Chapter 35: 35
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"Woah- hey!" I exclaim fearfully, my feet being swept off the ground quicker than I can blink. My stomach lurches. "Soren!" I find myself half yelling, voice rising as my fingers curl around his shoulder, terrified of letting go- or being dropped. His only response is a velvety laugh. His eyes glow a stark red, but not with anger.
"We have only just become acquainted and you are already screaming my name, how lovely," he retorts with a dark chuckle as I shift in his arms, trying not to look, or think about his words, or feel the cool of his breath on my skin, yet with the proximity of our bodies, it's hard not too. I squirm.
"Yeah I bet you would like that, you hedonistic bastard," I sneer, turning my head to the side to hide the flushness of my face. Despite everything, the crude manner of his talk never fails to throw me off guard. He shifts his arms around me to accommodate my movement.
"See this is why I like you, you lie in the arms of the most dangerous vampire in this palace and you have the nerve to tell him he is a hedonistic bastard," Soren chuckles to himself and leans down to whisper against my cheek. "You really are a glutton for danger," and he laughs again at the feeling of my body growing rigid with rage. Soren's cold fingers press harder into me, his rings icy against my skin. "Also," he adds, the lights in the room dimming again, recoiling from something- from him, as the darkness around us solidifies into a strange almost liquid-y matter. But as it brushes up against my bare feet, I strain to hold back a small laugh at the ticklish sensation that convulses through my body. "I can manipulate the shadows into solid form, conceal anything I want, make them anything I wish. The realm of the shadows are my domain, and anything that falls in it is mine to control, and mine alone." From the gleaming, lusty look on his face and that wicked, toothy smile I don't have to think hard to imagine exactly what sort of things he might 'wish' to do if he got the chance. To my mercy, he puts me down, and I sway slightly, careful not to trip up on the hem of my long, draping dress. He watches me as I move to sit on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on my head, waiting for my heart to steady, counting:
One… Two… Three…
Soren's eyes mist over with an odd mix of curiosity and hunger- a hunger that is not bloodthirsty, but something else entirely. The snaking shadows coil round his feet for a moment, and then disappear once more. "And then," he sighs, running a hand past the side of his head, feet planted firmly on the ground, "there is my ability to see," I wait for him to elaborate, but he offers nothing else.
"To...see?" I ask finally, prompting his answer with a tilt of my head. He nods.
"In exchange for my answer, will you allow me to demonstrate?"
Another bargain. Always another bargain. Yet a part of me is relieved he is at least offering me an option this time. Much different to before he had fed, much less wild, perhaps kinder- if one might call a bloodsucking killer kind, but still a shameless hedonistic flirt. He beckons me over with a curl of his finger, as if he had already heard the answer buried deep inside my heart. Eager curiosity ebbs my fear, draws me towards him in a trance like spell. I stand a few inches away from him, my body taut against the thought of what he might do. Despite my obvious attempt to keep at a distance, he takes long striding steps closer anyway.
"You see," he says, his voice an erotic caress in the warm night air. "Everyone, even you, Serena darling, hide things. Deep within the shadows of your heart, little desires, dreams, things you want and think, but never hope to ask for," as he says this, he pulls up a free hand from my side, his cold fingers lingering around my wrist, and presses my hand to the flat of my chest, above my heart, pounding fast, so fast, in its tiny little cavity. I almost pull my hand away, but he holds it there firmly. "I can see those things, the dark shadows of your existence, the things that haunt you, the things you crave, you hate, you love. No, I cannot read your thoughts, but I can read your heart. And I can speak to it, if I so desire, influence it- if you will." Still, his hand clutches around my wrist, my heartbeat steadying beneath my palm, softer, fainter. I breathe out a long, shaky breath.
