Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

“You drum on that seat once more and I’m turning this car around,” Roderick said over his shoulder gruffly.

Ethan immediately halted his fingers and slid his arm off the long back seat.

“Sorry,” he muttered. A second later his knee began to jostle up and down as he stared out the window at the dark, forest landscape trailing along the side of the road.

“Will both of you be quiet?” Hailey snapped, holding her cell phone to her chest to do so. She then gingerly put it back to her ear.

“I know, Lloyd, I’m sorry…no, I don’t know when I’ll be home…It’s really important. I’ll explain everything later…Just tell Nicole Mommy had to help her Auntie’s and her Uncie with something…oh, you did? And she still refuses to go to bed? She said what to you? All right, then, tell her if she doesn’t get her tush in bed right now she’ll wish I never came home…” There was a long pause and Ethan could hear muffled voices on the other end. From the side mirror he could see Hailey’s lips form a smile and she laughed softly. “Of course it worked. You’re welcome. All right, yes, yes, I promise to explain everything when I come back. Okay, love you, too. Bye.”

The phone clicked as the call was disconnected and Hailey put it back in her purse.

“I swear Nicole is such a handful sometimes,” she said with a sigh, but it wasn’t full of total displeasure.

“Huh, I wonder where she get’s that from,” Roderick said and chuckled when Hailey hit him.

“I’m not that bad.”

“Suuure, I’d rather take on an enraged Minotaur with six arms rather than you in a pissy mood.”

Ethan tuned out the playful squabbles of the siblings and glued his eyes out the window once more. How could they banter while Nicoli was out there somewhere in the grasp of the enemy? His aggravation was mounting by the second and was only fueled by the silence in his mind. He longed to hear just a whisper of Nicoli’s thoughts. The slow moving car was not helping anything.

He wanted nothing more than to rip off the car door and tear into the forest. He could cover land far more quickly on his own, but he had been ordered to stay with the Fairbrooke’s and the last thing he needed was to tick off Conrad even more.

They had been traveling along the lonely road for what seemed like hours. They would stop every so often so Ethan could inspect cabins that speckled the area that people rented out for camping. He doubted Dimitri would use something as low key as a worn down, shabby shack, but if there was even the slimmest of chances they had to find out.

He was startled from his thoughts when his hand was enveloped in by an icy chill. His eyes left the window to stare into the transparent orbs of his companion that sat beside him.

“Don’t worry,” Felix whispered, so the siblings that were still going back and forth could not hear him. “We’ll find him. Everything is going to be all right.” He emphasized his reassurance by giving a squeeze to Ethan’s hand.

“Do you really believe that?” Ethan asked.

“I have to, don’t I?”

“Are you really worried about him?” Ethan felt he already knew the answer, but he wanted Felix to tell him.

Felix averted his eyes for a moment and sighed. When his gaze returned they held a bitter sadness to them.

“I’m more worried about you,” he said.

Ethan gave a return squeeze to Felix’s hand before staring out the window once more.

“I guess you should be, shouldn’t you?”

From the window he could see Felix’s reflection and the utterly crushed look he had. It pained Ethan greatly to see it and he wanted to smash his hand through the window. Just because he was in a shitty mood didn’t mean he could warp Felix’s concerns and put fuel to that everlasting fire. He was about to apologize when a presence dancing along his mind stopped him, followed by an excited voice.

“Everyone! I have fantastic news!” Cora cried out, sounding about ready to burst with joy.

“Pull the car over!” Ethan shouted to Roderick.

“What? Why?”

“Just do it! Now!”

The car screeched as it swerved off the road. It rumbled as it settled into the dirt beside the asphalt river. Ethan was bombarded by questions, but he ignored them all as he closed his eyes to focus on the one voice that mattered most right then.

“Shhh, he’s getting a message from one of the others,” Felix hissed at the witches that were demanding answers. He had seen it numerous times before to know what was happening.

“Cora! What’s happening? What have you found?” Ethan demanded.

