The Inferno

Chapter 8 The Vampire

T he club is a swarm of powerful activity.

My power revels in the cacophony of emotions it can delve into, seeking out the most powerful to devour and amplify. My body feels strong as I continue my path along level six.

This is my floor now.

The most powerful, influential creatures are all here, and my power is surrounding every single one of them.

But it still wants more.

I realised after my second circuit, whilst nipping into the auras of a group of very dangerous warlocks, siphoning from them what would normally keep me content for an entire night.

It barely touched the sides.

My power is currently feeding from every single creature on this floor simultaneously to keep itself satisfied; controlled. I try to push that worrying thought away as Alexis speaks into the comms.

“How are we doing up there, Six ?” I can hear the smile in her voice, I’ve never had a number before. I hoped I would; but being given his number doesn’t sit quite right.

“Quiet. There’s a lot of big players,” I say, keeping my voice low as I pass by a royal elf who I know shouldn’t be out of her realm until the royal fae celebration in a couple of days.

We notice one another, I deliver a small bow of respect which she acknowledges with a slight nod but her eyes linger on me longer than they ever have before. This isn’t the first time she’s seen me, but why is she looking at me like it is? I try to ignore it, continuing my route, but as the night draws on, I realise I have been gaining more attention than normal.

At one point, I ask the bar staff to check if I have something on me, using the reflective surface of the bar to check my face. I’m wearing a dress I’ve worn many times before, black, short, nothing unusual there. Bright red heels, hair curled and swept to one side, I check my reflection one more time.

“Do I look different tonight?” I dare to ask into the comms, feeling another set of eyes linger for far too long .

“Erm, no. Why, is something wrong?” Alexis answers, her voice instantly sounding concerned.

“Lots of eyes on me, that’s all.”

Soft chuckles fill the comms then Javier’s voice erupts, “Well, it could be that the regulars of floor six have gone from having a domineering beta wolf to an empath who looks like a dominatrix.”

More heavy laughter, even a soft chuckle from Louise. I frown in annoyance as it continues, knowing I’ll never be able to wear this dress again without thinking about that mental image.

“You think that’s it?” I query, causing the laughter to eventually die out.

I know most of the regulars, I’ve seen them and I’m sure they’ve seen me. Is it because they’ve never seen me without August towering beside me?

“Definitely. Jas, you’re completely over thinking this,” Lew’s voice chuckles down the comms.

I subtly nod along with their words, trying to ignore the natural barricade my power has created due to the heavy stares.

“Are you sure you’re OK?” Alexis asks, I hear her moving more quickly as she speaks, “Do you need a break? We could get one of the support teams to…”

She continues speaking but I’m barely registering the words. My body feels tight as my power continues to seek out something more.

I don’t need a break. I need more. More emotions to feed from and sate my ravenous power. I watch as my dark tendrils, tinged by blue, seep into new entrants, eagerly hoping for more, when it suddenly halts.

“I’m fine, stop worrying,” I reply to Alexis’ concerned ramblings absent-mindedly. My gaze now seeking out the darkest parts of the room as my power creates a path.

Then I follow.

When I reach the furthest corner of level six, just beside the glass railing, I frown. My smoky tendrils hover and circle the darkness eagerly, but there’s nothing but empty space.

Loud cheering to my left breaks my concentration. I turn to catch a group of mercenary warlocks slapping one another on the back and smashing bottles of expensive champagne together, causing pieces of glass to scatter along the floor.

I sigh, casting a final glance at the shadows, before I make my way over to intervene.

The next few hours tortuously drag .

There are no fights. No calls for back up. No enforcers suddenly emerging from the shadows… I mentally clock myself for that thought, biting the side of my cheek hard like pain therapy.

When the night is finally drawing to an end, there’s no need to chase or drag my occupants out; they each strategically leave. Powerful creatures are careful with their time; they manage it precisely, even during leisure activities. Their time is valuable and, when it’s a couple of minutes until closing, my floor is entirely empty except for a few bar staff.

“Floor six, clear,” I state into the comms, taking a stool at the bar and sipping from a bottle of water.

“Good for you,” Javier huffs, there’s slight rustling filling my ears. “You know what the lower levels are like, they never want to—hey, hey! You put that down, now!”

I chuckle into my bottle. “Want some help?”

