The soft click of her stilettos on the marble floor echoed eerily around the empty hall. Shivering with cold, she sought comfort in the fact that she had at least found shelter from the relentless rain, however inappropriate it might be. Despite being an impressive construction, the rooms were almost bare and there was no electricity. Had the house been up a hill, Alice would have sworn she'd just walked into the Addams' family manor.

Lightning cut through the sky, illuminating the stairwell. Shrugging, she decided to explore the second floor—maybe she could find a furnished room, perhaps even a bed to sleep in. An electrical storm raged outside, allowing her to see a door standing wide open right at the end of the hallway. Approaching it warily, Alice peeked inside. It was a beautifully decorated bedroom that appeared to be clean enough. As she walked in, Alice was surprised to discover that it was also surprisingly warm.

Being a person who believed that good luck was her due, she never stopped to question if maybe the house was inhabited after all. Taking ownership over the place, she shed her soaked clothes and lay on the bed, sighing in pleasure at the feeling of the soft sheets against her skin. Sleep came easily—not once did her mind wander to the events that had led her there. Instead, her dreams were of the new life she was about to start as soon as she could get someone to fix whatever was wrong with her brand new Ferrari.

The sound of footsteps coming inside the room tore Alice away from her dreams. She wasn't worried, for she didn't believe in the supernatural, she only hoped that it wasn't a woman, for she was much more inclined to dealing with men. As usual, Alice got her way, and from what she could see, the man was startlingly handsome. Awareness washed over her, like it always did whenever confronted with a desirable specimen.

"Umm, hello. May I ask who you might be?"

Impressed by his gentlemanly question, she was amused by his shy demeanor: the shuffling of his feet, the way he tried to keep his eyes from her barely concealed form, the nervousness he couldn't keep from his voice. He was well dressed, but he held a bottle of whatever it was that poor people liked to drink, leading her to the conclusion that he was most likely the grounds keeper. Deciding that, since she was stranded for the night, there would be no harm in indulging in a little fun with the handsome stranger, Alice let the sheet drop, exposing her ample breasts. Little did she know he was just a predator playing with the lesser being.

"Does it matter?" Purring the question, Alice ran one finger down her throat, descending to her collarbones, letting drop further to circle her erect nipple. There was no mistaking the carnality of the smile she directed at him—even in the semi-darkness of the room, the invitation was clear. Desire coursed through her veins, permeating the air with the unmistakable scent of a female in heat.

"They are beautiful, but you paid a high price for them, didn't you, Alice?"

Startled out of the lustful haze that had been clouding her brain, Alice coldly assessed the situation. How could he know about what those valuable assets had cost her? How she had destroyed the only family she ever had for them? Well, he couldn't. Her foster parents were long gone, but he obviously knew her name… Did he recognize her from the news way back in the day? Were there current news already circulating? Since her purse with all her documents was under the pillow she'd been sleeping on, the only logical answer was that he knew her through the media. Her notoriety was mildly irritating, especially because it meant that instead of fucking the beautiful stranger, she'd have to deal with him, probably even kill him. Striving for innocence, she went for a diversion technique meant to afford her the time to reach for the pistol she always carried.

"Forgive me, do we know each other? If so, I'm so sorry, but you see the dark doesn't help! I can barely see your face and … "

Being an excellent markswoman, she hit the target on her first attempt. The shot should have been lethal, however the man still stood. Firing again, she felt desperation creeping in, for there was no reasonable explanation as to why the man still lived. She'd emptied the cylinder of the gun and still the man hadn't been brought down. Stunned and bewildered, she lowered her arm. The storm had relented, the absence of light and noise adding to the ominous atmosphere permeating the room.

"Are you afraid now?"

Flinging her body out of the bed, she tried to escape the abnormal stranger, but to no avail. Moving faster than humanly possible, he had her on the bed, pinned underneath him. Her situation was dire, but Alice wasn't about to give in so easily. He might not be human, but he surely was male and she knew how to lure males, how to manipulate them, how to get the best of them. Smiling saucily, she hooked her leg over his hips, rubbing her pussy against his cock.

