Alright, I lied. There'll be an epilogue to follow this chapter, posting shortly. :)

"Hey, baby girl... Missed you."

Isabel would have screamed if she could have. She tried to run - tried to flee. But it was pointless. He was too fast.

Her wrists were caught in his vice-like grip, as he stood up from the floor, taking her with him. The look on his face was one of madness - and glee. The red eyes of the vampire king were now flickering with excitement. It wasn't Vlad who was looking through them. Whether or not Vlad was still inside… Wraith was very much behind the steering wheel.

A roar of fire, and they were gone. Isabel felt the ground rematerialize beneath her feet. She yanked on her wrists to try and free them, and he let her go. Staggering backwards, she almost toppled over in her eagerness to get away.

"Oh that is just too much fun! I think I could get used to this. Now now, don't try and run away… I know that's his little fetish, but it ain't mine." The words sounded absolutely ludicrous coming out of Vlad's mouth, especially with the light-hearted, yet sharply sadistic tone of voice that Wraith delivered them.

Looking around herself, she felt her face go pale at where he had brought them. It was the garden - the soaring, indoor atrium overgrown with vegetation that reminded her so much of the movie 'Jumanji.' If it had been set designed by Stephen King. Soaring smoked glass arched overhead in delicate, iron-wrought frames.

Statuary dotted the overgrown raised flowerbeds and winding pathways. Angels, figures of men and women, monsters and demons alike. Each one nearly overtaken by the vines and strange creeping flowers. One statue dwarfed the rest - a gigantic fountain, which dominated a circular clearing in the atrium. It was a statue that would haunt her nightmares until the end of her days.

The fountain.

The three angels - one, holding aloft a marble jug. Its features were worn, mossy, and forlorn. The other two, kneeling at its feet, hand their hands over their faces, like the weeping angels of a cemetery scene. Only they were missing a hand each - the ones that Adrian had severed to set her free from the torture that Vlad had put her through.

The fountain was empty now. The strange, mercury-esque silver liquid that had flowed through it was now gone. The fountain had emptied itself into her mind - and given birth to the creation that now stood in front of her, watching her with a keen fascination.

"Right back where we started, you and me. Right back at the beginning."

'Take me away from here. Please,' she begged, unable to keep from glancing at the fountain that haunted her dreams. But she had two nightmares before her. One in marble, and one in the form of Vlad - possessed.

"I figured we might want some… privacy," Wraith said with a thin smile. "Although I'm betting the kid'll be out for some time." He took a step towards her, and she took one away. "Still, I didn't think you'd want me to have my way with you, with his unconscious body in the room."

'You left him with his soul, then?' Isabel asked, hopefully.

"Yes, I did!" he said, throwing his hands up in frustration. He sounded like a child who had been asked if he had eaten his vegetables. "I couldn't very well take it, after the deal I made with Vladdy-boy, now could I?" He tapped a finger against his temple. "He's still in here. If I went and ate the soul of his boy - something tells me he wouldn't be so obediently quiet."

'You're lying,' Isabel replied angrily. There was no way Vlad was simply sitting back and letting this happen.

"How else do you think I'm in control?" he laughed, and stepped towards her. Isabel retreated a step, and he grinned in response to her backing away from him. "Oh sure, I'm strong… very strong. But he let me in…" He stalked towards her again, and she took another step back. It made him laugh with a wicked grin. "You know, usually I hate it when you run away from me. But maybe it's his influence - this is fun."

'Stop,' she raised a hand out, trying to slow him down. 'Just stop.'

Vlad lunged forward towards her - and she let out a silent shriek and toppled backwards, falling against a low stone wall. It was a raised flower bed, and the vines had long since overtaken the edges and spilled down over the ground. Her hand landed on a thorny branch, and she hissed in a breath in pain as she felt them puncture her skin.

Suddenly, he was standing in front of her - barely six inches away. She jumped in surprise, and tried to duck away from him. But he had taken her wrist in his hand again. Slowly, he lifted her hand up - and all attempts at yanking her hand away were pointless. She clenched her hand shut, but a small stream of blood ran down the palm of her hand and onto her wrist.

Vlad lifted her hand to his lips, and ran his tongue along the line of crimson, tracing its route. "Open your hand," he purred low in his throat. "Or I'll break your fingers to do it."

Isabel obeyed, knowing he meant it. She relaxed her hand, and watched as he used his thumb to gently open it. The thorns had put four neat holes into her skin - and he went to each one in turn. Isabel watched, finding herself rapt and unable to move as he wandered his lips along her hand, before reaching the last of the marks left by the thorns, this one on her pointer finger. As he took it into his mouth, his eyes slid shut in pleasure.

In that moment, it didn't feel like Wraith… The deep purr in his throat as he rolled his tongue around her finger. Her heart pounded in her throat. She couldn't help it. Isabel had always been hopelessly captivated to him - hopelessly unable to resist him.

You are mine.

She heard the words in her mind, and they didn't belong to Wraith. Isabel felt a moment of hope surge in her heart knowing he was still there - somewhere - even if he was right now behind the scenes.

Isabel watched as the wounds on her hand healed themselves - and watched as 'Vlad' finally released her hand. It seemed she was more durable now than she used to be - for what good it was going to do her.

In fact, with Wraith's threats… it seemed like it was only going to cause her a lot of pain. She pulled her hand away from his grasp quickly, and tried to pull away from him. But trapped between him and the wall, there was nothing she could do.

Red eyes bored into hers - a glare that made her want to hide. A glare that spelt his clear intent to consume her. But there was a madness there, glinting at the edges, that Vlad had never had.

