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Authors: Karen McCullough
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though lacking the strength
to push himself upright. Then the smile melted into an unconvincing
attempt at sympathy.
“Michael, you look terrible, dear boy.” The
concern in his tone didn’t ring any truer than his smile. “Why are
you doing this to yourself?” He strolled across the room to stand
over the younger man. “It’s so unnecessary.”
“Totally necessary,” Michael said from
between clenched teeth. “And forget the fake sympathy. The only
thing that concerns you is losing a slave. And maybe losing face
before the others because of it.”
Antoine shrugged. “It’s a concern, but not a
great one. There are others where you came from. But why are you
wasting the gift I gave you?”
“Some kind of gift,” Michael answered
bitterly. “A gift I neither sought nor wanted. And not one you gave
willingly.”
“A gift nonetheless. Immortality. Who doesn’t
want it?”
“At the price of one’s soul? Because you get
all those extra lifetimes by stealing them from the people they
belonged to?”
“They’re lesser creatures.” Antoine dismissed
his victims with a wave of his hand. “We’re superior in every way.
Fast, powerful, immortal.”
“And completely immoral. Cowardly, soulless
monsters.”
“There’s no reasoning with you, is there,
Michael?”
“No.”
“I suppose I’ll just have to let the blood
lust do its work. You know that as long as she’s here, you’ll never
succeed. At the end you won’t be able to resist. Your will won’t
work anymore when the pain and need drive you insane.”
“Only a few more hours to go till dawn. I can
manage.”
Antoine shook his head and laughed. It
sounded forced. “We’ll see. I think I’ll just hang around to watch
for a bit. If it makes you more comfortable, I’ll dematerialize so
you won’t even know I’m here.” His form wavered and broke up, going
to mist again, then winking out of sight.
“Can you do that?” Carol asked Michael.
He shook his head. “Only true vampires
can.”
“Is he gone?”
He struggled to sit up straighter. “Probably
not. But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change anything. I’ve just
got to hold on…”
The word trailed off into a choked moan as
another convulsion began to shake him. It didn’t last as long this
time, but was even more violent, sending his body into a series of
contortions after he fell over onto his side. He jerked and
thrashed so hard the floor vibrated and the furniture shook. She
watched in horror as his body jackknifed into a tight V, his face
almost against his knees, and then snapped back to bow in the other
direction, slamming him so hard it would have cracked the spine of
a normal human being.
Chapter
6
He writhed on the floor for several more
minutes, banging into chairs and even rolling perilously close to
the fire at one point.
Carol wanted to go to him, especially when he
appeared to be in danger of getting toasted, but didn’t dare. So
she waited it out, listening to the seconds tick off from the clock
in the hall.
After a while, the convulsions seemed to
abate, but when he opened his eyes, the red color flickered in them
again, then settled to a steady glow. Keeping his gaze fixed on
her, he rolled onto his belly and began crawling toward her. Carol
made an effort not to look too long into his eyes. It meant raking
her gaze quickly down his face and settling in to watch his mouth
instead. That wasn’t a thrill either, since his lips formed a
vicious, open-mouthed frown that showed way too much teeth. The
fangs glittered with an orange-red glow as they reflected the
firelight. It reminded her uncomfortably of blood.
Pity turned to horror as she backed away,
raising the stake in her right hand and clasping the cross in the
other. At least the ravaging effects of the convulsions robbed him
of the superhuman speed. It took a painful amount of time to pull
himself just a few feet across the carpet.
Worse were the sounds he made. The moans and
groans were
to push himself upright. Then the smile melted into an unconvincing
attempt at sympathy.
“Michael, you look terrible, dear boy.” The
concern in his tone didn’t ring any truer than his smile. “Why are
you doing this to yourself?” He strolled across the room to stand
over the younger man. “It’s so unnecessary.”
“Totally necessary,” Michael said from
between clenched teeth. “And forget the fake sympathy. The only
thing that concerns you is losing a slave. And maybe losing face
before the others because of it.”
Antoine shrugged. “It’s a concern, but not a
great one. There are others where you came from. But why are you
wasting the gift I gave you?”
“Some kind of gift,” Michael answered
bitterly. “A gift I neither sought nor wanted. And not one you gave
willingly.”
“A gift nonetheless. Immortality. Who doesn’t
want it?”
“At the price of one’s soul? Because you get
all those extra lifetimes by stealing them from the people they
belonged to?”
“They’re lesser creatures.” Antoine dismissed
his victims with a wave of his hand. “We’re superior in every way.
Fast, powerful, immortal.”
“And completely immoral. Cowardly, soulless
monsters.”
“There’s no reasoning with you, is there,
Michael?”
“No.”
“I suppose I’ll just have to let the blood
lust do its work. You know that as long as she’s here, you’ll never
succeed. At the end you won’t be able to resist. Your will won’t
work anymore when the pain and need drive you insane.”
“Only a few more hours to go till dawn. I can
manage.”
Antoine shook his head and laughed. It
sounded forced. “We’ll see. I think I’ll just hang around to watch
for a bit. If it makes you more comfortable, I’ll dematerialize so
you won’t even know I’m here.” His form wavered and broke up, going
to mist again, then winking out of sight.
“Can you do that?” Carol asked Michael.
He shook his head. “Only true vampires
can.”
“Is he gone?”
He struggled to sit up straighter. “Probably
not. But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change anything. I’ve just
got to hold on…”
The word trailed off into a choked moan as
another convulsion began to shake him. It didn’t last as long this
time, but was even more violent, sending his body into a series of
contortions after he fell over onto his side. He jerked and
thrashed so hard the floor vibrated and the furniture shook. She
watched in horror as his body jackknifed into a tight V, his face
almost against his knees, and then snapped back to bow in the other
direction, slamming him so hard it would have cracked the spine of
a normal human being.
Chapter
6
He writhed on the floor for several more
minutes, banging into chairs and even rolling perilously close to
the fire at one point.
Carol wanted to go to him, especially when he
appeared to be in danger of getting toasted, but didn’t dare. So
she waited it out, listening to the seconds tick off from the clock
in the hall.
After a while, the convulsions seemed to
abate, but when he opened his eyes, the red color flickered in them
again, then settled to a steady glow. Keeping his gaze fixed on
her, he rolled onto his belly and began crawling toward her. Carol
made an effort not to look too long into his eyes. It meant raking
her gaze quickly down his face and settling in to watch his mouth
instead. That wasn’t a thrill either, since his lips formed a
vicious, open-mouthed frown that showed way too much teeth. The
fangs glittered with an orange-red glow as they reflected the
firelight. It reminded her uncomfortably of blood.
Pity turned to horror as she backed away,
raising the stake in her right hand and clasping the cross in the
other. At least the ravaging effects of the convulsions robbed him
of the superhuman speed. It took a painful amount of time to pull
himself just a few feet across the carpet.
Worse were the sounds he made. The moans and
groans were
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