"Such a pathetic attempt at seduction. Did you truly believe it would work, my dear?"

Unfortunately, Alice did. How could he have resisted her blatant offer? From the tender age of fourteen, when she had seduced the social worker assigned to her case, no man had ever been able to walk away from the sight of her naked body open in invitation. She had used it shamelessly as a ticket out of poverty, fucking her way to the grand prize: marriage to an exceedingly wealthy man. Of course, he'd been married at the time, but she had had no compunction in becoming his lover and eventually demanding marriage. Of course the idiot had tried to escape her clutches, but his wife had providentially been killed when he was on Alice's bed. She was his alibi: holding the power was so very sweet and she wielded it none without mercy.

"Once a whore, always a whore."

Insulted beyond belief, she spat at his face, trying with all her might to get free from his restraining hands. A slap to her face halted her frantic efforts, bringing her eyes back to the thing threateningly looming over her. Her devious mind was sorting through ways to escape him, when his dark laugh interrupted her train of thought.

"You can't handle me, little one. There is no escape. Today you will face the consequences of your actions."

Smiling inwardly, Alice decided which angle she would explore. Obviously, she was being confronted by some kind of punisher, bent on making her pay for her crimes. The best way to cool down his temper was to play the role of a poor girl victimized by the men in her life. It was the part she had performed before the courts years ago: the delicate woman woven in a web of lies by a cruel husband who had one day simply vanished along with his daughter leaving her to deal with the suspicion of foul play. It was obvious no one had believed her wild claims of being framed by an abusive spiteful husband, however her demeanor was so hypnotic, her beauty so heavenly, her words so smoothly spoken that public opinion had inexplicably swayed in her favor. People found themselves justifying whatever she had done to her husband, conveniently forgetting the issue of his child—such was the power of her allure. Of course some people saw the insanity of it all, but most were pawns in her game. In any case, no body, no crime. Oh, yes, she was a dangerous creature… And she knew how beguiling a helpless female could be, even to things that seemed to be of the supernatural kind. Or so she hoped. Alice was such an accomplished actress that she was able to even summon a few tears.

"Don't bother, my dear. You see, I know the truth about you."

The finality of his statement let Alice know that she had no chance of surviving the encounter. Afraid, but still defiant, she raised her chin and held his gaze.

"What do you want?"

Curiously fascinated by her show of bravery, he studied her for a few seconds before voicing the one thing to which he didn't have a definite answer.

"Why did you do it?"

She smiled viciously, but said nothing. Her mind was filed with the pleasurable memories of tormenting her so called husband. It had started as mind games, but after sometime they weren't enough to satisfy her voracious appetite for destruction. Torturing his flesh had been entertaining for some time, but soon his body had caved and she had to deal with the issue of his rotting flesh. Quartering and spreading had been a victorious strategy up until the day some stupid redneck had found a nasty looking arm. Smart woman that she was, years ago Alice had put in place a contingency plan in case any evidence should arise. She was in the middle of enacting it when she had found herself stranded facing the thing staring at her.

"Not the man. The child. Why give her to that woman?"

"She sought me out because she wanted to be a mother, so I provided her with a child. I wanted both of them out of my life. It was the logical thing to do."

Although appreciative of her honest response, he moved his hands to her head and broke her neck, but not before she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her last thoughts weren't of panic or contrition—even when confronted with death, she wasn't able to regret her sins or even acknowledge the most horrible one she had committed. She could only think of the money she wouldn't get to enjoy and the pain she wouldn't get to inflict. Slightly surprised by the profound corruption disguised by such an enchanting exterior, he shook his head against his own naïveté. What else could he expect from the fruit of Carlisle's rotten loins and his sister's profaned soul?

Disciple of Jezebel, thou shall never again steer good men way from the path of justice.