"I can feel him, right there next to me. He's quiet until I get near you… Until I touch you. Once I touch you, he surges forward." He ran the ends of his pointed nails of his other hand slowly along her collarbone, tracing where he had done the damage as Adrian only a few moments prior. The wound was gone - but the fabric was torn, and stained with blood. There was an undeniable hunger in his eyes as he watched her. "Shit. And here I thought I lusted after you." He chuckled darkly. "You think I'm twisted? You think I'm sick? I wish you could see what he wants to do to you. Maybe that's why he let me take control. Maybe he wants me to make good on those fantasies of his."

Isabel stayed silent, her jaw clenched, pressing back against the low wall of the garden. She looked up at him flatly. Trying to do her best to look unimpressed.

"No begging? No pleading? No crying?" He tilted his head to the side slightly as his eyes traced the path where his fingers ran. "I'm almost disappointed. I'd almost think you were enjoying this..."

'What's the point..?' Isabel's mind was scrambling to come up with a plan - to see some way - any way out of what had just happened. Some way around the fact that her worst nightmare was now possessing Vlad Dracula - the king of vampires. The man she was in love with. The creature who she was now bound to.

"Ooh, now now… don't mope," He leaned in, and placed a finger under her chin, tilting her face to look up at him. "I told you… I'm saving you. This is me, saving you from the monster you got yourself all magically-or-voodoo-or-some-shit stuck to. Can't you see what he was doing to you? Can't you see that he abducted you and your friends and tortured you?"

He grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her away from the wall suddenly - forcing her to face the fountain that stood fifteen feet away from them. He pushed her towards it, and she tried to press back against him, panicking.

'No - please!'

He let go of her neck, and let his arms snake around her, holding her against him as he stepped forward. Towards the fountain. She struggled hard, desperately trying to escape him. He shushed her, one of his arms shifting to pin hers to her side.

He stopped, five feet away from the fountain, and nuzzled his head into her hair. He lowered his lips closer to her ear, and whispered to her - his voice low. "You feel that terror? That fear? Do you remember what it was like to be in that fountain? To see all those deaths, all those murders, all that suffering? Over and over and over again…"

Isabel struggled still, pushing against him. But he squeezed her tighter, reminding her how useless it was. But she couldn't help it, she was panicking. 'Please, let me go - please, I can't do this!'

"I remember. I remember it all - every second of it. I know what it was like. I was there. I was that pain and suffering. I still am those memories, every waking second of all that horror! Only you understand what it means to be the way I am. To be the product of the things you remember. And only I know what it was like trapped in that fountain. Only I was there. He did that to you. Don't you understand?!"

He took another step forward towards the statue, and she screamed, silently, and thrashed against him. Wraith whirled her around to face him, one arm still around her waist, keeping her from escaping him. Isabel slapped him, hard. His head rocked to the side, and he growled low in his throat. When he turned his head to look at her again - his eyes were crimson from lid to lid.

He snarled, and one of his hands gripped her chin like a clamp, and tilted her face to look up at him. "No. You'll listen to me - I swear to fucking god you'll listen to me this time!" he said through his rage. "Do you think I want to be like this?! Do you think I asked for this miserable existence?! Can't you see he's done all this to you, to us?! Can't you see this is all his fault?!" His hand slid to her throat and clenched, and her eyes went wide in fear and pain as he cut off her air. "Why won't you see what he's done to you?!" he howled.

Then he paused, and straightened up with a laugh, his hand relaxing against her throat, but not letting go just yet. "Sorry. He's still in here. The motherfucker gets mad quick doesn't he?" Wraith snickered and rolled his shoulders back, stretching them. "Hoo boy. Talk about a hair trigger!"

Isabel always felt like she was left at the side of the road watching highway traffic whiz past her when she was dealing with Wraith. If Dracula was quicksilver, this man was a piece of dark matter blipping in and out of existence on a subatomic level. Before she could even wrap her head around what he had said, he had her by the hair and was dragging her away from the fountain and towards another low stone wall.

"He's also way too goddamn tall-" Wraith complained as he picked her up by her waist - ignoring her struggling and slapping at his arm like she wasn't even trying - and sat her down on the wall. "-to carry on a conversation with you." He looked at her with a pleased smile. "There! Now I don't have to stoop like you're a freaking midget." 'Vlad' cracked his head to one side and the other, like he was trying to work out a crink. "Hurts my neck."

Isabel was overwhelmed and terrified. She hadn't even had a moment to try and process what was happening. The moment he let go of her, she tried to escape - tried to get away. But he was having none of it. He growled low in her throat, making his threat clear. If she kept it up - he'd break her legs, or worse. Vlad had only once ever struck her - but Wraith had no qualms about causing her serious pain.

Wraith looked at her, saw the expression of fear on her face and sighed. "I'm not trying to scare you," he complained. "I'm really not… And I really wish you'd goddamn talk to me!" The anger came back through his last three words - and he slammed his fist down on the edge of the stone wall next to her, cracking it, and making her jump. He glared down at his own fist and sighed again. "He's got a hair trigger, like I said. I'll get the hang of it."

'I don't know what to say,' she admitted truthfully. She was shaking, watching him wide-eyed. 'You've taken over the body of the man I love. I've spent the past few months trying to find a way to stop you. You've beat me, tried to rape me, threatened me - and now… this? What do you want me to say?' Tears stung at her eyes, but she managed to keep them from falling.

