The world was moving in a fog, thick and heavy. I felt as if the last hour had passed underwater and I was finally loosing the last of my held breath. My chest was tight and my hands ached from curling and uncurling my fists. Sanura sat in the seat beside me in the back of the car, and Isaac who had been less than friendly for a while now was driving.
He' turned on the radio to discourage talking after my many attempts to find out what exactly I was going to see tonight. I imagined dozens of scenarios in which Colette tortured Josep in front of us, and we were made to watch silently, unable to so much as complain. The ideas were making my stomach turn, and it hadn't been until Sanura pulled me up against her shoulder into a hug that I'd been able to breathe calmly. We'd spent to ride pressed together, her stroking my hair and murmuring that it would be alright whenever I began to hyperventilate again. Now that she didn't hate me anymore, Sanura was showing her inner mom. Part of me couldn't help but think that if I wasn't carful she'd adopt me as her own. Then again, the way Isaac was acting tonight, I might just let her.
When we pulled up to the manor, my lungs began to spasm again, and Sanura hushed me gently, kissing my temple and whispering soft soothing words in Italian. Though I couldn't understand them, they comforted me, or more aptly, the idea that she would be with me through this was comforting. As much as I would have liked to turn to Isaac in this situation, he was in no position to comfort anyone.
The front door opened before we'd made it onto the porch and a tall gaunt man stepped out onto it looking at us as if we'd been scraped off the bottom of his shoe. When Isaac moved in front of him however, the man, who was dressed like a butler smiled wide and unnervingly and gestured that we enter the house.
"The madam is tending to another matter at the moment; she's asked that I escort you into the lower levels. It pleases her to allow you all your last words with the traitor before he is made to ash."
"How nice of her." I seethed quietly, getting a glare from the creepy tall man. Isaac was no more pleased by my comment.
"Shut your mouth, Mira." He said in his cold grey voice, "you will show Colette the respect she demands."
I kept back an angry retort only because I saw the furrowed look on Sanura's face and recognized that he'd said demands, rather than deserves. The butler didn't seem to catch on however and turned a renewed, ass-kissing smile on the grouchy vampire.
"Right this way."
Sanura's fingers slipped down to mine and laced them together. I squeezed once to let her know that I was alright for the moment and we moved into the house, following the creepy bastard I was beginning to suspect as a shadow. He took us passed the lounge I had been brought to the night Isaac had brought me here. The same night he'd crushed my hand in his fist just to please the bitch queen. We had come a long way since then, but part of me wondered, with his current mood if he was still willing to do such things to me. I decided I'd stick to Sanura and not find out. The creepy shadow led us into a small study, walking up to a set of floor to ceiling bookshelves and smiling brightly back at Isaac. His pale, skeletal hand moved to one of the old leather bound tomes near the center of the shelf and he pulled it out a moment. I heard the click of a latch and the bookshelf popped open. The butler pulled it open all the way and motioned us into the hall that led to a set of descending stairs. I pulled myself closer to Sanura as we moved into the dimly lit hall and began our way down. I wondered if Isaac's manor had a hidden floor like this one, but knew not to ask him anything at the moment, instead focusing on how incredibly chilling this place was.
The walls were white plaster until we'd gotten halfway down the stairs. They quickly became rough stone as we moved into another hallway lined in torches. I felt as if I'd walked onto the set of a Dracula movie, but kept the comparison to myself for the time being, knowing that no one was in the mood to appreciate it at the moment. A few yards ahead of us the hall was intersected by another. The butler took us to the left but as we were passing the right I heard the distant sound of someone crying. At least I'd thought it was behind us, until the butler came to another stop and I realized the sound bounced around down here.
There wasn't just one crying person, there was a cell of them. A small stone cell packed tightly with every brand of human they could find. Some pressed themselves against the back wall at the sight of us, watching Isaac and Sanura carefully, expecting to be made a meal, because that's what they were I realized, a stone pantry of food. There were some that had been fed on recently, slumped down on the floor, or propped back against the wall with blank looks on the fear-strained faces. The ones that weren't feeling the effects of blood loss were careful to keep us in sight, though the sight of me, another human with the vampires, seemed to calm them just a bit. If I was on the menu, then they were safe.
"Can I interest you in something to eat?" the butler smiled in his wide and creepy way, "We carry a fine selection of ages and blood-type. I am told that you prefer the younger females, Mr. Llewellyn." His odd black-brown eyes moved to me a moment then returned to Isaac. "This is the madam's private stock. We keep them away from the other kine to avoid tainting. These silly things tend to mount each other at every opportunity."