It is so perfect, so flawless, his ability to 'see'. See into the hearts of his victims, show them what they most desire, and then drain them, drain them while you watch the light fade from their eyes, stealing that desire, that want, with every drop of blood that you draw from their veins. You wouldn't need to glamour them, you wouldn't need to charm them, simply show them what they want to see, show them, and then kill them. And they would die a willing victim. I remember how he had offered me a hand to dance in the forest, how strange it had seemed, and how exhilarating, to be free, uncaring, bound by no-one, and dancing with a stranger who could be anyone. He had known then, I am sure, what I wanted. That I yearned to be free, the dance, to love. He had known, and for a vampire it would be such an easy wish to grant, such an easy trick to play. And yet… and yet he hadn't killed me. No matter how much he wanted to that night, no matter how hungry he had been, he still hadn't killed me. He had let me get away. Twice.
Silently I wonder what else he had seen in my heart, what had made him stop.
I kept wondering in bed that night long after I had left Soren, Ithuriel draping his paws over my stomach, and I stared at the ceiling and simply wondered. My mind forgot about the weight of the necklace on my chest, about the Illistrae and the plans to go back to his room in a few days, to search its perimeters for clues and leads to where the flame might be. I forgot about the pressure my mind had been under these past few days, forgot about every thought in my head, except one thing.
An invisible hand presses against my chest, trailing the gentle thrumming of my heart, circling with an invisible shadowy finger.
Go to sleep, little dove.
It seems to whisper in its strange, whirling language. And as my eyes grow heavy with tiredness and the room thickens with the impenetrable void that surrounds me, I could swear I see a flash of strange golden orbs above my head, feel the soft caress of that hand on my cheek.. Darkness consumes me.
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"Woah- hey!" I exclaim fearfully, my feet being swept off the ground quicker than I can blink. My stomach lurches. "Soren!" I find myself half yelling, voice rising as my fingers curl around his shoulder, terrified of letting go- or being dropped. His only response is a velvety laugh. His eyes glow a stark red, but not with anger.
"We have only just become acquainted and you are already screaming my name, how lovely," he retorts with a dark chuckle as I shift in his arms, trying not to look, or think about his words, or feel the cool of his breath on my skin, yet with the proximity of our bodies, it's hard not too. I squirm.
"Yeah I bet you would like that, you hedonistic bastard," I sneer, turning my head to the side to hide the flushness of my face. Despite everything, the crude manner of his talk never fails to throw me off guard. He shifts his arms around me to accommodate my movement.
"See this is why I like you, you lie in the arms of the most dangerous vampire in this palace and you have the nerve to tell him he is a hedonistic bastard," Soren chuckles to himself and leans down to whisper against my cheek. "You really are a glutton for danger," and he laughs again at the feeling of my body growing rigid with rage. Soren's cold fingers press harder into me, his rings icy against my skin. "Also," he adds, the lights in the room dimming again, recoiling from something- from him, as the darkness around us solidifies into a strange almost liquid-y matter. But as it brushes up against my bare feet, I strain to hold back a small laugh at the ticklish sensation that convulses through my body. "I can manipulate the shadows into solid form, conceal anything I want, make them anything I wish. The realm of the shadows are my domain, and anything that falls in it is mine to control, and mine alone." From the gleaming, lusty look on his face and that wicked, toothy smile I don't have to think hard to imagine exactly what sort of things he might 'wish' to do if he got the chance. To my mercy, he puts me down, and I sway slightly, careful not to trip up on the hem of my long, draping dress. He watches me as I move to sit on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on my head, waiting for my heart to steady, counting:
One… Two… Three…
Soren's eyes mist over with an odd mix of curiosity and hunger- a hunger that is not bloodthirsty, but something else entirely. The snaking shadows coil round his feet for a moment, and then disappear once more. "And then," he sighs, running a hand past the side of his head, feet planted firmly on the ground, "there is my ability to see," I wait for him to elaborate, but he offers nothing else.
"To...see?" I ask finally, prompting his answer with a tilt of my head. He nods.
"In exchange for my answer, will you allow me to demonstrate?"
Another bargain. Always another bargain. Yet a part of me is relieved he is at least offering me an option this time. Much different to before he had fed, much less wild, perhaps kinder- if one might call a bloodsucking killer kind, but still a shameless hedonistic flirt. He beckons me over with a curl of his finger, as if he had already heard the answer buried deep inside my heart. Eager curiosity ebbs my fear, draws me towards him in a trance like spell. I stand a few inches away from him, my body taut against the thought of what he might do. Despite my obvious attempt to keep at a distance, he takes long striding steps closer anyway.
