In the end, he opened the door, had two huge seamen hold me down while he shoved a funnel tube into my throat down my stomach and poured a gallon of blood in me. I wasn’t too far gone to fight but under their combined weight, all I could do was flop my feet. When the last drop fell from the pitcher, he curtly told them to leave us alone and the hulking tars nodded as they backed out and left. He held me down, his knees on either side of me, his hot belly pressing down my thighs and I could feel his arousal. I held still, afraid that struggling with excite him further.
He leaned into my face and his lips were wet, moist like the slime left behind by a slug in the garden. He kissed me and as I turned my head away, I bit him on the neck.
Rich, exotic blood filled my mouth and hummed through my body. I felt as if my insides were on fire, more alive than I’d ever been. I sucked harder, eager for more until he moaned in ecstasy which brought an ice cold shock to my belly.
With a cry of disgust, I pushed him off me and his hips jerked as he came. We stared at each other with totally different reactions; his made him crawl backwards and shut the door in my face, mind was to claw at the door because I wanted more.
I smashed my hands and feet into the wall leaving huge dents in the copper and the entire ship shook. After that, I sank into lethargy like an overfed cat. I stayed there for two weeks, not rousing when he opened the door. I could sense his presence when he stood on the other side of it. I saw his body glowing like a torch, the hottest part of him his heart and the great veins in his neck.
My teeth ached and when I explored them with my hands, they had grown longer, more piercing and split my fingertips like a needle. My eyes were more sensitive, too. I could almost see in the darkness inside the cell. Hearing was also different. I could hear men’s voices above and below me, the creaking of the ship’s timbers, the masts stretching as the canvas flapped in the wind. I heard the squeaking of rats and the livestock in the hull. I could even differentiate between that of horses, swine and cattle.
I felt stronger, more alert and knew that next time Blackfin opened the door, I would crush him like a bug. Even the cuffs would pose no problem, I knew I was strong enough to break them.
I snapped my wrists apart, expecting the chains to break yet nothing happened. The more I tried, the more the metal abraded my skin and I began to feel ill–almost as if I had a tenacious fever. It started at my wrists and ankles, causing nausea, fever, chills and muscle aches. My skin under the cuffs began to blister, weep and itch almost as if I had developed an allergy to silver or maybe, it was a side effect of the bloodlust. So for all my newly discovered attributes, I had one disadvantage to add to the list, pure silver seemed to poison me.
He must’ve known something was wrong when he opened the cell door slowly and had the same huge brutes with him. One reached down, grabbed me by an ankle and dragged me out to the side of the bed. Curtly, Blackfin ordered me to be placed on the covers where he examined me, paying careful attention to my eyes, teeth and wrists.
Once again, he had them place the tube into my stomach and poured a blood mixture into my belly. I felt more alert, yet detached, sensing the presence of magic on me like a thin second skin pulled over me. One of the seamen stirred uneasily and asked, “What ails the Lord? His eyes are red as if rabid and he’s cool to the touch–almost cold.”
“He suffers from a rare malady,” Blackfin shrugged. “A blood disorder that is not contagious but don’t leave yourself along with him or turn your back. He is quite mad.”
“Well, kill him then. Throw him overboard,” the sailor said seriously.
“He is the grandson of the old Earl,” Blackfin said.
“Gleneden? No way.” They shook their heads. “Why would he be in such a state? There is no madness in the Spencer line.”
“You know of the Spencer line, do you?” Blackfin rounded on them dangerously. “If you value your lives, you will not repeat anything you see or is done in this room.”
“Aye, sir Blackfin,” both said and skittered out of the room.
He pulled the tube from me and washed off my face. Waited patiently until a measure of clarity returned to me. All I wanted to do was lie there and drift on the sensation of floating in warm water. “Three boys have died to keep you alive, Lord Spencer,” he mocked. “It would only have been one had you complied with my terms. We will be landing ashore at Ehrenberg by noon tomorrow.”
“What will my grandfather say when I tell him you put your hands on me?” I asked dreamily. “Do you think the High Council of Nobles will allow a commoner and a catamite sorcerer to have touched an Earl’s grandson?”
He sneered at me. “I could fuck you screaming and bleeding across the Palace floor and no one would say a word,” he boasted. “After all, the Emperor is my father.” So saying, he left me on his bed and I heard the door bolt behind him.
