to have to put the restraints back on? You know the less you struggle, the easier this will all be", the Voice stated.
As the smell of roasting meat got stronger, Thea's eyes watered and finally cracked open. Her vision was blurry, no doubt due to the raging pain she felt coursing through her head, shoulders, and neck. But when she looked up, she thought the she could vaguely make out who the Voice belonged to. She looked up and saw a boy.
A boy?!
Boys were rare, indeed.
Boys were temptation and Thea really couldn't handle temptation.
Once was enough for any girl to learn her lesson, after all.
Right?
She hoped so, for her sake.
Thea did not feel like getting her hands dirty.
The boy moved and said some other loud things, but she couldn't really hear him. It might as well have been gibberish. Her ears were still ringing. And it was painful. So, so, so very painful!
It was like someone had stuck a red hot poker into her spinal cord and twisted it about. She did not want to be a human cotton candy maker.
She had goals, after all. Besides, carnivals were full of temptation.
And once was enough for any girl to learn her lesson.
Right?
Thea did not want to go near another abandoned carousel.
She moved to ease the aches in her body, but as soon as she tried, someone's cold, wet hands clutched her small wrists and twisted them back, slamming them down with a force so strong, it was all she could do not to cry.
"Thea, stop screaming! Jesus! Can't you see you're just making it worse for yourself?"
The boy's voice grew shrill. Was that annoyance she sensed coming from him? And who in the world was the wrist grabber?!
Clearly it wasn't the first boy. From what little she could make out, Thea noticed that this boy wasn't even touching her. He was just standing there, clutching his hands to his arms, and looking down at her.
So … who was the other person?
Thea twisted her head back, ignoring the pain that crashed around inside of her. She saw nothing.
Where was … whoever he or she was?
It was probably a man, she figured. The force behind that slam was too strong to have come from a woman.
And her wrists were now shackled to whatever it was that she was laying down on.
Thea moved her legs around only to find that her ankles were shackled down as well. How awkward!
I mean, goodness, there was a time and place for that … but this was not it!
What were these idiots planning?!
Thea could only hope that it did not involve her being raped and having her own organs sold on the black market.
That was just so cliché.
Besides, she was missing her gallbladder. Who wanted damaged goods?! And her organs must have been tiny. Sure, she was young and strong, but … tiny organs? She would bet they would sell for very little.
These thoughts were not reassuring, naturally.
She must have been crying, because she felt moisture drip down her face and into the crevices on her neck.
And then there was the sick, roiling feeling again in her stomach as someone's tongue leaned over to catch her tears.
"Ah, salty. Perfect. Don't move, girl…", the other Voice stated.
Aha.
So it was a man's voice!
She couldn't help the shudder she let out as his breath moved over her face.
"Soon, little girl, don't you cry … just wait …" And with that insidious chuckle, the other Voice disappeared.
Then there was only the pain as Thea felt the deep pressure and indentations of her constraints against her sensitive skin.
The pain must have been some type of catalyst for her damaged senses. God only knew how. She heard that last comment perfectly well, and much to her surprise … soft sobbing.
Had she been sobbing?
Out loud?
Well. Who could blame her? She had no idea what the hell was going on! Some maniac had tied her to … what, exactly?
She had no idea.
Then there was the stench of that meat, just pervading everything.
It was revolting.
She might have thrown up if the first boy hadn't leaned over and grabbed her by the hair.
Thea winced.
His face was now in her line of vision.
Good, god! He was stunning.
She had never seen anything like him before. Boys this good looking were rare in the town she lived in. She would have noticed him immediately if she had seen him before, Thea mused.
He was like those fancy statues she loved to stare at in the art books her Auntie Meryl had sent her. The ones which were carved by famous Renaissance artists! He was positively cherubic.
But the look in his eyes was simply demonic.
It was wrong, she thought. He was wrong.
He looked so good, yet his eyes were so bad.
But then there was his smell. God, he smelled like an angel too.
Well, if angels were real.
He was clearly not an angel.
An angel would probably be more kind to her than he was.
The boy leaned over her face and Thea caught another whiff of his neck. It was calming. Not enough to subdue her sobbing of course, but enough to get her shaking to stop. It was the smell of the forest, and of berries and musk and … Thea couldn't be sure, since she didn't go around smelling bodily fluids all that often …but he smelled like, well, blood!
