Howl - Brieanna Boyce (free novel 24 TXT) 📗

a hand reached out and stopped me.

I looked over to Tristan who was wearing a loose white shirt and black sweat pants. He looked very relaxed, he also looked very blank. He then let go of my hand, “don’t touch that.”

I squinted my eyes looking at it closely, “What is it?”

Tristan looked at it emotionless, “Those are the victims of Vlad the Impaler.”

“Vlad the Impaler,” I asked examining the mural.

“Also known as Dracula,” Tristan said meditatively.

“Oh I see…” I looked around the room, “is this your home?”

Tristan looked around and nodded, “Yes it is one of them.”

“One of them?” I said lifting an eyebrow.

“Yes I am three hundred you get awfully bored of the same scenery.” Tristan looked at me, “Come you must be starving let’s get you something to eat.”
“Oh, okay.”

“Home made breakfast sound good?” Tristan asked smiling.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” I said confused.

Tristan laughed and took my wrist leading me down the hall and downstairs into the dining room. The ceilings in the room were extremely high causing every sound to be a little louder; the dining room table was pure mahogany and took up almost the whole room. The chandelier was designed so that it looked like deer antlers. Suddenly a few girls walked in, in French maid outfits.

“Hello sir Tristan,” One of them said in a thick French accent.

“Morning Gabriella,” Tristan said smiling happily.

“What will it be masseur?” Gabriella asked.

Tristan thought for a moment then looked at me, “I will have whatever my guest is having.”

The girl frowned clearly disappointed, and walked over to me.

“Good morning mademoiselle,” She said her voice less chipper.

“You don’t have to worry about me, I can cook for myself.”

Tristan shook his head, “No, I cannot trust you to take care of yourself therefore the servants will be my eyes and ears while I am gone.”

I glared at him, “I am no child, I don’t need to be taking care of, I can care for myself.”

Tristan rolled his eyes, “Why do you insist on arguing? Just pick something to eat.”

I looked at the girl, “If you can I would like fruits.”

The girl nodded, “Do you have any favorites?”

I smiled, “Surprise me.”

All the girls filed out of the room in an orderly fashion.

“So, what is up with the French maid outfits?”

Tristan shrugged, “I’m a man after all.”

I rolled my eyes and muttered, “More like a spoiled rotten boy.”

Tristan sighed, and rolled his eyes not wanting to take up the conversation of his flaws. That was fine with me at any rate I had a different subject in mind.

“Can you tell me how my family has been doing?”

Tristan rolled his eyes, “You’re immortal you must eventually move on from them Skylar.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “Just tell me.”

Tristan looked at me agitated, “I don’t being told what to do.”

“Please Tristan! Please just tell me!”

Tristan sighed rubbing his head, “your friend is doing better, and she has moved out of town and found new friends. Your brother has a girlfriend, has joined the cross country team and is doing very well in that, and he and your father are getting along well. Your father has started dating again.”

I know I should’ve been happy and really I’d wanted to be, but it was hard to swallow that things had changed since I was gone. It was hard to think they’d moved on and some part of me felt abandoned, but I know how selfish that is and I know that I was the one who’d abandoned them. Besides, it has been months I suppose it made sense that they had moved on.

“Remember it took them awhile, it has been months since you left and they had to eventually move on with their lives.”

I looked at Tristan, “Am I really that predictable and selfish?”

Tristan nodded, as I considered going over to his side and slapping him across the face but just as I was warming to the idea the French maids walked in with a whole feast of fruits, some of which I’d never seen. There were mangos, strawberries, grape fruit, and many others of all different, shapes, colors, and sizes.

They both gave us smoothies that were a dark orange with colored umbrellas. I smiled graciously, “Thank you.”

The girls nodded hardly acknowledging me, they were focusing all their attention on Tristan and at this point I could care less let them fawn over him. He was abusive and rude, so what in the hell was I doing here? I was using him just like he was using me. What he was using me for I didn’t know.

We ate breakfast quietly, and I was amazed at the taste of the fruit, the way the juice burst under the tender flesh and the way the scent of each fruit wafted through my nostrils. The sensation was almost as satisfying as drinking blood, almost. One of the French maids leaned over, revealing her cleavage, and on her breast were two pin prick marks, my gaze shot across the table to Tristan, “We need to talk in the other room now.”

The girls all looked at me shocked at first then their features all twisted into the same look of anger.

“How dare you talk to Sir Tristan that way,” One screamed hands on her hips.