Wraith reached out with a hand and she flinched away from him. He paused for a moment with a sigh at her reaction, before continuing and running his hand through her hair. "Yeah. I know. I've been an asshole. But that was before. When I was fighting for you. When I didn't think we had time. Now that I have you, I'll be different... I promise. We can take our sweet time now, y'know? Nice and slow. We've got all the time in the world." An unfamiliar grin on familiar features. "I'll make you love me. Like he made you love him. You'll see. And I won't even need to torture you to do it, like he did." Wraith winked at her - and the expression looked ridiculous on him. "Well, maybe a little torture. But just for fun."

'If I asked you to let him go. Is there even a price I could pay?'

"Nope," he answered flatly with a shrug. "Not a chance. I'm possessing the body of a demigod. One that's mystically bound to you. One you can't escape, and one you already have the hots for? Fuck no!" He laughed, and reaching out, put his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. She tried to shove him away, but it was like trying to shove a brick wall.

Before she could stop him, he was standing between her knees, smiling down at her like the cat who ate a canary. One of his hands slid to her thigh, while the other worked its way up the back of her shirt, resting his cool palm against the warm skin at the small of her back. "This is too nice to give up."

Isabel tried again to worm out of his grasp, but the hand on her thigh snapped to the back of her neck, tangling her hair in his fingers and holding her still. "No. You don't go anywhere anymore. I know you think you want to be saved. I know you think this is hell and torment, but it isn't. He was manipulating you. I was trying to save your friends, save you from him. Don't you get it?"

'That isn't true,' she slammed her fist against his chest, but she knew it wouldn't do anything. 'Vlad loves me.'

"I'm not saying he doesn't! But he's a sick fuck, and he kept you prisoner and tortured you - and did just what I'm doing now until you loved him! It's Stockholm Syndrome. I know you can't see it now, but you'll see it soon. I promise."

'He never tried to rape me, asshole,' she glared up at him.

"He didn't have to! He manipulated you into wanting him. He seduced you. Same thing - just the slow play tactic that I didn't have a chance to use." Wraith said with a shrug, smirking down at her again. He still had his hand tangled in her hair. The fingers of the hand at the small of her back began to run in slow, careful circles along her skin. She twitched despite herself. "See? Just like that…"

Isabel glared up at him. 'Stop.'

"No," he replied, and leaned into her, letting his lips fall against her neck just below her ear. He kissed his way along her jaw, slowly - savoring the moment. Using the hand in her hair, he yanked her head back and made her gasp in pain - and took the opportunity to kiss her parted lips. It was a possessive, hungry, selfish and careless embrace. It lacked the finesse the vampire king made seem so effortless.

If Isabel could have made a noise of protest, she would have. There was literally nothing she could do to stop him. It made her realize exactly how powerless she had always been in Vlad's presence. How easy it really would have been for him to take whatever he wanted from her. Wraith's words burned in her mind, despite her not believing them. Vlad manipulated her. Tortured her. Made her love him. Isabel knew she loved Vlad, there was no doubt of that But the vampire king himself had admitted that he had pursued her with that goal in mind.

Wraith's argument was that the intention behind the act invalidated the truth of it. That she loved him - but it was a false love. Stolen, not earned.

His lips worked against hers still, his tongue delving down slowly, exploring her. Taking his time. The hand at her lower back pulled her closer still, until their bodies were touching. The nails there ran up the skin of her back slowly - causing her to arch and push her palms against his back as a chill ran up her spine.

He broke the kiss slowly with a quiet laugh at her reaction. "You can feel it, can't you? How much I want you… how much I love you. You're an empath. No wonder he could seduce you. If you can feel how hard he wants to have every part of you…" his innuendo was obvious as he pulled her body against his again, and she shut her eyes, turning her head away. This was too cruel. "How could you fight it? The only man who could ever touch you - who could ever love you. The only man who would ever try."

'Stop,' she begged silently. 'Please..'

"I can see all his memories now. Just like I could see Adrian's. And Tim's. And every scrap of dead soul from that fountain. I can see Tex. That poor asshole never got his chance with you, huh? Too scared. Through Vlad, your friend is here with me, now, too…" Wraith moved his lips to her ear, and bit the lobe, just hard enough. Isabel writhed and slammed her fist against his chest, trying still to push away the brick wall. He let out a low 'mmmh' in his throat at her reaction, and she could tell how much he was loving her struggle for freedom. That he was relishing the fight between her own mind and his control over her body. "That's it… Just like that, baby girl..."

He slid the hand on her back around to her stomach, his nails leaving raised red tracks against her. Isabel twitched again, and tried to pull away - but the hand in her hair kept its tight grip on her, craning her head back. Keeping her close to him. "There's no one to stop me now," he purred into her ear, before grazing his teeth lightly against the skin again. "No one to save you…"

That made her redouble her efforts, slamming her fists into his chest and struggling. It got the reaction he wanted, and he pulled his head back with a laugh. The hand that had made its way to her stomach was now grasping one of her wrists. He yanked it behind her back harshly.

Isabel's eyes went wide and she let out a startled cry as she felt something else grab her wrist. Something wound its way around her like a rope, and it was pulling her wrist back against the bed of vines and vicious flowers.

He let go of her with a pleased, cruel smile. "The castle obeys its master."

Isabel thrashed, her other hand going to the bound wrist to free it. She tried to roll over to face the tied hand, but she wasn't fast enough. Trapped with him standing between her knees, she was unable to escape as he snatched her free hand by the wrist and yanked that, too, behind her back. He laughed hard, watching her struggle in vain as the vines wrapped around her again, trapping that hand with the first.

