part0022

With Master Vrykólakas’s permission, Elise went down to the cells to visit Damien. The putrid smell made her retch, but she managed to compose her face as the guard opened the door to the furthest cell. Damien lounged against a wall; he looked weary and exhausted but still managed to lounge with a bored grace. His hair hung lankly and stubble covered his cheeks and chin.

‘You look dreadful,’ Elise said as she closed the cell door. She handed him a bottle of blood that she had taken from her drinks cabinet. Master Vrykólakas had forbidden her to bring him a slave, but he’d said nothing about feeding him anything at all.

‘He’s offered her to become a courtesan. I…I think she should take it. He’ll only continue to try and break her down, nor do I think he will release you until she agrees…’ Damien growled and took a swig from the bottle. ‘She told Master Vrykólakas that she has never tasted human blood. How could you have been so foolish?’

‘What was I supposed to do, Elise? Force her? I thought about it constantly, but it would have destroyed her. Master Vrykólakas will soon see this.’ Elise shook her head in exasperation.

‘You had best prepare yourself. The safest option for Reina is to accept the position and for you to leave while she adjusts.’ Damien made a noise and spat out a mouthful of blood, but Elise held up her hand to keep him quiet. ‘Can you please, for once, think about this reasonably? He will use you both against each other. He will keep you locked up down here and threaten Reina with your life. If he does release you then he will only torment you about what he plans with her. He’ll goad you into violence. Please, Damien, think about this. You would not have to leave for long – just for enough time to pass for Master Vrykólakas to believe you are repentant.’

Seeing that Damien would not give her an answer, Elise departed. She nodded at the guard as she exited the cell, closing her ears to the sound of the door locking once more. She found Reina sitting on the stairs leading up to Master Vrykólakas’s quarters.

‘How is he?’ she asked, standing up and straightening the skirt of her gown.

‘How did you feel?’ Elise snapped, feeling a sudden rush of anger towards Reina. She stood there in one of Elise’s old gowns, she had taken her Creator and now she was taking Master Vrykólakas’s affection from her. Truthfully, she didn’t care, she loathed Master Vrykólakas and regretted accepting a position of one of his courtesans. But she needed to blame someone. Reina stared back furiously.

‘I don’t want this,’ she said quietly. ‘I didn’t want Damien to Create me. I don’t want your dresses and I certainly don’t want to be a courtesan.’ Elise regretted her words, but she couldn’t take them back.

‘You cannot keep stalling,’ she said instead. ‘Master Vrykólakas will expect an answer—’

‘And there’s only one he will accept.’ Reina cut her off. ‘I understand that. But it doesn’t make it any easier. I loathe that man, Elise. It’s because of him I lost my entire family and spent my last human years as a slave. How can I become his courtesan?’ Elise could think of nothing to say. Pausing outside Master Vrykólakas’s door, she studied Reina briefly, her mind turning over several thoughts at once.

‘I need to speak to Master Vrykólakas,’ she said abruptly. Reina nodded and walked back down the stairs; Elise noted the way Reina’s shoulders were slightly slumped and she almost called out to apologise. Instead she turned and pushed the door open. Master Vrykólakas and Lance were sitting in the study, their heads together over several sheaves of parchments and slate.

‘Master Vrykólakas, may I speak to you alone?’ Lance looked towards Master Vrykólakas, who nodded and waved his fingers in dismissal. As he walked past, Lance squeezed Elise’s arm reassuringly. She had grown closer to him during Damien’s absence. Lance had been charged with finding Damien and returning him to Tenebrae; when he had failed he too had been confined to the mountain.

‘You look serious.’ Master Vrykólakas sat back in his chair and nodded towards the seat Lance had vacated.

‘I’ve been thinking a lot about Reina,’ Elise said taking the seat. ‘And her human family. About…her…’ Elise hesitated, knowing the subject was bound to annoy Master Vrykólakas. ‘Are you sure she had a vision? You were torturing her, she would have said anything to make the pain stop. How do you know what she said was a true vision?’

‘Reina said she had foreseen the downfall of their village. It was a true vision, why?’

