Authors: Lindsay Bassett
I scoffed.
“Cut the crap.” she said. “I’m being nice to you here and I don’t have to be.”
I sat up straight in my chair and looked at her. She was smiling, but the look in her eyes gave me a chill. “We have visitors today.” she said. “And they aren’t like me, or your friend Tim.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“
We
are fun.” she said. “These guys are very old and very serious. They want to test you today.”
I sank back in my chair and thought “why me?” as I remembered the “test” at the Hall of Elders.
“Okay.” I said, feigning ignorance. “What kind of test?”
She looked at me and gave me a half smile. “You’ll find out.” she said. “Get some rest and be ready by noon.”
Looking at the clock after she sauntered out of the room, I saw it was just after ten. After wandering into the bedroom I threw myself into the bed. I roared into my pillow with an
arrrrrrrgh
!
I was not looking forward to having someone attempt to murder me again. I missed my old, boring life. Looking at my large, empty bed I remembered curling up with my cat George purring against my back. Everything was so easy and predicable then.
Picking up my pillow I threw it violently across the room. It slammed against the wall on the other side of the room, rattling the wall. I looked down at my hands in amazement.
My mom was rescued, so it was time to think about rescuing myself. There had to be a way to get out of there, but I wasn’t going to underestimate Muriel. I had to be ready for the test that day. “I am not afraid.” I said to myself.
Meditating on the bed with my legs crossed, I familiarized myself with my blood and with the movements of my muscles. Getting out of bed, I jumped up into the air about ten feet, and landed softly on my feet. It was exhilarating.
Next I attempted a cartwheel, which tore my dress up the side. Stripping it off, I did cartwheels across the room in my red silky bra and underwear. Grinning at my own achievement, I tried a back flip and landed softly on my feet.
Being a gymnast wouldn’t be enough. My senses needed to be sharp, and quick. Thinking back to the Hall of Elders, I remembered my senses being fueled by anger. The memory triggered the emotion, and as I felt pissed off my heart beat in my ears like a war drum. Fueling it further, I imagined my mom being kidnapped from her home.
Boom, boom, boom, beat the drum in my ears as my senses sharpened. My eyes darted around the room, seeing every detail and hearing every sound. “You want to test me, test me you bastards.” I said.
After walking into the bathroom I grabbed a razor. Slashing it violently across my arm several times I watched my skin open. I told my blood “STAY” before it could even begin to spill out. Not a drop was spilled before the wound sealed itself.
Walking out into the bedroom I looked at the clock. It was noon, go time. Not bothering to get dressed I walked out into the main hall in my silky red bra and panties and then stood at the top of wide staircase.
Looking down I saw Muriel standing in the foyer with two men, one which bore the head of a falcon. He was wearing a suit, giving him the look of a business man with a falcon’s head sewn on. The other man was very large, bearded man and walked with a staph. He was also wearing a very nice suit, giving him the look of a biblical man that recently time traveled and stole the clothes of a business man.
“Perfect.” I thought, not the slightest bit phased by the sight. I was ready for either of them, or both. I held my chin high.
Muriel looked up at me with her mouth hanging open. She quickly closed her mouth and watched me as I descended the stairs. I walked up to them, crossed my arms, and shifted my weight to one leg.
“Where shall we proceed?” Asked Muriel, addressing the falcon headed man. “Here is fine.” he said in a deep voice.
“I am here to witness.” said the bearded man, stepping away with his staph. Muriel followed him, and they stood by a wall in the foyer. The falcon headed man stood in the very center of the room, and I approached him.
He looked me over. After I stood still in front of him, he paced in circles around me. From the corner of my eye I saw him producing a large hooked blade. As he held his arm back to build momentum to slash me, I jumped into the air about ten feet, did a back flip, then spun and landed on my feet behind him.
Quick as lightening he whirled around and slashed me with the blade across my stomach before I could react. “STAY!” I roared to my blood before it could spill. I asked my wound to close up and backed away from the falcon headed man. He stood there, watching me from the side of his head with a beady little eye.
