Enslaved (6 page)

"You are all dismissed," Vince murmured. "The donors will be summoned when needed, have a good afternoon."

With that the two brothers departed through different doors and the servants heightened their working standards. If one thing was out of place for this Gathering, then there would be Hell to pay.

Hell hath no fury like the Guardians of Death, Tori thought as she went about her business, trying to wipe the image of Jon's gleaming scarlet eyes from her mind.

Something was terribly off today....something was going to happen this week, Tori could feel the certainty crawling about her flesh, it slashed through her veins, awakening the fear within her.

Chapter 11

Vince hadn't been feeding much for the past two days, making Tori unbearably worried inside, even though she wouldn't admit it to herself or anyone else. Jon was out today with Maria, they had gone to the blood bank to restock the blood
cellar,
after all,
the Gathering was in two weeks.

Tori was straightening a picture of the four Guardians on the wall when the bell chimed from the second floor, calling Tori to Him.

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling as if she could somehow see through the black-painted wood and into his chambers to see what he wanted. Tori had already fed him today, she didn't think he needed anything else from her...he had promised her he wouldn't inflict torture upon her again this week, he had gone back on his word, to protect her or drink from her she didn't know.

As Tori moved up the spiral staircase she hoped he was in a merciful mood and didn't feel like taking too much, she was already weak from the previous feeding.

Tori timidly knocked on the door, feeling that surge of fear she got every time she heard his eerily haunting voice. Tori remembered the times when she hadn't felt frightened by his voice, when she had actually WISHED to hear more of it...

The door opened and when Tori stepped inside she was immediately attacked by Master Vince's lips upon hers.

"I love you,
Viktoria
. I need to save you..." He whispered right before he sunk his teeth into her throat.

"No, no, please, Vince. Don't!" She whispered in an agonized voice. When Master Vince drank from her it was like ecstasy...mixed with an unforgettable beating of the soul, the body, and the mind.

Tori enjoyed it at times, but when Vince got into the feeding with her he took it to the next level. He never went as far with the other servants as he did to her...it was as if he enjoyed her rapturous distress. And if Tori
was
honest with herself, she would admit that she enjoyed the simple feeling of his fingers running down her shivering spine....

Tori tried to push Vince away, succeeding for a few seconds. It was long enough to ask a question. "Save me from what?" She breathed.

"Your demise,
Viktoria
!"
Vince said, drawing me to the chair by the window, seating me on his lap and leaning my head back onto his shoulder, bowing his own and replacing his teeth into the puncture wounds.

This feeding was
different,
Tori felt it in Vince's urgency, the way he pulled at her blood flow, causing it to slow and gush into his mouth. She actually liked this session, it was intense, full of heat and passion as he slowly rose with her in his arms and moved to the bed, lying her down and moving so he was hovering slightly above her, holding his weight the right way so Tori didn't feel it, just the sensation of his body pressing against her every curve.

Vince pulled away enough to say, "Jon knows how I feel about you,
Viktoria
. He wants you gone so he can get at me, he wants me out of the way..." his words trailed off as he returned his fangs to my flesh.

"There's one problem,
Vincey
." Tori said, the name slipping out of her mouth before she could think about it. She felt Vince shiver at the name, the slight movement transferring to her own body.

Vince paused for a moment and whispered against her throat, "What, darling?"

"I don't know how you feel about me," Tori
murmured, emphasizing the "I."

Vince chuckled darkly, the sound rich and clear. "I told you,
Viktoria
. I Love you, I'm IN love with you. I always
Have
been and I can't let you be killed because of that."

"But how are you going to stop the inevitable, Vince
?...
" Her voice sounded small and timid as her words evaporated into the air between them, her voice, despite its quietness, filled the room.

"I'm going to change you,
Viktoria
. I'm going to make it so we won't have to worry about this...this relationship." Vince said, sliding his hands around her waist and rolling so she was lying on top of him.

Tori's brow furrowed. "Vince," she said, her voice confused, "what 'relationship' are you taking about? The only one we've had is a master-servant one....I don't see why changing me would help that bond."

Vince sighed, his fingers running through her hair. "
Viktoria
, it's never been just a 'master-servant' relationship,
its
been more than that, you just haven't SEEN it yet."

"Expl
ain," she whispered and he did.

Tori was
suddenly underneath Vince once more, but this time Vince's lips weren't at her throat, they were dancing along her mouth hungrily. This wasn't hunger for her blood,
though,
it was a thirst for her body.

Tori welcomed the feeling of his hand's fingers running along her bared thigh, the sense of her body molding to his as she hugged him closer, her desires quickly matching his. She slipped her hands under his shirt, her hands moving to his back, fingers trailing down the smooth skin of his spine as his lips whispered across her jaw. Tori slid his shirt off, discarding it to the floor.

