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  Vince took a step closer to her, glowering at her. "I promised Viktoria, I know that, I'm well aware that I promised you I would stay, but that was because I thought no one would want a pair of misfit kids like us. I did NOT kidnap you, you came willingly, because ALL humans come when a vampire asks them, humans are naturally stupid like that. I HAVE tortured you, it's what I was taught to do, it is what I am. I'm a torturer, a hellion. And I have watched as you reached your breaking point, but I've realized, Viktoria, that I can't do that anymore! I can't!"

  "Why?" She hissed, moving closer as if the two of them were wrapped in a rubber band stretched taught by their space, slowly pulling them together as the rubber relaxed.

  "Because I- I LOVE you, Viktoria! I'm in love with you. I always have been and always will be. I wouldn't- couldn't sell you to some vampire because your MINE...you are MY Viktoria, my lover, my human, my servant, my Queen of Darkness." Vince said, closing the gap between them, moving so his lips were at her ear.

  "I'll give you a choice, darling. You could die here now, or you can belong to me, Viktoria. You choose." Vince said in her ear, sending chills up her spine.

  "I'd rather be damned." Tori spat back- and she was...by their wicked love. She knew right as Vince kissed her that she would forever be his...that they were meant to be together. It was in the way their bodies melted together, the way his lips led and she followed. How he moved and she responded, how he hated and she loved, the way he bit and drank her blood, sending in the last doses of his life juice as he sliced his skin for the last time and bled into her....

  "I'm yours, Vincent DeChorello." She said so quietly that it was nearly the sound of the air stirring around them, but he heard, he always did.

  Chapter 14

  The Guardian's Gathering was tomorrow night, starting at dusk and ending at dawn. Viktoria was highly aware that her body was changing, that she was gradually changing from human to vampire, that she was going to be Vince's forever.

  Tori groaned quietly, collapsing on Vince's bed while he sat at his writing desk scrawling on an envelope that needed to be sent to his distant cousin Splice.

  Vince glanced over his shoulder quickly at Tori, worry in his blackish red eyes. He hadn't fed at all today, it was a custom of the vampires. They never fed for a whole twenty-four hours before the Guardian's Gathering.

  "What's wrong, darling?" He asked softly, eying Tori warily.

  "Just...aches...again." She gasped out through gritted teeth, bringing her knees to her chest and lying on her side, relieving some of the pain the vampire blood was causing in her stomach as it morphed it slowly and agonizingly.

  Vince nodded and strode over to her picking up a black blanket from his bed and gently easing her into his arms, walking her over to his chair by the window and sitting down. He wrapped the blanket around her, laying her head down on his shoulder, fingers playing in her hair that reflected the orange and violet hues of sunset.

  "The change will be done soon, Viktoria. The pain will ease with it," he whispered in her ear, brushing away a stray strand of hair on he forehead with his lips.

  Viktoria's hand clutched his left arm's bicep, applying nearly painful pressure as her own agony slid through her body.

  Everything between the two had returned to normal in the past week. Vince had told Viktoria about Jon's plans and his accomplice- Maria. How that dreadful story was made up of foul lies meant to tear them apart so it would be easier to kill the both of them.

  Viktoria hadn't liked the news about Maria joining forces with Jon, if Vince hadn't held her back than Maria would've been dead the moment the news was released to her.

  "Vince, what are we doing about tomorrow?" Tori wondered, her body going still with fear. Even though she had rarely heard any vampire mention the Guardians of Death, she knew that they were dark, dangerous, evil, and bloodless vampires that would smile down at Death as they killed it themselves.

  "I don't know, Viktoria." He said softly. "But whatever happens tomorrow, remember one thing: No one is to be trusted."

  "Why?"

  "Because any vampire will be willing to suck-up to a Guardian if it means getting on their good-side if they even have one," Vince explained, "they'd even kill their best friend if it meant getting more miles to their territory or gaining more blood vessels to drink from."

  Tori shivered and tried to shrink into Vince's embrace. He tightened his arms around her protectively. "Would someone sell you out?"

  Vince laughed mirthlessly. "I'll tell you one thing, Viktoria, more than one person will try tomorrow, but I'm one of the most well-known and powerful vampires the darkness knows, the Guardians like me....no one really lives when they confront the Guardians of Death in regards to my misbehavior."

  Tori nodded, her lips kissing Vince's neck, instinctive and unthinkingly going for the place where his pulse is strongest.

  Vince knew that Viktoria would be a very good vampiress when she reached the next life, she'd be able to survive on her own if anything ever happened to him...

  "Darling," Vince murmured suddenly, his demeanor changing from kidding to stark seriousness.

  "Yes, Vincey?"

  He smirked slightly at her unconscious use of his nickname. "I have something to give you," he whispered and removed his arms from around Tori, reaching up to his neck and untying the black ribbon with the dangling cross around his ashen throat. "I want you to have this, it will tell any vampire that you are MINE..."

  Tori stood up the pain in her abdomen suddenly melting away with the butterflies flapping around like hungry bats in her stomach.

