Dark Matters

Thx to my beta-reader Margit who despite having better things to continued to correct my awful grammar.

Chapter 12: Dance with the vampire

The Count woke from his sleep early that evening. A strange sound was echoing through his apartment. But since he did not know the feeling of being dazed after waking up he figured out pretty soon that the sound obviously originated from a door bell. Three rings later Dracula was down and unlocked the security so he could open the door.

"Good evening," said Virginia.

Dazzled by the very charming dress she wore he stepped back and let her in. The lamia was accompanied by two other servants who as she put it, would execute any tasks he gave them, that was if he wanted them. The last person to follow her steps was a familiar face. It was the old man who had sold him his new suit and the leather coat.

The man greeted him also and then said: "Lace asked me to pick some things for you to choose that are adequate for the ball and for you, since I am the one to have an idea about your size."

A look at his new servants revealed that they were carrying not only his old clothes, but also a collection of other clothing. When he looked at them they bowed nicely. Vladislaus wondered if Lace had opened a school for servants. Everything would have been perfect if someone had brought him a little bit to bite as well.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Count?" the beautiful creature asked him.

"You still haven't explained me how to get dinner, around here," he told her.

Dracula saw the old man frown, but Virigina smiled broadly. "I'm sorry, and there is not much time to hunt, is there?" Thinking a moment she said: "Maybe we let Nigel set up everything while we pay a quick visit to my rooms and get you a little appetizer before the ball."

"And afterwards?" The vampire inquired.

"You'll see," she replied mysteriously.

Vladislaus nodded towards the old man and followed the female bloodsucker out of the room. She guided him to the elevator, and they went two levels up to where Kara, the other lamia, and she had their quarters.

"Are there only two of your kind in town?" Vladislav asked.

Virginia nodded. "Yes, only the two of us. But Kara is not very happy about … what I made of her. I'm surprised she lasted that long."

"Craving to be the only one?" he said.

"On the contrary, but things have not worked out the way I hoped. I changed her because I loved her, she was so lovely and had the most beautiful voice I ever heard in the past five-hundred years. But the change is a very traumatic one. She hates me know, she is hardly able to deal with the situation and that is not what I had in mind when I did it. I sometimes have the feeling she just stays alive so she can remind me of my mistake."

"That's a problem I don't have. My creations usually worship me and even my brides who have a free will did so", Vladislaus revealed to her.

"That's good for you, I hope you never find yourself in my situation," Virginia said sadly, but without any bitter feelings.

The Count nodded. "I won't. I don't feel love anymore. I remember it vaguely, but nothing more."

"Maybe that is better. Some might say a life without love is not worth living, but what do they know?" the lamia pondered and finally stopped at one heavy door and open it up.

There was a larger entrance hall than in his chambers, and two large door wings blocked the sight to the room behind. "It's not that welcoming, but I seldom have guests." With that she pushed both wings open and revealed a large hall like room. It went from one side of the building to the other and a front of windows let the moonlight shine in. Along the window and inner wall side, a row of white statues showing adorable females was creating an almost creepy atmosphere.

"All those statues ... If you had not told me that there are only two of you …" the Count said.
"Actually one of the statues used to be one of us. My mistress. You see, we can stand sunlight for a while, but if we are exposed to it for too long we really turn to stone forever," Virginia said. "The hunters took a great delight in destroying all kinds of statues, taking this as an excuse. They even shattered the "Venus of Milo" with a sledgehammer."

With those words she led him to the left and then Vladislaus saw that well hidden doors were occasionally located between the statues.

"It seems to me that the enlightened times of the Holy Order have passed very quickly," the Count told her before looking inside the chamber she had led him to.

The room was well heated. Pulling the curtains aside, he realised that three bunk beds were along-side each of the walls except where the door was. And there were four humans in here. Dracula went for the strongest source and saw a young man that was bound with scarves to the corners of each bedpost.

"Good choice," she commented, holding the curtains for him.

With a lusting smile he turned down to the young man. The victim was wide awake, he did not look that attractive but he was strong and had a gorgeous neck. Vladislaus grabbed the full brown hair and pulled the head aside. A moment he stared at the magnificent play of his veins pumping blood in panic before he bent down and bit into his flesh.

The blood was warm and tasty, much more than any of those humans he had tasted in the past years. The Count realised that this was most probably just due to the fact that he felt he had time to enjoy his meal thoroughly. Instead of sucking in a constant rhythm he paused to let the blood sink into his tongue, then licking over the wound and then biting the man anew.