"Do you see it yet,
Viktoria
?" Vince
asked,
his voice as quiet and sweet as his fingers caressing the skin of her stomach underneath her top.

Viktoria
kissed his bare collarbone before responding with a barely audible, "I do,
Vincey
. I do."

And so Vince moved his lips to the wounds on her neck, bared his fangs, and sliced through her flesh once more.

"Don't change me fully, Vince." She breathed in a hiss of pain.

"I won't," he promised, voice muffled against her skin.

He didn't, but Tori could sense it. She was changing, she could feel the cool rush of vampire blood through her veins....Tori could feel her human blood mingling with Vince's
vampiric
blood as she moved her lips to the cut Vince made on his own throat.

She then drank, drank in Vince's love, his pain, his misery, and his blood....

Life had never been so good for nineteen-year-old
Viktoria
- that feeling soon faded, though, when Jon and Maria returned.

]

Chapter 12

The next week passed in a haze of feedings, sleep, stolen glances, hot kisses, and loving caresses between
Viktoria
and Vince. At the moment,
Viktoria
was in Vince's chambers, feeding him and talking in hushed whispers to him.

"Don't go,
Viktoria
." He purred seductively when she pulled away and it was all Tori could do not to return to his strong embrace and feel the pain, lust, and sensation of the vampire blood sluggishly killing her human blood with every dose of Vince's life juice.

"I have to go help out with the servants, Vince." She murmured. "Something's up, too. I can feel it." She said quietly, looking away from him.

Vince sighed, stroking his jaw thoughtfully. "Fine, but come back at dusk,
Viktoria
...and don't talk to that Maria of yours."

Tori shot him a sharp look over her shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"Do as I say,
Viktoria
." He ordered, waving a hand at her, a signal for her to take her leave. She did and Vince knew
Viktoria
had become wary, he could discern it from her movements, the slight straightening of her shoulders and back, the way her brows moved together ever so slightly.

He hadn't told
Viktoria
about everything he'd heard in the lounge, just that Jon was out to get them and that he was getting inside help. Vince didn't need
Viktoria
saying the wrong thing to Maria and tipping his brother off to the fact that Vince knew what he was up to.

Sighing, head aching, Vince glanced out the window. It was around four-
thirty,
he would be seeing his
Viktoria
in a few hours. Hoping to pass the time faster, Vince slid into a heavy slumber, unaware of the lies being planted in
Vikto
ria's
head as he slept.

* * *

Tori glanced out the window of the
foyer,
the sky was a dark purple, feathers of gray clouds dusting away the day, replacing it with the night. She would be returning to Vince within a half of an hour, but even that short time-span seemed so long.

Sighing and picking up a scarlet vase with twelve black roses in it, Tori moved to a table in one of the main floor's lounges that was used more than the others that just seemed to be there for decoration.
Tori was
setting it on a coffee table- blood table, she thought, a quiet hysterical giggle bubbling to her lips. She turned and nearly ran into Maria who was standing not even three feet behind her.

"Tori!"
Maria smiled warmly at her and immediately Tori felt a pang of wariness course through her. Maria, despite her happy-seeming voice, radiated nervous waves that Tori could feel, for her mind, body, and senses were heightened by the vampire blood in her.

"Hey, Maria."
She murmured softly and tried to skirt the servant girl who Vince had ordered her not to talk to. Maria just stepped in her way, though, demanding her attention.

"I need to talk to you, Tori, it'll only take a few moments, but I think it would be VERY important to you..." Maria trailed off, revealing some of her angst as she bit on her thumb nail nervously.

Nawing
on her bottom lip, mulling over what Vince had said, Tori sighed and said, "What about?"

"Well," she looked around the room nervously for a second as if she were scared someone other than Tori was listening. "Well, I heard Vince talking to some vampire on the phone while you were asleep this morning and he said some things I think you may want to know....I don't want to start anything, Tori, but I thought we were friends, so I'm going to tell you.

"I hear Vince talking to a
vampiress
, he was planning on...on getting rid of- of a servant...the servant was you. He said he was going to sell you to that
vampiress
. That woman was then going to sell-off your blood to other night creatures until you were...until you were dead."

Tori was
struck silent. She could feel the compassion and worry in Maria's voice, she believed her utterly, after all, why would Maria of all people lie to her? It was an absurd thought. And if Tori
was
being honest with herself, she'd realize that if Vince knew that Maria had overheard him, then he would command Tori not to talk or listen to this servant...

The room was spinning around Tori, her stomach heaved with anxiety, fear, and her heart thumped as it cracked into pieces. She could only ask one question, "Why?"