Chapter 9: Larten Crepsley

It was very compact inside the coffin. Gillian wrapped her arms and a leg around Larten and rested her head on his chest. The vampire did not move.
She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent.
Master ...
Gillian tried to calm down her beating heart. Nothing moved in the chest of the man underneath her, no breathing, no heartbeat, so that the drum of her own heart seemed unnaturally loud. She wished she could tell her body to stop breathing, she knew she would not choke, her halfvampiric blood would not allow that. Nevertheless, it signaled the body, that the oxygen was scarce, and panic began to crawl up inside her.
Calm, stay calm, I must not breathe.
Gillian centered on these words as a mantra, and slowly, very slowly, she became calmer, her breathing shallowed and her heartbeat slowed so that the claustrophobic feeling became weaker.
Soon she was lying there complete motionless, one would think she was just as dead as the vampire.
Larten, what are you planning?
Gillian knew that the vampire was in a kind of trance, in which he would not hear when she spoke, and would not react when she moved. At this hour, when the sun was up, vampires were most vulnerable. He was able to wake up, but it cost him tremendous effort and energy - and blood - to keep himself awake and being able to act, even now where he was deep under the earth protected from sunlight.
But Gillian guessed, that her master sensed, what was happening around him.

When she had seen him in this state for the very first time, she was very scared.

One day, curiosity won and she had put all her courage up and dared to open the coffin in which he slept and looked inside. He had been lying there lifeless, like a dead man, and the longer she had been staring at him, the more difficult it had been for her to believe, that he would ever get up and walk around again.
She had almost begun to doubt that he had ever walked and talked to her at all; she had begun to believe, that everything had just been her imagination.
But as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the vampire had opened his eyes and emerged from the coffin, refreshed, as if he had just taken a small nap.
She had been worried, that the vampire would be angry with her, because she had opened his coffin, while he rested in it. But he had not even mentioned it, and Gillian wondered whether he even knew that she had done it or not.
Then one night, she had climbed to him in the coffin for the first time.
It was a bitterly cold and stormy day, and she and Larten had been forced to break in an unknown grave at a cemetery, shortly before the sun rose. She was tired, exhausted and terrified.
So she crawled to him in his improvised shelter, and had snuggled up to him. Although Lartens body could not spent her any warmth, she had immediately felt safe and protected, and had fallen asleep from exhaustion in a sudden.
When she woke up again, the vampire had not stirred a finger, and later he had never given to understand, that he knew, she had been lying next to him.

Yet Gillian was sure, that he could feel it.
She was still half human and blood rushed in her veins.
She knew that Larten could perceive her, when she was so close to him, even though he appeared unconscious.

Gillian fumbled with her left hand until it came to rest on the vampires face. She gently ran her fingers across his cheek and lips.
She sighed, pressed herself closer to him, and hid her face at his neck.
"Larten ..." she whispered, breathing in the scent of his skin.
His skin was cold and his body did not smell alive. His clothes emanated a scent similar to patchouli. But her sensitive nose could smell something more underneath : the smell of his blood.
Vampire blood.
There was no pulse in the veins on his neck, and on his cheeks was not a hint of blush. Nevertheless, he was wearing a fragrance in itself, which was creating in Gillian a tingling sensation which crawled up into her fingertips.
This was not the usual smell of blood.
Ordinary, real, warm blood, makes her stomach growl, and made her hungry as a tiger, especially if she hadn`t eaten for long.
However Lartens blood electrified her.
"When will you take me to you?" She whispered in his ear. "I beg you, Master, I am ready. Make me one of your kind at last. Let me fight at your side, if you want to stand up to Mr Tiny. Let me finally be useful. "
Her hand went to his neck and her long, razor sharp fingernails scratched his skin.
Gillian knew she was playing with fire.
If she injured a sleeping vampire, it was quite possible that he reacted instinctively, and attack her without asking who she is.
Nevertheless, she gently pushed aside his collar and gave his neck a small cut, just deep enough that a little drop of blood appeared.
Gently, she pressed her lips to the wound and licked up the delicious liquid.
A shiver ran through her body, while the blood tingled on the tongue and her heart was pounding.
The small wound closed down under her lips almost immediately, so she took only a tiny sip, while her senses demanded more.
But before she could react, the vampire suddenly moved: his arm shot out and grabbed her roughly by the neck.
A growl came from his breast, which would have made Gillian freeze in fear at any other time.
But right now, she wasn`t capable of any thought, she only knew, that the blood of the vampire rushed through her body, giving her a feeling of being high, like on drugs.
"Gillian," growled the vampire.
He pulled her with one hand away from his neck, but Gillian lounged with delight and wrapped her arms and legs around him.
"What are you thinking you are doing !", Larten scolded her.
She did not hear, she felt the taste of his blood on her tongue, and had the feeling that she was closer to him, than ever before.
And this feeling was so great for her, that she did not care whether her master was angry with her or not.

Right now, she would accept any punishment he might give her, if only she could feel so close to him – even only for a short moment.

Larten Crepsley swallowed hard as he understood what she was feeling.

Gillians body trembled, as the vampires grip in her neck became stronger, and her high feeling vanished, when she realized, how angry her master was.
Had she been mistaken? For a second she had the feeling, that Larten longed being close to her as much as she did.
When his blood conveyed what he felt.
But this feeling was gone, now there was only the cold mind of the vampire and the only emotion that he seemed to have, was furiousity.
What did Larten say was certainly clear: "You have a job, watch over the boy," and his strong arm pulled her away from him while he sat up and pushed the coffin open.
Gillian was thrown out of the coffin and the lid closed again, before she had a chance to look at the face of the vampire.

She stood up from the cold stone floor, rubbing her elbow.
She tried not to tremble, or to weep, because she did not want Darren to see how frightened she was.
She squirmed away quickly and tried to set her hair.
But a new terror made her loose all the blood from her face.
Darren was nowhere to be seen.
The assistant of the vampire had gone loose.