Chapter 2
Far away
Something inside Sara's head felt like it was banging in her ears and head. She felt as if her entire body was lead. For some time she just lay there in silence not even bothering to open her eyes. She felt she had had one of the worst dreams of her life. Something about a man attacking her in the dark. Had that been it? She wasn't even really sure. Thank God she was now awake, not being plagued by nightmares.
Slowly, very slowly she opened her eyes.
No words can describe the way she felt then as she looked around the room. It felt as if the bottom of her stomach had fallen out and all she was left with was this feeling of emptiness, on not knowing. She couldn't even make a sound. Her whole being was completely frozen.
This wasn't her room.
It was large. White walled with dark wood floors. She lay in a large four-poster bed with thin white curtains hanging down the sides. To the right of the bed there were large windows that also asked as doors unto a balcony. The whole room almost had an antique Italian feel to it.
Where was she? It took a minute before the real panic came rushing upon her in full force. She had been kidnapped! She had no idea where she was or who had brought her here for that matter.
She quickly jumped out of the bed having suddenly found the strength in her legs again. Running to the widows she tried to make out where she was but the night had concealed the landscape around her.
What was going on? Why was she here? Sara was in all out panic mode now. Tears started to form in her eyes and soon she couldn't stop them from running down her face. She ran over to the door and started pounding on if with all her strength.
"Let me out!" she screamed as she continued to fight the door. "Let me out!"
Suddenly the door opened. Standing on the other side was a tall man with bright blond hair and pale skin. He just stared at her for a moment as if waiting for her to do something.
"Come with me" he said in an unmistakable Australian accent. The way he said the words were unthreatening, just kind of matter of fact really. This startled Sara. She was ready for aggressive and forceful. The way he said it left her confused. With out realizing it she found herself fallowing him out the door.
He led her through a long, dark corridor lined with many paintings. Unlike the room she had woken up in the rest of the place seemed to be rather dark. She also figured that this had to be sometime of mansion or maybe even a palace or castle. The place was huge and it took awhile to reach their destination.
It was a large old office, two stories tall with a stair in the corner leading up to the second floor platform. The room was furnished with large old looking furniture. The dark walls were lined with books ranging in different sizes and shapes, some big and some small. People stood around talking to one another but stopped when they realized that she was there.
They all looked strange. Something wasn't right about the way they moved. The movement was too smooth to be normal, as if the rules of motion no longer applied to them. Most of them had oddly pale skin and dark eyes. Only one stood out at her though. His face looked hard as stone and his nose looked like it had been broken and someone had tried to put it back in its right place but failed. He was a large muscular man with bright grey eyes and sand blond hair that rain down to his shoulders. The man from last night.
"Welcome Sara" he said in a strong east European accent. From which country though, she couldn't place. "I hope I find you well?"
For the longest time Sara didn't know what to say. She just stood there shocked as everyone had their eyes on her. "You killed him" was the only thing that managed to escape her mouth though.
"Who? Your friend?" he said laughing. "He didn't matter."
"What the hell are you?" she asked slowly regaining her confidence. What did it matter to her? For all she knew she was already as good as dead. "Why did you bring me here?"
The man tisked at her. "Manners Sara. We mustn't forget manners. But what am I saying? I also seem to have forgotten them. Please forgive me. My name is Vladimir. You may call me Vlad" and he gave a short bow with his head.
Sara could hardly believe this man. He seemed to have some right out of the Middle Ages or something. "Still haven't answered my questions," she snapped at him. Behind her she felt that her guard had taken a step closer as if he feared she might actually attack him physically or something. She wasn't that stupid. The man standing in front of her could easily take her. She was surprised though. She couldn't believe that she was actually acting like this when all she wanted to do was huddle in a corner and cry.
"Come now. I know you're smarter than that. Don't tell me you haven't already figured it out yet," he said smiling.
Sara thought about it for a moment then gasped. She could see Matt's body on the floor of the club with his blood running down over his neck. Slowly she lifted her hand to her own neck and felt the small puncture wounds that had been left from what she had thought was just a dream.
Letting out a small cry she tried to back away from the monster in front of her but the firm grasp of the man behind her stopped. "You're not real!" she yelled at him.
He came closer to her still smiling. She could just make out the sharp eye and canine teeth. With each step that he took her heart seemed to skip a beat.
"Why can't I be real?" he asked her calmly. "You think we don't exist just because we are put in the fiction section of your libraries? Teen angst and surprisingly enough even love is put there yet you are willing to believe in them quick enough". Vlad came close to her now. So close that she could feel his cold skin against her chick making she shiver against her will and he whispered into her ear " we vampires are more real than your precious love" and with that he stepped back.
Sara's head was swimming in thought or lack there of. This could not be happening. Vampires didn't exist. They were just apart of ten year olds imagination. All she could seem to do was look at him.
"Now that all of that is settled I am sure you would like some time to think things over. If you wish, you may go anywhere in the castle and grounds when you feel like it. You may not, however, go into any locked doors, as they are not meant for you. Erin will now show you back to your room" and with that he turned her back to her, as she was lead from the room without any resistance, and was soon gone.
From the top platform there came a strong laugh and everyone looked up. The man who had made it slowly walked down to join the others.
"What do you think?" he asked the others. "She certainly has fire". He knew everyone was looking at him wondering what he had up his sleeve this time. He wasn't even sure himself.
Vlad laughed, the only one brave enough to do something like that in front of him. "I will agree with you on that."
Barely audible even to his ears, he suddenly heard somebody take a sharp deep breath in. Looking around the room to find the one responsible he spotted a vampire in the corner. He walked over to him as stopped just shy of touching him.
"Would you agree?" he asked the young vampire. Looking into his eyes he caught the slightest flicker of doubt before he answered.
"Yes" he said trying to play it calm. That was all the man needed.
"You don't like me do you?" he asked strongly. "You think I am some crazed old vampire?" he was laughing now. He could see the slightest change in the other vampire telling him that he had calmed down a bit. Good. Now he suddenly turned very serious. The vampire before him became visibly scared with in a matter of a second. "I am" and with that he grabbed the mans head and twisted it an obtuse angle. One could here the bone and cartlage break inside the neck. Lets see if a vampire can recover from that, he thought to himself, and walked out of the room.
