Dark Matters

Chapter 14: Candlelight dinner

Curious, Dracula returned to his quarters. The Halloween Ball had had some interesting parallels to the ones he had been used to but has as well included a few surprises. The Count was anxious to see what the mage's idea of rendering a gift was. The living room was dark and he decided to secure the flat before searching on. A weak sign of life was somewhat above him, probably dimmed through the ceiling. His gift was most likely laid out for him in his bedroom.

Using the hidden passageway, he entered the room. Numerous candles, surrounding the bed, illuminated the room tolerably. Some burned lower, some higher as they threw a strange shadow-play on the delicate creature that was resting on his bed.

The first thing he noticed, probably because the small walls and the candles on top on them blocked her from his view, were the milk-white feet, beautiful and even in shape. Stepping at the foot of the bed, he saw her simple, white gown which did not reveal too many curves. Her willowy face matched the fragile appearance of her stature; thin lips, a small pointy nose and thin eyebrows, all surrounded by curly, brown hair.

Still despite all this physical weakness there was a strong air of power coming from the sleeping girl. As he came closer Dracula realised that this was not the only strong scent about her. An intense fragrance of fear reeked from her just like somebody had thrown a flacon of bottled angst at her. The Count had never thought that it was possible for a human to bear that much terror. He always killed his victims at the brink of their excitement, so the different spurs of emotions flavoured them delicately.

The vampire sat down beside her and stared at her face. She was pretty in her way, but despite this and the power resting within her Vladislaus felt reluctant to bite her. He feared that her taste might be spoiled, not to say dreadful.

Slowly the girl awoke, disturbed by the vampire's presence. She moved her head to face him, and eyes speaking of untold horrors looked at him. Much to Vladislaus' surprise her expression became clearer and softer once she had had a good look at him. Gathering her thoughts she looked about the room obviously relieved that there was no on else present.

"Who are you?" he asked to gain back her attention.

The tiny person was still afraid and her lower chin was trembling so much that she had difficulties to speak. Her mouth opened but no words escaped her nearly colourless lips.

"What frightens you so much?" Dracula wanted to know.

It would have been ignorant to think that he was the source in any way. Something else had shaken her out of her wits, so much that he had indeed a calming effect on her. The girl slowly rose until she sat on the bed her hands rubbing her shins.

"Lace," she whispered finally.

The Count knew that the mage was dreaded throughout his city, but this seemed to be a bit out of proportion. He wondered whether all those manners, the generosity and his obvious kindness were just deceiving him from the real Lace that lurked beneath them. Maybe the mage was the worst of monster of them all. The thought made him to think about the meaning of the term "monster". What did it really mean? But the girl staring at him brought him quickly back to the situation at hand.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" Dracula asked her.

His gift gave him the strangest expression, but then replied. "Elaine, b ..." she suddenly stopped herself.

As if she had wanted to inquire about something and then had decided against it.

"What?" the Count asked, slightly annoyed that he could not just it pick from her mind.

Hesitating, she finally said: "You are going to kill me, so why would you care about my name?"

Elaine clutched her legs even tighter and pressed her chest against her tights. There was no sign of her being upset about this aspect of her presence here. As if she had already accepted the fact that she was going to die and was inconvenienced by the delay. Dracula's respect for the mage rose immensely. It would probably be easiest to just go over it and suck her dry, to see whether her blood had the promised effect on him.

But Vladislaus had the distinct feeling of disgust as he imagined the taste of her blood. For a vampire, the presence of fear in the blood stream was like the salt in the soup for a mortal. In proportion it enriched the pleasure, but in masses it ruined the meal. The vampire knew he would have to commence damage-control before he could even think about draining a pint out of her.

"I won't kill you - yet," he told her, firmly.

"So Lace wants you to torture me first..." the girl replied, as if it did not concern her.

He was not sure about the best strategy but aside from telling her the real reason for his delay it seemed best to be honest.

"Although your death was implicit, he gave me no instructions as for whether it should be painful or pleasurable," Vladislaus said.

Entirely unexpected, the young woman burst into a mad, hysterical laughter. Before realising what he was doing, he roared his disapproval at her. Seeing the distorted face, the razor-sharp fangs in them and the glowing eyes, the girl fled backwards. With a thud, she fell from the bed and hit the small wall on the left side. Holding her head where it had collided with the wall she remained frozen with terror.