“Ow, not all at once, guys,” Cora told them and Ethan realized the rest of the clan must have asked questions at the same time. “Just listen. Tabitha and Preston have found out where Nicoli is being held.” Ethan’s entire body tensed. They had? Was he all right? Could they tell that from scrying? “He is in a town called Tree Valley, just roughly over forty miles North West from Whixton. Cecile wants everyone to come back to the house so that we can formulate some kind of plan to rescue him.”

Ethan’s gut twisted. Go back? In the direction Ethan and the others had been going they had to be very close to Tree Valley. On his own he could get there in a matter of minutes. He couldn’t go back knowing that Nicoli was just a few miles away. He just couldn’t.

“That is a very sound course of action.”

Ethan was taken aback because that was not Cora who spoke. It was Conrad.

“Everyone go back to the house. Once there we will find a way to get the boy with the least amount of risk.” Conrad ordered and Ethan grounded his teeth angrily. “Hold on, let me correct myself. Everyone but Gavin go back to the house. I would like Gavin to go on ahead to this Tree Valley and locate exactly where Dimitri is hiding and then return. With that knowledge it will be easier to execute any sort of plan.”

“Yes, sir,” Gavin’s voice sounded from the stream of consciousness’

“Conrad, wait, please,” Ethan said, not able to keep silent. “Let me go out on the scouting mission. Please, send me out.” he begged.

The multiple threads to his clan abruptly shut down until there was only one. He knew what that meant. Conrad had severed all of the contacts until it was just the two of them.

“Absolutely not,” Conrad told him once their minds were alone.

“But, Conrad –”

“This is not up for discussion. Gavin will go and you will return to the house.”

“Why?”

“You know why. Gavin will actually do as I say and search them out without confronting them. You, on the other hand, will charge in like a raging bull with no concern for your safety. I will not have that. You’re lucky I let you go out on this search at all,” Conrad said.

Ethan’s fingers fisted into his pants and he could feel his nails biting into his legs.

“Father, please, we don’t have time to just seek them out without doing anything. We need to get Nicoli now. Who knows how much longer Dimitri will keep him without killing him.”

“…the only way I see Dimitri killing the boy so early is if he acquired what he wants. You brought this human into our lives because you had faith in him. Keep hold of that faith and believe that Nicoli will not give into Dimitri. That’s all you can do. Now go back to the house. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Father.” It took a while for Ethan to muster up those words, but muster he had to. It struck him how even Conrad held some sort of belief that Nicoli would say strong. He may not have said it outright, but Ethan had learned to read between the lines long ago. As long as Ethan believed in Nicoli, Conrad would keep his belief in Ethan.

“What happened?” Felix asked when Ethan opened his eyes, the communication completely cut off.

“Tabitha and Preston found Nicoli,” Ethan told them.

“Ha, I knew they could do it,” Roderick said, smacking his hand against the steering wheel.

“Did they say where?” Hailey asked.

“In a town called Tree Valley.”

“Tree Valley?” Roderick said then let out a whistle. “Those guys have been that close this whole time? They really do have balls if they’re not trying to run as far and as fast away as possible.”

“This Dimitri fellow is very confident in his own abilities,” Hailey said with a shake of her head. “Those are the most dangerous people to deal with.”

“What’s going to happen now?” Felix asked.

“Conrad and Cecile want everyone to go back to the house, so we can come up with a way to save Nicoli.” Ethan sat in silence for a moment before opening the car door and stepping out.

“Now just where the heck are you going?” Roderick asked as everyone watched him curiously.

“Change of plans. Conrad wants a couple of us to go to Tree Valley to see exactly where they are. Then we will go back to rejoin the rest of you,” Ethan explained.

“And he wants you to be one of those people?” Felix asked. There was great suspicion in his features and Ethan couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Yes, now you better go quick. The sooner a plan can be made the better. Roderick, which way is it to Tree Valley?” he asked before seeing them off.

“Actually we’re on it. Keep following this road and you’ll be there in no time,” Roderick answered.