There’s a pause, a silence that is almost too long. “Nah, you know me. Love a bit of rough play.” I hear someone groan in pain and shake my head with a chuckle. “I’ll be done soon, floor five for drinks? I’ve had my eye on a particular bottle on the top shelf for a while.”

There’s a multitude of responses to Javier’s suggestion but it’s Ferne’s sigh of disapproval that makes me smile the most. I’m about to respond with my own eagerness for a drink stronger than water—an expensive bourbon with smoky undertones calling to me—when I note my fingers and the slightest tremor, causing the water to ripple.

I slowly place the bottle down and black wisps emerge, attempting to soothe my shaking fingers as they caress each digit. Only when I grip them with my other hand, does the shaking seem to stop.

I swallow, feeling my power surrounding me in a much thinner veil than usual and exhaustion suddenly plummets into me— as does a horrifying realisation.

My power doesn’t want more; it needs it. I’ve never needed emotions before.

I push away from the bar and begin to retreat. There’s a concerned glance from a passing server and I only just stop ripping that emotion from her. Emotions cannot be taken like that, they have to be eased away, manipulated or replaced. I’d learnt that lesson the hard way. If emotions are ever stolen from someone, a pile of nothing remains .

As I push through the back doors and rush into the empty, narrow corridor, I feel my power begin to uncoil with the urgency to seek something.

I follow the thin strips of light embedded into the ground, trying to ignore the way my vision blurs and my steps falter as I get closer to the security room.

There’s nothing, no emotions, no one.

Until there is.

Strong hands grasp the tops of my arms and my power flares out in protest, at first. But this touch is familiar. My inky tendrils flare before engulfing his skin and sinking into him.

“Do not move.” His voice freezes my entire body.

If my power’s reaction to him wasn’t confirmation enough, his deep, slightly accented voice was all I needed.

My tendrils wrap around me in a tight barrier, helping me to stay steady, all the while my heart painfully thuds. Even if I tried to move; I wouldn’t be able to. I’m not immune to a vampire’s compulsion, especially his.

“You smell even better than I remember,” he practically purrs, fingers trailing down the length of my bare arms. “I did not think that was possible, merde .”

I try to search deep in my gut for the visceral hatred I harboured for them, I try to recall the sour, acrid sensation that had me declaring their death to my reflection. But now, with his fingers brushing my skin, the heat of his chest, his rich intoxicating scent, his voice. It all draws me in.

I can barely stop my body leaning into him, his hot touch as addictive as his ability to calm my cagey power.

“You have no idea the pain you’ve caused me, Little Empath.” When his nose skims the side of my throat, I have to force my body to remain still or I’d be tilting my head up to allow him more access. “It seems you’ve made a masochist of me.”

My power is thriving.

But my heart continues to race in panic, desperately trying to awaken my instincts and remind me of the predator gripping me, touching me, scenting me.

My tendrils continue to surround him, greedily embracing him like a lost friend.

But my mind is terrified, replaying memories of the three enforcers and the harm they’d caused me, the threats, the manipulation .

And it’s those horrific thoughts which finally make me unfreeze.

He feels the sudden change before I even attempt to move. His fingers circle my wrists, pulling them together and grasping both in just one hand. I watch his hand holding mine captive over my stomach. Then, he pulls me with him, forcing me to take small backward steps.

I can’t do anything but follow his lead. Like a dog on a chain, he simply leads me backwards until my spine hits his hard stomach.

My coils explode at the new contact. I push back, against him, in attempt to create some distance, when a large hand settles around my throat. I gasp.

“Shh, Little Empath.” His hushed voice lulls my power, but the heat of his stomach and hands begins to feel unbearable as my heart continues to pound. I swallow and the grip around my throat loosens slightly.

“I am trying very hard to stay in control whilst you are this close, smelling this…” His sentence trails off but I somehow imagine him closing his eyes, as though his calm might break. “If you cannot follow my orders, and make another sound like that, I might lose my composure. Do you think you can follow my orders?” His thumb brushes the side of my throat. “Can you behave?”

I wet my lips and desperately try to ignore the way my body is sinking into his whilst my heart thuds. I take a deep breath. “I’ve just finished my shift, if you want to talk you need to—”

“Were you about to give me an order, Little One?” he murmurs, his grip tightening again, a very physical reminder of who is in control. “The enforcer with his hand around your throat in a very dark and very empty corridor?”