Isaac's eyes moved over the trembling humans a moment before he thankfully shook his head and the Butler turned his attention of Sanura, addressing her for the first time.
"Ms. Di Maio?"
"I'm fine thank you." She replied with a tight smile and the butler nodded.
"Very well then, if you would follow me this way." He turned on his heel and began moving down the hall again passing doors placed deep into the stone. Halfway down the hall, he stopped and grabbed the handle of one, pulling a thin skeleton key from his vest pocket and unlocking the door. It was thinker than I'd imagined but that thought fled my mind when the door opened and inside, sitting on a rickety wooden chair was Josep.
I had to stop myself from running in and throwing my arms around him, but my face lit up at the sight of him. When he saw us, the tension melted from his body and he gave a slight smile. The butler ushered us all into the room and politely excused himself, closing and locking the door behind us. If I weren't so happy to see Josep alive and not tortured, I might have felt like a prisoner myself. He was dressed well for someone who was about to die. In a fitted dark blue suit and a chocolate colored shirt that matched his eyes, he looked fantastic.
"You're ok." I said before I could stop myself, but the vampire was kind enough to smile and open his arms to me.
"Were you that worried?" he asked with a charming smile as I allowed myself the comfort of hugging him like a lost brother.
"Of course I was." I grumbled, resting my head on his chest while he held me. I think he knew I needed the comfort and was more than willing to give me my moment.
"This is stupid." I grumbled pathetically into his suit jacket. The vampire chuckled, kissing my temple and pulled me back enough to look me over. His eyes slipped down to my shirt and brightened, and for the first time since England, he flashed that wonderful boyish smile.
"I told you it would look wonderful." He said, nodding to the silky, draping top I wore, the one he'd chosen for me when we'd gone shopping in England. I smiled, and blinked away the first of my tears, but Josep's hand rose to cup my cheek. His thumb stroked gently across a falling tear, wiping it away.
"Oh, hush, darling, don't waste your tears on me. I don't deserve them."
"Don't stat that shit." Sanura snapped before I could, making him chuckle, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes and suddenly I felt like I was drowning again.
A knot formed in my throat so tight I couldn't speak and I turned away, beginning to tremble. Josep titled his head and cupped my face. For a moment he searched my eyes, and then with a smile, he kissed my forehead.
"It will be alright." He promised, but I couldn't believe him. He was going to be murdered in just a short while, how could anything be ok?
"Of course it bloody will." Isaac snapped from the far wall. His hands were in his pockets, and when Josep glanced over at him, he kicked the wall with a whispered curse. I wrapped my arms around myself and watched the younger-looking vampire approach him.
"I shouldn't have to tell you to treat her well." Josep said, titling his head to catch Isaac's eyes. The latter rolled them stuffing his hands further down into the pockets of his pressed pants, letting his ink-black hair fall into his eyes to cover them. We had all dressed formally tonight, as if we were attending a funeral.
With a tiny grin, Josep reached out to brush away the hair, and his fingers strayed on Isaac's face. His expression was tender, his eyes dancing down to the other vampire's lips and back before, quite suddenly, he'd taken hold of the back of Isaac's head and was pulling him into a kiss.
I stood frozen, watching as Isaac went very still and Josep twisted his fingers into his hair, pressing him back into the wall. It lasted only moments, but they seemed to stretch forever until Josep, with a soft sound of pleasure, pulled away, and searched Isaac's shocked face.
"I've wanted to do that since Prussia." He grinned wickedly. I covered my mouth, masking a tiny giggle, that thankfully went ignored by them both. That had been unexpected, I mean sure, to me it seemed logical that vampires would bend any way they pleased, but I'd never actually seen two men kissing before.
Honestly, it wasn't terrible.
"Boy, if you weren't due to be ended in minutes, I'd tear you in half." Isaac's words held little conviction, and Josep only laughed, running his thumb across his lips.
"Come now, Llewellyn, we all know the things you've done when the doors are closed. Sanura was never great at keeping secrets."
"I'll have to talk to her about that." He grumbled, eyes snapping to the vampire in question who did her best not to smile too brightly. Laughing at this, Josep moved to give Sanura a friendly kiss as well. He was opening his smile to say something when the lock on the door turned and suddenly flew open.
Colette liked to make her entrances it seemed.
The bitch queen was just as I'd remembered. Young and slight, seemingly harmless while her cold cornflower blue eyes scanned us. She was dressed in a grey and black wool blazer over a knee-length black dress. As always she looked far too sophisticated for what her age should have been, but somehow she managed to make it seem normal. However, there was just something creepy about a young almost-child holding herself convincingly as an adult.