It was wonderful. She took a deep breathe in and shuddered once more, slowly.
And then the cherubic devil spoke.
"Thea, you really need to be calmer. All this silly behavior is not going to win you any favors. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that if you struggle he will just be crueler."
And with that, he backed off. His voice held annoyance and boredom.
He was bored?
Was having a girl tied down not exciting to him?
Who was this idiot?!
From what Thea knew of men, they LOVED to see women tied down! It excited them! It gave their manly bits feelings!
And he dared to be … bored?!
Thea was not amused.
Cherubic devil be damned, he was still just a boy.
She sniffled and swallowed the knot in her throat. Her eyes rolled to the left, away from his positively delectable face. This position allowed her to take a quick glance around her surroundings, and more importantly, the contraption which was holding her aloft!
Thea saw wood. She was on a table? A wooden table?
Where they serious?
Didn't they realize just how much blood would soak into it? It would be impossible to clean up after themselves! She grinned slightly to herself.
This would make it easier for the police to track down these idiots, if they ever went through with their threats. Thea would make sure of it.
"Is there a reason I see that smile on your face, Thea?" The cherubic imposter had the nerve to move his head closer towards the girl's neck, as if to inhale her scent. It was a mistake. He knew it was a mistake. He knew what was on the line.
And yet, he just wanted a taste. A quick taste, he promised himself, as the razor sharp points of his canine teeth extended from his mouth. He leaned in closer to her neck, rubbing his nose against the pulse that came from her engorged carotid artery.
He was so close …
Thea was not immune to his touch. The fact that the strange boy was nuzzling her neck was not altogether unpleasant. It was the circumstances that really got to her, she thought. If it were another place and time, another situation, perhaps she would have been more inclined to accept his advances.
But this? It was hardly appropriate! No matter that Thea shuddered when she heard the slight growl that emanated from his throat as he sniffed her. This was hardly the time or place! His grip in her hair tightened, and Thea winced in pain. She figured the polite thing to do was to ask him to release his superman-like strength on her precious locks, so she made a feeble attempt to speak. It was not easy, what with her throat aching and all.
"Can't you-", she started to say, and was rudely interrupted, as his very long, beastly fingers clamped over her mouth.
"Don't ruin the moment, sweetheart. Your voice is not necessary. Unless, of course, you're planning on screaming again. Then your voice is more than welcome." He grinned like the devil he was, and leaned down once again, cradling her head in his hands.
And Thea could not control her sobs then.
This was so not the way she planned her night on going!
It was supposed to be an easy job! A quick little scam, a little hoodoo, a little crystal crushing, some frog legs, and a nice big glass of Chardonnay.
Clearly that had not happened. In fact, Thea thought, it seemed an awful lot like her fellow cronies had led her to this job on purpose.
What a bunch of jealous female dogs! If they wanted her dead, they could have just cursed her themselves!
Why'd they have to let other creatures have a bite of her first?!
And oh yes, Thea knew. She knew who this boy was. More importantly, she knew what he was.
Did he think she couldn't feel his fangs on her neck? Did he think she didn't notice that his smell was absolutely not human? That his flesh was dull and sickly? That his hands and fingers were long and bony, the fingernails attached to them sharp and pointed? That his breath reeked of rotting flesh and meat and bone?
Thea knew.
That's how she knew this was it for her.
There was no way out of this one.
No spell would ever work on one of … him.
A vampire.
She was doomed.
* Author's Note *
Did you know that Pluto and Trivia are actually Roman counterparts to Hades and Hecate? (Well, really, I believe that the Roman counterpart to Hecate is actually "Hekate" but ... you know, Trivia and Hekate have a lot in common!)
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! It is my first attempt at an original story and I am quite proud of it , and I hope you all enjoyed it as well.
I love comments and reviews and random facts, by the way, and I especially LOVE feedback :)
I will try to update once a week (I have about 9 chapters done so far).
Thanks again all!
PS.
I own all of these characters and plot. They all came from my brain after an ice-cream buffet and some really cheesy movies. DO NOT STEAL! I will hunt you down and curse you.
Much love,
Viki xOxOxO