The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 16

When I entered the house, Master Marius was waiting in the entry to the living room. I nodded to him and went to the kitchen. He followed.

It was nerve-wracking I wanted him to leave me alone or tell me what he was going to do with me. Being direct could be dangerous, but I had to know.

"What can I do for you, Master Marius? I don't know how to make you more comfortable. I need to finish my laundry and have my lunch, but you can't possibly be entertained by watching me go about my day." He smirked again. He was always smirking.

"I want to taste your blood." He said.

It was as if a bucket of icy water had been dumped on me. I felt dizzy for a moment. Victor may have promised no one would lay a fang on me, but this vampire was more powerful than he was and Victor was sleeping.

"I've been using my hypnosis on you all morning. Nothing worked. You didn't offer your neck to me, you didn't drop to your knees. You didn't even become frightened or terrified, until just now when I said I wanted your blood. No one has ever been immune to it. Ever.

I thought it might be possible they were tasting one of my other children one of the older ones. I knew they indulged with humans, but you shouldn't be able to resist me. I want to know who your matriarch is. Who is the female I supposedly started your line with?" Master Marius growled.

"I don't know what was in the reports about what exactly happened to me. Feeding vampires has never been pleasant for me. They always tried on the first time, especially when I was little, but, after that, they were only interested in getting what they wanted. Sometimes they did other things. They liked me scared." I replied softly.

"Sit and tell me everything, from the beginning. We can get your blood from a cut instead of a bite. I don't want your fear overpowering anything. If you are my child, you will be taken care of. I just don't know how you came to be." He seemed somber now. It must have reminded him that I wasn't someone trying to get something from him, but a victim of greed and bloodlust. Maybe he was used to people trying to get something from him. All I wanted was to find a place in the world.

I wanted to stay with Victor. He was the nicest person I'd met. He saved me and offered me a purpose along with my freedom.

We sat at the kitchen table and I started at the beginning. I explained my life with my family, my parents' belief that I was evil, my love for my sister and brother, and my fear of being sold and drained. I told him everything I remembered about what each vampire had done and said to me.

It took a while to tell him everything. I hadn't realized how much time had passed until the buzzer for the gate rang out. It had to be after one in the afternoon.

I left him to process everything while I opened the gate and showed the delivery men and installers where I wanted the electronics. A little charm got them to clean up their mess. They even swept and wiped everything down.

Once they were gone, I moved my laundry to the dryer and fixed a quick sandwich with some fruit on the side. I didn't want to reheat spaghetti with two extra vampires in the house. They might not be too happy with me. Sitting again, I started eating. I wouldn't let Victor be mad at me for not eating. That wasn't going to be the last interaction we had.

-

Master Marius closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. I watched quietly. His decisions were important to my life. Sure, he'd been irritating, but now I knew it was because of the attempted hypnosis. A couple of my clients had tried and failed to hypnotize me before. I knew I was immune.

"When you're finished, I'll have you put some of your blood in a cup. It isn't safe to taste any part of you until I understand this. The last thing I want is to accidentally kill you and create a more powerful vampire than me." He chuckled. "A what?" I squeaked in surprise. "Nothing. We can go over it later." Master Marius replied.

I decided to focus on my food. It was the only thing I could control at the moment. The clock read three-thirty in the afternoon. Not long until Victor was up, but Marius had been up all day so far. I wondered how much longer he could stay awake.

-

After I finished, I cleaned up and pulled out a small glass and a kitchen knife. Master Marius appeared in front of me with a cotton ball. He stuck it in his mouth for a little while and pulled it out, rubbing his saliva on my finger.

"It won't hurt as bad. Slice it, then I'll clean it with the cotton ball sealing your wound." He directed.

Taking a deep breath, I held my finger over the cup and pulled the blade across it. There was no pain and I was relieved. Once he decided it was enough, he wiped the wound and it closed quickly. I washed my hands in the kitchen sink and rinsed the knife before putting it in the dishwasher.

Master Marius raised the glass to his lips and I turned away. I didn't want to see it. When I heard the glass make contact with the counter, I rinsed it and added it to the dishwasher, putting in soap and starting it up.

All the while he looked deep in concentration. His brow furrowed. I watched a slew of emotions cross his face and wished for the smirking instead. This was a bad idea.

"Son of a bitch! I can't.... The one fucking time!" He roared.

It made me jump. I moved away quickly, not wanting to become the focus of his rage. Something about him made me think this was wildly out of character for him. Angry men were dangerous men; angry vampires were even more so. Waiting without moving was difficult. I managed to control myself enough to keep my heart from beating out of my chest. It was harder when he started hitting the counter. Cracks radiated out from where his fist landed.