Ethan stared off into the dark night down the path he had to take. He then looked back and nodded.

“Thanks.”

He shut the car door and began his journey. Behind him he heard the tires crunch against dirt and asphalt as it turned and went back the way it had traveled. Ethan was grateful for the faith Conrad had in him, he really was. But Conrad was also wrong. Believing that Nicoli was all right wasn’t all that he could do. He could do so much more and he was going to show both Conrad and Dimitri that.

“You were really going to leave without me, weren’t you?”

Ethan stopped and turned. He smiled at Felix, who scowled and crossed his arms.

“I knew you were going to come one way or another, so I didn’t even bother to ask,” he said.

“Did Conrad actually ask you to go find where Dimitri is?” Felix asked, not biting onto the attempt at humor.

“Yes…I know you’re worried, Felix,” he said when he saw the troubled look that came to Felix’s face. “Gavin will be there with me and I know that I’ll have you to look out for me.” He ran his fingers through intangible locks and smiled softly. “That’s the best back up I could hope for. Now, will you come with me?” he asked.

“Of course. Like you said you had no need to ask,” Felix replied.

“Good, then let’s make haste.”

Ethan was off like a gust of wind with Felix close behind. Both would be invisible to the naked eye as they sped along the road at incredible speeds, making the branches of the trees tremble and whip in their wake.

They were close to civilization. He could feel it. The pulsation of life beat before him and grew louder until it was a chorus thundering in his ears. So close. Just a few more miles. He would get to Nicoli and make Dimitri pay. Pay for everything.

He was so intent in his destination he failed to notice a presence that ran in the forest on the other side of the street. When a figure burst from the woods and leapt over the road at him he had no time to react. He was hit so hard and fast that he was sent hurdling into the sea of trees.

“Ethan!” he heard Felix yell in the confusion.

Ethan hit the forest floor and rolled a yard or two before he used his momentum to flip him over onto his feet. His fangs descended and he roared out his rage, a sound that would make a grizzly bear flee to safety. The attacker was not deterred and a swift foot connected with Ethan’s chin, sending him flying again. When he landed he had no time to counter. There was a weight on his chest and his arms were pinned on either side of his head.

Ethan flailed and hissed, but the attacker was too strong. He could not defend himself. He froze when the one that restrained him spoke.

“And just where do you think you’re going?”

Ethan blinked and let his anger diminish so he could see straight. When he recognized the one that sat on top of him he let out a snarl.

“Andre! What the fuck are you doing!?”

The one eyed vampire smiled as he easily rode out Ethan’s bucking frenzy and successfully stayed on top of him.

“I can ask you the same question,” he said with his easy smile. “I could be wrong, but the way you were going didn’t seem like it was back to the house.”

Ethan strained to raise his arms and release himself from Andre’s hold, but it was futile.

“Wait, you’re saying Conrad didn’t ask Ethan to go to Tree Valley to check things out?” Felix asked, hovering over Andre’s shoulder.

“Of course not. Conrad is many things, but he is not a stupid man,” Andre said.

“Damn it, I knew you were lying,” Felix spat with an angry glare.

“Come on, Andre, just think, will you? If we go back now to “plan” then it will be too late for Nicoli. Who knows what they’ll do to him in that time. They may even kill him!” Ethan yelled, desperately wanting his cousin to understand.

“Yes, I know the risks, Ethan, but it is an even greater risk to barge in without so much as an idea of what to do. Who knows, they may be waiting for us to do something and you’ll run right into a trap. Then you’ll be the one that’s dead and Nicoli will most likely follow right after you,” Andre told him.

“Why is everyone so convinced that if I go up against Dimitri that I’ll die?”

His answer was a fist smashing across his face. Tiny stars danced and popped about his eyes and the disorientation stopped him from any sort of movement. That was until that same hand came back and grabbed him by the throat.

“Andre! What are you doing? Stop it!” Felix yelled at him, but went ignored.