  Vince followed her movement and stood behind her while she held her white hair up on her head so he could fasten the black piece of silk, Tori realized, around her neck. The pendant was heavy and fell so the bottom leg of the cross sat between her breasts, the top prong just below the hollow of her throat, the arms stretching out so they corresponded with her collarbones.

  "You are mine, Viktoria. Forever." He whispered in her ear, kissing down her throat and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her backwards against his lean, hard body.

  She could feel the muscles that coated his figure like armor as she relaxed in the circle of his familiar and welcoming arms. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, her lips brushing the hollow of his neck as she, too, whispered, "And you are mine, Vincey. For eternity."

  Chapter 15

  Viktoria had unintentionally fallen asleep in Vince's room that night and had only awoken to the feeling of the human part of her soul pulling towards the light that was rising steadily over the Rocky Mountains. She looked at Vince while he slept. His dark, jet-black hair fell around his face like the Gothic halo of a vampire prince, his now-black eyes were closed and dark crescents of lashes brushed his sharp cheekbones. His long, straight nose twitched slightly as he slumbered and his chiseled-to-perfection lips quirked subtly as he clutched Tori closer to his relaxed body.

  Tori had never seen the most dangerous of all vampires this vulnerable.

  She sighed and slowly, gradually eased out of his comforting arms. Despite the fact that she was a servant that was feeding the vampires, she had to help out with the rest of the servants today- especially today, for at dusk the Gathering would commence and blood lust, thirst, pleasure, and torture will swirl through this very air, causing the lethal creatures of the night to get giddy, excited...hungry.

  Tori slipped out of bed and over to Vince' writing desk, taking the sealed envelope and moving out of the room. Vince had told her that she needed to get that letter in the mail and sent to his cousin Splice immediately, that it was extremely important. And so she did. Vince hadn't told her much about this cousin, just that he was dangerous and needed to be informed of a few things before she changed.

  Striding down the stairs, running her fingers through her hair to neaten it up she walked to the main double doors made of pure glass, rot iron, and gold. She opened them, sticking the envelope in the mailbox, then went to s
tart her duties for the day.

  As she closed the door, a rush of cold air burst at her, fully awakening her. At the time Tori didn't take that wind seriously, but it would prove in the future to be a bad omen, for Death had entered the Hotel.

  * * *

  The weight of the pendant on Tori's chest slowed her nervous breathing down and calmed her, for the simple fact that she had something of Vince's with her made her think that he was always there. She hadn't seen much of him today, he'd been running about the Hotel, snapping at servants, checking the food, making sure the rooms were in tip-top shape.

  It was around quarter to five in the afternoon when Vince caught Tori on the way back from the storage room with a stack of towels in her arms, her head barely visible over the load she carried. He seemed to materialize out of nowhere and pull her into a nearby bathroom, setting the towels down and crashing his lips upon hers.

  They kissed for a little while until Tori whispered against his seductive mouth, "We need to get back and help out...Vincey." She said his name in a gasp as a blast of agony bashed into her skull from every angle. If Vince hadn't caught her by the waist than she would've fallen to the marble floor in pain.

  "Viktoria," Vince whispered, lowering her to the ground, the cold linoleum tub feeling good against her back that felt like it was on fire. She was suddenly, frighteningly, aware of every single last bone in her body as heat washed through them, then ice-cold sensations. Every time she tried to move her arm she felt as though her joints creaked like the old hinges on a door.

  "Viktoria, I think you need to go rest," he purred softly in her ear, stroking her clammy cheek.

  She shook her head stubbornly, "No, no. It's okay...it'll pass, it's been happening all day."

  Vince eyed her skeptically and helped her up despite his better judgment. "Viktoria, if it gets any worse you NEED to go to my room and stay put, sleep it off...when you wake up, you'll be changed and hungry."

  Viktoria sighed. "I'll be fine, Vince. Go get ready, the guests should be here in an hour or so, you need to be prepared....and careful. I haven't seen Jon or Maria all day, they're up to something, Vince."

  Vince nodded, leaning his forehead against hers and inhaling the last whiff of delicious human scent he might ever get off of her before saying, "I know, but it is YOU who must be extremely careful today. The vampire blood in you is going to change you one way or another and our little enemies are building up to some crescendo."

  Tori looked into Vince's black-as-night eyes and ran her fingers over the dark shadows under his optics. "You feeling alright yourself? You're too thirsty-looking."

  Vince chuckled deeply, "All the vampires are 'thirsty-looking' today, darling. They're not only 'thirsty-looking', they ARE thirsty. So be on your toes."

  Tori rolled her eyes, the slight movement sending pangs of aches through her head.

  "Okay, stop mocking me. I'll see you soon." She kissed him once more on the lips and collected her towels before exiting the bathroom to continue her jobs, all the while she fought off the warning signs of the change into the next life and focused on what lay ahead...four Guardians, three-hundred-and-something thirsty vampires, fifty or so humans, and one half-human, half-vampire girl.

  Chapter 16

  Tori sighed as she walked into the kitchen, it was exactly six O'clock and the sun was lowering the sky as she came face-to-face with Maria, her black hair tied up in a ponytail, her green eyes flickering with nervousness- and excitement?- as she locked the door Tori had just strode through. She then moved to the counter while Tori's unease about this girl spiked.

