Forbidden Fables, page 36
When Charity comes, in splashed in rivulets down Freya’s arms, I almost come right there. Instead, I closed my eyes and thought of a sad memory of my first days in the castle when I felt so cold and alone.
When I opened my eyes again, she stood in front of me, naked. Her breasts were larger than Charity’s, and I reached out to cup one, but she smacked my hand away.
“Take out your cock.”
I almost cried out in relief, but I wasn’t sure what she had in mind, and my heart thudded inside my chest.
I freed my cock from its cloth prison and it was a dark, dusky red, wetness on the tip.
“Lay on the bed and cover your eyes.”
I lay back, but I don’t close my eyes just yet. I watched as she turned around, straddling my hips and lining me up with her entrance.
Once she lowered herself, I slung my arm over my face, wincing.
She was so fucking tight, and I curled my fingers and toes as she eased herself down on me. She slowed, balancing herself on the balls of her heels. I snuck glimpses every few thrusts, but I laid there and let her use me like a personal fuck toy. It was wildly erotic, but it took every sad thought in my brain to keep myself from blowing my load right there.
“Come here, pet. Eat me while I sit on his cock.”
I watched as Charity moved between her legs, but could only see her head bobbing slowing while Freyja continued to assault my cock.
My balls pulled up tightly to my body and pleasure spun itself around my lower abdomen until I saw stars. I would come right now if she didn’t slow down.
“Do you like watching me use him? Yeah? Just a cock for us to use…”
Her words send me flying over the edge, coming and coming, feeling like it would never come to an end. I spend myself inside of her, and she cried out as well, screaming Charity’s name, not mine.
I don’t know what I expected to happen after, but there was no tenderness with her like there was before. She simply stood, leaving me bereft of her warmth.
I removed my shirt, wiping away what I could of our spend. The pair moved to the washing basin, taking a towel and wiping each other clean, kissing each body part after they’ve scrubbed.
My heart broke, in that very moment, and I knew Charity would never be mine. She belonged to someone else, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to fulfill her the way that Freyja did. I would never give her a feeling of safety, not when I needed to feel the same safety from another.
I woke up on the floor beside the bed where the two women slept.
Freyja made it very clear that she would not take my life because I was the reason Charity was not harmed.
I stretched, my back sore from the harsh, cold floors. The fire was burned to ash, and I shivered, moving out of my self-made nest, to the front of the fire.
I had to teach myself many things when I was a boy and starting a fire was one of the most important. Even though I knew there was no making it up to them, I still wanted to please them. It didn’t take long before the fire roared again, and both yawned and woke.
“Should I get you breakfast?”
Charity’s sleepy eyes tugged at my heart, thinking back to every morning I woke beside her. I would miss her soft sighs, her wandering hands.
Freyja looked exhausted, but she shook her head before hopping down and retrieving the water pitcher.
A heavy knock at the door had me rising to my feet to answer it. I already knew who it was.
“Everyone got some rest?” Domenico crowded the doorway, and for the first time since I came to live here, I felt truly like a captive. I swallowed, daring myself to speak up, “We would like food, please.”
He pushed passed me, ignoring my request.
“Are you ready, Freyja? I will bring you to Melody now.”
Freyja pulled her tattered dress over her head, and her expression was hard. I wasn’t used to seeing her without her tribal makeup drawn in ash. She looked younger, more innocent and not as menacing as she did when we first found her.
“Not like I have a choice.”
Domenico led the way, Freyja following closely behind him, but he stopped, turning to face us all. “Don’t even think of trying to escape, I am faster and stronger than the three of you combined. You would be dead before you made it out the doors.”
With that, Charity and I are left behind as Domenico led Freyja to Melody, the secret Domenico hid from everyone until now.
I wondered how many other skeletons hid inside this castle.
Chapter 28
Lilith
Returning to this castle felt wrong.
I was never able to return before, the curse wavering upon my arrival. I had wanted Domenico to suffer, just as I suffered that day that I watched flames lick up Annabel’s roped body.
I had decided I didn’t care about clothes anymore after I returned to The Underworld. Things were far different there, but not in the way you would think. There were no eternal fires, no suffering, but rather a quiet and cold place where you were forced to be at peace with your thoughts, alone. The worst part of it was the ebbing loneliness that lingered there, that had the power to swallow you whole if you were not careful. I had everything I could ever want there, besides the company of friends—and love.
I thought perhaps I missed being in love the most. I craved the adornment of another. I dreamed of it night after night.
My hair tickled the backs of my thighs as I slowly walked up the back staircase, the shadow of night protecting me from being seen. The snakes had followed me of course, but there was nothing I could do about that. Besides, it would be the only clue Domenico would have of my presence. I wanted him to know, I wanted him to be scared.
Could vampires feel fear? I wasn’t sure, but I did know that I was a monster too. But could monsters frighten other monsters?
I ran my fingertips over the stones, reminding myself of the reason I was here.