“Look at you,” Andre hissed, his fingers tightening until a gurgle came from the throat he was crushing. “You can’t even fend me off right now. Your anger and panic are hindering your reasoning, leaving you weak and vulnerable. If you went against Dimitri and the others now then you would be struck down in a heart beat.”

Andre’s eye was sharp and fierce, his voice deadly and cold, his mouth curved in a vicious arced snarl, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. The fingers that were buried in Ethan’s throat were cruel and unrelenting, leaving him unable to speak. He had rarely seen this side of Andre and it was the first time it had been directed at him. At that moment there was no one he feared more.

“I have already lost so much to that man I called my Uncle,” Andre said lowly, but Ethan could hear every syllable. “My father, my sister, and even a cousin who I saw as my brother. Maybe the highest crime that bastard committed was making me watch my only child cry and witness her heart shatter into a million pieces. Do you really think I will stand by and let him take even one more person from me?” he asked.

Ethan couldn’t reply, not just because of the hand at his throat, but because he really couldn’t think of anything to say to Andre’s raw emotion. The hand finally left him, showing mercy on his heavily bruised neck, and he received a light slap to the cheek.

“Now get your head on straight already, damn it. We have work to do and I don’t have time to make sure you don’t do something stupid. All right?” Andre’s voice was gentler now and he rose when Ethan nodded.

Ethan grunted as he took the hand that was offered and was pulled to his feet.

“Damn, did you have to be so rough with me?” Ethan asked, rubbing his cheek and noticing the taste of blood coating his tongue.

“It’s the only way to get through that thick skull of yours,” Felix said.

“Ah, Kitten speaks the truth,” Andre said with a smile for Felix.

With a shove Ethan was ushered in the direction of Whixton, back to the place the others were waiting. Each step was harder than the next because it was one more step away from Nicoli.

The hand that had herded him now rested on his shoulder with the gentleness of a companion.

“It will be all right,” Andre whispered, the hand trying to ease stiff shoulders. “We’ll get him back.”

Ethan looked up into the clear sky. The stars shone brightly above, circling and caressing the mysterious moon that showered its light upon the Earth below.

“I hope you’re right, Andre. I hope you’re right.”

************************************************************************

Nicoli was lost in a troublesome sleep. He knew it was beyond moronic to sleep in such a hostile environment, especially with such hard to figure out jailors that were far too grabby, but he couldn’t help it. The fatigue had finally beaten his resolve down to a mere smudge and his eyelids had joined in the rebellion and closed in wicked mutiny.

Sleep had claimed him, but that did not mean he enjoyed any bit of it. Nightmares came and plagued him ceaselessly, making him toss and turn and whimper in his fitful sleep. The nightmares came on swift wings and encased him in a tornado of never ending, flitting horror. The swirl of images never stilled long enough for him to even get a grasp of what the visions held, it mattered little. He was sure he wouldn’t want to know anyways.

Quite abruptly the vortex of nightmares no longer trapped him in its gusty winds. A weight settled on his stomach, anchoring him down and letting the turbulent storm of dreams rage above him.

His skin prickled as soft, invisible touches teased along his sides. It felt like light feathers trying to tickle his muscles into relaxation. His furrow brow eased and the lines that had come from scrunching his face disappeared. His body squirmed at the attention, but not in a bad way.

That was until the feathers stroked harder and as they did they lost their soft texture and began becoming sharper and sharper until the feathers were replaced by razorblades. They skated across his skin, nicking the flesh lightly. Not hard enough to pierce the skin, but enough to bring unease. They trailed down his sides and just when they were below his ribs…they sank in.

Nicoli cried out in pain and his eyes snapped open. Two black pools that glistened in mirth greeted him, accompanied by a twisted, sharp grin.

“Hi,” Seth welcomed Nicoli back to the waking world.

Nicoli wasn’t sure what horrified him most. That he had been caught sleeping by Seth or that Seth now sat atop him. Actually both played a role in the terror that flooded Nicoli’s system.

