Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) (21 page)

The sound of the 5
^th
symphony shifted, cut out, and then returned in a sharper, clearer tone. It was like hearing it from different ears. Zack opened his eyes. Kyli was gone. There was no longer a meadow. It had been replaced by a forest. The leaves were dark green. A heavy blanket of leaves lay on the wet ground. Rain was still thick in the air. The forest glistened to Zack's eyes. The trees’ bark was nearly black. The high canopy overhead was so thick that barely any sunlight shown through. There was some light. It was dim and coming from a stream beside him. The light was a deep red. Zack walked towards it. There was a bright red river of fast moving liquid running through the forest. Zack knelt at the side of the flowing brook. He dipped a finger in, it was thick. It ran off his skin slowly, coating him as it did. It was blood.

Kyli placed her hand on Zack's back. “I’m sorry you had to see this, Zack.” She was standing behind him. “This is my vampeal forest. It’s the part of me that enjoys the feeding. It’s responsible for my thirst.”

“This is your thirst?” Zack stood up and faced Kyli.

“This is what we all have inside us.” Kyli stared at the red stream with disappointment.

The trees were hazy in the fog. They gave off an air of darkness. The red light seemed to be absorbed into the black of the bark. Zack understood that this was no longer his dream.

“Do you see how the leaves are corrupted by it? How they follow suit when it touches them?” Kyli said while sulking. She looked up as a light breeze began to brush some of the leaves off the trees.

Zack witnessed the natural dark green of the leaves fade to colorless husks as they fell to the ground. They were enveloped by the red blood. The red seeped in, it painted them with blood. Zack looked around, the forest floor was covered with blood and fallen debris. It seemed to writhe under his feet. As if it had a life all its own.

“It seemed dark at first.” Zack said to Kyli as he lifted her chin. “Pretty in an eerie since. Entrancing in fact, like you are to me.” Zack placed his right hand on Kyli's cheek, caressing her gently while he spoke. He was abandoning his fear. He was embracing what he felt inside.

“You're not afraid?” Kyli asked.

“Why would I be?” Zack replied without hesitation.

“It's dark. The blood is repulsive. It's always damp. The earth and sky bleed when I'm here. It's terrifying.” Kyli told Zack.

“I am not terrified. I like the rain, the dark.” Zack ran his thumb over Kyli's lower lip.

Kyli was speechless.

“This is part of you.” Zack placed his other hand behind Kyli's neck, cradling her head. “You don't have to ask for my acceptance. You already have it.”

A tear ran down Kyli’s eyelash and fell on the ground. The leaves appeared to spring to life as they quickly scurried away from it.

“Look at it now and tell me I’m still beautiful.” Kyli wanted proof.

Zack knelt down. He picked up a leaf, it was alive. Some type of creature masquerading as the vegetation it was eating. It was made from the blood in the river. He looked down at the soil. Small white worms were eating the changed leaves and drinking the blood. They were even eating each other. It was a scene of horror as Zack stood back to his feet.

“I’m a monster, a doll with a pretty shell and a freak inside that pulls the strings.” Kyli began to cry as she lowered her head.

Zack firmly pressed Kyli to him. He embraced her as she wept. A chill crept up on Zack. He tried to ignore it. Zack brushed the hair over Kyli’s left ear, exposing her milky white neck.

A voice boomed from the sky that only Zack could hear. “Taste the image of her mind. Sink deep into the throws of her flesh. Enjoy the wet, naked parts of her body as you peel the skin from her bones. Let the urge drive you to it, let it take control and guide your teeth. Take her arm firmly, grip her hair, force her neck to welcome you, and plunge into her veins.”

Zack stepped back away from Kyli. Startled, he was actually imagining doing what the voice had asked him to. Zack could see himself killing Kyli, enjoying the act as it said to. Kyli looked at Zack in distress. She didn't know what had happened.

Zack screamed to the sky. “I won’t! You will never make me!!”

