Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin (3 page)

Arthur
felt sorry for her. He had been fascinated by her quiet reserve ever since he
had first met her. And her self-confidence had earned his admiration. Her harsh
candor had aroused in him feelings of bitterness. But her inability to connect
with other people in any way that was profoundly soulful aroused his pity. What
a pathetic existence, he thought to himself. To go through life without love
for any other person sounded like a curse that he could not bear. Though she
related her inability to love with her fierce independence, he knew obstinate
self-reliance had nothing to do with it. There was something else, just
underneath the surface, something so very strong and yet well-disguised by her
own relentless rationalizations that kept her from love. Though Arthur wondered
what it was that kept her from forming loving attachments to other people, he
knew that she couldn’t give enough of herself to him to ever let him know the
answer to that. And yet he still craved her. The possibility of danger on her
trip had pushed his desire to connect with her to this moment in the garden.
And he now knew what he had to do.

“I’d
like to be friends, Liz,” he said cordially.

She
stuck out her hand and vigorously shook his. For someone with such small hands,
he noted that she had quite a firm handshake on her.

“I’d
like that,” she told him with more than an ounce of sincerity. She was always
honest. "I know a lot of people. I’ve collected acquaintances galore. But
I only have a few friends! Austin and I are travelling half the year if not
more. We’re always hiking or camping somewhere. And when we aren’t travelling,
we are making arrangements to travel. We don’t get much time for long, lasting
relationships.”

Arthur
wanted to grab her right then and there. But, instead, he just took her hands
in his and gave them an encouraging squeeze. If she sensed the sexual tension
he was experiencing then she didn’t let on. She looked completely oblivious to
any possibility other than the possibility of them mutually deciding on a
friendship and both having instantly moved on from the notion of romance. She
took people at their word. Honesty was a quality she had been born with and she
expected this from others even when it is often better to be suspicious.

Suddenly,
their quiet time was interrupted by a low, male voice singing karaoke.
 
It was a smooth, silky baritone that was
coming from inside the house. An old classic was slowly flowing from his lips.
He crooned, “Something happens and I’m head over heels/I never find out till
I’m head over heels/Something happens and I’m head over heels/ Ah, don’t take
my heart/Don’t break my heart/Don’t throw it away.”

Elizabeth
listened with wide eyes that had suddenly lit up like fireworks. She leaned
towards the back door and perked up her ears. Arthur was surprised. He had
never seen her so interested in another person in his life. He also liked the
soothing, yet powerful, voice that emanated from the karaoke crooner, but it
wasn’t in the same way that Elizabeth obviously admired it. Arthur only
entertained it as a pleasant curiosity. He wondered about the singer. That
voice had a strange lilt that he had never heard before. The words seemed to
roll into each other. It added an even more melodious quality to the tune he
sang. And then the voice faded away as the song came to a close.

“I
love that song,” Elizabeth sighed. “I wish I had been alive in the 80s. Austin
used to play Tears for Fears all the time when I was young. Great band. And he
has probably the best voice you've ever heard, period. I want to know how
someone as brutish as my brother could sing so beautifully.”

Arthur
was confused, and not just about Austin's personality not matching his voice.
The usually cold Elizabeth was suddenly melting because of her brother's
singing voice.

“I
guess this is proof that your feelings for your brother are warmer than you let
on,” he remarked.

“It’s
not warmth for Austin,” she declared. “He just has an awesome voice. I’m into
his voice in the same way that I’m into camping. I love anything beautiful.
Nature is beautiful and so is his voice.”

“You’re
such a girl,” he retorted.

"How
was that girly? Guys love beautiful things too. Austin listens to nature cds
and collects paintings. He listens to the sounds of waterfalls while he
decorates the house. That’s more girly that I have ever been in my life. You
will never catch me decorating my home and coordinating color schemes all day.
Austin is the one with the woman’s touch.”

“Elizabeth,
you always know exactly what you think on any given issue. But, I really
believe that you need to rethink this trip.”

“You
don’t understand,” Elizabeth began. “This is my dream. To rough it by myself,
completely alone, has always seemed like it would be the ultimate test of
survival. I’ve never been totally alone before, because I’ve always had Austin
with me. And I love the wild. I want to commune with nature. I can see this
becoming one of the best things I have done in my whole life.”

