Compelled

COMPELLED

By Carla Krae

Published by
Carla Krae at Smashwords.

Copyright 2011 Carla
Krae

First Edition

Cover art by Dara
England.

The right of Carla Krae to be identified as
the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All characters in this publication are purely
fictitious and any resemblance to real persons--living or dead--is
purely coincidental.

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Previously
…

Why had this happened
to me? Had I not been faithful and obedient? My brothers died and
went to Heaven, yet I was denied. Why must I bear this curse…what
purpose lay before me?

“
Adamo, I am
four hundred years old. Whatever you are planning, you will not get
away with it,” Juliet said.

“I do not have plans.
On the contrary, I am lost.”

“You would rather
have died with the others?”

“Yes. It would be the
natural order of things.”

“Perhaps I will tire
of you and give you your wish, Adamo. We do not grow old, but we
are not invincible.”

A seed of hope grew
in my heart. I would do my best to bore this creature.

COMPELLED

So many scents and sounds bombarded my senses
on the journey. Cypress trees, olive groves, vineyards and wheat
fields. Though the curtains were down—and I was afraid to touch
them without the woman telling me to—an overwhelming amount of
information came to my ears and nose through the thin walls. It was
probably fifteen years ago, at least, since I’d been on the roads,
so with no idea where we were going, I could only guess by the
scents of the countryside flora. I longed to see Italy again and
cursed the stupid curtains.

Her eyes were closed, but somehow I knew she
still observed me. “Like a newborn, aren’t you?”

“Pardon?”

“I forgot what it is like to be new. Like a
puppy.” She set her hand on my shoulder and squeezed a pressure
point, making me near-curl off the bench from the pain. “I don’t
like dogs.”

“Please…”

“Nose to the ground, dog.” She kept applying
pressure until I was bent double, then I felt her shoe on the back
of my neck. “Stay.”

She could stomp my head off my shoulders if
she wanted. I felt as sure of it as there were four seasons and
twenty-four hours in a day. Fear chilled me to the bone. For the
first time in my existence, I didn’t know if I would survive the
next minutes or hours…but it was what I wanted, right? To end
this?

No…not
exactly
like this. I no longer
had certainty in the fate of my soul, but dying in this position
would not weight the scales in my favor.

In a burst of energy, I pushed off my hands,
knocking her leg aside and pouncing on her faster than I could have
imagined. I wrapped my hands around her throat and she—

Laughed.

Laughed!

“So there is a backbone in you!” Faster than
I moved, she rolled our bodies. “But I prefer being on top.” Like
the viper I’d thought her to be, she struck at my neck.

Her speed was too much for me. She bit deep
and shook her head, mangling the soft tissue and causing the most
intense, burning pain of my life.

You did it. She is going to kill you. Make
your peace
.

Blood flowed into the carpet of the carriage.
My vision went black.

I welcomed oblivion.

“
Juliet
,” one of the men barked. So
that was her name.

She growled, but froze. The carriage had
stopped.

“My lady…if you bleed him out now, the carpet
will be ruined and the carriage of no further use.”

She rose. “You are too practical, Vittore.
Can’t I have any fun?”

“When it is prudent, my lady, of course.”

She moved to him and stepped out of the
coach. The man, Vittore, leaned in, waved a hand over me while
speaking in a foreign tongue and my neck tingled.

Oh merciful Heaven
.

The excruciating pain played all over again
and then I felt my flesh knit together. Lifting a weak hand to my
neck, I discovered unblemished skin. “No…” I whispered, and curled
in on myself.
So close
and the bastard pulled me from the
jaws of Death.

A hand wrapped around my ankle. I was yanked
out of the carriage feet-first to drop on the ground with a thump.
They could kick me, stone me…I did not care.

“Get up, fool,” he ordered.

“You don’t own me.”

He grabbed my shirt and hauled me to my feet,
a surprising feat for a much smaller man. “I do not, but she does
and you will not embarrass her by wallowing in the mud.”

“Let me go. I am of no use to you, any of
you!”

His eyes were black in the dark. “Listen,
boy. You have no rights. You are a
pet
, one she will tire of
soon, but until then, you will do as you are
told
.”

I nodded. He released my shirt. Juliet petted
his head, he turned to her, and she kissed him in a vulgar manner.
I turned my head away.

Could I run while they were distracted?

Nay, men on horseback had come around the
coach on either end and flanked me. I couldn’t outrun a horse, and
they had sword sheaths on their belts. If any of them carried
muskets, the risk was too great.

“Is it not precious how you can see his
little mind working even in the dark?” she said.

“We need to keep moving. There isn’t much
time.”

She sighed. “You are right, of course. Back
in the carriage, dog.” And kicked me.

I scrambled inside, my stomach turning at the
wet sound of my shoe on the bloody carpet, and sat on the opposite
bench from before. Vittore helped Juliet inside and closed the
door. A word was given to the driver and we started rolling
again.

She was grinning like a feral cat, fangs
showing. “You are a tasty treat, Adamo. But attack me again and you
will beg for the sun. I do not tolerate disobedience. Ask Vittore
about his scars some day if you do not believe me.”

“Yes,
signora
.” I had no more energy
to fight.

