Sins And Shadows

Chapter One

November 1863

The room smelled of blood and rain. And I was the cause of it. This was the start of the horror I caused. I had become a monster, and I reveled in it. There were dead bodies all over the porcelain room, and I could still taste the fresh blood on my lips. I fixed the ends of my sleeves of my suit, and straightened my tie. Selene walked over to me in a blood red dress, licking her lips seductively at me, and wrapped an arm around my torso.

She put an ear to my lips, and I shivered at her touch. "Now wasn't that so much fun, my darling?" I turn to look at her. Her dark brown wavy hair. Her crystal green eyes. Features she used often to trap men into her web of lies and dark secrets. Features she used to trap me. I remove her hand from me, and back away from her. "Don’t for one second think that this was fun for me Selene. If I had a choice, I would not be here."

She pouts like my words hurt her, and I didn’t give a damn if she was hurt or not. "Don't be like that my dear Nickolas. What I gave you was a gift. You are now immortal. Not many people receive that gift. You should be thanking me instead of being angry with me." I frowned and walked outside into the dark covered night. "I'm not your dear anything. You forced this life upon me Selene. I will never thank you. I will never accept this "gift" as you so call it freely. So if you are expecting me to be grateful, don't hold your breath."

"Must you be so morose Nickolas? This life I'm offering you.. It's nothing to throw away." "You've already made me a vampire. What I choose to do after that, is not up to you. My life from now on is only mine. And I want it to stay that way." I had just been a student studying at oxford, when I had met Selene. I thought when she picked me out, I had been special. That I was the only man she could ever want. I didn’t know that would end up with me becoming exactly like her. Becoming a monster. I lost so much. And it was because of my own foolish choices.

"Then what will you do? Live amongst society? The people will never support you. They will never think kindly of you Nickolas. They will wonder why you don't age. Why you don't seem to eat. It all ends up that way. And then a witch hunt ensures, that ends with your death. I do not want to see that happen to you."

"I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for ages." "Is that really want you want? Or are you simply posturing like a child simply because you wish to get away from me as soon as possible?" Of course Selene would figure out what I wanted. It was obvious what I was up to. "I'm not posturing. I'm simply stating that what I want is a life of my own. Separate from yours. That is all I'm saying Selene, so do not put words in my mouth that I have not said."

I felt her close to me before I could breathe a word. She wrapped a hand around my neck and squeezed. I felt my airway constrict and I was quickly losing conscious. I may be a vampire, but I was a newborn. I didn’t have the strength to match hers. "Listen closely. I chose you because I thought you would be worth it. And I have no problem taking this away from you by killing you Nickolas. So do not think that

you can just order me around or backtalk me in any way. I am your mistress and that won't change as long as you behave. Do we understand each other?"

I nodded my head yes because I could do nothing else. Selene let me go, and I took in as much air as I could. Even though I couldn't die, I still needed to breathe. I watched silently as she walked away from me, and I flinched inwardly when she started staring at me. "Don't forget Nickolas. I will be watching you. You may have your peaceful life, but only because you now have my permission. This is me being lenient with you. Do not take advantage of this. I will not spare you again."

I watched as she transformed into a bat, and flew away. Apparently if you were a vampire as old as she was, you gained powers only mere mortals dreamed of. I put a hand to my throat and I could still feel the imprint of Selene's hands around my throat. I never thought a woman could best me. But this.. I was not prepared for this. I had to accept my new life. Because if I didn't, I would end up dead. And that was something I would be fighting against for the rest of my life.