Page 21 of Paying The Vampire

Although I felt uneasy in the castle, I was confident that Cassius was not going to kill me. After all, he'd had plenty of opportunities to do so already and in truth he had been a generous host. So I did not mind waiting a few days before I continued my search. I thought that conducting it the day after he had found me in the repository would have been far too suspicious, so we went about our regular lives for a while, until I felt I had a good plan in place.

We continued searching for an artefact to help me. Although there were many fascinating items I had not yet come across one that could help me, and neither had Cassius, or so he claimed. One day, while we were in the library poring through books, a thought occurred to me.

“Cassius, could I ask you a question that you might consider improper?”

Cassius considered the matter for a moment. “Some would say that improper questions are the only ones worth asking,” he replied with a smile, and I took this as permission to continue.

“Well, I know we have spoken about some of the myths that exist about vampires, and how they are not necessarily accurate, and you’ve also spoken about how vampires live long lives, sometimes so long that it seems like a curse. And yet you are the last vampire here. I was just wondering how vampires die?”

The question was an impudent one, and perhaps it was this that enabled him to answer me honestly, or perhaps he felt guilty about the way he had grown angry with me when he had caught me in the repository. I felt it was lucky that he felt guilty even though I was the one who had been in the wrong. I managed to keep my voice from wavering as I did not want him to think that I was doing research. He thought for a long time though, and I kept my eyes glued to the page I was reading, trying to ensure that the tension in the room did not increase.

“Well, there are a number of ways that vampires can die,” he eventually said. “The most direct is from a beheading. Vampires can recover from many afflictions, but not that. It is the most brutal way and, dare I say it, the method that your kin are most fond of.”

I nodded. I could see that. I had heard many stories about werewolves who had torn vampires’ heads from their shoulders. It seemed brutal to me, and I shuddered at the grisly thought.

“There are other methods too, potions and the like,” Cassius added nonchalantly.

“And what happens when a vampire dies? Are they buried?”

“Death to a vampire is not like it is to other mortals. There is a suspicion among our kind that if we do not prepare for it then it will come for us. The only way to stave off death is to welcome it. Thus we prepare grand tombs to taunt death, we pour money into them and make them as gaudy as possible as if to remind death that it will never lay its fingers on us. But, of course, such things are never simple. Death somehow finds a way, no matter how long it is there, waiting, and even if you taunt it and push it and dodge it you will still find yourself staring into the abyss, and then there is nothing left to do but let go.”

His words had taken on a hollow, dreamy quality, as though they were coming from some deep part of him that wasn’t tethered to the world. There were moments when I could look at him and see a handsome man, be charmed by the aquiline shape of his nose and the almond shape of his eyes, by the dimples that appeared in a rare twitch of a smile. But there were other times when I saw the age of him, when I could see the lines of weariness that creased his face and the paleness of his skin, the color drained by all the years that he had lived through. I could see the reflection of all the deaths he had witnessed, and perhaps some that he had caused himself, but as I looked at him in this way he seemed as immutable as the mountain upon which this castle was built, and as immovable too. There was a sense that he had existed before time and would exist long after this world had died, and long after I was gone too. Clea had grown into an old woman. She had been blessed with youth when she had been brought here. Was I too going to grow into an old woman while Cassius remained the same. He spoke of taunting death with grand tombs, but his very existence must have been an affront to that eternal hunter. If life was a game then Cassius was winning, outwitting the final challenge, surviving everything that others had failed.

But if he was like this then what had happened to the other vampires? How had they all ceased to exist when Cassius had survived? Was it just because he was the only one worthy of being a King, or was there something more?

I was already thinking of a plan of how to find out, but death was not a part of this.

“All this talk of death makes me feel old,” I said.

“You should not feel old, my dear. I brought you here so that you could make me feel young, not the other way around.”

“Then perhaps we should do something to lighten the mood tonight. You shall play and I shall sing, and then we shall dance.”

Cassius’ eyes lit up at the suggestion. “And you will look beautiful! It shall be like a ball of old.”

