Chapter 23
TOBIAS
All Tobias could focus on was the knowledge that Alexander had used compulsion on him.
Not once, but multiple times. Rationally, Tobias knew Alexander’s need to control him was born from fear and panic, first when the vampires arrived at the soup kitchen to rush him away, and now to ensure Tobias kept to his personal rooms. Tobias couldn’t be upset about it, not with all the lies he harboured.
His lies far outweighed Alexander’s. But deep in his gut, it made him uneasy.
Because even though he was a made vampire, he was still playing the part of a human, a lamb in a den of lions.
Tobias hoped Alexander wouldn’t be long. In an ideal world he would’ve followed him out, found out what conversations were happening behind his back. But doing so would prove he was immune to the compulsion, not a mortal nor a vampire under Damianos control, which would ruin everything.
Kate didn’t die for Tobias to waste his false innocence. Her murder had diverted attention from him, he was sure of it. But still, whoever was out there copying him would have to be dealt with.
Alexander clearly had the means to sort it.
Tobias dressed himself in one of Alexander’s oversized flannel shirts and a pair of jogging bottoms. He looked ridiculous but so desperately needed the comfort after the last few days. Until they could get him more clothing, this would have to do.
He shrank into the soft material, delighting in how powerful Alexander’s scent was on him – cedarwood balanced with smoky embers and a light note of citrus. The perfect blend of opposing scents, exactly how Alexander was the perfect mix of dark and light, loyal and lethal.
How long would his scent last? When Vladimir died, taking all vampires in the Damianos clan with him, when would Alexander’s presence truly fade? Tobias couldn’t help but believe that it would haunt him, acting as a reminder of what was unfairly taken.
Then again, Tobias didn’t deserve someone like Alexander. He was undeserving of love. Alexander would die just like his parents and sister. All the people he adored, and who loved him back, and yet it would be his lover’s monstrous hands that killed them all.
Tobias’ ears pricked at the sound of the footsteps far beyond the closed door. He looked up a moment before knuckles rapped against wood.
It couldn’t be Alexander. He wouldn’t knock on the door to his own rooms.
Tobias kept still, perched on the edge of the king-sized bed. The knocking sound came a couple more times, until a lithe voice filtered into the bedroom. “I know you’re in there, darling. Open up. Let me see what treats Alexander has brought home with him this year.”
Tobias stiffened with alarm, but took the information he could from the voice. Clearly, this woman was a relation of Alexander’s, another Damianos vampire. He could only imagine how the privilege had ruined her.
There was no point pretending he wasn’t inside. She’d be able to sense his presence, to hear even the beating of his heart, and likely even knew the moment Tobias arrived and the moment Alexander left him alone again.
“The door’s locked,” Tobias called back when sharp nails began carving shapes on the other side of the door. The vampire was teasing him, testing him. “And I’m afraid I can’t open it either.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
Both.
Tobias was confident he heard sniffing from the other side of the door. Like a dog smelling through the bag holding its food, salivating at the promise of a feeding.
“So, the heir has truly claimed you, hasn’t he? You smell so pungently of him. It’s quite nearly overwhelming.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Tobias replied as he faced the door. Light spilled into the dark corridor from around the door, giving the impression of an eclipsed sun.
“Oh, but I think you do.”
“Listen, if you’re looking for Alexander, I believe he’s with his sister. You should go–”
“It isn’t Alexander I desire, little human. It’s you. Now open this door.”
“Did you forget the part when I told you it was locked?” Tobias retorted. “How the fuck am I supposed to open it? Alexander is the only one with the key.”
It was easy to ignore the compulsion, because the door was actually locked. Tobias wasn’t simply refusing the command, he actually couldn’t carry it out without the key.
But clearly, the answer didn’t suffice.
“No bother. Replacing one door won’t make a dent in the coffers.”
Thank God for the warning. Tobias moved just before the door broke off the frame, splintering into countless shards of wood. He jumped and grabbed on to the chandelier, using it to swing upwards and wedge himself between the walls of the narrow hall. He dug his nails through plaster and clung on.
The vampire stood beneath him in the mess of shattered wood.
He couldn’t see much of her face, but Tobias could guess she was beautiful as all the Damianos vampires were.
