Lengths For Love (17 page)

“Ian.” Kristine pulled me in close. “Ian, it’s all right.”

“It’s not all right. He’s touching her.”

“You’re seeing things.” She assured me. “It’s everything happening so fast that you’re seeing things. It will be fine.”

But I wasn’t seeing things. I had to fight fire with fire again. I felt betrayed, heartbroken, and vengeful all at the same time. I wanted to break the man in half and throw him to the hungry vampires. I knew they would thank me for it. Either that or I’d drink his blood myself. I wasn’t a vampire but it sounded like a good plan.

“Ian!” Kristine finally got my attention and I found myself staring at her. It was like our lips were magnets and attracted to each other. Forgetting about what happened, I kissed her. She was shocked at first but gave in. I opened my eye and looked at the side. Those two were still at it. The bastard. What I wouldn’t have given to rip his lips off his face. But I was too weak to move anymore.

“Did that really happen?” I asked when she stopped. “Is she really with him? Are we doing this for real? It’s a dream, right?”

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “But why...”

“She doesn’t love me,” I realized, my knees buried into the ground. “She doesn’t love me anymore.”

“You can’t be...”

“She doesn’t love me.” I looked at the window. The lights were out, but I knew very well what was happening. I turned to Kristine and noticed that her blouse was unbuttoned. I didn’t know how or when that happened. But it gave me ideas.

“Would you...” I beckoned her to come close and she almost fell on me. We kissed once again while the vampires behind us continued to feed on the dead horses. Yet the noises could not distract me from Kristine. Her face, her breasts, her lips... I felt them all.

Our bodies sunk into the mud and I got my revenge. Only half of it was sweet.

Kristine and I did not speak about our night in the stables. Even though neither of us were virgins, we felt awkward having sex where there were other vampires and dead horses. I felt guilt and pleasure at the same time when I woke up. The first few minutes had me trying to remember what happened. I didn’t get it when I washed up or changed my clothes. I didn’t get it when other vampires were grinning at me and congratulating me for a job well done. I didn’t get it when the girls shook their heads at me and clicked their tongues.

I didn’t get it until I passed Vincent’s bedroom and saw. Alexis and Vincent. Together. In bed. Granted, they had their clothes on but they were there. She had her arm draped over his stomach and his head almost touched her forehead. I knew this could not be a mistake and I wanted to throw up. I had slept with Kristine at the same time she slept with the ass. I wanted to feel guiltier than I did. Yet we were burning each other at the same time and I didn’t feel a slight bit sorry.

Kristine stopped me as I was walking down the hall. “I hope you didn’t look into Mr. Augustin’s bedroom.”

“Too late.” I replied bitterly. “I told you she doesn’t love me.”

“You know that’s not true. It was a mistake, what we did,” she said, lowering her voice. Two vampires whooped at us and I began to feel embarrassed. “We should have been stronger than them. Or at least I should have stopped you. It’s just...”

She didn’t finish the sentence because I kissed her. “No more talk about it. As far as I’m concerned, we broke up.”

“But what about her? Does she know?”

“She’s with him. I think she can figure out that we’re through.”

“You should still talk to her. Maybe there’s more to this than either of us knows.” She lowered her gaze. “I feel foolish. You made love to me and I let you. I let another woman’s man make love to me. I suspect this will go around and he will hear of it.”

“Well, if he tries anything, I can...”

“Don’t.” She warned. “You know what happened the last time you fought back. Walk around him carefully, avoid if you can. At least until we come up with a plan.”

“A plan?” I whispered.

“To get out of here. You were right all along. I don’t deserve to be here. You showed me last night and I believe you.”

“I made love to you. I cheated on my girlfriend. How did I show you anything?”

She gave me a half-smile. “You said that I was a beautiful woman. That I deserved more. And you made love to me without thinking twice about what I was. We might be from different worlds, Ian, but you see me as something more. I thought about it as I slept. I’m thinking of it now. I want out of here.”

I was floored by this. While I was pleased to see she wanted out, I didn’t feel happy that it was my infidelity that led to it. “Well, keep your plans and tell me later. He’s still around here.”

