The Dark Proposal (The Claire McCormick Trilogy) (30 page)

The servant punched in a code into another security panel next to the doors. Daniel looked over his shoulder and took Claire’s hand, his eyes hard and cold.
 

There was dull clicking sound and the doors came slightly apart. The boy pulled them further apart and over his shoulder, she could see the Five sitting on ornate bronze thrones around a circular room. They wore suit and ties, with dark capes over their shoulders. There were stone walls decorated with tapestries and banners. Pillars with small flames on top lit the room. A black marble platform was in the center, before the Brothers.

The boy announced their arrival and Vorternon invited them in with his booming voice. Daniel pulled her in, his hand tightly around hers, and walked up to the platform, leaving her at the foot. Behind them, the doors slammed shut. The lump in Claire’s throat hardened.
 

Vorternon was the first to speak.

“Daniel Poncher, progeny of Hildegard and Michel Baujot. You are in a chamber most vampires do not see. That is because they are unworthy of seeing the seat of our power, to be in the presence of all five of us at once. It is rare that we Brothers gather in this chamber. The last time we did was in 2005, when we had a crisis that could have ruined us all.”

He let the words sink in before continuing. “That crisis made us ever more careful of who we chose to promote, if we ever. The failure of one of your makers has made us very selective on who joins this order, for our memories are very strong. But you proved your loyalty by reporting to us the whereabouts of Hildegard when she went into hiding while we were searching for her.”

Claire fought to keep her jaw from dropping. Daniel had betrayed the one who made him
 
by turning her over to the head vampires right when she needed his support. What happened to him being grateful for Hilde saving him from death? Did she even know that he did this to her?

From the platform, Daniel looked at her over his shoulder. There was a laughing gleam in his eyes. Claire had her answer.

The Five Brothers saw the exchange, but paid no heed. Instead, Vorternon continued.

“Though you defended your maker at her trial, it was clear to us where your loyalties truly lied. Our laws are important to you, and you will fight for our kind. By doing those, you made yourself a worthy choice to be made an Defenderr of the Blood.”

The cold air at last came over Claire and she began shivering.
 

Vorternon motioned Daniel forward. “Please, step forward.”

He stepped off the platform and walked up to Vorternon, who stood. Daniel kneeled before him, bowed his head, and the head vampire said to him, “Repeat what I say. I, Daniel Poncher, swear allegiance to the Five Brothers, the first to achieve immortality, to achieve the power and strength humans have always wanted. It was them who earned the power of the spirits, and it is them all vampires should bow down before in honor and respect. It is I who will protect and serve them. It is I who will demonstrate the power of the Five Brothers to all I know. To all I know, they will know who rules the darkness.”

Daniel repeated the oath with a touch of humility. He was likely thinking how he once was a shamed illegitimate who had no place in the world, and now was a high ranking vampire.
 

When he was done, Vorternon took a small dagger that was resting on the arm of his seat. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal his wrist and dragged the dagger over it, producing a wound. Black blood appeared and he held out his wrist.

“Drink, Daniel. Few ever get to have the blood of the first vampires.”

Daniel leaned in and sucked the wound. Vorternon let him drink for about a minute before stopping him. He pulled away, and bowed his head again.
 

“I, Vorternon, in the presence of all my Brothers, declare you a Defender of the Blood. You may arise.” There was a round of applause from the other vampires as Daniel rose. He received kisses on both cheeks from Vorternon, and was presented with a dagger by Azuelo, and a black cape by Casames. Elleso gave him a wide gold chain that rested on his shoulders, while Gosheven gave him a sack of gold. He was beaming with modesty in front of the Five.
 

The applause died down, and Daniel returned to the platform and waited.

Claire felt cold sweat break out on her forehead. She was choking from the lump in her throat, and her heart was careening as though it was making the most of its final beats. She felt as though her own flesh and bones were trapping her from running away, even though there was no way out.
 