But from the glowing aura that surrounded her, she was starving, determined, and most of all excited.
Three emotions that, when combined, meant she’d be lethal. It made Tobias’ stomach churn.
Tobias knew he had to run. It was the only option. Could he take the vampire down? Yes. But that would cause questions, the answers to which would only ruin everything.
Why did the thought of that please him?
With no time to mull over what he should do, Tobias clawed soundlessly across the ceiling and out into the corridor beyond. The vampire wouldn’t have thought to look up – no human could cling upside down like a bat.
He left the vampire to begin her hunt. She would think he was hiding somewhere in Alexander’s apartments, and it would give him time to get away. His scent, after all, was plastered on almost every surface in the rooms.
Tobias took his chance and fled.
He dropped to the floor only when he was far enough from the rooms that he couldn’t hear the crashing of furniture.
Tobias had no desire to bump into any more overfriendly Damianos vampires, so he searched for an empty room to hide in.
Luckily, this wing of the house was pretty empty.
He took the brass handle of a door at the end of the hall, turned it, and slipped into the dark room.
It was quiet, almost silent. Tobias couldn’t make out anything from inside, because every light was off and his eyes were still adjusting from the bright hallway.
But he closed the door, sealing himself inside, and he finally released a sigh of relief.
“I admit, this was not how I expected to finally meet you, Tobias Osian.”
Tobias’ blood chilled to ice as he stopped dead in his tracks.
Behind him, emerging from the shadows he was made from, was Vladimir Damianos.
Tobias turned around, making out the powerful frame of the man who’d haunted him for nearly five hundred years.
There, right before him, eyes glowing in the dark.
He’d thought about this moment for centuries, yet Tobias found himself at an utter loss for words.
“You’re frightened,” Vladimir announced, as though he had just worked out Tobias’ darkest secret.
“I’m… lost,” Tobias answered.
A hiss of a match, and a candle was lit, then another. The glow of warm orange illuminated a desk, bookcases, and a handful of chairs. This room was an office. A study. Vladimir’s study.
Tobias cleared his throat. This fear he felt, staring into Vladimir’s eyes again, was paralyzing. It overcame him in a rush, debilitating him, preventing him from reaching for the vengeance he’d imagined during his long, tortured life.
“Sorry – sorry if I disturbed you. I didn’t mean to–”
He raised a hand to silence Tobias. “It is no bother. You must’ve expected this room to be empty because it was dark, but it is in the dark that I focus better. I find that removing the senses sharpens one’s ability to think. And at this present moment, I require a lot of thinking.”
Both men stood before each other, completely exposed.
Tobias fixed his gaze on Vladimir, watching the small changes to his expression.
Did Vladimir recognise Tobias? That was his one and only thought.
As they stood before each other, finally exposed, did the man look to Tobias and find an old memory dragged up to the surface?
The answer was clearly no. Tobias couldn’t suppress his anger.
It rose in him like a tidal wave, an uncontrolled tempest that longed for release.
How dare this monster forget him. How dare he ruin Tobias’ life and yet have that act of violence be so unimportant to him that he likely didn’t even remember what he had done?
“You’re nothing like him.” The words left Tobias without thought.
Vladimir, amused, tilted his head. “Like whom?”
Tobias took a step closer, feeling as though Alexander’s clothes were like armour. Not only did they coat him in Alexander’s scent, covering up the lack of human on his skin, but they made him brave like Alexander. They gave him confidence. “Your son. You’re nothing like him.”
Clearly, that wasn’t the right thing to say.
Vladimir’s expression darkened like a storm cloud passing over bright skies.
His revulsion at Tobias’ comment shrouded any hint of kindness in his gaze, and still Tobias didn’t fear for his life.
He wouldn’t. Tobias had the power here. He swept his eyes around the room, searching for anything he could use to slay the monster.
A letter opener, a fountain pen. Small objects that paled in comparison to the stake left in his flat in Oxford, and yet they would do the job.
“I can see what Alexander finds interesting in you, Tobias.”
Tobias returned his attention to Vladimir. The use of Alexander’s name reminded him of the price that would be paid if Tobias killed Vladimir. It stopped him long enough for Vladimir to place his body between Tobias and the desk.