I take another deep breath, scanning the ‘very empty corridor’ and praying no one enters. “I just meant… it’s my first night back at work, if people come looking for me…” My eyes nervously flicker the space listening to distant laughter. “Whatever you’re here for, it doesn’t need to happen here . So can you... please, can you let me go?”

Julien decides to completely ignore me for a moment, instead he runs his nose along the edge of my jaw which makes me shiver. “I will let you go when I choose, understood?”

Knowing he can’t see, I roll my eyes before hesitantly nodding. My power swirls around me, still enjoying his touches and his desperate need to have us close whilst I glare at the wispy tendrils. I try to clear my head, focus upon something in the room which isn’t him, but my power needs this: needs him.

I hate myself.

It’s that sudden feeling of burning hatred which spurs me to speak again, my voice tinged with a hint of anger. “Why now?”

His movement halts.

“You all left, it’s been days, ten days, and now you suddenly reappear?”

I wonder if he’s about to ignore me again when I feel his fingers trail along my arm once more. “Did you miss us?”

My heart pounds at his ridiculous insinuation. I feel a deep flush blooming and rising across my cheeks from just how insane it is.

“No, I was hoping you’d never return.”

There’s a pause. He stops moving. His hands stay very still, one still around my throat.

Then he releases my wrists, resting his large palm upon my stomach, his fingertips touching my pelvic bone. The heat that sensation brings makes my knees feel unstable and I grit my teeth.

We both wait in silence.

Then his lips, now beside my ear, whisper, “Lie.”

I grind my jaw, the flush extending along my chest as my heart races erratically. Fucking vampires.

“That’s my power, not me.”

“Your power is you.”

I hate him. I hate them all.

But I’m terrified to say the words aloud and hear his response. Instead, I remain silent, quietly seething at what I’ve revealed about this part of me, this part of my power which is eagerly wrapping around the hands of the enemy holding me.

“Sai said you couldn’t be around me,” I say, my voice low in an attempt to sound steady, “what changed?”

One finger strokes just below my ear and it sends tingles down my neck. “That night, the night I had you held to me like this.” His fingers twitch around my throat. “I almost returned to drain you in your sleep.”

I still, my coils thicken around him and my breathing intensifies.

He says the words so carelessly whilst his hand slips to rest upon my waist, I ignore the tingling sensation it creates as I battle the overwhelming fear.

“But you didn’t. ”

“No. I spent the next few days keeping myself… occupied,” he replies, my power flares at his insinuation but I force it back down. “Indulging in that primal need which you, Little Empath, somehow awakened. All the while, I was trying to ignore you relentlessly calling to me and when Sai returned, informing me of your mark, of your new connection…” He lets his words fade away. I hold my breath, waiting for him to continue. “I am not ashamed to say I had to be restrained.”

“Restrained?” I repeat, a mixture of fear and confusion tinging the word. The fingers upon my waist spread and dip to touch my hip. I clench my teeth again and begin to feel a tight ache in my jaw. “Restrained from what?”

“My brethren and I had made an agreement. I had made my intentions clear and I felt… I thought one of them may try to break it.”

Ah yes, their ‘agreement’. Weighing my life in their murderous palms.

“Your vote.” My hands clench into fists by my sides. “So, what was it? Sai wouldn’t tell me.”

There’s a deep rumble in his chest as he emits a small chuckle, the sound is ridiculously sensual and I bite my lip to maintain my anger and to stop any sounds escaping.

“Mark you, cage you, feed from you... te fair mein ,” he whispers. The terrifying words juxtapose with the smooth sound of his voice.

Even though I didn’t know much French, the last word was close enough to one I knew.

I shiver, this time from terror. My defensive instincts roar to life and emit a sudden pulse.

The unexpected force knocks his hands from me, enabling escape from the daze his touch had created. I quickly turn, taking urgent steps backwards until I’m finally facing him, for the first time in weeks.

My gaze alters.

“Never,” I spit and my coils flood the small space.

I stare up at him, tilting my chin so far back my neck aches from the intense angle, even in heels.

His body is cloaked in shadows but his gaze is prominent. Even more intense than the last time we met. The colour of the irises is fully saturated, a blood red that glows, permeating the thick darkness. They gleam as he appraises me. He studies my face first, before noting the dark coils which flow around us. They bleed into the shadows, morphing them, feeding from them .