‘If you kill Damien, Reina will retaliate…she will kill you.’ Master Vrykólakas laughed but Elise leant over to squeeze his arm in warning. ‘Sir, I speak openly because of my love and respect for you. I know that you fear Reina, you have been obsessed with her since you received that letter in Saint Petersburg. Since she left you have neglected Tenebrae, your only focus has been on bringing her back. If you did not fear, you would have forgotten about her. By bringing her back and killing Damien you will give Reina purpose. You could trigger the vision to become a reality; how many people with these talents have you met?’

‘A few.’ Master Vrykólakas nodded slowly as he seemed to contemplate Elise’s words.

‘And has every vision come true? Or only a few?’

‘You are right.’ He nodded with a sigh. ‘But what do you suggest? The vision is only one aspect that fascinates me. You have seen for yourself she is an intriguing creature; to survive several years as a slave…and she is defiant.’

‘Pretty too,’ Elise said sarcastically. ‘I think you should send Damien away, at least temporarily. Reina will accept your offer, she knows that is the only realistic outcome. But if Damien is here she will find it hard to adjust. If he is banished for a short period it will give them both time to adjust and when he returns they will have both moved on.’ She ran her fingers over his hand as he thought about her suggestion.

‘I will think about this. Why is she on your mind, have you checked on her today?’

‘No. I will in a bit, but she is exhausting – you know this. Are you going to bring Reina to her?’

‘Eventually, when I find the right time.’

The night passed slowly, and Elise was unsurprised when Reina asked to stay with her rather than returning to the rooms she shared with Damien. Wanting to be alone but ridden with guilt for her earlier feelings, Elise nodded. Neither woman could sleep; they lay together in Elise’s bed and stared up at the ceiling. Elise’s room was on the side carved into the mountain; she had no windows to look out of and admire the view. But she had commissioned a painting on her ceiling, a half-sunset half-night-time skyline which she now found repressing rather than comforting.

‘What is it like to be a courtesan?’ Reina finally broke the silence. Her question caught Elise off guard so that she didn’t even pause to think her answer through.

‘It isn’t bad truthfully. There are five of us at the moment and there are normally seven. Master Vrykólakas does not ask someone to be his courtesan lightly; the last person to join the ranks was me.’ Elise squeezed Reina’s hands and was saddened to feel her shaking. ‘Reina, it really is not as bad as you fear. It is a title more than anything. We do not need to pay for our keep. We accompany Master Vrykólakas when he ventures out, when he holds a social gathering or a meeting—’

‘And go to his bed?’ It was clear this was what Reina dreaded the most.

‘You can refuse. As repulsive as you find Master Vrykólakas, he does not like unwilling women. Yes, ultimately you have no choice but to become a courtesan, but he will not demand you in his bed if you are unwilling. Eventually you will go to him…’ Elise paused to consider how to handle the subject. ‘You have only been with Damien, haven’t you?’

‘Yes,’ Reina said in a small voice.

‘We live for centuries – Master Vrykólakas has lived for thousands of years. We often take more than one lover, it is not shameful like the humans think it is. Damien will forgive you. He forgave me.’ Elise thought back to the night when she told Damien she was accepting Master Vrykólakas’s offer. Things had been growing tense between them and half of her had accepted the position purely out of spite. When she turned her head to look at Reina she found her feigning sleep and decided to let her rest.

They both rose early the next evening to find some of Reina’s new dresses had been delivered. Elise laughed when she saw Reina admiring them guiltily. Elise helped her to choose a light grey kirtle to wear beneath a black velvet gown with silver embroidery along the hem.

Master Vrykólakas was up and dressed when they entered his quarters. His hair was damp from a fresh bath and steam was faintly visible coming off him as Elise greeted him with a kiss. He gestured for the pair to sit down and Elise wondered how much thought he had given to what she’d said to him the previous night.

‘Little Slave, I have been pondering on what to do with your Creator. I specifically told him to bring you to me when you woke up, he yet he disobeyed me. Damien was one of my favourites, he showed much promise, yet I cannot ignore his betrayal. Which is why I propose this solution. Accept the position of my courtesan and Damien will go free. I will release him from the cells tonight, you can say goodbye to him and then tomorrow he will be banished.’

As Master Vrykólakas spoke Elise did not take her eyes off Reina. She was impressed with how the younger vampire held herself. Her face was calm, almost expressionless as she looked at Master Vrykólakas.