"I see that you have all arrived." She spoke slowly, her eyes stopping on Isaac when they found him. "Then we can proceed." On cue a pair of large vampires clumped into the room and moved to stand on either side of Josep. "We will be doing this in The Chamber."
My eyes burned with tears and I felt my chest tighten again as the bitch turned on her expensive black heels and walked off down the hall, knowing we'd follow. I drew in a hitching breath but before I could release a sob, Josep was beside me, his fingers twining with mine. The vampire pulled my hand to his lips and smiled in her charming boyish way. God he looked so young.
"Stop your sniffling Mira." Isaac said from his place against the wall, but Josep was quick to shoot him a look and turn back to me.
"Colette wants you here because it will hurt you. Do not give her the satisfaction."
I sniffed, my throat sore and knotted. "I don't think I can help it." I said softly, hating how broken my voice sounded in a room full of dry-eyed vampires. Why was I the only one who seemed upset by this?
"Oh, sweet girl, you barely know me." Josep reached out to stroke my cheek gently, his skin was cold and hard like stone. "I don't expect you to mourn a stranger."
"I don't care how well I know you, Josep. You don't deserve to die."
The vampire smiled, looping his arm with mine and leading me down the hall after Colette. "We'll just have to disagree on that." As we walked, he chuckled and leaned down to speak softly in my ear.
"You know, I bet it chaps your boyfriend's ass that you took to me so quickly and called him a monster at every turn."
"He's not my boyfriend." I snapped back in a whisper. "And we both know he can be a monster. Right now for instance, doing absolutely nothing to help you."
Josep stood straight, abandoning the pretense of secrecy, since we all knew the vampire in question could hear us, even if he was walking a few yards behind. "You know he has no choice."
"Of course he does." I said, looking back at Isaac and catching his patchwork eyes. "He could say fuck the bitch queen and help his friend."
Josep's hand curled around my back and slapped down over my mouth, his expression going serious. When I looked back ahead of us, Colette was no longer down the hall but standing right in front of me. She had her creepy girlish smile on but as she titled her head to regard me it melted away.
"Isaac has made no more progress in taming you then he had when we met. Does he really stand for such arrogance and disrespect?" Josep still held a hand over my mouth but it didn't matter because she didn't wait for my response. "Perhaps I should do it for him. You don't need your tongue to be his shadow. You don't need your arms and legs either, for that matter. Shall I relieve you of them?"
"She is scared my queen, she speaks without thinking." Josep uncovered my mouth and gave me a meaningful look. After a moment I realized what it meant.
"He's right." I said quickly, trying to screw my face into something that seemed regretful. "Forgive me my que-"
My words were cut out by a choked gag when suddenly her slender little hand was around my throat. We'd moved across the hall and she had be pressed back against the stone wall, and I knew that the power with which she'd slammed me against it was going to leave one hell of a bruise. Colette's eyes were consumed with angry black, her fangs extended and she hissed like an angry cobra ready to strike me down.
"You do not speak to me you filthy little mortal whore." She spoke in the terrifyingly deep voice I'd heard her use on Isaac. Like a thousand different voices trapped in one, as if she spoke through the souls of all she had killed. "You believe Isaac will protect you from me but with my command I could have him tearing your flesh off in strips like and apple. You forget it is my will that allows him to keep you. My will that keeps you alive and I have grown tired of his lenience with you." Fear had washed over me like a frigid wave of water. I trembled under her grasp, clawing at her hand as if I might get her to loosen her grip on my throat.
"You can't do anything to me." I managed to rasp, despite the many angry and frightened looks of was getting from the three vampires behind the queen. "Cernunnos would never let you."
"Mira." Isaac hissed, but suddenly the queens grip fell away and she stared at me in confusion.
There was a long moment of silence and Colette turned to look at first Josep and then Isaac. The latter she approached. "The girl spoke of the Green Man, but I thought it nonsense." Her eyes narrowed and she reached up to grasp his chin. "What have you been keeping from me?"
"My Queen," a suited vampire appeared in a stone doorway to our right, bowing his head. "The chair is ready."
She did not respond, instead she searched Isaac's carefully blank expression and scowled. "You will explain." She finally said and released his face to snap at her guards. They quickly swarmed in on Josep and pulled him into the stone doorway and the room beyond.
After Colette had followed them in, I snuck a look at Isaac who's eyes had gone black and were locked on me. I flinched when he appeared before me and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me into the room as well.
"We'll discuss this later." He said in a voice that spoke of anger and promised pain. I decided not to say anything else.