Watching Daniel from behind, she knew he was anticipating what was coming next. All his weeks of tricking her and pretending to love her, followed by a couple of weeks showing the power that he was going to have over her, had all come down to this. His wait was over. He could finally be a master over someone.

The Brothers sat on their thrones again. Vorternon cleared his throat before speaking again.
 

“Lord Daniel Poncher, part of your newfound privilege is that you are permitted to create another of our kind: pass our precious blood to a human and make that one like us. We believe our achievement is worthy sharing with others, but it is not easy to choose one. Yet you claim that you have.”

“Yes, master,” Daniel bowed his head. “It took me a while but I did find someone who is worthy of being like us. I find her to be obedient, flexible, eager, and full of energy.”

“Excellent. Those are qualities we look for in a human, for it means their transition would be smooth. Please, bring your human forward.”

Daniel turned and extended his hand out to Claire. She took it and stepped up to be beside him. Her heart and breathing picked up pace. She was certain fear was in her eyes.

She looked at the Brothers one by one. They stared back at her, analyzing what would become of her.

Daniel rubbed his thumb over her hand, but his touch was hollow. He didn’t look at her.

Vorternon then spoke. “Lord Daniel Poncher, why do you want this human to join us?”

“Because, master,” he responded humbly. “It is not easy to spend centuries with the same people, many of whom do not see the world the same as you do. It is also lonely and isolating being what we are. I must admit that is the downside of our existence.”

The Brothers nodded and Daniel continued. “When I met Claire McCormick, I felt I could enjoy myself again. She is fresh, lively, and has an innocence to her that is difficult to find among our jaded kind. I hope she does not lose what I enjoy about her.”
 

Claire glanced at him and he looked at her, giving her a slight nod. She lowered her eyes and went back facing the Brothers.

“Then, Claire McCormick, do you accept what is about to happen to you?” Vorternon asked. “Do you understand the existence you are about to have, and what would be expected of you?”

She made herself nod. “Yes,” she said, as firm as possible.

“Well now.” Vorternon put his hands together and stood, the others following. “What are we waiting for?”

The Brothers held up their hands, palms up, closed their eyes and began chanting in a strange language, probably the one of their ancient tribe. They sounded humble in their chant.

Claire looked up at Daniel, who had turned to face her. His jaw was firm and his eyes were glimmering with a mad excitement. Just like he did with the Ukrainian girl, he ran one hand through her hair and when it got the end, he pulled it down, exposing her throat. She closed her eyes, anticipating the pain that was to come.

“Claire,” he whispered. She swallowed and opened her eyes. He didn’t look pleased that she tried to block out the ceremony, but when he saw she was going to watch, his excitement returned.
 

Putting his other hand at her throat, he delicately ran his forefinger down where the veins were. He then pulled his head back and his fangs grew out. They seemed sharper and longer than when she first saw them.
 

Just as the Brothers’ chant had gotten louder and more forceful, Daniel brought his head down and punctured her neck. She yelped and groaned, the pain more intense in her anticipation.

The room stopped spinning as he sucked the flowing blood from her wound. Claire moaned and gasped as she felt her insides melt away. His sucking was so forceful, she could feel the blood from all over her body move towards his mouth. Her brain rioted. Her heartbeat was getting louder and more painful.

Then the room started to get darker.
 

As her eyes fluttered, she wondered if this was it. She had reached the end. He had no intention of making her a vampire. He just wanted to boast about how manipulative and powerful he was over humans to his superiors. And they went along to see how good their new Defender was.

In one second, an image of Ava smiling flashed through her mind. With her final strength, Claire begged to Daniel that he would leave the little girl alone.

“Daniel!” came a loud demand.
 

The chanting had stopped. A gasp from him and he pulled back. His mouth was covered with blood, and his eyes were lustful in their fluorescent hue.
 

“Control yourself,” said Casames. “If you want her, you must make her.”

