Part 35. The Vampire's Maid

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“Stop!” An unmistakeable cry of rage came from behind me.

I spun too late; a wrinkled hand was already on my neck and forcing me away from the tunnel and into the wall beside it. I recognised his voice and the surprising strength of the grasp on my neck. Dane. He had caught me, just before I was going to escape. He’d stopped me from saving myself and saving Ashley. These realisations thumped into my stomach almost as hard as I hit the wall. Dane’s face, an unpleasant leer, bore down on mine.

No. I couldn’t let him ruin my escape.

“You’re trying to get to my Elizabeth, my Beth.” Dane rasped.

My heart was pounding like thunder. He was crushing my neck and rendering me defenceless. I took a staggered, slow breath as my thoughts began to register. By the name Elizabeth, he clearly didn’t mean me. But there was another Elizabeth tied with the Sancruor family. Could he possibly be talking about Ashley’s mother?

“Elizabeth Sancruor? Elizabeth’s dead. You killed her!” I accused.

Dane’s ancient snake eyes narrowed, the candlelight catching the milk of his pupils. His stare made me cower. This man, this vampire that stood in front of me was no longer frail in his old age. His age gave him a wisdom and power that made me shrink away from him and the veined hands that held me.

“Kill her?” He spat. “Kill my Beth? Oh, Goliath didn’t have any idea. He hadno idea about us.”

His voice was rising and his grip was tightening around my neck. What he was saying made very little sense. I closed my eyes, letting a deep despair fall upon me. Despair mingled with a desperate curiosity.

“You were in love with Elizabeth Sancruor?” I hazarded.

“I’m still in love with her.” His grossly translucent skin stretched over his face as he smiled. “Because she’s not dead, I told you that. Beth is still alive and awaiting my visit!”

“That’s why you’re leaving the house?” I asked, appalled. “To pursue some sick love affair? Don’t you think that the age difference is disgusting?”

I was throwing insults at Dane, shocked at the secrets that were being revealed. Ashley’s mother was still alive. She was probably living in that tiny cottage in Little Drewington, haunted by the ancient vampire who had me pinned up against a wall. But still she was alive. Ashley would be so happy, so thrilled if he found out. The fact that he probably never would discover this made my stomach twist with anger.

“Goliath is a fool. He doesn’t see what’s going on with me and Beth.”

I tried to picture Dane and Goliath’s ex wife together but failed. Elizabeth Sancruor, whose portrait hung downstairs in Joe’s room, did not look like a woman to be in love with Dane. Her portrait, I realised with shock, had probably been painted by the guy squeezing my neck. An image of him painting the banister with such fluency of stroke earlier that day jumped into my mind. I pictured Dane painting each of the portraits around the walls and shivered; his presence was everywhere.

“Perhaps because he thinks that she’s dead,” I narrowed my eyes. “As everyone did. But he’s not that much of a fool; he doesn’t trust you enough to give you access to the cars.”

His insanely strong hand was pushing against my neck, crushing my windpipe and blocking my breath. The driver’s cap, that stupid driver’s cap, was blocking the back of his neck and my hands were pinned against the hard wall. Even if I could free my hands I would never be able to reach his weak spot. I took a painful breath, then another.

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