My Life's Story
Chapter 10 - Small Talk
I woke up wearing one of Lucian's t-shirts. The bed was soft against my sore flesh. I could feel the bruises from the previous night hiding underneath my skin. My head throbbed from dehydration while my stomach rolled from the poison that I had forced into it. Flopping back against the pillow, I buried my head under the blankets.
Lucian was nowhere to be found. I wasn't really surprised; he tended to disappear all the time on me and I could really use his tea at the moment. Hearing a door open, I uncovered my head to find him walking out of the bathroom – naked - using the towel that he could have been using to cover up with, to dry his hair. I looked at him awkwardly.
"What's the matter, like what you see," he said, pulling on boxers.
"Hardly," I replied rolling my eyes. That was a lie, he was freaking hot!
"Can I have some clothes," I asked to get my mind on other things.
"Why?"
"I can't stand the smell of your shirt." Okay, another lie, but I wasn't going to let him know that. In fact, it smelled like my favorite cologne. Gee, if I didn't hate him so much, I might actually have found him attractive.
He chuckled, probably seeing right through my lies, the sneaky bastard, and handed me a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
"What's with the pre-ripped jeans," I asked, appalled.
"They're sexy," he replied.
I swear these people were mentally insane. I rolled my eyes, feeling too hung-over to argue, and sat up to put on the jeans. I let out a groan as my sore muscles protested and fell back to the pillows.
"What's your issue," Lucian asked, running his fingers over the bruises Marcus had left.
"Your brother, first he's trying to seduce me, then he's trying to kill me. He really needs to make up his mind. I think he's schizophrenic."
"Says the person that was in the psych ward," he added sarcastically.
"I'm not kidding, he's nuts! I know, because I've seen it," I ranted.
Lucian smiled, caressing my cheek, "I missed you."
"Missed abusing me, but that's about it," I snapped.
"No, I missed your antics. They always make me smile," he kissed my forehead. "My brother is a difficult person. If he doesn't get his way, he usually resorts to violence."
"I can tell," I retorted, slowly standing to pull on the clothes Lucian had gave me.
"So did you kill the, what did you call it," I asked.
"A Deusos, and yes I did," he replied simply.
"Why's your bacl sore?
"He put up a fight."
"I thought you were the all-powerful vampire god," I mocked.
"Oh, but I am," In a flash, he had me against the wall.
His lips met mine in a caressing embrace. I tried not to return it, but my body betrayed my mind and kissed him back. His hands roamed my curves, memorizing every inch. He lifted me up, supporting my weight against the wall and forcing my legs to wrap around his waist.
His mouth eventually left mine and traveled down to my neck. I could feel his teeth grazing my flesh while his lips hungrily teased. My mind screamed for him to stop, but was once again a victim of my body's betrayal. Without my consent my head tipped to the side to give him better access while my arms wrapped around his shoulders.
A soft moan escaped my lips as his teeth penetrated the soft tissue. My arms wrapped tighter around his body, pulling him further against me while he drank my blood. He didn't take much and was quickly finished, setting me on my feet with a final lick to the wound. To my shock, it had instantly healed. My muscles weren't even sore like the last time he had stolen my life force. He did take enough to make me light headed and held onto me to make sure I didn't fall.
At that moment, I realized something: maybe it was me that was crazy. Maybe this was nothing but a sick illusion thought up by my psychotic brain. Maybe I was still in the psych ward, doped up in the "cage," as we called it. It was a padded room the orderlies threw us in when we were misbehaving. It looked like it was strait from the movies, jacket and all.
Since when do vampires exist? It's completely illogical. They drink blood to maintain their being, but they are already dead. The blood goes through their digestive system, which in fact peristalsis couldn't be happening. So how the hell would it get into the blood stream, especially since their heart didn't beat in the first place?
"I don't get it," I blurted in my drunk-like state.
"Don't get what," Lucian asked, concerned.
"You," I responded, swaying in his grasp.
"What about me?"
"What you are."
"I thought we established that I'm a vampire."
"But that's illogical."
"Says who, Lieutenant Spock?"
"How can something that is dead, be alive?"