The dream changed again. There was no music. Kyli was gone, the forest was gone. Zack was at the edge of the meadow now, standing on a sandy shoreline. Before him was a vast sea of endless blood. Turbulent and breaking upon the beach.

The form of a person appeared far out near the edge of the breaking tide. It was walking to the shore. The female was covered in thick blood, masking any real detail to her body. The figure appeared to be made from the blood it was soaked in. The naked female apparition walked up to Zack. As he stared at her body, Zack could tell it resembled Kyli. The shape of her face, the length of her arms and legs, even the curves of her hips. This thing was meant to entice Zack, to incite him to action. Its feet stepped to the edge of the breaking tide. Zack came closer to see its face. Its eyes were open yet glazed over from the flowing blood that constantly dripped down its skin. Zack could feel it staring at him.

The blood specter began to speak to Zack. The words were mumbled, gargled with drowned blood that poured out of its mouth. It was too difficult to make out. Its right hand reached to Zack, a wet trail tracking it's movements in the sand. It placed its hand on Zack's neck. With blood coating his chest, Zack couldn't resist. It disturbed him. At the same time, it was warm, soothing.

Zack closed his eyes.

“Finally, you open your heart.” A dark voice echoes through to Zack's core.

Zack could feel sharp wet fingertips pierce his skin.

“Remember the pain. It will make what is to come much easier.” The voice spoke calmly to Zack. Sure of itself in a way that Zack admired.

“What are you?” Zack managed to speak as his throat clasped tight.

The dark presence paused, breathing slowly into Zack's right ear. “I am a choice.”

Zack snapped awake. Kyli had softly struck him across the cheek. There was a solid pain on the left side of his face. Kyli had nearly fractured Zack's jaw to rouse him. The sound drew the attention of the people around them. They were stunned that she hit him out of nowhere. Kyli smiled back at them and checked Zack's face. There was already a bruise forming. She put her arm around Zack and grinned. The people staring went back to listening.

The 5
^th
symphony was still playing from almost the same moment Zack slipped into the daydream. Only a few seconds had passed.

“Zack, let go, you’re crushing my hand.” Kyli whispered to Zack.

Zack’s fingers were piercing the back and sides of Kyli’s left hand. A few of the tips were buried halfway to her knuckles. He was drawing blood that was spilling out on the carpet. Zack stopped, tenderly pulling his fingers from her hand. He gently applied pressure. “I’m sorry.”

“Then I guess I can forgive you enough to heal that shiner on your face.” Kyli smirked at Zack.

“What?” Zack hadn't noticed the slight swelling.

“Never mind. I'll take care of it in a minute.” Kyli said nothing for a moment, then whispered into Zack’s ear. “You’ll owe me for now though.”

“Okay, I trust you.” Zack leaned towards Kyli. “Again, sorry.”

Zack quietly sat through the rest of the concert in peace. He didn’t know what the daydreams were exactly, they seemed painful enough to be real. They were too disturbing to of actually happened. Zack still had to explain why he had hurt Kyli's hand. He wasn’t sure if she would believe him or not.

Demetrius Del Marin had no intermission to the concert, it was a straight two hour sequence of songs with little interlude between them. Marin played everything from variations on symphony number sever to selected bits from Rachmaninov.

Kyli explained there was a heater under the table of goblets that kept the blood from coagulating, long enough to play the concert. Eventually by the midpoint, the blood began to die. When that happened the pitch of each note was altered. A change that affected the entire second half of the performance. Kyli told Zack that the first section of the show was all classical pieces to accommodate for this. The later half was filled with original works by Marin himself.

When the last note rang off Marin's finger, everyone had been lulled silent. Each person was nearly put into their own state of bliss. All Zack wanted to do was stay awake. He was hoping to ward off any more dreams. He was still gravely distraught by the vision he had.

With the concert over, Kyli pulled out a small vial from inside Zack's blazer breast pocket. She unscrewed the top and poured a small amount on her hand. The rest she put in her mouth. Kyli turned to Zack and kissed him, forcing the blood down his throat.

Zack coughed. “What was that for?”

