Lust For Her Master's Blood

I stared numbly at the mess I had created on the floor while the murmurings of the guests nearby became a rambled hum in my ears. I vaguely sensed Sal approaching me quickly, speaking rapidly to the Mother while trying to clear up the broken china and spilled food.

It still could not hear anything nor feel anything. The only thing my mind was concentrating on were the words of the Mother, Clare will be your bride. I did not know why it bothered me so much, why my heart felt like it was dying and that I wanted to scream out in pain, but I did all the same whether or not I understood why.

It was only when Viorel came to stand before me, all flustered and concerned, and spoke to me gently while he gripped my face that my sense came roaring back to life. Suddenly everything was noisy now and my rage was beginning to blossom violently within me. Viorel obviously noticed and took advantage of the fact I was still not moving or speaking and turned to the unimpressed Mother.

“I am sorry Morrigan. She often had these fits when she was a child. The memories of her family's murder sometimes renders her frozen. I didn't think she still suffered from it.” He said quickly while his hands dropped to my shoulders and slowly massaged them, trying to keep me calm.

Morrigan crossed her arms then gave me a long hard look. “She is a friend of yours?” She queried.

Viorel smiled and nodded. “She is. I came here once a few years back. We got on well and became friends.”

Morrigan seemed to accept his explanation. “If you know how to deal with her then please take her from here. Return to the party when you feel she can be left alone.” She demanded through the mask of a friendly and kind tone.

Viorel thanked her then grasped my hands gently, tugging me to follow him. I shot a glance to the pure blood vampires and specifically sort out this Clare. It irritated me to see her wide blue eyes filled with worry and sadness as she watched me leave and I could smell it was genuine. Just for her to pity me was enough to make me want to run up and rip her pretty eyes out. I allowed me eyes to slide over to the Master but only briefly enough to see his strong features dark with anger and his eyes slightly softer with concern as they were latched onto me. It hurt me that look and instantly I blocked the bond rapidly and roughly, not bothering whether or not it caused his head to ache in the process. I could not look anymore as Viorel tugged me to speed me up and I was quickly dragged from the hall.

With my anger still bubbling like an awakening volcano, Viorel kept a firm grip on my hand and words kept spewing from his mouth at random. Both of us knew what he was saying was unimportant, it was only a way of calming me. It often worked when I was a child. Where he was taking me I did not know but it all became clear when the world suddenly became dark and cold and the crunching of gravel echoed under our feet.

I stared up at the crystal sky and with a combination of a cool air ruffling over my face, my anger slowly dwindled to be replaced by a numbing sorrow. Viorel slowly came to a stop by one of the lampposts further down the drive and let go of my hand. He sat on the grass further away although not too far as to be rendered blind from the lack of light. I didn’t argue and sat beside him when he patted the space enthusiastically.

At first neither of us spoke as we stared at the sky and the ground and it was no surprise that it was Viorel who spoke first.

“Well...” he began, “That was a bit of a shocker.”

I grunted and narrowed my eyes at the long sleek grass that was just before me. I knew that the subject he was going to talk about was the master but that didn’t mean I was going to be co-operative. Just imagining the Master with another woman made my heart tighten and my rage boil. Sighing heavily I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes.

“This is the game she has chosen.” I mumbled to myself.

Viorel tilted his head in interest. “Who’s game?”

“The Mother. We have been expecting her to choose a game, something that will cause a commotion or chaos within the house. This is what she has chosen.”

“It is a rather odd game. Introducing a woman to Lucius then declaring that she will be his wife. How will that cause chaos within the house? If anything it would be a good thing seeing as the vampire world needs more pure bloods around.”

Anger exploded into life and I whipped round, baring my fangs at him with an enraged hiss.

“It is not a good thing Viorel!” I spat.

It took me a moment to realised he had leaned as far back as he could with shock plastered on his face and his hands held up in peace. Realising I had probably scared him I reined in my anger and turned my attention to the ground in front of me.

“So you really are a Black blood now.” He commented after a moment of silence.

I nodded my head sharply. “The Master turned me when I was on the brink of death.”

“And why do you think he did that?”

“Because he needs my blood to stay sane.” I grumbled irritably.

For some reason that thought really made me quite depressed now. Originally it was a fact to me and nothing more but now it seemed to bother me.

