Chapter Nineteen

Nightmarish

Charlotte awoke the next evening, startled to find Valek looming over her, watching.

“Good evening,” she said faintly.

“Sorry. You were s-screaming again.” His breaths drew in deep and even. Controlled. His eyes were wide and fixed, and they did not blink. “I think I’m going to go to the basement.”

He started to get up from the bed, but she grabbed for his shirt. “No. Please don’t go.”

He froze.

“I understand, Valek.” She sat up in bed, pulling the top of her dress off her shoulder, and brushed the hair away from her neck. She looked at him expectantly.

He stared at her for a few moments. “No.” He winced. “Lottie, I can’t keep doing this.”

“Valek?” She pulled the collar of his shirt to bring him close to her again and pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply.

He pulled away from her. “No, Charlotte.”

They stared at each other.

She knew very well what would keep him there. The needle Sarah had used to take her clothes in was carelessly left on the bedside table. It glinted in the darkness as Charlotte markedly reached over to it.

Valek grappled for the needle in her hand when he saw what she was about to do. “Lottie, don’t be so ignorant!”

Charlotte shuddered when the tip of the thing succeeded in pricking the top of her index finger anyway and it fell to the floor. She looked to see the tiny blood droplet creep from her skin. Valek saw it, too; his nostrils flared.

“Lottie.” He groaned softly. “You should not have done that.”

Charlotte smiled provocatively and rubbed her bleeding finger over her bottom lip. “It’s just a little cut. Kiss it better?”

Valek couldn’t resist now, and she knew it. He leaned in to her, his mouth slightly open. She met him halfway and crushed her lips firmly to his again, letting him taste the bloodstain there.

He sighed and shoved her back into the headboard, continuing to kiss her deeply. His hands balled in the material of her dress, and she felt a warm, slick river of blood seep out from one corner of her mouth along the side of her face. It flowed down her neck as he continued to pull it out of her. Her heart drummed, but it wasn’t fearful like it had been the last time. It almost seemed syncopated to some sort of rhythm as his mouth continued to pull at her life. He licked it from behind her lips, off her tongue.

It was amazing that even though she did not possess Valek’s special inhuman abilities, her senses seemed just as heightened as when she was with him like this.

She suddenly felt the vacuuming pressure from inside her body stop.

He finally pulled away from her, both their mouths stained red. Charlotte licked at the coppery stain that tasted like rust and salt. Valek stayed balanced over her for what seemed like an hour, their faces close. They just gazed at each other, breathing. They were both thinking the same thing, sinking the emotion deeper.

Do you think now is the right time?  Charlotte thought.

“No. I don’t.” Valek’s face stayed mystified, his voice almost carrying no emotion.

She exhaled a breath she felt like she had been holding for a good twenty minutes at least. She didn’t know why, but that thought seemed scarier than any of the other nightmarish things she had been faced with in the past week.

“I think I should leave now,” Valek said stiffly.

“Will you come back?” She pressed her forehead to his.

“Yes. I always will.” He got up from her bed and flew so quickly out of the room, he was nothing more than a mere blur to Charlotte’s human vision.

She smiled, wiping her hand over her mouth to mop up the leftover blood.

“I’ll get that.”

Charlotte looked up, surprised to see Dusana and Lusian standing in her doorway. Of course she didn’t hear them coming. So that’s why Valek left so abruptly. The hurt and blame quickly returned to her mind then, and she hoped Valek could feel it.

“If you don’t mind, Lusian and I will be dining together tonight.” Dusana smiled as she approached the bed, Lusian close behind her.

Charlotte pushed straight up, gaping at them. It wasn’t so bad yesterday when they came in one by one, so fast they seemed to blend into the same monster, but this seemed more intimidating somehow. If she bore it alone once, she could do it again.

“How are you this evening?” Lusian smirked as he sat on the bed. Dusana sat down on the other side.

Charlotte looked warily back and forth at them. “Fine. Thanks.”

“That’s what we like to hear.” Dusana flashed a deadly grin, lifting Charlotte’s left wrist close to her nose. She inhaled. “Smells delicious.” The color in her eyes flickered from blue to black.

Lusian was quick to take Charlotte’s other hand. “Salud! ” he said to Dusana.

As they were about to bite down, something large hurtled through the bedroom window, smashing the glass into a million shards. Charlotte screamed as the two Vampires immediately flew backward, clinging to the back wall, ready to lunge at whatever it was. They hissed at the massive black shadow that tried to straighten itself up in the darkness, grumbling something incoherent.

“Charlotte, watch out!” Lusian commanded, preparing to slaughter the invader.

“Whoever you are, you have five seconds to get out of this house!” Dusana hissed.

Charlotte squinted through the shadows to try and catch the face of the assailant. She immediately recognized who it was from the glint off his spectacles as the two Vampires crouched to attack.

“Stop!” Charlotte jumped out of the bed, her hands outstretched to Lusian and Dusana. “Don’t hurt him. I know him!” She turned, smiling to go help Mr. Třínožka up from the floor.

