I awakened to the sound of voices, both male seemingly engaged in a rather heated discussion. Unlike last time I had no problem opening my eyes although they were dry and sore. Running my hand up to my neck I grazed the small bumps, holding my hand over them as I sat up and slid off the bed. The room, bathed in warm dim lights looked like something out of a modern magazine with it's marble floors and fancy furniture but it failed to hold my attention as the voices grew louder.
"This is going to backfire on us!"
Despite the nagging voice in my head I pushed through the door and followed those of those men down the dark corridor. The space was wide with very few lights and sheer black curtains covering the windows. It had all the makings of a scene from scary movie as everything else in my life at the moment. A few doors down there was a light casting thin beams along the dark hardwood floor. Again, ignoring the part of me warning against going further, I inched toward it edging slowly around the corner to peak through the small gap between the door and its frame. I caught sight of Nicolas standing in front of a window covered by the same sheer black curtain with his head bowed and shoulders tensed.
"Neither of you understand." He sounded frustrated and somewhat defeated.
"Yes we do!" There was an unfamiliar male voice just as deep and dark with an accent hanging from it. "I know that it's still painful for you Nicolas. It hurts me too but you have to stop this and accept that Simone is dead." The owner of that voice, the same brunette that accompanied Nicolas the first time he came to the club stepped into my line of sight with his hands out trying to reason.
"He's right Nicolas." I recognized Roland's voice pouring in from somewhere in the room. It wasn't even a full second later before Nicolas spun around and faced the man with a fierce scowl.
"I will never accept that and as her brother you're wrong to do so Armand!"
Simone? Who the hell is Simone? Before I blacked out I remember hearing him saying wife in Spanish so could that be who he was talking about? Then again this guy just said she's dead so what exactly did Nicolas mean by things would be "discussed" when she awakened?
Armand ran his hands through his short brown curls as if he were just as frustrated as the tension in Nicolas's shoulders suggested. By the way his jaw clenched I could tell that a temper, deep anger was raging on inside of him and was about to be released. He backed up a few steps and out of instinct I moved with him trying to see what he was about to do but in doing that I stepped on what must have been a weak spot in the floor that caused a loud creaking luring their eyes toward me. I backed up a few steps planning to run back to the room as heavy footsteps advanced toward me. The door swung open revealing a very agitated looking Armand and stoic Nicolas.
"Rayne," Nicolas pushed forward turning my head to the side to exam my neck. Why I felt relaxed at the feel of his finger brushing over my wounds is beyond me but it managed to calm the rapid beating of my heart from being caught listening to their conversation. "How are you feeling?" There was genuine concern there but I didn't give an answer. Aside from the dull throbbing in my neck, my head is spinning over the fact that I was attacked by what I think to be a vampire which means I'm going insane, and I have the strangest feeling I'm being dragged into some shit I probably won't be able to walk away from. So how am I feeling really? Scared as hell and confused!
"How much did you hear?" I caught the tail end of the accent on Armand's words again and despite his obvious anger I couldn't stop my mind from trying to determine what it was.
"Enough to need an explanation." I spoke softly, looking back at him with the same annoyance he was showering me with. I don't know what I did personally to earn this look or this tone but I will not be intimidated!
"What makes you think you deserve an explanation?"
"Armand!" Nicolas growled over his shoulder, turned as if he were blocking the man's view of me. Peaking around Nicolas I saw the two of them exchanging hard looks before the brunette walked--stomped off. I couldn't help but watch him as he disappeared down the hall and then the stairs. There was something familiar about him but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Something within me holds an ounce of humor at the way he walked away, feeling like this is the usual for him; a child like tantrum.
Nicolas grabbed my hand pulling me forward. On our way into the room Roland was making his way out and also shared a look with him. I wanted to--need to thank him for saving me. I don't know how he defeated that monster or what the outcome was but I'm secretly thankful that he came to my rescue. Once the door shut behind us I was led to a comfortable lounge chair angled slightly in front of a modern fireplace. Instead of leaning back in it like I was tempted to I sat down on the edge of it with my hands tucked into my lap. I haven't forgotten about the ruthless way he killed that guy so being closed off in a room with him isn't ideal. If I have to run, I need to be able to and relaxing in this plush chair definitely won't allow that.
"I'm going to repeat that question and ask you how much you heard, Rayne."
