Chapter Six; Rude Awakening.
"You bastard!"
Through the darkness a familiar voice rang out, but there was no one to be seen, she'd never been in a place so dark.
A rich laugh followed.
"That was fun, so satisfying."
Who was that? It wasn't someone she recognized, but it was a chilling voice that made her blood run ice cold in her veins.
"I'll kill you!"
There! That voice, it couldn't be…Velkan? No, it couldn't. He was dead, he died.
"Payback…"
The heated conversation was fading into the blackness. Where the hell was she? Trying to call out, she found her vocal chords paralyzed, unable to make a sound.
"Payback…defiling…ruined her! You…destroyed her!"
The voices were suddenly drowned out by a deafening bang, followed by a quick flash of red.
Ow! What the – my chest…it…hurts…I can't breathe…oh god, am I dying?
The pain was agonizing, what the hell was that? Bringing her hand up to her chest, she clutched her shirt, a thick liquid oozing through her fingers.
Black...my blood, is black!
"Evelyn…"
That voice again…
Velkan?
Turning around to face the owner of the voice, she screamed, voice suddenly coming back to her. It was Velkan, but now his face was sunken in and gaunt, his eyes that were once a bright blue were nothing but hollow black sockets.
He was decaying, giving off a sickening smell that churned her stomach.
"Evelyn…" He repeated her name again, extending out a rotten limb, his hand outstretched, aiming for the wound in her chest.
No, Velkan…you're dead. This isn't real. This isn't real!" She tried backing away, but the corpse held her fast, immobilizing her, and now forcing his hand into her wound. The pain was overwhelming, but she couldn't bring herself to scream.
Velkan's hand was clawing through her body, ripping at muscle and tissue until she felt it wrap around her rapidly beating heart.
No! Velkan, stop! Please, let go!
"Until the contract is fulfilled, you are bound to me, and I to you. A bond neither of us can escape."
Sebastian? That's right, she made a pact!
A burning sensation flared up on her hand, an intricate black pentagram slowly etched itself into her skin.
"Simply call my name."
Sebastian! She screamed as loud as her throat would allow.
Velkan's grip tightened, and slowly, he started pulling.
Sebastian! Sebastian! Sebastian!
Her vision was fading, she felt her mind slipping.
Please Sebastian...we made a deal…
Her body felt so weak, Velkan's haunting voice echoing faintly in her ears.
So, this is dying…
"Young mistress."
With Sebastian's voice in her ear, she felt her body relax into a bed of black feathers that enveloped around her. The pain slowly started subsiding, Velkan's hand was disappearing.
"I am here, my lady. Now, it is time to wake up."
Trimming the last of the bruised roses, Sebastian stood and brushed his hair back. Satisfied with his work, he placed the gardening shears back in the work shed and took a seat on the stone bench in the garden.
It had been a couple of days since Evelyn ran from him and locked herself in her room. He had frightened her with revealing his intent and part of his nature.
"Sebastian, this is my order; stay away from me. Until I call you, or seek you out, do not come looking for me."
She had timidly gave that order and then bolted from the car as fast as she could and locked herself away. And while seeing her scared had given him a sense of sadistic joy, he was bothered by the pang of guilt that followed.
Truthfully, he didn't want her to run away from him, he found himself wanting to hold her, to lay with her as he had the night of the funeral.
To want companionship as a demon was an oddity enough in his world, but to want it from a human was downright strange. Why did this girl have such a profound effect on him? She's nothing more than a mortal, food for his kind. He'd even go as far as to call humans playthings for demons.
But her…this went beyond her difference from previous humans he had known. He felt something he couldn't quite name where Evelyn was concerned.
Perhaps, it may be that emotion they called -
"Sebastian!"
A sudden scream piercing the air jerked him out of his thoughts, a scream coming from Evelyn's room, even with the window closed he could hear her clearly.
"Sebastian! Sebastian! Sebastian!"
