It was three days after Vincent had re-captured Gage, and he was thoughtfully watching candle flame dancing against a crystal goblet of wine, causing it to sparkle.
He had deliberately placed the candle too close to the glass, and as he listened a cracking sound began--one that he knew would precede the glass shattering.
As he watched the burgundy stain spread on the linen tablecloth that was littered with pieces of broken crystal, his eyes flickered toward the stairway. "I must learn to be more gentle with him," he murmured, as he imagined the slight, perfectly formed human who lay in bed sleeping, and subconsciously comparing him with the fine goblet that had just broken.
Vincent unconsciously licked at his undescended incisors. "Yes, I must go quite slowly," he said softly.
The awareness of the human upstairs was maddening him, and the knowledge that he could take what he wanted by force, caused him to smile. He knew he could easily and with the utmost agility, take Gage unaware and sip from the precious fount of life that resided within him.
He quelled his flurry of lust for the time being, and in the following moment of clarity Vincent sincerely believed that whatever unpleasantness had passed between himself and Gage, could be, if not erased, at least rectified.
Vincent looked away from the staircase and back to the table. Gazing at the spreading stain, he reached down and pulled a lace-edged handkerchief from his trouser pocket. Blotting at the stain he pondered how best to proceed with his cherished captive.
Richard's dour face inexplicably flashed into his mind and he cursed the man softly in Spanish for his betrayal. The caretaker had indeed caused complications, and for a moment Vincent wondered why he had not simply annihilated him as had been his first instinct.
Bones had broken beneath his hands, blood had spattered, but he had left the man alive, simply tossing his broken body out of an upstairs window before he had gone to retrieve his human companion.
And now he was most certainly in a bind, because there was no one to watch over him as he slept and no one to prepare meals and medicinal droughts for Gage.
Vincent thought about how Richard had come to him five years before on a rainy Winter night, raincoat pulled up around his ears and a slip of paper in hand--a request from an old friend that he accept the man as payment of an old debt.
Richard had been useful, that was true enough, but Vincent had never felt anything for him. He'd felt neither love, nor compassion, nor even basic blood thirst for the man, and the cold, greedy look in the human's eyes along with a little mind reading had told Vincent something he had already suspected: Richard wanted to be immortal, and he wanted Vincent to make him into a vampire.
Vincent's crescent-shaped eyes narrowed, and he laughed strangely at the remembrance of the distrust he had always felt for the middle-aged man. And yet, at least he had been able to rest in his basement lair without apprehension, knowing that until he gave Richard what he so desired, the man would protect him with his life.
And now, the center of his universe lay upstairs dreaming, but would waken soon after Vincent took to his coffin. Who was to watch over his treasure while he was lying under the earth, unaware of anything but time passing?
For the third time that night, Vincent restlessly arose from his chair and made his way up the stairs, quietly turning the key in the lock and then stealthily approaching the bed where Gage lay beneath layers of blankets.
He smiled softly when he saw the parted, bow-shaped lips dribbling saliva, and he tentatively reached one cold finger out to brush against the soft pink skin of those lips.
At the contact, a pain of longing coursed through him, and he wished for a moment that he was a human, one so appealing that Gage could not resist his touch. He did not know for certain if Gage would wish him to be a male or a female human, although he did know that the young man had related with both genders, on various occasions, and was leaning more towards male companionship.
Vincent shook his head at his flight of fancy, because it clearly wasn't possible for him to be human and he knew that Gage saw him for what he was: a monster.
His mouth twisted into a bitter semblance of a smile before he turned and left the room.
There was no point in wishing for things that could not be, Vincent reminded himself as he headed downstairs again, and he had plans to make and to set into motion before the coming of dawn forced him underground, helpless once again.
Once downstairs he unbarred the door in the great room and slipped out into the night, intent on flying to the nearest city to hire a human to build an art studio for Gage.
He smiled to himself as he alighted into the sky, and a cheery hopefulness replaced his earlier mood, because Vincent believed that if Gage had an art studio, and could do what he truly loved, he might smile.
Vincent desperately wanted to see Gage smile.
But, what seemed to be a creature in the throes of metamorphosis was only a very desperate human who had been broken in body, but who still obsessively clung to thoughts of his rightful place in eternity.
