Chapter Nine: Controlling The Blood Lust
She was put into a cage and chained to the bars like an animal.
"Is this really neccessary?" I asked as Lady Jayne clicked the last shackle into place.
"It is if you want to remain alive." She said darkly.
I let out a tortured chuckle.
"Lucy would never kill me. She-" I cut myself off quickly and Lady Jayne stepped out of the cage, turning to lock it up.
"She what? loves you?"
I nodded slowly.
She laughed.
"You really think that would stop her? She has the taste of your blood on her lips and whether she loves you or not, she would sooner tear out your heart than kiss you anymore."
The explanation was so dark and brutal that I flinched inwardly.
"She is now a killer. There is no getting away from that."
She brushed past me and I sank to the floor, staring at Lucy as she lay unconcious on the floor of the cage. She looked like the woman I used to know, before the murder, before the lies. How I wanted that Lucy back again. I just wanted her to be human and my best friend that I told everything to.
Lady Jayne paused to look back at me as if reading my mind.
"You cannot stay down here with her."
"I want to." I replied numbly.
She sighed.
"How do I know I can trust you? What if she gets you to let her out?"
I turned cold eyes on her.
"Lucy's a killer now... I would not let her harm people so therefore I would not release her."
Lady Jayne seemed to think about this for a while and then nodded her head.
"Very well. I shall see you in the morning."
...
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew was that I could hear a growling coming from inside the cage.
My eyes flickered open to see Lucy snarling at me from the cage.
"Lucy?"
"Why have you done this to me?"
I got to my feet and walked towards the cage slowly.
"It's for your own good, Lucy."
She scoffed and then turned her back on me.
"So you say."
I frowned.
"I would not be cruel to you, Lucy. I'm your friend."
She slashed her nails near my face through the bars and I jumped back.
"If you were my friend, you would not have made me fall in love with you!" She raged.
"That was not my doing and you know that..."
She let out a breath and then her features softened.
"I know...and I'm sorry. Forgive me, Mina."
I nodded and gave her a small smile.
"What is Lady Jayne going to do to me?" She asked, worry etched over her pale face.
I shook my head.
"I don't know, Lucy."
She hung her head and a sad look came over her.
I could not believe that Alexander had done this to her. I needed to go and confront him.
I promised Lucy that I would be back and then went upstiars to where Lady Jayne was sharpening her weapons.
My insides clenched as I watched the metal of the blade gleam.
"What are you going to do with her?" I asked slowly.
She looked at her sword before answering me.
"I am not sure yet. By all rights I should kill her but she is also a link to the main vampire of this whole blood show."
I nodded in agreement.
Anything to keep Lucy alive.
"I am just going to get some things from home. I'll be back later tonight."
She nodded but before I left, I glanced back at the vampire killer.
"Lady Jayne...Don't harm Lucy. She did this for me...it's complicated but please just trust me and give me your word you will not harm her."
She sighed and then nodded in my direction.
"I won't touch her." She vowed.
I forced a smile and then slipped out into the dark streets.
I had lied to Lady Jayne. I had not gone home. I had to gone to Alexander's house and now, I had been hammering on the door for all of ten seconds.
His doorman opened it and I pushed past, running into his study at the back of the large house.
He was standing by the window, his hands clasped behind his back.
"How could you?"
He turned and stared at me.
"Mina, I thought we agreed never to see each other again."
"I am not here for me. I'm here for Lucy."
He looked down at the floor.
"Why did you do it? You could have said no."
He nodded but did not lift his head.
"I know but she was begging me to. She kept crying and telling me to 'make the pain stop, make her love me'... I had no idea who she was talking about, only that the woman was hysterical."
I nodded.
"She said 'make her love me'...she was talking about me."
His eyes widened as he looked up.
"You?"
I nodded and bit my lip.
"I had no idea, but she told me that she was in love with me and had been for quite some time."
Alexander started pacing.
"How do you know Lucy is a vampire?"
"She is chained up in Lady Jayne's house." I told him.
His eyes widened even more.
"Lady Jayne? Mina, she'll kill her! You have to get her out of there!"
I frowned and shook my head.
"No, she gave me her word she would not harm her."
"She's lying! She'll kill Lucy, you have to go!"
I turned and ran, wondering if he was telling the truth and praying that he was not.
I burst through the doors of Lady Jayne's home and ran down to the hidden basement to check on Lucy but when I ran into the room, I found her cage door unlocked and the cage itself, empty.
My eyes darted around the room.
Had she escaped?
I stepped inside the cage and knelt to sweep the floor with my hand, checking for ashes. I did not know if Lady Jayne had killed her.
"She's not dead." Came the voice of the killer herself.
I stood and turned.
"Then where is she?"
She stepped aside and gestured to the door.
"Come see for yourself."
I walked up to her hesitantly.
What had she done? I wondered as I moved past her and she shut the door behind her. I glanced over my shoulder.
"Where is she?"
Lady Jayne nodded her head in the direction of the double doors.
"The lounge. She's...resting."
I didn't like her tone of voice.
I opened the doors, expecting to find her dead or beaten. Instead, I found her huddled in a corner, clutching her knees to her chest and shaking. Her face was so pale and her lips were dry and cracked. She looked weak and I ran to her-or I went to- before Lady Jayne reached out and grabbed my arm.
"I would not do that." She warned.
I looked at Lucy helplessly.
"What's wrong with her?"
The older woman glanced at her.
"She's withering."
I frowned.
"How long since her last feed?" I asked.
Lady Jayne frowned.
"Feed? I haven't given her anything."
"Why not?! She could die!" I exclaimed.
"She's a vampire! I am not going to keep her alive just because she means something to you." She told me indignantly.
I raised my chin and stared into her ice blue eyes.
"She is no longer your problem, Lady Jayne. I am taking her away from here and away from you." I whispered dangerously.
She shook her head.
"I cannot let you do that."
"You can't stop me."
She stood in front of me and I looked around her at Lucy who was coming in and out of consciousness.
"Lucy! Lucy stay awake!"
She blinked but her head slumped forward.
Lady Jayne grinned at me triumphantly.
"She is not going anywhere and neither are you."
I sighed and turned away, leaving the room.
Lady Jayne followed me and we sat and talked in the study as she made us tea.
"The one thing you must realize, Mina is that Lucy is now a killer. She needs blood to survive and will take it if she is allowed."
I nodded.
She sighed and put a cup down in front of me.
"When I kill her...it will be quick. I do not wish for her to suffer. Please believe that."
Again I nodded and she sat opposite me, holding her cup.
"It is difficult to let her go but it is for the best. She would kill you if you gave her the chance."
She straightened and looked down into the brown water she called tea.
"It will be done tomorrow. If you wish to leave, you can, if you wish to stay, I suggest you do not watch."
I nodded and took a drink of the tea.
"There is no controlling the blood lust, Mina. Lucy can try but in the end she will fail and if she kills again, you will most surely blame yourself."
