Chapter Four

The house was quiet, only the sound of the atrium fountain could be heard. Patrick sent the servants out for the night, as well as Cecily. He needed some time alone to work on his latest project and he did not need her chatter about the wedding in his ear. The architecture would have to be perfect for the DeLorne home. He wanted no distractions from anyone.

Just as he was about to make the finalizing line on the east wing, he heard a thump from down the hall. He looked up, squinting into the darkness.

"Hello? Cecily?" he called, trying to make out any movement. When there was none, he simply shook his head and returned to his work. The east wing would be tricky. He had to make sure the walls were sturdy enough to hold the archways down the hall...

Thump

Patrick looked up once again, this time removing his reading glasses and picking up a candle from the table. It's flame lit only a few feet in front of him, but as long as he could make it to the hallway, he could see...

Thump, thump.

"Hello?" he said, rounding into the torch-lit hallway. Nothing. The lights flickered little round shadows off the walls, but that was the only movement he could see. With a sigh he turned slowly back toward the study. As he did so, he came face to face with a black wall of cloth.

"Hello, Patrick." the wall said, making him stumble backwards with a gasp. Before him stood a tall, black clad figure, cloak and all. Smiling wickedly, the figure removed his hood with black gloved hands.

"Wh-who are-"

"Now isn't that question a mite rhetorical? You ask me who I am, I tell you and then...well, then you die. And let's be honest, who wants to waste all that time, when I could just be killing you." the figure said, flashing Patrick another smile. Canines glinted in the torch light and yellow eyes starred back at him through the darkness. For a moment, Patrick thought he was speaking with a cat, but that just seemed silly. As a matter of fact, he wasn't really sure what he was facing.

"I'll give you whatever you want. Money-"

"I don't want money, Patrick." the man hissed, smile still planted firmly on his sleek features.

"Then...please...I-" Patrick tried, finding that his throat had gone rather dry. He backed quickly away, but the creature only laughed and lunged forward, snarling like some primeval beast. Patrick screamed. The creature laughed.

With one swift, fluid motion, a pair of sharp fangs bit into Patrick's neck, piercing the thick vein that pulsed there. The animal latched on and drank deeply while Patrick tried to panic, but the strong arms pinning him to the floor seemed like led weights. It was nearly impossible to move.

But, just as he was about to give up, the weight lifted slightly. He found himself in a sort of tipsy swoon and the room began to spin as he was hauled to his feet.

"I thought about just draining you dry. But, see, where's the fun in that? Usually I would just go right on ahead and kill you, but your case seems special, Patrick." the creature said, tossing him heavily through the door of a near bye room. Even by the carpet he now lay on, Patrick could tell it was his bedroom. Their bedroom

"I don't...please..." Patrick begged, the fight leaving him like his blood had. He knew vampires were a myth. He knew it! He would not let himself believe that this was happening. He wanted so much for it to be a nightmare.

"Not a nightmare, mate. I's real. Your gonna die and she's gonna be alone. End of story. That's how it's gonna be." the man said, hauling Patrick up by his collar. Patrick was too weak to fight back, even though everything inside him screamed for him to do so.

"I gave my heart and soul for her! I loved her. She was mine!" the creature snarled, backhanding Patrick across the face. He felt bones snap and the animal gave a satisfied grunt.

"I killed every one of her friends. All of them, mate. You know why?" the man asked. Patrick blinked weakly and the animal shook him.

"Because she deserves to suffer. For every single thing she's done to me. She made me feel things..." the man stopped, looking away for a moment. It was as if he were trying to hold back tears. "She made me feel." he emphasized. Patrick could see, even in his drunken state that the man was nearly in tears. He wondered what on the earth this beast could be talking about. He knew about the killings of Cecily's inner circle, but he wasn't one of them! He wasn't a gentleman! He only wanted to marry her...

And like a bolt of lightning, it hit him. He was going to die because he was marrying this creature's...obsession. This was William. The one whom she spoke of as a prat. A nancy boy and a sham. But Patrick could see now that he was none of that. He, instead, was a love crazed animal burning with vengeance.

"I'm sorry..." Patrick croaked. The animal stopped, squinting his yellow eyes up at Patrick. His grip on Patrick's shirt loosened.

"What?"

"I said...I'm sorry." he repeated, this time slightly weaker. He was losing steam and fast.

"Sorry? S'at all you got to say for-"

"I'm sorry she'll never love you..." he faultered slightly, but dared to finish. "Like she loves me." he said with defiance. If he was going out, he was going out on top. That he was sure of.

The animal screamed in sudden fury and slammed Patrick against the wall. He snarled again and flashed his fangs close to the weeping wound on the man's neck. Slowly, he took a deep breathe.

"My name is Spike, mate. Do you know why my name is Spike?" he whispered close to Patrick's ear. Patrick shook his head slowly.

"Take a wild guess..." he sneered, reaching into his cloak and pulling out three dangerous looking railroad spikes. With an evil grin, he dropped Patrick to the floor and let the torchlight dance off the metal of the spikes.

Oh, God... Patrick thought as the demon picked him up again by the throat. Spike snarled one final time before driving the stake into the man's thick forehead. He only laughed when a spray of blood danced over his cloak. And he only smiled at the expression of pure terror on the man's face.