Vampire Dancing (21 page)

“Bitch!” Andred spat.

He pulled Launa's hand away from his face and twisted her onto her front. He then delivered both her wrists into the grip of one hand and pressed them against the base of her spine, after which, he securely bound them with the thick lace from his boot. When he was done, he took hold of her hair and pulled back her head.

He brought his face alongside the struggling woman's and turned her head to face him.

Launa screamed frantically into the gag at the sight of Andred's searing red eyes and long, gleaming fangs. Fear drove her heart at such a rate she felt like she was going to pass out.

Was the rest of this family aware of the monster in their midst?

Perhaps they were all monsters
.

Retaining his grip on Launa's hair, Andred withdrew his head from view.

Launa pulled furiously on her bound wrists. Andred had tied the lace so tightly the tips of her fingers were going numb. She wondered what he was going to do next; could feel his breath on her neck. The thought of him so close to her caused her stomach muscles to tighten.

Andred opened his mouth wide then sunk his fangs into Launa's neck. He heard her give a muffled cry and felt her body stiffen bellow him. Warm blood filled his mouth and slithered down his throat. He moaned with pleasure, then reached around with his free hand and gripped her left breast through the fabric of her blouse.

At that moment, the door to the bedrooms opened and Kaline entered the room. Her face contorted into a mask of horror when she saw what was happening.

Their guest's aversion to strong sunlight, her inability to name her strange condition and the toying with her food – even the insistence that she wander the forest at night
...

Kaline had gotten Launa all wrong. She had believed she was leaving Andred to slay a monster. Instead, she had left Launa in the clutches of one.

Andred removed his teeth from Launa's neck. His lips and beard were stained with a mixture of blood and saliva. He looked at his wife, unblinking.

She hadn't gotten dressed for bed.

He placed a finger over his lips and said, “
Ssh
. Close the door quietly or you shall wake the children.”

Keeping her gaze fixed on her husband, Kaline closed the door.

Andred released Launa's hair and stood up. He approached his wife.

Launa sat up and twisted quickly around. She fumbled for the blade with her bound hands.

“Andred,” Kaline said, backing away.

Andred said nothing. With his back to the main source of light, he looked like a hulking shadow person. His eyes burned like hot coals.

Kaline bumped into a chair. She had nowhere else to go.

Andred pushed his wife down onto the dinner table and leaned over her.

“Please,” Kaline said, the fear audible in her voice.

Devoid of mercy, Andred sunk his fangs into Kaline's neck. Her warm life essence spurted into his mouth. His eyes rolled back in their sockets with pleasure.

Kaline punched Andred on the back and pulled at his thick, scraggy hair. She thrashed and kicked out, knocking over the chair she'd backed into. It made a loud clattering sound when it connected with the floor.

Andred suddenly stood erect. His eyes were wide. He muttered something incoherent, then turned slowly. The blade embedded in the back of his skull became visible to Kaline before she drifted into darkness.

Launa backed away from Andred. She shook her head, disbelieving this beast of a man could still be standing.

The door to the bedrooms opened and Amara walked into the room. She was wearing her nightdress.

For a moment, everything went still and silent.

Amara noticed the blade sticking out the back of her father's head. Eyes wide with alarm, she looked at Launa. “What have you done!”

Launa shook her head. “Amara-”

Amara ran at Launa and pushed her away from her father.

Launa landed hard on the floor.

It was then Amara saw her mother, lying back on the table. She looked unconscious. Or dead.

“Mother!” she cried, hurrying past her father.

Andred reached back and gripped the haft of the blade embedded in his skull. With a single tug, he pulled it free.

Amara lifted her mother's head. She noticed the bloody puncture wounds on the woman's neck.

Kaline began to stir.

Andred turned to Launa, who was nursing a sore elbow, and was about to engage her when Malkin came wandering into the room, rubbing his eyes.

Andred's head whipped to the side. His hungry gaze narrowed in on the boy.

Malkin's mouth fell open. Clearly, the sight which greeted him was too much to take on board.

Andred made bold strides towards his son.

“Father?” Malkin said, looking as frightened as he was, bewildered.

Andred took a fistful of the boy's nightshirt and slammed him up against the door behind.

“What are you doing!” Amara cried.

Andred lifted Malkin off his feet and held him far up the door. His grip tightened around the haft of the weapon.

“Father!” Malkin pleaded.

But Malkin's father was long gone. In his place stood a creature with an insatiable thirst for blood.

Andred rammed the tip of the blade through the underside of Malkin's chin, and drove it all the way up until it penetrated the top of the boy's skull.

Amara and Launa's screams filled the room.

Kaline sat upright at the sound of the women's distress. She felt groggy; had no idea what manner of horror they were responding to.

Blood from the violently twitching child decorated Andred’s face. He opened his mouth and caught some of the droplets on his tongue.

Amara rushed to the front door. She fumbled with the large bolt.

“Out of the way!” she yelled at Launa.

Launa snapped out of her terror-stricken paralysis and scrambled away from the door. In doing so, she bumped into Andred's sack. The top opened and a head came rolling out.

Its lifeless eyes stared up at her.

It was Pavaine.

Launa screamed louder then ever.

Amara threw open the cabin door and raced outside. A powerful gust of wind entered the room, causing the lamp by the side of the door to swing on its nail then drop to the floor next to the blanket she had put there earlier.