I took on a crouching pose, slowing down time and ready to make a move. He made a leap towards me and I dove under him, rolled onto my back, curled up into a ball and rocked back up onto my feet. He whirled around and then threw his blade through the air toward me, making a
kee-eeeee-arr
sound from his mouth.
I whipped up my arm and caught the blade with my right hand, then tossed it into my left hand. As blood leaked from my palm I told my hand to heal. After it sealed closed, I wiped the spilled blood across my stomach.
The falcon heade man rushed at me, but the bearded man beat his staph against the ground and shouted “Enough!”
The falcon headed man stopped just in front of me. I stood there with my own blood smeared across my half naked body. Keeping my face steely, I stared him right in his beady little falcon eyes.
The bearded man approached me, clutching his staff in his hand. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Emily.” he said, looking at me intensely. “You are exactly what we had hoped for.”
He turned on his feet without saying another word, and the falcon headed man followed him out the front door. Muriel watched them leave and then turned to me.
“Holy shit, Emily.” she said. Without saying a word, I looked towards her expressionlessly, and then turned to walk up the stairs. After entering my bedroom, I flopped down onto my back in the bed and passed out.
Corrupted
I felt a sting across my face
accompanied by a slapping sound. “You bitch!” said Muriel. I could hardly keep my eyes open, my body felt so weak. I struggled to remember what had happened.
“How did you know?” she demanded. “You
knew
what being tested meant. You lied to Tim about being held hostage, didn’t you? Thought you could come here, save your mom, and then go home to your boyfriend and daddy?”
My first test at the Hall of Elders came rushing back to me. The terror of believing I was about to die and the expressionless faces of the immortals watching me bleed out. My dad and Peter had both treated the situation like it was
normal
.
My memories of Peter flashed through my mind. The image of kissing him in the hallway at my dad’s house and our first kiss at the jewelry shop. I had felt like I was in love then.
That love for Peter had been tarnishing since the beginning, from him leaving me to “research,” to holding me down after my mom had been kidnapped. I wondered if my Dad and Peter really cared for me. They seemed so far away, and they didn’t seem to be attempting to rescue me.
The falcon headed man flashed through my mind. After fading out of consciousness again there was another stinging slap across my face. Feeling the weight of Muriel’s body on my hips, straddling me, I opened my eyes to see her face with intent eyes hovering over me.
My whole body began shaking with maniacal laughter. I’d lost everything. First it was my career and apartment, then almost my life. Then I lost my mom, got her back, but lost Peter, my dad, my cat, and the life that I had just built with them. It didn’t feel like there was any going back after what I’d done with that man at the party. It all seemed crazy, and there wasn’t anything left to do but laugh.
Muriel grabbed me by the throat, stifling my laugh and making me struggle to breathe. “You crazy bitch.” she said, letting up on my throat and looking down at my half naked body covered in blood. She took her hand off of my throat and stroked the side of my face with the back of her hand. She said sweetly, “Well, you are one of us now, aren’t you? You’re all sorts of fucked up. I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”
I felt light inside my body as Muriel got off of me. Closing my eyes, I knew she was right. There was no way I was going to go crawling back to Peter and my Dad to be shamed for my choices. I fell back to sleep, unable to keep myself conscious.
I felt my body being lifted up and propped up against some pillows. Fading back to sleep, my head rested sideways against my shoulder. A hand lifted my arm and then wrapped my fingers around cold glass. My head was lifted upright. “Emily.” said Muriel. “Come on, Emily. It’s been two days. This is ridiculous.”
Opening my eyes, I saw Muriel’s platinum hair and her pale blue eyes looking at me. I closed them again. She brought my hand that was still around the cold glass up towards my face, and I could feel cold glass pressing against my lips. “Drink.” she said.
Feeling thirsty, I complied. The liquid went down my throat, tasting like red wine, but with a savory note. The warmth bloomed inside of me and I felt tingly all over. After feeling a rush of energy I was suddenly standing up in the bed, my head tilted back with the glass in attempt to get the last drop into my mouth.