“What the fuck? Get the hell off me!” Nicoli yelled, but there was more fear in his voice than anger. He tried to twist out from underneath Seth, but he found his arms refused to help him in the task. That’s when he found that his shirt was no longer on his torso. It had been reduced to shredded fabric and tied around his wrists which were then attached to one of the bed posts. They were restrained above his head and he now found himself very much helpless.

Not only was he shirtless, but it was obvious Seth had been busy while Nicoli had slept. Long, angry red marks trailed down his chest and sides. Some had cut deep enough to leave behind pinpricks of blood. Nicoli also didn’t like the fact that Seth’s hands were idly lying on either of his sides, his fingers very present pressing into the skin there.

“What are you doing?” Nicoli demanded, finally tearing his eyes off his ravaged body and up to the man that sat on his hips. To Nicoli’s amazement Seth was very light. The thinness of the man’s structure obviously had something to do with it, but Nicoli still expected some weight to him.

“Oh, nothing,” Seth said innocently as he bent over Nicoli, his hair falling and coiling on and around Nicoli’s body like deadly, ebony snakes. “I saw you were having such a horrible time sleeping that I thought I’d be a help and wake you up from your cruel dreams.”

Merciless nails dug into Nicoli’s sides and he screamed as they burrowed in relentlessly. Blood bubbled around Seth’s nails and created crimson rivers as they trickled down Nicoli’s skin, staining the pure white sheets beneath him.

Nicoli took in gulps of air when the nails left him. His sides now burned and stung and he tried desperately not to whimper. That would only feed Seth’s enjoyment. The whimper had to be sucked down when he opened his eyes and he saw Seth delicately licking the blood from his long nails like a cat, all the while staring intently at Nicoli.

“I’m sorry, did that hurt? I’ve been told I’ve never known what the word gentle meant.” Seth slid further down Nicoli’s body until he could bend down over the abdomen under him.

Nicoli shuddered in disgust as a slick tongue ran along his side, collecting the spilt blood. He clenched his teeth as that tongue delved into the small wounds, beckoning more of the sweet essence to come out. All the while those black eyes never left his face. They stared at him relentlessly, drinking in all of his pain and revulsion like a fine, sweet tasting wine.

He fought to kick Seth away from him, but they were now completely smothered by Seth’s body and unable to move. All he could do was squirm and that did him little good. He struggled to think of a way to free himself from this man. Any thoughts at all were quickly ushered away when Seth moved to his other side and began sucking on the puncture marks.

A tingling sensation swept through Nicoli when he thought of one person that could stop this, the only one that had shown any concern for his wellbeing.

“Where’s Dimitri?” he demanded, his voice shaking when he had tried so hard to sound tough.

Seth lifted his head and only answered after thoroughly licking all remnants of blood from his lips.

“He’s sleeping. Master wanted to conserve his strength for the next time he tried to reason with you, which I’ve heard is quite the ordeal.”

Sleeping? So that meant Dimitri didn’t know what was going on or what Seth was doing to him. That little oversight was easily correctable.

“Dimitri! Dimitri!!!” Nicoli screamed at the top of his lungs, praying that his cries were heard and that he’d be saved. The irony didn’t escape him of wanting to be saved by his captor.

His cries were stifled by a fast hand. The whimper finally escaped him as Seth leaned in close to his face.

“Shh shh shh.” Seth’s other hand grazed his cheek and was placed on his throat. It didn’t move in any sort of threatening matter. It just lied there, waiting. “We’ll have none of that now. Master isn’t to be disturbed when he’s sleeping. Do I make myself clear?” The fingers lightly curled around Nicoli’s throat in warning.

All Nicoli could do was nod his head in agreement. He wanted help, but not if it was just going to make it worse for him. Both hands left him and trailed down his chest, but there was no sigh of relief to be had. He was sure things were only going to get worse and there was no sign of it ever getting better.

“Such a good boy,” Seth praised, absently petting Nicoli’s chest with his long fingers. “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun.”

