Lost in Temptation

To outsider’s it would probably seem sinister, a dimly lit room where people
waited in alcoves. Waiting for the drug that would give them the euphoria they longed for.

But for the Moroi it was just a way of life. One of the deepest safest parts of their society, and it was about to be breached.

------------

-----------------------------

-------------

Christian’s POV:

Christian yawned and blinked half sleepily, in the early evening hour. It must have been contagious because after a moment there was a second lighter sounding yawn.

He felt himself smile, at the girl standing opposite him She looked as delicate as a fine ivory statue, shaded porcelain. Tall and slim, with hair like corn silk falling down around an ethereal face, centered by eyes of soft emerald. She was something precious, a treasure to be kept safe.

But he supposed a moron could see that, and that was probably all they saw. They didn’t look close enough to see what he did.

They didn’t see her as strong and unafraid of speaking her heart. But here was more to it than that plenty of people had that quality.

She had a calm peacemaker’s charisma that made people take what she had to say to heart and listen closely to hear more. He wondered if anyone else saw her gentle strong heart, which put up with him and all the bull crap that came her way because of merely being with him.

“Tired?” he asked mouth quirking up into the slightest of smirks. She laughed and rolled her eyes, “Well it is kind of early or in human terms late.”

They were both standing in the annex right outside the feeder’s room. As it turned out lots of Moroi were up ’early’ this Saturday evening.

Christian paced back and forth for a minute, wishing they would hurry up; they were cutting into his time with Lissa. “Calm down we’ve got all day,” Lissa said sitting down in one of the waiting chairs. “Well I’d rather spend that day with you,” He said kissing her gently on the cheek.

She didn’t get the chance to reply however because at that moment the Moroi woman at the desk called them over. There were only two feeders ready at the moment, old Alice and a one named Elizabeth.

“That girl’s a bit of a nut though,” the secretary said biting her lip, “not that a lot of them aren’t, but this one is just…” She paused unsure of how to go on.

“That’s alright,” Christian said distractedly, he didn’t really care that much, he was more focused on his hunger and getting this over with.

He did the chivalrous thing and let Lissa go with Alice. “Are you sure?” she asked. It was the polite thing to say seeing as no one would really wanted to go to a nutty feeder, whatever the heck was wrong with her. “Go,” he said making slight shooing motions with his hands.

She gave him one last reluctant look before going.

The room was the same as always, quiet and dim, each alcove like a small island of calm and silence. It seemed almost as is some moroi with air magic was controlling the air currents brushing any unwanted sounds away.

The feeder named Elizabeth turned out to be a woman in her mid to late thirties; her brunette hair was slightly frizzy only adding to her mad woman reputation.

Her heavily lidded gray eyes flicked upward at his approach, and she smiled a sleepy yet haughty smile. “Come in to my parlor said the spider,” she whispered, “and the fly is so willing to, I’ll never understand the fly’s motivation.”

“You came here of your own free will,” Christian said shifting uncomfortably; he thought he understood what she meant though.” “It was because you wanted what you get from us.”

Elizabeth tilted her head and gave another bemused smile. “Perhaps …the spider presented a gift that was so wonderful, and the fly was so stupid … it couldn’t see the spider was waiting to devour it.”

Elizabeth laughed. Okay now he was sure Elizabeth was completely insane. She was saying disturbing that only halfway made sense, like she was talking inside her head and aloud at the same time, and wasn’t sure where one started and the other began.

He now really wanted to get this over with. She seemed to sense this and swept her hair to one side revealing an area shaded with light crescent moons of previous bite scars. She barely flinched as his fangs pierced her flesh.

It was sweet, sweeter than almost any blood he’d tasted in his life. Not sweet like the sugar filled over-processed crap they called candy, that’s not what the word meant. It was something you’d never understand unless you were one of them. Sweet as in deep, it penetrated deep into the mind drawing on those hidden places that made you want to drink deeper, made you want to…

Christian quickly disengaged and stumbled back, eyes widening as he realized what he’d wanted to do. Elizabeth looked up two fingers pressed to the wound, her wild gray eyes fastening onto his. “Tempted?” she whispered. “Never,” he breathed in shock.

She smiled, “no? You will be.”

He got the hell out of there.

He waited for Lissa back out in the waiting room. She looked at his face alarmed, “what’s the matter?” “Nothing,” he said innocently. Lissa’s eyebrows rose, and he caved,

“Well let’s just say that, that Elizabeth woman is just as insane as the receptionist said.”