Isabel kicked and fought, wishing she could make more noise than a silent scream as the vines wound their way in between her fingers, around her wrist and up to her elbows. The vines were taking their sweet time as they cinched around her. The harder she struggled, the tighter they became. Like a python. Waiting for her to tire, waiting for her to give up an inch before pulling her closer down. It felt like quicksand.

Wraith seemed more than happy to stand there and watch, smiling a sick, gleeful grin. His hands were pressing on her knees, now - keeping her from kicking him, as the vines did their job.

Pretty soon she was on her back against the vines below her - her arms wound up hopelessly behind her back. As she struggled, tossing her head from side to side, trying to fight, she felt their thorns dig into her skin, drawing blood like they had before. Tears pricked her eyes and she cried out silently in the pain as they punctured her skin with her struggles.

With Wraith looming over her, in the body of the man she loved - and now this, she couldn't help it. The tears ran along her face and into her hair. Wraith tsked again down at her, and leaned over her slowly, propping himself up on one elbow as he lowered his head down to her face. He kissed one of her tears away.

Isabel turned her face away from him and that drew a low chuckle from him. His mouth was against her ear again, and his voice was a deep, baritone purr. "He's wanted to do this to you since the moment you met… All Vlad wanted to do in this world was to hunt you like a deer and take you. But he's a patient man… and knew that would only harm his end goal. But now, he's watching this with as much pleasure as I have doing it."

'Stop it-' she struggled harder, but let out a silent cry as the thorns dug trenches into her skin as she did. They forced her to stop - it hurt too much to continue.

"You know I'm not lying."

He straightened back up, and stepped in until his thighs touched the stone wall. She felt his hands wander along her shoulders, pulling her torn clothing further apart, baring more of her chest and shoulders. She twitched, thrashed, and cried out again in silent pain as the thorns dug in deeper. "Now now…" he scolded. "Calm down before you hurt yourself." His words held no small sense of irony.

His fingers wandered down her chest, and began to undo the laces of her top. Isabel turned her face to look at him - eyes wide and unbelieving as he pulled the laces out, one by one, until the thread was gone. He tossed it aside, and moved the fabric apart to reveal her tank top beneath.

The look on his face was heated, dark, impassioned and hungry. There was no stopping him. No begging that would make him change his mind. Her stomach flipped in fear and, truthfully, something else entirely as he gripped the collar of her tanktop and ripped the fabric in two. He snapped the small piece of fabric holding her bra together in the center, and finally completed his task of reaching her bare skin.

Wraith let out a low moan in his throat as he ran his hands slowly up her stomach, along her sides, up to cup her breasts. He kneaded them in his hands, squeezing them, watching his work with a rapt, unbreakable focus. "I wish you knew… how I've waited for this… how much I've needed this." When his red eyes darted to hers, she looked away, trying to mask what was happening to her in a face of indifference. He laughed, and suddenly pinched both of her nipples hard between his fingers. Isabel arched her back, her mouth open in a silent cry. "There you are… I thought I lost you for a minute," he said with a dark humor.

His head lowered, and he replaced the fingers of one hand with his lips, swirling his tongue around the tormented skin before taking it into his mouth, letting his teeth graze along it. His other hand ceased its abuse and he ran his thumb around the pink nub of flesh slowly.

Wraith began to kiss his way up her chest, up her neck and to her ear. He let his teeth graze her skin again before whispering to her. "I can hear your heart pounding. I can feel how much you want this… just as badly as I do. You can't hide it. You've wanted to be his since the moment you met… since the first time he laid eyes on you. I'm just along for the ride," he said with a bad pun. He grinned. "Honestly, I'm alright with that. You're loving being at my mercy. At our mercy. Admit it…"

'Stop,' she begged again, turning her face to look at him - amber eyes to red, pleadingly. 'Please stop this…'

"Tell me you don't want this - tell me you aren't on fire right now. Tell me that, and I'll stop…" Say the words, and I will relent.

Isabel's eyes went wide as she heard Vlad's voice echo in her mind. Wraith and Vlad, both - hovering at the surface. Drawn into the moment. Her eyes searched his, feeling the hunger… the starvation they both had. The need to feel her, taste her. It was hopeless, begging either of them to stop. Vlad would have - but Wraith… he was far too cruel, far too starved to ever turn away.

And she couldn't tell him no. She could say the words, but they would be a lie. One her body couldn't hide. Isabel let out a silent sob, one that was cut off by Vlad's lips as he kissed her with an unwavering, unstoppable desire. She would forever be his. There was no longer any point denying it.

Isabel shut her eyes, and let him kiss her. Didn't turn her face away as he parted from her finally, feeling his cool air on her lips as he hovered his face an inch from hers. This is what Vlad and Wraith both wanted… she could feel it, beneath the surface.

He straightened up, and she felt him quickly make work of the rest of her clothing, the cool air of the room suddenly against her bare skin. But it didn't stay that way for long before his hands took the place of her clothing, and ran slowly up her legs. One remained on her thigh while the other ran, fingers splayed, across the skin of her stomach. She could feel the touch of the fabric of his coat against her legs as he stepped in, his thighs touching the edge of the stone wall.

She writhed underneath his touch, tensing against her will as he ran a sharp nail up the inside of her thigh. Wraith laughed - a dark, playful, sadistic laugh as he stood there between her parted knees, watching her react to his touch. This was all he had ever wanted - her, at his mercy. And now he had just that. She was unable to fight, unable to even cry out for help as he ran his fingers along her skin, savoring the moment.