The room we'd enter was much bigger than it had seemed. Incredibly so. It was around 40 feet long and nearly as wide. The center of the room was lowered into the floor in a circle with steps cut out all the way around in. It looked more ceremonial than anything, with a large steel and wooden chair that had been placed at the center. As I watched, Josep was strapped into the chair, with thick steel cuffs locked around his ankles and stomach. Thankfully, she called off the guards before they could secure his wrists as well, and told them to wait outside until needed. We were left alone then with the queen and Josep, Sanura silent at my left, and Isaac digging his fingers into my arm to my right. Colette moved to stand before Josep with a smug smile that made me wish they'd all attack her while they had the chance.
"Traditionally this would be the part where I lay out your crimes and tell you what your punishment will be, but I do not find it necessary."
"I know how you like your traditions. You wouldn't want to spit on them by including one in this mockery of a trial." Josep replied, just as spitefully, with a smile to melt hearts.
"Mockery?" The queen laughed. "You killed one of our kind, Josep. More importantly an Elder of your people, one of the oldest. Your maker and lover. Our law dictates that for such a grievous offense you must be put to death, and I cannot see why you would have ever believed otherwise."
Josep sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, "We all know why you have sentenced me, and we know why you sent away the witnesses." He nodded toward the door and her guards. "Let's just get this over with so you can have your precious power."
Colette's eyes narrowed again, but she smiled, leaning down to stroke her long nailed finger across his cheek, drawing blood as she went though it healed just as quickly. "Silly boy, that would be a mercy to kill you immediately." She lifted her fingers to her lips, licking the blood clean and closing her eyes a moment at the taste. "You ran from me Josep, killed my spies and disappeared with your stolen power. For that you will suffer."
Josep laughed without humor, glaring up at her with eyes that were steadily darkening, "It must be torturous, knowing that he kept the secret from you all those years. They both did." He titled his head at her, "In the end he chose me."
Colette stared at him a long moment, seeming as if she might strike him or have another crazy voice fit, but instead she let her lips curl into a cruel smile and looked toward the stone door. "Bring him in." she called and suddenly the smile on Josep's face melted.
I jumped as the heavy metal door was dragged open behind us and a masculine cry bloomed from beyond it. Seconds later a man in his mid-thirties was dragged in and thrown to the floor at Colette's feet. She smiled in her cold way while Josep's eyes went momentarily wide and the man began to sob.
He was dirty, clothed in ragged jeans and a stained, off-white tee-shirt. They had beaten him it seemed, I could see the dark bruising down his arms and coloring his pale face. He might have even been handsome before the swelling and blood had covered the majority of it, I thought pityingly and slipped my finger around Isaac's hand until he squeezed back reassuringly, the first comfort he'd offered.
"Destin?" Josep spoke slowly as the dazed man pushed himself back up and looked around. When his gaze found Josep however, there was a spark of light and hope that made the vampire outwardly cringe. The man crawled forward as fast as he was able and wrapped his arms around Josep's leg like a lost child.
"I thought they'd killed you!" The man, Destin it seemed though it struck me as such a youthful name for him, cried. He didn't care that he was openly crying in front of an audience or perhaps he'd truly forgotten us at the sight of his vampire companion.
"Calm, Destin. I am fit as a fiddle, you can see that." Josep bent forward to run his fingers through the man's hair, who visibly relaxed at the contact. It was such an odd sight, I thought, Josep who appeared to be a young man and his lover who was obviously middle-aged. What an odd dynamic they must have had. Though I had to admit the man clearly cared for Josep, loved him even by the way he settled so easily against him. The way he looked at him.
"I was so scared when you left, Josep." Destin was saying and his broken voice made my heart hurt even more, "You didn't tell me where you were going and then they took me." He sniffed back more tears and curled into himself, more tightly around Josep as if holding onto him would keep him steady. "They didn't believe me when I said I knew nothing. They…they hurt me Josep."
"Hush now." The vampire replied and drew his finger down to stroke the man's cheek, smiling faintly when he leaned into the caress. "It's over now, m'bello." Josep leaned forward and kissed the shadow's forehead, then lifted his chin to gaze into his eyes.
"You understand what is happening here, do you not?" he asked slowly, suddenly very serious again.
"Y-yes, but-"
"No buts," Josep snapped, then closed his eyes and seemed to relax at least outwardly for his shadow. "This is not something you can change. Now stand up straight, you are better than this, Destin."
With great reluctance the man did as he was told, but took a firm grip of Josep's hand and refused to relinquish it, knuckles white with the power of his hold. Josep turned his eyes for the first time to our little group and the breath I'd been holding hissed out.
