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After this I sped off into the night, drowning out the sound of my heart breaking as I thought about Lucius, doing so with the roaring sounds of a V8 engine as I floored it along the highway. My new identity now sat in the glovebox along with a new license and passport. When Big B had said to give me the works, he hadn’t been kidding as I even had the car ‘registered’ in my new name. His guy, Jimmy, had come through in a big way and it had to be said that he had been a master at his craft.
Although, finding out that Jimmy was in fact seventeen years old, lived in his mother’s basement and was clearly a computer hacker on the side, wasn’t exactly what I had been expecting. But then I also hadn’t expected to be shown in by his sweet wholesome looking mother or finding myself stepping over empty pop tart boxes as I navigated the steps down to his ‘apartment’. Something the skinny seventeen-year-old obviously thought was a nutritional staple in life, that and power drinks. The pyramid of pop tart boxes in the corner and the four toasters sat on top of a large glass cooler filled with cans, being the biggest indicator.
Then again, the freshly baked cookies his mother brought down for us was a nice touch, even though I did kind of want to ask her if she believed her son had made good life choices...you know, considering that her son worked for the bad guys.
However, when she mentioned that her Jimmy would help get me a good grade on my paper, I took a few things from this. One, she either had some major denial going on that may have been aided by drugs or I looked a lot younger than I was in what she must have thought was me wearing a school uniform.
Either way, neither of these things explained why I was in her basement at three in the morning and she thought it a good time to make cookies. Needless to say, the drugs theory won over my youthful looks...besides, I had seen myself in the mirror lately and knew that after the day I’d just had, then let’s just say that cracks were starting to show.
Not that Jimmy would have noticed. In fact, the kid barely even acknowledged me as a new presence in his life...period. In fact, I think that I would have received more of a reaction out of him had I been dressed as a giant pop tart doing a sexy dance and juggling soda cans, than the tired, slightly slutty looking flight attendant I looked. Clearly this kid wasn’t being ruled by his hormones, that was for damn sure. Nope, it was nothing but sugar and binary code running through this kid’s veins. Although, why he had asked Big B if I had been hot was anyone’s guess. Maybe he had been too scared off by the bitten dick comment to even acknowledge me.
Whatever the reason, other than looking at me long enough to flash a quick picture and ask me what I wanted my new name to be, that was pretty much the extent of my stay. Meaning that I had been back in my car in no time at all with a new life in my hands and a free cookie.
“Seriously, could this night get anymore fucked up?” I asked myself out loud, allowing the sound of my car starting up to be my only answer. Because after this, I had driven for another hour before I found that I could keep going no longer. Which was why I pulled off the 85 after seeing signs for Bluestone Wild Forest and forgoing the Best Western for something cheaper. For starters, I didn’t know how long my money would last, so knew I needed to be conservative with my funds. Which meant that the end of my night was signaled by the rumbling burble of the exhaust as I pulled into the free space at the cheap hotel passing a sign for the Kingston Plaza.
“Great, just had to be a King in there somewhere,” I muttered to myself after getting out of the car and stretching before shivering in the freezing early morning air. After this I grabbed my bag and got myself a room, ignoring the questioning looks I received from the receptionist, that clearly spoke of how much I needed caffeine almost as much as I needed a bed. I knew this when she gave me one of those judging looks up and down, so I couldn’t help myself after I too looked down at myself, seeing what she saw, which admittedly was a mess. That’s when I told her,
“It was a Hell of a flight.” Then with a shrug of my shoulders I grabbed my keycard and pulled my case along, fully intent on getting my tired ass to my room as quickly as possible. Once inside I spent all of about thirty seconds taking in the blue carpet, basic furniture and bedding that had large bright blue circles over it that gave me a headache after only five of those seconds allocated. Then I dropped my bag, took a deep shuddering breath, knowing I had finally made it and quickly ran to the toilet so I could throw up nothing but bile.
After this I let my emotional wall come crashing down all around me, starting with vomiting and ending with me slumped down against the wall sobbing uncontrollably. I knew I was being too loud, so raised my hand to put a fist in my mouth when I suddenly spotted the blood on my fingers. This was such a sobering sight that suddenly I burst into hysterical laughter that I knew marked the sign for both exhaustion and stress.
Which was when I found myself stood at the sink, first looking down at my hands and then back up at my face. Now seeing the tear tracks were back, and although they were clear this time, they were still far too visible as they continued to run down my face, dripping to the sink from my chin.
