“You?” Vasilja’s eyes widened. “Really, Freddy? Say it properly. Did you just tell me you’re a Luciferian?”

“I’m a Luciferian, Lady.” He staggered away from her, clutching his head. “I feel very dizzy all of a sudden. My head is spinning. Please forgive me.”

“Not at all. It must be very overwhelming. Senka, do let Freddy have your chair.”

“No, no. It’s alright. I can stand.”

“We insist, don’t we Senka?”

The younger vampire stood and stepped aside. “Absolutely.”

“Come, Freddy. Take your couch by the fire here. It’ll help warm your blood to a delightful temperature.” Vasilja patted his shoulder. “I do think people should keep themselves warm. It’s very considerate to those of us who pay attention to these things.”

He put his head in his hands and gave himself a shake. “I feel much better. Thank you.”

“Don’t think about it too much.” She mentally pushed at him again, stepping behind the small couch and placing her hands on both sides of his head. Pressing fingertips to his temples. “Think about more pleasant things, Freddy. Things which have given you so much pleasure over the years. Tell me about your Luciferian practices. Are they exciting?”

Senka flinched as the smile darted across the man’s face.

Smile of a wolverine.

His lips pulled back tight to reveal the sharp edges of his teeth. Eyes fierce and bright with sudden animal lusts, he made a wet chuckle in the back of his throat. “Oh, yes. Yes, they’re very exciting. It’s sinful, Lady. Sinful beyond compare.”

“And you revel in it, don’t you?”

“I do.” The smile vanished. “I don’t want to. But I came to the conclusion that I’m not one of the saved. My soul is perpetually damned by the corruption of my depravities. I refused, at first. Refused to believe I could feel such things. Refused to think I could even participate. But, once I started, it all seemed so natural. I started to believe that some of us can never change. Our sin is too great.”

Senka’s mouth was dry as she watched the man talk.

His face flitted from emotion to emotion.

Lustful. Angry. Sad.

Reeling in a circle of emotional peaks and troughs, his eyes rolled in their sockets.

Stopping only when they found her.

Then they’d slide. Slowly. Up and down. Drinking her in.

She let him drink.

“We want to join you, Freddy.” Vasilja leaned over him. Pressed her cheek against his. A little smile formed on her delicate red lips. “We want to be Luciferians, too. We want to worship Him. The Master of Hell. We want to gorge on his delights. To dance in the fruit of his absolute devotion to the pleasures of flesh. Flesh, Freddy. Do you like that word? It conjures the most incredible feeling, doesn’t it? Flesh. You like the pleasures of flesh, don’t you? Imagine them. Savor them…”

Her hands dived between waistcoat and shirt, drawing a moan from the old man.

He tried to lift his hand to hers but couldn’t bear to touch her skin. Instead, his hand remained frozen halfway there as his body shivered.

Whether it was the promise of pleasure or primal fear of her true nature which made him freeze in place, his mind didn’t know.

Slowly, the words were strangled loose. “I want to.”

“I know you do. And you will. But I need something first. To join, we need to know more about it, don’t we? We need to know all about what you do.”

“We’ve done it all,” he said. Dry mouth. “Everything. Bestial and profane. There is almost nothing we do not do.”

“Really? And where do you get your ideas? From books?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any of those books? Here? In this house?”

“I do.”

“We’re looking for a special book.” She looked up and nodded to Senka, who slid the grimoire from her coat and showed it to him. “We’re looking for one just like this. Do you recognise it? Have you seen it?”

His eyes slid away. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, you know of it.” She purred heavily. Voice husky like smoke. “Yes, you do. This thrills me, Freddy. Thrills right to the deepest part of me. I need this book, Freddy. I truly need it. If you can tell me where to find it, I would show you sins you cannot believe. Sins which would chill your soul. Would you like to see them?”

“Yes.” He cowered back in his chair, eyes rolling as he tried to see her. She skirted out of his view, though. A tantalizing promise. Leaving a trail of cold as her fingertips swept across his beard. They brushed the corner of his mouth and then drew a sensual line over his cheek. “Please, Lady. Show me, I beg you!”

“The book first, Freddy.”

“I…”

“Where is it?” Soft. Fragile. Hurt. Her words pleaded to his soul. “Please tell me.”

“It’s blasphemous,” he warned. “More than any other I’ve ever read. Its rites are not fit for a lady. They’re evil beyond words. I’m not sure…”

“You’re not a priest of God, Freddy. You’re a priest of Satan!” She stood proud before him, her hand gripping his shirt. “Revel, Freddy. Revel in your freedom!”