He really hadn't believed it, not even for a moment. Even when he was saying he'd take care of me. Maybe he thought it was actually some strange mistake.

After a while, he calmed. I still didn't move. I couldn't really read him and I didn't want to die in the kitchen.

"You are my child. I'm sorry. I advocate against vampire/human relationships. I only ever indulged once. A hopeless gambler, on his wedding night, wagered his wife's virginity when he thought he could win. I was taking a year off and traveling. I could have refused or hypnotized everyone to believe he won, but I didn't. Ever since I became a vampire, I'd only slept with undead women. It was so different, but I never did it again."

"I don't really want to hear this." I winced.

"She must have gotten pregnant and thought it was her husband's. He did have similar coloring to me when I was alive. I had no idea. I completely forgot until now. What am I going to do? My credibility will be completely out the window." He groaned. "Lie." I answered.

"What?" He sounded incredulous.

"Is your sire still alive?" I asked. "No..."

"Tell them I'm his and your power was the closest Victor and Rosalynn had tasted, so they assumed. Let me make the decisions about my life, but let everyone know I'm also under your protection as the child of your sire. You said no one could resist your hypnotism. I can. That could be enough to sell it." I explained.

Master Marius looked shocked. He seemed to be considering it. I was hopeful.

"I don't lie. I have never lied to another vampire."

"Just believe it. Make it your truth. Omit things. Ask people what they think. Like, 'she's immune to my hypnotism, what do you think that means? It's obvious that her sire was extremely powerful. I will offer my protection to her. She's free to do as she wishes.' Then you haven't lied, but you haven't been completely honest." I offered.

He stared at me. I could see him working out how that conversation would go. There was a concerned look in his eyes before he shook his head.

"It won't work. It could easily mean you are my child." Master Marius sighed.

"Then hypnotize Rosalynn and Victor to think they tasted your sire's blood and called you to let you know. Tell them you came to confirm what they called about and agreed with what they told you over the phone. Again, no lie. They probably only reported to you. Have them change any other reports as part of the hypnotism. They never have to know. I won't tell and I'll gladly lie to keep myself free and alive." I replied. "What do you mean, alive?" He asked.

"The only option if you don't pick one of these two, is to kill me, my family, Rosalynn, Victor, and any other descendants who exist. It took actually focusing for anyone to figure it out. I fed vampires for ten years. None of them ever contacted you. None of them ever said anything. None of them looked nearly as shocked as Victor did when he came in last night and told me about you. I don't want to die. I didn't do anything wrong." Tears filled my eyes and my voice shook.

"You see things very clearly. It was the only option I could see, but the second suggestion would also work. There is the matter of that human servant and his friend, why do they think I'm here?"

"I told them you came to ensure that Victor would get the vampires he wanted for his supports. That refusing Victor's request was akin to asking for death. Or 'Death', as it were." I sniffled.

"Quick thinking. I'm sure you did it for Victor and not because of any foresight on your part." He smiled.

"That's true. I'm still his daylight servant. I need to take care of my master, his needs, and his goals. I take this very seriously." I answered solemnly.

"Show me to their rooms. I will hypnotize them to wake with this new knowledge. Then, I would like a room to rest in. I need about three hours before I can get up again."

"Thank you, Master Marius! Please follow me." I bounced and led him to Rosalynn's room.

He said he didn't lie, but I wasn't going to risk him killing Victor. If he killed Rosalynn, I would do everything I could to protect my master. I watched him put his hand on her forehead and start murmuring words to her unmoving body.

Once he was done, I turned on the heated blanket on her bed and led him out. I'd added heated blankets so the vampires could wake up warm. I really liked waking up in a cozy bed. I thought they might like it, too.

We went to Victor's room and he repeated the procedure. After I turned on the heated blanket, I guided him to room six. It was the largest of the guest rooms.

Master Marius examined the room. He nodded when he touched the sheets. Drew told me, vampires were more sensory inclined. When he'd finished, he turned to me.

"Will you be turning on the warming blankets for me as well?" He chuckled.

"I'll set a timer for thirty minutes before you wake and start warming your bed for you. If that's what you want, Master Marius." I bowed.

"Just call me Marius. If nothing else, it will show that I don't consider you less than me. Go on. Your master will wake soon. You can tell him the good news, my sire is long dead and you are safe to make your own decisions." He shooed me out of the room and closed the door behind me.