The Embrace (42 page)

Gabriel wasn’t even looking at me anymore. He was on a tangent. Obviously he had been waiting for the chance to tell someone all of his twisted principles. I could imagine him preaching these beliefs to the other vampires in the Order. Now that everything was out in the open, he was rapidly losing his grip on his sanity.

“We’re too sentimental these days. We have attachments that we spend far too long dwelling on. Our sires and our mates just makes us weaker.”

“Then why can’t we leave our sire? If it’s so meaningless then why can’t I just leave you for good.” I asked, no longer caring if I enraged him. I half expected him to plunge the dagger in to my skin again but he didn’t. He had the calm exterior that is often more terrifying than the rage itself.

“Don’t get me started on that. We should be looking to the animal kingdom. These creatures are born, spend a little bit of time with their parents for some guidance, and then they are free to make their own lives. Every creature they encounter brings them closer to the next stage of life. The only reason we have these ridiculous attachments is because of habit. I told you once about my theory on invitations, didn’t I?”

I nodded and the memory flashed before me. Gabriel had been sure that invitations were a product of years of superstition. When vampires started to believe the superstitions created by humans, then eventually they came to pass. If you believe something enough you can make it happen, or so Gabriel believed.

“I think the original vampires, millions of years ago, had only a few flaws. Sunlight, fire, beheading, and of course the old stake to the heart.” Gabriel picked the dagger up and eyed it lustfully. “Eventually they started to believe the nonsense about invitations and the sire, the things humans made up, and soon they couldn’t escape it. That’s the truth. You don’t actually need to be with me at all, it’s just the product of centuries of false belief.”

He started to pace backwards and forwards and I could see sweat forming on his brow. The more he talked, the more he seemed to fall apart right in front of me.

“I was an orphan. I was created in 1647 in Belgium. My sire was about 300 years older than me, a female. She looked a bit like you, blonde and sort of angelic despite her demonic nature. I met her in a brothel, of all places. I was about 26, and a drunkard. I visited the brothel regularly but when I got there one night there was a new girl. She was exquisitely beautiful but far too innocent to be a whore; she was just like a little doll. Everyone wanted to be with her but she chose me. She took me to the bedroom and then she killed me.

When I woke up she told me her name was Eleanor and that she was a vampire. We stayed together for about 6 months or so. I was like a little puppy dog, following her around and begging her for attention. I was just like so many other weak vampires who rely on their sire for everything. She had such control over me it makes me sick to think about it now. She was more powerful and manipulative than I am, even today. She was a true master of her craft. After those 6 months, she forced me to kill her. I didn’t want to but she convinced me.

It’s funny how things like that work out, don’t you think? She chose to torment me by forcing me to kill her but I choose a different approach to torture my victims. I like to make someone destroy themselves. I use love, the most destructive emotion of all. You were a bit of an experiment for me, I guess. It worked out well, didn’t it?”

He started to laugh. I was growing tired of all of Gabriel’s nonsensical, egotistical ramblings. He had never been particularly trustworthy or reliable, but I was worried that his crumbling sanity would make him more likely to snap at a moments notice.

“Why did you pick me? Why not any of the other girls?” I asked.

“You look just like Eleanor. You were practically her reincarnation. I watched you for a long time  before the night of the murders. I saw you when you were walking home with your parents from the cinema one night. Your hair caught the light and it was like meeting Eleanor all over again. It was one of those moments when everything falls in to place, and I knew I had to have you.

I watched you for a long time, working out your routine and the personality of your family. Your sister was pretty but vacuous, your brother was rebellious and in love with a girl who was only interested in the fairytale notion of a romance with a soldier. Your father had no back bone, and your mother was a social climber. She barely showed you any affection compared to your dad. I knew keeping your mother alive would torment you the most. You had the most difficult relationship with her so I kept her alive to make sure you would be unhappy with your life after the murders. I wanted you to be as weak as you could during your human life, to make sure that you would be eager to be turned by me one day.”

It felt strange to hear the truth behind those eight important years. I had already been told that they were a lie, but hearing the details hammered it home. I knew that being a vampire was my calling but I still felt a pang for the experiences I had lost. 

I felt like such a fool. Robert and Aiden both knew the truth about my former mate, but I had been so gullible. Despite being closer to him than either of his foes, I had been fooled every time. Like an idiot, I was taken in by his charm and good looks.

“So who is this other vampire who has stolen your heart? I have to say, I didn’t factor that in to the plan. I was doing so well, you were falling apart in front of me, and then this other vampire appeared. It did derail the plan a little, I have to admit.” He sighed and I saw some loss in his eyes.

For a second I thought that maybe he wasn’t that cold, but then I realised the sadness came from the thought of damage to his meticulously thought out plan.

I didn’t want to tell him. If I was going to die the I had to be certain that Robert was safe. I couldn’t mention him, or Aiden. I had to be strong for the sake of those I would leave behind. I could tell that Gabriel was mentally deranged and someone like that can never be trusted.

“He’s ancient and far more powerful than you. He’s been following me for a while and when I met him, I fell in love. It was so simple with him. He is the complete opposite of you, but he is exactly what a vampire should be.”

Every word I said was the truth. Gabriel listened but as I finished I saw rage flashing through him. He clearly didn’t want to be compared to the lover who had ruined his plans so close to their completion. He grabbed me by the throat, hard enough to leave bruises on my skin.

“Let’s just get one thing straight, Louisa.” He whispered threateningly. “
I
am what a vampire should be. I am a predator and I am designed to kill. That’s what a vampire should be. Your little fling is nothing compared to me, and he never will be.”

