Bloodsong Pt. 04

Using what little light slipped through the cracked door, Paige began to read the rest of the diary. She wasn't sure how yet, but this was what she needed. Something she could use. A mistake.

*****

Paige slept fitfully into the afternoon, and spent the rest of the day waiting for Natalie to awaken, mentally preparing herself for what she needed to do.

Kim's diary had documented a descent into madness. Hope and prayers gradually gave way to confusing rambling and colorful descriptions of Natalie's majesty. Kim seemed like she might have been a little nutty before meeting Natalie, but after a month of being fed upon and subjected to the vampire's affections the woman had become unhinged.

Paige was terrified that Kim's warning that the same might happen to her would come true, but if Natalie liked to play with her food that meant she had time.

She would let Natalie believe she was getting her way. That she was just another meal for her to toy with.

She would have to make it believable, but if she could convince Natalie that she was submitting as Kim had while staying in control, that gap in expectations might create an opportunity to escape.

Next time she wouldn't freeze.

When Natalie unlocked the door at four thirty, the numbness held. Paige waited, but Natalie never entered. So instead she steeled herself and began to climb the steps, ready to put on a show.

The new plan was largely the same as the first, only with much higher stakes.

Human or vampire, she'd seduced Natalie once. There was no doubt that the woman wanted her. Whether it was for sex or for food made no difference, Paige knew how to use that. She would lure Natalie into a false sense of security, and gain her trust.

Then she would cut and run.

As the bloodstained wood creaked beneath her feet, Paige's thoughts kept returning to one of the diary entries. It was the second to last, dated October twenty-third, and she couldn't get it out of her head. The entire entry was three short sentences:

She is made to be worshiped.

Terrible and perfect.

I surrender.

After that there had been nothing until the final entry. It was the moment Kim had truly given up, after spending just under three weeks with Natalie. Paige had to either escape before then, or pray that she had more willpower than Kim.

She clutched the cross in her pocket.

Three weeks.

*****

The setting sun was a ball of blue-gray light through the tinted glass. Natalie stood with her arms crossed, and watched as it slowly sank below the treeline. The filtered sunlight prickled against her skin. Nothing more than an itch.

Behind her the basement door swung open.

"I like to watch the sunset," She called back. Natalie turned to find Paige looking disheveled and tired, but composed. Determined.

The girl's gaze drifted past her to the window, then she moved. Natalie knew what was coming, but did nothing to stop it as Paige gripped a nearby floor lamp and rushed the window, twisting her body to swing it in an arc.

Natalie kept her eyes on Paige as glass shattered.

The girl's elation didn't last long. Her face fell as the lamp rebounded off the reinforced window and crashed to the floor, the bulb shattered. Paige turned to look at her with dismay and Natalie held her arms tightly, fighting to remain composed.

"Please don't break my furniture."

Paige looked to the window and back, then shrugged. "Worth a try."

"Come." Natalie said, leading Paige to the dining room and taking a seat at the head of the table, where a blank sheet of paper waited in front of her. She gestured for Paige to take the seat to her right.

The girl stood in the archway, reluctant to come closer. Natalie supposed she couldn't blame her.

"I... apologize for last night. I let my instincts get the better of me. It won't happen again." As long as Paige agreed to her terms, that was.

Paige gave another forced shrug and took the seat, leaning an elbow on the table in an attempt to be casual. Natalie could smell her fear, but said nothing. The girl had just learned that monsters were real, let her keep her dignity. Managing even this much nonchalance was impressive. It took most of her prey much longer to process their new reality.

"So you're a vampire." Paige stated.

"Yes."

"And I'm guessing you won't just let me go?" Paige didn't sound hopeful. She already knew the answer.

"No. Although I meant everything I said last night before I-" Natalie couldn't look Paige in the eyes as she finished, "Before things got out of hand. I never intended to harm you."

"So I'm being held prisoner by a bloodsucking freak because you don't have any self control," Paige spat. "Fucking great."

Natalie must have failed to hide her irritation, because Paige shrunk down in her chair, perhaps realizing that she shouldn't goad the 'bloodsucking freak' sitting only feet away.

Natalie reminded herself that Paige was neither her familiar nor her pet, and let her anger go. The girl's impudence wasn't her concern.

"Essentially, yes." Natalie didn't need to explain herself to a human, but found herself doing so anyway. "Our instincts can be overwhelming. Usually I find it trivial to ignore them, but on rare occasions --when faced with the right prey-- they become," Natalie paused, tapping her nails against the table. "Irresistible."

"So I'm Irresistible." Paige smirked.

"No." Natalie needed to shut down that line of thinking. "You're just like any other human, but vampiric blood is... fickle. It's like a living thing. With a soul, and a voice, of its own. Sometimes it calls to us and we can hear it. It's known as the Bloodsong."

