A Hunger for Darkness (8 page)

Chapter
Fifteen

The metal cage sat in the middle of the room. The bars looked to be an inch thick, and reinforced with frequent bands, giving the structure the appearance of an Old West jail. A quick test confirmed for Kenzi that the bars would not yield even to her enhanced strength. The massive iron cage sat on top of a deep carpet with a floral print with bolts driven into the floor. It didn’t seem to have been in place for long.

The whole room felt transplanted from another time. A narrow stained-glass window adorned one wall, though it was now dark. The rest of the space was littered with several plush couches along one wall and littered with upright and over-turned chairs. A low platform or stage sat beneath the multi-colored window. There was no furniture within her cage, so Kenzi sat on the floor. The ache her chest had receded, and her probing fingers felt only a large welt where the bullet had entered.

“I’m sorry about this,” Katerina said as she slipped though the ornate wooden doors at the other end of the room. “Gabriel said as soon as you understand what he’s offering you can come out.”

“As soon as I understand what?” Kenzi asked without emotion.

“He’ll explain everything in a minute,” Katerina said as she stepped lightly to the bars. She stayed just out of reach. “I really want you to come out and join us; it will be a lot more fun.”

“Am I going to be tortured?” Kenzi asked.

“No, Gabriel said it wouldn’t be necessary,” Katerina smiled sweetly and Kenzi felt the painful reminder of a time now lost. “Once you see everything you could have you’ll want to be a part of what we’re doing.”

Kenzi shook her head sadly. “Katerina, have you forgotten everything you learned? Gabriel is a monster! He is a vicious, cruel killer.”

Katerina smiled, and the small, pointed fangs removed any hint of innocence. “Baby, we’re vampires now too. Everything has changed; haven’t you noticed the colors are brighter, and the sounds and smells and tastes are more intense? We are stronger, but it’s more than that; we’re better!” Katerina’s voice was pleading as she held her hands together as though praying.

“Save your breath, precious,” Gabriel said as he entered. His voice was smooth like polished stone and he smiled warmly at Kenzi. He was dressed with an air of elegance. Loose gray trousers of some material that looked like a soft flannel with a white silk shirt hinted at understated luxury. His long hair flowed to shoulder length and combined with his lean physique might have made him look like an artist except for his countenance. His eyes held a dark intensity that was unnerving in the face that held them. There was no wrinkle or sign of aging, but the skin seemed stretched over his skull, as though human expressions were entirely unfamiliar. Even his smile, warm at first glance, became something terrible the longer Kenzi looked upon it. She remembered that face staring down at her as she waited helplessly for him to take her blood, and her life.

Katerina stepped back and assumed a submissive pose with bowed head as Gabriel stopped beside her. “Yes, master,” she said quietly.

“There is no use arguing with you, is there?” Gabriel asked.

“No,” Kenzi said with all of the emotion could place in one word.

Gabriel reached out and stroked Katerina’s face and Kenzi felt her stomach contract at the sight of her beautiful friend leaning into the caress. It was a defilement that clawed across her mind.

“There is no need for arguments,” Gabriel said softly. “Time will convince you, and we are happy to wait, aren’t we?”

“Yes, master,” Katerina said with a look of adoration.

The two of them stared at her until Kenzi turned away and sat on the carpet.

After they left, Kenzi tried to sleep. She waited for the death-like state to take her for a time, and give her some peace. It came swiftly, and none too soon.

She awoke to find the last rays of the setting sun pouring through the stained glass, filling the room with blue and red. She wondered idly if this had been a church before Gabriel entered, followed a step behind by Katerina. His attire had changed color, but not style while she now wore a flowing green dress of some neo-gothic design. Again they stood just out of reach.

“How are you feeling today?” Gabriel asked with cold interest.

Kenzi did not answer, but simply stared at them as she remained seated on the floor.

Katerina crouched down and gazed at her lovingly.

“It’s time you started thinking about your future. You aren’t human anymore, and you can’t fight humanity’s battles,” she said.

“Connor thinks he found the perfect weapon, but I am puzzled why he has not granted you greater power. After all, what is the sense of creating you if he leaves you so weak?” Gabriel turned to gesture at Katerina. “As soon as I made her, I began making her as powerful as I could.”