It all had happened in less than a minute. As Dracula realised how contra productive his outburst had been, he assumed control of his facial features but it took far longer than her hitting the concrete. If he was not doing something quickly this was going to be the most repulsive meal he had ever taken. Maybe it would also be the most nourishing, but what good was it when he could not bring himself to taste her?

"I killed people for fewer offences than laughing at me," the vampire told her firmly.

She stared back at him: "Then why don't you get over and done with it?"

The Count smiled as he thought about the ultimate evasion. "Because I'm new in this city and I hate to waste an opportunity to gather information."

"After I told you what I know - are you going to kill me?"

"Yes," he answered.

Her persistence began to annoy Dracula, it was almost like she was eager to die. Death most certainly was not among the things she feared. Vladislaus moved over and held out his hand to her. Elaine took it after staring at it for a few seconds. The vampire helped her up and she sat down on the edge of bed. In doing so, her gaze met the mirror and she observed the phenomena with interest.

"You are a vampire," Elaine stated finally.

"I'm not just a vampire, I'm Count Vladislaus Dragulia," he informed her and noticed that the name obviously meant something to her. A moment the vampire waited for her to say something but she just kept on looking at him. Only a strange noise broke the silence. He was not sure where it came from and the girl looked slightly uncomfortable as his eyes met hers.

"What have you done to get into this situation? From what Lace told me, he does not pick his targets randomly," Dracula asked.

"No, he is pretty much keeping to his laws," Elaine told him as if it was a bad thing. Sighing she added: "What got me in this situation, is the fact that I believed that his laws were not in our best interest as Lace constantly tries to convince us."

Her voice became lower and it seemed as if she did not believe in her former views anymore.

"And in what manner did you express your beliefs that you were sentenced to death?" the Count inquired.

"I participated in the attack on the Mad Hatter's teahouse."

"I heard of the event but I am not familiar with any details."

"Details? The whole mission was a massacre - blood on the walls, ripped-off body parts, burned skin - just that it was us who lost. All because of that damn werewolf!" It seemed she was about to cry, her hand clutched her stomach.

Vladislaus did not want to push her but he was curious how it came to pass that she was the only survivor. Then the noise struck again. This time he was sure that it came from her. He eyed the girl carefully but continued nonetheless to question her.

"Werewolf? You mean Parker?"

She nodded. "If he and his scout-troop had not returned ahead of time..."

"What I still don't understand - why would the Masked One want to obliterate a teahouse?"

Elaine leaned her head on her right shoulder. "Because a lot of the city council members spend time there after their meetings."

Again, this time in mid-speech, the girl produced the unfamiliar noise.

"Will you stop that!" Dracula ordered her.

Her eyes became wet with tears. "I can't! I haven't eaten in days."

This time the sound was even louder. Dracula vaguely remembered that empty stomachs often spoke of their need for food, but he had not been confronted with that effect for centuries. Vampires suffered from lack of blood but differently from mortals who had nothing to eat. It was more of a silent pain that took hold of the whole body.

"In that case, I think I should get something to eat for you."

"Really?" she asked, shyly, with a hint of gratitude.

"Just say what you like and I'll have my servants prepare it," the Count told her. "Think of it as the Last Meal."

Elaine smiled softly which was odd enough given what he had just said. "Some fish would be nice," she said, blinking "but if that is too complicated, I take anything, it's just that I adore seafood."

"I don't think it will be," he said.

Dracula excused himself and went downstairs to call his servants. Moments later, one of them appeared in the door-frame. He looked a bit tired, but nonetheless he bowed and said: "What is your wish, my Lord?"

"I need some food, some fish delicacy or something similar", he told him.

"Something hot? Or ...", the man asked, but the Count interrupted him.

"Just something that has a good taste - and fast because my guest is very hungry."

The mortal nodded. "I could bring down some snacks from the banquet for now, and for later ..."

Cutting in again Dracula said: "There will be no later."

"In understand, my Lord, I'll hurry now." The servant bowed and left quickly.

Alone again, he thought about his strategy. The meal and a little extra effort should take care of her current state of mind. He wondered if he should really ask her more details about the fight in the teahouse. But he was too curious to really put the thought out of his head.

The vampire had not to wait long, not even five minutes had passed when the servant returned with a silver plate covered with little pieces of bread with all sorts of fish and decoration on them.

