Black Blood

I trembled as we walked. My eyes were opened wide, trained hard on him and watching his every movement. His eyes and teeth had reverted back to 'normal', but I had remained frozen in place. He had to grab hold of my arm and practically drag me along the rest of the way.

We were approaching a very old-looking oak door when I finally found my face again.

"You- you're really vampires," I said. Anthony chuckled again. I didn't want to believe it. "Vampires are real."

"Yes; we're real," Anthony said. He released my arm.

I trembled still and watched him open the door. The room within appeared to be a small office, the walls lined with bookshelves. There were no windows. I recalled any windows seen on the outside being boarded up anyway. It made sense, with them being vampires and all, if they were the kind that had to avoid sunlight.

Vampires. Vampires were real.

The huge, leather swivel hair by the desk turned then, revealing the man who was seated there. I watched the two seemingly communicate without words, Anthony nodding and kneeling, and the man I assumed was Ethan nodding back. Ethan waved him away after. Anthony shut the door behind him as he exited, leaving me alone in the room with the man in the chair.

The room was well-lit, so I could see the deep burgundy colour of his hair. He was quite beautiful- for a crazy man with a habit of abducting unsuspecting women and drinking their blood.

I shuddered as he looked me over with crimson eyes. Beautiful, but creepy. If I hadn't known him as the man who had orchestrated my abduction, if I had just see him as a random person in a crowd, I would have still felt that there was something off about him.

"You are exquisite, yes, for a human," Ethan said suddenly. There was a power in his deep voice that stilled me momentarily. I saw the glint of his fangs in the light as he spoke. "But there is something... else about you."

"Can't be," I said quietly, my own voice shaking. "I'm just an ordinary girl, who's been abducted by crazy men- by v-vampires."

He grinned wide, showing off his fangs more. There was a shift in the energy his eyes displayed. It made me shudder and hope I hadn't upset him.

"You've got an energy to you that I like," he said. He pushed his chair back and rose from it. I straightened my back out so high, it was probably the best posture I'd ever held, as he stepped around the desk. "That must be it. But to be sure, I must have a taste first..."

His red eyes glowed brighter, and held me in place though I tried commanding my body to turn and run. Would that have done me any good though? He approached me, stopping in front of me once he was so close that we were almost touching. The little hairs over my body rose on end at the sense of danger.

He raised a hand, brushing the back of his knuckles over my cheek. I felt cold sweat roll down my back and chest, and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. This was it. I was about to get bitten by a real vampire. I could practically hear every vampire-obsessed teen cursing my name.

I was not-so-thrilled for obvious reasons.

"Open your eyes," he said. I did as commanded and found those eerie glowing eyes staring back at me. He caressed my cheek with the tips of his fingers, and then trailed them over my jaw and down my neck. "Don't be afraid. To be chosen by one such as me is a blessing."

His raised brows and the tender look in his eyes, the gentle smile on his mouth, told me he truly believed the bullshit he was spewing.

I stared blankly at the shelf behind him as he leaned toward me. I could feel his breath brushing over my skin and his fangs pressing into my neck, but a knock on the door preventing him from actually puncturing the skin. The door opened and Ethan pulled away.

"Master Ethan," it was Kyle who had saved me, "sorry to interrupt, but we have trouble."

I stepped back, letting out a breath and taking in the sour look on Ethan's face, and the sudden grayness of his eyes. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.

"What kind of trouble?" he asked. His voice held a rough edge to it, instead of the pleasing melody it had been before. His fangs were still out.

"We discovered a couple of the King's dogs sniffing around our borders," Kyle said. "I don't think they know we're hiding here, what with your glamour up and all... But they might be close to figuring it out."

"Have them followed," Ethan muttered. He pulled one hand from a pocket, stroking his hairless jaw in thought. A second later he was wagging his finger. "No, I'll do it myself. You escort this lovely young lady back to her cell."

"Yes, sir," Kyle said, and he grabbed me by the shoulders. "Come, little lady. Time for bed."