Richard groaned in pain as he lifted the blanket from his battered face, and looked around furtively, determined to keep the promise he had made to the young man who had, at least in his tortured brain, come to usurp his rightful place.
He was going to the villa to trap and then kill Gage, and when he had accomplished that, he was certain that his master would forget about his pretty plaything, and realize that he was the one that was truly needed. After all, how could Vincent survive without him as his caretaker?
Richard smiled at the thought, his thin lips, stretching across his badly ravaged face, and after covering himself completely once more, continued dragging himself slowly and painfully across the woodland floor.
Once out of the woods, he edged near the side of the old villa. Panting and fighting nausea, he pulled himself up to his hands and knees.
Once in position under the window, his mind clear, and his intentions certain, he forcefuly cried out Gage's name. After a few moments he saw a shadow behind the drapes and then the youthful face was staring out into the night.
Richard's smile twisted, as he called up once again. "Gage, It is I, Richard, and I've come to warn you that Vincent has nearly killed me and is planning on the same fate for you. Please come down here and help me into the house so I can explain it all to you and perhaps save your life!"
The effort of shouting up to Gage left Richard on the verge of collapse, and he lay the top of his bald head on the earth and panted as he waited for the boy to come and aid him.
It was nearing dawn as Vincent swooped down from the sky. In his hands were bags full of paints, canvases and many brushes. Delight bubbled up within him as he imagined the look of surprise and delight on Gage's face once the studio was complete and he was able to present him with it.
He walked quickly toward the villa, feeling content with what he had accomplished, when a shadowy shape under Gage's bedroom window caught his eye.
A wild, nameless fear jolted him into action and he flew over to the shape to examine it more closely.
A grey blanket covered something that twitched and whimpered, and Vincent, not able to withstand not knowing what lay beneath that blanket, dropped his packages to the ground, then snatched it away.
As he gazed down at the twisted limbs, and badly injured face, his mouth opened and a cry of anguish escaped. Kneeling down, he brushed his long fingers gently at a wayward strand of fair hair, moving it off of the blood-stained forehead.
"This cannot be," he whimpered out before carefully lifting Gage's body into his arms, and flying swiftly through the unbarred window above.
A crimson haze blinded him as stumbled to the bed and ever so gently placed the boy there.
Soft gasps escaped Gage's parted lips at the action and Vincent wept as he watched the slight rise and fall of Gage's chest. "My little bird," he murmered bereftly as he slid out the letter opener which was impaled in Gage's chest and then without hesitation, used the point to rip his own wrist open.
Memories of the bird which lay dying in his palm, vividly accosted him as he knelt beside the bed and stuck his bleeding wrist to Gage's mouth. "My love," he rasped out in abject misery, "I'm so sorry, but you must drink now. I cannot lose you."
Vincent could feel waves of revulsion radiating from Gage, but no clear thoughts accompanied the waves. Vincent feared that there were no thoughts to read from Gage because his essence was slipping away.
After a long moment, when there was no sign of compliance from the boy, Vincent spoke more harshly. "If you don't drink, I will punish you with pain again, and I will use the strap of leather, this time," he bluffed, hoping that the threat could be heard, understood, and reacted to.
Gage's eyes flickered open for a moment, and Vincent cringed at the blankness he saw within the murky jade depths, just before they flickered closed again.
"Gage, I am going to whip you if you do not drink!" Vincent cried out in despair, the sound echoing harshly through the room.
A thrill of hope went through him when he felt the soft suction of Gage's lips on his skin. He lay his head down on the side of the bed and allowed the red haze of tears which had been blinding him to trickle down his cheeks.
"That is good, Gage," he murmured, as the suckling became stronger. "You are going to be well, once we are finished."
He lay still for many moments as Gage drank much of the blood from his veins, and as time passed the shock of what he was allowing to happen registered fully, and the deep bitterness that always threatened to consume him, returned.
He had made a vow hundreds of years before that he would never change anyone into the monster that he had become, and now...fate had forced him to change his beautiful, innocent captive--the one human he had love for--into such as himself.
It was almost unbearable, but Vincent knew that the alternative would have been unthinkable. He could not lose Gage.
"My God," he whispered as Gage continued drinking from him, "Why must this be?"
His lips curved sardonically as he felt movement beside him, movement that meant that Gage was quickly healing.