So, I calmly removed my glasses, folding them gently before placing them on the counter. Then I first scrubbed at my hands before I went about washing my face. And I did this quietly, even methodically, all the while the tears didn’t stop, but they just continued to run down my cheeks, silently continuing despite how many times I tried to wash them away.
In the end I gave up trying what seemed like a hopeless endeavor. No, instead I cupped my hands, drank down as much as I could to rid myself the bitter taste of bile and undressed. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to shower for fear I would fall asleep, slip and crack my head open. And seriously, after everything I had survived over the last few weeks, then dying in a two-star hotel from being clumsy wasn’t exactly how I would have imagined going out.
When I was down to my underwear, I walked over to the bed, briefly glancing at the window and seeing nothing but that damn sign.
Kingston Plaza...like the bloody land of Kings or something!
Fucking typical!
I tore my face from it, not even bothering with the curtains before I crawled beneath the sheets and turned out the light, closing my sore, tired eyes on everything that was now wrong with my life. And like all those nights before Lucius had become a fixture in my life...
I dreamt of a Vampire King.
“Amelia...my Amelia...my Khuba.” The moment I heard this being whispered in my ear, every muscle in my body tensed before I heard that consuming voice of his cooing down at me,
“Be easy, sweetheart...calm for me,” he told me, and I found I could do little else but obey, relaxing back as if feeling myself sinking under. Which was when I finally opened my eyes and saw Lucius leaning down over me in the bed. He was dressed how he usually was, in some dark suit only without the jacket. A tight fitted waistcoat that was a dark red this time and the black shirt underneath was rolled at the sleeves, showing his thick leather glove. But despite how sexy he looked, there was a haunted look to his features.
He looked...worried?
Actually, he looked as if there was a pain behind his eyes and it was one I couldn’t understand. Did he feel guilty that I had discovered his secret? But surely, for that to happen he would first have to have felt something for me. Could it be possible that he had fallen for us both?
No! I was not doing that! I was not going to that dark place.
Which was when I started to mutter,
“This isn’t real.” And I knew it wasn’t because there was no way he could have found me. At least not this quickly. I had left no traces since leaving behind the Ferrari. There was also no reason why he would come looking for me, unless he had been ordered to do so...had my mother put him up to this? Gods, the idea was sickening.
“It’s as real as it needs to be,” he told me cryptically, making me frown and turn my head away, which was when the bed started to shift beneath me. I felt strange...as though it was made of a liquid I couldn’t yet feel soaking into my skin. But then I looked down at myself and saw that I was back to wearing what I had been before I had changed, swapping clothes with the flight attendant.
It was the last thing that Lucius had remembered me wearing and that’s when I realised this was his doing, not my own. This was Lucius’ control, something that was confirmed when he rose from the bed and without touching me, he beckoned me closer with his hand. I felt myself floating up, being pushed from behind by the body of vapour that the sheets had turned into, before then evaporating from my skin. One I knew that in reality was naked, as I had stripped off when I had collapsed into bed at close to five in the morning.
But still, I rose up without commanding my own body to do so and soon stood facing Lucius in a shadowed room, that barely allowed anything to be seen other than Lucius and myself. Which was when I realised what this was.
“Am I in the Void?” I asked knowing this was a state of mind that was like a blank space the Supernatural beings of the world could access and bring others into if they chose. From what I understood about it, this was a part of the mind that could be used for communication or allowing another to access memories, visions or even a method of control. It was usually a protected place, but that protection only relied on how strong the person was at blocking others out or how strong the person was that was trying to get in. Now, from what I gathered, you could allow this connection if you chose to do so. But for Lucius, well he was the master of commanding the will of others, meaning that there was no one strong enough to block him. Well, no one other than the witch and well...me and before she became one of his Vampires, my mother.
But then it also made sense why he was here now. As it was becoming obvious that during the times I slept my mind was left vulnerable to a certain extent. No doubt added by the emotional state I was in. Which also made sense as to how the witch had been able to access that part of my mind. And right now, it was how Lucius was breaking into my Void against my will. Something I could tell was taking its toll, as Lucius looked strained, telling me this was taking a lot of his energy. But then...he wasn’t the only one.
I knew this when he ignored my question and I found it near impossible to resist as he commanded in a stern tone,
“Come here.” So, I stepped towards him, looking at my feet disappearing in the grey fog that surrounded us.
“We are in your Void,” he told me, being honest despite the fact I already had gathered as much. I looked around at the black open space around us that looked like an endless room.