He picked me up and carried me to the bed, sitting me down next to him, "I'm not exactly dead, but I'm not exactly alive either. Think of it as a disease, but instead of making you weak, it makes you stronger.
"It's like a transformation, like how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, but it takes the 'disease' to cause that to happen. The blood makes us stay that way. If we don't drink blood we don't die, we just become weak and in some cases, insane. Otherwise our bodies work just like a normal human. Our hearts beat, our eyes water, and believe it or not, we even have emotions and feel pain."
"What about the whole being 'undead' thing?"
"It's very hard to kill us, but most theories are nothing but Hollywood glamour."
"What about silver?"
He grinned, "You've seen that effect."
"Garlic," I asked, ignoring him.
"Love it."
"Crosses," I continued to interrogate.
"Nothing, in fact, there's a few around the house that were my great grandfather's."
"Sunlight?"
"Makes us look paler."
"How do you kill a vampire?"
"Why should I tell you?"
I thought about Marcus, "Future reference," I said acidly.
His only reply was a laugh.
"Fine, I'll find out sooner or later," I pouted.
He only laughed harder. Did he doubt my abilities that much? I would find out even if I had to test every theory as it came to me.
"What about Lucifer," I changed the subject.
"He's a fallen angel, well the Fallen Angel."
"Why does he conspire with vampires?"
"He created us, why shouldn't he?"
"'God' created humans and he doesn't conspire with us."
"How do you know?"
"I've never talked to him."
"Maybe he just doesn't like you."
"I don't like you, and I talk to you."
"Yes, but if you didn't I would force you to."
"Why did Lucifer create vampires," I changed the subject.
"I don't know. Ask him, he'll be here in a few weeks."
"What," I screamed. I hadn't expected to meet him so soon. Especially while being alive.
"Evie, you have to be careful. Marcus is a saint compared to him," Lucian warned me.
"I'll try, but you know how I am."
"Maybe you shouldn't meet him."
"No, I have questions."
"If you're good, he might answer them."
"If not, I'll pester him until he kills me, then I'll pester him some more. Then again, my questions will probably be answered by then."
"You hungry," Lucian changed the subject this time.
"Starved," I replied, "Marcus is worse than you when it comes to feeding me. No wonder Elaine is so scrawny.
He led me through the house and to the kitchen. The atmosphere seemed to be different, almost as if tension has been released from the walls. Though the house was empty, a sort of happiness filled the air. Once in the kitchen, I looked through the cupboards and found nothing but a can of peas.
"You really need to restock," I said.
"The servants are out right now," he laughed.
I finally found a can of spaghetti that was buried deep in one of the cupboards. "You want some," I asked.
"No, I'm alright," he replied.
"Good, because I was going to tell you to get your own," I teased.
I ate my spaghetti in silence, and washed my dishes. Suddenly Marcus stormed into the room. "Lucian, we need to talk," he said gruffly shooting me a mean look, which out of spite, I returned. Lucian shot me a warning look and followed Marcus out of the kitchen.
After a while of waiting for Lucian, I got bored and decided to wander through the huge mansion or maybe it was a castle. I didn't know, but it was big. The halls were three times as wide as my height and five times as tall. The walls were adorned with dark wood up to my head level, the rest made of plaster that was painted beige. The usual paintings and knickknack shelves were placed in strategic places throughout the house. The floor was made of the same wood as the walls and covered with maroon runners.
I wandered through the rooms and corridors quickly, most of the rooms being locked. I wondered what he was hiding. Maybe I could get one of the house keepers to unlock some of them.
I came to a corridor which looked much uninhabited. I could tell from the cobwebs and dust. Why didn't the housekeepers clean it? I swear if I were a cat, I would have already used up my nine lives.
This reminded me of Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast'. Lucian was a monster after all. I just hoped the only thing he did was scare me when he found me down here. It wasn't like he told me to stay out so I wasn't breaking any rules.
Why couldn't I heed my warnings? And others expected me to heed theirs.
I headed down the dismal hallway. The walls matched the rest of the house; lined in dark wood, but was covered in a thick coat of dust. I could see my foot prints behind me in the thick layer on the carpet. This amount of dust could only accumulate over many, many years of disuse.
