Valley of Dust (4 page)

The afternoon went by quite casually albeit a little embarrassing. Not as bad as I thought, but it definitely felt weird. He stayed with me for a couple of hours and told me he would call me tomorrow. When he left, I was shocked. I hadn’t expected a one-night stand to turn into something more. Part of me was jumping with glee, and the other part was wary that I may have jumped into something I wasn’t prepared for so soon. I knew people tended to do crazy things after something tragic happens to them, but this was a lot for me to handle.
It was a start of something new,
I thought as I relaxed on my sofa, but was it something I would come to regret?

L
UCIAN FELT SOMETHING was odd. He hadn’t heard from Anton on how Selene was. This worried him a bit. He felt jealous he could not be the one watching over her, but he was always being watched, and for her own safety he kept his distance. The door opened, and that’s when he saw Anton. “Anton, where were you all night?” Lucian asked, but he knew the answer; he was out patrolling like Lucian had asked him to do. He was just hoping that his brother would have at least informed him of what was going on. Nowadays there were cell phones. However, Anton never bothered having his cell phone on. Lucian knew Anton liked being detached from the world. It looked like there were women with Anton. The women who were Anton’s type were beautiful, but definitely low on brains. Lucian knew they would not live long by Anton’s side. “Where are you going, Anton? Answer me,” Lucian said. “Lucian, I need to refresh my energy if you want me to be your faithful little watchdog.” Anton smirked as he walked off with the women in his arms toward his bedroom. Lucian pitied those mortal women; he knew they would get pleasure from Anton, but Anton would never let them leave alive. That is what the strigoi did, they survived by feeding off mortals’ life energy. It wasn’t as easy as sucking one’s blood like the mortals erroneously made them out to be. There was a real art to draining the life from your prey, and there was no vegetarian way out of it once a strigoi knew how to drain their victim. They stayed only to the type of energy that would satisfy them the longest. Anton could only devour women; all he could ever do to men was beat them senseless. Maybe that is why Anton never liked women on a personal level. Anton was never able to get close to a woman without draining her life. Anton was a plague on women. Those women would all die, and maybe, if they were lucky, stay dead. Anton had never learned his lesson. Even after killing that Gypsy girl. Of course Lucian took the blame for Anton’s crime and was cursed for it. The Gypsies hated losing their kind and were magnificent at sorcery. Lucian knew his brother would not have fared well against them and took the curse in his brother’s place. The women in his chambers would either turn to dust, if they were lucky, or come back as an undead living off mortals for eternity just like that poor Gypsy girl. Usually if a new undead was created and had lingering attachments to lovers or family members, they would be the new undead’s first meal. Lucian wished he had the power to control his brother. He may have been born stronger than Anton, but it was nearly impossible to kill a live strigoi. Their kind were immortal from birth. Even the Gypsies could do nothing but curse them. It was the least the Gypsies could do after having to kill a beloved daughter who had turned undead because of Anton, the process that Gypsy undead woman went through and her family who had to endure giving her their justice. Lucian accepted the curse with ease, feeling guilty for the undead woman’s fate. There were a hundred live strigoi out there. Only a few were in the council; they were chosen because of their strengths, and Lucian was their ruler. The strigois considered themselves pure bloods though most of them had come from mortal parents. The undead strigois were their victims, their slaves doomed to a lowly status for eternity. Out of all mortals, the only people strigoi feared were Gypsies. They could only curse them, but they were able to kill the undead with ease. Thankfully the old ways were nearly extinct, and living in America, no one had come close to one of their kind in centuries. Lucian knew it was mealtime for Anton, so he decided to take a chance and visit Selene even if it was for just a minute. He was gifted at many things: astral projections into dreams, and when no one was looking, he would use all his energy to make himself invisible to take a glance on how Selene was doing. He hadn’t seen Selene in two years, but he always tried to pay a visit when all the councils’ eyes were turned.

