Luxuria
By: Nicci Sefton
Preface The room was dark except for a faint glow of moonlight that shone in through the lace curtain.
A woman and a man stood facing each other talking, no arguing. The man was leaving and wanted to bring her with him but she wanted to stay. Her family was here and she couldn’t just leave them. Something about time kept fluttering in and out of the conversation. The woman was hurrying around the room trying to find her other black glove. She didn’t have time for this. She had a curtain call in twenty minutes and he was distracting her with talk of eloping. She found her glove and tried to slide it up her arm but the man grabbed her hand, pleading for her to leave with him. They suddenly stopped and glanced at the door, the woman’s face turning from exasperated to horrified. The man grabbed her shoulders and begged her to come with him. Before she could answer the door banged open and another man walked in. He was well dressed, perhaps a nobleman. He carried a gun in one hand that was pointed at the lover. He fired! The woman screamed and jumped in front of the bullet. The bullet tore into her chest, sending blood everywhere. She stood upright for a few seconds, the light in her eyes starting to fade. Her lover caught her before she fell and hugged her close, weeping. The nobleman gasped, unable to take in what he had just done. He caught sight of the other man running his hand over her face and whispering to her. She was alive, but was fading fast. The nobleman held the gun more firmly and aimed it at the man again. “Get away from her, you monster!” he fired.
The man didn’t fall over dead like he hoped. He must’ve missed. He tried again. This time he was sure his aim was true. But the man was alive, still standing. The man laid the woman on the nearby couch and looked at the nobleman, who stumbled back almost dropping the gun. The lover’s eyes had turned from a soft gray to fiery red and his pointed teeth almost seemed to curve over his lips. “You are…a demon!” the nobleman sputtered. He ran for the door but the vampire was already there, hissing and spitting at him. The nobleman fired the gun at him while backing away but the vampire was only stalled. The nobleman slammed the door in the vampire’s face and locked it then turned and ran toward the window, stopping short when he caught sight of the woman. He thought he was saving her; he loved her and had hoped she loved him in return. Now she was lying on the couch, gasping for air. He heard a horrifying snarl and ran toward the girl. He could still save her and maybe then she’d love him. He grabbed her hand, trying to coax her to live. “Leave…” The girl’s voice was wheezing, almost inhuman. “You… can’t help…but you…must live…” The nobleman shook his head. He had no intention on killing her and now this murderous vampire threatened both of their lives, or just his, in the same room. The man ran for the window when he felt a presence behind him but before he could reach the window, something dragged him back from behind.
The girl lay gasping for what little air she could. The world seemed to spiral into hell with every breath lost. She could hear screams and ripping noises. Then, an angel, her angel, appeared standing over her. Though his eyes were blood red and teeth stained the color of red wine, she felt completely safe. The lover bent down to her level and raised her head up so his lips could touch her neck. She watched him curiously and then felt the small prick. The angel cut its wrist and held it out for her, blood dripped on her lips. She protested. She wanted this, she wanted to die. Why toy with fate? This is how she clearly was meant to die, not live eternally. But it tasted so good. Her body needed it, wanted it, craved for it. Who was she to deny this pleasure? She gave in and took the vampire’s wound into her mouth. Then the fire came.
Over two hundred years later a teenage boy woke with a start, drenched in sweat, and gasping at what he’d seen.