The glass broke and oil spilled out.

A deep growl came from the darkness beyond the doorway. Moments later, Patches came bounding into the cabin.

Andred released Malkin's lifeless body and turned to face the animal. The dog leaped for him. He caught it by the throat. The animal growled and peddled frantically with its paws. He brought Patches' face close to his own. The dog snapped its jaws mere millimeters from his face. Disregarding the threat, he hissed at the animal, then used both hands to crush its throat. Patches' growls turned to yelps, and its thrashing eventually gave way to mild spasms then death.

Andred discarded the animal as though it were a soiled rag.

“What have you done to our son!”

Kaline pushed past Andred and sunk to her knees. The sight of Malkin's head skewered on a blade caused her gag reflex to react. She leaned forward and vomited on the floor.

Andred grabbed his wife by the hair and dragged her towards the front of the room. She kicked and screamed and clawed at his hand.
He squatted in front of the hearth then took her by the throat. She continued to fight to retain her pitiable existence.

And to think … he used to love her
.

He pulled her head to one side then licked the wound on her neck.

“Stop this!” Launa cried.

Andred looked over his shoulder. Launa was on her knees by the door. He looked coldly at her … and then he forced Kaline's head into the blazing hearth.

Launa threw her hands over her face and cried in horror.

Kaline punched and clawed at Andred's arm. Her hair was on fire and her flesh was burning. The smell of it filled her nostrils.

Andred listened to Kaline's tortured shrieking and watched, with fascination, the small hairs on the back of his hand singe. It was painful, to have his hand burn as he held this woman. But he would heal, and quickly.

Amara came hurrying back into the cabin. She was holding the wood cutting ax. Such was her focus on her crazed father, she didn't notice the flames which had engulfed the blanket by the side of the door and the long coat which hung above it.

Andred released his dead wife and stood up. He turned and faced his daughter.

“The hunger,” he said, ”...it controls me.”

Amara shook her head. She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing -
the carnage
- and to look into her father's devilish eyes ... how could he even begin to justify
this
.

He was no longer human to her.

She raised the ax and ran at him - swung it at his head - but he effortlessly avoided the attack, then grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her to the floor. The ax fell from her grip and she landed on her mother's chair. It collapsed into several pieces under her weight.

Launa seized the opportunity and grabbed the ax. It was heavy, but adrenalin allowed her to wield it without much impairment.

Andred was ill-prepared for Launa's attack. He took a step back. The leg of his pants came into contact with Kaline's burning clothes.

“I shall kill you!” Launa cried, and swung the weapon.

Andred instinctively reached up to shield himself and lost balance. He stumbled over his feet and fell to the floor.

The ax swung over Andred's head, missing him by no more than a couple of inches.

Unprepared for missing her target, Launa staggered to the side. She steadied herself, and prepared another swing.

Andred moved remarkably fast. He was already back on his feet. He could feel a burning sensation all the way up his left leg, but chose to ignore it. He struck Launa with a powerful back-handed slap.

Launa dropped the ax and went spinning to the floor.

Amara was still on the floor, but had regained her senses. She could see Andred was on fire. But he wasn't the only thing on fire. The coat which hung by the side of the door was ablaze, and thick smoke already filled the top of the room. Flames had also crept beyond the hearth, consuming her mother's clothing.
Consuming her mother
.

Amara positioned her back to the wall, between stove and worktop.

“Father,” she called, “come for me if you dare!”

Andred's head spun in the direction of his daughter's voice. He let rip with an incensed roar then sprung into the air, like a pouncing animal.

Amara quickly produced a splintered leg from the broken chair. She held it just below her chest, then braced herself.

Realizing what was about to occur, Andred's face became a twisted mask of dread. An instant later, he was impaled on a wooden spike. The tip of it had went straight through his heart. He looked at Amara with incredulity, then clutched at the large splinter and tried to pull it free.

Amara gritted her teeth and drove the leg of the chair deeper into her father's chest.

Andred's mouth dropped open and he moaned. A crimson string of saliva swung from his bottom lip. With one last act of defiance, he reached up with clawed hands to tear the skin from his daughter's face.

Amara shrieked. She turned her head to the side and squeezed shut her eyes. The tips of her father's fingers touched her face, and then his hands fell away. She looked at him. The malice had faded from his eyes.

Andred tried to mouth something, and then his head slumped forward.

Amara felt sadness swell within her. In that very last moment, she had been staring into the face of her father again.

Launa appeared with a blanket. She dropped it over Andred's burning legs. “We need to get out of here!”

Amara struggled to push her way out from under her father's body. Launa pulled the corpse to one side and extended a hand to her. She took it and was pulled to her feet.

Thick flame obstructed the cabin entrance and reached all the way to the roof. Smoke was everywhere.

Launa coughed and put a hand to her mouth. Turning back to Amara, she said, “We shall be alright if we-”

Amara struck Launa across the side of the head with a small iron pot she'd grabbed from the worktop.

Launa staggered to one side. A thin stream of blood trickled from the injury on her head. She touched the wound and looked questioningly at Amara.

Amara swung the pot again, but this time Launa fought back. She grabbed Amara's arm and wrestled with her. “What are you doing!”

Amara reached for Launa's hair, but Launa pulled her head out of range.

“What is wrong with you!” Launa cried. She swung Amara around and, keeping hold of her, pushed her back.