When he arrived at her place, he saw Selene on her balcony gazing at the moon, like she was in love. He hadn’t appeared in her dreams recently, so he wondered what man made her look that way. He decided to do something he swore he never would do. It was hard, but he was so curious. He wanted to know who this man was. He glided up the stairs in stealth to her apartment’s floor and smelt something that repulsed him. He snuck inside, and there he saw a painting of his brother; not only that but the room smelled of Anton. This made him rage with jealousy.
How could he betray his trust?
he thought. His heart was torn to pieces by this discovery. He rushed outside, and without realizing it he lost concentration on his invisibility. There was no doubt he would be seen; before he knew it he heard Selene’s voice from the balcony screaming “Wait!” He turned around to realize she indeed saw him. He knew she would recognize him from her dreams, but he didn’t feel like meeting her after what he had discovered. Within what seemed like seconds, she was downstairs, as cute as she could be in jeans and a T-shirt the way he always had loved her. “I know you, don’t I?” she said panting from exhaustion. “No, you must have dreamed it, you’re just a puppet,” he said. He winced at calling her nothing more than a puppet, but he couldn’t believe she had slept with Anton. She then did something unexpected. She had jumped in front of him demanding for him to take back his words for she was no one’s puppet and now for sure she knew him. He was seething with anger and couldn’t think of anything polite to say, so he just spit out what he felt at that moment, “How naive you are to be fooled so easily. Maybe we know each other, but come follow me if you wish to seek the truth.” She surprisingly followed him.
Man, she knew better than to follow a complete stranger, but then again he knew her very well and she was strong willed
, he thought. He knew he was about to embark on something that would destroy both the people he loved, but at that moment he was blinded by rage and jealousy. He had to show her Anton’s true character, no matter how devastating it would be. He hopped on a bus with her to give her some security to get to his house. When they finally had arrived at his home, she looked amazed at how massive it was. It was a good-size mansion, but no castle like in the past. He rushed her inside and flung Anton’s bedroom doors open. There she saw him, Anton with three women sexually, and they were literally dying in ecstasy to be with him. Lucian knew Anton would finish his kills before coming to defend himself. There was, however, nothing to defend. Anton was a heartless bastard. He knew he struck a nerve with Anton; he could tell there would be turmoil tonight. That’s when he realized Selene was drenched in tears, and he realized in his fit of rage how he also came off as heartless. Lucian loved Selene so much he did not want to see her become like Anton. He did this for her own good and to protect her soul. He tried to hug her, but she was stiff. He knew her trust in people was gone. “Why? Why did you show me this?” she cried, pushing Lucian back. “I am truly sorry, but everything you saw before tonight was a lie. You are like us, but I do not want you to turn out like Anton. He has no respect for life.” He winced at how pale she looked. Lucian knew Selene had just gained her powers and she needed to drain life for energy but she hadn’t done so in a while. She fainted from exertion.
Damn, Anton, why?
Lucian thought
.

Lucian put Selene into the room he had been preparing for her for many years. He was planning to give it to her when she had finally joined the strigoi society. He had furnished the room with beautiful paintings and had her walls decorated with what he thought she might enjoy. It took years to create this room, but he hoped one day she would be happy to call this home. Lucian left Selene sleeping; he knew she needed to gain her strength, and it would be awhile till she woke up.
Now
,
he thought,
it is time to kick his brother out for betraying him.
Anton had come out of his room just as Lucian had arrived. “What was that about, Lucian? How dare you allow her to see me like that,” Anton said. “Get out, Anton. You disgust me. I disown you. From now on, you are no longer my brother. You knew my feelings for Selene, you knew how much I wanted her. Why, Anton?” Lucian cried out. “Because, brother, I’ve always wanted what is yours. At least I had her first.” With that remark, Lucian lost control and smashed Anton through Anton’s bedroom doors. “Get out, Anton, or I will find a Gypsy who will make you wish you were dead.” Anton grinned at what Lucian had said. Lucian knew this was not the last time he would see his brother; after all, they were both on the council. At least for now he would get some time to recover from this ordeal tonight. Lucian went up to his room and sat in his chair. He was deeply depressed. His heart was broken; he knew it was not Selene’s fault, but why would his brother betray him after all he had done for him? Lucian had finally disowned his brother, but it brought no satisfaction to his heart.