“And I shall be yours,” I said, looking at him coyly. I noticed the way his throat swelled. I could feel his desire for me, and now it was time to turn that against him. I needed to find a way to incapacitate him so that I would be able to search the tombs without being discovered. I rose slowly and told him that I was going to prepare for the ball. I flashed him a smile and he looked dazzled. It was almost too easy to play with him like this, and I worried that the game was a dangerous one.

I was not like him. I could not cheat death, and if I made a wrong move then it was going to cost me everything.

Chapter Seventeen

Cassius

Things seemed to be getting better with Willow after our small blip. It was taking me some time to get used to being around another person again. I had to remember that not everyone had the same level of self awareness that I possessed. Willow had only lived with herself for a couple of decades, and even then much of that had been filled with the growing pangs of youth. She had not yet settled into the comfort of her own sense of self, whereas I knew exactly how I felt and was aware of all my flaws and failings. I needed to be patient with her and allow her to make mistakes. She was not going to be perfect, and that was part of the charm.

Her suggestion of a ball was a wonderful one and I was glad that she showed such excitement for something fun. Speaking about death had not exactly been an ideal way to ease the tension that had grown between us, but I was sure that the ball would. And it would also give me a chance to be close to her again, to pull her into me and dance around the room without fear of anyone else interrupting. I could feel her warmth and her sensuality and all the things that made her so vibrant.

*

The intervening hours had never been so wasteful. I was filled with anticipation and spent the time dressing smartly for her. I wore my finest suit and groomed myself to be at least somewhat worthy of her. If there were other men then perhaps they would have outdone me, but there were no other men here.

I descended to the chamber and sat at the piano. My fingers tinkled against the keys, running up and down and music followed, sonorous notes that soared into the air and seemed to take on a life of their own. I lost myself in a song I had written a long time ago. I used to think it was the finest song in the world, but over the years I realized how amateur it was. I tweaked it and added flourishes here and there until it actually became pleasing to the ear. It could hardly be said to be the same song, but the core of it was still the same. I could still hear the echoes of the notes that had come to me when I was a different man, when I looked up at the stars with hope in my eyes, when I thought that fame and fortune were an inevitability.

But so much had eluded me back then, and over the years I had to learn the value of patience. These were lessons that had taught me well, and now I garnered the rewards. I looked up at the top of the stairs as Willow descended. My lips dropped open. I had no idea where she had found this gown, but it was lined with jewels and caught the burning light of the lanterns that stood around the room. It was as though she was the night sky come to life, surrounded by stars, but she was the brightest. A single strap reached around her back, leaving her shoulders exposed. Her skin was flawless, her neck slender. Her eyes were dusky, while her lips were a ruby line, bright and vivid. She wore elbow length gloves and I rose to meet her, but she stopped me in my tracks as she began singing. She was beautiful already, but she became ever more vibrant as melodic words soared from her lips. It was as though she was a painting come to life as she moved towards me, and I was forced to sit back down, to keep playing so that she had a tune to accompany her. My fingers danced across the keys of the piano, but my eyes were locked on her. In fact my entire body was rigid and facing towards her. Her hands caressed the banister as she descended the stairs. The dress gently flowed around her legs, offering me a glimpse of her shapely limbs, always enticing me and exciting me to want more. Oh, she was temptation personified. Oh she was beauty and lust and desire all wrapped into this glorious image that was worthy of being called a goddess.

It had been centuries since I would have considered myself a pious man, but she made it easy to believe in a master creature because I was utterly at a loss to understand how someone as gorgeous as her could have existed. There had not been any words invented to properly describe her, and my tune was a poor accompaniment, but at least I was there to add something to her voice.

Her rich song captured my heart and she came to the piano, leaning over it and smiling at me. She then turned and stretched out an arm, as though encompassing the entire room. She sung as though she was in front of an audience, and I felt ashamed that I had not been able to give this to her. She should have been able to stun a hall filled with an adoring public, whereas instead she only had me.