Vincent forced himself to watch as the broken and twisted limbs slowly straightened, and then when Gage's eyes suddenly opened wide, he spoke gently, trying to soothe the confused young man.
"What's happening to me?" Gage asked in a pitiful tone, a tone which was full of soft downy feathers, and a delicate heaving breast--a tone like a tiny beak opening and closing as it gasped uselessly for air.
At that moment Vincent put all his regrets and misgivings aside, and crawled into bed beside Gage, the letter-opener still clasped in his hand.
"It is all right, beloved, you are just changing," he crooned, tenderly stroking Gage's hair with one hand while he slowly lowered his mouth to the warm, fragrant skin of Gage's neck.
Gage cried out softly when Vincent's incisors broke the skin, and he struggled slightly, but Vincent had pierced the skin so quickly and adeptly that he knew there was very little pain in the cry. It was a cry of surprise, nothing more.
"I must drink from you and then you from me, again," Vincent explained, his voice muffled from the heated skin beneath his mouth.
It was the last thing he said before he lost himself in the ecstacy of Gage's blood. He wallowed in the taste, musky and sweet--just like he had always known it would be--and he could smell a strong salty aroma of pleasure wafting into his nostrils as he gently drew on Gage's neck.
Goose bumps arose on Gage's skin as Vincent continued inexorably on, and while he kept Gage still by holding his shoulder in a steely grip, his other hand caressed and glided across Gage's chest and side.
Hearing Gage's small murmur of pleasure, he continued the soft, seductive movements, even as he drew harder on Gage's neck with his lips.
How long he had waited for a moment so rich and exquisitely erotic, he couldn't remember, but once he began to draw Gage's life force inside of himself, he did not want it to ever end. Right or wrong, he had never felt so...whole.
He felt the arching of Gage's back and he allowed his spidery fingers to glide lower, sensing that it was what Gage desired.
His own organ was the same as ever, papery, and lifeless beneath his trousers. That did not matter in the least in the moment of feeding, for every atom in Vincent's body was experiencing what Gage was experiencing, and Gage was in the throes of desire.
As Vincent wrapped his fingers around Gage's engorged shaft and began the soft stroking movements there, a wave of blood spurted from Gage's neck, filling his mouth and thrilling him to the core.
Gage whimpered, Gage bucked, Gage growled. It was obvious to Vincent that Gage had abandoned himself to the moment, so he slowed his suckling that he might fully experience the perfect magnificance of the time shared.
All the bitterness, frustration and loneliness evaporated as he felt Gage shudder and then come, and In that moment Vincent felt that he and Gage were one being.
Too soon the moment of unity passed for Vincent, and as Gage started to weaken, Vincent could no longer taste the salty undertow of desire, but the more bitter tang of regret, fear and sorrow. His mind plummeted as all of Gage's thoughts simultaneously pounded into his brain.
Gage began to struggle, just as all of Vincent's victims had struggled, and Vincent pinned Gage to the bed with one hand as easily and deftly as one might pin an unusual butterfly specimen to a display board.
The time for retreat had long since passed, Vincent knew. The decision, although forced by fate, had been made. He knew that all he could to was to try to quell Gage's terror with soft words and promises of the future.
When he drew his mouth from Gage's swollen neck, he heard the low shallow breaths that preceded death and he acted quickly.
Scooping Gage up, he fell back on the bed with him and then quickly retrieved the letter opener from where he had let it fall earlier. Hurriedly and without thought, he tore his own neck open and as blood began gushing, he drew Gage face down on top of him so that his mouth was directly on the wound.
No words had to be spoken this time, no threats to be issued, for Gage's mouth clamped down over the spurting gash and was soon greedily drawing in the mingled essence of them both.
"That's right," Vincent purred out, the earlier ecstasy he had felt returning again. "Drink deeply, my love."
Gage's hands were clawing at Vincent as he drank, and though the movements were more savage than seductive, Vincent wallowed in the sensations.
No longer the conqueror, he gloried in his own submission. He knew that Gage was using him to satisfy his desire to live, that he was simply a necessary object at the moment. And yet, Vincent felt the same ecstasy and desire as when he had taken blood from Gage. In fact, if anything, he felt more desire, more love. The realization of how essential and vital he was to Gage caused him to soar as never before.