I
AWOKE IN A beautiful and luxurious room. This bedroom was a dreamlike place, something I’d always would have wanted but could never own. The pillows and bed melded to my body like I was sleeping on a cloud. The color scheme of this room all matched the feeling of sleeping in the sky. The furniture had a modern, clean Italian look to it, like something right out of a magazine. This bedroom was twice the size of my apartment, I suddenly realized how small I was compared to this room’s size. When I got up to look around, there was amazing artwork to glance at. Everywhere I turned there was art; it was like touring my own personal art museum. Every piece of furniture went with every piece of artwork. I was astonished at how well this room had been put together and how well it was blended. If I had the money, I suppose I would have made my room like this bedroom. The bedroom was made for an artist,
a very rich artist
, I thought. The bedroom breathed love, affection, and soul in every crack, corner, and section. Then reality had sunk in; everything that had happened to me came crashing down. How could I have put so much blind faith in a man like Anton who I barely knew? Then my stomach turned. I had slept with that piece of filth. I thought I could have connected and loved someone, but it was all a lie. My soul had become soiled by my own curiosity. Seeing those women with Anton, all in his bed, what was that? Was I some sort of conquest? A new notch for his bedpost? Damn my inexperience with men. I couldn’t believe I had fallen prey so easily. It was just like that man had said. I was a puppet, so easily manipulated. Inviting a stranger like Anton into my bed, my heart, the thought of it made me cringe and I had no one to blame but myself. I decided I needed to take my mind off this. I looked around my surroundings and realized there were four doors. The one closest to the bed was the one I had decided to inspect first. When I opened the door, I gasped at the size of the room. It must have been a walk-in closet built for a monarch. It was massive and set my curiosity in flames. I shot out to inspect the clothing. It was marvelous; there were sections for different occasions. They were all color coded, and underneath each section were matching shoes. This was a dream come true for most girls. My hands rubbed against one of the dresses; it was sky blue. The feel of it was amazing. It had a red ribbon right under the breast, making it an empire-waist dress. I reached to look at the size of the dress and was shocked to learn it was the same size I was: a size six. Underneath the dress was a gorgeous pair of red dress shoes. They had no heels and strangely were a size ten. This was getting crazy; not only did the clothes match my size but so did the shoes? It felt like all this was somehow meant for me, which scared me. As I was about to run outside the closet, which was about the size of my apartment’s bedroom, I crashed into someone. Towels flew everywhere. They were warm and soft like they had just come out of the dryer. Then someone spoke, “Miss, are you all right?” I looked up to see a beautiful older woman in clothes that seemed almost like a business uniform. “Yes, I am, I was just leaving. Excuse me,” I said. “Wait, miss, I was instructed to give you towels and run you a bath. I work here, my name is Carla.” “Thank you, Carla, my name is Selene, I really don’t know where I am and I need to leave.” “If that is what you want, miss, but I was instructed to take care of you and help you. You fainted last night. I have your phone, and you can leave whenever you like, but please, I hope you would reconsider. I have instructed Jacques to make lunch for two and I would love the company,” she said. “I’ll think about it, Carla, thanks,” and with that she was out the door. She had put my phone on the bed and had left the towels there also. I wondered why she offered to draw me a bath like I was royalty. I was glad she hadn’t. This day felt increasingly awkward since I woke up. I decided to take my phone and go to the next room. It was the bathroom, and words could not describe how amazing the tub was. That’s when I decided a bath wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It’s not every day a starving artist gets to enjoy five-star accommodations for free.

I was heading out of the room when I could smell food in the air. I hoped Carla or the owner didn’t mind me wearing the blue dress. It was too hard to pass a chance to wear something made by a famous designer. The delicious smell was coming from downstairs. Glancing on my way to the food, I hadn’t recognized how beautiful everything was. To my left was that nightmare of a room that had left my heart broken, but for some strange reason it no longer looked like the room that I saw last night. There were workers everywhere; they were knocking down walls, and there was nothing to remind me of that dreaded night. I turned to my right and headed for the smell of the food. I couldn’t believe how loud those construction men were.
How on earth did I sleep through that? I must have been really been tired to not notice a whole room demolished in one night,
I thought.