His large spider’s legs slid over the broken glass as he mumbled.

“Confounded…” he muttered.

“Mr. Třínožka, let me help you.” She tried to stabilize him.

“I can get up, girly. I ain’t that old,” he grumbled, his eight legs continuing to slide every which way.

“You’re hurt.” Charlotte pulled her hand away from one large hairy leg, goo making her fingers stick together.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I just need me one a them bandages and I’ll be good as new,” he said. “Let’s get some light in here.”

As if on cue, Sarah rushed in with her wand, a bright bewitchment on the end, lighting up half the room. “Is everyone okay in here?”

Valek was soon to follow, and so were Francis, Andela, Sasha, and the rest of the Vampires. “It’s all right. Charlotte and I know him. He’s from our Occult.”

“That’s right.” The Phaser was finally able to get to his feet, and Charlotte could see his face clearly in the moonlight now. His spectacles were cracked in one corner, askew on his face. There was a good amount of black soot in his mustache, and his pocket-watch spun on its chain as it hung carelessly from his vest pocket.

Charlotte wrapped her arms around his front leg. “I’m so happy you’re okay, Mr. Třínožka.”

“Barely,” he grumbled. “Those wizards are nothin’ but trouble. Nothin’ but trouble. They set fire to your house. The whole place was burning to the ground, and when I rushed in to try and save you, well, I thought the worst ‘cause I couldn’t find you or the doctor anywhere,” he finished sadly.

Charlotte and Valek looked at each other. “Well, we’re okay now,” she said.

“You are. But I can’t say the same fer everyone. I found this little guy.” The spider lifted a lifeless pile of rags tucked within his vest and set him on the floor.

“Edwin!” Charlotte got on her knees, straightening the burlap form. The stitches in the face soullessly smiled at up her.

“He told me, ‘fore someone did this to him, you two had been kidnapped. So I left the Occult to see if I couldn’t try en find ya. Well, my nose is awful sensitive there, Charlotte. I smelled your blood all the way from Vodickova Street. Thought you must’ve been in an awful amount of trouble.” He eyed everyone else in the room from behind his crow’s feet. “Can’t tell if I’m right er not yet.” His mustache bristled.

“Won’t you stay please, Mr. Třínožka?” The entire Vampire coven glared at the audacity of Charlotte. “And Edwin, too.”

“Pardon me, darling, but I don’t think it’s your place to just invite people into my home.” Francis batted his eyelashes at her.

“Please? You said you needed more Occult inhabitants to start an uprising against the Regime. These are my friends.”

“I don’t really see what an old man and a potato sack can do to help,” Sasha chided, in his deep voice.

“Whatever happened to manners? You’d better learn some before I start throwin’ punches.” Mr. Třínožka wheeled his front two limbs around in a few circles.

Sasha continued to antagonize. “Age before beauty.”

“Okay, everyone just shut up,” Sarah chimed in. She threateningly pointed her wand at Sasha. “I agree with Charlotte!”

“Well, I ain’t about ta stay any place I’m not welcome,” Mr. Třínožka grumbled.

“You’re very welcome here.” Sarah walked over and took one of his hands in hers. “These snobby Vampires have to learn how to get along with other Occult creatures.”

Her voice disappeared around the corner as she led him out of the room.

Charlotte stayed on the floor, cradling the lifeless Edwin in her arms and looked up to Valek, who was regarding everyone else still present.

“Well, I think it is a good idea.” He shrugged.

Francis sneered. “You’ve gotten very soft over the years, Valek, and you go and stoop to the level of a human being! ” Francis stepped closer to him. “I had very different intentions when I created you, darling.” He grabbed one of Charlotte’s wrists. “If she wasn’t keeping us fed, you both would be out on the street fighting to keep each other alive, for you are just as bad as she! ”

He sank his teeth into Charlotte’s skin, and she cried out as she clasped his arm with her other hand. The feeling was harsh and cold, like ice picks.

“That is a lie,” Valek said darkly. “You’re not getting rid of me for two reasons.”

Francis dropped Charlotte’s arm and looked up at him expectantly.

“You’d never win against the Regime without me and you know it. The second is you still want me. You always have and you always will, and I am just never going to be what you want me to be.”

Charlotte looked at Valek, eyes wide. Did she really just hear what she thought she heard? Valek’s gaze shifted slightly toward her and back at Francis again in silence.

“And we like Charlotte!” said Andela, rushing over to tourniquet Charlotte’s wrist.

She hardy noticed as she continued to gape at Valek.

“Very well. You are all just pinned against me, and that’s fine. I give you my home, and I am repaid with this.” Francis pushed his way out of the room. Sasha followed quickly after him.

The coven looked back at Charlotte hungrily.

She smiled nervously at them. “If you all could just give me a few minutes. I’m suddenly feeling a little light-headed.” She picked Edwin up in her arms and eyed Valek sourly as she walked out of the room.