Von Krolock was awoken by a sharp kick against his ribs and when he looked up he found Cristian standing over him. "Ready to tell me where they are?"
"Fuck you," Von Krolock muttered, earning another kick.
"Hold him down," Cristian ordered. Peter grabbed hold of the shackles at Von Krolock's ankles. Ivan tried to grab the ones holding his wrists but Von Krolock nipped at him, scraping the man's hand with one of his fangs.
"He bit me!" Ivan shouted as he held his hand protectively against his chest. "That fucking thing bit me!" Von Krolock laughed as he watched Ivan panic. "You think it's funny? Laugh at this you little shit!" Ivan kicked Von Krolock hard in his side causing him to roll over. Von Krolock closed his eyes and braced himself for another kick but it never came. Instead, he felt something against his face. Opening his eyes he found a leather dog muzzle was being placed over his mouth.
"You won't be biting anyone now, will you?" Cristian whispered as he buckled the straps of the muzzle behind the vampire's head. Von Krolock immediately tried to reach back to undo them but Cristian grabbed his wrists and held them down while Peter connected both sets of shackles with a chain to restrict Von Krolock's movements. "Tell me where the other vampires are." Von Krolock shook his head.
"I will not tell you," he said to them. He hissed when he felt the drops of holy water burning his skin again.
"If you tell us I can assure you a quick painless death," Cristian said, "but if you continue to protect them..." He allowed a few more drops of the water to fall on Von Krolock's stomach and he watched the small tendrils of smoke rise from the sizzling skin.
"Do whatever you want to me. I will never tell you where they are." Cristian pushed Von Krolock over, forcing him onto his stomach and Von Krolock screamed as a cross was placed over his back, burning into the welts left by Cristian's whip the night before.
"We'll be gone for the day," Cristian said when he finally pulled the cross away. "I hope you enjoyed your meal last night. We won't be around to feed you again until tomorrow." Von Krolock lay motionless on his stomach; his back burned horribly but it wasn't until he saw the three men leave that he allowed himself to finally pass out from the pain.
-.-.-.-.-
Liliana watched through the kitchen window as her husband and his friends left the barn and walked to his car. They seemed distracted and she couldn't help but notice the padlock left hanging unlocked. She never went into the barn even though Cristian had never once before told her to stay out of it and she couldn't help but wonder what he was hiding from her now. She watched as they got in the car and drove away and once she was sure they were gone, she left the house and went over to the barn.
Pulling the door open, she stuck her head inside and listened but she could hear nothing. With the bit of light provided by the rising sun Liliana could see only a little of the inside of the barn but deep into the other side was pitch black as Cristian had boarded up the windows. She lit a lantern and stepped inside and gasped when she saw the large number of crosses that lined the walls. "He's gone mad," she whispered. She moved a little further and stopped when she came across a table. She held the lantern over it to get a better look and cringed when she saw an assortment of razors, branding irons and other objects.
"What is he-" Liliana stopped when she heard something move in the next room. She walked through the doorway and stared in horror at the unconscious man who lay on the floor in the middle of the small room. He was chained to the floor, a muzzle had been placed on his head and his back was covered in wounds. She hung the lantern on a hook and ran over to the man. "Sir? Are you alright?" She touched his shoulder and gasped at the coldness of his skin.
"Wake up... Please wake up..." She gave him a gentle shove and he moaned. When she brushed his long hair away from his face his eyes opened half way. "Sir...?" His eyes moved a little and when they finally rested on her face, he tried to pull away from her. He rolled onto his side and she took in the sight of the wounds on his face, neck and torso. "What have they done to you?" She gasped. She reached for him but he pushed himself into a sitting position and moved further away from her. "I won't hurt you," she said gently as she crawled closer to him. "I want to help you. Let me take the muzzle off."
He remained still as she approached him and she could feel his eyes on her as she worked to undo the buckles behind his head. Once they were free, she dropped the device on the floor and sat back to look at him. "My husband did this to you," she said softly but he didn't respond. "You're from the castle just outside the village aren't you?" He nodded. "I am terribly sorry for what he's done." She looked at the shackles around his wrists and ankles; picking up the heavy chain, she tugged against the bolt screwed into the floor but it wouldn't budge. "I never imagined he would go this far with those stupid theories of his. Vampires, I mean," she added when she saw the look of confusion on his face. "He swore you were a vampire." Liliana looked down at the floor, her embarrassment causing her to laugh a little. "I know how insane that sounds... a grown man still believing in fairy tales." She gave the chain another tug and sighed. "I will have to have someone come and cut you out of these things. Is there something I can get you in the meantime?"
"I could use something to eat," he replied in a raspy voice.