There were various paintings of people that were covered in dust, so it was hard to tell what the people actually looked like. I was very tempted to write in the dust 'clean me'. At the end of the corridor I came to a room. The door opened just before I touched the handle. I took it as a sign. What I couldn't tell, was if it was a good sign or a bad one. If this was happening in a scary movie, I would have been screaming at the TV to not go in the room.
I almost screamed when a white pouf scurried past me. It was Luciver the cat. He ran in and laid on the bed, dust flying everywhere in the process. Hesitantly, I walked in the room, treading carefully across the threshold. Judging by the dust and dirt, it had been abandoned for a long time. I was really tempted to make a dust angel.
The bed was steeple like rod iron. The comforter was white with a matching bed skirt. There was a black throw blanket at the end, and black pillows decorating the head. The floor was dark wood, contrasting pale walls. The curtains were crème with black flowers with a canopy to match over the head board of the bed. There were paintings thrown in various places. Some were of Lucian, others were of me.
Wait a minute, how could he have old paintings of me? It must have been the person from my vision. Elizabeth, I think her name was.
I coughed as the stirred up dust entered my lungs. The room became blurry, and then started to spin. When it finally cleared, I was laying on the bed, Lucian lying on top of me. I tried to scream, but my body wasn't listening to my commands.
His dark brown hair was tied back with a black ribbon that hung slightly over his shoulder. He was dressed in a white linen blouse. The top was untied to reveal his smooth chest. I couldn't see what I was wearing because my head wouldn't voluntarily move and Lucian was impeding my vision, but it felt like a heavy dress.
"I love you Elizabeth," Lucian said. This must have been another vision. They really needed to warn me when it happened.
"I love you too, Lucian" we answered. I wanted to puke. Who in their right mind would love him? Maybe insanity runs through lives, not just generations.
"Marry me," he insisted. And it just got worse, LET ME OUT!
"But Lucian, I would have to be -" we cut ourselves off.
"It's not so bad, it doesn't hurt for long."
"Yeah only three days," at least I was still sarcastic in this life.
"But isn't the eternity worth it," Lucian prodded.
"Lucian, I love you, I'm even ready to be married and have kids, but I'm not ready to become," we paused, "to become a vampire."
"I respect that, Beth, but I may have forever to wait, you don't."
"I'm sorry, Lucian, but I'm just not ready."
"Just keep thinking about it."
The room blurred again and I found myself on the floor crying. What the hell was I crying for; him? Why would anybody cry for him?
Suddenly the door flew open. I let out a squeak in surprise. Lucian stormed through the doorway. His body was rigid; his face was contorted in anger. I was in trouble. "Of all places" he yelled. He pounced on me roughly, and then bit my neck.
"Lucian, she loved you," I whispered before I sank into the darkness.
I groggily opened my eyes, surrounded by fabric. Looking around, I realized I was in Lucian's bed. My body felt tired, though my mind felt fully rested. I should have been used to it by now; it was how I always woke up.
"You're lucky I didn't kill you," Lucian said bitterly.
"Why didn't you," I shot back.
"Something came up."
"Like what?"
"You don't remember?"
"Apparently," I snapped.
"Let's just say that you told me about your vision."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean," I shouted, which came out as a rough snarl. He glared at me. "Well..." I prodded
"Fine, I had a change of heart."
I looked at him awkwardly. Why wouldn't he tell me the whole truth? It was probably better not to prod for now. "What time is it," I asked, still bitter.
"You've been out for a long time, about a day."
I glared at him. It was worse than my death glare. I thought I even saw him cringe. Maybe it was just my imagination. "So what time is it?" I asked coldly.
"About nine-thirty Tuesday morning," he answered
"Date," I prodded
"January sixteenth."
I've been here for two months. I wonder if the police expected me to be dead. I was surprised that Henery cared enough to report me missing. But then again, I probably kept him in business. I guessed I wouldn't be going out in public for a while. Not like Lucian would have let me anyway. Now I had to figure the right questions to ask Lucifer. Wasn't that the cat's name? I had a sneaking suspicion that it was Elizabeth's, but how could a cat live so long? She had to have been alive almost a hundred years ago judging by hers and Lucian's attire in my visions. Lucian left the room before I could ask any questions.