"Sanura, darling, I know it's a terrible thing to ask last minute but would you-"
"No." The finality in Colette's tone made me jump. I'd almost forgotten she was here, but now the pale heartless bitch was baring her fangs and glaring at Josep with malice. "You have broken our law, Josep, and so by that law your life and all you posses is now mine."
Josep seemed to understand some deeper meaning in her words because immediately he pulled Destin down by his hand and into the most passionate kiss I'd ever seen exchanged between two men. It was broken however when one of Colette's vampire servants stepped forward at her nod and grabbed the human by his upper arms. He dragged him just out of Josep's reach from the chair and held him there as Colette approached. Destin began to panic but Josep did his best to calm him.
"No, m'bello, look at me. There's my boy. Everything will be fine." he strained to keep himself seated as Colette stepped up behind Destin and grabbed the sides of his head. He was halfway through a cry for help when the vampire simply twisted and the words were cut off by a wet crack and then nothing. She continued to twist until the tendons and flesh split from each other and the man's head was torn completely from his body.
I watched in morbid fascination as Josep closed his eyes in grief and then Colette dropped the head, letting the red-dripping thing bounce along the floor and roll onto its side to face me. I could see the muscles in his face, still twitching and his expression was one of extreme terror and pain. For a long moment I could only stare into the dead eyes of the face until my vision darkened around the edges.
The next thing I knew Isaac was holding me against his chest and gripping my wrist so tight I feared it would break. Apparently I'd only lost consciousness long enough to crumple toward the floor but Isaac's quick catch had jolted me back. I blinked as I tried to stand strait again and leaned against Isaac for support. Josep was looking my way now, as was Colette though her interest left quickly enough. He seemed mildly concerned for me but turned back to the heartless bitch they had named their queen when he'd seen that Isaac was taking care of me.
"You needn't have killed him." He said slowly, jaw tightening when Colette kicked the rest of the corpse out of her way to avoid the spray that was jetting out of his throat now.
"Yes, "she sighed with a cruel smile, "but you cared for him, did you not? If we had the time I would have had him tortured for you, Josep."
"What a shame." He replied through his teeth, now decorated by his fangs, long and fierce as if he were still starving, and his pupils swelled to consume the rest of his eyes.
"Indeed." She replied, moving to lean down level with him. "You know, it really should have been Amhlaoibh who told me the secret. It is my right as Elder to hold such knowledge, yet it was Daniel who shared it with me. It was insulting, as if the bastard didn't hold himself high enough already."
"He knew how you'd use it." Josep said, eye narrowed in hateful black on Colette. "Make no mistake, you desperation for power is known by all your subjects and it will be the death of you. My only regret is that I will not life to see it."
Colette smiled reaching at and running her hand over his blond hair. "No," said slowly, "you won't."
Josep had begun to reply then and I waited for it, watching the expression on his face go from anger to shock. It wasn't until I looked down at her arm, sunken down to the elbow in his gut, that I understood why and nearly collapsed again. My knees wobbled and Isaac's hold on me grew tighter, partly to keep me upright, but mostly to stop me from charging the vampire queen in my horror.
The two of them stared at one another for a moment, her smile widening as Josep coughed up blood onto her nice clothes. She twisted her arm and from inside of him I hear a sickening wet crack followed by the sound of tearing. He grunted, but never let out a sound of pain, simply stared at the vampire, gripping the arms of the chair so tightly the steel was denting inward.
I let out a strangled sob then, unable to help myself, covering my mouth with my hands quickly and shaking my head in disbelief. Tears rolled down my cheeks and plopped down on the dusty stone floor and Isaac squeezed me tighter. Josep turned slowly, his eyes pausing on Isaac a moment before falling to me. Though it was obviously a strain to do so, Josep's lips parted for a smile. He did it for me, but the blood staining his teeth was anything but comforting. Colette saw this and caught my eyes, then with a short laugh, she jerked her hand out of his chest.
It took me a moment to recognize the bloody lump f meat in her hand as his heart, but once I did my eyes went to Josep and his face. I was stunned to see him conscious, if it only lasted a second, but in the end, he'd never lost that smile. I watched as his head dropped down, limp on his chest, and he began to whither right in front of me. It was as if his age had caught up to him. His skin lost its luster, his hair began dull and lifeless and then it was falling out. His flesh dried and shrank around his body until it was too much and split off the bone. Just as that had touched the air, however, it began to disintegrate. What was left behind barely looked human. The face was deformed and feral, the fingers long and clawed like an animal. I couldn't bring myself to look away from him until Colette drew an excited breath and lifted the heart to her mouth. I expected her to try and suck on it, but my stomach rolled when instead she took a bite. Blood gushed out of the muscle, rolling down her chin and arms, but she was lost in whatever she took from this, and soon she had eaten the entire thing, licking her fingers clean.