"You see," he says, his voice an erotic caress in the warm night air. "Everyone, even you, Serena darling, hide things. Deep within the shadows of your heart, little desires, dreams, things you want and think, but never hope to ask for," as he says this, he pulls up a free hand from my side, his cold fingers lingering around my wrist, and presses my hand to the flat of my chest, above my heart, pounding fast, so fast, in its tiny little cavity. I almost pull my hand away, but he holds it there firmly. "I can see those things, the dark shadows of your existence, the things that haunt you, the things you crave, you hate, you love. No, I cannot read your thoughts, but I can read your heart. And I can speak to it, if I so desire, influence it- if you will." Still, his hand clutches around my wrist, my heartbeat steadying beneath my palm, softer, fainter. I breathe out a long, shaky breath.
It is so perfect, so flawless, his ability to 'see'. See into the hearts of his victims, show them what they most desire, and then drain them, drain them while you watch the light fade from their eyes, stealing that desire, that want, with every drop of blood that you draw from their veins. You wouldn't need to glamour them, you wouldn't need to charm them, simply show them what they want to see, show them, and then kill them. And they would die a willing victim. I remember how he had offered me a hand to dance in the forest, how strange it had seemed, and how exhilarating, to be free, uncaring, bound by no-one, and dancing with a stranger who could be anyone. He had known then, I am sure, what I wanted. That I yearned to be free, the dance, to love. He had known, and for a vampire it would be such an easy wish to grant, such an easy trick to play. And yet… and yet he hadn't killed me. No matter how much he wanted to that night, no matter how hungry he had been, he still hadn't killed me. He had let me get away. Twice.
Silently I wonder what else he had seen in my heart, what had made him stop.
I kept wondering in bed that night long after I had left Soren, Ithuriel draping his paws over my stomach, and I stared at the ceiling and simply wondered. My mind forgot about the weight of the necklace on my chest, about the Illistrae and the plans to go back to his room in a few days, to search its perimeters for clues and leads to where the flame might be. I forgot about the pressure my mind had been under these past few days, forgot about every thought in my head, except one thing.
An invisible hand presses against my chest, trailing the gentle thrumming of my heart, circling with an invisible shadowy finger.
Go to sleep, little dove.
It seems to whisper in its strange, whirling language. And as my eyes grow heavy with tiredness and the room thickens with the impenetrable void that surrounds me, I could swear I see a flash of strange golden orbs above my head, feel the soft caress of that hand on my cheek.. Darkness consumes me.
"Woah- hey!" I exclaim fearfully, my feet being swept off the ground quicker than I can blink. My stomach lurches. "Soren!" I find myself half yelling, voice rising as my fingers curl around his shoulder, terrified of letting go- or being dropped. His only response is a velvety laugh. His eyes glow a stark red, but not with anger."We have only just become acquainted and you are already screaming my name, how lovely," he retorts with a dark chuckle as I shift in his arms, trying not to look, or think about his words, or feel the cool of his breath on my skin, yet with the proximity of our bodies, it's hard not too. I squirm."Yeah I bet you would like that, you hedonistic bastard," I sneer, turning my head to the side to hide the flushness of my face. Despite everything, the crude manner of his talk never fails to throw me off guard. He shifts his arms around me to accommodate my movement."See this is why I like you, you lie in the arms of the most dangerous vampire in this palace and you have the nerve to tell him he is a hedonistic bastard," Soren chuckles to himself and leans down to whisper against my cheek. "You really are a glutton for danger," and he laughs again at the feeling of my body growing rigid with rage. Soren's cold fingers press harder into me, his rings icy against my skin. "Also," he adds, the lights in the room dimming again, recoiling from something- from him, as the darkness around us solidifies into a strange almost liquid-y matter. But as it brushes up against my bare feet, I strain to hold back a small laugh at the ticklish sensation that convulses through my body. "I can manipulate the shadows into solid form, conceal anything I want, make them anything I wish. The