  "Maria, what are you doing?" Tori demanded, her voice unwavering and harsh in spite of her fear.

  Maria smiled cruelly and picked up a knife from the sink. "I'm following orders, Tori. You're not getting out of here alive." She murmured and moved towards Tori.

  Tori backed up against the doors, trying to unlock them with nervous fingers.

  "Huh-uh, Tori." Maria purred.

  Tori felt that surge of power through her body as the vampire blood intensified once more, it laced through her bones and nerves, heightened her senses, made her more...lethal. She swung around in a smooth movement and glared at the traitor, her irises gaining a thin ring of blood red around her pupils.

  Suddenly, Tori wasn't scared at all about what was threatening her life. The blade in Maria's hand didn't strike fear into her heart...and that stupid human holding it didn't chill her to the bone. The blood was nearly done changing her, it was almost to her brain...it was changing her outlook on life...on humans and fear...on thirst and death.

  Maria took a shocked step back from Tori as she lowered her body into a slight crouch, her eyes blazing with the craving of a fight- of spilled blood.

  "Kill me," Tori growled and didn't even wince away as Maria ran towards her, knife poised to murder.

  When Maria was within a foot of Tori, she grabbed hold of Maria's knife hand, twisted it so Maria had no choice but to spin with it. Tori heard a satisfying crack as Maria's wrist snapped and, to Tori's disbelief, she LIKED the sound of the crack, of Maria's shriek of agony, of the blood that seeped out of Maria's chest as Tori retrieved the knife from Maria's hand and plunged it into her opponent's heart.

  Tori slowly moved towards the twitching body of the servant girl, the crimson liquid spilling out of the corpse mesmerizing her....she wanted it SO bad, wanted to feel the liquid run over her tongue, taste its coppery flavor....wanted to sense the soul of her victim rush out of the body, through the blood, and into her mouth.....

  There was a sudden knock on the door and Tori jumped. She knew it wasn't a servant, that it was one of the two vampires who roamed the Hotel today and quickly, Tori moved the body- with the knife still plunged into its chest- towards the cellar door that was located off to the side of the room. She opened it and, without an ounce of guilt or regret, dumped the body down the stairs.

  Tori closed the door quietly, hearing the thump as the carcass hit the cement floor at the bottom of the stairs. She rushed to the fridge, grabbed a carton of blood and opened the lid, dumping some on the ground and unlocking the door.

  Jon walked in and froze.

  "What happened here, Viktoria?" He demanded irritatedly.

  "I had a little accident, Master Jon." She murmured innocently, her eyes showing guilt, no longer baring the ring of crimson around her pupils.

  "Clean it up immediately...and by any chance, do you know where Maria is? I need to speak to her." Jon said, heading back to the main doors.

  Tori shook her head. "No, I haven't seen her all day long, must be off cleaning a guest room upstairs."

  "Ahem, I see. Okay, clean this mess up immediately, the vampires should be here in a half an hour."

  Tori once nodded and watched Jon's broad figure ghost away, oblivious to what had taken place in the kitchen. Tori grabbed a mop and started cleaning up the "spill."

  Death struck once tonight, how many times would it feed before it is satisfied?

  Chapter 17

  The vampires had arrived.

  Vince was cool and calm on the outside; nervous and thirsty on the inside. He could barely stand the sight of the servants' necks as they passed by him, wafting their sweet scent into his flaring nostrils. He sighed, wondering where Viktoria was, Jon had said she was acting abnormally, and when he had mentioned that there was an odd glint of anger and mischievousness in those temporarily obsidian eyes.

  Vince was well aware that she was acting oddly- she was changing into a vampire. He had checked his room and saw no sign of her there, then he had poked his head into her chambers- she wasn't there.

  He stopped a male servant with a hand to his shoulder and asked in a pensive tone, "Where's the servant- uh, what's her name...? Oh yeah, Viktoria?" He feigned absentmindedness so it wouldn't look as if he was worried about Viktoria.

  "Oh, Tori? She said she had to go take out trash a few minutes ago, I don't think she'll be long, though, Master Vince." The servant
answered, his brown hair flopping in his eyes.

  "Thank you...and slick back that hair before the Guardians arrive, we don't want them thinking I rely on dirty humans, now do we?" Vince hissed, his thirst bringing out his bad side.

  "N- No, Master Vince."

  "Good, now go tidy up and pass the word along to any other servant who looks like they need to clean up. Go." Vince shoved the young man away and moved towards the main door, ushering in another bunch of vampires.

  The Hotel was now filled with about two-hundred vampires, not including him, his brother, and the four Guardians that should be arriving soon.

  Vince slipped out of the Hotel and into the brisk autumn air of the mountain, his eyes roaming the never-used driveway that wound its way through outcroppings of stone and the occasional tree. He smelled blood, too faint for the other vampires to really notice if they were entering the human-filled building. But Vince noticed it because it was Viktoria's blood mingled with some other humans....