sanguineangels (46 page)

I nodded, wiping my dripping nose with the back of my hand.

“I’m sorry. It’s just I never really understood what you went through. I know you told me about how you became what you are. How the vampire personality is. But I just experienced it, and the pain you felt after you realized what you’d done. I’m so sorry. What he did to you. And you loved him, invited him into your life. You were so entranced. You never knew what he was.”

Veronica looked at me quizzically, trying to process what I said. “You saw all of that by touching the floor?”

I nodded again. “The emotions, the events of that night remained embedded in the dried blood. When I first woke up I didn’t know this was your old home. How did we get here anyway?”

Veronica sat back on her heels. “I brought you here. I flew well into the day to get here. I had to bring you here to keep you from—”

“I knew it. You rescued me from that creature that attacked me.”

Veronica started shaking her head. “No, you don’t understand. I was the thing that harmed you. Ronnie got out. I finally got her under control again. I brought you here so Devon wouldn’t find us. At least not for a while. Eventually, he’ll catch up. I just hope we have enough time.”

She had been the thing that assaulted me! Veronica had been the beast that held me captive. Was I a piece of meat? I backed away from her until my ass hit the wall.

“How could you?”

“I tried to stop her.” She moved toward me, tears trailing down her cheeks. She pressed her fingers to my lips. I felt her heartbeat through her fingertips. It was beating faster than mine. “I never meant to hurt you. I was locked away. She didn’t recognize your scent or your voice. It’d been so long since she was free. Seeing you with Devon made my control slip. Everything just boiled over. I’m so sorry. Once I tasted you, felt your blood in my mouth, I broke free and forced Ronnie back into her cage. I spit everything out I had taken.

“I threw you across the courtyard and shut your mind down, not believing what I had done. I took you in my arms, and Devon appeared. He was the one who attacked you the first time, taunting me with your blood. I resisted him.” Veronica paused, running her fingers over the wounds on my neck.

I winced a little, but I saw true pain and regret in her lavender eyes.

“He said he’d already tasted you. The first night you met him.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” I whispered. A growing sense of dread welled up in my brain. She said she saw me with Devon. I had been on a date with Cain. No, she couldn’t be right. I knew what she was going to say, but I couldn’t hear it.

“To you, he’s Cain. To me, he’s Devon. You don’t believe me, I can see that. But some part of you does. So listen to me and heed my advice instead of pushing it aside as I did the gypsy’s warning. You know who he is. You’ve fucked him. He wormed his way into your life just as he worked his way into mine. This time you won’t have to suffer the same fate as me. But he’ll come for us, and use you to get to me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Yes, you do. You already know it’s the truth.”

I lowered my eyes, knowing she was right. Even when I didn’t want to acknowledge it, I knew Cain was Devon, her master. How could such a monster come into my life without me knowing it? Without my intuition giving me a warning? I knew that answer too. I believed my mask for so long I didn’t sense real danger when it kicked me in the ass. Now I knew better. I wouldn’t let the monster into my mind again. The more I thought of him, the more I wanted his hands fluttering over my body, his mouth pressing against mine. Veronica was right. He was a demon, and he’d used both of us.

“So what do we do now?” I asked.

Veronica sighed, pushing back the drapes, wincing at the streaming sunlight filling the room. “Now we wait.”

My name is Veronica
.

We walked along the darkened streets of Boston, smelling a hint of the oncoming fall in the air. I’d forgotten what it was like to be in this part of the country. To be in a place that altered seasons as a person changed clothes. I’d traveled, running for so long. I hadn’t stopped to enjoy nature’s wonders. Even with Brenna at my side, happiness was fleeting. Devon would soon intrude upon our serenity. The uncertainty inside of her overwhelmed her senses as she mulled the events of the past few nights. Deep down she didn’t want to believe Devon was the man she’d fallen in love with. I knew Devon could manipulate things. I felt the same way whenever I thought of him and the past.

I wondered what it would be like to be a naïve young girl again, walking through Boston Common. If a wind had not come up that day, I might not have seen Devon, or he might not have seen me. I’d have been buried in the cool earth, next to my family and perhaps a husband. Wouldn’t that be something? Dying of old age, instead of living as the creature I was today. Devon assumed that by destroying my family, I’d severed all of my ties with humanity and become like him, but he was wrong. Brenna experienced that when she zoomed in on the emotions left in the blood on the floor. How she achieved it I wasn’t sure. The screams of the past echoed in her psyche as they did mine; the pain was horrible and deafening if I listened to it. She only suffered it second hand, like watching a bad horror movie. If only Brenna knew the true torment I endured day in and day out from my actions.

Through her, I remembered what it was like to see my sister’s desecrated body laying on the bed in the aftermath of my transformation. I tried to shake the memory from my mind, but it was too strong. It took over my mind and once again I had to relive my past transgressions.