My mind and senses began to sharpen. Everything was vivid, beautiful and bright. Looking down from the height of standing on the bed, I saw Muriel sitting below, smiling at me. After taking in a deep breath, it hit me all at once. The savory note in my mouth wasn’t just wine, it was mixed with blood. I felt sick from the thought, remembering that Peter had told me that The Corrupt drank human blood to gain power.
Grabbing my stomach, I felt like I was about to throw up. “You gave me human blood?” I asked through my teeth. Sinking to my knees, I wanted it out of my body but my body wanted
more
and wouldn’t release it.
“Oh calm down.” she laughed. “The human gave it willingly. One of my followers.”
“They’re alive?” I asked.
“Of course.” she said. “If I killed them, someone might start to notice.” I relaxed a little. I could feel the power from the small amount of blood I drank rushing through me. Instinctively, I wanted more, savoring the taste in my mouth.
Closing my eyes, Peter’s smiling face flashed into my mind. After feeling a wave of shame, I climbed down from the bed and set the glass on a side table. I shoved my shame to the back of my mind along with Peter. I looked over into the mirror at my half naked, bloody body. I was a mess.
“Take a shower.” said Muriel, leaving the room.
I stripped off my bra and panties and stepped into the shower. Standing with my head under the water, I found myself savoring the taste of the blood again. Disgusted with myself, I rinsed out my mouth in the water, swishing and spitting.
After drying myself off with a white towel, I meandered into my closet. I grabbed a dark red dress from the rack, not caring what I put on. I found some black heels and stepped into them.
Stepping into my bedroom, I picked up the phone next to my bedside and dialed 1. “What can we do for you?” a woman’s voice said. “I need someone to fix my hair.” I said. “And I’m hungry.”
“What would you like to eat?” she asked.
“Anything.” I said. “I don’t care.”
Soon after a food tray was brought into my room, followed by the same stylists from the night of the party. I felt a feeling of importance as I watched these people scurry about, ready to serve me. “How would you like your hair done?” asked the woman with blond bobbed hair as she plugged in a hair dryer.
“I don’t care.” I said. “Just tame it.”
“Okay.” she said with a smile, and giggled.
After they left, I looked in the mirror and felt satisfied. I thought if I couldn’t be the old Emily, I could embrace the Emily that now lived in Muriel’s mansion. Glancing sideways at myself in the mirror, I smoothed out my dress over my stomach and flipped my hair back. I looked hot, and I liked it.
I still felt a high from the blood. I could feel it pulsing through me. Wandering through my living room, I stopped to smell the fresh flowers under the window. With my fingers on the petals, I closed my eyes and felt like I was floating above a field full of flowers. I opened my mouth and tasted the sun. It was sweet, like honey.
I opened my eyes and saw the sun high in the sky through the window. I wanted to be outside. I found the door that Muriel had told me about before, that led to a staircase. After descending, I opened the door and felt a rush as I took in the outside air. I opened my arms wide, and breathed it in.
Following a pathway, I made my way towards the pool. While climbing the stairs to the smaller pool that flowed into the larger one, I kicked off my shoes without stopping. Walking barefoot across the ledge where the water flowed over and into the larger pool, I felt the rush of water at my feet. The water was powerful, and threatened to shove me over the edge, but I was strong.
I stepped carefully to the center and turned to face the pool below. Feeling the water pushing at the backs of my legs, I asked it to stop. The water parted, diverting around me, leaving me standing on the bare stone ledge. I closed my eyes and held my arms out wide, like a bird spanning its wings in flight.
“You are as high as a kite, Em.” said a familiar voice.
Looking down to the pool, I saw Tim floating on his back. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of swim trunks. Startled, I lost my connection with the water and felt the wetness shove against the back of my feet. Feeling myself falling in slow motion, I shifted my body mid-air into a diving stance, and met the water hands first.
I swam towards Tim’s feet, dangling in the water, and came up from the water just in front of him. “Your hair was so pretty when you were standing up there.” he said. “Now you’re all wet.”
Shaking the water from my hair, I told the water to leave it. After it was dried, I told it to restyle itself, feeling it a tickling sensation on my scalp as my hair reformed into the style that the stylists had accomplished. “How’s that?” I asked.