"It makes sense." She said then as she'd sucked the last of Josep's blood from her forefinger. "The power is in the blood, but the heart controls that. Regulates it." Her eyes rolled back in pleasure and she smiled big a bright, looking truly disturbing with blood running down her front and up her arms.
"I can already feel it." She said, her voice full of joy and wonder, "Like Amhlaoibh is inside, giving me his strength." When her eyes opened they were black and gleaming in the dim light of the chamber. "Is this what it always feels like Isaac? This rush?"
I turned a curious stare on the vampire in question, but he was not paying me any attention. Instead he stared at Colette, carefully keeping his eyes above the chair and the corpse.
"I have never killed one of our kind for this purpose." He replied, but the queen chuckled.
"No, you let Daniel do that for you. You know that there isn't a fool who would try to accuse him of anything."
Isaac didn't respond for a long moment, but took a slowly steadying breath in. "We we seen what you wanted us to witness?" he asked, "Or is there more?"
Colette turned her eyes to Sanura, who was frozen, her eyes locked on the dead creature in the chair, then to me as I trembled uncontrollably but met her gaze just the same.
"I'm feeling generous." She smiled, appearing in front of us to stroked Isaac's cheek. "You surprised me, sweet boy, I thought you would try something foolish for your friend here. I am pleased by your loyalty."
"I didn't do it for you." He replied hollowly and suddenly pulled away, taking my wrist tightly. "I will await your summons." He said.
The queen's black eyes moved back to me and she looked me over. "We will have much to discuss."
He nodded and turned on his heel, dragging me after him as we left the room.
"Sanura, darling, would you be so kind as to dispose of the rest. I would like time to acquaint myself with my new strengths."
Isaac paused long enough for her to nod stiffly and look our way. "I'll meet you at home." She said before turning back to the body. I could not look at it anymore because I feared I'd be sick. Instead I let my tears blurr my vision and walked as quickly as I was able to keep up with Isaac.
He hadn't said a word. Not one fucking word to stop anything. He hadn't argued or even asked that she show mercy in his death. He'd stood there, silent and cold and cruel and watched his friend murdered for a crime his queen had fabricated. And for what? To eat his heart and steal the power and strength his maker had gifted him. It sounded ridiculous, but I'd watched it all and could deny it. In the back of my mind I feared what it meant for Colette, but decided I couldn't handle the stress of that one top of everything else. Instead I just let myself sob uncontrollably until Isaac scooped me up into his arms and traced us out of the house. He opened my door and tossed me inside, clicking his own seatbelt into place and started the engine before I'd managed to close my door. I didn't care that he was being mean to me right now though. I couldn't.
Josep was dead. Not vampire dead, but shriveled and never coming back dead. The thought made my chest so tight I struggled to breath and my sobbing grew louder with my building horror and grief. My throat ached and my cheeks were burning from the salt in my tears, but I couldn't stop. I felt as if there was a blade buried deep in my gut and each time I thought back to the way Josep had shriveled to a mummified corpse twisted the blade and doubled my pain.
"Enough Mira." Isaac said suddenly. "I cannot deal with your wailing at the moment, so stop crying."
At that moment the grief boiled up inside my chest, bubbling and mixing with a rage so potent it made my head spin. If my eyes could turn black when I was feeling enraged they would have.
"Stop crying? Are you kidding me?" I shouted startling him enough that he looked at me with slightly widened eyes. "I know he wasn't my best friend and you knew him way better than I ever could, but fuck you Isaac!"
"I'm not sure I follow." He said slowly, and the speedometer began to creep upwards.
"I liked him too! He was funny and sweet to me and so brave," I had to pause to take a breath through my tears, "And he was honest. He always told me exactly what he thought no matter how I would take it. No one is honest with me Isaac, but he…" My voice broke and I had to cover my face to muffle the sobbing.
"He died for nothing!" I cried, suddenly furious, "That greedy bitch Colette wanted his power, that's all! There was no reason for any of this. And you fucking helped her!"
The car sped up a bit more, but I was on the war path, shouting at him without thinking.
"You could have let him escape, you could have done something!"
"You think I don't care?" he asked, voice silky and dangerously calm.
"That's exactly what I think!" I exclaimed, "Josep is dead and you haven't so much as frowned. You don't give adamn about him!"