It was only a short moment later that he stopped and rose but to him it seemed a pleasurable eternity. Virginia, who had watched him, was obviously content that he had enjoyed it so intensively.

"We ought to head back, there is not much time left before the ball begins," she finally broke the mood.

"And I do not want to miss my opening dance," Dracula replied thinking of the dancers. "I'm sure you want to use the time before the ball for yourself."

Virginia smiled and they said goodbye till later.

Back in his quarters the Count was confronted with many different attires to choose from. There was stylish something similar to his suit, but Nigel, the shop-owner called it a tuxedo. Besides, the bow-tie reminded him of this girl, whatever her name was, who had had to help him with it. "Not my taste, besides I think we had a problem, unless your niece is around."

"Well that would not be a problem," Nigel said, "she is helping getting the dancers dressed. But since you anyway do not like it..."

It was not an easy choice, there were ensembles that resembled his style from the 19th century, but also modern clothing and a few combinations that had elements of all of them. What he liked most was one particular outfit, with hip tight and otherwise more loose trouser in a deep black and a black silk shirt, but Nigel was politely pointing out that this was to ordinary for the ball compared to the other outfits.

His natural wish being to stand out not only by good looks, but also by means of exquisite clothing, he chose a combination that was a little bit old fashioned, but alone the fine silver embroidery on the light-grey fabric showed status. It gave him the appearance of the knight in a shining armour who was attending his own wedding ball. Dracula liked the irony of this - after all "Prince of Darkness" was one of the titles he had collected in the past centuries, just like "Son of the Devil" or "King of the Undead".

The time spent with choosing and dressing went swiftly by and just as the servants were shining his boots for the event, there was again this strange noise that announced visitors. This time it was Lace himself who appeared in the doorway. Nigel bowed and closed the door behind him.

"Good evening, dear Count, I trust you rested well?"

"Very comfortably indeed," Dracula admitted.

"I'm surprised you actually chose that outfit," said the mage who was dressed solemnly in white.

"As long it becomes not customary for our kind to dress in light or cheerful colours, I don't mind," the vampire replied.

Lace smiled. "It would certainly throw the crusaders off balance, if we started dressing in such manner."

Both laughed at the idea but Dracula also found himself wondering whether there was some truth behind it. From what he had seen of the Crusaders, they were a rather black and white seeing bunch. They were the kind to burn a woman simply because she had red hair and thinking about it, a lot of time had passed since he had seen a natural redhead. Although it might just have been the dirt that was persistent in the hair of most humans outside this City.

"I see you are ready," Lace said as the two servants were finished with the boots. "I came to pick you up for the ball and to tell you what I discovered so far …"

The mage indicated to the others to leave and then both sat down in the comfortable couch set. "So?" The Count asked.

"Luckily, due to the huge difference between the alien matter and your blood, I could identify it. It seems that either your spectrum is generally a little bit altered due to your being the first and most powerful vampire, or that the infection has already tainted it, but it might still be fully reversible … However I haven't yet located the exact anti-spectrum to get rid of it."

Dracula would have been surprised indeed if he already had had, but nonetheless the Count had hoped for the impossible. "So there is no telling when I might get - better?"

"I would not say that," the mage corrected, confidently. "If you allow, I will make some arrangements for you here in your quarters that will somewhat help you."

The vampire looked at his host: "I can hardly deny an offer like this."

"Very well, then. I hope that despite the sub optimal expectations, you can enjoy the ball."

"I can't wait to choose my partner for the first dance," Vladislaus replied.

"What are we waiting for?" Lace said and got up.

Both men went towards the elevator and a short time afterwards they arrived several floors upstairs in a huge room, with dozen of pillars. Looking left and right of the elevator the Count realised that this room was encompassing two floors and the entire floor space of the building. Directly over them a balcony surrounded the walls of the elevator which was obviously only reachable through it.

One half of the great hall was occupied by a buffet and chairs, the other half had chairs only at the outer wall and half circles facing each other that were separated from the main room by curtains. Everybody looked at Lace who was leading him to one of the curtains, and the vampire took some time to study them carefully. Most of the faces were new, but he saw Virginia, as well as another one of her kind, who had to be Kara, Parker and Verbatina, who was standing far from the others with the servants.