* * * *

I woke as the sun sank below the horizon, the events of the previous night sticky in my mind. Something had happened, but I didn’t know what. I shielded my eyes from the receding daylight and struggled to get up. My muscles creaking as I stood. I looked down at my rust stained naked form, knowing I’d been the cause of the unlikely paint on my body. Tears threatened, but another voice inside my mind comforted me, telling me not to weep for the things I’d lost. They didn’t matter because I had been reborn into something better.

My senses were still highly tuned. The wind hurt my overdeveloped senses. I searched for Devon but couldn’t find him. I clamped my hands to my ears, shutting out the noises of the scurrying rats in the basement and the rumblings of the humans next door. As I thought about the noise lowering, it suddenly did. I took my hands off my ears and the sounds had lessened. I smiled and wandered out of the room, thinking I should wash up or I’d get a chill. In my room, I lit one of the lamps on the bureau. I watched a moment as black smoke billowed up from the cloth wick. The acrid stench of kerosene hit me. I crinkled my nose at it, not remembering a time when it smelled so bad. As the smoke came up it settled into my eyes, making them tear up. I sneezed and backed away, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.

A thin film of pink tinged ice had settled over the washbasin. I pushed my hand through it. The water temperature chilled the muscles of my hand, but instead of seizing up they bent easily. Gathering a handful of water, I threw some over my face. I scanned the bureau for a cloth and found nothing, but there were a few rags on the floor. I recognized them as my tattered nightgown. Using them, I scrubbed my body, the water turning redder and redder with each wringing.

My eyes closed each time the rag touched my skin, the cool water dribbling between my breasts. Even though the water was freezing, my body filled with warmth as I remembered Devon’s hands on me the night before, his dick inside me. The pleasure of the memory enveloped me as my thumb found my clit. The rag fluttered from my hand, my eyes half closed in satisfaction. I half expected Devon to come into the room and take me right there. Just the thought of my Master, who brought me into the world with his blood, helped to free me of the world I had come from. I remembered the feel of his blood when I opened my eyes. It felt like warm silk caressing my insides. I knew my Master would only let me suckle him when I had been good.

The other blood was almost as good, and as I remembered the thought of the blood my body tingled. I let the sensations overcome me and I came. Languidness overcame me from my manipulations. I wanted my Master to take me in his arms so I could please him. He would know what to do with me. He was nowhere to be found, and when I opened my eyes all thoughts of Master vanished as I saw what was left of my sister.

The thing that craved Devon’s touch receded as rapidly as it had come. I screamed. The windows and the mirror strained against the pitch and then shattered, sending glass into the street and into the room. I staggered over, looking down at the display. Mary’s lungs hung half in and half out of her shattered ribcage. Pieces of intestines peeked out from the bottom of the wound. Her flesh matched the hue of Devon’s eyes. I shook, not believing what I saw. My finger traced the fragmented lines of her chest. I tried to pull it back, but my body wouldn’t respond to the command. Unconsciously, I licked my lips as I remembered the taste of her bringing me back to life.

Part of me wanted to hug the body and weep, mourning the loss of my life. The slice Devon birthed desired to take the corpse in a lover’s embrace and dance, whirling faster and faster, laughing over the thought that I had escaped death. A strange duality raged in my mind. My sister’s face held serenity in death. She never felt a thing when I ripped out her throat and then her heart. Mary had been my devoted sister, giving her life so I could complete my change.

I traced the line of her jaw. A little voice told me I had nothing to worry about. I should trust my instincts, giving myself over to unbridled pleasure. I saw the beast as it sat behind my eyelids, waiting to be freed. Its maw of sharp teeth was slick with saliva. I felt its purr vibrate in my throat.

Let me out
, it whispered in my mind.
We’ll leave the corpse and find our Master. The human bitch is dead. We have been reborn. Let me out, and you’ll never have to blanch at the thought of humanity again.

I closed my eyes and found my body swaying, wanting to give in to the words and feeling of serenity I would have if the beast took hold. It begged to surge forth. I felt myself changing. My teeth were lengthening, my nails hardening to bone. Then the desecrated image of my sister flashed in my mind. It raced to the forefront of my thoughts and pushed the beast into the dark. It howled as I forced it back and sunk to my knees and cried over the body of my sister. Devon found me naked and weeping.

I looked up when I heard the weight of the boards creaking.

“Ronnie, why are you crying?” he cooed in my ear while hugging me to him.

The warmth of his flesh surprised me. I shivered as his wool shirt scraped against my skin, clinging to the little hairs on my arms. He brushed away a stray hair from my neck and kissed my throat. As his lips grazed the wounds he had inflicted last night, I moaned. The pressure of his lips on the puncture wound tore all thoughts of my sister from me. For a moment, the beast rose. My body temperature spiked with its emergence, but I fought it and my body cooled as the monster retreated. Devon felt the fire crawl over my skin and he responded, digging his fangs into my throat. I cried out in pain and pleasure as he sucked and then withdrew.

“Tell me your troubles?” he purred.

“How could you make me do this? She was my sister.” I gestured to the bed.

Devon glanced over at the corpse. A sneer crossed his face. “I don’t see anything but dead meat. You can’t mourn for what you have lost. You have me now. Isn’t that what you wanted? You had no complaints last night when you gorged on her blood. The blood of your parents. What’s wrong now?”