Revenge.
I must protect myself from his charms, which was exactly what got me here in the first place. Was this ever really my home? Or was it all just another way for a man to control me? Was it all a façade that I inhaled like the air inside my lungs? I didn’t need him, I was a force all my own, and I would show him as much.
I would find my kin, and we reunite with a vengeance.
I heard footsteps from the top of the stairs and hopped gracefully to the cathedral window above, landing on the sill and crouching down until they had passed.
And there he was, after all these years, and he looked the same. Devilishly handsome, regal, and sexy. I had to bite my lip to bring myself back to the reality that was now, and I watched as the woman behind him followed—Freyja.
Her head jerked up in my direction, and I ducked down further, she could hear me, and I knew this because we had communicated since she was a child.
The first one to ever hear me, I was brought back to my power because of her. She looked just like me—like my Annabel. I covered my mouth as I held in a jagged sob.
I am here my child, and together, we will take back what’s ours.
Chapter 29
Freyja
She was here, she had come.
I knew Domenico lied when he gave me the crystal; I knew as soon as I held it. The power and vibration small. I brought her back; I summoned her here. I had that power, and I knew now just what had to happen.
He led me to the back of the castle where three large tapestries commanded the back wall. The draft of the dark, cold floors sent a shiver through me, and I hugged myself tightly.
She told me what she did, showed me images of the tiny, swaddled baby, the doorstep, the emptiness. I saw the fire that consumed her, whoever she was. I felt a familiarity inside the vision, a resonating that I couldn’t explain. She had been a part of my family, part of Lilith’s family. We were family.
I would follow you to the heavens, or search through the depths of hell. Blood is thicker than water, and my soul will always be tethered to yours.
A tear fell from my eye, a rare feeling of sadness washing over me. She had felt loss, loneliness, just like me. But she was here now.
“Where are you taking me?”
Pulling back the middle tapestry, the one with the giant tree, his skin looked so pale it glowed.
Be not afraid.
I followed in blind faith, but not for him, for The Dark Mother.
The stone hallway was nearly black, save for the candles that lined the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement, and I nearly jumped as a white and black snake wiggled past my feet.
Bumps rose on my arms, and my hair stood on the back of my neck. I straightened my back, remembering exactly who I was—strong, fearless, and powerful. I walked the hallway as if I was walking toward my death. I was protected, and I would face whatever it was ahead of me without fear.
The hall gave way to a cluster of small rooms, one large one on the right and a smaller one to the left. Domenico led me into the larger room, and I recognized the sleeping girl from the house back in Wales. A small pang of sympathy hit my chest, but her pale skin and blue lips made me think she was already dead.
Instinctually, I walked over to her still body, taking her hand into mine. I was able to bring dead flowers back to life, breath life back into weeds even saving one half-dead raven after it was mauled by Lilitu. I was a healer, but I was also a killer. Two things that cohesively brought me the power I wielded so carefully.
And now there was Charity, the first person I had ever loved.
I would need to be careful, with her heart, with her love. I needed that just as much as she did.
“She sleeps, a curse placed on her because of me,” Domenico appeared beside of me in an instant, startling me. He moved quickly, quietly. It was unnerving.
“Why should I help you? What do I get in return? Only my freedom?”
He was silent for a moment, looking over the beautiful sleeping girl. There was some connection here, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it…
“You and Charity will have your freedom. And I will have my Melody back. A happy ending all around,” he smiled, his features soft. He was good at fooling people, he almost had me fooled.
“And what about the women? Will you continue to burn any powerful and unapologetic woman at your will?”
He moved to the chair next to the bed, it was dark, black wood with a faded velvet seat. A bible sat next to the bed.
“Perhaps you think wrong of me. I am still a man of God, undead or not. My reach is far, I have many powerful men of the church inside my pockets. But those cruel acts were not done at my hands.”
I laughed, unable to contain it as he says man of God. “Please, everything you are goes against what God asks. How can you say that?” I asked, backing up close to the bed.
“Forgiveness.”
A simple answer, and yet, it left a sour taste in my mouth. It was true, Christianity only required that you believed, it didn’t matter what sins were yours—as long as you asked to be forgiven by Him.
Proceed with caution, little Dove.
“Then who was responsible?” I already knew the answer, it was the men in black coats, but who did these men answer to if not Domenico?
He sighed, looking irritated with my questions, but also knowing that he needed to play nice with me if he was going to get what he wanted.
“I have two brothers, who I needed to keep happy…keep inside the family business…”
So, there was more like him; he was not working alone.
Ask for a name.
“What is his name?” I didn’t hesitate to do as she told me now, we were united on this mission.
“Dante.”
I felt my hackles raise again, and my fingers tingled with this new information. He was who she wanted, not Domenico.
Her rage was palpable, and rain drops began to pound down on the windows. A crack of lightening lit Domenico’s face and his pupils were black, his fangs extended.