“So much anger.” His lips twitch and mine form into a snarl.

He begins to move, the greedy shadows melting as he steps away from them. His lean frame dominates the tiny space, forcing me to take another step back just to maintain eye contact and now his face isn’t hindered by the dark, I can’t help but admire him.

All three enforcers were an embodiment of terror. Sai was utterly psychotic. He takes pleasure in lowering your defences, easing you into it, his danger is hidden by chaotic smiles.

The demon was crafted by it. His body, his actions, his words. All sharp, venomous, infallible.

Julien’s terror was delicate. He built it with slow, languid movements, tentative touches and whispered riddles.

But all three were undeniably beautiful. Even with the terror consuming me, even as we begin to circle each other, I can’t help but admire his face now it isn’t hidden by the dark.

“That look is very confusing, Little One.” His lips twitch again.

I blink away all inappropriate thoughts, digging my nails into my palms as I force my coils to flare again. My shoulders brush the wall as I slide against it.

“My intention wasn’t to provoke you.” His crimson sight dips into something darker as he begins to move again. “Although, this is very impressive, Little Empath,” he praises, eyes trailing my tendrils in amusement.

The compliment stuns me. My coils settle, momentarily, under his welcomed perusal.

“However, you know I am still much stronger.” He stalks towards me, his gaze heavy and predatory whilst I fumble backwards until I can go no further. I don’t realise I’ve hit a corner until he’s only a few steps away. “If I wanted to take you, cage you, feed from you— you would not be able to stop me.”

My coils congeal together, growing and morphing into black flames which tower around me in a defensive wave. They violently flicker, casting pieces of black and blue sparks as he continues his hungry stare.

“I will never let you cage me. I will never let you feed from me. Never .”

His gaze flashes dark then, he stops for a moment, considering his words. “I can wait. ”

My flames spread, surrounding me in a barricade and forcing him to remain still. I grind my teeth as my entire body aches from the power I’m emitting. There’s a slight judder in my left leg and I have to drop a flame to feed strength to the muscles there.

Julien's gaze flickers all over me, his bottomless eyes filled with a terrifying hunger as they watch me struggle to keep this amount of power stable— watching and waiting like a predator sensing its moment to attack injured prey.

“Calm yourself, Little Empath,” he tries to coax, his deep voice sinking into me as he takes another step forward.

I desperately want to move away but my body isn’t listening, everything is being used to create a flood of black flames, flames which seem to have little to no impact on the vampire directly before us.

“Don’t— don’t you dare come near me!” I snarl, the flames bloom around me as I speak, taking every bit of power I have. Desperately latching onto any emotions it can feed from. But his hunger is all there is and I refuse to amplify that.

“You’re hurting yourself.” His eyes flare, he sees the flames but doesn’t shrink away, at all. If anything, he becomes more emboldened as he takes a penultimate step.

“Don’t come near me,” I try to say but my jaw burns as I grit my teeth and force myself to do more, but it won’t. It can’t. My legs begin to shake as I push hard into the ground.

When Julien holds out a hand towards me, I watch as my flames lick his dark skin and... do absolutely nothing to him. They cause him no harm.

I stare at him, panic coursing through me. My gaze flickers from his dangerous expression to his palm. His dark skin glistens under the dull light of my flames, flames which are inflicting no damage; no pain.

I scrutinise my flames like a traitor as I watch them caress his skin.

“Take my hand,” Julien orders, his gaze splintered by red as it holds mine through the flames. “I can help.”

I don’t want his help.

I don’t need his help.

“I would rather die than take anything from you,” I snarl whilst trying to steady my breathing. My power pulls on me, drains me, and the onyx flames begin to shrink.

My worried gaze clashes back with his and then his hand .

“I changed my vote.” His voice is calm, his fractured crimson sight steady as he takes a final small step.

“To what, chaining me in your basement instead?” His eyes seem to gleam at my words which only fuels my anger but my body visibly shakes as the flames pulse then splutter once more.

“Take my hand and I will tell you,” he offers, lowering his head to keep his gaze in line with mine. “I’m also quite partial to negotiations.”

I scoff.

“Or don’t.” His eyes level with mine. “You will soon be unconscious and who knows what will happen then. Maybe you will wake in a cage.”

I grit my teeth harder as I feel a deep burning radiating from my spine. My chest becomes unbearably tight.