The air exploded from my lungs as the car came to a screeching halt, throwing me against my seatbelt, and fishtailing, nearly hitting a tree. I turned to curse at Isaac, but his door was swinging open and he was gone. Then there was the terrifying sound of wrenching metal, like crashing cars and my door went flying off into the trees.
I was next, ripped out of my seat and tossed off into the darkness before I could scream. Isaac was waiting to catch me before I slammed against a tree, but almost immediately his fingers curled around my throat and he lifted me up off my feet again. I choked and sputtered and clawed at his hands, but it was no use.
"You have no idea, NO IDEA, how deeply I cared for that man." His grip tightened until I thought he would crush my throat. "Now he is gone and you have the gall to accuse me of…" his voice trailed off, surprising me enough to pause though I couldn't breathe. "You can't imagine how hard it was to take him to her, Mira. How hard it was not to…"
Again he couldn't finish and very suddenly Isaac's grip fell away and I crumpled onto the ground at his feet, coughing until I thought I'd lost a layer of flesh in my throat. Isaac stepped away from me then, shaking his head. His eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight, like polished obsidian gems and his fangs extended as if he were starving.
The vampire let out a roar, inhuman and endless. It seemed to rip from his very center echoing out through the trees. It made me gasp, though it hurt to breathe, and draw away from him. He wasn't interested in me anymore though because the vampire moved again.
Flashing toward a tree so quick he left tracers, he grabbed the lowest branch and ripped it off with a sound like crashing thunder. I ducked down, covering my head and peeking out to watch him toss the thing into the woods to crash against another tree and explode into splinters and sawdust. Almost before the first had hit, he grabbed another, pulling the small tree from the ground entirely and hurling it over my head and into the car. I screamed out of instinct and fell back on my hands and knees to crawl away from the violence and sound. He'd sent the car skidding off into the road and crumpled in the front end.
Growling like a beast from Hell, Isaac continued to break everything he could get his hands on. Crumbling rocks in his fists and decimating the plant life. I remained huddled down at the tree line, terrified that he would remember I was there and tear me apart. I remembered the hunters and trembled, feeling sick with fear. Then, when I was sure he'd take down the forest, Isaac collapsed onto his knees, head in his hands, and went still.
I didn't move for a long time, too afraid to catch his attention, though he could surely hear my crying. If he did, he paid me no mind, and soon the silence around us was just as frightening.
"Isaac?" I called timidly, wiping away my tears. He didn't move, didn't even pretend to breathe. The vampire just sat there, silent, still, and unresponsive. And though I was afraid of him, it worried me.
"Isaac?" I said again, crawling forward slowly until only feet separated us. I almost asked if he was ok, but bit it back because obviously he wasn't. And then, close enough that I could reach out and take his hand, I noticed that he was moving. He was shaking. My hand reached out slowly, and I swallowed, blinking away the moisture in my eyes.
"Touch me and I'll rip your fucking arm off."
His voice startled me in it suddenness, but was strangely soft, lacking conviction. I couldn't see his face, still crouched behind him, but the more I watched the more it seemed as if he were…but no. It wasn't possible. Isaac was heartless and evil and so many terrible things.
"Isaac, I didn't mean it." I said slowly, pulling back my hand to hold myself. "I was angry and miserable and I took it out on you."
"Go away, Mira." He murmured, voice soft and reedy. Again I wondered if such an unbelievable thing was possible, but it couldn't be.
Isaac couldn't possibly be crying.
I crawled around him on my hands and knees, keeping a small distance between us and stopped when I was facing him. His hands still covered his face and shadow concealed the rest, but he was definitely shaking.
"I don't have anywhere to go." I said, sniffling.
He didn't answer me after that, and fearing that he would remain here and leave me to find my own way to the manor, I inched closer.
"I'm sorry." I said, "I shouldn't have said that. I know you loved-"
"You don't know the first thing about me." He snapped, finally looking up, and shock had me falling back onto my butt as I stared at him.
Tears. Honest to god tears were streaking down his face in reflective, silver streams, though his eyes were black and cold. His fangs had receded enough that he no longer looked like a rabid animal, but his posture said he could snap again very soon. Knowing this, and with his threat in mind, I leaned forward and threw my arms around his neck. The vampire stiffened at first and his fingers closed around my arms as if to throw me off, but I shook my head, squeezing him tighter.
"It's ok." I said against his neck, "You don't have to pretend with me." My voice broke and I tried to speak around my sore throat. "I miss him too."
Isaac relaxed then, or more accurately went limp against me. He didn't hold me, but now I could feel how bad he was trembling and it made my heart ache for him. He was grieving, and I hadn't even known that was possible.