Isabel opened her eyes to watch him - standing there as both her horror, her nightmare, and her lover. "What a look," he murmured, his hand going to her face, thumb running along her lower lip. He leaned down to kiss her again. This time, when he parted his lips from hers, he shifted against her - and her eyes went wide as she felt him positioned against her core.

'Wait-' she begged, and struggled, anew. But the vines around her arms, and their thorns in her skin, stilled her attempts.

Wraith ran his fingers along her cheek, gently touching her skin in slow circles, watching her keenly… hungrily. A mad joy in the red eyes that didn't belong to him. "I've wanted this… so much… so much…" His other hand was on her upper thigh, holding her leg bent, holding it still, as he pressed there against her - waiting. "Look at me," he whispered to her.

Her eyes met his again, and he smiled. It was a sick, sadistic expression, filled with love and adoration. "I love you," he whispered. In his own way, he meant it. In as much as he was capable, he did love her. And with that, he pressed into her, and she arched her back against his chest, her mouth open in a silent cry as he filled her. Pressed hard into her to the hilt.

He nearly roared in pleasure, his hand tangled in her hair as he felt her hot body around him. Their minds were tangled up together as he entered her, and he could feel her fear - her desire. And she could feel his hunger - his need. His sick, truthful expression of love. Beneath that, the man she loved - hovering at the edges, the vampire king… vying for control. Twisted up in this madman's desires. No small part of the vampire was loving this, just the same as the monster in control.

Wraith began to move against her, a tempo that was neither gentle, nor violent. He seemed lost in his own ecstasy as he wrapped her legs around his waist. Each press into her, each movement, ground her body against the vines at her back, and brought her both pleasure and pain at the same time. She silently whimpered as he buried his head into her neck, moaning against her skin, kissing it, worshiping it. This was joy. This was true, unbelievable ecstasy to him. This is the only desire he had ever known. Finally fulfilled.

"So warm… Your body is so warm… this body is so cold…" he said through a pleasured moan without breaking stride. He snaked a hand around her throat, and squeezed. She arched her back against him, and gasped - and he laughed low, barely a rumble in his chest. "You clench tighter when I do that, you know…"

Her heart was pounding in her ears as he filled her, pressing hard against her before withdrawing nearly entirely, before starting again. She was gasping in short breaths in time with his thrusts into her body. Wraith wasn't violent in his actions - he didn't hurt her. He seemed too overwhelmed with what he was feeling, their minds tangled as their bodies were.

He ran his lips to her throat, and suddenly he pulled her head to one side. His hunger was all-consuming. He lacked Vlad's self-control - he lacked his restraint. Wraith was unable to handle the anger, the hunger, and the lust that burned away within the vampire.

His fangs pierced her neck, and she pulled in a sharp, wavering gasp as he did. He moaned loudly against her skin, tasting her hot blood as it filled his mouth. Tasting her heartbeat, thrumming in time with his motions.

The pain of the bite faded into a pleasure that washed over her, with the throb of her heart, and now his, joining in the same eternal dance. He fed from her for a long time, like that - lost in the pleasure of her body, her blood. Pulling from her body in time with the drum of her heart. With the tempo of his body moving against hers.

An arm beneath her knee, and she noiselessly cried out as he shifted to better his angle - his movements becoming harder. More insistent. He was drinking too much from her - more than Vlad ever had. It wouldn't kill her… and Isabel wasn't sure if she was glad for that. But he was losing control over the vampire's impulses.

He sank his teeth harder into her throat - and she winced in pain as he pierced her flesh with both rows of teeth like an animal - growling loudly into her skin as he drank. She felt the hot liquid spill around the edges and down her neck into the vines beneath her.

He slammed into her once - twice - and her mind went hot white as she arched against him, feeling their pleasure combined as he tipped over the edge, and brought her with him.

The world faded to darkness as she felt her body, limp against him and against the vines - give in to being bled dry.

Isabel awoke with a start - or did she? It took her a long moment to realize wherever she was now, she had been once before. She stood in a victorian parlor - with carefully painted, beautiful wallpaper. It depicted a lavish garden scene, with marble archways and bridges, columns and statues. The sun had set - and now the ruddy sky was turning blue and purple in lieu of reds and orange.

Gas lamps burned low against the walls. A brass chandelier hung overhead, candles unlit.

A piano was quietly playing from the other half of the room, the sliding divider half-drawn, painted to match the walls.

This was Vlad's dream. The memory where they had first truly met, face-to-face. 'Run and let me chase you' - he had said. And, she had…

Isabel stood up from the blue and gold damask upholstered sofa as she let herself walk across the thick, lush carpet. He said this was the moment he had fallen in love with her - the moment he had seen her, innocently blundering into his mind.

So much had happened since then.

She walked around the divider between the two halves of the room - and saw him, sitting at the baby grand in the same way she had seen him the very first time. He was playing the same, slow, Beethoven piece, and seemed not to notice her.

Was this just a memory?

Isabel walked up to the piano, as she had done that first time. Then, she had wondered aloud who he was. But now, she knew. Now, there was no question of who he was. Vlad Dracula, and so much more. The first vampire - an ancient creature from the dawn of time. The monster, the man, the creature she loved. No matter how she had come to do so, it didn't matter.

Isabel let her hand reach out to touch him, just as she had before. THen, she had meant to gently touch his shoulder, but never got the chance, before his hand had snapped to her wrist. Her hand hovered, waiting - and she held her breath for a moment to see if he would move. If he would react to her, as he had then.