Then I arrived in the kitchen. I loved the sleek granite countertops and matching stainless steel appliances. This was a kitchen made for someone who loved to cook. Right as I was walking in, I passed who I assumed was the chef, Jacques. “Hello, Jacques. My name is Selene.” He smiled a very quick smile toward me and said, “So I guess you’re the second person Ms. Carla was talking about. How do you do, Ms. Selene? I am the chef of this mansion, Jacques Ludger.” “Well, I am sorry to disturb you during cooking, I will be on my way. It was a pleasure meeting you, Jacques,” and with a wave of our hands I decided to head out of the kitchen. The smell of his food was mouth watering; it almost made me want to stay and learn. Beyond the kitchen there was an open door to the outside. I decided to check if Carla was maybe out there. I was correct with my assumptions when I saw her outside waiting for me and smiling. “Miss, come and sit in the garden with me. You look wonderful, by the way. I am glad you liked the dress,” she said. This now seemed awkward; she acknowledged the dress as if it belonged to me. Another thing to make me feel uncomfortable was I never really had many friends, especially girls, and having someone ask me to eat with them and wait for me made me feel a little scared and threatened. I was not used to this kindness. This was nothing like a meal with my family. Meals with them were always hostile. Since I was the middle child, naturally my two sisters would gang up on me and push any blame my way. The anxiety of thinking about that made me even more nervous to spend time with this woman named Carla.
Would she be as catty as them
? Carla had a strange air around her, like she truly wanted to spend time with me.
I hoped this wasn’t some sick joke and she was being paid to be my friend,
I thought. This was all too new, but her being here and wanting me here did make me happy. “Thank you for the food, Carla,” I said. “Oh, don’t thank me, miss, it was the chef Jacques who cooked it. I just thought it would be wonderful for us to enjoy it in such beautiful weather.” “Carla, can you call me by my name? It’s awkward to be called miss. By the way, how many people work here?” “Okay, Selene,” she smiled. “There are about ten people who work here, we all work in the daytime, and most of us get off around seven.” I knew two employees already, Carla and Jacques. Carla explained that there were two bodyguards at the main entrance to the property. She didn’t know their names since her house was closest to the mansion, which was surrounded by mountains. The guards were in charge of keeping check on who passed from the main road onto Lucian’s land. They were the initial security before anyone approached the property. She told me there were two housekeepers, one named Josephine and the other named Belle. They apparently had much work to do, so seeing them and holding a conversation was nearly impossible. There were two gardeners; also, Justin and Henry were in charge of maintaining the hundred acres of land. At first I was shocked that only two guys were in charge of that much land, but Carla had assured me most of it was mountains and wooded land. They were mainly in charge of keeping all the properties and Lucian’s garden in order. The last two were a married couple from Germany. They had bizarre names, or at least from what I had seen in my years. Dieter was the husband of Bruna, and they were both accountants who managed the money coming in and out of the mansion. Carla told me she thought their jobs were the toughest since Lucian had so many different accounts and businesses. However, Carla said they somehow always made time to come to parties or when Lucian has tea time. I laughed at the thought of people gathering for a tea party, but then again I came from a middle-class family with mainly American culture drilled into me to fit into society.

The day was off to a great start. After Carla started using my name, I felt more like a friend than someone she worked for. We talked about what she did for a living, and I found out that the room I had slept in was designed by her.
I knew I liked her,
I thought. She and I had similar tastes in art and design. We were a match made in heaven. Carla was a pleasant woman and only spoke kindly of her boss, Lucian. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, but she had been paged and had to leave earlier than I would have liked. I thought about leaving, but then Carla asked if I wanted to stay for dinner. One more night in this mansion wouldn’t be so bad, especially since the food and Carla’s company had won me over. I had one more day off work, so I gladly accepted, and it was planned dinner would be tonight. I could not wait, but since I had to, I decided to inspect the grounds some more.