Nicoli hissed as a thumbnail roughly scraped against his nipple, making it ache. He pushed back into the mattress when Seth leaned down once more, invading his personal bubble, which, in reality, had popped ages ago.

“Tell me, are you scared?” Seth asked. Sadistic pleasure dripped from his words and shook Nicoli’s insides, but he wasn’t going to give in, at least not easily.

Seth laughed as Nicoli shook his head vigorously. He was afraid that if he spoke it would give him entirely away. That was no longer a worry when Seth buried his face into the crook of Nicoli’s neck, making him let out a squeak.

“I smell a liar,” Seth murmured into his throat and inhaled deeply.

Nicoli shuddered when the tongue returned and ran along his neck and even going over the collar. He wanted to just curl up and die. There was no telling what the lunatic was going to do to him. The possibilities were endless.

“You know what? You should be scared,” Seth said as he sat back up. His hands refused to be still as they continued to tease Nicoli’s chest, every so often going to the puncture marks and smearing the blood across clean skin. “Not to sound conceded, but when it comes to the art of killing I am one of the top masters. Do you know why?”

Conceded was the cleanest word Nicoli could describe Seth with. His attitude made the anger come back, but not with the intensity Nicoli had with Dimitri.

“You’re a vampire. Killing is what you do. There’s not much “mastery” to it,” he snapped. He flinched when a finger trailed down his cheek, the sharp nail lightly scratching his skin.

“Ah, ah, ah, that’s where you’re wrong. There is a difference between simple killing and art.” A nostalgic smile came to Seth’s lips, but it was no less frightening. “I admit I’ve delved in just the killing part lately, but I’m always ready for a good subject to take me back to my roots. Oh, and I’ll let you in on a little secret about me.”

Nicoli gulped and turned his head when Seth’s face came closer to his. He could feel Seth’s mouth near his ear and for one, terrifying moment he thought Seth was sure to bite it off.

“I was killing far before I was reborn into the world of darkness.”

Nicoli’s eyes widened considerably and the breath caressing his ear made the words that sank in much more real.

“What?” he asked. He didn’t turn his head because he certainly didn’t want to come face to face with the monster atop him.

“Yes, my delightful little creature,” Seth whispered, his lips now brushing against Nicoli’s ear. “In my years as a human I killed a numerous amount of my fellow human beings and transformed their unused, wasted excuses for bodies into works of art. I consider those my golden years.”

Fingers curled around Nicoli’s chin and forced his head forward and he sank into pools of wicked, soulless black that threatened to swallow him.

“In short, I was what they referred to as a serial killer.”

If Nicoli wasn’t scared before he definitely was now. Fear seeped into every pour, ran in his bloodstream, and sank into the marrow of his bones. He knew vampires could kill, it was what they were designed to do, but the man above him had killed before it had ever become a need. He had killed because he liked to. It was evident in every fiber of Seth’s being.

“Do you want to know what they called me?” Seth asked, sitting back up and giving Nicoli a chance to breath.

“Not really.”

Seth only chuckled. It was clear it didn’t matter what Nicoli wanted.

“They gave me the name The Devil’s Carver and for years that name struck terror into the hearts of men, women, and children alike. It still faintly does to this day and age,” Seth said, sounding very smug about the “accomplishment.” It sickened Nicoli to his core.

“There was a specific reason they called me The Devil’s Carver. It was the way I did my art. When I found the perfect canvas, someone with beautiful, flawless skin.” He ran his hands down Nicoli’s body as he spoke and grinned wickedly when Nicoli shuddered. “I lured them into what I called my studio. They always came willingly enough. In all of my time I never had to force a single canvas there. I kept them there for as long as I saw fit. Days, possibly weeks, some I even kept for months at a time. It all depended on how good of company they were. I catered to them, of course. Fed them. Watered them. Cleaned them. I did everything for them. In return I usually took what I wanted from them, besides just the canvas part.”

