Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Bellcolor
S imon returned me to my room. I paced it for a long time, looking for a new plan of action. Libretto revealed to me that to banish Lilith, I needed to shed my blood. When I broke my hymen I actually ruined the only way I’d found for my body to bleed. But Libretto’s reaction shook me. Why did he doubt that? Why had he said that He wanted to make me a saint? The Devil was the one who added me to his ranks, after all.
Terror seizes me as Libretto’s arrogant reaction begins to sink into my consciousness. Maybe I can’t be rid of them?
I remember that every time I’ve taken demonic blood, the wound I left in their skin was healed, while I was invulnerable. Could my body have healed itself and restored my hymen?
Great, I’m condemned to be the Virgin fucking Mary!
The possibility gets a bitter chuckle out of me. But if there’s truth to it, then it works in my favor.
I search my room for something to test my theory. I’d tasted my blood before, but my failed suicide attempts might suggest I have to take my life while under the influence of my blood. I open the dresser drawers and empty them out. A pen? No, that won’t be enough. A shampoo bottle? No, that’s fucking monstrous. I can’t just shove objects between my legs! Damn it. I can’t let some random person just take my virginity either, he’ll have to destroy my body.
Dr. Abano.
His name floats into my mind, and I shudder. Fuck, no. That would be too weird. He’s my teacher. Although he did get sent here to banish me. He’s failed in the past, and I have a feeling he’ll fail again too. I don’t trust him. And I mainly don’t trust myself when I’m around him. I’m well aware of the fact that I’m attracted to him. I can’t deny the powerful magnetism that comes to life between us… and that kiss… I can do it, can’t I?
I shake my head savagely to drive the thought out of my mind. No way. There’s something about him that awakens such strange sensations in me, and I’m too scared to give him that kind of control over my body. I’ll just have to find another solution.
There’s a knock on my door, and I’m startled. Who could it be?
I go to the door to find that it’s Valentina.
“Hey…” she says hesitantly, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. If she’s not interested in being here, why did she come?
“Hi,” I answer coolly.
“We’re heading to a club in town, wanna come?” Her smile is hesitant.
“Me? Why?”
“Why not?”
“Because I thought we weren’t friends anymore,” I state bluntly.
She takes a long breath. “I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know what came over me, maybe I was jealous of your status, maybe I wanted to defy my father’s demands. And then what we did totally confused me. You don’t even understand how strong my attraction to you became. And now, after your transformation, everyone fucking desires you. They all feel what I felt that night.”
I look at myself and can’t figure out what she means. Yes, my body’s changed, but that much? Is it my blood that’s arousing this attraction in others? If so, I need to find a solution for that problem and fast.
“I thought freshmen students were prohibited from leaving campus grounds,” I say, avoiding any confrontation of her claims or excuses.
“Rules are made to be broken, aren’t they?” She winks at me. “Besides, we met some cool third-years, they’re coming with us to make sure we behave ourselves.” She wiggles her eyebrows, and I laugh.
“Okay,” I agree. I guess if anyone could manage to show some restraint, it would be older demons. So why not a third-year? I’ll let him take my virginity, then I’ll taste my own blood and put an end to this.
Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, I did miss Valentina.
The bass hits my body as we enter the club, and my head spins at the strong smell of sex in the air. Dozens of bodies are moving to the rhythm of the music – sweaty, drunk, unrestrained, and I’m mesmerized by the atmosphere of this place.
We split up and took two cars when we slipped away from campus under cover of darkness. I went with Valentina, Tyra and a third-year named Otto. Evan was in the other car with his new girlfriend Lettie and another pair of third-years, Vlad and Evalina.
Otto clings to me right away, like being the only single man in the group gives him dibs on me. I don’t push him away. If anything I’m glad I don’t have to try hard to attract a man. That’s exactly what I want, isn’t it?
“To the bar!” Valentina calls, dancing her way to the bar stacked with revelers, pulling Tyra after her.
The whole group follows them as one cluster, and Otto puts his hand on my back, leading me through the throng. Valentina orders shots in test tubes that glow in the club’s ultraviolet lighting. As we wait for our drinks, I scan the interior of the club.
It’s my first time in a place like this, and my senses are overwhelmed. The DJ’s station is on a tall stage, with cages hanging around it containing naked dancing women, their bodies painted with florescent colors. Partygoers stand under the cages, men and women, their eyes devouring the nude bodies sensually moving to the beat of the music.
When one of the dancers kneels and spreads her legs, proudly displaying her pink folds, I feel my pupils flash with lust. Fuck, that’s hot . The cheers beneath her arouse me even more.