*****Lucian*****
I wandered through the mansion thinking about what had transpired. Marcus had stormed into the kitchen and asked to talk to me. He didn't seem angry about anything as he lead the way to my study, but something was definitely wrong. Why did he storm into the kitchen like that? Usually that means he's getting ready to do something that proved difficult for him.
"I think your right," he broke me out of my thoughts, helping himself to the Brandy and taking a seat in my chair.
"What do you mean," I asked, still standing just inside the room.
"I agree that Evie may be Beth's reincarnation."
"That's what you wanted to tell me?"
"I wanted to apologize for the way I've treated her."
After a long pause I spoke, "I forgive you Marcus; after all, you were only looking out for your younger brother. But, I don't think it's me you should apologize to."
Marcus laughed awkwardly, "It was hard enough to apologize to you, and you're my brother."
"Yes, Marcus, you have always been an arrogant one."
"Where do you think you got it from?"
We both laughed. We haven't laughed like that in a long time. It was relieving, like a huge weight was lifted off my chest.
"I also think that she is starting to fall in love with you," he continued.
I was stunned by his words. She still acted like she hated me. Sure she would kiss me back and shudder under my caresses, but that was just her instinct reacting to a man's touch, "I don't understand."
"When you were gone, I tried everything to seduce her. I used my powers to their full extent, I even got her drunk. Yet she still denied me although I could tell her body was enjoying my touch."
"Why did you try to seduce her," I growled.
"To see how she would react. It wasn't like I was actually going to go through with it."
"And did she pass your test," my tone didn't change.
"A little too well," Marcus admitted.
"I don't know what this means," I spoke.
"Neither do I," he sighed.
"She has got to be Beth's reincarnation. She looks and acts too much like her for it to be a coincidence."
"She is a lot like Beth, of course, she is much more difficult. I suppose it comes with the times. Women aren't as willing to please as they used to be."
"Speaking of Evie, I better go find her before she gets into too much trouble."
After I had searched everywhere for Evie, there was only one other place she could be. I practically ran to the dusty hallway that belonged to Elizabeth many years ago. I haven't been down here since she died. I don't know why, but when I saw Evie lying there crying, I snapped. I would have rather caught her trying to escape.
"Of all places," I yelled.
Before I could stop myself, I lunged at her, sinking my fangs into her neck before she could react. I didn't know how much blood I took, but I was overdue for a feeding, so it must have been a lot.
"Lucian," She whispered, "She loved you, she wanted to marry you, but she was too scared, she was afraid to die."
I froze, remembering the first time I had asked Elizabeth to marry me. It was just a year after we officially became lovers. I wasn't sure she loved me. Evie passed out quickly. I must have taken a lot of blood, it was a wonder she was still alive.
I stayed by her bed until she woke up a day later. Her skin was beyond pale. She looked like a walking corpse. Her body was too thin, much more than when I brought her here. I needed to remember to feed her more frequently, especially when I constantly drained her blood supply.
"You're lucky I didn't kill you," I said, letting the bitterness of my own actions show in my voice. It was me who was the lucky one. I don't know what I would do without her now that I was positive she was Elizabeth's reincarnation.
"Why didn't you," she shot back.
"Something came up," I couldn't tell her the truth; I was falling for her.
"Like what," she said testing me.
"You don't remember," I knew she wouldn't, but I had to push back.
"Apparently," she snapped.
"Let's just say you told me about your vision."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She still didn't get it, or she just loved to see me squirm. I glared at her. "Well," she pestered.
"Fine, I had a change of heart." There I said it.
She looked at me awkwardly. "What time is it?" Thank the darkness she changed the subject.
"You've been out for a while, about a day," I answered.
She glared at me. She looked like she wanted to do much more than kill me. I knew if she was strong enough, she would. I cringed at the thought.
"What time is it," she said coldly
"Nine-thirty, Tuesday morning," I replied
"Date," she continued the twenty questions.
"January sixteenth."
She'd been here for two months. Nobody like here had lasted that long, most of the girls who had just a hint of sarcasm, I slaughtered mercilessly. Yet here she was, openly rude and defying my every order. I couldn't take her looking at me like that, I just wanted to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness. I left the room before I could do anything. I needed to stay stern.
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