“Not for long. He leaves in a few hours and then we’ll be alone. Hopefully, I’ll have something. Until then,” she gave me a kiss, “this is our secret.”

She bustled off to do more chores while I tried to keep myself busy. I heard Alexis and Vincent talking, but didn’t dare to approach them. I didn’t know who was dirtier—me or them. Still, it turned out to be a smart decision to avoid them. They both left and I found it safe to come out. At least I could help Kristine with her plans of escape. I would drag out of here, not just her.

It hadn’t been an hour when the doorbell rang. Swallowing hard, I found myself the closest to it and looked through the peephole. An older gentle man was there, white hair and wrinkles. This definitely was not Vincent, but I chose to be careful. Cracking the door open, I peered through it.

“May I help you?” I asked.

“Is Vincent here?” He began.

“He stepped out,” I said, opening the door wider. “But he should get back soon. You can wait in here if you like.”

“Thank you. It’s been a while since I’ve come home.” He took his hat off and put it on the rack with his coat and scarf. “I must say, there hasn’t been too much of a change from the last time.”

“The last time?” Now I was curious. “You live here, too?”

“Lived here,” he corrected me. “In fact, there was a time I owned this house, and then I gave it away. I just felt like stopping and seeing it.”

“Oh. Well, nice to meet you,” I shook his hand. “I’m Ian Choi. My girlfriend and I have been living here for the past couple of months.”

“I’m sorry to just come into the house like that. I had forgotten that there would be others in here,” he apologized. “And I should have rung the bell before trying to open the door with the key.”

“Yeah, you’re lucky that it’s me in here and not the owner. He’s a real dick.”

He looked down at me, surprised that I would use such language. “Oh?”

“I mean it. He’s a gigantic dick. He treats the people in here like crap and he acts like he owns the world. He’ll go as far as torturing others and destroying everything they love. He’ll flip in any minute. But I think it’s just him trying to be something he’ll never be. He’s trying to be important and special when he’s not.”

“I see.” The old man looked worried. “Has he ever shown a sign of kindness?”

“Only to a few people. I’m not one of those few.” I crossed my arms. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we’ve fought.”

“You’ve fought?”

“Far too much. I think he just doesn’t like me and that’s just fine. I think he’s disgusting and mean and not worth giving an ounce of sympathy to.” It was then that I realized I hadn’t helped the guy out of his coat. “Oh, let me take your things. I’m sorry I’ve been babbling, the dick just gets on my nerves. Allow me to hang up your coat, Mr...”

“Augustin. I’m Claude Augustin. Pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand and put the coat on the rack on his own. Just like Vincent, he had a pinkie ring with his initials on it. “Vincent is my son.”

I swallowed and shook his hand. Now I wanted to take it all back. “Oh. I’m... I’m... . I’m a little embarrassed by what I just said. Did I just call your son a dick? I was actually trying to say that he was a great human being! Yes! He’s an absolute gem and joy to be around! He never treats anyone badly, no!”

“Don’t be. He’s acting just like everyone else in our family has. They hate vampires, but keep their cool in hopes of keeping the peace. I couldn’t tell you how many vampires my family has killed off and pretended to do it out of self-defense or some other reason.” He sighed, leading me into the parlor. “I’ve been trying to get Vincent to change his act, but I don’t think anything can make him see the other side.”

“So you know all about this?”

“I do. I see the way he can lose his temper, but I have also seen how sweet he can be. For example, I think he likes a woman that’s currently staying here. He’s told me all about her and I have never heard him talk this much about anyone. He always sounds so excited, like I just bought him a puppy or something. She wants to be turned into a vampire, though I’m not sure why.”

“It’s because she doesn’t want to die,” I replied, realizing where he was going from here. “That woman is my girlfriend, Alexis Cloud. She’s here for cancer treatment. She didn’t want to start it at home and the doctors said it would be fine as long as she did everything they asked. She has, but it’s not doing much. She’s still sick as ever and that’s why we came here. She wants to be turned.”

Claude’s face fell at that. “Oh. She wants to turn into a vampire because she’s tired of being sick?”