“Here,” Valentina shoves a glowing test tube into my hands and I smell it to check it contents. A sharp scent rises from the black fluid, and I grimace.
“Black absinthe!” Otto yells, too close to my ear. He’s too eager and it unnerves me and excites me all at once. I try to push away the unnerved part of me. I need to enjoy myself, to cut loose. I promised myself that much before I could really and wholeheartedly say goodbye to the lands of Adam. At the same time, I must stay focused on the goal I came here to achieve. And the first step is to drink the poison I’m being given.
“Cheers!” Valentina calls, spilling the entire contents of the test tube down my throat. The stinging sensation is unpleasant, to say the least, and my stomach grumbles as bile fills my mouth. Eww! Oh God, what is this shit? I contort my face and close my eyes to take control of the nausea gripping me. “Woohoo!” Valentina whoops.
“Fuck, that shit is strong!” Otto laughs, handing me a lemon wedge. He’s realized I’m about to throw up. “Suck it!” he commands, with a teeth-baring smile. I catch the double entendre and snatch the lemon wedge from him, forcing myself to play the game and sucking it sensually. He’s mesmerized by my lips; his eyes are glazed and I smile with satisfaction.
“Here!” Valentina shoves another test tube at me. I don’t want to, but the first shot has already given me the courage I needed, and I down the second one in one gulp too, my eyes never leaving Otto’s.
Suddenly he seems more attractive to me. He’s insanely tall, which is always an advantage in my eyes. His long chestnut hair is gathered in a sloppy bun high on his head, and his turquoise eyes flash demonic white from time to time. He’s in faded and torn jeans along with a black V-neck T-shirt exposing the muscled swell of his chest. He’s wearing an open flannel shirt over it with folded sleeves. The untied military shoes add to the grungy bad boy image he’s trying to project. The total opposite of the boys I’d known so far, the ones my father approved of.
He bites his lower lip, revealing his long fangs that glow in the ultraviolet light. His gaze pierces me, and I have to part my lips to take a breath. It feels like the temperature’s leapt up and the heat is going to my cheeks.
For the love of all demon-kind, relax, Belle, I encourage myself before I chicken out.
His body calls me to approach, and I put a hand on his chest. He smiles with satisfaction and I clutch his shirt, pulling him to the dance floor as Valentina shouts out encouragement. I give myself over to the sensual madness that rules this place, moving my body to the beat of the bass that bursts from the monstrous speakers surrounding the dance floor. They’re so strong they revive my still heart. How long as it been since I fed and felt the pounding of my heart? Maybe I’ll have a taste of Otto myself, because for God’s sake, he smells so good and I want to cut loose for a change.
When I turn my back to him, Otto wraps me in his large arms, and I feel his erection pressing against my ass. I move my hips in slow circles, feeling the vibrating growl erupting from his chest. Other sweaty bodies press against us, and all the faces mix together into one face in my mind. Gleaming white eyes, long fangs glowing in the ultraviolet light. God help me, it’s a demon party!
I can’t look at them for very long because Otto pulls my head back and my mouth drops open in amazement. He pours the contents of another test tube into my mouth, and I welcome the black liquid. It doesn’t make me nauseous anymore, I’m already totally drunk. I move my body, the music controlling me, and Otto’s body synchronizes with my movements. I feel his hand move up my thigh, and grunt as it makes its way under my dress. I arch my back as lust swells in my blood, and as his fingers find my beating core over my lace panties I rest my head on his chest.
I feel his chest rising and falling with the rhythm of my gasps, and let out a loud moan. Damn, the music is so strong and I can’t find any reason to stop myself. My mouth hangs open and I feel another test tube being placed on my lips. I swallow the black liquid willingly. I’m already doomed. I writhe and my skin is stinging with sweat as Otto increases the rhythm of his fingers moving between my legs. His maneuverings are confident and savage. My inner walls contract and I gasp as he presses firmly on my needy spot.
“Come for me,” Otto growls into my ear, and I instantly feel the dam break, climaxing as hard as I can. I scream so loudly that he stifles my mouth with his, swallowing my cry.
He abandons the spot between my legs and grabs my chin with his other hand to tilt my head towards him. His other hand tightens its grip on my hair. I’m swept along with the flow and my body gives in to all of Otto’s desires. It’s so good… I feel another hand reaching under the hem of my dress, moving up my thighs. I try to see who it is, but Otto holds my head tightly and I can’t move him. Someone’s moving their finger between my legs and I grunt into Otto’s mouth. Another hand rests on my stomach, caressing my feverish skin as another pair of hands massages my pulsing breasts.