A shiver ran down my spine and I swallowed hard. "I--that--I really don't know. I heard you mention a wife and th--they want you to give up something." Nicolas nodded as he turned toward the fire and lowered his head just as he had when I was watching from the door. It was just as evident then as it is now that he is still in pain but that instills even more fear in me that I'm in the presence of a crazy man. People tend to be very irrational when it comes to bottled feelings and those of sadness and I really don't want to be on the receiving end of that. Putting the desire to run away aside, I need to be calm and ask him the only question that really matters. "What's going on Nicolas, really?"
I heard yet another frustrated sigh over the crackling of the fire. "It's a long story and you're not going to believe me."
"Try me!" I countered immediately, anxious to get to the truth...his truth. Nicolas faced me, took the few steps needing to close the gap between us then knelt down placing both his hands on my knees.
"When I first came to this country I met a beautiful french girl named Simone who consumed me completely. I was in love right away and she," he paused for a moment and smiled, "was too much of a free spirit to be held back by any man. It took a long time but I finally got her to love me back. I had my land," he waved his hand motioning around the room, "my title as Spanish royalty, and the love of my life! I was the happiest man in the world with Simone as my wife and my child growing in her belly but as she neared the end of the pregnancy she came down with a fever that would not break. No one wanted to admit it but we knew she wouldn't make it through the birth. Her days were spent sleeping and when she was awake her eyes were dull and weak. A few nights before she went into labor I was visited by a man that I'd been previously acquainted with; Vlad Dracos is what he called himself. He told me that he could save Simone from death but I did not believe him. I had every known doctor in the area come with herbs and medicines but none of them helped even a little bit so how could he. The night Simone gave birth I was desperate. I went to Vlad and asked to prove that he could help. I wanted to be sure that I was not submitting my love to more pain than she was already in or putting her through something that could otherwise harm her."
Nicolas looked away, stood and began pacing the space in front of the fireplace. I could tell as he drew closer and closer to those last words that his emotions were trying to push through and he was trying his damnedest to fight them off. Part of me wanted to tell him he didn't have to continue but I need to know, have to know what any of this has to do with me.
"I never saw it coming and didn't understand it at first. He told me afterwards that it was a gift. He lunged at me biting into my neck then his own hand running it over my wound. Within seconds I became dizzy and must have blacked out because I awakened to a dark room. Vlad was nowhere to be found so I made my way home. I was dizzy still but I felt this extreme hunger. When I neared my front door I heard Simone crying and screaming. I ran up to the room and found one of the servants with her, trying to help my child enter the world. There was a smell that hit me as soon as I entered; a smell that made my gums ache and filled me with this need to bite something. I pushed that to the side noticing that my wife looked even worse than before and with each push she seemed more tired and weak. The servant didn't want me in there because I was panicking and Simone was trying to focus on me rather than what she was supposed to be doing. I didn't know what else to do. I knew I was going to lose her if I didn't do something so I repeated what Vlad did, using the knife the servant had there to cut the baby's cord and sliced into the back of Simone's hand. I was so nervous because I didn't want to hurt her so instead of a straight line it was sort of an odd zigzag. I don't know what I expected to happen but as Simone went to push one final time the lights went out behind her eyes. She gasped then her breathing stopped completely. The servant did all she could to help my son into the world on her own but when he came out he was not breathing either. I lost my wife and my son in the same day...lost my reason for living."
My heart ached for a now stock still Nicolas, staring off into the distance.
"Simone and the son I named Nelson were buried four days later. It wasn't until then that I learned what I was. A vampire...a monster! My teeth grew and I found myself wanting to rip apart every single person that came by to check on me. So pissed and angry that I was cursed to live an eternity without them, I stood over their grave with a knife over my heart. Vlad appeared behind me warning that what I was attempting wouldn't kill me because of the way I was changed. By giving me his blood without draining me first he mutated mine, changing me slowly over the course of a few days meaning technically I was still alive. According to him, I could not die. My depression grew more with that news of this. I shut myself off inside my house ignoring my increasing hunger. I sat there thinking my body would shut down without feeding into my most basic needs. Armand. Simone's older brother had been in their native France when Simone died so by the time he got the news it was nearly a month later. He came to me saddened but determined to help me get back on my feet even after I showed him what I was. I don't know his reasoning but he asked me to change him and a few months later, his wife."