Nothing. Her heart fell as he continued to quietly play, ignoring her presence. Maybe he was a ghost, truly. Just an empty memory, playing back like a DVD. Maybe what she had felt, when Wraith had made love to her, was all that was left of the man she adored.

Isabel shifted closer to him, and leaned down to place a kiss against his cheek.

Her eyes opened in surprise as his lips, instead, met hers. His hands upon the keys had stopped, and instead one was gently cupping her cheek. His other wound around her, pulling her closer into an embrace. She let him lead her towards him, and wrapped her arms around him, almost crying in relief. He was still there.

"Was there any doubt?" he asked her with a faint smile against her skin, as he broke the kiss. "My little dove… My resilient, unbreakable one."

She hugged him close to her, squeezing him tight - causing him to laugh quietly. "You son of a bitch, you asshole-" she swore at him, even though she was still hugging him to her like she would never let go. "You knew, you knew this would happen!"

"No. But I knew that it might," he responded, turning on the piano bench to face her, pulling her into his lap. "Forgive me, for what has happened." He kissed her on the forehead, before looking down at her with forlorn red eyes. "Forgive me for leaving you to his... machinations."

"Forgive you for enjoying it, you mean," she glared at him.

He smirked idly down at her and raised an eyebrow. "And you did not?" Her face flushed and she slapped his chest, and he laughed hard, and hugged her to him again. "Forgive me for the darkness in my soul, then, yes. Believe you me, there were far worse things he wished to see done. I… tempered him, as best I could. He is ill prepared for what he has truly done. Thousands of years of experience is all that I have, to stave off the horror I hunger to see unleashed."

The subtext was clear. If Wraith wasn't stopped, he'd lose control of the power that Vlad commanded. All hell would, literally, break loose. She let her hand run through his dark hair, and he shut his eyes, basking in the sensation. "What do I do..? How do I fix this?" she asked, quietly.

He kissed her, gently, cold breath against her skin as he broke the kiss slowly. She felt the dream fading, but heard his last words before she woke.

"I must be stopped…"

Isabel woke, and honestly, wished she hadn't.

They were in Vlad's chambers. She was lying on the chaise lounge in his library - wearing clothes she didn't remember. Wraith must have dressed her. Vlad - or at least, his body - was over her. He had her arm raised - one of his hands at her wrist, the other just below her elbow, holding her as he dug his teeth into her skin.

She cried out silently in pain, her eyes stinging as he dug his teeth cruelly into her skin, biting down hard against her flesh as he was drinking her blood like a dying man would drink water.

'No - please,' she begged, trying to push him off of her.

"You won't die," he lifted his head from the wound, which had far exceeded a simple pair of puncture wounds. It was like a wolf had been chewing on her arm, the bites were so deep. He looked at her, eyes red from lid to lid, consumed by his hunger. "So stop whining…"

He bit down on her arm again, a new wound this time, trying to open a fresh vein. She writhed in agony, shaking her head and trying to get him off of her. But she was too weak. To empty to really put up a fight.

A cough by the wall interrupted him. Vlad lifted his head from her arm, his lips stained with blood, and he turned a glare towards the wall. "I thought I made it clear, we are not to be disturbed."

A vampire she didn't recognize stood by the door, and bowed low at the waist. "My lord, forgive me. You said that you were not to be disturbed, yes - unless it was matters involving your son. He is in the throne room with the priest Lyon, sir.. He is demanding to see you."

Wraith sighed, heavily, and dropped her arm. She gripped it in her other hand, curling up in pain. The skin had been torn, ravished, and while it was slowly healing, it hurt unlike anything he had ever done to her before.

"Sounds like something he'd say," Wraith muttered under his breath. "Very well," he said louder. "I will be there momentarily."

The vampire bowed low again at the waist, and vanished in a swirl of mist.

Wraith sighed deeply again, looking down at her, his eyes clearing to their normal red. The bloodlust put on pause for the moment. He turned her face towards his, and he smirked down at her. "Let's go chat with the kid, shall we? You're going to come with. You're going to pretend like everything's normal. Like Vladdy-boy is still in the driver's seat, and you're as happy as can be. Or I'll fucking tear them to shreds, and fuck you on top of his lifeless corpse, understand?" he snarled at her, anger consuming him.

Isabel's eyes were wide in horror and she nodded, weakly. He was losing control. Vlad had said as much - and it was clear that Wraith was going to become incapable of commanding the power the vampire controlled. He stood up from her, straightened his clothing, and wiped at his face with the back of a hand, cleaning the blood off of his chin.

Isabel managed to sit up, swinging her legs over the side of the chaise lounge, looking down at her arm as the mauled skin began to heal. 'I'll need to clean up,' she observed, watching as the vampire paced around the room like an anxious tiger. 'Otherwise they'll suspect something.'

"Fine," he grumbled and walked from the room, leaving her alone. She stood up, and saw the silver dagger that Adrian had gifted her, sitting on a table nearby. She picked it up, and tucked it into her belt. Walking from the room, she went to the bathroom, and did as she'd said she would - washing the blood off of her arm, and doing her best to straighten herself out.

When she felt like she looked… moderately presentable, she walked out of the room, and up to Wraith - feeling like she was stepping closer to a rabid animal. When he looked at her, she flinched, her steps faltering.

Wraith grabbed her wrist, and yanked her towards him - and she half-fell against him. He wrapped an arm around her, and his lips crashed against hers in a cruel, uncaring embrace. When he broke it, the world around them roared in a jet of fire. A second later, they were in the throne room - standing at the top of the stairs that lead to the sculptured throne itself.