Kenzi’s mind had frozen after Gabriel’s question, and her faze reflected her shock.

Gabriel laughed at her expression. “Ahh, I see! Connor never told you that he was the one who turned you, did he? I admit, I was content to let you die. When I heard sounds of pursuit, I assumed it was your back-up team. Imagine my surprise when I saw my old friend Connor following my trail. I watched him let you sip from his blood before he continued his chase, never dreaming I was so close. I’d never thought of turning a hunter, but once I did it was simplicity itself to find Katerina.”

“I went out to find Gabriel, determined to kill him for what I thought he did to you,” Katerina explained. “Instead, he gave me a new life.” She looked up to him and took his hand, kissing the palm tenderly.

Kenzi couldn’t face Gabriel’s mocking smile and turned away, her mind reeling. She couldn’t begin to understand what she was feeling.

“Why do you want me?” Kenzi finally asked, more to change the topic than from genuine curiosity.

“I work in mysterious ways,” Gabriel answered.

“I want you with us, Kenzi,” Katerina pleaded. “You can be part of our family, exploring life and pleasure in a way you never could before. You can’t imagine living with no limits; no inhibitions.”

“No inhibitions?” Kenzi asked, her eyes turning back to Katerina.

Katerina smiled, and again something turned in Kenzi’s stomach. “I do what feels good and I don’t have to worry about anyone else judging me. I have no nagging guilt holding me back. You can live like this, too.”

“You nothing more than a tool of the virus, like some syphilitic fool,” Kenzi spat.

Gabriel’s face lost its cool amusement. “There is no virus! This is a spiritual transformation, your scientists try to explain it, and they invent a story. I am not a disease!” He spun and left the room, Katerina following close behind. She shot a worried look to Kenzi before she followed him out the door.

Kenzi was left to contemplate her captivity and a growing realization that her greatest danger was not her captors, but her growing hunger. She had already been blood-deprived for several days when she was taken. With every passing hour, she felt a rising desperation. Gabriel had seen no need to torture her, because her own hunger would soon provide a torment that would break her faster than anything he could do.

Chapter
Sixteen

Sleep offered little reprieve. Kenzi’s body began to scream for sustenance, and when she woke, the demands grew more insistent. She was rocking herself on the floor of her prison when her captors returned. They brought a young women, stunningly beautiful, with them. Her raven-black hair was darker than anything provided by nature, and her pale features and dark eye-shadow announced her fetish. She wore a red corset over a black leather mini-skirt and knee-high black boots.

“We brought a guest,” Gabriel announced. “And she is here of her own free will, aren’t you, dear?”

“Yes,” the woman said, and aware of the slight quaver in her voice she raised her chin defiantly.

“Amelia wants to join us,” Katerina announced and stroked the other woman’s black hair affectionately.

“You don’t want this,” Kenzi warned, wishing she could protect her.

“Yes, I do, and I know the risks,” she said with greater confidence.

Kenzi looked quizzically to Gabriel and Katerina, who stood to either side.

“There is always the chance that she won’t survive the transformation, but she is a brave one,” Gabriel said softly. Kenzi recognized the dark amusement in his tone.

“Oh no, run, please run!” Kenzi begged the girl.

The dark-haired Goth sneered back at Kenzi. “I know what I want, and I will do anything to get it.”

The two vampires embraced the young woman, guiding her back to one of the plush couches that lined the room. They sat her gently between them and Gabriel took her face gently in his hands.

“Are you ready?” He asked gently. The girl answered with a nod.

They began by stroking her arms and legs softly. Amelia leaned back and sighed blissfully. Katerina slipped to her knees and coaxed the boots from the girl’s feet. She ran a hand up her thigh, drawing another quiet sigh.

Gabriel reached behind to untie the corset, eventually making it loose enough to reach down and caress her breasts. Amelia reached as though to touch Gabriel’s face, but he intercepted her wrist and guided her hand back down, murmuring something into her ear.

Kenzi watched, transfixed by the seduction, and unable to turn away. Soon there would be blood, the blood she craved. The horror was inflamed by her awareness of her own weakness.