When they were reaching the curtains, they opened and revealed five chairs on a slightly higher levelled floor overlooking the entire dance-floor. One of them was occupied by the Lady Rain and the other one by her side by a odd looking male in a dark grey suit. The woman still had this look of burning passion in her eyes and she winked at him. The other person just had a cold stare. Whatever he was, he was not human and not un-dead.

Lace was leading the Count up the three steps and took some long, cylindrical device from the chair in the middle. Holding it close to his mouth he said with his voice suddenly coming from all sides of the room: "My dear guests, I am glad that again, so many of you could afford the time to attend my little Halloween party this year."

Everybody chuckled at the word little.

"Especially since we have a very special surprise guest." The mage looked at Dracula. "Nobody else, but the famous Count Dracula himself, has decided to honour our city with his visit."

Most residents of the tower remained rather calm, simply because news travelled fast within the building, and used the chance to get a good glance at the new guest. However, the local high society, mostly consisting of humans with no magical connections at all, were shocked and it showed. Lace might have as well announced their death sentence, but after a few seconds they all clapped nonetheless and left Dracula with a very pleasant feeling

Amused, the mage continued: "He shall stay as my guest as long as he likes and he will be my guest of honour for this evening as well. But before he chooses a partner for the opening dance, I like to welcome Rainer, the emissary from Rachel, who has so kindly agreed in helping to protect the city from its most approachable side."

Wondering who this Rachel person might be and whether she was as undesirable as Lady Rain or the lamias, he took a closer look at Rainer. He was a tall man with broad shoulders, a very hard-lined almost quadratic face, and the most unusual eyes he had ever seen. It was like they fractured the light and little tiny dots of light were giving the impression that he was indeed having several pupils in one eye.

At the far end of the room the curtain was also drawn aside and revealed the many dancers owned by Lace. Pair by pair they stepped forward. Two women had not partner and came at the rear. The men wore simple, white and elegant suits while their female counterparts wore either a black, dark-blue or green-dress in a similar cut with slight alterations. The Count felt delighted by so much beauty in one place. They were all adorable and each dancer was different. Seeing those young and healthy people was appetizing, but Dracula tried to hold his hunger at bay. It was anyway more a matter of appetite and the growing need for some sexual interaction.

The female dancers formed two long rows and Lace waved his arm in their direction: "Please feel free to choose your dance partner."

Smiling, the Count stepped down and walked between the rows. Some were even more prettier than the three he had already seen and he was considering to rethink and take one of those beauties that were even flirting back as his gaze fell upon them. Most eyes were turned to him but somewhere near the end, two girls kept talking softly to each other. It were the two dancers from the casino. The short one with the black hair briefly stared at him before turning back to the brunette.

He moved to the end and then stepped back holding his hand out to the petite dancer. The young woman took it but there was no sign of excitement or fear in her. Dracula figured it must be some kind of game she was playing and regretted not to be able to read her mind. Or that of her friend who looked rather relieved for not being chosen herself. Then again, her half-closed eyes and her lowered head gave her a very intriguing look.

'Maybe later,' he thought.

Joining in pairs, the dancers cleared the floored and Lace gave a sign to the orchestra to begin to play as Dracula took her hand into his and led her out to the dance floor. Her dark eyes stared at him coolly, she was obviously not intimidated by his name or his being more than a head taller. He felt her heart beating as he pressed her closer to himself. As the first tones of the waltz were heard he began to lead her over the dance floor.

The girl was not only gracious when dancing alone, she followed his lead without any troubles and her steps were as swift as his own.

"You do not seem to be too happy about my choice," Vladislaus nonetheless said, after a minute.

"That's because I spent to many years dancing already," she replied "It's my profession and I'm not enjoying it that much anymore."

"Do you plan to give it up?" the vampire asked, hoping that she might say yes and thus loose her status as a dancer.

"Oh, I will, definitely!"

"Too bad, your performance was quite intriguing," Dracula told her lowering his voice as more and more guest were joining in the dance.

"Well, you do not become a dancer by giving a sloppy performance," she said. "Or stay one, at that."

Dracula had never met a woman that was so inapproachable through compliments. She acted more like he had insulted her. Worst of all was that she was so cold and still did not show the slightest sign of being attracted to him. He needed to bring her out of her shell, somehow. Maybe if she was a little bit insecure on Lace's protection it would bring out a emotional response.