By the time we reached the villa, I only
wanted sleep. She kicked my foot when the carriage stopped and
gestured for me to precede her. I opened the door and surveyed my
surroundings.

Unlike the typical garden style I remembered,
the entrance to the house was shrouded by trees. Had this been done
on purpose to protect the vampires, or did they overgrow from
neglect? I wondered what region we were in and if I would recognize
the name. The air was cold, yet I did not feel it like before.
Strange.

“You. Boy.”

I turned to one of the men.

“Follow your lady inside.”

Juliet was walking up the front steps,
Vittore at her side. She paused and looked back at me over her
shoulder, the look in her eyes chilling my blood. Hurrying to catch
up, I wished for my walking stick. The men laughed at my awkward
gait. My muscles weren’t used to speed.

The villa was old and smelled musty, like a
cellar. It must have been closed up and empty for a while. A grand
staircase led up to the living quarters. Her heels clicked to a
stop on the polished stone floor.

“See to it he has the room next to mine. I
need someone to eat,” she said to Vittore, and turned down one of
the halls.

“Come with me,” he said, grabbing my arm.

“Unhand me, sir. I can walk of my own
power.”

He gripped the collar of my shirt and lifted
me off my feet. “You have no power here. The men answer to me and I
answer to Lady Juliet. Hold your tongue or I will serve it to you
fried in oil. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

He smiled, an unpleasant expression. “Good.”
He dropped me, grabbed my arm again, and climbed the stairs.

We went right at the top and continued to the
end of the corridor. He stopped at a closed door and took a ring of
keys from his pocket. When the door was unlocked, he shoved me
inside. It closed and locked behind me.

Once a grand room, it was quite opulent
despite the coating of dust. A four-poster bed stood in the center
with a dark red and gold coverlet. The chest of drawers sat against
one wall, a pitcher and basin on top. A tall cabinet on the other
side had a full-length mirror next to it. I walked to the mirror to
see what I looked like now, and gasped.

“What sorcery is this?”

I tapped the surface of the mirror with my
finger. It was hard, cool, and seemed normal, yet my reflection was
absent. Was this an affliction of the vampires? How cruel to be
granted my sight, yet denied my image!

Perhaps I didn’t exist. Yes! Perhaps this
wasn’t real at all, a figment, an imagining.

A dream.

I pinched the back of my hand. Nothing
changed. Thinking it might need to hurt more to wake me, I pinched
the skin on my arm hard enough to bruise.

Still nothing.

Perhaps I could escape my captors, if not my
fate. I went to the window and tried to open the shutters, but they
were bolted shut.

Exhaustion and despair started taking hold.
Tired of fighting, I stripped off my shoes and climbed into bed. It
was a feather mattress, the first I’d felt since boyhood, and the
softness lulled me to sleep.

****

An intensely pleasant sensation coursed
through my body. No sight, no sound—only these strange waves of
elation. Then…the scent of roses and spice
.

“There you are,
bello
. I thought you
might sleep through the whole show.”

Juliet sat on my lap, nude. I moved my arms
to shield my eyes and found I couldn’t. Chains jingled above my
head where my wrists were restrained.

“Get off of me.”

She rocked her hips and I felt another wave
of sensation.

“What are you doing?”

Her brows rose. “You really don’t know?” Then
she rolled her eyes. “No, of course you would not. If it wasn’t for
making wine, a monk would be useless.”

My eyes shut against her nudity, I said, “I
don’t understand.” Her weight shifted and I felt her arms rest on
my chest and pressure on my manhood.

“Adamo…look at me.” Though I didn’t want to,
I looked. Her face was right in front of mine. “Do you feel
this?”

Something squeezed down there. I nodded.

“I did that, Adamo.”

“Yes, but--” Another squeeze. The
corresponding feeling was…amazing.

She pushed up on her hands and rocked her
hips again. “It gives you pleasure when I do this, yes?”

I nodded. My breaths came in time with her
movements. Then I remembered, “Wait, no, you shouldn’t--”

She pressed her hand over my mouth. “Adamo,
you’re dead. No longer bound to the rules of man or deity. We do
what we want. Feel what we want. Do not argue with me or there will
be consequences.” To enforce her point, her nails dug into my
chest, drawing blood.

God help me, but the pain enhanced the
pleasure I was feeling. Something called to a part of me and I felt
something answer back. Fangs suddenly poked my bottom lip and an
animalistic noise rumbled in my throat.

Juliet smiled. “Better.” She bent down and
touched her lips to mine.

I watched her move on my lap like she was
riding a horse and became entranced by her bouncing bosom. They
were lovely, with rosy centers. Feeling an urge to touch her, I
strained against the chains. The manacles cut into my wrists. She
moved faster and faster, then her body convulsed and she let out a
loud cry. Was she in pain?

She sighed and it sounded happy. “Thank you,
childe.” She moved off my lap and the bed, then put on a robe from
the floor and secured the tie around her waist.

“My lady…”

“Yes?”

“The chains are still on my wrists.”

She smiled again. “I know.” And she opened
the door. It locked again after she left.

Confusion, then frustration, took over my
mood. I was hungry, restrained, uncomfortable, and my body still
needed…
something
. Left naked and exposed on the bed, I also
felt ashamed for falling asleep so deeply and letting her take
advantage of me. Now I was tainted.