Vincent sighed and began to make small instinctive movements as he weakened, but at the same time, he tried to maintain some awareness so he could push Gage off of him before the youngster took all of his blood.
Gage's movements were becoming more frantic, his hands pushing and pulling at Vincents face and chest, so after savoring one more moment, Vincent used the last of his strength to pluck the boy's mouth from his neck and push his head upward.
Huge, glossy eyes stared down at him, eyes full of mirth and confidence.
Vincent swallowed the lump of sadness in his throat that those eyes caused. "Yes, you are changed," he said with resignation.
Gage laughed and then put his face down close to Vincent's. "I am, and I am going to live forever. I can feel it," he crowed out before planting a lush kiss on Vincent's lips.
There was no longer the soft, pliableness to the skin pressed against him, but Vincent was too weak to think about it very much.
A sudden noise distracted him, and he knew that someone was in the house. It took only a moment for him to discern by scent that it was Richard.
He gently pushed Gage off of him then slowly got to his feet, blood loss causing him to sway precariously.
When he had first found Gage outside the window he had thought that, perhaps, the young man had done damage to himself in order to escape captivity. he had thought it had been an impulsive attempt to end his life. Now that he knew that was not the case, his wrath grew by the second.
"Did Richard hurt you, sweetness?" he asked silkily, his voice belying the rage that consumed him.
Gage nodded his head, his shiny blond hair glimmering with the movement.
"Wait here, I'll be back soon," Vincent said grimly as he stumbled to the bedroom door.
He turned and looked through the open doorway from the hall. "Don't think about trying to escape, young one," he said to Gage. "You need me to teach you how to feed. Remember that."
He was startled by the laughter that followed him down the staircase, laughter that was both elusive and vaguely mocking. As the laughter died away, he drew up his reserve of strength to face the man who had tried to take Gage away from him.
The light was dim in the downstairs hall, but Vincent could see quiet well in the dark. He saw that Richard was half-crawling and half-dragging himself along the wooden floors.
He followed soundlessly, feeling no pity for the wretched creature, or for the fact that he had made him the pathetic monstrosity that he was.
Padding silently behind the lurching, dragging man, his mouth formed soundless words of outrage.
Richard seemed to sense something, for he jerked clumisly and then turned, peering into the darkness. Vincent smiled tightly, feeling a sense of great satisfaction in the change of expression.
"Hello, Richard," Vincent said coldly. "I wasn't expecting to see you again."
A guarded look passed over Richard's face, before he responded, "Master," he said, barely above a whisper. "I am your caretaker. How could I not return to you?"
Vincent knelt before the wretched figure and pushed his face to within inches of Richard's. "You tried to kill him, but he is not dead," he said succinctly. "He has all of eternity in front of him, unlike you."
Vincent watched as the other man's face took on an ashen color. "You made him into...why not me? I am the one who has watched over you all these years. You owe me eternal life!"
Vincent shook his head coldly. "No."
"But what has he done for you? Nothing! If not for me you would not have survived."
Vincent laughed, a short mirthless laugh. "You were useful, but don't flatter yourself. I've survived many centuries without your aid, and I shall survive many more after you have been long forgotten."
Richard threw back his head and screeched out his outrage, but Vincent was not moved.
"Tell me, Richard, What did you think might happen when I found Gage dead as you planned? Did you think I would forgive you for murdering the only being I have loved since I have become...what I am? I'm curious."
"Yes!" Richard replied, his own voice matching Vincent's cold tone. "I believed that you would forget him, because he is simply a toy for you. I am the one who will protect you. He thinks you are a monster! I heard him shouting it when you first kidnapped him, and that will never change."
Vincent smiled slightly, allowing his incisors to descend. "How did you get him to help you. Did you depend on his trusting nature to trick him?"
"Of course, I did. I begged him to help me and then I told him that the locks on the doors could be picked with the letter opener that lay on the desk. After he helped me up to his bedroom to rest, I implored him to help me to the chair by the window. I then quickly unlocked the bars with the keys you forgot to take from me, then stabbed him with the letter opener.
Richard shrugged as if what he was relaying to Vincent was of no import. "After that it was just a matter of tossing my blanket over him so he was off balance then giving a push at the appropriate time. It was somewhat difficult because I can no longer walk, thanks to you, dear master, but I achieved my purpose."