I slept not in the little cell that night but chained to the foot of his bed like an un-housebroken puppy. The room was too bright even in the moonlight and hurt my eyes. My clothes felt too tight and rough on my sensitive skin and the silver cuffs were a misery I had to endure.
The rats in the walls squeaked loud enough to my ears that I thought it deafening and when a brash pair appeared out of a crack in the wall to skitter past my feet, I lunged so swiftly that I caught both.
Their blood tasted flat, insipid but filled me more than any snack I’d ever eaten. Even the thought of a great big slice of apple pie straight out of the oven did not tempt me.
He came back at dawn and opened the door. Bright sunlight streamed in the open porthole and down the galley from the deck. It made my eyes burn and I cried out, trying to roll out of its path.
My skin had always been sensitive to harsh sunlight, I burned easily until the first tan but this was worse. Where the sun touched me, it burned, blistered and caused intense pain.
He stared, came in and shut the door wrapping me in his black cloak until all that showed was the tip of my nose and my eyes.
“I had heard legends of the creature you have become,” he said slowly and reverently. “I did not believe them but now, I see that it is true. What you are is called a Dracule, a blood drinker, a creature of the night. Tell me, do you feel the loss of your soul? It is said such creatures as you no longer possess a soul.”
“What have you done to me?” I hissed and he stared in wonder at my fangs. Put his finger to my mouth and winced as they pierced his flesh instantly. I sucked the blood from the welling puncture before for he could snatch it back.
“Ah, the ecstasy,” he sighed leaning towards me involuntarily.
“Come closer,” I murmured. “And I will make your dreams become reality.”
He shuddered and drew back, making the signs of a warding spell before me. My allure which had been potent was flung back in my face. For once, he looked frightened of me.
“We disembark in moments. I thought to walk you out but now, I see that it is not possible. You have a choice–wait until nightfall or go inside a trunk.”
“I do not want to leave. Let us stay and I will teach you the meaning of desire,” I crooned.
“It will no longer work on me, Tobias. Now, I am spelled against your glamours.”
“Once you have tasted of my bite, you are bound to my desires, human,” I smiled and it was the smile of a predator.
“I wonder if you would kill yourself now, Tobias Spencer. I fear you are beginning to like what you have become. Remember this, the silver binds you and will kill you should it reach your vitals–heart, lung or brain. I carry a silver dagger and it will be poised at your heart.”
I spat and turned away from him. He hesitated, opened the door and slipped through it quickly before the sunlight could warm the cabin. Two different midshipmen came in carrying a crate designed for heavy cargo. With claw hammers, they pulled the lid, removed the contents and waited for Blackfin’s next orders.
“Get in.”
“Make me,” I hissed and stood up, a tall black-robed figure whose eyes burned redly within the folds of the cloak. He spoke, a spell that I saw twist in the air and two spectral mailed fists smacked me on the rib cage. It hurt, it felt as if I had been crushed between two massive boulders and my lungs struggled to bring in air. I fell to my knees and his fist smashed the back of my neck, laying me out on the floor. I hit my chin and saw blood spurt from my nose and teeth.
“Get up or they will throw you in,” he said flatly and I could tell he was furious. I staggered to my feet, holding my nose.
“What happened to the other men? Did you dispose of them, too? Do you know that serving him is dangerous to your health?” I asked the sailors. “Ask him what happened to the other three lads who helped him.”
They stared at Blackfin who merely stared back as if daring them to push him. As one, they moved forward, grabbed me by the cloak and twisted so tightly that I could not breathe.
My kicking ceased and quite easily, they threw me into the crate. I landed on my back, bent nearly double and before I could yell, they were nailing the lid shut. Blessed darkness soothed my eyes and I could open them. I pulled the hood down and inspected my new accommodations.
A 4’ x 6’ x 6’ box made of oak planks nailed and screwed together with iron bands holding together all snuggly. The inside was packed with straw and I could smell faint traces of metals. Whatever had been packed in the box before me had been heavy and metallic in origin. I didn’t have enough room to kick unless I laid on my back and kicked up. When I tried, the lid didn’t budge.
I felt it lift and sway side to side. From the smell of my surroundings, I could tell we were exiting the cabin and climbing on deck. My sense of smell which had become supersensitive was overwhelmed by the myriad of odors that now assailed me.
Salted air, birds, men and women. Women in their monthlies. Animals of every specie and kind. Spices, fabrics and foodstuffs. Above it all and running through like the finest wine, the scent of fresh, living blood.