“There!” He thrust a hand toward a small locked chest. “It’s in there! I have the key on a chain around my neck.”

“Show me.”

He pulled the chain. A silver link. The key plucked loose from his shirt, followed by a small simple crucifix.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Ah,” Vasilja said, moving back. “How about you throw that little icon away, Freddy. You shan’t be needing it. And then open the chest. Show us the book.”

“Of course.” Hoarse. He dabbed at the sweat on his brow. Snapped the chain with a jerk and threw the crucifix into the fire. It made no sound as he shuffled toward the chest.

Senka watched closely, whispering to her sister; “I don’t understand, Vasilja. How is he a Luciferian. I thought he was a priest?”

“Humans are always confused. Priests more so than most. Hush now, Senka. Please. He’s on the edge of a precipice and I’m using everything I can to push him over it.”

“This is it,” Frederic said, turning slowly. His hands held the book like it was treasure. Dark emerald binding. Silver pentagram gleaming on the cover. “It’s said the Devil himself penned it. That it was inked with the essence of damned souls. The rituals in here, are unspeakable. Even those who owned it before me wouldn’t dare try them. And Luciferians in this city? Oh, they sing and they dance. They whore and they revel. Men. Women. Even children. They sacrifice a goat or a lamb. But this holds darker rites. Profane and foul. You can feel its power, can’t you?”

“Senka, would you check if it’s the same as ours?” She smiled as Frederic reluctantly passed the book to the younger vampire. “Freddy. Would you mind sitting on the couch again? I like when you’re there. I can keep an eye on you.”

“Yes, Lady.”

He moved to take his seat, placing his hands in his lap. He smiled as Vasilja gently patted his head like a dog. Somewhere inside, he knew he should feel shamed by her gesture, but instead pride filled his heart.

He knew she was pleased, and that’s all that mattered to him.

Senka flipped through the pages. Her brow furrowed in thought.

“Well, Senka?”

“I’m not sure.” She placed both books side by side. Then slowly began turning the pages. Some were the same. Others were different.

But each was a perfect half of a whole.

She could feel it. There was no doubt. Its power called to her, filling her mind with a gentle humming song whose tune she couldn’t quite hear.

“Senka?” Vasilja gripped Frederic’s hair harder as impatience and anticipation fought their battle.

The younger vampire nodded. Satisfaction like a warm trickle down her spine. “It’s all here, Vasilja. And I think we can do it. But we need defiled holy ground.”

“That’s simple. We’re in Paris. There’ll be plenty of that. Won’t there, Freddy? I bet Freddy’s been using his own church for his naughty Luciferian practices, haven’t you Freddy? Of course you have. No need to open your mouth, just nod and be quiet.”

“A priest to perform the rite.”

Vasilja clapped her hands in delight. “Freddy again!”

“And we need a child.”

“Well, I’ve seen at least fifty in the street on the way here. Is that where you find them, Freddy? In the street? They’re bound to be a little smelly and undernourished, but I’m sure our master won’t mind.”

“Also, a dagger which has been used in Holy Ritual.”

“Oh, I’m very sure Freddy has one of those, too!” She beamed down at him. “Aren’t you suddenly more useful than we expected?”

“And a virgin.”

“But, that’s nonsense, Senka. How will we find a virgin in Paris?” She snatched the book from the younger vampire. “You must be reading it wrong, surely.”

“I’m not.”

“Well, that’s just terribly inconvenient.” She sighed. “We need a cab, Freddy. To take us back to Le Grand. Can you manage this?”

“I can, Lady.”

“Then hurry yourself. It appears we have much to do.”

“Am I to come with you, then? Is it true? We’ll conduct this heresy? Enact the ultimate blasphemy of blasphemies? Outrage the Heavens? Bring the fires from Hell into the world?”

“Yes, Freddy. Why? Do you have a problem with that?”

“No!” He dropped to the ground and groveled at her hem. “I would do anything, Lady. Anything at all. And I have wanted so long to try. But the risk! The risk was too great. The others, they talk about it. They whispered about it. Huysman has even hinted he witnessed it before. But I don’t believe him. His stories are the stuff of poets. Overly fancy and vague on details. I dreamed of this moment, Lady. I would do anything…”

Vasilja looked from the man crawling on his belly to Senka. “And you wanted to bite him,” she said. “Look at him. He’s obviously going to be very helpful.”

