The Vampire Mistress

Disclaimer: I do not claim Phantom of the Opera or its characters. I only claim my story.

The first thing Erik noticed as he regained consciousness was the pounding headache he had and the focused pain on a spot on the side of his head.

He couldn't help but let out a moan at the pain, his body feeling sluggish and weak as he tried to sit up. Brief memories of what had happened came back to him and he sat up, reaching to touch the spot on the side of his head, wincing at the sensitive skin. His forearms also felt sore and bruised, most likely from the grip one of his captors had used on him. Erik brought his hand back down and tried to listen to anything that would tell him about his surroundings through the pounding in his head.

It was quiet, almost too quiet. He couldn't hear the constant noise of life outside, neither through cars or people. That told him he was either someplace abandoned or in the wilderness. The sound of crickets told him it was night but little else.

Erik was aware that someone might be watching him at that very moment but didn't feel another's presence, especially not from anything like he had felt in his apartment. He has never been in this kind of situation before and took deep breaths to calm his fast beating heart. It worked a little but he knew that he was at a huge disadvantage. If his captors were who he thought they were, his blindness wasn't even his biggest vulnerability.

He being human was.

Erik had to take advantage of being alone. He had no idea when his captors would come back and he needed to use the time to become aware of what was around him.

Feeling weak but determined, Erik ignored the pain in his head and slowly stood up on shaky legs. He used his hand above his head to make sure he didn't come into contact with anything that could hit his head and didn't.

However, his fingertips briefly touched something cold and metal above his head.

The touch made Erik pause and he moved his hand to further explode but couldn't tell anything besides it being the possible ceiling of the place he was in. It was low for a ceiling. Curious, Erik used the hand on the metal ceiling and placed his other hand in front of him to make sure he didn't bump into anything.

Carefully, he began to walk forward and within few feet, his hand in front of him came into contact with a metal rod.

Frowning, Erik slide both of his hands until they met above him. The rod was connected to the ceiling.

A sense of dread filled the pit of Erik's stomach as his mind came to a conclusion that he didn't want to believe.

He dropped his hand from the ceiling but used the one that had been on the rod to slowly go to the side. A few inches next to the rod, another rod was placed and then another and yet another. The rods guided him all around what Erik now began to picture as a square formation, each connected to the metal ceiling above him.

As he went, the dread inside him grew and it started to become harder to breathe. When he completed the four wall of rods, he stopped. He swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the sudden bile trying to come out of his mouth and the wave of nausea that had been forced forward.

Erik wrapped his hand of what he now recognized as a bar, using that as his guide to hunch forward until the cool metal met with his clammy forehead.

He was in a cage.

Nadir paced back and forth on the living room carpet. He was sure that he would create a rut into it before he was calm enough to stop, not that he care about that. Carpentry was the least of his worries at the moment.

"Please, Mr. Khan, sit down." Miss Daae requested from her spot on the couch, her tone pleading.

He sent her a scowl, as far as he was concerned this was all her fault, her and her partner that was sitting next to her.

"My best friend has been kidnapped by vampires, ones that are obviously the killing kind by the news recently and you wish for me to sit down?!" The last part came out as a yell, making the vampires in the room cringed.

"Nadir, please!" Antoinette pleaded from her spot on the chair, her hand reaching out for him to take.

Nadir let out an angry breath through his nose but went to her. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. He knew that she was having as much of a hard time as he was and felt the need to comfort her. There wasn't another chair near Antoinette to sit on so Nadir sat down on the arm rest of her chair. He sat, facing the vampire couple in front of him and gave them his best no-nonsense stare.

"Who are they?" he demanded.

The couple winced and shared a look. They silently communicated for a moment before turning back.

"It's not so much they as their leader." Miss Daae began. "Her name is Carlotta."

"Why in the world would she take Erik?" Antoinette asked, her skin having taken on a pale sheen ever since she had heard that Erik had been taken.

Miss Daae hesitated, making Nadir scowl.

"Do not lie, I think we deserve to truth." Nadir stated firmly.

Miss Daae nodded and Mr. de Chagny gave her hand a squeeze where it was resting in his hand on his knee.

"You're right. Forgive me, it's difficult to admit." Miss Daae began. "Erik was taken because he's our mate."

"So this is all your fault." Nadir accused.

"Yes." Mr. de Chagny admitted reluctantly, his eyes not being able to look at either of them.

"But what does him being your mate have to do with things? Is it common for vampires to go after each other's mates?" Antoinette questioned with a frown.

Miss Daae shook her head quickly. "No! It's actually kind of a taboo, there are very few of us around as it is. Killing a vampire's mate means killing the vampire."

"It's personal then." Nadir concluded and Miss Daae looked away at that.

"Yes, Carlotta and I have a terrible past and she has never forgiven me for what I did to her." Miss Daae whispered almost to herself.

"What happened?" Antoinette asked calmly though Nadir could tell that she was getting impatient at the speed of things.

Miss Daae glanced back up and stared at both of them. The focus of those eyes made Nadir want to cringe but he forced himself not to.

"I was young, barely a child in terms of our age. Feeling powerful and strong, I was incredibly reckless in everything that I did. I had just lost my father and didn't care about what happened to me." Miss Daae explained. "I was in Barcelona and had discovered a group that ruled the vampires of Spain. Carlotta was the mistress in charge and took me in as a possible new member."

Miss Daae paused, biting her lip nervously. As much as Nadir wanted to press her to continue he remained silent, knowing that she would explain in her own time.