He released her wrist, if to slide his hand around her waist in what must have looked like a casual, gentle embrace.

Standing at the foot of the stairs was Adrian, and Lyon, a step behind him. The priest's hands were clasped behind his back, and he was watching them both with a flat, emotionless expression. Adrian wore similar, except his eyes were narrowed just slightly in suspicion.

"My son," 'Vlad' said in greeting. It was impressive how good Wraith was at impersonations. When he had pretended to be Tim, or Adrian - she couldn't tell. "Priest," he said, finally acknowledging the other man.

"I wished to see that you were… intact, before I departed this place," Adrian spoke after a pause, choosing his words carefully.

"And whyever would I not be so?" 'Vlad' responded with a slight smirk. The hand around her waist moved to settle on her shoulder. To them, it was meant to be an affectionate gesture. To her, it was a clear reminder that she was to behave herself.

"The spirit who had taken possession of my body - the one calling itself 'Wraith,' was a formidable one. I can clearly recount that you intended to let it take your body in exchange for mine."

"Yes. I did, and I defeated it readily," Wraith responded with an idle and dismissive shrug.

Adrian said nothing in response. But she could feel that neither he, nor the priest, believed Wraith's facade.

Preternatural creatures like vampires - could move faster than she could see. And chaos happened quickly. It wasn't until later, that you could really start to piece together what had happened.

The next thing she knew, the floor had rushed up to meet her, as somebody threw her to the ground. She covered her head with her hands as the sound of metal meeting metal rang out painfully.

The fight was fast - too fast for her to track. She managed to stand - managed to duck out of the way, beside the throne. It was a two way fight, between Adrian and Lyon versus Wraith, in the body of a vampiric demigod. One he could barely control.

That was perhaps the only thing that gave the two other men a fighting chance. Wraith was fast to learn - hurling fireballs from nothingness and summoning dark shadows to fight for him. But the priest and Adrian were holding their own.

At least they were… for a time.

Adrian met a column hard enough to send him through the structure - and his body was now crumpled against the wall. Vlad pulled his punches, when fighting with Lyon and Adrian in prior bouts. Wraith felt no such compulsion.

Wraith's sword punctured the abdomen of the priest, and sliced upwards - threatening to cut the man in two.

'Stop!' Isabel reached out with her power - and halted Wraith from delivering the death blow. Made him feel regret, disgust, sorrow. He retracted his sword from the man's body, and she watched as Lyon crumpled to the floor. Beaten, bloody - but not dead.

"Be careful, you little bitch-" Wraith said as he turned around to face her. "You're playing with a very, very angry man right now…"

Wraith stalked towards her. Time was once she would have cowered in fear at the sight of the angry vampire king, approaching her with his sword drawn, and dripping with blood.

'I'm sorry,' she said, raising her hands to show that she meant no more harm. 'I'm sorry, I won't do that again. But please… I can't watch you kill them.'

Wraith sighed as he walked up the stairs, his sword vanishing from his hand. He glared down at her, anger seething at the surface. "I'm going to. They know it's not Vlad in control - I can't let them walk out of here, and warn everyone else."

Isabel shut her eyes for a moment. She had a choice. But like all the choices she had laid out before her in the past few months - they were all a facade. She never really had an option, not in any of this. In that split second, she made up her mind.

Isabel walked up to him, willingly, of her own accord. She put her hands on his chest, gently - resting them there in an embrace. He looked down at her with raised eyebrows, shocked that she touched him of her own volition. 'I'll make a deal with you.'

"Oh..?" he said with a sly smile. "What game are you playing?"

'We leave here. You and me. This place can be left alone for a long, long time without Vlad. Maybe you're right. Maybe he was manipulating me. Maybe away from here, I'll find out if that's the truth. Maybe away from here, I can give you a chance.'

"You're lying."

'I'm not. You know I'm not. We're bound to each other's blood. You can tell if I'm telling a lie.' The words left her easily, unfaltering. Yes, she was lying. And lying about that, as well. Her gift as an empath made her exceptional at spinning a tale. And he so very much wanted to believe her. Telling a lie that another wanted to hear was the secret to not being discovered. 'I want to try. I want to leave here. I hate this place…'

"Saves me having to keep up the illusion," Wraith said thoughtfully, with a small 'hmn' noise in his throat. "I assume you want me to leave everybody here 'in tact.'" He glanced a glare backwards at the two unconscious men on the floor.

Isabel nodded in response. 'That's the deal. My friends, Lyon - Adrian - everybody. You leave them alone. Do that… and I promise I'll try to love you.'

Wraith's face split into a joyful smile, and he reached down and scooped her up into a hug, lifting her off the floor. He put her back down, hands moving to rest on her shoulders. "You won't regret this!" Wraith's happiness turned into a playful smirk. "Seal it with a kiss?"

Isabel blinked, and took a moment to think it over. She nodded, and looked up at him with a faint, nervous and uncertain smile. Anything more would seem fake. She needed to play this off as if it were legitimate.

God, she was a good liar.

Wraith leaned down - and she kissed him. One of his hands slipped to her lower back to hold her closer to him. His lips were cool against hers. She kissed him back - wrapping one arm around behind his neck, pulling him close to her. Wraith or not, somewhere in there was the man she had come to love. Somewhere in there was the man to which she felt as though she was saying goodbye. Begging forgiveness.