Senka squatted down next to him.

Reached out and lifted his head. Peered into his shining eyes and looked unimpressed.

“You remind me of Franz,” she said. “I wanted to bite him. I want to bite you, too.”

He let out a nervous titter. “If you like,” he said. “I won’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“We are, all of us, damned. I’m tired of fighting against it. Set me free, Miss.”

She let him go. Growled; “I want that cab.”

“I’ll go get it.” And scampered like a dog out of the house. Head swinging left and right as he searched the streets.

“Don’t tease him, Senka,” she said. “He’s very easy to control at the moment. I’d rather you didn’t unsettle him. I have a feeling he’ll prove most useful.”

“I’m nervous, Vasilja.”

“Nervous? Whatever for? Certainly, he has a head full of very unusual perversions, but what man doesn’t? There’s nothing to worry about, Senka. He’s mostly a very reasonable sort of priest. He just likes to get involved with a bit of devilish pageantry now and then. That’s all.” She hesitated. “Of course, it won’t be pageantry next time. There’s a big difference between a lamb and a child, after all. But I’m sure he’ll manage.”

“I don’t mean of him. I mean of the whole thing. What if you’re right? What if I’m just being silly? What if it really is just in my dream?”

“You told me it was green. The Felstone thing. And the fires of Hell. You said they were green.”

“Yes. That’s what was in my dream.”

“Well, I suppose I should tell you. I once argued with Dracula for several weeks after he introduced me to his journals. I argued because I found his descriptions of Hell. He said the fire was green, too. And I said it couldn’t be right, because all the books I’ve ever read were very clear that it was supposed to resemble the inside of a volcano. And they’re just normal fire, aren’t they? I was sure he’d made a mistake.”

“Really? He said it was green, too?”

“I didn’t believe him, of course. It sounded like a joke. I hounded him about it until he got very cross. Then he threw me against a wall and lifted his hand and summoned flames of Hell. Green fire burned inside his fist, Senka. It was very hot and burned some of my hair. I didn’t question him ever again.”

“He could summon Felfire?”

“Yes. There are lots of things Dracula can do. He just doesn’t do them very much anymore.”

“Why not?”

“I think Hailwic knew. But she never shared his secrets.”

“You must have an idea.”

“I have many ideas. Lots of them, Senka. Some of them are even more silly than your dreams. I even have one which frightened me for such a long time. And it’s why I was almost glad when he left the castle.”

“What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t fed with us for such a long time. He didn’t ever seem to leave the castle at all. Do you remember when you arrived? He’d fly to the city with us and we’d gorge ourselves? Dancing through the streets like it was a circus set up just for our amusement?”

“I liked that,” she said. “I just thought he grew bored of it.”

“Bored? He’s a vampire, Senka. Not just any vampire. He’s the vampire. He’s the only one of us who can make more. How could he get bored? Have you ever been bored of blood?”

“No, but I’m not as old as he is.”

“Hailwic is not much younger than him, apparently. At least, it’s what he told us. She was his first bride. And she never got bored. If anything, she wants more. You know how hard it is to stop her once she starts feeding…”

“But she doesn’t seem to have much fun.”

“Oh, she doesn’t play with her victims, of course. Hailwic was a soldier, Senka. Discipline and training were her life. She never felt the need to enjoy herself and becoming one of us didn’t change her all that much. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t fancy the thrill of a good hunt. You’ve seen her at the end. She’s like a wolf, she is. Always hungry, but more efficient than we are.” She shook her head. “Dracula changed, Senka. I can’t explain how, but he did. He stopped drinking human blood.”

“Then how did he survive?”

“He drank hers instead.”

“Hailwic’s?” Senka looked shocked. “Are you sure?”

“I saw the marks on her arm. She tried to hide them, but I saw. And even though he stopped talking to us, he never turned her away. She went to him more often lately. She never admitted it, but I know that’s what they were doing together.”

“Maybe he was busy. Maybe he was researching new ways to fulfil the Bargain.”

“And maybe he wasn’t.” Vasilja shuddered. “I don’t want to presume, Senka. All I know is something changed, and when he left the castle I thought he was finally putting all that aside. I thought he was looking for another Bride. I thought she might be just what he needed to bring him back to us. I fear, however, that I was wrong. I fear he has betrayed us.”

“Betrayed?”

“Let’s not talk about it. The very idea makes my stomach churn. Look. Here comes Freddy. Doesn’t he run so delightfully? He’s like a child with broken legs.”