Page 12 of My Master
He smiled. “Good, very good. Come with me, Isis.” And he turned and began walking away.
At last, Isis found her voice. “Wait!” He stopped and half-turned. “Who are you?” She asked.
He smiled maniacally. “I am Caesareon.” He said. “But you may call me, ‘Master.’”
* * *
Isis awoke in a cold sweat.It was just a dream,she thought,only a dream.She attempted to sit up in bed, but found herself locked in place by someone. She turned and fought the urge to vomit. Caesareon was curled up next to her, his arm flung carelessly over her chest, pinning her down.
She stared at him for a moment even in sleep, he radiated danger and power. Judging by the way he barely moved, she guessed that it was light out. She thanked whatever gods existed for that. Natural Born vampires had a greater weakness when it came to sunlight. Sure, she’d burn up to a crisp too if she stood out in it, but at least she could stay awake during this time.
She moved his arm away from her and got up from the bed, surprised to find herself fully clothed in soft satin pajamas. She could barely remember what had happened, she had blocked out everything, or at least tried too. She looked down at Caesareon then around the room.
It was a big room, as big as the one she had in the Santiago mansion, but less decorated. This room looked more like a basement, with brick walls and torches hammered into them, lit by a slight fire. The ground was cold and hard and covered in various layers of dust. The only furniture in the room was the large bed, smack in the middle of the room that was covered with thin sheets.
Isis could pull the torches out of the wall, stab Caesareon through the heart, but actually kill him this time. She blended the idea over in her mind for a minute. He said he had werewolves and what about his vampire servants? They’d notice—thanks to that blasted mind link—that he was dead. Would they come after her then, trying to avenge their master? Or would they come out of their trance and thank her? Plus, Isis had no idea where she was; she didn’t want to take any giant risks.
Still, she thought bitterly, she wanted that bastard dead. She walked over to the wall where a torch was lit and gripped the black handle of it. As soon as her skin came in contact with it, she screamed. First it electrocuted her, and then burned into her skin. Isis let go of it immediately and stared down at her hands. They were swollen, red with blisters.
“Fuck!” she swore, closing her palms and wincing at the pain. Caesareon planned that, she knew. Quietly and carefully, she walked over to the thick wooden doors, gripping the handle and pulling it open. Maybe if she ran and found a weapon she could kill him once and for all. Suddenly, she didn’t care if his vampires got revenge on her. As long as Caesareon died, she didn’t care what happened to her. She just wanted him dead.
The door opened without resistance, Isis peeked her head out first, assessing the situation. The narrow hallways were dimly lit as well as abandoned. She stepped out, holding her breath and looking around. If she was going to be attacked, she didn’t want it to be a surprise.
After a minute of standing around, she began to move, using her survival instincts to find her way out of the underground place that Caesareon had led her too. She didn’t see any other doors on her way out, or any possible weapons hanging on the walls, not even a rock. At that point, she thought about snapping his neck, but his bones would heal. Not if she ripped it clean off of his head, though.
She stopped running and looked back in the direction from which she came. She wanted to go back and kill him, to end this misery once and for all, to save the people he was planning on hurting in the future. She had no other option but to do so. She ran back.
He was still sleeping, curled tightly against the plain sheets, his breathing even and slow. She walked over to him and stared. This was the vampire that hadturnedher, the one that had killed her mother, forced her to kill her younger brother, the one that had used her and mutilated her to no end. This wouldn’t stop untilhewas stopped. And she planned to stop him right now.
Isis reached out, placing her hands on either side of his neck, ready to crush it beneath her touch, when a growl sounded behind her. She turned slowly. A giant wolf was behind her, with a thick gray coat of hair, brown eyes and drool dripping from its gaping jaws.
She screamed and threw her hands up to protect herself as the wolf leaped towards her.
7
Esmeralda attempted calling Isis again but it sent her straight to voicemail each time. Annoyed, she threw the phone onto the coffee table and shook her head. Of course, itwasdaytime, so maybe she was asleep, as Antonio was now, and had just turned her phone off and there was nothing to worry about.
Antonio didn’t think so.
As soon as the line went dead Antonio had stood up from the bed. “Where are you going?” Ezzy had asked.
“I’m going to find Isis.”
Ezzy, flabbergasted, could only get dressed and follow him as he started to storm off.
“Why?” she asked, bounding down the stairs after him.
“Because she’s in trouble.” He reached the front door and paused, hand on the doorknob.
“Well, I think you’re just trying to avoid the conversation that I want to have.”
Antonio whipped around, his dark eyes blazing red in anger for a split second and then it was gone. Still, her reaction to it was instantaneous, bringing up horrible memories of Damien and her childhood, of the Rogues that had taken her parents.
She stepped back, scared, and a moment later that fear faded away. She’d seen her reflection in Antonio’s eyes and she knew she had hurt him. What must she look like? Her face twisted into a mask of horror. Instant guilt washed over her.
Antonio’s eyes filled with water his thoughts unintentionally projected into her.Monster, monster,his voice screamed.
You’re not!She thought back at him.You are not a monster.His brain instantly clicked shut against her, that same force field around his most precious thoughts.