His body twitched against hers. She felt him shift, felt him break the kiss as he looked down at her, and saw a glimmer of the man she knew. Buried somewhere within.

Two expressions fought for purchase on his face. One of shock and betrayal - another of acceptance. Of love. "Well done, little dove…" Vlad spoke through the madness, and leaned down to kiss her.

She met it, one hand wrapped in his vest, the other… was wrapped around the hilt of the silver dagger that had belonged to Adrian. Now, instead of a sheath of leather, it was a sheath of flesh and blood. She had driven it into his side - between two of his ribs. It was a needle-like blade, and it had gone into him without any real resistance.

It was a blessed blade, Adrian had said to her once. One that Vlad had made for Lisa - to end him, if the need arose. And right now, she had that need.

Vlad finally broke the kiss, and took a staggered step backwards. Isabel went to help him, but he lashed out at her, claws raking towards her as if to tear her apart, making her stagger backwards. "You traitorous cunt!" the words were Wraith's. One hand gripped the blade, and yanked it out, tossing it across the floor. But the damage had been done. Blood was pouring from the wound, soaking his clothes and beginning to pool on the floor. Both hands then went to his head, gripping his hair as if to tear it out. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

The castle around them rumbled once, as if in an earthquake. Isabel remembered the conversation she had with Lyon about what became of the castle, when Vlad died. It crumbled to dust - but became trapped in a nether-realm, dreamlike and removed from reality.

Isabel hadn't taken a moment to consider what would happen to her, when the building fell. If she would die, or if she would be taken along with it. She was bound to Vlad. But now, Vlad was vying for control of his own body.

Vlad collapsed onto the steps that lead up to the throne, one hand still pressed against his side.

Isabel took another step back - but two hands on her shoulders stopped her. Looking up - it was Adrian. He looked as if he had just been hit by a truck - and he basically had. He looked at the figure of his father. With two minds, fighting for the space of one.

'He had to be stopped…' Isabel winced, watching the man she loved lay there, dying.

"You did the right thing," Adrian replied quietly. "It is not easy to destroy those we love," he added after a pause. Isabel looked up at him, realizing that he spoke of himself. That somewhere, he too, cared for his father.

"I will take him to the grave with me," Vlad growled through clenched teeth. He let out a pained cough and leaned back against the stones. The hand that held his wound was crimson, and wet. "Shut up you piece of shit, you won't-" Wraith snarled, fighting still for control of Vlad's body.

Isabel watched as his shadow tried to split in two - as Wraith tried to fight for freedom - to escape to Adrian, or Lyon, or who-knows-who. But it could not get free. Vlad was making good on his threat. He would not let the ghost go free once more.

"Go, Adrian - leave here," Vlad coughed, snarling in pain as he fought both physically, and mentally, to stay above the surface of the darkness that was rising to claim him. Isabel felt tears fall down her cheek as she moved forward. But Vlad raised a hand to stop her. "Take her away from here. She should not share in this cruel grave of mine. I will see you when I return, little dove..."

Isabel watched, in pain and horror as he laid his head back, and went still. The ground lurched under their feet as the castle rocked beneath them. The sound of the parapets falling and crumbling could be heard, shattering glass as windows began to crack and splinter.

"Come," Adrian took her hand to lead her away.

'I can't-' she silently replied, tears streaming down her face. 'I can't leave him.'

"You will meet again…"

Vlad was dying.

It was not the first, nor the last, he would do so. Somehow, more often than not, he found himself here, on the steps of his throne, bleeding his lifeblood out onto the stone. Irony, perhaps. Fitting, definitely. That a king die upon the symbol of his grandeur.

The spirit had fallen quiet. Whether or not he would remain so - now, or after his resurrection - would remain to be seen. He would drag that cursed spirit down to the grave with him. What remained of him when he awoke, only time would tell.

He had sent them both away. His son - his love. Two creatures he could not stand to see trapped in this netherworld, trapped within the castle's walls while it waited in its ghastly limbo for him to awaken.

And so, he shut his eyes, and waited to die.

He was drifting, in and out of the waking world. In his dream, he felt her hands, gently against him, cradling his head in her lap. In his dream, she was stroking his hair, gently away from his face. In his dream, he was not dying alone, for the first time in all his many aeons of unlife.

He reached a hand up, in his nearly feverish state - reaching up to touch the phantasm of the woman he had come to love so dearly. He knew his hand would pass through air. That the coldness of death was all there would be to greet him.

Vlad's eyes fluttered open in surprise, as a warm hand took his, and he felt lips press against the cool skin of his palm.

"Isabel," he whispered - barely able to believe it. It must be a dream…

Tears were flowing, unchecked down her face, as she smiled weakly down at him. He heard her voice in his mind. 'You big fat fucking idiot,' she scolded him - somehow sounding forlorn through the bizarre insult.

No, he was certainly not dreaming. Even his dying mind couldn't have concocted that particular phrase. "You must go," he said weakly. "Leave here, before the castle falls… and takes you with it. Then, you will never leave here… Not truly. Not ever." He coughed, hissed in pain, his fangs bared despite himself.

The darkness was edging closer, taking over his vision. He hissed in a pained breath, and knew there would not be another. "Leave me…"

'I was never going anywhere.' She pulled him closer to her, resting him in her lap, her fingers entwining with his. Her other, still gently stroking his hair. Soothing him, as if he deserved such a thing. 'I can't leave you. Not now, not ever.' Isabel leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead. His eyes slipped closed, her words in his mind the last thing he knew before the darkness claimed him.

'I'll be here when you wake. I love you...'