“Why?” I asked wondering why it was I hadn’t yet slapped him or screamed at him for breaking my heart. Or was keeping me calm all part of it?
“You will know soon enough, now turn around,” he commanded making me do as I was told, and it felt strangely as if I had become a puppet in the hands of a master manipulator, being forever pulled the way he wanted me to go by invisible strings. It was as if my body belonged to him and my mind was nothing more than the remote he used to get me to do as he wanted. He almost seemed matter of fact, or was he just trying to get the job done quickly?
“Now, I want you to look inside this mirror and focus on the last time you saw your face.” I frowned wondering why he wanted me to do this and was about to tell him no. Especially when remembering now what it was and before I could stop my foolish self, it started to appear. The mirror above the sink in the hotel room. It was all starting to appear in front of me, only now there was a dark shadow behind me. I even raised my hand to wipe away what seemed like the never-ending tears on my face. I also saw that I was wearing what I had been, the untucked shirt over the tight, ripped pencil skirt.
I looked down at the dried blood on my hands and found myself tightening my fists.
“Tell me who fucking hurt you?!” he snapped seeing for himself and the moment he did, I plunged my hands into the water, telling him in a tone void of emotion,
“You did.”
Then the tap came on and I grabbed handfuls, splashing it all over my face scrubbing away the tears that continued to fall. I glanced to Lucius to see him snarl to his side, tearing his eyes from the view of what he had done to me.
“What comes next, show me!” he snapped, clearly struggling with the reality of what he was demanding of me. I pulled the plug letting the water drain, watching it in slow motion as if the water symbolized my life. I then started to drag the shirt over my head, and unzip the back of my skirt, before letting it slip to the floor. There should have been a bruise on my knee from using it to break that guy’s face, but I knew that, like my hand and my head, I had healed already. Thanks to Lucius’ blood in my system, I couldn’t help but wonder how long that piece of him would last within me? Days, weeks...maybe a month or two?
Maybe if I just started running...maybe if I just ran and ran and ran until I could run no more, maybe then I could get him out of my system? I looked behind me around the incessant space and asked myself if I started now, would I ever find the end, or would I die long before?
“Back to the room,” Lucius said in a strained clipped tone that told me he was losing his hold on controlling this Void of mine. But even so, I couldn’t hold myself back from doing as I was told. Which meant that the moment I turned around, he stepped back so I could take a step forward, and in doing so my surroundings changed. The Void morphed into the room I was staying in and like I had done before passing out, I walked towards the bed in just my underwear. Then just before I was about to get into bed, mimicking reality, he spoke.
“Stop. Now take a good look around.”
“Why?”
“Look around the room, Amelia,” he said but this time the whispered voice was one of seduction in my ear and I looked down to see his arm held at the front of me, a palm to my naked belly. But it was one that didn’t make contact, just one acting as though it wanted to. So, I looked up and as I did the pieces of the room started to emerge from the shadows as my mind brought each piece of it forward into the light. It was like accessing a memory...or should I say, Lucius was.
Which was when something started to niggle at the back of my mind. It was that small voice of doubt asking myself why? Asking myself why he would want this...why he was here now, asking to see the room?
“Focus, Amelia...focus solely on my voice.”
“But I...” I tried to argue, bringing back my own voice of doubt.
“No! Only on my voice...now walk over to the desk.” I frowned as I did as he asked, but the moment I started to waver he growled angrily,
“Fuck! You didn’t even look at it,” he hissed irritably to himself.
“Alright, now walk over to the window,” he ordered next and again I wanted to hold back, seeing it now as it started to emerge, beginning with the edges. Pieces of it started to knit together, like time was merely a thread that could be woven just as easily as it could be unraveled. The blue curtains, ones that matched the carpet beneath my feet started to come into focus.
“Go on...a little closer...a little bit more...” he urged, and his voice was becoming so strained, it was almost too painful to hear.
“Quickly now...quickly Amelia, run towards it now!” he said panicked and I did, I ran and the second I saw what he wanted me to see I screamed, now knowing that it was all a plot to find me! I knew it the second I saw that sign and felt the promised threat whispered in my ear,
“Finally... I’ve got you now!”
After this I woke up and screamed one name,
“Kingston plaza!” I bolted upright and before even giving it thought I jumped out of bed, tripping up over the bedding that tumbled out with me. I grabbed a hand to my pounding chest and tried to breathe through my panic. The sun was blaring through the window telling me it was some point during the day, and I bent forward to try and ward off the nausea I felt starting to rise. I also found myself stumbling towards the wall so I could hold myself up against the light-headedness. One I knew was from lack of food and water and no doubt the remnants of the dream.
