hand.
“Tell me something, Lina. Do you remember what I said to you when we arrived?”
I nodded, as unable to look away from her gleaming eyes as I was to speak.
“Tell my brother what I said to you, dear.”
Again, that voice… My mouth was opening before I even decided to say a word. I tried to fight it. Hypnotism, thrall, compulsion… I didn’t care what it was, I didn’t care how she did it, I just knew I was me, and I had free will, and I wouldn’t let her manipulate me.
The words spilled out and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
“You told me to be nice to Mr. Ward,” I heard myself say. “And not to leave without you.”
She smiled that cold smile again. Her nails were pinpricks against my cheek and it was all I could do not to whimper at the pain. “That’s right,” she murmured, and while her voice was lower, her tone was the same. “Don’t leave without me. Not tonight. Not ever.”
She leaned down. I remained frozen, encased in ice, and shuddered when she lapped at my cheek where her nails had pricked me.
“Lilah!” Mr. Ward’s hand settled on her shoulder and he pulled her to face him. “If you think I’ll let—”
She was gone before he could finish, before I could even blink or let out the breath I’d been holding.
I say ‘she was gone’ but really it’s something else that happened. I’d almost say, ‘she ran,’ but nobody can run that fast. She flew? Nah, vampires can’t do that, Mr. Ward told me as much. She just left. To her, it might have been little more than a stroll. To me, it was just a blur of movement, gone before I knew it.
The next second, Mr. Ward disappeared as well.
I sat there, alone, for a few minutes. And again, ‘sat there’ is so, so far from what actually happened. There was a war raging in my mind. I wanted to leave. I’d never wanted anything more in my life. But I simply couldn’t move.
The more I thought about it, of going down those stairs, going to where sane people were drinking champagne, eating finger food and laughing at their own jokes, of moving past them, all the way down to the front door and out, the less I was able to move. Tears of frustration started running down my face, and I now regretted refusing that drink when Mr. Ward had offered it to me.
No sooner had I thought about it, about going to the liquor cabinet and helping myself to something strong, that my legs started obeying me again. I took three steps to the cabinet before shaking my head at my own silliness. I’d get a drink when I was away from this place.
My legs locked. I wavered, and had to catch myself on the back of the closest armchair or I would have fallen down.
It didn’t take me long to understand. She’d told me not to leave without her. If I even thought about doing so, my body stopped cooperating. But if I thought of something else…
I looked at the liquor cabinet again and stumbled forward as my feet moved before I even knew it.
“She’s gone.”
I let out a gasp at Mr. Ward’s quiet words. I hadn’t noticed his return. When I turned to him, he was standing by the door, hands in his pockets, deep frustration inscribed on his face. He wasn’t looking at me.
“She just… left?” I asked in a small voice.
He nodded.
“That means… that means I can’t leave, doesn’t it?”
He snorted. “You tell me. I assume you tried?”
I swallowed hard.
“What she said… about you… about you killing me… She was joking, right? She didn’t mean…”
His gaze finally came up to me. In his eyes, his dark, bottomless eyes, I could see the answer to my question without him needing to say a word.
I didn’t know, still, what he was. It was only later that he told me about vampires and compulsion, and it took a lot more time before he finally told me why Miss Delilah had chosen me as her gift to him—why, probably, she had hired me as her assistant, years earlier, in anticipation of the right moment.
At that time, however, I
“Tell me something, Lina. Do you remember what I said to you when we arrived?”
I nodded, as unable to look away from her gleaming eyes as I was to speak.
“Tell my brother what I said to you, dear.”
Again, that voice… My mouth was opening before I even decided to say a word. I tried to fight it. Hypnotism, thrall, compulsion… I didn’t care what it was, I didn’t care how she did it, I just knew I was me, and I had free will, and I wouldn’t let her manipulate me.
The words spilled out and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
“You told me to be nice to Mr. Ward,” I heard myself say. “And not to leave without you.”
She smiled that cold smile again. Her nails were pinpricks against my cheek and it was all I could do not to whimper at the pain. “That’s right,” she murmured, and while her voice was lower, her tone was the same. “Don’t leave without me. Not tonight. Not ever.”
She leaned down. I remained frozen, encased in ice, and shuddered when she lapped at my cheek where her nails had pricked me.
“Lilah!” Mr. Ward’s hand settled on her shoulder and he pulled her to face him. “If you think I’ll let—”
She was gone before he could finish, before I could even blink or let out the breath I’d been holding.
I say ‘she was gone’ but really it’s something else that happened. I’d almost say, ‘she ran,’ but nobody can run that fast. She flew? Nah, vampires can’t do that, Mr. Ward told me as much. She just left. To her, it might have been little more than a stroll. To me, it was just a blur of movement, gone before I knew it.
The next second, Mr. Ward disappeared as well.
I sat there, alone, for a few minutes. And again, ‘sat there’ is so, so far from what actually happened. There was a war raging in my mind. I wanted to leave. I’d never wanted anything more in my life. But I simply couldn’t move.
The more I thought about it, of going down those stairs, going to where sane people were drinking champagne, eating finger food and laughing at their own jokes, of moving past them, all the way down to the front door and out, the less I was able to move. Tears of frustration started running down my face, and I now regretted refusing that drink when Mr. Ward had offered it to me.
No sooner had I thought about it, about going to the liquor cabinet and helping myself to something strong, that my legs started obeying me again. I took three steps to the cabinet before shaking my head at my own silliness. I’d get a drink when I was away from this place.
My legs locked. I wavered, and had to catch myself on the back of the closest armchair or I would have fallen down.
It didn’t take me long to understand. She’d told me not to leave without her. If I even thought about doing so, my body stopped cooperating. But if I thought of something else…
I looked at the liquor cabinet again and stumbled forward as my feet moved before I even knew it.
“She’s gone.”
I let out a gasp at Mr. Ward’s quiet words. I hadn’t noticed his return. When I turned to him, he was standing by the door, hands in his pockets, deep frustration inscribed on his face. He wasn’t looking at me.
“She just… left?” I asked in a small voice.
He nodded.
“That means… that means I can’t leave, doesn’t it?”
He snorted. “You tell me. I assume you tried?”
I swallowed hard.
“What she said… about you… about you killing me… She was joking, right? She didn’t mean…”
His gaze finally came up to me. In his eyes, his dark, bottomless eyes, I could see the answer to my question without him needing to say a word.
I didn’t know, still, what he was. It was only later that he told me about vampires and compulsion, and it took a lot more time before he finally told me why Miss Delilah had chosen me as her gift to him—why, probably, she had hired me as her assistant, years earlier, in anticipation of the right moment.
At that time, however, I
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