"Yesterday I had the feeling that Lace knew exactly that I would be choosing you," Vladislaus told her in a confidential tone.

"I guess he assumed that because he knew that you only saw my performance from the beginning to the end," the girl said and a soft, amused smile appeared on her face. It reminded him so much of Verona.

'That self-control, the need for teasing - if I only was able to direct it in the right way, she be the perfect choice for my new lead bride.'

Dracula watched her closely, before asking: "And how comes he knew about this?"

"Because I called him, told him who you were and that you had been watching me while I was dancing."

"You told him who I was? How did you know?" he wondered.

"You might not remember our first encounter, but I do," the girl retorted, sharply.

"Seems to have been a most tragic day - care to tell me what I did and when?" Vladislaus asked her.

He was but a little bit bewildered by her revelation. The vampire had been sure that he had not revealed his name to anyone in the past eight years and even if, he would have killed the person.

"It was about eight years ago. I was waiting for my mother's return in a small coastal village. She was late and I was outside looking for her. The night came and you with it, ravaging the village. I guess you did not see me, because it was cold outside so my body temperature was a bit lower and I had hid myself in the small space between the firewood and the archway were it was stacked. You came to kill the priest of the church and he asked you who you were."

"I remember now," Vladislaus said bitterly. It had been the day when the Crusaders had appeared and had started to shoot at him, forcing him too flee. So after all there was a witness who had seen the Great Dracula run away.

"Was this your first encounter with fire-weapons?" She said as if reading his mind.

"It was - I guess you figure I killed your mother," he said, being convinced there could be no other reason for her behaviour towards him.

But she shook her head. "No, the very Crusaders saving my life had done that. While they were escorting the survivors to the nearest village, they bragged about it." She took a deep breath. "In great detail."

"What did you do?" sensing so much hate in the girl, he guessed that she must have taken revenge.

"Nothing, I had no chance. Only a fool goes unprepared, weak and unarmed against those bastards. I memorised their faces and one day I'll find them and then I make them pay."

Obviously she took his retreat as a smart move, which put the Count at ease. "I'd love to help you in that matter."

"Thank you, but I'm sure your price comes a little bit too high," the young woman told him.

"Oh I would not asked for any payment, in fact there would be few things I could add to my offer," he said as charmingly as he could.

"No chance, I already got the best offer imaginable. Wait till midnight and you see."

While she had spoken, the last tunes of the waltz had been fading only to be followed by a more lively variant. Another pair swept in closely and then he saw that it was Lace with a beautiful black woman in his arms who said mocking to them. "Alicia always gets the best deals around here."

Her longing eyes went up to the Count and as Dracula saw the expression on Alicia's face, he asked the black woman whether she might grant him a dance.

"By all means, don't let me stand in the way," Lace replied, and in a matter of seconds both women had changed their partners.

"I should have chosen you," Vladislav told her. He intended to flatter her to get more information out of her, although he had too say that it was fair deal, with her being as beautiful as any mortal woman could be. There was a radiant passion about her that made it even more enjoyable to swirl her over the dance-floor.

"Then why didn't you?" she replied. "Don't tell me, she always gets the best guys to fall for her."

"I'm not falling for her, just trying to make her fall for me ..." he answered her a bit irritated. "Anyway, what's your name?"

She laughed in a sweet manner. "Sorry, I guess we forget to introduce ourselves since everybody here knows. I'm Madira."

"Beautiful name. - Still you seem a bit jealous - did she ever snatch someone away from you?" he asked her.

"No, I guess not, at least I can't say that she did. Lace is definitely into her, but if he was bedding her as well, he would say so."

"Still understandable, seeing how easily he handed you over to me," Dracula told his current dance partner.

"You do put too much significance to little gestures," Madira replied. "No, the only thing I feel a bit slighted about, is the fact that she is permanently in his quarters, while I never have been there. He always comes to visit me. But then again, I should not be so upset at all. I mean it's not like any of us is really in love."

People here seemed indeed to have a more natural relation to sexual affairs in general than he was used to. Her frankness took him a bit by surprise but he said nothing. He was more concerned by the fact that Lace seemed to favour Alicia. Part of his mind had already made it a challenge to get her to take the fall, but there was so much beauty around and looking at Madira, he realised that he needed to choose carefully, or else he might end up having twenty brides instead of three which might prove to be a bit exhausting - even for him.