Eventually, Miss Daae sighed and continued. "I didn't care to be in this group and rebelled against all their rules, claiming that my way was better and as time went by, others began to agree with me."

"You started a war." Nadir declared.

"Something like that." Miss Daae agreed. "It didn't last long, but at the end of it Carlotta was overthrown and I was to become the new mistress of the vampires of Spain. However, I didn't want such a responsibility and I…"

"Left." Antoinette finished simply to which Miss Daae nodded.

"I left Spain to defend for itself and Carlotta tried to regain her position but it never happened. She has been chasing me ever since, searching with a few that had remained loyal to her and wanted revenge. I had thought that when I had come to America, I had lost her for good, it was only after I heard about the death of that woman that I knew that wasn't the case." Miss Daae finished, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"When did you stop being reckless?" Antoinette asked, her tone curious.

Miss Daae smiled and her eyes went to Mr. de Chagny, who met her eyes and had his own soft grin.

"I came to Paris after a few decades and I met Raoul. He changed me into something more, something that I was proud of being." Miss Daae squeezed Mr. de Chagny's hand who returned the gestured.

Nadir had no doubt in his mind that the two of them loved each other. It was written in every motion they made towards the other but…

"And now she's after Erik to get revenge on you."

Miss Daae lost her smile. "Yes, she had been after Raoul while he was human as well but we were able to avoid her until Raoul was turned. As a vampire, he's harder to kill therefore, not an easy target." Her eyebrows furrowed downwards. "I have no idea how Carlotta could have found Erik. It's not common for vampires to have multiple mates, extremely rare in fact, but she knew and had taken him."

"What are we looking at here in terms of revenge?" Nadir asked, his tone coming out as calm but his insides filled with dread at Miss Daae's possible answer.

The sorrowful look the couple gained was hint enough. Not being able to take sitting anymore, Nadir jumped off the arm rest and began to pace again. He has never felt as helpless as he felt now, and being a detective has led him to being in some pretty helpless positions. But none of them involved a loved one and he couldn't stand it.

"Carlotta was smart, she took Erik during rain showers, making sure that his scent couldn't be followed." Mr. de Chagny broke the tense silence. "However, she is keeping him alive. We would know otherwise."

That made Nadir slightly relax but another part of his mind perked up. "Why would they do that?"

Miss Daae bit her lip. "Because she would want to kill him in front of us, make the bond we share all the more shattered with his death."

Nadir saw Antoinette pale, which was scary since she had been an unnatural white since the whole thing began. He quickly went and kneeled in front of her chair, taking her hand in his. She met his eyes at his squeeze, tears glistening in her eyes but not yet fallen.

"We'll find him Antoinette, he'll come back to us." Nadir soothed.

Antoinette gave him a weak grin. "That's a nice thought, but…"

She couldn't finish the sentence, instead pressing her free hand to cover her mouth and blinked, twin tears falling down her cheeks leaving streaks. Nadir couldn't help but sympathize. They were in a terrible situation. Erik was taken by vampires because of a revenge plot over something that happened before any of them were born. Nadir knew that Erik was a strong person, but he couldn't and didn't want to imagine what could be happening while they were sitting together talking.

Nadir gave Antoinette's hand another squeeze before turning back to the vampire couple. Both of them look weary and ragged but there was a certain sheen of determination in both their gazes, one that Nadir appreciated.

"What can we do?" Nadir questioned.

Miss Daae shook her head. "Sadly, not much. With Erik's scent gone, we can't hope to track him. We know that he's alive and will be searching when we can but Carlotta will the one to call us in."

"She'll let you see only when she wants you to." Antoinette whispered softly, taking her hand away from her mouth to wipe her eyes.

Mr. de Chagny nodded.

The summoning arrived two weeks later. The longest two weeks Nadir has ever had in his entire life.

He had come home from his shift at work and spotted a small package on the table. Nadir immediately left his apartment and called the others. They arrived within a few minutes, Mr. de Chagny having gone to get Antoinette from her place.

Miss Daae had been the first to enter the apartment, making sure no unwanted presence was there. When the coast was clear, they all went back inside and Nadir went over to the box. It was about the size of a shoe box, though Nadir handled it more like a ticking bomb. Carefully he unwrapped the package and lifted the lid.

Nadir's head whipped around at the sound of two sharp gasps. His view taking in the sight of Miss Daae and Mr. de Chagny hunched over, covering their mouths and noses with their hands. Their eyes were blown almost completely, and Nadir briefly caught a glimpse of a couple long teeth poking out of their mouths.

Antoinette made her way over to the box and pulled out what was a small vial that was fill with a red liquid.

"Don't open it!" Miss Daae commanded as Antoinette's hand went towards the top of the vial, her voice containing a small lisp. "It's Erik's blood!"

Alarm washed over Nadir at the realization of what was in the vial. Upon seeing the red liquid and the couple's reaction he had suspected but had hoped…

"There's something else." Antoinette announced, reaching back into the box. She pulled out a piece of paper and read its contents.

At the sight of her eyes widening with horror, Nadir gently took the paper from her hand. He turned it over and read it, panic growing as he read.

The wait is tiring, but the human's blood is delicious! You better hurry if you want to have him back before he runs dry!

—Carlotta

And there you go! Another chapter for my readers! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it! How many of you got the enemy right? What did you think about Erik being in a cage? Next chapter will be in Christine's POV and that one is going to be the showdown! See ya next chapter!