“Oh God, oh God,” I whimper into Otto’s mouth, feeling his smile on my lips.
“No, sweetie, God’s not here,” he chuckles, detaching his lips from mine just so he can slide another shot of black absinthe down my throat, before devouring my mouth again.
My body keeps moving, I’m fucking myself on the strange finger moving in sloppy circles around my sensitive spot, while the hands on my breasts roll my painfully stiff nipples. I’m losing my mind. I’m fucking losing my mind, I scream in my head, realizing that my sanity clocked out and left the building long ago.
Otto lets go of my hair and runs his hand down my back. It’s big, confident, and I have no doubt he knows how to touch a woman. His hand meets the strange fingers rubbing my clit, and he slips his fingers along my soaked pussy. I’m dripping with desire. Dripping with madness. I think he’s about to stick his finger into me, but he continues towards my ass. I take a deep breath, I wouldn’t want someone to fuck me with his fingers in the middle of a demonically crowded dance floor. My plan was to let him fuck me somewhere more private, but my senses went wild the moment that black drink came into the picture. And yet, the moment his finger intrudes between my ass cheeks, I choke. For God’s sake, he’s got such a filthy mind. But what the hell did I expect from a night out with demons?
He spreads my wetness to my tense asshole. All my muscles are clenched, ready for what’s coming. I arch my body in anticipation, along with all the other hands massaging every possible place of pleasure in my body.
“Give it to me,” I grunt, in a frenzy by now, close to completely losing my mind.
I feel him insert his finger into me with agonizing slowness, and let loose a feral growl from out of the darkest places in me.
“You love it,” Otto groans into my ear, and I nod energetically. Not only do I love it, I’m going wild for it. I want to get lost; I want to let him lead me there.
Suddenly a crimson fluid with a nauseating scent floods my senses – like the skies have opened up within the club and a rain of blood is pouring down on us. I scream and knock away all the invaders of my body, seeing all the partygoers around me wallowing in human blood. The smell squeezes my innards and blocks my veins with pain. Everyone else is making sounds of pleasure, licking up the blood that pours on them from the ceiling.
The club’s sprinkler system must’ve been converted, because all that blood is coming from the ceiling.
“Hey, what happened?” Otto approaches, but I hurl him out of my way and try to carve a path out of this place before I lose myself for real.
The feelings of intoxication and delusion that I’d given into have dissipated completely, and all I want is to get the hell out of there. Sweaty and blood-soaked bodies cling to me, and I shove them away one after another. They close in on me every time I think I’ve managed to open up an escape route.
The blood, it’s everywhere. It’s in my nose, blurring my vision, my eyes are burning. The itch in my upper gums threatens to crush the whole crowd around me. A blow, like a physical strike, hits my chest, and another after it, and I lose my grip on reality. I grab a skinny hand, a stray victim wandering into the storm by the fickle hand of fate, and I pull him to me. A woman’s scream erupts from my victim’s throat. I don’t stop to think as I fix my fangs in her neck and suck the undeath out of her. Frozen blood spills into my mouth and I grunt with pleasure, in a sensually intoxicating frenzy. Her blood calls to me, urging me to drink more, and my still heart comes to life like the beating of a drum.
White eyes lock onto me, coming closer, but I’m deep in my ecstasy. They close in on me and panic wells up inside me as I realize what I’m doing. Shit. I look at my victim’s face. A weak moan bursts from Tyra’s mouth as she falls to dust in my hands, crumbling between my fingers.
The astonished looks around me give way to murderous intent. Dear God, what have I done? I want to run, to flee the many witnesses of the sin I just committed, but they’re surrounding me, closing in on me, and I’m paralyzed. Valentina will never forgive me for this.
Suddenly, before I realize what’s happening, screams come from every direction and bodies slam into me. I fall to the floor, sure I’m about to get stampeded, trying to protect myself with my hands – and I feel a hand gripping my arm, lifting me to my feet.
I can’t see anything besides blood, but I hear gunfire. Endless bullets accompanied by deafening screams. The gates of Hell have opened, and chaos reigns.
“Belle, get behind me!” a voice calls out. I can’t see who it is because I’m shielding my face with my other hand, but his smell… good God, his smell washes over me beyond doom itself. I want to go with him, to answer his call, but I can’t see anything in this chaos.
Something flies over us and he knocks me to the ground. The shock of his swift flight takes my breath away. Finally, as I manage to raise my head and wipe my face clean, I see a horror show: winged beings circling above the partygoers, firing at the demons again and again as blood stains their white feathers.
In the name of all demon-kind, are these angels?