“I don’t think that is the only reason Susan although I won’t deny that it is a small factor.”

I looked up at him, my heart lightening slightly but what Viorel was going to say was interrupted by Arnold calling to them. Grudgingly I turned to see the elderly Jaguar walking brusquely towards me with a look of concern.

I watched them with dark and irritated eyes when Viorel stood up to greet him.

“You must be Arnold Lockwood.” Viorel said happily. “I am Viorel, an old friend of Eva Sinclair.”

Arnold smiled widely. “Yes I have heard of you. Susan spoke of you fondly when she returned from Romania.” When his old eyes turned to me who was glaring irritably at both men, his smile faded. “Sall told me Susan froze although she could not tell me why though.”

I growled though said nothing. I refused to repeat what I overheard.

Viorel placed himself next to me again. “Susan says that Morrigan has started her game.”

A dark cloud fell over Arnold’s face and his eyes became harder. “What did she do?”

“She did something relatively harmless. All she did was announce that she had chosen a bride for Lucius which caused Susan here to freeze.”

“A bride? For the Master? Who?” Arnold asked in a quizzical tone.

“A woman called Clare Ulrich.” I spat.

Arnold rubbed his face hard and sighed. “This is bad.”

“You don't approve of the Ulrich Clan?” Viorel asked.

“No, no. The Ulrich Clan is actually quite a gentle family. The bad thing is that the Master will refuse this. He will come up with some sort of ruse to get his mother to give him time to come up with a loop in this game, which Morrigan will allow him to do of course. But then when he finds this loop she will enforce an Order upon him to choose Clare as his bride.” He said sadly. “I am afraid the Master is stuck just like the old master.”

Both my ears and interest perked up and I looked at Arnold sharply. “What do you mean by that?

Arnold frowned firmly then shook his head. “The Master will have to be the one to explain it to you and he might not have much of a choice now.” He said then crouched down in front of me and took my hands gently in his. “But you must not worry Susan. The Master will not accept anyone else. He will look for a loop that will not result in the Mother’s Orders.”

Outwardly I made it appear as if his words meant nothing to me but inside my heart was beating awkwardly and making me feel a little queasy.

“What do we do in the mean time?” I asked roughly.

“We have no choice but to wait for the master to come to us. He will explain what he is planning once he has worked out his next move. He is going to have to predict Morrigan’s play in this game to make sure he comes out of this either a free man or alive.”

I bit my lip as my irritation and nerves began to coil. This was going to be far more tiring and life threatening than I had originally thought. I was going to have to support the master in any way I could to make sure this storm blew over without too much damage.

“I will stay for a couple of days.” Viorel suddenly announced. “If I stay I will gather a far more up to date report to give to Eva which will allow her to plan her own move. She won’t watch while this household is being used as a vindictive playground by Morrigan.”

“Which is what makes this game far more entertaining to her.” Arnold said darkly. “The more risks, the more exciting it is. Just be careful Viorel. She may find a way to hurt you without you realising it was her.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“And Susan,” Arnold said squeezing my hands tightly. “You must have faith in the Master. He will find a way that will get himself out of this mess. He won’t allow himself have an ending that his own brother had.”

I stared blankly at him, trying to ignore the words of Dustan’s pleading letter that replayed itself in my mind.

“You make it sound like I am an important piece in this game.” I stated.

Arnold smiled weakly at me. “You are a very important piece. I know you do not realise it but you are tangled up in the Master in so many ways there is no way you will be able to escape this game. So you be careful. Keep yourself hidden and do not bring attention to yourself. As long as you can do that it will give the Master that much less to worry about.”

In confusion I nodded my head. I knew I had to keep the fact I was a witch and a Black blood vampire away from the Mother however there was apparently something else as well.

“What else do I need to keep hidden?” I asked Arnold as he helped me to my feet.

Arnold smiled at me with his old reassuring warmth. “If you have not realised it yet you do not need to worry. Just concentrate on what you know needs to be hidden.”

Hesitantly I agreed and followed after Viorel and Arnold slowly, not particularly liking the idea of returning to the Master and his new bride to be. Although at least I did not need to worry about murdering the Ulrich woman now I was in a better emotional state. With a calmer and grimly determined mind, I re-entered the house, resolute that I was going to help the Master through this new threat, just as he always helped me.