“You can't be walking around here like that.” Kyli wiped Zack's lips. “Besides, I told you I'd take care of everything. This is me making good on that promise.”

Zack shrugged off the taste the blood from his mind.

“Milky enough for you this time?” Kyli was poking fun at Zack.

Zack wasn't in the mood for games. He was anxious about meeting Marin. All he knew was that Kyli somehow knew him, that her father didn't like him, and he was wearing a tie that was specially chosen for the occasion. Zack's stomach was in a knot.

Kyli and Zack made their way conspicuously down to the backstage entrance. Kyli's red dress caught the eye of everyone as they passed. Kyli led Zack to the roped off area where the after party was being held. They approached the doorman.

“You're names?” The large, burly bouncer asked Zack. His jet black, greased back hair made him look like a muscular version of a 50's musical character. As big as he was, Zack could tell he was at least human.

Zack looked at Kyli.

“The man asked you, not me.” Kyli told Zack.

“We're guests of David Waterfield.” Zack said skittishly.

The doorman quickly moved to the side. He undid the red velvet rope letting Zack and Kyli in immediately.

As Zack passed inside the black corridor there was a ten foot passage with black curtains shielding the room from the other side. Zack stopped at the curtain.

“What's wrong?” Kyli asked Zack.

Zack wasn't sure what he'd find on the other side.

“It's okay. I didn't know what was beyond the veil the first time either.” Kyli took a hold of Zack's right hand. “What's important is that you move forward.”

Zack pulled the curtain to the side. Dim red candle light flooded his eyes. The inner room was filled with large golden chandeliers lining the ceiling. They cast a red hue over the crowd. The room was vaulted with black walls reaching to a white backdrop for all the ornaments hanging above. The other side of the archway had solid dark red crown molding and trim.

There was a cold draft that touched on Zack's neck as he entered with Kyli. A nagging thought in the back of his mind that he shouldn't be there.

“Glad to see you have the nerve to continue with this.” Kyli smiled at Zack. “Let's go.”

The room was packed with tall, gorgeous people. Men and women of all nationalities were there, mingling with each other. Most of the women had crystals, diamonds, blue sapphires, and red gems on them. Most of the men wore variations of black suits. A portion of them had on long flowing black and gray robes. A clear status symbol to the remaining men in the room. There was no one color scheme to their clothing. It was a sharp contrast to the audience outside.

Zack felt very out of place. Large parties weren’t his forte.

Kyli linked her arm with Zack's and led him to the center of the crowd. In the center of the room, there was a gathering of people. The black and white colors most of them had on were dazzling. These were the darkest blacks and the purest whites that could be represented in a threaded garment. There were a few specially dressed individuals that uniquely separated themselves from the rest. They wore older styles of Victorian dresses and late renaissance attire. Some of the men were in white, some not. The same followed for the women. They seemed refined, as if this was not their first ball in a way. Maybe their thousandth. A few of them looked gaunt, the same taught skin that Orhn had the day he kidnapped Zack. They looked at Zack and Kyli with disgust as they approached. Zack was sure there were other vampires in the room, though they seemed not to pay any attention to their passing into the thick of the party.

At the center of the mass of people was Demetrius Del Marin. He stood urbane. He was entertaining a wide panel of guests with witty banter and happy smiles. He was drinking one of the goblets of blood from the show. They had the same unique low bulbed shape. Zack viewed Marin as a deipnosophist with this crowd. He seemed more at ease. His teeth were showing. They sparkled wet from the last sip he had taken. None of the more regular looking, surely human people standing around him were startled by this fact. He simply kept talking as if he had a golden smile and a gilded tongue.

Zack let one word slip out as he reached their destination. “Vampire.” He was a mere three feet from Marin.

The guests around Marin all stared at Zack and chuckled.

Demetrius Del Main grinned with his long teeth partially hidden under his lip. “Yes, you have hit the nail on the head child. I am what I have always said, a vampire. True as day, if you’ll forgive the play on words.” He was suave, smooth, his voice not so skittish as it was on stage two hours ago. He was in his element here.