Panting, Daniel blinked his eyes a few times before they returned to the normal color. He looked at Claire as though he was seeing her for the first time. She was slumping down in his arms, her skin pale and eyes rolling back into her head.

Removing one arm from behind her, he bit into his wrist and put it up to her mouth. “Claire,” he said, still panting. “Drink from me.”

She struggled to breath in and focus her eyes.

“Claire, please!” He put the bleeding wrist directly into her mouth and let the black blood drip in.

At first, it had a tangy, metallic taste like any other blood. But as it dripped onto her tongue, there was a sweetness to the blood that aroused her taste buds. She licked at the wound before wrapping her lips around it and drinking. The chanting continued.

The more she drank, the more she could feel her strength returning. She was able to stand up alone. The darkness went away, as did the headache. The blood tasted so good, so warm.

But then with one final suck, she felt like she had drank poison. A stabbing feeling came to her organs, tearing and ripping at her. Her heart lurched forward and twisted. Her head felt like it could literally explode.
 

She began crying out and writhing. Daniel tried to hold on to her, but she could no longer stand and fell to the floor, twisting around in agony.
 
Whatever was happening to her, she wanted to end, either with death or life.

He squatted beside her and held her down. She could hear the chanting reach fanatical levels.
 

Her body than crumbled into a ball before jerking straight like a plank. Then it froze. Everything became still, and the chamber grew quiet. The only sound she heard was her heart beating and her breathing calming down.

Her heart began to relax and slow. Then it got slower. Her breathing became more steady.

Then her heartbeats came further and further apart. Until there was no more heartbeat.

She was still breathing.

When she reopened her eyes after her final heartbeat, Claire knew she had changed. The room was not as dark as before. Instead, her new eyesight illuminated everything as though she had night vision. She could even see the faintest dents on the chamber walls. Even Daniel’s face looked magnified as he knelt over her, a pleasing smile spreading over his face. It was as if he knew he had done well in choosing her to be like them. She couldn’t help but be delighted and she had a smile to her face at every creak and crack. It was like being a newborn.

But within hours, she felt that surge of pain again all through her organs. Her upper jaw ached and her eye teeth grew into two long fangs. She was thirsty.

Horror gripped her as her new reality set in. She truly was a vampire now, and forever she would be desperate for blood. That meant she would feed from whoever she could find.
 

Frightened, she told Daniel not to take her out hunting, she was not ready. He raised an eyebrow over that and was about to object when Elleso called over one of the slave boys. As he came to her side, all she could see was the bluish tinge of the veins shining brightly on his neck. A new aroma entered her nose and it was the sweet smell of blood. She had not bitten him yet.

Daniel wanted instruct her on how to bite his neck but her thirst was her guide. Her new instinct took over and she was consuming the kid’s blood. She knew that he was moaning from pain and fearing that he might die. But his blood tasted better than everything she ever liked put together and she could have dried him out had Daniel and the Brothers not stopped her. The boy had to be carried away to rest.
 

“He’ll have a headache soon and will be bedridden for a while,” Daniel said. “But you did good on your first try. See what I mean? You will adjust easily to this.”

Licking her lips, Claire reflected on what just happened. She had treated a living, breathing human being practically as food for her to consume. She didn’t know the kid’s name or where he was from, but she deeply regretted what she had did. While it was relieving to know she still had empathy, Claire was horrified that her thirst had won over a part of her that was still human. How could she spend eternity like this?

In the middle of the afternoon, in the bedroom, she woke up from her sleep. She tried to take the time to enjoy her new sight and hearing when her eyes fell over to the floor, where sunlight shone from a slight opening of the curtains. Curious, she tiptoed over to the spot, careful not to wake Daniel, and knelt beside the light. She took a deep breath and stuck her index finger into the light and waited. In mere seconds, her finger turned red and gray smoke rose from it. A sizzling sound erupted and Claire cried out in pain. She pulled her finger back and jerked away from the light. She bumped into the bed and saw Daniel was sitting up, a very annoyed expression on him.