"Will you need anything else, my Lord?"

"No you may retire now." With that Dracula turned, locked up the apartment behind his servant and returned to Elaine. As he handed her the plate, she sighed with gratitude before she began eating the bits rather hastily.

"Why did the Masked One challenge Lace in the first place?" he asked eventually, when he supposed that her first hunger was satisfied.

Elaine swallowed hard. "Because he believes that we, the children of darkness, should rule over the mortals, not with them. It can't be right that Lace values their lives over ours. I'm a witch, I'm loyal to the Dark lord. It's not right, it's not how it's supposed to be."

Dracula had the feeling she was about to cry. As if she could not believe what had been done to her. Something in her voice began to make him feel sorry for her. The sense of supremacy, the belief in her own superiority that had drawn her to the Masked One's side was shattered. All that was left of a once proud witch was a frightened child awaiting her death.

And part of him felt that she had a point. After all he hated to be restricted like that, he hated not be able to pick any mortal he liked, be it for siring, draining or other pleasures. Still, the Count also understood Lace's point. The city was the mage's playground and anyone disobeying the rules was punished. He would have done no less. When the time was right Dracula would decide what to do about Lace. The vampire felt that on the long run he could not bear anyone's standing between him and his desires.

"Lace seems sure enough that he can not be dethroned," he told her.

The girl took a deep breath. "So it would seem ..."

"What did he do to you?" the vampire asked as softly as he was able to.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe - but maybe you felt better if you could tell someone..." Dracula suggested.

He counted on her sense of being punished unjustly and hoped he could raise a desire to plead her case to someone who was willing to listen. Someone who was new in town and open to her side of the story. It was true that with a weakened belief the urge to recruit new believers faded but if he rubbed the possibility right under her nose it might kindle a small flame.

"Nothing can make me feel better!" she protested.

"Well, your stomach says otherwise - at least I haven't heard it in a while."

The girl looked at the small tray on the bed. Then she looked up again. "He - made me ... look in his eyes ..."

Dracula was indeed a bit surprised but to intrigued to say anything. After a few moments the girl continued.

"They are sure that he got them from his pact with Satan, however the opinions differ from whether he got them as drawback or if he asked for them," trembling lips cut her off again. Then slowly she said: "I can't find the words to describe what it is like to stare into these holes of eternal darkness. It's a bit like getting drawn out of your own body, just you ... cold, small ... utterly worthless."

Tears dripped from her eyes as she clutched her arms so tightly that her nails left marks. She sobbed violently, but at least she was experiencing something else beside fear. Which meant that so far his plan was working. He wrapped his arm around her and petted her hair with gentle strokes. Some time passed, but eventually she calmed down a bit and, exactly as the Count had anticipated, leaned onto him for support. Normally, this would have been an opportune moment to go in for the final kill, bestowing one final terror on a trusting and naive victim.

It was not as easy this time. But Dracula realised that this made the situation far more interesting. A challenge with a very promising reward awaited him at the end of this act. Although he had to admit that it would have helped with the fun if the girl would have been more to his liking. She was not ugly but if he wanted to have a victim with so little soft spots he had chosen a well-toned male.

'Now onto infesting her with a little wrath over the injustice she now suffers from so badly', he thought.

"Tell me about what happened to the others in the teahouse," the vampire asked her.

Elaine shook her head. "It was supposed to be so easy. Even the council members of our kind were not especially powerful. We prepared ourselves so well. I brushed up my combat spells, Levin and Mara were two of the best swordsman in town. We even had two half-demons with us, they are much stronger than any mortal or witch. You should have seen their faces as we kicked in the door."

"They tried to run, but we had the front and back door covered. We did our best to make it as devastating as possible but ... suddenly there was this loud crash and I just saw a dark, huge shadow burst into the room behind me. I turned around and I saw this huge black wolf-beast with his claws emerged in Mara's chest. How oddly she looked at me - I'll never forget that look."

It was hard for Dracula not to smile as her voice became more and more firmly, almost aggressive as she remembered how her friends had died. He was on the right track.

"For a moment the girl buried her face in her hands. "Next thing I recall was that it was Parker, while he was not even supposed to be in town. Still he was there, and I had nothing better to do than to call his name. He came towards me and I backed right up into one of his men. Now I can even remember seeing one behind Parker attacking the rest of my team, but back then I was utterly surprised as something hit me and sent me to the ground."