There was something about the way Gabriel and Katerina were nuzzling about the girl, and the way Amelia was arching her back to meet the hands and mouths of her seducers that made the scene more heartbreaking for Kenzi. The girl was going to her death with eager depravity. Kenzi had no doubt Gabriel would leave her drained and lifeless.

Katerina now kissed Amelia’s thigh through the black fishnets, and nipped a bit of the fabric between her teeth. The material tore easily. Gabriel’s hands roamed everywhere, reaching down to toy with a now-exposed nipple and then pulling up the skirt to trace a finger along his victim’s sex. Katerina gently stroked the legs before her, finally pulling them apart. Kenzi saw Katerina’s eyes meet Gabriel’s with a sickening grin of what Kenzi could only describe as pure wickedness.

As Amelia began to writhe in pleasure, Gabriel leaned back, his long fangs exposed. Katerina kissed her way up to the woman’s inner thigh and found her spot. As Gabriel plunged down to her throat, Katerina sank her teeth in the exposed flesh before her. Amelia screamed, but Kenzi couldn’t determine how much in pain, and how much from pleasure. Now she could turn away from the wet sounds of feeding.

When the sounds stopped she faced her captors again. Amelia was pale and unmoving

“You never had any intention of turning her, did you?” Kenzi accused Gabriel, who stood over the body wiping his bloodstained lips. Beside him Katerina made no effort about the red smear around her mouth, or the thin trails of blood flowing in tiny streams down her chest and between her breasts. Kenzi forced herself to look away.

“She has no skills we need. I want to create a new army of our kind, to act as wardens and keepers of the human population. We will need to be in smaller numbers if there are to be enough humans to keep us fed. I will bring over only the best among them. You could be one.” Gabriel expression was one of pure arrogance in the complete certainty of his plan.

“You are a nothing more than a psychopath, leading other psychopaths. I know it is still possible to have a conscience, and to destroy monsters like you!” Even as Kenzi spoke, she felt faint as the smell of the blood nearly caused to collapse with hunger.

“You’ve been listening to that fool Connor,” Gabriel laughed. “He can’t accept the gift he has received. Don’t follow his idiocy. Those kinds of ‘morals’ have been invented by the weak to shackle the strong. Enjoy your power! Take what you wish from the long life ahead of you! It is time we stopped hiding and took control of the human herd, for their benefit and ours.”

“Their benefit? That’s ridiculous,” said Kenzi scornfully.

Gabriel spread his hands. “Yes, their benefit. Doesn’t a herd of sheep benefit from the protection of the shepherd?”

“You are no shepherd; you’re the wolf,” Kenzi accused.

Gabriel stood quietly for a moment and then grinned, his fangs exposed. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. But it would be more convenient if the herd knew its place.”

Kenzi glared at him silently and began to wonder what would happen if Gabriel gave up trying to persuade her. Gabriel wasn’t long in revealing his next step.

“Just for fun, let’s test this morality of yours,” he said and gestured to Katerina, who stepped into the hall.

“I feel guilty for eating in front of a guest; maybe I can offer you something more to your liking.” As he spoke, Katerina returned, carrying an unconscious Joshua Pike.

“No, no, no,” Kenzi whispered.

Joshua had not been captured easily. His face and bare chest displayed bruises that spoke of a struggle, and had suffered a cut to own eyebrow that had bled copiously. Katerina half-carried, half-dragged him to the door of the cage without apparent strain. Gabriel met her at the door and watched Kenzi begin to shift her posture.

“Please don’t try anything, your friend will die long before you reach us,” he said casually.

The door opened and Joshua was dropped at her feet, pushing a moan from his lips. Kenzi looked at him without moving, the hunger screaming in her.

“This will be a fun test. How long can you go without feeding from him? I recommend doing it quickly, before he wakes up. It will be kinder that way.” Gabriel’s smirk made a mockery of his concerned words.

Kenzi looked at her former lover, comrade, and friend prostrate before her and wanted to weep. Sooner or later she would lose her herself as her primal nature took over, and Joshua would die with her teeth in his throat. Gabriel and Katerina turned to go, ignoring Kenzi’s screams.