I found my way to the bathroom and without looking at anything else found myself bent over the sink so I could take large gulps of water from the tap, drinking it down before splashing water on my face. But it was only on straightening up, that the true nature of that dream started to seep back in and with it the dangers I now faced.
Lucius had found me!
“Shit!” I shouted before I was quickly running into action. I grabbed the bag I was yet to open and found a few spare outfits, so picked the most casual. This turned out to be a pair of dark denim leggings that actually fit me pretty good and a plain white t shirt, that was a bit snug over my larger breasts, which meant it ended up showing a line of skin at my belly. To this I also unrolled a khaki light-weight jacket that was an open draped front, parker style. One that told me the flight attendant chick didn’t exactly pack for the weather.
I had also grabbed an insanely quick shower after finding a well-stocked vanity bag that had pretty much everything I needed and lots, lots more. The only items that I was left wearing that actually belonged to me were my glasses and my bra because there was no way I was getting into her B cups.
In total, it took me a record breaking fifteen minutes to get ready and out the door just as the phone started ringing. I froze with my hand glued on the handle as I looked back at the phone, doing so now as if it was a bomb about to go off. I held my breath as it rang and rang and rang some more before it finally stopped. This blessed silence then had the power to release me as I snapped out of it.
“Screw you!” I ground out bitterly before letting the door slam behind me, and quickly getting to the reception so I could check out. But then I found a different receptionist on the phone, saying in irritation,
“I am sorry, Sir, but it is like I said, I cannot force a guest to...oh wait, here she is,” she quickly added the moment she saw me coming and I released a deep tired sigh before asking her,
“I am sorry, but do you mind giving us a minute?” She obviously grasped the situation pretty quickly and said,
“Sure, I will just be in the back room, take as long as you need.” Then I took in a deep breath and put the phone to my ear, bracing myself for the sound of his voice.
“What do you want, Lucius?” I asked and his reply hit me like a punch to the chest.
“What do I want...? What the fuck do you think I want, Amelia...? Get your ass back home now!” he snapped sounding furious and this only managed to ignite my own rage, only mine was displayed with deadly calm,
“I am not a child, Luc, and I can do whatever the Hell I want with my life,” I said making a point of calling him a name I had never done before, and he knew it, as I could hear the faint rumbling of a growl from his end.
“Yeah, and just how long is that life going to last out there unprotected?!”
“I think I have proven enough times how capable I am at surviving on my own, so if you don’t mind, I have shit to do, so I will...” I started to say when he quickly interrupted me on an angry growl of words,
“Don’t you dare hang up! So help me by the Gods, I will...”
“You will what, Luc, huh...because last time I checked you already ripped out my fucking heart and stepped on it, so what...you wanna see what more damage you can do?!” I snapped feeling the Gods’ forsaken tears start to rise.
“You have this completely wrong and if you had just waited for five fucking minutes before running off, then you would have given me the time to explain that!” he argued making me frown so hard it ached.
“I know what I saw! And I know what I heard! Which means that I don’t need your interpretation of events to clarify shit! We are done, we are over and the quicker you get that through your stubborn royal ass head the better this will be! So, you can just quit pretending to give a shit and run back off to mummy dearest and tell her that you tried your best!” I told him, now gripping the phone so hard my knuckles were white and I added something else to that list of things that ached, the main one being that of my fucking heart!
But Lucius wasn’t done...not by a long shot.
“Now you listen to me, my girl and you listen well, you and I will never be done, we will never be over, which means I will NEVER stop looking for you. I will fucking hunt you down to the ends of the Earth and beyond...so unless you want a hard time running, then I suggest you keep your ass there and be ready for me because... I. Am. Coming. For. You!” he snarled dangerously, emphasizing each word and I swallowed hard after first closing my eyes against the sound of his threatening promise.
Then I placed a fist to the chasm sized hole in my chest and took a deep breath. One I needed if I was ever to say my Goodbye.
“Then to the ends of the Earth is where it will be...”
“Amelia...”
“Goodbye Luc. Have a nice eternity with...with someone else’s Chosen One,” I said interrupting the threatening way he snarled my name, before I dropped the phone on the counter, along with my keycard and walked out the door to the sound of him calling my name before he then cursed it to the Gods.
Cursed it to the Gods that had long ago cursed me with broken fate.
Then I left this...
Heartbreak Hotel.
Lucius