"Did you pass out then?" he inquired.

"If only," Elaine said angry. "Parker was not too sure whether he should kill me on the spot or not. They always say what a nice guy he is, but I have seen who - what he really is. Mutilating Mara and holding me with one claw wrapped around my neck one foot over the ground - like some kind of sandbag. While I was slowly choking I had a grand overview over my team, my friends being shredded into pieces by his 'boy scouts'. I thought I was done for, too - but Parker decided that it would be much nicer to have one survivor so his boss can have some fun, too."

Dracula just let her rage on. While he was listening, he caught his thoughts drifting away to all those things he needed to do in order to catch up with this new age.

"You know," the girl continued. "The Masked One is right about one thing. Lace wants to minimize our numbers - because ordinary mortals are so much easier to control than witches and demons. Not that he does not try to, rules here, rules there... Oh no, you can't kill this guy he is a baker and a citizen - useful. Bakers should not be more important than witches. Don't you think so?

The Count nodded: "Absolutely. I killed quite a few bakers in my time, but then again I seldom ask my meals about their occupation."

"And why should you? You are the King of the Undead - a major player in the grant scheme of things. But for Lace, this is of no importance. Be on your guard. As much as you might believe you are using him - he will use you for a number of things the same time."

As much as Dracula disliked the thought of someone using him, he could not deny the possibility. Lace was without a doubt the ruler in this city, not unlike he had ruled over the vampires and all the other creatures in Eastern Europe so many decades ago.

"As you said - I am a major player. I'll see to it that Lace does not use me more as I use him."

Elaine smiled as she heard the Count's words. Intrigued, she turned around and said: "You really are Dracula, aren't you?"

Something in her voice made him feel not angry at all. Instead he confirmed it with great pride.

"I am most certainly are. I might have been detained a few decades, but what is time for an immortal?"

It was hard for the vampire to place the expression on the girl's face, but being blessed with an abundance of self-confidence he figured that she must feel honoured and intrigued to meat someone as important as him. Which was right to the point in her case. Now that Elaine believed that he was who he claimed to be she could not help it.

The young witch was the kind of person had the ultimate need to belong to the elite which was in her case the ruthless, god-fearing mortal slaying sort of people. Not that she had not used to be a very proud witch herself but even though she was a follower not a leader.

Right now Dracula wanted to exploit the mood she was in. The mixture of emotions he had put her through had worked well and the vampire was ready to go for the finishing touches. Carefully, he let his fingers run over the left side of her face. As she leaned into his hand he knew he had not misjudged the situation.

He began kissing her neck and drew her closer with his free arm. It was not easy for him not to answer the call of her beating heart at his chest or the throbbing pulse under his lips. Resisting his primary urges, he nibbled on her earlobe until a small sigh escaped her lips and her hands moved to his back. Elaine was instinctively handling the situation the right way as her lips began to work their way to his mouth.

She might not have the softest and most luscious lips in existence, but the way her tongue sensually worked on his made more than up for it. The Count was a bit surprised as she so easily slipped into a state of passion but as he concentrated harder on her he realised that she was still very upset and scared. He figured that she must feel a certain safety within the act.

In fact, her attitude was not so much about safety as about forgetting.

Which was probably not the best reason to have sex but even had he known, the Count would have barely cared. After all, things were going as had planned and he had anyway been looking forward to this part. The vampire opened the front of his shirt, and her hands found her way quickly down to his belly. Where her soft fingers had passed his chest, her lips followed and sucked tenderly on his nipples.

With Elaine's help he quickly removed the fabric from his arms. Realising that sitting on the bed, with her already kneeling on top of it, was rather uncomfortable, he changed his position and joined her. While he was at it, he shoved the plate off the bed and it clashed on the floor. A bit stung by the noise, Elaine paused in her caressing his bare chest until he encouraged her further by stroking her still-covered breasts with his fullest attention.

His kisses found their way on her tempting neck once more and despite his almost painful yearning he began to enjoy himself. It was almost like in the old times. She really began to loosen up. Her hands were suddenly busy to open the buttons and hooks at the inside of his trousers. The zipper followed soon enough and from the yearning sighs she made he guessed that it was time to get her out of her dress.