Vincent looked deeply into the calculating eyes of the other man, suppressing his rage for the time being. "I see. Very clever, but now I think your time has come to an end. It was only a moment of weakness that made me spare you before, and it was caused by Gage being here and reminding me of what I was once was. I regret my mistake."
No longer able to bear Richard's presence in his and Gage's home, he whisked him into his arms, and in a flash was down the hall and descending into the basement. With a loud clank the door closed behind, muffling the sounds of the vampire and the man he was intent on destroying.
Vincent was dabbing the last remnants of blood from the corner's of his mouth with a lace handkerchief as he walked into Gage's room to check on him. He looked quickly around and was astonished to see that the fledgling had dared escape again.
A spasm of anger passed over his face as he peered out the window, and then a wave of fear coursed through him. What if Gage, with his new vampiric powers, somehow escaped recapture. What if the other vampires who lived within range sensed Gage's weakness and vulnerability and attacked before Vincent could track him?
Shivering with trepidation, Vincent closed his eyes, and then clearing his mind of all thought, he began following the particular vibration that he associated with Gage. A vague low whispering voice was all he could make out at first but he focused on it until a clear picture emerged behind his eyelids.
Behind closed lids, Vincent saw a vision of Gage traipsing through the woods, transfixed by all he saw. He also heard a bubbling up of laughter in his mind's eye, and he heaved a deep sigh of relief.
Of course, Gage would be in wonder at how his perception of the world had changed and would become easily transfixed by the vibrant beauty he saw in everything around him.
Vincent nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth, as he remembered the night of his own transformation, many centuries ago. he had been wild with wonder, and ecstatic with the knowledge that he would live forever. He had careeend wildly from place to place, smelling every flower he could find, and examining the minutest detail of every rock.
But, he also remembered the terror that had followed when the first flush of excitement had passed, and he had become disoriented and overwhelmed with the intense assault of the world on his finely-tuned senses.
Vincent did not want Gage to be alone as he had been on that night long ago, and even though he could tell by the slight aroma that still lingered in the room, tht Gage had not been gone long, he felt the gap widening between them.
He deftly climbed over the window ledge and leaped to the ground, following on foot the trail that Gage had taken.
He was approximately a hundred yards away from the young vampire when he realized that Gage had become aware of his presence. Once again, he tuned into Gage's vibrational wavelength and felt the flash of fear that the young man radiated. It was the fear of punishment, Vincent realized.
Vincent crept behind a tree and stood silently waiting for Gage to draw nearer.
He didn't wait long, for Gage, still experiencing his first taste of immortal possibility, came tripping through the woods, arms reaching toward the sky, and head flung back.
Vincent watched him for a moment, enamored by the glimmer of moonlight dancing on the fair hair, and admiring the longing etched clearly on the beautiful face as Gage yearned toward the sky.
He heard the soft murmurs that escaped Gage's parted lips, and he trembled slightly with unleashed passion.
Gage drew ever nearer, completely oblivious to everything but his own private delight, and when he drew even closer and the salty aroma of his skin wafted into Vincent's nostrils, Vincent pounced like a panther on its unsuspecting prey.
He licked his lips as he looked down on the shocked face only inches beneath his own. "Did I not tell you to wait for me?" He asked, his voice husky with a mixture of indignation and lust.
Gage who was pinned beneath Vincent's body, shuddered slightly but did not fight against the much larger vampire. "I'm sorry," he panted out. "But there was something in the woods calling to me."
Vincent was about to chide Gage for his foolish departure when he noticed the way the younger man's eyes were focused on his face. It was as if he was being scrutinized for the first time by Gage, and he felt vaguely uncomfortable.
"Your eyes are beautiful, Vincent," Gage said in a dreamy tone. "They are shaped just like crescent moons."
Vincent felt a pleased at the words and for a moment he basked in the first praise that he had ever received from Gage.
The moment quickly passed and he furrowed his brows with determination. "I told you to wait for me. You are merely a fledgling and cannot go out alone. When we return to the villa I will repeat the lesson of the other night. Hopefully this time you wll learn obedience."