Tim looked at me wide-eyed and then smiled. “You’ve sure changed in just a few days.” he said.
Swimming to the edge of the pool, I climbed out and then sat on the side with my feet dangling in. Moving my feet back and forth in the water, it tickled my toes. The sun felt warm on my back. “I feel so alive.” I said.
“Blood.” he said. “I’m surprised she gave you that. She must trust you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, while I traced a pointed toe across the top of the water. “She gave you
more
power.” he said. “You could run away, and she wouldn’t be able to stop you.”
I laughed. “Where would I go?” I asked.
“Back to your lover.” he said.
I thought of Peter and froze with my foot pointed over the water.
“You don’t think I know?” he said. “I saw you through a window. I saw the way you looked at him.”
A tear escaped my eye. I caught it with the palm of my hand and studied the wet little bead. “I’m not sure that I still love him.” I said, seeing his face in my mind. I wiped the image away, sweeping my hand in front of my eyes as if I was erasing a whiteboard. “He deserves better.”
Tim swam towards me and placed his hand on my leg. He looked up at me. “Are you kidding me, Em?” he said. “You deserve better.”
I looked away from him, hurt that he’d insult Peter. “Look at me, Em.” he said. I looked into the icy blue of his eyes, and it was like looking into the sky. His face was serious.
“You are a fucking goddess.” he said. I reached down and touched his face. He pulled me into the water and pressed his body against me, resting his forehead against mine.
“Tim.” I whispered.
“Em.” he whispered back, kissing me and pulling me closer. With my body against his, I felt like I was floating inside myself.
Part of me began screaming in the back of my mind to think of Peter, but the last part of me that held on to any notion of him slipped away in that moment. There was something about Tim, and I wanted to know more.
Tim pulled away, searching in my eyes. I looked back into his, feeling like I was flying through the blue sky of his eyes. “This isn’t just the blood, is it?” He asked, seriously.
It was like he dropped his “too cool” mask and revealed a Tim that I knew was there all along. He hid it well. “No.” I said, drawing in a deep breath. “This is me.”
Next thing I knew we were running up the stairwell to my wing of the mansion. He threw me down into the bed and kissed me
everywhere
. Every kiss was electricity and ecstasy. I was in heaven.
The next morning I became conscious and felt cold air against my bare skin. I felt arms around my naked body and knew they were Tim’s. I remembered everything, all the highs I had felt the day before.
Opening my eyes, I startled at the sight of Muriel standing at the end of the bed. Tim flipped over onto his back, completely naked. “This isn’t a hotel, Tim.” she said.
Tim laughed.
“It’s not funny.” she said, coldly. “I
saw
you yesterday, Tim. I saw that look in your eyes. I think you forget what we are now.”
“I know what I’m doing, Muriel.” he said.
“Do you?” she said. “You will fuck us all with your
feelings
.” She enunciated “feelings” like it was a disease.
“I struggle with the same thing.” she said. “For some damned reason I
feel
for her too. If you don’t keep it in check though, everything we’ve worked for can be taken away. Do you want to end up locked up in some dark cell for hundreds of years?”
My mind reeled at the thought of Muriel caring about me. She reeked of danger, like a predator, not like a caring individual.
“I can handle this.” said Tim, putting his hand around my waist.
“She can’t be yours, Tim.” she said, with her hand on her hip. “Can you handle her being with other men?”
“Who says I’m going to be with other men?” I asked, grudgingly.
“Ha!” she said. “Come on, Emily, you were just with another man at the party.”
“I only kissed him.” I said, remembering losing consciousness with the man’s mouth on mine. I touched my lips with my fingers.
“You had your way with him, along with some other woman. You’re the one that instigated the whole thing.” she said.
Feeling sick, I remembered the topless women I woke up next to on the couch the morning after the party. I looked over at Tim and he looked wounded for a moment, but visibly gained control of his emotions.
“That doesn’t matter.” he said, with his too cool demeanor. “As long as she wants me the most.”
Muriel stared at him hard for a moment and then sat next to me in the bed. “Let me speak to her, alone.” she said.