Nicoli tried very hard to keep completely still and hardly breathed. He had a very good idea as to what the “besides” was, but made no move to encourage Seth into telling him what it was. He was told anyways.

“In case you don’t know, I mean sex,” Seth said with a tilt of his head. “Most would call it rape, but I’d call it…appreciating my canvases before they fulfilled their purpose.”

Nicoli watched with quivering eyes as Seth’s hands wandered down further than his stomach and came dangerously to his crotch that was trapped beneath Seth’s straddling hips. Luckily it only teased the area before retreating back up.

“Then, when I thought they were finally ready and I was in the right mood, so to speak, I performed my art on their bodies. I would take my beloved knife and begin carving the patterns into their bodies that I thought would enhance them and make them beautiful.”

To demonstrate Seth used one of his nails to scratch a line across Nicoli’s chest. Blood rose from the red streak and Seth bent down to lap it up as Nicoli bit back a cry.

“Ooh their cries were glorious as I worked,” Seth said as he sat back up. The prefect music to inspire me as I worked. Their voices always gave out far too soon for my taste, but I suppose screams can’t last forever and my work took quite a while to complete.” Seth grinned. “I made sure of that.”

Nicoli watched with wavering breath as a long, sharp, blood stained nail started to glide along his skin. It didn’t cut enough to draw anymore blood, but leave more of the red marks in its wake. Soon the scratches started to take shape into elegant, indistinguishable patterns. If his own body wasn’t being used for the work he would have acknowledged that the “art” was at least handsome in its own fluid, confident way.

The tip of the nail stopped right over his heart and Nicoli’s eyes were directed back up to Seth’s twisted face when he spoke.

“And when my art was complete, and everything was right with the world I’d freeze their beauty in time…by stabbing them in the heart.”

Nicoli gasped as Seth’s hand became a blur as it rose and swiftly came back down, intent on crushing his ribs to destroy his heart. Nicoli’s reflexes made him try and curl in on himself as he turned his head sharply and screwed his eyes closed.

He could hear his own pitiful whines as he sharply took in gasps of breath, waiting for the end to come. He could feel the fist hovering above his chest, a heavy, threatening presence that taunted him.

A low, mocking laugh made him crack open an eye, realizing that he wasn’t dead. In a way, he wished he were so that he could be away from this madman. The hand left his chest and went to his face, forcing him to look directly at Seth.

“Your fear is a heavy, intoxicating aroma, do you know that?” Seth purred.

Nicoli was torn between spitting in Seth’s face or closing his eyes again to get away from that stare, but the black, bottomless pits held his gaze and refused to let him go.

“You have such lovely eyes,” Seth cooed, one hand still holding Nicoli’s face as the came up and caressed his cheek, right underneath his eye. “That was one aspect of my art that I enjoyed most, looking into the eyes of my canvases as their life slowly drained away. The eyes can never lie when faced with the cold finality of death. I could see everything through their eyes. Their fears, their regrets, their joys, their sorrows and in that one, finally moment, everything that made them who they were, belonged to me.”

Seth ran a finger over Nicoli’s lips and when the tip threatened to enter his mouth Nicoli clenched his teeth and drew in his lips defensively.

“Then there was that final second of life that my canvases desperately held onto. It was useless, they all knew it, but even with faced with the end dead men hold onto the one thing that made them alive. When they released their final breath I became ravenously greedy and I would suck it right off their lips and steal it from them. That way they were mine forever and ever.”

Nicoli shrieked when Seth swooped down and crushed their lips together. A merciless tongue wormed its way into his mouth and he screwed his eyes close, not wanting to see Seth take advantage of him. He imagined he was anywhere else but in that bed being preyed upon.

Seth’s lips were cruel as were his teeth. They bit and nipped Nicoli’s lips ruthlessly. As the foul tongue explored every inch of the inside of his mouth he could feel bile rising in his throat. Seth tasted like blood. Nicoli’s fresh blood still lingered on his taste buds, but there were also the remnants of stale, old blood.