Three snakes make rapid ‘s’ curves along the floor from beneath the bed, and Domenico jumped from the chair.
He was afraid, and I heard a faraway laughter inside my head.
The flower beside the bed bloomed, red and ripe, the petals unfurling at a breakneck speed.
She returns.
“Tell me! What must be done, girl?”
He was no longer choosing patience in this exchange, I could smell his desperation, feel his fear.
“A kiss…from a submissive man.”
“Dante! Fetch me Charles, NOW.”
I watched as a man moved from the outside of the shadowed doorway, fleeing down the hallway.
Dante.
Just ask quickly as the shadowed, hooded vampire flees—so do I.
I may not have the speed and strength of an immortal, but I had powers.
My own, smaller fangs are bared, and I am almost on his heels now, looking back over my shoulder. Domenico remained beside Melody’s bed, and it was then I realized that he loved her. He stayed to protect her.
I ducked behind a winding staircase, just as he ascended it. I watched him run to the floor where Charity and Charles were being kept and waited. I heard the door click open, and I quietly waited as he returned with Charle’s in tow. I made a silent prayer to Lilith, hoping that he left the door unlocked at the very least.
With both men far enough away, I run on tip toes up the stairway to find Charity. To my shock, the door was ajar, a snake slipping past me. The rain outside crashed down now, and with each crack of thunder, a flash of lightening followed close behind, creating an eerie highlight of the old stone walls and tall windows. Charity was balled up into a heap in front of the fire, and I went to her, wrapping my arms around her, my dress falling across her arms.
“Freyja!”
She was sobbing now, scared as a cat, and as she shivered, I whispered words of comfort into her hair.
“You have to get up, my pet. We need to flea this place before Lilith’s wrath comes down upon these men.”
Her tear-stained face is puffy, innocent, breathtaking. My heart was full, and all I wanted was to collect her and return home with her. Our home.
She nodded slightly, standing and then taking my hand into hers. She had been through so much since the day we first met, and I wanted to show her what unconditional love and care felt like. I wanted to take care of her forever.
As we fled to the bottom of the stairs, I could see that the large front entrance doors were open, the rain slashing through the night sky like angry stabs.
Run.
I hesitate, pulling Charity behind me, heading straight for the doors. I didn’t look behind me, I could only look ahead of us and pray that Garm waited somewhere in the distance.
I knew whatever fate awaited the men that resided inside these castle walls, was deserved. I did not entertain any sympathy, I only pressed on, eager to get to the life on the other side of this nightmare with my sweet pet. We would have our happily ever after. All hail The Dark Mother.
Chapter 30
Charles
“What is it? Has she awakened?”
Dante doesn’t reply, and he looks oddly menacing this way, in his long black coat and his hood raised, shadowing his face.
Once we were inside Melody’s room, his icy finger traced my ear, down my neck.
“My sweet boy, it seems that once again you are the answer to all my burning needs…”
Domenico’s eyes were a stark black against his pale skin, and for the first time, the sight of his fangs made me shiver.
I thought back to those nights with him, wondering how I could have missed something like fangs. Did he have to resist biting me during those trysts? Did he bite me on those nights that I had drunk too much and woke up the next day with a throbbing head? I could remember him telling me that people only believed what they wanted, and I had no reason to think that monsters walked among us. Especially inside a church, a place of peace and sanctuary. The words of God.
“Me? What could I possibly do to wake her?”
“Kiss her. Now.”
He pulled me toward the bed, and the blonde-haired beauty looked angelic, but also dead. The lingering sting of Charity’s rejection still lay heavily on my heart, but I wanted to help Domenico, I wanted to please him.
“Why me? It cannot be so simple.”
I watched as his eyes flicked to the bloomed rose beside the bed, with a nervous drumming of his thumbs against each other.
“What is it?”
It was then that a bolt of lightning stabbed through the sky, the small window above Melody’s bed shattering into a million pieces and all over the beauty’s face and hair. I fall back, crashing into Domenico. His face is one of terror, and out of the corner of my eye I see Dante flee, as if running for his life.
“Do it, now!”
Blindly, almost mechanically, I turned to her, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss to her cold lips.
Nothing happened at first, and as I pulled back, I almost said told you so, but I’m interrupted by her ragged coughing.
My eyes were wide, and Domenico gripped my arms tightly.
I watched in awe as her lavender eyes opened and she gave me a wide, fang filled smile.
She was hopelessly, sinfully, gorgeous. A porcelain doll, with the soft features of a girl, but the demand of a vampire queen.
My knees were weak, and I was thrusted from my haze of lust by my hair, Domenico wrenching my head back.
He bit me, two sharp pangs of pain followed by warm pleasure. I was immobilized, at the mercy of his bite. Blood smeared my neck, and I lazily tried to wipe it away. Domenico lifted his head, pushing me onto Melody, her mouth eagerly wrapping around the wound. It felt like hours, and I think I may have nodded off at one point.