I could see Gabriel shake as his fury gripped hold of him. My time had run out, but I was proud that I hadn’t revealed Robert’s true identity. That was more important than any futile attempts to save my own life.

With rage clouding his judgement, he lifted the dagger up in a slow arch, the dagger end pointed towards my heart. I knew that if Gabriel stabbed me it wouldn’t kill me, but each wound he had inflicted had been more painful than the last. A dagger to the heart would hurt just as much as a stake, but without the release of death at the end.

I didn’t want to die, but I had accepted that it was going to happen. Gabriel was older and stronger than me, and there was no way out. If he wanted me to die, then I was going to die.

I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the waves of pain that were about to shoot through every inch of my body.

The pain didn’t come. I waited a few seconds before opening my eyes. Gabriel was still crouched in front of me but he was looking around wildly, as if trying to find something which had been carefully hidden.

I stopped for a moment and tried to pinpoint what had distracted him. There was a tiny movement in the back of my mind, as if something was running rapidly around the nest too quickly for me to pick up any clear information.

A strange feeling of peace fell over me, and I realised that there was another vampire in the building. There had to be, if they had the power to alter my emotions and calm me down. Gabriel had obviously sensed a supernatural presence in the building too, hence his sudden change of heart about plunging the dagger in to my heart.

He stood up in a slow, careful movement and pressed a finger to his lips to urge me to be silent. I felt like screaming out but I knew that it wouldn’t do any good. Whoever was in the building would be able to find us whether I screamed or not.

The stirring in my head grew stronger and then the door to the apartment was thrown open with a loud boom. There was a streak of black, blurred by the speed and skill of the creature. I could tell that someone had entered the room but they moved too quickly for any details to be visible.

The creature stopped beside us and the owner was unmistakeable. Standing next to us with an intimidating, chilling look on his face, was Robert. Somehow he had managed to follow my trail, just in time, and his presence filled me with hope. He was older and stronger than Gabriel, and fuelled by his love for me, so surely he could kill his rival without any exertion.

“Nice to finally meet you Gabriel.” Robert said with surprising calm.

He grabbed Gabriel by the throat and threw him across the room as if he was nothing more than a scrap of paper. I wanted to laugh. It finally felt as if I had caught a break after all these months of bad luck.

Robert leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “Sorry I didn’t get here earlier.”

I wanted to ask how he had managed to get to the flat in the first place but Gabriel was slowly standing up at the other side of the room, and I knew Robert would have to fight him. All my questions, all the things I had to say, could wait until after this was done.

I twisted my hands in every direction, desperately trying to free myself. My feet were tied together too but I thought freeing my hands first would be the best plan. I tried every way I could think of but the restrictions still didn’t loosen. I could squirm all I wanted but I wouldn’t get anywhere.

I wanted to stand up and fight alongside Robert to give him every advantage, but I would have to sit and watch as these men struggled over me. If Robert won then he would become my new sire, and we would be together for the rest of time. I would finally have a chance to be happy, with someone I knew I could trust. But if Gabriel won then both Robert and I would potentially lose our lives. Even if he let me survive, I knew I would live a life worse than death. Gabriel would never let me forget my attempts to derail his plans. There was so much riding on Robert’s victory, but all I could do was sit and watch. 

Robert had reached Gabriel now and he threw a punch at him. Gabriel, driven by pure madness, launched himself at his opponent, pushing him backwards on to the sofa. I hadn’t expected Gabriel to have this much power when fighting against such an ancient foe. I suppose he had no attachments and nothing to lose. He was willing to fight to the death just to prove his point.

Robert got up quickly and ducked out of the way as Gabriel threw himself forward. He moved with lightning speed until he was by my side again. He reached down and pulled apart the restraints on my feet as easily as if there was nothing there. He moved to undo the ropes tying my hands but Gabriel had recovered quicker than expected and so my new love had to return to the fight.

Gabriel brandished the dagger, waving it around and stabbing the air like a mad man. Robert needed a weapon if he was going to fight his way out of this. I looked around the room to find something. I couldn’t move my arms but I could still be of some use.

I looked around frantically and my eyes landed on the fireplace. Sitting just beside it was a small container, holding all of the tools humans use to build a fire. There was a poker in amongst the objects which immediately grabbed my attention. It didn’t have a wooden part to it but it was enough to fight Gabriel off for a moment, and hopefully give Robert a precious few moments to regain the upper hand.

I wanted to yell out but Gabriel’s position meant that he could block off the fireplace in a second. Robert had communicated with me, during his period as my stalker, by placing visions and thoughts in my head. I had taken his blood so I knew we had a connection, and I would still have some of his strength left in me. Hopefully I could plant the thought of the poker in Robert’s head using our connection, and my gift. At this point anything was worth a shot.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself, although it was difficult. I let my mind focus entirely on the fireplace and the potential weapon standing next to it. I visualised every inch of it as well as I could. I had no idea what I was doing, but my instincts had proven to be strong when it came to my abilities.

I tried to push the image towards Robert, blocking Gabriel out at the same time. I imagined a car travelling along a road with an important package to deliver; the road was the passage between our minds and the package was the information I wanted to communicate.

I tried this for a few seconds and then something lifted. I had been focusing so much that my head had started to throb and then in just one moment everything became lighter. I realised that Robert must have received my message, the package had been delivered.

I opened my eyes and smiled, just a little, at my triumph. A vampire at my young age shouldn’t be able to do something as complex as that but I suppose drastic situations bring out extraordinary abilities in even the youngest creature.