‘Fine,’ Reina said, so suddenly Elise wasn’t sure if she had imagined her voice. ‘I accept the position of courtesan.’ Master Vrykólakas seemed momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered himself.

‘Elise, please go and prepare Damien. Tell him the good news, get him fed and washed then bring him up to me.’ Elise squeezed Reina’s hand and left with a strong feeling of unease.

As she went down to the cells, the feeling of unease began to develop into a strong sense of dread in her stomach. How would she break the news to Damien? How furious would he be with her? She was under no illusion that he would blame her for this. They were all blaming each other for the whole mess. She found Damien sitting in a corner of the cell, his eyes fixated on the floor. As she helped him up to his rooms she asked the guard to have a slave sent up, ignoring Damien’s protests. He had fed from slaves when Reina had been human, he would feed from them now.

‘Wash. We’ll talk once you have bathed and fed,’ Elise said firmly and sat down on a new chair that Master Vrykólakas had ordered. The room was unrecognisable; to show Reina that he was not a cruel monster he had replaced the destroyed furniture.

As Damien washed, Elise found his travelling back and repacked the few pairs of jeans and shirts that he had brought with him from their travels. The clothes smelt stale from sitting in a pile on the floor, but she thought they would do until he was back to wherever he came from. Where had he and Reina set up home? Elise had asked Reina little about life outside of Tenebrae. Partly because she didn’t want to upset Reina, but partly because she couldn’t stand to hear how they had enjoyed the past century while she had been punished. As she packed Damien’s bag, her eyes fell on a teddy bear half-tucked under a pillow along with a picture of Damien, Reina and another couple. She put them back beneath the pillow, pulling a face at the happy expressions. When Damien emerged from the bathroom, he saw the bag in Elise’s hands and shook his head vehemently.

‘Listen to me,’ Elise snapped, throwing the bag at him. ‘I have spent the past century being punished for your selfishness. None of this would have happened if you had respected Reina’s wishes and left her to die as a human.’ A century’s worth of pent-up anger threatened to burst free and Elise took a steadying breath to try and calm herself.

‘She’s becoming a courtesan.’ It wasn’t a question, but Elise nodded. ‘And I am just meant to leave?’

‘Yes. At least for a little while. You will be allowed to return, when you have both moved on.’ Damien made a scoffing noise and Elise glared at him. Pacing around the room, she argued with herself whether or not to tell Damien what had been tormenting her since he had left. Finally, she gave in. ‘Damien, do you know if Reina had any siblings?’

‘She had a brother who died when she was much younger, before the raid on her village had even happened, and an older sister. Why?’

‘What did you know about her?’ Elise ignored Damien’s question.

‘She died during the raid on their village, their mother kicked her out of their home.’ As Damien spoke Elise found herself shaking her head. Reina believed that her sister was dead.

‘There was a girl brought up to Master Vrykólakas one night. The vampire who found her told him that she was gifted with the Sight. He wouldn’t believe this until he saw the girl have a vision, but she kept saying that the vampire was wrong. She didn’t know how to have a vision, that she never had.’ Elise took a deep breath; she had been there the night the girl was brought up to Master Vrykólakas. She had seen the fascinated gleam in his eye, then the intense fury when she refused to admit she had the Sight. She could see that her words were having an effect on Damien. He sat down on a chair, the knuckles of his hands whitening as he balled them into tight fists. ‘He tortured her to induce a vision. When she was almost completely insane she seemed to go into a trance. The girl spoke of a vampire who would one day kill Master Vrykólakas. That’s why he’s obsessed with Reina, he believes the vision to be about her.’

‘I wasn’t there when she had the vision, so I don’t know exactly what was said. But she spoke of an orphan and her suffering; that she would not be accepted into either world and would bring the downfall of darkness.’

‘If you’re sure this is about Reina then I can’t leave—’

‘You can. Because I convinced Master Vrykólakas that if this was truly about Reina then killing you would most likely trigger the events which would lead Reina to killing him.’ Elise was thankful when Damien nodded in weak agreement.

‘You asked about Reina’s sister…why?’

Elise sat beside him wondering how to tell him. ‘Once the girl had her vision, Master Vrykólakas didn’t want to waste such talent. He Created her. A girl named Cassandra.’ She could see from the look on Damien’s face that she was right. ‘Reina’s sister is here. She was here all the time Reina was a slave, as a vampire.’