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So we returned to Charles’s home, just south of what was now London. The irony was that less than a month after arriving, it finally happened.
Charles would often have me walk alone on the roads at night, wearing fine clothing to lure thieves into a wooded area where he would take them. On this night, I lured a vampire looking for an easy meal.
Charles ripped the creature off me and then froze. I’d never seen him so happy. “Bartoli? I have been looking for you everywhere.”
The vampire, who was tall with blond hair, seemed stunned at first. And then without warning, he killed Charles. Just like that. Bartoli had not wished to be found.
As for me, I quickly learned that Bartoli had not abandoned Charles for any rational reason. He merely enjoyed taking lives and toying with people. Sometimes he would torment his victims for days on end, appearing in their rooms, telling them he was the devil coming to take their souls. He enjoyed driving them mad first.
And sometimes, he turned his victims for the pleasure of watching from afar as they woke up, completely horrified and confused. Many died the next day, completely unaware they were vampires and could not go into the sun.
As for me, Bartoli took my life that night and turned me, but what he had not anticipated was my fury and knowledge. I had spent nearly two decades as Charles’s whipping boy. I lured his meals, I washed his clothes and dressed him, I listened to his stories, and I watched quietly. I learned his tricks. I knew everything there was to know about vampires, so when Bartoli turned me, I was not afraid or lost. I did not fumble into the daylight.
I was angry.
He could have simply left me alone to live my life as a free man after Charles’s death. But no.
So I tracked Bartoli for months, patiently waiting. And then one night, I killed him while he fed.
MASIE
Dear baby Jesus. What a grim story.I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear any more. It sounded like Stark had been through hell.
“Masie,” said Stark, “I only tell you all this because it proves a point. I thrived as a vampire because I had someone to teach me. You will have the same. You will have me.”
What difference would that make?You just don’t get it, Stark. I wanted to get married, have children, and grow old with my soul mate. I wanted to leave out cookies on Christmas Eve and see my kids’ faces the next morning as they opened presents. I wanted to teach them to ride a bike and fish and read and dance the two-step. Now, all that’s gone.
I got to choose between living forever—and watching everyone else make families and memories—or dying.
Stark continued, “You do not have to be with me if you do not wish it, Masie. Your maker is dead, and you have your father to lean on as you adjust—he is a very, very capable man, by the way. I have missed him since he moved in with your mother.”
And I bet Daddy missed Stark a little, too. Mamma could be a lot to handle, even if Daddy loved her more than anything.
Stark added, “I only ask that you consider the benefits of learning from someone who cares for you deeply and knows more than most vampires. I would protect you. I would love you.” He paused. “Idolove you.”
His pitch tugged at my heartstrings. The truth was, though, that he and I hadn’t started out on the best of terms. He’d put me through hell during those first few weeks. Being stalked by a vampire wasn’t the sort of thing any girl enjoyed. Then I was taken, tortured by his brother, freed, and then framed for murder. I went to prison for almost one year!
I knew he was sorry and had given up power to get me back my freedom, but was it enough? Did I love him?
Sure, I was drawn to Stark. I wanted him and missed him when he wasn’t around, but every time I thought of letting myself fall, something stopped me. Probably the fact that Montgomery Stark was a ruthless vampire.
That was the crux of it. Our natures were on opposite ends of the spectrum, and I didn’t want to change.Can you sense what I’m feeling, Stark? If yes, I don’t know how you and I could work.
It was like I’d said before, there was no bigger sin than betraying yourself. If you believed in something, you had to stand up for it. If you loved someone, you had to stand up for them. It wasn’t easy to fight for what was right, especially in this day and age where everyone ran around trying not to offend the fragile masses, but it was our obligation. Otherwise, what kind of world would we be leaving behind? But to do that, a person had to be honest and true to who they were. Our hearts were where our true strength came from. Betray that, and it was like betraying your very soul.
He sighed and took my hand, placing a soft kiss on top. “I cannot wait to see what you do with all of your goodness, Masie. Because if I have learned one thing over the years, it is that becoming a vampire does not change who you are on the inside. Only love can do that. And you have changed me.”
Wow. Maybe he didn’t realize it, but hewaslistening to me on some level. Ithadto be our connection. There was no other explanation.
He leaned over and kissed my lips. His were warm and soft just like I dreamed of every other night. It was a memory I couldn’t let go of. The first time he kissed me was the night he cooked that awful chicken dinner. It was a great kiss that left me breathless. The second time he kissed me was the night he took me to his house to test if I was his Anna. The kiss made my blood rush.
But the third kiss, outside the bathroom at the great hall on the night of my final test, that was the kiss I remembered most. He’d poured his heart into that kiss and told me he loved me. Not because he thought I was Anna, but because I wasn’t. I was Masie, the woman he wanted.
But this kiss? It jolted me deep inside my core. This kiss was pure love, no expectations or demands. He just wanted me to know how he felt.
Suddenly, my heart started to twitch. Then I felt a beat. Then another.Oh Lord. What’s that?
Thump, thump! Thump, thump! Thump, thump!Heat surged through my chest. My veins began buzzing and tingling with life.Oh, Lord. Thank you! Thank you!I was coming back as a human. I was healing.