A gust of wind blew a bit of snow into the room. It chilled me to the core as I pushed away from Devon. His hand closed around my arm and he squeezed. The bones creaked and cracked in my upper arm. I began to scream as the pain overwhelmed me, but Devon placed his finger on my lips, silencing me. His lips pressed against my ear as he spoke.

“They are meat, Ronnie. Nothing more. And don’t think you are going away from me. You are mine. Just remember, it’s my blood that flows in your veins. Nothing you can do will ever change that fact. If you ever think of leaving me, I’ll do things to you you can only imagine. I’m sure that will never happen. This is just a phase until you mature, and then you’ll crave my domination over you. Every second of your life, you’ll do anything to please me. It’s in our nature to want pain and dominion. I know part of you longs for it even now. I smell it in your veins. Now what are you going to do?”

He withdrew his finger and the pain began to diminish in my broken arm as it healed. Everything was true. He was my Master, but that didn’t mean I had to kill. The beast desired to embrace him, to have him fuck and beat it into submission for its blatant disobedience. Part of me wanted to whimper at his feet, but no. I would never let that happen.

“Go to hell!” I whispered.

He slapped me. His claws scraped furrows in my check to the bone. I was thrown back against the wall into the mirror. Pieces of glass sliced my ass. Blood streamed down my face. Devon stood over me as I looked up at him. His eyes burned red in their already black orbs.

“Never speak to me that way again. Never show me defiance, Ronnie. I can be lovable or cruel. It’s your choice. If you leave me, you’ll die. You don’t know how to survive on your own. Be a good girl and come to me.”

He knelt down and licked my bleeding cheek. Underneath his black, forked tongue the skin tingled as it healed. I was getting lightheaded from the blood loss.

Devon stared at me and stroked the flesh between my breasts. “Come on.”

I stared into Devon’s eyes and felt my resolve melting away. He could be my safety.
No
, my rationality screamed. Anger overwhelmed me, initiating my transformation. My nails hardened and swiped the soft flesh of Devon’s neck. It was only a superficial wound. His talons slipped into my chest, piercing my ribcage. The hardness of his nails caressed my beating heart. Devon began to pull, ever so slightly. Breath caught in my throat.

“Please,” I whimpered. I didn’t want to die.

“Please what?” Devon asked, his voice laced with frost.

“Don’t kill me.”

“Don’t kill you. Why not? You have been such a bad child. Maybe if you ask me nicely, I won’t,” Devon hissed.

He squeezed harder on my heart. I convulsed underneath him. Stars appeared on the edge of my vision. I tried to breathe, but my lungs wouldn’t work. I didn’t want it to end like this and Devon knew that.

“Please don’t kill me, Master.”

Devon smiled. “Very good, Ronnie. For now you have been punished enough.” He gave my heart one more gentle squeeze for good measure, making sure I understood how cruel he could really be if I ever stepped out of line again. I convulsed again and the stars totally took over my vision. I descended with them into blackness.

* * * *

I still bore the scars he’d inflicted upon me that night. Five small star-shaped puckers where his talons entered my chest. They were yet another reminder of his mastery over me, and each time he fucked me, sucked me, beat me to a bloody pulp, I told myself it was my punishment. It was always his way of showing me he owned me. He made me believe I deserved the treatment. He always hoped I would come to my senses and beg him to fuck me or beat me, letting the beast out, but it never happened unless he forced his way into my mind and pulled the monster out. As the years grew, his control on me waned as he began to lose his interest, and he let me have some freedom. I could go into the night and feed the way I wanted. I snuck into hospitals and fed on the dying. Then one night when he was preoccupied with two whores, my courage came up.

I grabbed money and told Devon I was going to feed. He waved me off, lost in the blood-haze, and let me go, not bothering to monitor my thoughts. I flew until the sun forced me to seek shelter. Even though part of me yearned for its rays to eat away at me, I was not ready to give up. I had a new chance at life and would embrace it.

I wasn’t ready to curl up and die. I wanted to live. Even as I winged away that first day I didn’t know how to care, how to reinstate myself into society. Devon had taught me humans were food. I’d been alienated and knew only pain and the warped love Devon had shown me. Always apologizing after he beat me. Touching me gently. Sucking at my old wounds on my chest. Those were times I forgave him and forgot his brutality. It was the voice of my mortality that gave me the nerve to run from Devon. When Brenna reopened my heart once again, I couldn’t handle it. I lost myself to my nature, and in one sip destroyed the very relationship I cherished, using it to sate my beast.

“Veronica, did you hear me?” asked Brenna.

I looked at her blankly, shaking my head. I scanned the area we were around and found we had walked all through Boston Garden and the Common and were about to cross Tremont Street. I glanced up at the clock on the Park Street Church, noticing it was almost seven. The traffic was still as hectic as it had been in my time, but now the roar of engines replaced the clopping of horse drawn carriages. I missed the sounds the hooves made on the cobblestones, so crisp and clear.