“She’s tired of doctors, tired of treatment, tired of living like this. I can’t say I blame her though. But deep down, I don’t think turning into a vampire is the right decision. I’ve tried to reason with her, but she’s so adamant about it. I don’t think I’ll ever get through to her.”

“But you have to,” he said, going over to the tin on the table and taking out some macaroons. Handing me one, he went on. “I agree with everything you said. Turning into a vampire is not a fun thing. The process is long and painful. Becoming one does not mean you become free. Is your girlfriend aware that she will have to be under our control?”

“I told her that. Somehow, she doesn’t care.”

“That desperate, huh?” he sighed, eating another macaroon. “I do want you to know that I don’t agree with Vincent’s methods. I’ve tried my hardest to teach my son that vampires are to be respected like human beings. But I think he takes after his mother. Ever since she died, he has been completely on edge. He can’t seem to laugh or be happy anymore. The only time I see him smile is when I see him torture someone.”

I was close to agreeing until I remembered the party. Vincent’s face. I remembered how it was glowing and how thrilled he was. He didn’t hurt Alexis nor did he go after anyone else until the party was over. The guy could smile and not hurt somebody at the same time. Still, this gave me a question.

“Have you ever seen him on his birthday? Did the guy ever have any birthday parties where he was happy?”

“I haven’t been to any of his birthdays since he was ten.” Claude admitted. “Once my wife passed away, I slowly started to pull from him. Pretty soon, I stopped caring. I was busy trying to make amends with vampires to pay attention to him. I guess if you want to blame someone for how he turned out, you can blame me. If I had been more careful, if I had seen the signs, then he wouldn’t be what he is.”

“So you’re saying he wouldn’t be a dick?”

“No. He might be a person that cared about others, someone who would follow in my path and not that of his ancestors.” He looked down at his hands. “I did this. I came back only because I heard about the disruptions in this mansion. I was going to brush it aside, but I’m glad I didn’t. It’s clear that we need order here.”

“We don’t just need order. We need to be free,” I pointed out. “These vampires want to be vampires, but don’t get very much to do outside of this house. No, I’m not saying they have to become murderers, but I think they need stop living in fear of your family. There’s got to be a balance.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Claude said. “You seem to be the only one who thinks of bringing balance. I wish Vincent thought like you.”

I blinked. “Are you sure you’re related?”

“I’m positive on this. Vincent’s been influenced by my late wife more than he was by me. But if you can help me, maybe we can put your plan of getting things in balance to action. What do you say?”

I shrugged. “I say great, but I have no such plan.”

“Then you can leave the planning to me. In the meantime, don’t spread a word about this to anyone, especially not my son. He’s not going to understand. However, if he confronts you, I want you to be prepared. Fight back. Show him that you are not going to fall in front of him.”

“Yeah, but your son...”

“Listen to me.” Now he knelt before me so I could stare into those light blue eyes. They were so much more different from Vincent’s. Vince had eyes that looked empty whereas his father seemed more alive. I wanted to believe him. “I know what Vincent is capable of. You’ve only seen parts of his anger. Once you get on his worst side, you can never get out of it. The only way that you can fight back is standing up to him and showing that you aren’t going down. You have to protect what’s yours.”

“Alexis...” I murmured.

“You shouldn’t give her to him. He has to learn that he can’t have everything that he wants.” He looked down the hallway where Vincent’s office was. “You stay here. I’m going to talk with him right now.”

“But he might...”

“He wouldn’t.” He shook his head. “My son knows better than to lose it on me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“That’s the only thing I’m sure about. But you shouldn’t be following me, and don’t make any mention of our conversation.” He put his finger to his lips. “It’s our secret.”

I didn’t know how I caught it but I found his hidden message. “You... You plan on doing something to this place?”

“I’m going to set them all free,” he admitted, looking out the window. His eyes went down to the forest. “I’m sorry to hear he killed the horses. I rather liked them. I thought he did, too.”

“No one knew he would do that.”

“He’s unhinged, which is why I have to set them free.” Claude looked at me. “As for you, I need you and anyone you brought along to leave. Also, keep silent about my plan to everyone. I’ll let them know. You just worry about getting yourself out of here.”