Read Online Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jeanne Kalogridis
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Still kneeling, she pulled off the powder-blue gloves and carelessly cast them onto the floor; then she reached forward and took my hands into hers. Her flesh softer than a childs, and finerpossessed a febrile warmth, as though she had just held her palms over the fire for an hour to capture the heat. At the touch of it, I sighed. You shall be returned to your former gloryperhaps moreand will have no further need of him. She leaned forward until the entire world consisted of nothing but her glittering diamond-and-sapphire gaze.
Brilliant as diamonds and just as cold, I thought, and shivered, abruptly seized by strange and irrational fear. What shall you do to me?
A kiss, she whispered, bringing her face so close to mine that her sweet breath warmed my cheeks. Only a kiss And she bent down until at last those soft, soft lips pressed against mine.
How shall I describe it? How does one describe infinity or bliss to those who have not experienced them?
I remember the night of my Change, after Vlad had left me to diethe sweet sensuality of it, the euphoria, the intriguing sharpening of all faculties: sight, sound, touch. The memory of those moments has stayed with me these five decades of undeath. Nothing, I thought, could supplant them; ah, but that was before Elisabeths kiss!
So intense was that pleasure, so consuming, that for an unknown period I lost myselflost all sense of my surroundings, of Elisabeth, of time, of anything at all in the world, save darkness and bliss. There was no I, no thing separate from this union with eternity.
Given a choice, I would never have left it, for beside it even the attraction of immortality dimmed. But all too soon, I discovered that I had returned to my body, and that I lay upon the uncomfortable straw mattress and rough blanket staring up into Elisabeths delighted eyes.
Oh, she breathed, putting a hand to her heart in amazement. My Zsuzsanna How beautiful you are!
And with the other hand, she drew me up to my feet. I rose easily, gracefully, and laughed aloud at the infinite strength that suddenly flowed into my limbs. Still holding my hand, she stepped back a pace to study me, then abruptly grasped a lock of my long hair and said gleefully:
Look, my darling, look!
I lookedand saw that the silver was once again coal-black, and imbued with a sparkling indigo sheen.
A mirror! she cried, pacing about the spartan chamber, scanning its grey stone walls. Where is the mirror? You must see!
There are no mirrors, I told her sadly. Vlad destroyed them all long ago. Even if there were, I could not see my own reflection.
Bah! And she pulled my hand and dragged me out into the hall. To my chambers at once!
And together we ran up and down staircases; this time, I had no difficulty remaining by her side. When we had at last come to her roomon the eastern side of the castle, where we house guestsshe flung the door open, revealing countless suitcases and trunks, and a stout, surly-faced young woman, as plain as Elisabeth was fair.
She gestured at the woman. This is my attendant, Dorka; she is utterly discreet. Dorka, this is Vlads niece, the Princess Zsuzsanna. You must treat her with the utmost respect.
Dorka gave a half-hearted, unsmiling curtsy.
Fetch my mirror at once, Elisabeth ordered, her admiring gaze on me as she held out an impatient hand to her servant. When Dorka had moved from the sitting-room where we stood to the bedchamber, her mistress said, So, Zsuzsanna, have you never seen yourself as an immortal?
Never.
Well, you shall, she replied, just as Dorka came running and huffing back into the room with a lovely handheld mirror encased in fine gold and inlaid with pearls and diamonds. The servant placed it in Elisabeths waiting hand, then withdrew to give us our privacy. Look, Zsuzsanna. Look at what you have become.
I took the glass. And cried out in pleased amazement at the woman I saw there. Nay, woman is too unflattering a word. Angel, vision these are words that better
Brilliant as diamonds and just as cold, I thought, and shivered, abruptly seized by strange and irrational fear. What shall you do to me?
A kiss, she whispered, bringing her face so close to mine that her sweet breath warmed my cheeks. Only a kiss And she bent down until at last those soft, soft lips pressed against mine.
How shall I describe it? How does one describe infinity or bliss to those who have not experienced them?
I remember the night of my Change, after Vlad had left me to diethe sweet sensuality of it, the euphoria, the intriguing sharpening of all faculties: sight, sound, touch. The memory of those moments has stayed with me these five decades of undeath. Nothing, I thought, could supplant them; ah, but that was before Elisabeths kiss!
So intense was that pleasure, so consuming, that for an unknown period I lost myselflost all sense of my surroundings, of Elisabeth, of time, of anything at all in the world, save darkness and bliss. There was no I, no thing separate from this union with eternity.
Given a choice, I would never have left it, for beside it even the attraction of immortality dimmed. But all too soon, I discovered that I had returned to my body, and that I lay upon the uncomfortable straw mattress and rough blanket staring up into Elisabeths delighted eyes.
Oh, she breathed, putting a hand to her heart in amazement. My Zsuzsanna How beautiful you are!
And with the other hand, she drew me up to my feet. I rose easily, gracefully, and laughed aloud at the infinite strength that suddenly flowed into my limbs. Still holding my hand, she stepped back a pace to study me, then abruptly grasped a lock of my long hair and said gleefully:
Look, my darling, look!
I lookedand saw that the silver was once again coal-black, and imbued with a sparkling indigo sheen.
A mirror! she cried, pacing about the spartan chamber, scanning its grey stone walls. Where is the mirror? You must see!
There are no mirrors, I told her sadly. Vlad destroyed them all long ago. Even if there were, I could not see my own reflection.
Bah! And she pulled my hand and dragged me out into the hall. To my chambers at once!
And together we ran up and down staircases; this time, I had no difficulty remaining by her side. When we had at last come to her roomon the eastern side of the castle, where we house guestsshe flung the door open, revealing countless suitcases and trunks, and a stout, surly-faced young woman, as plain as Elisabeth was fair.
She gestured at the woman. This is my attendant, Dorka; she is utterly discreet. Dorka, this is Vlads niece, the Princess Zsuzsanna. You must treat her with the utmost respect.
Dorka gave a half-hearted, unsmiling curtsy.
Fetch my mirror at once, Elisabeth ordered, her admiring gaze on me as she held out an impatient hand to her servant. When Dorka had moved from the sitting-room where we stood to the bedchamber, her mistress said, So, Zsuzsanna, have you never seen yourself as an immortal?
Never.
Well, you shall, she replied, just as Dorka came running and huffing back into the room with a lovely handheld mirror encased in fine gold and inlaid with pearls and diamonds. The servant placed it in Elisabeths waiting hand, then withdrew to give us our privacy. Look, Zsuzsanna. Look at what you have become.
I took the glass. And cried out in pleased amazement at the woman I saw there. Nay, woman is too unflattering a word. Angel, vision these are words that better
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