Something was wrong, he had never heard her scream like that. She was terrified. Wasting no time he effortlessly jumped to her third floor window and burst through the glass, only to find his mistress in a strange state.
She was screaming in her sleep, violently clawing at her chest, leaving vicious marks on her skin, her fingernails coated in blood.
The light breeze that followed him blew a couple sheets of paper off her nearby desk, landing a couple feet away. Such grotesque drawings…corpses and blood. A gaunt figure with a misshapen claw-like hand. Each drawing more disturbing than the last.
Temporarily stunned, he couldn't move, what on earth was happening to her?
"Please…Sebastian." She called for him weakly, her voice slightly hoarse from her previous screams. So, it was a violent nightmare then…
Finding the ability to move his feet, he moved to stand at the edge of her bed and placed a hand on her forehead. She stopped moving instantly, her skin had broken out in a cold sweat and felt clammy through his glove.
"Young mistress…" He called out to her but still she didn't respond, this wasn't good…if a human had a bad enough nightmare that resulted in their dream death, it was quite possibly for the human to die.
He ought to know, he had been the culprit of quite a few.
She needed comfort to calm down, how the hell could he provide that?
Automatically his body moved of its accord, positioning himself behind Evelyn and holding her in his lap. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head lightly on her shoulder.
"I am here, my lady. Now, it is time to wake up."
Slowly her eyes opened, her breathing was heavy and ragged. He could feel her heart pounding loudly in her chest, the smell of her blood hung thick in the air. She turned her head to look up at him, she was still in a slight daze, her eyes reflecting the fear she felt, brimming with tears.
"You…" She smiled ever so slightly and leaned back into his arms. "You cheated. I said not to come find me."
Really? That was her concern? Not the fact she had been literally carving out her chest and screaming in her sleep? Not the drawings she had conjured?
How long has she been enduring this?
He brought his hand up to her face and brushed the loose strands of hair away, smearing a small touch of blood on her cheek. Truly, never before had he seen such a lovely sight.
"Indeed you did, but along with that I'm not to come unless you called. And to be perfectly frank, you were screaming for me quite fervently but a moment ago." He said with a grin.
Blushing slightly, she turned her head away.
That damn smirk…
"Quite the literal creature, aren't you?" Evelyn moved to sit up but stopped short, hissing in pain. Clutching her chest, she saw the blood on her fingers and looked down in horror.
"What the hell…how-how did he….he's dead."
Sebastian watched her curiously as face flushed, the blood slowly dripped down her fingers, her voice shaky and hoarse from fear, and her heart, pounding against her ribcage like the warrior drums of old. He felt his eyes flash to their demon form at the thick smell of her blood, she was terrified, while he was enthralled.
"It wasn't him."
Evelyn turned to face him, stiffening when she saw his shimmering eyes and determined expression etched onto his face, but she couldn't force herself to move away.
"You screamed for me, and when I arrived, you were having a nightmare." He gently grasped her blood coated hand and brought it closer to him, inwardly smiling when her heartbeat started racing again.
"And quite a vivid one at that, you did this to yourself."
He cocked his head to the side when she cursed under her breath.
"Why didn't you tell me about these nightmares?"
"They don't make sense to me. They're trying to tell me something, but I think…Velkan may very well be the death of me."
Sebastian didn't respond, he was still transfixed on her hand, eyes still shimmering intently.
Swallowing hard, she asked him; "Do demons really crave blood or is that just a cliché?"
"A rather true cliché I'm afraid. Human blood can be a hit or miss on taste, but being as particular as I am, I find my samples to be delectable. You can judge good blood based on the scent." With a mischievous gleam in his eye he brought Evelyn's hand closer to his mouth and slowly licked the blood from her finger. His fuchsia eyes flashed with delight as she shuddered. Still clutching her hand, he met her gaze and smiled warmly, an eerie, but soothing expression. Licking the small drop of blood left on his lip he cupped her chin in his hand and licked away the smudge on her cheek.