“I’m offering you a choice, so choose.”

I can’t keep this up and I definitely cannot pass out, alone, in this corridor, with him .

So, I tentatively reach out through the black flames.

When my fingers touch his palm, the flames soar back to life, encircling us and pulsing with a new vigour. My body no longer aches, power no longer draining but balanced. It hums.

I gaze at the fiery barrier surrounding us before looking back at him. One corner of his mouth is pulled up into the slightest smile.

“You’re feeding from me, from my darkness,” he explains, cautiously watching my face for a reaction. I attempt to remain composed but when his smile widens, when he really smiles, I struggle to remain standing. “You can feed from me but I cannot feed from you? The irony.”

The flames splutter, mimicking my reaction to this unexpected and playful tone paired with his ridiculously devastating smile.

I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t stop gazing at him when he smiles like that. I feel my gaze slip back to his mouth as the flames begin to descend, returning to the subtle waves previously surrounding me.

“Your vote, what did you change it to?” I’m breathless and I force myself to look elsewhere, anywhere but him.

One sharp tug and I’m pulled into him, my chest against his stomach, my hands palm up in an effort to create some space. His hands are sprawled across the entirety of my lower back and keep me held to him .

My power blooms, tendrils flaring out and surrounding us.

“To feed from you, to mark you…” he repeats, his voice dark yet soft, gaze intent on mine.

My eyes widen in horror and I push against his hard body. But he simply stares down at me and raises a brow, as though questioning my stupidity for even thinking I could overpower him— could ever escape him.

Instead of pushing him again, I scowl up and lower my voice. “How kind of you to remove the cage.”

A small smile pulls at his lips as his hands slip down and settle around my waist, gripping me there, my skin burns as he calmly continues. “But I want you to beg for it.”

I stare at him, completely dumbfounded. My brows pull together tightly as he continues to stare down at me, red eyes devouring me.

“Never,” I bite out.

“We shall see, Little Empath,” he murmurs. I feel his fingers slowly glide up along my spine, to my shoulder, before gently brushing the length of my hair away to reveal my collarbone and throat to him. “I really am a masochist.”

I swallow and his gaze catches the action. I tense at the hunger there.

“I have pushed my limits enough for one night,” he comments, voice soft and low, eyes focused solely upon my throat and his fingers tightening upon my hip. “When you see Sai, tell him he lost and I am eager to collect,” Julien adds, the small curl of his lips making my throat dry.

He slowly glides his knuckles down my throat, once, twice… his crimson eyes are the last things I see before the hallway becomes empty once more.

When I realise I am alone, I slam back against the wall and run a hand over my throat, just to check it is still intact.

“What the fuck,” I mutter to myself as I continue to check I’m still here, in this hallway, not in a dark cage somewhere.

“Hey Jas, Jas? Can you hear me? Where are you?” Alexis asks, her voice sounding distant in my ear as I continue my physical assessment.

“I’m here.”

“I think comms are playing up again, your line wasn’t connecting for a while! ”

I swallow, multiple times, before replying, “I’m going for a shower, I’ll be down soon.”

I start pacing down the corridor, pushing through the double doors, and I’m climbing the stairs three steps at a time by the time she responds, “OK… don’t be too long, someone has given Javier the black tequila and you know what happened last time.” She chuckles.

As I slam open my poorly repaired door, my comms become a discarded piece of plastic on the floor. I rush into my bathroom. Only here, finally alone, do I allow myself to release a loud, guttural scream.

I muffle the sound behind two towels, holding them tightly against my face. For an empath, you think I’d be better at naming my emotions in this moment, anger, frustration, fear, pain? Possibly a combination of them all.

Only after another scream, do I let the towels fall from my grip.

Now panting, I grab the edge of my bathroom counter and stare at myself in the mirror.

My power feels renewed but also erratic. I can feel it swimming inside me, swirling and coiling, tightening and blooming, eager to escape and find what it moments ago had and filled it so completely.

It wants more.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, grip the countertop hard and focus on the sounds around me. The gentle buzz of the bathroom light, a slow melodic thud from the floors beneath me…

Deep breaths, in and out.

When I open my eyes again, they’re bloodshot, but no longer consumed by black. Although I notice the dark, wispy tendrils seeping out of me, spreading, ready to take and feed.

If I let it go, who knows what would happen.

“You called.” His voice is the last thing I want to hear.