Sorry it took me forever to update... I am so busy this year...
A strong wind whipped Allena's hair around her neck as she made her way back to the opera house. She did not trust herself to fly in this wind. Instead, she decided to take a shortcut through the fields of grass by the farmers' houses. The grass blew up around her, tickling her ankles so that every now and then she had to reach down and itch them.
Now that her thirst for blood had been quenched, Allena had no desire to stay out in the harsh wind. Picking up her pace, she looked out across the fields and saw she still had a ways to go before she was able to get to the road.
She growled in annoyance as she bent down to itch her ankle again.
"Hello, my darling."
Allena froze. She did not turn around.
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you ran away from me," said the man behind her. He laughed. "But of course we both know you would never do such a thing."
Allena felt his icy breath on the back of her neck before she gasped as his cold fingers slid down her arms.
"Now," said Dracula, "let's do this the right way."
He brushed back her hair from her shoulder and ran his tongue along her neck.
"Just one moment of pain," he whispered in her ear, "and you will be mine forever."
The impact of those words hit Allena just as Dracula's fangs elongated. She quickly slipped out from under his arms and ran.
She heard an echoing laugh that sent chills down her spine and made the hairs on her arms stand up. She kept running, not looking back – until she bumped into a solid object and landed on her back below Dracula.
Dracula stepped closer to Allena, so that now he was standing with his feet on either side of her waist.
"Darling," he crooned, crouching down so that they were face-to-face, "Running will get you nowhere. Stay with me, and I can give you eternal life!"
Allena's breath was coming out in gasps. She willed herself to move, but her body would not obey. In fact, her hand was reaching up toward Dracula's face of its own accord. She winced as her hand caressed his icy cheek, and he clasped his hand around hers.
"That's it," whispered Dracula, moving so that he was on his knees. "Touch me... want me..."
He slid his fingers through hers and pinned her hand to the ground.
Her heart was beating faster...
His fingers slowly, tantalizingly worked their way up from her chest to her neck.
Cold sweat was beginning to form on her forehead...
His fang ran over her cheek, creating a thin line of blood.
"This time," he promised, "You will desire my blood just as much as I desire yours..."
Suddenly, Allena's head cleared, and when she looked up, what she saw was not a seductive, enticing thrill of a man, but a terrible monster hiding beneath a mask of dead flesh.
Rage mixed with fear engulfed her, and she immediately transformed into the hideous bat-creature. She used her wings to propel herself out from under the now angry Dracula. But before Allena could even fly a few feet, Dracula had transformed into his true form and pinned her to the ground once more.
The rage taking over her senses, Allena tried once again to push Dracula off of her. Now in his true, terrible form, Dracula would never allow that to happen. As rage filled Allena's eyes, it also filled Dracula's. He suddenly threw her into the air with his powerful claws, and before she could become airborne, he snatched her back down and was once again on top of her. Straddling her thighs, he yelled, "You will obey me!"
Allena screeched as Dracula tore his claws into her chest, creating long gouge marks. Her shriek turned into a cry of pain as she transformed back into her human form. She could hold on to the rage no longer; her fear was overpowering her anger.
She instinctively curled up into a ball as Dracula lashed out at her with his claws. She could tell he was not using his full force, just enough to remind her who was the master. Dracula did not want her dead, she knew, but that did not stop him from slashing her over and over again.
Finally, after what seemed to Allena like the most painful hours on end in her life, Dracula ceased to hurt her and transformed back into his human form.
His breathing harsh and ragged, Dracula bent low over Allena and said menacingly, "I will give you a choice. Come find me in Transylvania, and I will forgive you and make you my bride. Stay here, and I will find you once again and kill you."
Allena was slowly slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing she saw was Dracula stepping over her, and then everything faded to black.