Nicoli sagged in relief when Seth finally pulled away. His muscles instantly tensed, however, when he felt Seth’s hand find its way to his pants. More importantly, to the button keeping them closed.

“I must apologize in advance,” Seth said casually, as his fingertip ran around the edge of the button. “Love making isn’t in my vocabulary and I’ve been known to get quite rough in bed, so you’ll most likely find no enjoyment in this. But I am selfish and my pleasure has always come from other people’s pain.”

The button glinted as it was torn off thrown helplessly into the air. As the zipper was ripped apart Seth attacked Nicoli’s neck, kissing, sucking, and nipping at any flesh he could get to, but never biting down.

When Seth’s hand disappeared into the confines of his pants Nicoli realized that this was really going to happen. Seth intended to rape him bloody and raw. Panic dug its claws into Nicoli’s spine and he went into survival mode. He kicked and thrashed, trying to throw Seth off, and as he did he began to scream bloody murder.

“No! Get off! No! No! Somebody help! No! Help!!!”

There was a crash as the bedroom door was thrown open. Seth was wrenched off Nicoli and sent hurdling to the floor.

Through blurry, tear filled eyes Nicoli saw Dimitri standing beside the bed and his normally charming, calm face, was twisted into a snarl filled with lethal rage.

“Seth, what is the meaning of this!?” Dimitri demanded and Nicoli was shocked further to hear him actually yell.

“Master, it-it’s not what it looks like,” Seth said, and faltered over his words. The tall, deadly man had been reduced to a quivering, scared wretch in less than a second and his black eyes showed nothing but fear as he gazed upon his clan leader.

“How dare you lie to me!” Dimitri shouted and took a threatening step towards Seth, who scurried away until he was huddled against the wall. Dimitri snorted in disgust as he looked upon his fledgling. “I will deal with you later,” he hissed through his fangs. His voice had lowered in volume, but still held the same amount of anger. “Now go…I said go!” he ordered when Seth had stayed pressed against the wall.

Seth fled the room as fast as his legs could carry him and the door swung closed by the rushing wind Seth left behind.

Dimitri’s lips raised in a growl as he stared at the door for a few moments, the creases in his face then eased and his fangs ascended when he turned to regard Nicoli. He took one moment to look over the damage Seth had done before slowly going to Nicoli’s hands to release him.

Nicoli flinched in spite of himself, the hands scaring him even with their slow, deliberate movement.

“It’s alright. Shh, it’s all right. I won’t hurt you,” Dimitri cooed as he gently undid Nicoli’s bonds. When the hands were free Dimitri sat down on the bed as Nicoli sat up and wrapped his arms around himself. “Nicoli, please forgive me. I had no idea Seth would disobey me like this. I thought I could trust him not to bother you, let alone hurt you, while I was incapacitated. I am so –”

Dimitri was cut off when Nicoli’s arms shot around his middle. Nicoli pressed into Dimitri and pressed his face into the strong chest. His body then began to shake when he let out gut wrenching sobs that made his throat sore and his eyes flood with tears. He held onto Dimitri desperately and only cried harder when arms came around him and held him tenderly while soothing words were whispered to him.

Nicoli only cried partly from what happened. Most of his tears came from the knowledge he had obtained in that instant of Seth’s attack. He was going to die. One way or another he was going to die in that house. He wasn’t sure how, or who was going to do it, but it was the only end he saw in sight.

How he knew this was because he was in the arms of madmen. Seth was clearly insane, but Dimitri was mad in his own way for giving someone like Seth immortality to begin with. Even he had only met the woman with the honey brown eyes once, he was sure she was demented in some way, too, and the others in the van he had yet to meet face to face had to of also been insane. He was trapped in a house filled with wild, mad people and he wasn’t even sure that Ethan and the others could fight against such damaged people, let alone save him.

That was why he cried in a mad Dimitri’s arms. He knew the truth of his fate. A fate he saw no way of escaping.

He was going to die.

=====================================Ch. 50 End