realm of the shadows are my domain, and anything that falls in it is mine to control, and mine alone." From the gleaming, lusty look on his face and that wicked, toothy smile I don't have to think hard to imagine exactly what sort of things he might 'wish' to do if he got the chance. To my mercy, he puts me down, and I sway slightly, careful not to trip up on the hem of my long, draping dress. He watches me as I move to sit on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on my head, waiting for my heart to steady, counting:One Two ThreeSoren's eyes mist over with an odd mix of curiosity and hunger- a hunger that is not bloodthirsty, but something else entirely. The snaking shadows coil round his feet for a moment, and then disappear once more. "And then," he sighs, running a hand past the side of his head, feet planted firmly on the ground, "there is my ability to see," I wait for him to elaborate, but he offers nothing else."To...see?" I ask finally, prompting his answer with a tilt of my head. He nods."In exchange for my answer, will you allow me to demonstrate?"Another bargain. Always another bargain. Yet a part of me is relieved he is at least offering me an option this time. Much different to before he had fed, much less wild, perhaps kinder- if one might call a bloodsucking killer kind, but still a shameless hedonistic flirt. He beckons me over with a curl of his finger, as if he had already heard the answer buried deep inside my heart. Eager curiosity ebbs my fear, draws me towards him in a trance like spell. I stand a few inches away from him, my body taut against the thought of what he might do. Despite my obvious attempt to keep at a distance, he takes long striding steps closer anyway."You see," he says, his voice an erotic caress in the warm night air. "Everyone, even you, Serena darling, hide things. Deep within the shadows of your heart, little desires, dreams, things you want and think, but never hope to ask for," as he says this, he pulls up a free hand from my side, his cold fingers lingering around my wrist, and presses my hand to the flat of my chest, above my heart, pounding fast, so fast, in its tiny little cavity. I almost pull my hand away, but he holds it there firmly. "I can see those things, the dark shadows of your existence, the things that haunt you, the things you crave, you hate, you love. No, I cannot read your thoughts, but I can read your heart. And I can speak to it, if I so desire, influence it- if you will." Still, his hand clutches around my wrist, my heartbeat steadying beneath my palm, softer, fainter. I breathe out a long, shaky breath.It is so perfect, so flawless, his ability to 'see'. See into the hearts of his victims, show them what they most desire, and then drain them, drain them while you watch the light fade from their eyes, stealing that desire, that want, with every drop of blood that you draw from their veins. You wouldn't need to glamour them, you wouldn't need to charm them, simply show them what they want to see, show them, and then kill them. And they would die a willing victim. I remember how he had offered me a hand to dance in the forest, how strange it had seemed, and how exhilarating, to be free, uncaring, bound by no-one, and dancing with a stranger who could be anyone. He had known then, I am sure, what I wanted. That I yearned to be free, the dance, to love. He had known, and for a vampire it would be such an easy wish to grant, such an easy trick to play. And yet and yet he hadn't killed me. No matter how much he wanted to that night, no matter how hungry he had been, he still hadn't killed me. He had let me get away. Twice.Silently I wonder what else he had seen in my heart, what had made him stop.I kept wondering in bed that night long after I had left Soren, Ithuriel draping his paws over my stomach, and I stared at the ceiling and simply wondered. My mind forgot about the weight of the necklace on my chest, about the Illistrae and the plans to go back to his room in a few days, to search its perimeters for clues and leads to where the flame might be. I forgot about the pressure my mind had been under these past few days, forgot about every thought in my head, except one thing.An invisible hand presses against my chest, trailing the gentle thrumming of my heart, circling with an invisible shadowy finger.Go to sleep, little dove.It seems to whisper in its strange, whirling language. And as my eyes grow heavy with tiredness and the room thickens with the impenetrable void that surrounds me, I could swear I see a flash of strange golden orbs above my head, feel the soft caress of that hand on my cheek.. Darkness consumes me.