With a soft sob of my own, I sat up and pulled his head down against my chest, cradling the vampire I had hated for so long like a child. He didn't make much noise, but I could feel the tears as they warmed the fabric of my shirt. Softly hushing him, I began to rock, holding him close.
I don't know how long it lasted, but eventually I was the only one still teary-eyed. Isaac gently removed my arms pulling away to look up at the sky. I couldn't read his expression anymore, and wished for the first time that I could take Lidia's power and glean whatever he was thinking. Then, inhaling slowly and closing his eyes a moment, Isaac stood, pulling me with him.
"We should go." He said, his voice empty and so heart-wrenchingly broken that I wanted to hold him again.
"You killed the car." I said, fighting to control my voice again.
Isaac chuckled, though there was no real humor behind it, and looked at me, his eyes now back to their beautiful patchwork green and blue. He reached out to wipe away the last of my tears with his sleeve and nodded toward the road.
"Then I guess we'll walk."
I nodded solemnly, and without really thinking about it, slipped my hand into his. For a moment, he could only stare at the contact, then squeezed my hand gently and laced our fingers together. Without a word, we moved to the road and began to walk, and I leaned against his shoulder.
"What about the car?" I asked to his weary sigh.
Without answering, he pulled his cell from his pocket and sent a quick text to whomever it was that dealt with these sorts of things. After that the walk was silent. It wasn't for at least half a mile before I realized how incredibly tired I was and began to sag against him as we walked. Without missing a beat, however, Isaac scooped me up into his arms, letting me rest my head on his shoulder.
When I opened my eyes again, Isaac was carrying me up the stairs to my room. I looked up at him, still exhausted, and tried to see him as I normally did, evil and terrifying, but couldn't muster even a sliver of hatred for the vampire. He seemed so miserable now, so human. I'd never seen anything so human in him as tonight.
He wasn't heartless, not really. Isaac was cold, and he could be cruel, but he still cared for some. He was capable of loving, and it gave me hope. He'd been a monster for centuries, he'd killed and tortured countless people, but when it really mattered, he could still cry. It meant that I could do the same when the years passed and my slipping grasp on humanity finally fell. I wouldn't be a complete monster.
"You need to sleep." Isaac said without looking at me. He shifted me in his grasp to open my door, carrying me to the bed to lay me down.
When he turned to leave however, my chest tightened and a fear I couldn't explain washed over me. My hand shot out to grasp his wrist and keep him from going.
"I can't…I don't want to be alone."
Isaac gazed at me a long moment, looking as if he might refuse, but I squeezed tighter, imploring him with my eyes.
"Please." I said, feeling the swell of tears threatening to return.
The vampire glanced at the door then and sighed, pulling from my hand. I let out a soft whimper when he moved to the door, leaving me feeling as if the air had been sucked from the room. I couldn't breathe. Oh god, I couldn't breathe! But Isaac only closed the door and turned back to me, and the air came back.
I scooted to make room for him as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his dirty suit jacket to the floor. It was strange, even though I knew this was only for comfort, to let him lie down beside me and rest against his chest. I'd never thought this would have been possible, but here we were, his arm around my shoulder and holding me close while I nestled into his chest and closed my eyes. I didn't want to cry anymore, but when I swallowed, the pain in my throat made me wince.
"I hurt you." Isaac said, his voice strange and hollow.
"It's alright." I replied. "I deserved it."
"No." he said softly, smoothing down my hair and we lapsed into silence again.
I couldn't listen to his heart, or feel the gentle rise and fall of his breathing, but I was soothed anyway. Just having him there, clutching him as if he held me to the very earth was comfort enough and after only minutes, I drifted off in to darkness.
Llewellyn (loo-ell-en) meaning 'lion like' or 'shining one'. Welsh origin. It is one of Isaac's many last names.
Oh boy did this take forever and honestly it's not really what I was going for, but damnit it works. We learned some things today, like the fact that Isaac has a heart after all and Colette is an uppity bitch no matter what. A vampire can take the power of another creature by eating it's heart…or is that just vampires…hmmm, guess you don't know yet lalalala….AND Isaac has partaken in this little delicacy with Daniel his elusive old companion. *Gasp* For Shame!
Now what do you think about that?
i ask that you forgive any grammatical or plain stupid mistakes in this. It's still a rough draft, i just got too excited and wanted to get it posted. I'm hoping to have the time to go back through and edit later, but for now i wanted to get this chapter out to you guys, so that we can finally move on to the shit hitting the fan. Oh boy. Are you ready? I sure as hell am.