Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 49

Cecilia was too confused to react in any way when she was quickly swept away from Tobias and Helen. She didn't even get the chance to give him a parting glance, to memorize his face to have something to keep her strong through the pain that she knew awaited her.

Before she knew it, they were near the port. The only reason she was aware of that was the fact that she could smell the sea, but the place she was in was not a boat. Nor was it a nice little dilapidated house that could be fixed up with a bit of speed and some effort.

From what she could get from the flurry of movements that her travel consisted of, Cecilia came to the conclusion that she was in an old musty basement filled with rotten boards and horrible smells of dead rats and stagnant water filled with bacteria and mold.

The moment the movements stopped, she could feel shackles go around her legs and feet and upon feeling a searing pain she realized that the shackles were imbued with a small amount of holy water. Although she tried to appear brave, the truth was that she was terrified.

Somehow dying while battling Stanton didn't bother her as much since she at least knew she would die fighting but being chained up and slowly tortured was her worst nightmare. It was obvious that Anja would show her no mercy and Cecilia could understand that. If someone were to kill Tobias she would have cut them up piece by tiny piece.

The situation she had found herself at that moment was humiliating besides being excruciatingly painful. Cecilia hadn't felt like a human being for a while, she had finally accepted that she was a vampire, but being hung up in the air like a mere toy made her feel like she was nothing, worthless.

The only thing that kept her from screaming out in pain was the thought of Tobias coming to save her. When he finally came to rescue her, she didn't want him to see her broken, she wanted to show him how brave she could be.

Another part of her brain, the crueler part, kept telling her that Tobias wouldn't come, that she was done. It told her that she had come to the end of her existence and would meet a painful ending after a long and torturous journey.

"Enjoying your new accommodations?" Anja's voice interrupted the debate in Cecilia's head.

"I thought this was appropriate for someone who decided to play with people's lives, to be a mere puppet for my amusement. That will teach you not to play judge and jury, a knowledge that will serve no purpose but making me enjoy the pain in your eyes since you will cease to exist in this filthy basement, as filthy as your soul." Anja said.

That was when a few other vampires appeared and the nightmare Cecilia had while she was still human became reality. They all started feeding off of her and the sheer amount of blood they took would have left anyone sluggish and barely existing, vampire, or not.

At that moment she could no longer contain her horror at being at mercy of a vampire who had no concept of mercy and she screamed out in agony. However, soon enough she no longer had the strength to do anything but hang limply as the vicious vampires fed off her just enough to torture her, and yet keep her alive.

Her screams of agony were mixed with exhilarated laughter of Anja who was just watching the situation unfold, enjoying every scream, every expression of pain, and devastation. Every moment Cecilia was suffering, felt like a step closer to her dear Stanton who enjoyed good torture as much as Anja did.

It felt, for just a moment, like he wasn't gone, like he was standing by her side, kissing her in gratitude for teaching the newborn a lesson. For avenging his death.

Stanton was the only vampire who ever paid any attention to Anja, who wanted her. Admittedly, sometimes he was too rough with her which she didn't like. But other times, when he was in a good mood they would be vicious to others, and it was the best thing Anja had experienced while being a vampire.

They would feed off each other's madness and do unimaginable things for the mere pleasure of it all. Unfortunately for Anja, the happy days never lasted long. Soon enough she would be discarded, sometimes even literally, for someone younger and prettier. Still, he always came back to her.

She didn't care if he came back to torture her, love her, or kill her, as long as he came back to her. Now, she couldn't imagine not belonging to anyone.

What did her life mean without him telling her what to do? That was just one of the questions that had bounced around her head before she learned who was responsible for what had happened and made it her goal to catch them and torture them.

Some time had passed since they grabbed the girl, and although she had been tortured and fed on and a lot of interesting things in between, Anja wasn't satisfied. Nothing she did to Cecilia was able to fill the hole in her very existence that Stanton's death created.

Focused as she was on her thoughts, and since the other vampires were having a feeding frenzy, they didn't notice anything strange before all hell broke loose. After all, feeding on a vampire was a taboo, and being able to do so was a treat that only rare few could resist, and even rarer few could control.

It was something about the perfect balance between the spicy and salty taste of blood that made the vampires' senses go haywire. Sometimes it could even have the effects similar to a drug and unfortunately for them, that was one of the times.

Cecilia's blood was more delicious than any they had ever tasted. It wasn't something they could describe, or understand, but they thoroughly enjoyed its unique flavor.

Before anyone could sense the unwanted presence a wild growl was heard and then a scream pierced the air. The devastation in that one scream that was cut short told them all they needed to know.

Anja was aware that they were under attack, and the only thing that went through her mind had nothing to do with reason or survival. After all, she felt as if her life without Stanton made no sense. So instead of following her people in defending the place, she ran to Cecilia and bit into the closes part of her body.

She started sucking hungrily in hopes that maybe since Cecilia fed on Stanton there would be some traces of him, of his essence, some sense of familiarity, of connection. However, there was nothing but the intoxicating taste of blood. She didn't want or need that as much as the other vampires seemed to.

Still, she bit in even deeper hoping that maybe if she sucked Cecilia dry, there would be some sense of relief. Maybe by taking her essence, Anja would finally be able to make herself whole. Even while she did that she knew she was making no sense. Still, she went on.

She drank so ravenously that she almost choked by sucking in too much blood, but that didn't stop her. Anja doggedly went on, determined to feel something, until a pair of strong hands gripped her away from Cecilia and into the wall.

That was when she decided that whoever dared interrupt her feast was going to die, and that she would stomp on their heart as a small child stomping in anger at being denied their favorite toy.