Arthur
nodded his head. This was goodbye. Elizabeth was going to head off into this
big wide world and leave him behind. Arthur decided he wanted to make the most
of what time they had left. That meant no more talking.

"Let’s
go in and dance some more," he said.

"No,
I want to get out of here."

Oh
my God! Like a date, he thought. "Elizabeth," he said, "that
sounds like a great idea, where would you like to go?"

Elizabeth
smiled wickedly and said, "Aaron Ayro's party is tonight. Just let me grab
my purse and we can be on our way."

Chapter
5: Masquerade

Elizabeth
led Arthur to Aaron's house. It was a winding, discordant route. She led him
down the driveway, straight down the street, down a short cut that included a
large dirt slope, made a left onto a paved road, a right, and then another
right up a small hill. There they reached the cul-de-sac with Aaron's
"almost mansion" on it.

Elizabeth
and Arthur had never been invited to one of Aaron's parties. Elizabeth wanted
to see one before she left, because she found Aaron to be one of the most
intensely interesting men in wine country. Elizabeth loved long walks at night,
and so did Aaron. Aaron had been living in the area for the last year and a
half, and every time they passed each other they could not keep their eyes off
each other. Elizabeth could not explain why Aaron stared at her, but she could
tell anyone at any time exactly why she stared at him. He was the biggest, most
powerful man she had ever seen. They were the same height (5'7), but his broad
shoulders and huge chest astounded her. His brow ridges were very clearly
defined, and his deep set eyes created the illusion of his brows being more
pronounced than they actually were. He was an ugly, barbaric looking man. But
so long as he was comfortable staring at her, she didn't mind staring at him.
She doubted he even knew who she was. She only spent about twenty five percent
of the year in wine country. She was Miss Nobody, whereas Aaron was the
enigmatic rich guy no one knew anything about, who had one of the largest homes
in wine country, and held giant parties. She thought of him as the Great Gatsby
of Temecula.

Arthur
just wanted to be with Elizabeth, and if that meant crashing a party then so be
it. Besides, Elizabeth told him she wanted to go to Aaron's for a reason that
he considered sensible: her own party hadn't been that great. This was a
sentiment Arthur shared, and he was fine leaving in favor of something possibly
more exciting. Though he wasn't sure how they were going to be able to enter.
He could see the bouncer at the door and it was common knowledge that Aaron's
parties were invitation only. No one in the neighborhood had ever been invited
or, so far as Arthur knew, been inside the house to see one. That's going to
change tonight, he thought.

Aaron
had an open gate leading up to his driveway, and they saw a man and woman in
masks leaving. Must be a masquerade, Elizabeth observed.

"These
people are wild!" the woman exclaimed.

"Never
been to a party like that," the man said.

"I
was told what it was going to be like beforehand, but I had no concept of the
reality of it all until I was actually in there."

"Believe
me, I've been booked for some crazier things than what was going on in
there."

Elizabeth
and Arthur listened to this exchange, their curiosity so aroused that now there
was surely no turning back from their mission, and they approached the two
strangers.

"Excuse
me," Elizabeth said, "my friend and I would like to get into that
party. Can we buy your masks off of you?"

"You
want to go to that party?" the woman asked skeptically.

"Yes,"
Elizabeth said emphatically.

"But
they're only kids!" the man admonished.

"We're
both eighteen," Arthur corrected.

"Well,
that's still too young for this party," the woman informed him.

"What,
is there drinking? Arthur and I can both hold our liquor. And we walked here,
so we can't drive drunk," Elizabeth persisted.

"If
it were just drinking, we wouldn't be all that concerned," the woman
laughed. "Trust me, you don't know what you two would be getting
yourselves into in there. It's an adult party."

"We
ARE adults," Arthur corrected.

"No,
kid...that's not what I meant---"

"I've
changed my mind," the man said. "Let's just give them our masks. No
charge. The password to get in is Mastodon. This should be a good learning
experience for them."

The
woman sighed and relented. If it wasn't them, these kids would just find some
other way to get in. Besides, it would be a good way for their eighteen year
old selves to learn that actions have consequences. They handed their masks
over to Elizabeth and Arthur, headed to their car, and drove off without
looking back.