"I have some oatmeal on the stove," she told him. "Would you like a bowl of that? Or maybe some eggs?" He shook his head slowly and Liliana shivered when one of his cold hands wrapped around her wrist. "There's chicken leftover from dinner last night. I can... what are you doing?" He pulled on her arm forcing her to move closer to him.
"Eating," he growled. He leaned in toward her neck but Liliana swung her free hand and hit him where the layer of skin had been pulled away. He let out a yelp and when he released Liliana, she backed away quickly until she hit a wall causing one of the crosses to fall. She stared at him as he cowered on the floor, clutching the side of his head. When he finally lifted his head to look at her, she covered her mouth to stifle a scream when she saw the fangs in his mouth. He stumbled toward her on his hands and knees but she grabbed the fallen cross and held it out in front of her.
"Stay back!" She screamed, clutching the wooden symbol tightly in her hands. He fell back a little, groaning and hissing as he tried to protect himself from the cross. "You... you're a vampire," she whimpered. "No... this can't be happening. You can't be real... Stay away from me!" She thrust the cross forward a little when he looked at her and he turned away again, lying down on the floor to cover his head with his arms.
"Please stop! Take it away!" He groaned from beneath his arms.
"I tried to help you! I was going to get you out of here and you were going to kill me!" Liliana pushed herself up to her feet, keeping the cross in front of her.
"I'm sorry," he cried. "It's just been so long..."
"See? I told you I forgot to lock it!" Both Liliana and Von Krolock looked in the direction of the door when they heard Cristian's voice. "Stay here, I'm just going to run in and make sure our guest hasn't gotten into any trouble." Liliana looked down at Von Krolock who was now sitting up again. His entire body trembled and she took a step toward him but froze when he glared up at her.
"Get out," he hissed. "Get out of here now!" She replaced the cross on its nail and hurried out of the room and behind a stack of boxes, blowing out her lantern just as Cristian walked into the barn.
"Well what do we have here?" He asked as he walked into the room and hung his own lantern on the hook Liliana's had just been on moments before. "How on Earth did you manage to get that off?" He picked up the muzzle and without warning he hit Von Krolock with it, the metal wires lashing the side of his face. Liliana crept out from behind the boxes and was about to sneak out of the barn when the sight of her husband hitting the vampire caused her to stop. Cristian dropped the muzzle then kicked him in the stomach repeatedly until he lay completely limp on the floor.
Liliana clamped her hand over her mouth unable to believe what she was seeing. She knew how mean he could be but she never imagined he would be so brutal to someone so completely helpless. She wanted to stop him but she could only imagine what he'd do to her if he found her there in the barn. She watched helplessly as he raised a branding iron he had picked up from the table. "I had this made specially for you," he said. He pointed it at Von Krolock and the vampire closed his eyes against the sight of the small iron cross.
Cristian traced along the outline of Krolock's body with the branding iron keeping the cross barely an inch away from him. "Let's see. Where should I... ah yes!" He pressed the iron cross against the soft flesh of Von Krolock's side just above his hip. Liliana suddenly felt queasy but she wasn't sure whether it was the burning smell or the long guttural groans and cries coming from Von Krolock that made her feel so sick. He moved the branding iron around, burning Von Krolock's shoulder, his lower back, the back of his neck and eventually Liliana found the strength to move again and she ran out of the barn and back into the house where she couldn't hear his screams.
-.-.-.-.-
Liliana spent the rest of the day trying to keep herself busy. She found if she sat for longer than just a few minutes her mind would wander to Von Krolock. She couldn't help but feel terrible for him. She wanted to do something but she was completely helpless; Cristian had locked the door when he left and even if he hadn't, Von Krolock was chained to the floor. Now that she knew he was a vampire she was too afraid to risk having someone come to cut the chains. He had almost bitten her and if she managed to set him free, she feared he would bite her or someone else.
On the other hand, he had said he was sorry. She wouldn't put it past him to say anything at all to get her to take the cross away but she believed him when he said he hadn't eaten in a while and she couldn't help but think he wouldn't have tried to bite her if he wasn't starving. Then he had told her to get out when they heard Cristian coming. She didn't know why he should have cared. Chances are if Cristian had seen her in the barn he'd have been so angry with her that Von Krolock would have been spared the beating as she would have received it herself.
Liliana was staring through the kitchen window at the barn wishing there was something she could do to help him when Cristian stumbled into the house with his friends. Cristian tossed his jacket on the table as they walked through the kitchen and into the living room. She picked it up and as she placed it on the coat hanger she felt something in his pocket. Slipping her hand inside she found the key to the barn. She listened to the men's loud chatter in the next room for a moment to be sure no one was headed into the kitchen then she quickly pulled the key out and hid it in one of the cabinets.