The rather simple lacing on her back was loosened in no time, and moving his hands from her shoulders down to her arms he removed the gown from them. Her small, milk-white breasts with the aroused pinkish nibbles appeared. He gently nibbled on one as he moved the dress further down until it hung on her knees.

Softly moaning, she pressed her hands into his backside. The noises she made were not just caused by pleasure but also spoke of the brief relief Elaine felt in the heat of the moment. The witch's finger circled around his hips to the front, but Dracula was not about to rush anything. Sometimes a bit of sweet torture made the spectacle even more enjoyable.

And the girl, by all means, needed it badly and after his involuntary abstinence he wanted to make this as good as it could be under the circumstances. So he took her arms and pressed her down onto the bed. With her lying on her back, the arms trapped at her side and him kneeling above her, the vampire caressed the so far neglected breast of hers.

Understanding that he wanted her to lie back and enjoy, Elaine closed her eyes and tried to shut everything else out; the horror of the past days, her imminent death, the worries, and just paid attention to the very enthralling sensations that were caused by Dracula's kisses and touches. At the first hint of what he had in mind she had laughed, thinking that he was just one of the other arrogant demons that were suffering from the delusion of being devilishly good lovers. How wrong she had been.

It was not difficult to abandon all thoughts as the Count's lips worked their way down. Groaning louder with anticipation as he passed her belly-button, she went over to growling softly as his tongue began pleasing the most sensitive part of her. If her mind had been capable of a clear thought, she might have cursed that he had not come to L.A. sooner, but as things were she was taken over by pleasure entirely.

Screams of delight escaped her as she came and her hands pressed against his shoulders, almost as if she wanted to cast him off, as he continued to stimulate her. Only after he felt that it was enough, he stopped and left her few moments to breathe. Her breath was deep and satisfied. He took the moment to remove the dress now tangling at her feet and threw it to the floor along with the rest of his clothing.

Her now open eyes looked at him invitingly, and big smile was on her face. He could see the naughty thoughts forming on her face as she got up and crawled the short distance over to him. Dracula leaned back against the pillows behind him. Her heart was still beating feverishly and it was hard to stop his fangs from growing longer. This and the rather pretty shape of the naked witch in front of him made him feel rather aroused.

Elaine kneeled on his outstretched legs and her hands moved along the inside of his thighs till they found their target. It was not her touch alone, but the warmth of her fingers, heated by the blood pulsating through the capillaries of her fingertips, that made this so pleasurable. Soon enough she continued embracing all of it with her palm. A deep groan rose from the bottom of his throat. With his hand on her rather bony backside he pulled her closer.

Not daring to approach her throat directly he kissed her lips and cheeks, while she was moving against him and stretching the borders of the Count's capability to hold off. He had abandoned this sport for far too long, he realised; this was going too quick and yet not fast enough.

He found his way inside her with ease; she was small but extremely welcoming. After a moment of just pressing herself against him as tightly as possible, Elaine slowly moved back and forth. Dracula held on to her knees, his finger's founding perfect hold inside their bends. The witch knew what she was doing. Mere moments after their union she had gotten faster and the room filled with the sound of moaning and screaming.

As Vladislaus felt that his moment was to come, he, still gently, bent her head to one side.

Then, in the right moment, he growled, letting the beast inside him out. Before Elaine could recognize it as the sound of her doom, the rows of razor sharp, long teeth buried themselves deep into the open side of her neck and throat. Blood spilled inside his mouth almost quicker than he could swallow.

And what a pleasure it was. As so many sensations rushed through him at the same time he was unable to sort them all out. Not that it mattered. Dracula did not even notice how Elaine's body grew limb after her hands had grasped his body in shock. The witch died quickly, the suddenness of it all had caused a minimal reaction that vanished among the richness of the emotions already dominating her blood.

Throwing his head back and the witch aside, he sent a roar of utter satisfaction through the apartment. Then, the Count licked his lips and finally looked down at Elaine's dead body. Her eyes were wide open, fixing having their dead stare upon him. The vampire smiled not just because of feeling so excited and pleased but because now he could feel how strong her blood had been indeed. He felt stronger, he felt it powering up his sense, giving him back the energies he had lost so long ago.

Dracula laughed out loud. Lace might have strange priorities, but he certainly knew how to make presents.