I blinked, then let out a sigh as I retreated from the boy’s neck, glancing at the timid woman standing in the doorway. She was new. Tabitha or Martha or something equally insipid. Most humans weren’t known for their creativity. Whatever her name, this girl was hardly an adequate servant. Even dangling promises of eternal youth before her dull eyes wasn’t enough to entice her to show some spirit. But then again, no one would ever hold a candle to Helena. Efficient, hard-working Helena, whose loss I would always lament. After many trials over the years with numerous new girls, I was now stuck with this creature.
“Very well,” I said regretfully, pressing the boy’s shoulder as he regained his senses. “We’ll continue this later.”
The boy flinched away, surprised that he’d let me touch him.
I chuckled as I followed Teresa, or maybe it was Tara, up the staircase to my bedchamber.
Inside, candelabras threw eerie firelight dancing across the sparse stone chamber. A coffin lay in the corner, while a wardrobe and desk stood silently together where normally a window would have looked out over the river. Of course, I’d had that window bricked over long ago to avoid any chance of meeting the sun’s rays.
In the center of the room, a claw-footed tub had been stationed, and as the girl, Nadia, I finally recalled, waited silently, I disrobed and slipped into the water, easing back against the cold porcelain with a sigh. I glanced at a figure beside my bath, a man tied tightly with rope, a dirty cloth stuffed into his mouth. A goblet on a table awaited his blood. The trick was to keep him alive long enough for several refills before the water grew cold.
“Is the water to your liking, sir?” my servant asked.
“It is acceptable,” I said, waving her away. “Leave me to entertain my guest.”
Nadia bobbed a curtsy and scurried from the room.
I leaned my head back as the door closed with a click, my eyes locking on the man. He was in his late thirties, hairy, and was beginning to sweat profusely. Rather rude. Already, my mind was returning to the boy in the other room, fit and full of fight.
Muffled sounds began to escape the man’s mouth. “What’s that? I can’t hear you.” I laughed and rolled my head back. “You have something in your mouth.” I eyed him as he continued to try to plead with me, growing more annoyed with every passing moment. Couldn’t I enjoy my bath in peace? “Let me guess: I should spare you. You have children. Blah blah blah. I don’t know why you mewling mortals throw that out as a selling point. The fact that you’re producing screaming brats makes me want to end every one of your bloodlines.” I sighed. “But then, who would be left to worship me as the most feared vampire in the world?” I slipped into the water and blew bubbles for a minute. There was a count in Transylvania who declared himself lord of vampires, although I hadn’t been impressed when I’d met him in passing. But that could be me one day. I was gaining a reputation around this countryside, and one day, I could be a legend that mothers warned their children about in whispers as they prayed beside their beds. “Never venture outdoors alone at night, or fear facing the most dashingly handsome man you have ever set eyes upon.” Okay, maybe not that last part, but I would earn their fear. I would earn their respect.
I was so deep in thought that I hardly registered the sound of feet approaching before the door to my room burst open. “Lucian!”
I stiffened, glaring to find my vampire protégée standing in the doorway. I was about to rebuke her when I noted the terrified look in her eyes. “Raven?” I sat up and watched as she shoved her black hair back from her shoulder. Her beauty was striking. It was one of several reasons I’d chosen her for her role, to learn from me, to share in my spoils and carry out my wishes. Not that I cared about her appearance. She was far too … female for me. But I had to admit that her womanly charms did come in handy on occasion. “What is it?”
Raven opened her mouth to speak, but I could hear it. My ears were acute enough to pick up the rumble of voices, the crunch of gravel beneath dozens of feet, horses parading up the bridge to the castle carrying men who clinked with metal armor.
Hunters.
I hissed as I leapt to my feet, flicking my hand through the air to slice the man’s throat beside the bathtub with my sharp fingernails. The man’s eyes bulged as he slumped forward, blood gushing from his jugular in uneven spurts. I barely noticed the final throes of the man’s life as I stepped from the tub and pulled on a robe, eyes never leaving Raven’s. I did, however, run my bloody fingertips over my tongue, savoring the rush of warmth it provided.
Raven’s lips trembled slightly, and although I was more in control of my body than she was at a mere half century in age, I was frightened as well. I’d heard of raids on vampire keeps across the land, but they were always minor vampires. I had been the chosen protégée of the revered Konstantin, who’d schooled me in greatness. How dare these men feel so emboldened as to attack me in my own home.
Every once in a while, an amateur hunter would attempt to take my life. It was quaint, really, the idea that they could best me on my own territory armed only with a mallet and a wooden stake. But these mobs of men were another beast. Organized, efficient. They knew what they were doing and were sure to be armed with the necessary tools to smoke us out if necessary. Any traps I’d set for such an occasion wouldn’t be able to account for their sheer numbers. The only course of action available to me, if I planned to survive this night, was to flee, leaving my castle behind with all the treasures that I’d accumulated over the centuries.
But there would always be more.
“What do we do?” Raven breathed, scrambling to keep up as I stalked from the room. “They’ve already surrounded the castle. They seemed to materialize from the very fog itself.”
I snorted. “Only we can transform in such a way, my dear.” I paused and sent her a sympathetic look. “It really is a shame that you never learned that discipline. It takes more time for some of us. You were getting so close, too. It’s going to be much more difficult for you to make your escape.”
Raven swallowed hard and clutched my arm. “Lucian. Please.”
I glared and she dropped my arm, bowing her head subserviently. “Forgive me.”
I sighed. “Oh, stop looking at me with those wide eyes. You know how I hate those pathetic shows for sympathy. It’s so human.” I wrinkled my nose, then shrugged. “But if you hurry to the basement, you could take the hidden tunnels into the mountains and be gone before they’ve discovered you. Although I would hurry if I were you.”
Raven pursed her lips, then glanced at me with a hopeful expression. “The key?”
“In my study, last drawer on the left.”
She turned and fled before the last word was out of my mouth.
I smiled to myself, then turned to walk up the closest turret stairs. I hoped she eluded the mob. Coming across any human with qualities adequate for an immortal life was very rare. I hated to think that I would have to scour the countryside for another like Raven.
I’d even determined loyal Helena unworthy in the end, despite her redeeming virtues. She simply wasn’t suited for immortal life, and I would spare her the indignity of discovering that unfortunate fact on her own. And some claimed I didn’t know the meaning of mercy.
The moon beckoned to me even before I stepped out into the night’s embrace, stars dancing radiantly across the sky overhead, as if performing a cosmic ritual for me.
