part0020

At the sound of the door crashing open, Reina snatched her arm away from Master Vrykólakas and folded her hands in her lap. She had barely recovered from his proposition when Damien had burst in. She felt as if she were in a dream, or rather a nightmare. She focused on her knees, unable to bring herself to look at Damien. She couldn’t help but resent him at that moment. She had warned him that this was a trap and begged him not to return to Tenebrae. Why hadn’t he listened? Why had this letter, after so many, finally persuaded him to return?

‘Reina, let’s go,’ Damien said but she didn’t move; his words were meaningless.

‘Damien, is this really how you greet your Master after all this time?’ Master Vrykólakas tutted and Reina finally glanced up at Damien to give him the briefest shake of her head. ‘Sit down.’ Damien did so, purposefully sitting as close to Reina as humanly possible.

You’re not helping, Reina wanted to say but kept her jaw firmly clenched.

‘We are not staying. I have come for Elise, she is my Creation and responsibility. I wish for the three of us to make our home outside of Tenebrae.’

‘Elise is my courtesan, Damien, she cannot just leave. She has her own responsibilities that she must take care of. You should be flattered. I have chosen two of your Creations to become courtesans. Your taste in women—’

‘Stop!’ Damien and Reina both shouted together. Reina’s lips briefly twitched but quickly fell when she saw Elise. She had never seen an ashen vampire before, but there Elise stood. She was almost huddling by the door, leaning against the wall as if she needed the support to stay upright. Her once sleek blonde hair was lank, and her eyes had dark circles beneath them. She looked exhausted. Is this what Reina had to look forward to if she became a courtesan?

Damien took Reina’s hand and squeezed it lightly but still, she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She pulled her hand free and turned her attention to Master Vrykólakas, who was standing over them. She met his eyes, pondering on how neither of them had the tell-tale silver eyes of vampires. What was it that made them stand out? The thought of sharing anything in common with him was not a joyful one.

‘The three of you directly disobeyed me.’ Master Vrykólakas swept his hand to include Elise. ‘I have been ridiculed for over a century, the very people I am responsible for have mocked me. Several have abandoned Tenebrae and others have questioned my leadership. All because of your foolishness.’

Reina blocked out his voice and her eyes began to slowly wander the room. She tried not to think back to the first, and only, time she had been in these quarters. Almost everything looked the same; the only noticeable difference was the movement of Master Vrykólakas’s drinks cabinet. It had been moved closer to the French doors leading to the balcony, leaving a blank wall space in its place. There was something curious about the wall and Reina found herself staring at it in strange fascination, trying to work out what seemed wrong with the wall.

‘Master Vrykólakas, I apologise for disobeying you. It was not a decision I made lightly. Tenebrae has been my home since I was a fledgling. It was you who found me in my first year and brought me here. The decision to leave was not one I made lightly, but I had made a promise to Reina that we would leave Tenebrae. I could not break that promise, not after all she had suffered here.’ Tearing her eyes away from the wall, Reina concentrated on a hole forming in her jeans. ‘She took so long to wake up, I was terrified I had lost her. When Elise checked her eyes…’

Damien trailed off and Reina looked up, surprised to find Master Vrykólakas crouching in front of her. His cold hand gripped her chin, so she couldn’t turn away,

‘Damien, I’m surprised at you. You have seen other vampires who do not bear silver eyes.’ Despite looking at Reina, Master Vrykólakas was addressing Damien. He turned Reina’s head so both of them stared at Damien.

‘If you know why my eyes didn’t change colour please just tell us,’ Reina said, managing to pry her face free from Master Vrykólakas’s grip. ‘I’ve always wondered if there was something wrong with me.’

‘There is nothing wrong with you. Your eyes are simply because of the way you were Created. Damien chose a riskier way of Creating you, exchanging blood three times. The changes to your body happen gradually over time, whereas if he had exchanged once the changes would have happened much quicker. Your Creation method was much more popular during my time.’

‘We were Created the same way?’ Reina’s face screwed up in disgust. She now shared three things in common with this man, minor details but still too many. She wanted nothing in common with Master Vrykólakas. The door opened, and two guards entered, shutting the door and barring the exit. A deep sense of foreboding formed in the pit of Reina’s stomach and she grabbed Damien’s hand and looked helplessly at Elise.

‘I have asked Reina to become one of my courtesans. She is well within her rights to refuse. My courtesans are willing, Damien, they come to me by choice. Comfort yourself with that whilst you rot in the cells.’

‘For how long?’ Damien asked stiffly as he rose to his feet. Reina was in awe that he didn’t show the slightest sign of fear; he looked more annoyed, as if this was a great inconvenience to him.

‘I have not yet decided.’ Master Vrykólakas shrugged. ‘You disobeyed me, Damien. Elise has bravely taken her punishment – now it is your turn.’

‘Will be perfectly safe. I cannot hold her accountable for your actions. She was a fledgling, a new-born, how could she have disobeyed you?’ Reina pushed Master Vrykólakas aside as he pulled her to her feet, but Elise blocked her path as she tried to move towards Damien.

‘Don’t make things worse,’ the woman muttered. ‘He will be fine, you know the cells are nothing to fear.’ Pushing past Elise, Reina did not pause to watch the guards shackle Damien. Ignoring Master Vrykólakas’s demands for her to return, she strode down to Damien’s rooms. She wasn’t sure what she would do – she was under no illusion she would be able to just leave – but she refused to sit in his room and make idle conversation while he locked Damien away.