Elizabeth
held her mask in her hand. It was a silver colored eye mask. It was bordered by
silver lace and had pearly beads lining the eyeholes. On the right side of the
mask, glued to the edge, was a small plume of gray feathers. She tied it to her
head thinking that she couldn't have found a better mask to go with her little
black dress.

Arthur's
was a full face mask. Elizabeth guessed the word to describe it might be
"venetian". It was red with gold trim lining the eyes and bordering
the mask. A design that looked like golden flower stems was painted on the
cheeks, chin, and forehead. He had never been to a masquerade before, and he
had visions of himself wearing the mask, twirling Elizabeth around a ball room,
and dipping her almost to the floor. Tonight, he could be a different person.
This mask could turn him into her debonair, enchanting Romeo. Tonight, he would
say goodbye to Arthur. He tied the mask's two gold silk ribbons behind his head
and followed Elizabeth up to the mini-mansion.

Aaron's
house was even more impressive up close and personal. It was almost like a
smaller version of the White House. They had no clue how many rooms were
inside, but both were excited about possibly being the only neighbors to find out.

Once
they reached the doorway, Elizabeth had a feeling she was being watched. She
wondered if it was paranoia because she knew she was about to do something
dishonest. Then she realized it wasn't just paranoia. She noticed a largely
built man in full face mask lounging on a swinging bench not far off to their
left. He seemed to be looking right at her. For a moment, she locked eyes with
him. And then she looked away. The man's outfit looked dark and foreboding. He
wore a black, untucked, silk shirt that hung loosely on him. He had on black
slacks and black dress shoes. But it was his mask that gave her the chills. The
two eye holes, like large fox eyes, appeared villainous to her. The wide,
jagged sides were like extended bat wings. Glued on twigs gave the resemblance
of bones sustaining the wings.
 
And then
there was the mouth area. A brown, painted slit of a mouth and two red fangs
painted onto them. Elizabeth had never seen such a demonic mask in her life.
And it looked handmade, so she wondered about the nature of the man who wore it
and possibly even designed it.

"Password?"
the bouncer asked.

"Mastodon,"
Arthur responded.

The
two teenagers walked into the house and were thrown into darkness. The house
looked to be about three stories tall, and they could barely see except for the
occasional flashes of light and accompanying shouts of, "You're out!"
She could hear people banging, shouting, and shutting doors. They're playing
flashlight tag? Elizabeth thought perplexed. She couldn't believe it. What was
so adult about playing flashlight tag? Shouldn't they even be ashamed? The last
time she played flashlight tag, she was twelve years old and at a slumber
party. It was also her last before Austin whisked her off to experience the
world.

Before
Elizabeth could reminisce more about her lost childhood, a flashlight beam
suddenly caught her straight in the face mask. "You're out!" a large
man bellowed. Elizabeth gulped as the man advanced towards her. He was not
tall, but he was large. Elizabeth stared at his chest. She thought of Aaron's
big chest, but it wasn't like this guy. He was more like barrel chested. She
imagined his chest having been replaced by a wine barrel from a local winery.
He quickly grabbed her arm and led her to a room. He opened the door and
flashed the light inside. It was empty. He gestured for her to enter. Elizabeth
was suddenly filled with fear. She was almost in hysterics. She suddenly
discerned the different noises she heard in the house.
 
The banging was like a bed banging against the
walls. The shouting was more like moaning.
 
The doors, vigorously being shut, precluded her from being privy to the
antics going on behind them. And then there was the woman who gave her the
mask. What had she said about the party? It was an "adult party."
Elizabeth lost all control as the realization of what she had just walked into
dawned on her. She was in a strange house. No one but Arthur knew where she
was. And a large man, far bigger than herself, wanted her to walk into a dark,
lonely bedroom with him. Most likely, he would be shutting the door behind
them. She yanked away her arm from the man's grasp, opened up her purse, and
drew out a knife. The man immediately jerked back. And then she could literally
feel his anger. He advanced on her. Elizabeth would have stabbed him had it not
been for a sudden shout of "Stop!" and all the lights suddenly
flashing on. The man quickly backed away from her. The lights flashed down on
Elizabeth and her knife. It was held threateningly in her grip as she looked around.
But no one was looking at her. They were looking at where the voice had come
from: the front door.