Pausing again he looked at me with a longing gaze then knelt down in front of me for a second time, this time cupping my cheeks. He just admitted to me that he too is a vampire and yet, I'm not the least bit scared.
"I became a cold angry man. I killed with no regrets and til this day, I still do. A few short years after I lost Simone a strange feeling washed over me. My heart took on an extra beat and suddenly I felt more alive. There was a pull toward a small cottage by the shore not far from my home. I followed the feeling to a woman who'd just given birth to a daughter and didn't understand why. I found myself going to her everyday, I watched the girl, Corrine, from a distance as she went from a baby to a bubbly little girl, then to a beautiful young woman. Against my better judgement I approached her in town where she sold fruits that her family grew behind their cottage and what I saw was enough to stop my heart. Her eyes were the same forest green as Simone's and on her hand, the back of her right hand was a strange zigzag marking. I was sold. In my heart I knew I'd gotten the love of my life back but my excitement did not last. People were becoming suspicious of me and the fact that Claudia, Armand, and I were not aging. I was Nicolas Ortiz DeLeon, the Spanish prince who'd lost his wife, his son, and his will meaning I could not be with her the way I wanted. I had everything in me wanting to defy my own orders to move away before we were discovered by Armand held me back. He did not believe that Simone had come back in the form of Corrine so he made sure I stayed away from her. The point of this story Rayne, is to give you some insight on my life. After Corrine I felt that pull again and again and each time I followed it to someone with the same eyes and marking that," he grabbed my right hand and held it up to eye level, "you have."
If I wasn't already sitting perfectly still I would have froze hearing that. Is he implying that I am his dead wife...excuse, have her soul? It seems laughable but the look in his eyes tells me this is not a joke or meant to be the least bit funny.
I shook my head willing my words of disbelief to come out, "I'm--I'm not--"
"You are, Rayne! In every life you've had the same eyes, the same marking on the back of your hand, and the same spitfire attitude that made me fall for you in the first place."
"Maybe people have green eyes Nicolas and--"
"Pero no es tuyo! But not yours!" He retorted with extra bass in his voice. "I felt it in my heart every time the soul cycled! I felt a pull to the place and to the person! That's why I came to that club! In your last life, 1926, you died from an unknown illness as a child and after that I wandered the earth with Armand and Claud in tow searching for you but did not feel the pull until twenty plus years later. Even then I could not find you! We just so happened to be driving by the club that night when I felt you which is why I came in." He sighed closing his eyes for a second, "I fear that the reason for the large gap between this life and your last means that you're at the end of your lifecycle mi amor and I can't lose you forever!"
"I don't get it." I pulled my hand free of his grip and rubbed my temples slowly in a circular motion. "If what you're saying is true, then why didn't you change me before now instead of having to 'watch me die' repeatedly as you said?"
"Because each time I asked to change you, ask you to be with me eternally, you declined. I've told you this very same story every time I was able to be a part of your life and you did not believe me but I need you to now!"
I shook my head again but this time at a loss. What do I say to that? Tell him the truth? That I think he has this all wrong? The fact that I've seen a vampire for my self, which is still crazy as hell to me, leads me to believe that he may be telling the truth about this but if there is some connection between us, why don't I feel it? Besides, what kind of girl would I be to jump all over this and fall into his arms. If this is real, true, then that means he's still in love with his wife and just using me to get to her.
Pushing off the lounge chair I put some much needed distance between us before facing him with my hands shoved deep into my hair. "I'm sorry Nicolas but you're right. I don't--can't--I'm not who you think I am. I'm sorry that you've experienced so much pain but I am not the cure for it."
He stood from his position in front of the chair I was sitting on facing me with hard eyes. To be honest, it scared the shit out of me for a split second. He looked pissed off leading me to believe he was going to lash out as he advanced and towered over me with an unrelenting gaze but instead took a very calm approach to make me understand.
"You have Simone's soul Rayne. You have her eyes, and same captivating spirit that made me love her centuries ago! I made her fall in love with me and I will do the same with you! Te guste o no! I'll change you against your will before I let you leave me forever and that is a promise!"
With that he stormed off muttering something in Spanish before he slammed the door closed behind him. I stood there long after he left in the same spot looking at nothing in particular but thinking that if there is a way to escape this crazy dream, I need to figure it out and fast.