He watched, fascinated at the play of emotions on Gage's face, and when the boy's expression had settled to one of anger, he pushed himself off of him and grabbed his hand to lead him back home. "There are others like us in the vicinity," he said curtly, as he tugged Gage through the forest. "You must learn to listen to my instructions so that I can keep you safe."
When Gage did not reply to the scolding, Vincent turned his head to give him a severe look. He was amazed to see Gage's face tilted toward the sky as it had been earlier.
"Pay attention to what I am telling you, young one," he said, as he gave Gage's hand a slight jerk. "Focus on your upcoming punishment, if you must focus on anything."
As they neared the villa, it seemed to finally register that he was going to soon face Vincent's wrath, because Gage jerked his hand out of Vincent's then turned on his heel and ran.
Vincent bared his teeth in frustration before giving chase, and it took him only a second to catch up. Frustrated and tired, he scooped the wriggling young vampire into his arms and dashed into the house.
Gage cowered in the corner of his room, while Vincent paced, a leather strap held firmly in hand.
"Why must it be this way?" Vincent asked for the second time that night, feeling despair at the thought of having to use the feared and hated implement on Gage.
Gage cowered even more at the question, pushing his back further into the corner and crouching down slightly.
Vincent stopped in mid-pace. "You must learn to obey," he said softly, before advancing on Gage.
A hiss and the sudden gleam of pearly-white incisors caused Vincent to pause momentarily, but only in surprise. He knew that Gage's strength was no match for his own. "Baring your fangs at me will not help your cause," he said, feeling a slight twinge of amusement.
When Vincent reached for him, Gage struggled, and then when his struggles did not work, he went limp, crumpling to the floor with a whimper.
Feeling pity, but determined that Gage should learn a lesson, Vincent knelt down and tenderly lifted Gage into his arms. "Don't fight me, beloved one, for you cannot win," he said in a velvety tone.
He felt a shiver run through Gage's slender frame as he carried him over to the bed and gently deposited him on his stomach. "This will not last long," he said as he deftly unfastened Gage's pants and slid them down beneath his light, supple buttocks. "But it will be memorable."
Holding Gage by the hip with one hand, he brought the strap back and down with carefully gauged force, knowing that if he used all of his strength he would bruise Gage's skin.
When the belt snapped against his bottom, Gage cried out and commenced to struggle fiercely.
Vincent quickly contained the struggles, then grimly continued the spanking until Gage's backside was a deep rosy-red.
When he had finished whipping Gage, Vincent flung the strap to the floor and knelt beside the bed. Gently moving damp tendrils of hair from Gage's forehead, he whispered calming words to his weeping fledgling.
After Gage's short bout of crying had ceased, Vincent stood up and went to a small dressing table. opening one of the drawers he removed a small vial of scented cream. "this will soothe your pain," he murmured softly. "but before I rub it into your flesh, I must have your word that you will never again leave the villa without me."
Gage made a small sound of acquiesce, and Vincent smiled. "Good, and after your soreness is eased, I shall take you down to the basement and show you how to prepare for sleep."
"But, I'm hungry," Gage growled out at him between sniffles. "My belly is cramping."
Vincent nodded knowingly. "You will feed on me, then, before you sleep," he promised. "And tomorrow night I will show you how to feed on human beings."
Vincent eyes clouded with sorrow as he sat on the bed and began rubbing the soothing cream into Gage's inflamed bottom. He tried to push the feeling away and to concentrate on the much desired skin beneath his fingers, but the sorrow forced its way into his consciousness again.
Realizing fully what he had done to his beloved Gage by changing him into a creature of the night, he sighed with resignation. Memories of centuries of loneliness, ascended upon him, leaving him feeling cold and ashamed that he had dared to cause the same fate for the one he loved.
The memory of the injured bird, intruded into his thoughts, once again, haunting him. The image of the futile flapping of broken wings against his palm made Vincent bow his head.
As a human, he would have done anything in his power to save his pet bird. Now that he had the power to save, he also knew the consequences of choosing to do so. And yet, how could he have made any other choice with Gage and still been able to survive?
Still gently massaging the cream into Gage's buttocks, he listened to the small sounds of contentment that the young vampire made.
Vincent smiled bitterly to himself, knowing fate was not going to allow him any contentment on his own terms, but that perhaps in some odd way, that was as it should be.
Vincent and Gage's story will continue....
Copyright © 2007 Tris