The Vampire's Harvest

34

"I...no, I just got here."

"Would you like a mask?" She lifts her elegant arm with a flourish, her lips twisting with a smirk as she snaps her fingers and calls a drone to her side. Her servant glides over with a delicate mask of ivory and gold sitting atop of a velvet pillow. "It's yours should you join me."

"I..." You pause, your eyes wide as you drink in the future that had always been promised you. A future that many did not receive on their first trip to the ball. A future that was presented to you so willingly. A future that wasn't going to happen because of Ferris.

"Why?" you finally ask.

"Never in my many, many years have I had a feeder question my interest in them." Her brow furrows and her eyes grow dark as she scrutinizes you. Your throat goes tight as if it can already feel her fangs digging into it. Then, the shadow dashes away and her smile brightens her round face. "I was simply curious before, but now I am downright intrigued. You are a spunky human and there are not nearly enough of those."

"You find me curious?" you ask, your words breathless as the sudden dance with death ends in your favor.

"Yes," she says with a toothy grin, her fangs gleaming in the golden light. "And I'm even more curious if you'll except this mask."

All your hopes and dreams, the stories of life immortal, of extravagance and glamor, of undying love, they all start to flow through you and you lick your lips at the taste of such a future.

"Of course I will," you say, smiling at the beautiful vampire. If she proves to be truly captivated by you then accepting her mask secures that future you've dreamed of since childhood. If she proves to be the ruthless monster Ferris portrays her as, then she can die within the coven's spell. Accepting her mask will have little meaning. You see nothing to lose.

"Excellent," she says, taking the mask and placing it gently upon your face, making sure her fingers caress your cheek as she does. "Now I must take you out to the dance floor to show off my exquisite new companion, but first I'd like to give you a proper gift." Again she snaps her fingers and this time another drone approaches, bearing a small box. "Every new feeder receives a mask, but I do not walk into such relationships lightly. With me, I look for companionship, for a partner. And as such, you deserve to be showered with affection. Starting now." You blush from a mixture of excitement and guilt. Were you really going to send her to her death?

She watches you with an enigmatic bend to her brow. Her golden eyes dark and curious. She holds you in her gaze, her scent floral with a tinge of iron that confuses your senses. You look away and glance towards the floor, only to find the box open and poised before you with a golden horse figurine inside.

"My house provides the finest steeds in the world. This figurine is more a mark of your connection with me than any mask is."

"Th-thank you," you answer, unable to stop your guilt from affecting your tongue. You swallow hard as your fingers explore the finely crafted figure.

"Come," she replies with a bright bounce to her words, "let's dance!"

You barely have time to pocket your new treasure before the vamp takes your hand and ushers you to the floor. You follow her with a stumbling step, your eyes glittering beneath the light of the many chandeliers dangling from the ceiling.

"What is your name?" she asks, her breath brushing against your ear as she pulls you close.

"Micah," you respond with a breathy whisper. "What is yours my lady?"

"I am the Marquis Francis Degaré Ellimond, but you can call me Ell." She swings you around, the room spinning as the many swirling bodies encircling you become mere dashes of color and fleeting fits of laughter. "May I ask you something my dear one?"

She pulls you out of the spin and straight into her soft, ample chest. There she sways, resting her cold cheek against yours as she continues. "How much time do I have?"

"P-pardon?" you sputter, drawing away to look her in the eye. You find a mischievous smile awaiting you and a knowing glint in her honey eyes.

"I saw the runes stitched into your robe the moment you walked through the door," she says with a bit of a laugh in her voice. "Keep dancing, you don't want to alert anyone else, do you?"

You do as she says, keeping your head low as you try to plan your escape.

"See, most here are too lost in their lust or too stupid to have noticed, but I know a mage when I see one. Yet, here you are. Mages don't tend to run around without a coven."

"I..."

"Hold on my dear Micah, before you bolt from me, hear me out. I would very much like to see a good majority of the vamps here dead. Now if you can tell me what's going to happen, then maybe I can save some friends and perhaps we can go find a happily ever after outside of this dreary hall. Or you can simply keep your secret. I honestly don't care and I don't intend to rat you out. I'll be leaving this party one way or another at the end of this dance. If it's with you and my allies, all the better. If not...well, at least my enemies will be dead as well."

You listen to the music rise in a dramatic crescendo. It won't be long until it finishes and you're certain that Ferris must have gotten into the hall by now. You don't know how long his spell will take, but time must be running out.

You continue to sway with Ell, the rhythmic movements somehow soothing as your thoughts boil over. Ell hasn't done anything to prove herself a threat. Her hold on you remains gentle, her manner calm. She seems like a decent vamp, one that may prove to be a loving companion, or at least an interesting and fair one. You could tell her. Infighting amongst vamps is well known and you don't doubt that she'd be happy to leave many of the vamps behind to burn, but can you really risk the success of Ferris's spell by telling Ell? Vampires are a tricky lot and you can't know for certain she'll keep her end of the bargain. And what if Ell is lying through her teeth? She may already have drones looking for the coven. Perhaps what you really should be doing is making a scene and ensuring Ferris has enough time to finish the spell.

- Tell her the truth: ch 41

- Withhold the truth: ch 42

- Cause a scene: ch 43