Another girl pouted, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Tristan gestured them to stop with one hand, he closed his eyes sighed, and walked over to me wrapping an arm around my waist. Usually, I would be too angry to allow him to touch me; however I wanted to piss off those maids so I allowed it. Tristan lead me to the other room, I looked back to the maids sitting there watching us walk away. The gapes on their faces were priceless, but just to have a little more fun I flipped them off.

As soon as we entered the other room I broke from his grip, and turned to him. “Did you bite all those girls?”

Tristan nodded, not even in the slightest bit ashamed. As if we were talking of the weather and not about draining someone else’s life force.

I was about to yell something else, but then I realized that those girls were still human, at least I didn’t get the sense they were vampires. Their faces still had flaws, and they were not deathly pale as most vampires were.

“How-,” I said trying to find the words, my brain working frustratingly slow. As if it were compromised of gears and something was jamming them, making the gears twitch and stutter. So that the whole of the machine was unable to work properly.

“Yes?” Tristan asked looking at me confused.

“Are they- are they vampires?”

Tristan shook his head laughing and clutching his stomach. He laughed until he was red in the face; I just crossed my arms and waited until he cleared his throat.

“No,” he said trying to keep a straight face.

“But… you bit them.”

Tristan whistled and one of the girls entered the room and walked over to him. Tristan pulled her close and moved her hair away, as if it were a curtain to reveal the pulsating vein in her neck. He leaned in and the girls eyes darted to me, her cheeks flushing.

“Sir Tristan?” she pleaded.

“Silence,” Tristan hissed.

I looked at them both horrified to be watching something that seemed at least in this context, so intimate being displayed right in front of me. “Tristan I don’t want to see…”

Tristan ignored both of our pleas, and fastened his incisors into her neck. Chomping at her and guzzling her mercilessly as if she were nothing more than an animal. Her body growing weaker as he fed, and I could do nothing but watch, if this is what it meant to be a vampire I didn’t want it. Some part of me however, a part that I am deeply ashamed of; found this gory scene to be alluring, beautiful and horrible like that painting I had found in Tristan’s room.

Tristan pulled away then, his beautiful mouth shining red, the blood dripping down his chin unchecked. His once charming, gentlemanly appearance had now become animalistic and cruel. Lust danced in those blue eyes, as if he was made out of ice, cold, piercing, merciless, ice.

He licked her neck cruelly, and the girl was a shivering pale thing. She hung limply in his arms and then he took out his index finger, as if it was a weapon. I watched as the nail on that finger slowly grew until it was dagger sharp; he then slashed her shallowly where he had bitten her, I had expected to see blood run out but instead this black sort of puss oozed out of her. Finally, when blood did come out he licked the wound closed and the girl collapsed to the floor.

I ran up to her and scooped her up in my arms, then glared at Tristan and brought her into a bright living room lying her gently on the couch.

“This is part of being a vampire and this is a part of being you.”

I turned around and faced Tristan, “No, this isn’t a part of me and it’s not a part f being a vampire, it’s just part of being weak. Now I’m going out to get my blood from the blood bank.”

Tristan looked at me confused, “But… you don’t have to kill them anymore…I don’t understand.”

I looked at him incredulously, “There’s no point in talking about this, and you obviously see humans as nothing more than animals; when in truth you yourself are an animal.”

Tristan glared at me and I heard numerous thumping sounds behind me and when I turned I found all the maid girls piled on the floor the door splayed open.

“I hope you enjoyed the performance ladies,” I huffed and made my leave.

I took Tristan’s car, I wasn’t sure if he would care or not but I suppose it’s better to ask forgiveness then to ask permission. It was doubly the case when Tristan was involved. It was a beautiful car really, I hadn’t the slightest idea what it was but it was sleek and black. It had to be a sports car and it looked extremely elegant and also extremely fast.

I drove until I’d reached the hospital. I walked into the white, sterile building. It was easy to see why people where terrified, the white on white, the people, the needles and the scrubs. The smell of antibacterial and sickness, it was so alien. So different then the world we’d become accustomed, in the world of machines, and the world where we cannot control our own fates. This place used to hold fear for me, but now it only held sympathy. To become something you’re not, to be controlled by the fates, I understand that now.

I went up to the nurse at the desk, “Hello I’m Skylar Dubrinsky I require blood.”

The nurse looked at me confused, “For a blood transfusion?”

I nodded and explained, “You see my father doesn’t believe in hospitals and interfering with “Gods plans” but I have a hemorrhaging condition, I’m a class 3,” I whispered.