"Absolutely delicious, truly the best I've had in centuries."
His soothing voice sent shivers down her spine, her face and body felt like they were on fire. He pulled his face away from hers and smiled wickedly, flashing his fangs at her.
Too stunned to move, Evelyn stared at him speechlessly as he kept his demonic gaze locked on her and gently lowered her down on the bed until she was lying on her back. Sebastian hovered over her, his face hooded by the shadows, but those intense eyes of his flashed through the darkness, never wavering.
She should stop him, her mind screamed at her to do so.
But, he was being so gentle, how could a literal bloodthirsty creature still be so tender?
"S-Sebastian…?"
He placed an index finger gently against her lips before removing his gloves with his teeth.
"You're still bleeding my lady, we can't have that. I am simply fulfilling my end of the contract."
She couldn't focus on anything but his voice as he ripped open the portion of her shirt where she had been tearing at herself, exposing her bloody flesh.
Sebastian fought hard to maintain control of himself, the taste of her blood was far more intoxicating than he had imagined, and she was covered in it. She put up no fight against him, there was no order to stop. Rather, her eyes pleaded him to continue.
But how far would beauty let the beast tread?
Keeping her eyes locked with his, he held up her hand and slowly started licking her fingers clean, one by one. He could feel her body tense beneath him as he trailed down her arm, lapping up the small rivers of blood that dripped down her forearm.
Evelyn's face got redder and redder the lower he went, laughing lightly, he leaned in closer so their noses nearly touched, his soft hair brushed against her cheeks.
"Am I scaring you?"
Timidly, she nodded.
"Are you ordering me to stop?"
After a moment's pause, she slowly shook her head.
"That's my lady, never giving into your fear." Sebastian crooked his arm under her back, pulling her closer to him, forcing her to hold onto him to stay balanced.
Gingerly he placed his lips against her chest, bringing a gasp from her as she tightened her grip on his shoulders.
Evelyn bit her tongue to keep from crying out as Sebastian greedily licked over the edge of her breast, then moved to her upper torso, no longer hesitating he was gorging himself, and pinned her wrists to the bed with one large hand. Her entire body ached for him.
The blood on her chest gone, Sebastian nipped at her skin to bring forth more.
"You are far too delicious for my own good, Evelyn." He once again looked deep into her eyes, and licked the blood that remained on his lips.
Surprisingly, she found herself disappointed he stopped, his forceful yet gentle touch made her feel so safe. She didn't want him to stop, and he saw it written all over her face.
"You're hungry…" she whispered.
"Famished." He leaned in closer and ran his tongue along her jugular vein, her pulsated to his movements.
"Killing me before my revenge is against our convent, isn't it?"
He teased her flesh with his fangs. "Yes, I cannot take your soul until that moment."
Swallowing her fear, she turned her head to the side to give him more access. "You can eat more." She said quietly.
"You are too kind, Evelyn." He spoke softly in her ear before biting into her neck, he released her wrists and sat up, effortlessly bringing Evelyn into his lap and held onto her as he fed. He felt her warmth, kindness, fears and dreams, and humanity, it was an exhilarating feeling heightened by her wrapping her arms him and hugging him tightly.
- a short while later -
Sebastian licked the remaining blood from his finger tips and looked down at his sleeping master in his lap. He had drained her to the point of exhaustion, but she would live, and hopefully sleep better. She murmured in her sleep and cuddled closer to him, burying her face into his chest.
Smiling at her actions, he lowered himself onto the bed so he was lying beside her, instantly she curled up to him, resting her head in the hollow of his shoulder. The bite mark on her neck still red from his feeding.
He ran his hand through her long hair and wrapped his arm around her. He had grown fond of her, whether it was love or not was still a mystery to him, all he knew was that he'd much rather be lying with her like this.
And with no demons around, no hell, no jealous lovers...for once, he could be at peace, even if she was unaware of his tender actions.
"You've made an oddity of me, Evelyn."