"Sounds kind of romantic."

"It isn't. It's dangerous. It makes us do things we shouldn't." Natalie clarified, "Stupid things."

"So you heard it last night?"

"Yes."

"And you gave in?" Paige crossed her legs and waited, showing none of her earlier signs of fear. This conversation was not going how Natalie had pictured it.

"For a moment." She admitted.

Paige's smirk stretched into an insufferable grin.

"I wouldn't be so happy if I were you. The Bloodsong didn't stop after last night."

"So it's still...?"

"Yes."

Finally realizing how much danger she was in, Paige stood, but Natalie caught her arm before she could flee. She allowed herself to savor the girl's wide, panicked eyes for a moment before saying, "Don't run. It makes me want to chase you."

Natalie let go and Paige reluctantly sat back down.

"I can't let you go now that you know my secret, but I still don't want to hurt you. So I thought we might come to a compromise."

Paige didn't need to know that the suggestion had actually come from Mattias.

Natalie withdrew a pen from her pocket and removed the cap. The tip was a quill shaped nib, sharp as a razor. Paige tensed beside her, watching as Natalie pricked her own thumb and let the pen linger, drawing up blood.

Once the pen had drunk its fill, she pulled it away. The wound closed.

"You already know that vampire blood has certain side effects," Paige's expression soured. "But it's also a powerful magical conduit. It can be used to inscribe contracts that bind both parties to their word. We call them blood pacts."

Paige's brows shot up and Natalie couldn't help but smile. Perhaps it was the writer in her, but she'd always enjoyed revealing the nature of the unseen world. It had been a long time since she'd had the opportunity.

"So whatever we agree to..."

"Will be binding."

"Magically." Paige added skeptically.

"Indeed. Neither of us can violate the terms, even should we wish to."

Natalie waited while Paige considered, letting the implications set in. Truthfully, pacts were a nasty business. Like most kin, she tried to avoid them wherever possible, and had learned to be meticulous with her wording when one was unavoidable. More than one kin had met their demise due to an ill considered pact that left them at the mercy of a human.

"Okay, let's say I believe you. What exactly would those terms be?" Paige asked.

"You will stay here for a month, as agreed. Serving as my housekeeper, and since you already know I'm a vampire, my source of blood."

Paige blanched at that.

"Relax, it won't kill you. I'll only take what I need to be comfortable, and most humans find it rather enjoyable."

"I thought the whole point of this contract was to prevent you from hurting me." Paige said. Her tone was guarded, and she was gripping the edge of her seat.

"The point is to prevent me from accidentally killing you. If I'm going to bind myself to you, then I'm at least going to make use of a convenient food source. Especially since your presence here would make it difficult to feed my usual way."

"Then why don't you just let me go and find someone else? Someone who doesn't make you hear this Bloodsong thing. Why does it have to be me?"

It was a fair question.

Natalie still wasn't sure herself. Initially she'd only wanted to save a desperate girl on a whim. Then to prove that she was stronger than the Bloodsong. Now that both attempts had failed spectacularly, what point was there in keeping Paige?

Perhaps she should find someone else. Then she could give in to the Bloodsong. End this ridiculous deviation from her routine with a night of indulgence, and return to her simple, organized life. Free from reminders of past failures.

Natalie set the pen down and studied Paige, who seemed hopeful that she was considering her plea. The girl gave a weak smile and Natalie's body hummed.

"No." Natalie lifted the pen and began to write. "One month of service, then I let you go as agreed. It's not a bad deal. You'll still be compensated, and you won't be sleeping in the streets."

Paige opened her mouth, but swallowed whatever question had been on her lips. Natalie focused on the pact. Her pen scratched against the paper, leaving behind elegant swooping lines. The most important item was to maintain the carefully cultivated secrecy that separated the mortal world from the unseen.

Since Natalie had allowed Paige to learn the truth, she was obligated to keep the girl from sharing that knowledge. Vampiric laws were ever-changing, and differed from monarch to monarch, but protecting their secrecy was ubiquitous and sacred.

"What if I don't agree to the terms?" Paige asked.

"Then I'll kill you."

"Just like that?"

Natalie looked up, expecting to find despair. Instead, Paige watched her intently, features schooled into stillness. Paige's viridian eyes held hers, unperturbed. She reminded Natalie of the courtesan last night. Poised in the face of danger.

The room felt suddenly hot as need filled her, urging her forward. She wanted to feel Paige's lips against hers. To taste the girl's defiance. To scour it away until all that was left was raw, honest passion.

Natalie blinked first, dropping her gaze back to the pact.

"I'd rather not, but I will if I must. Now that you know our kind exist, you're my responsibility."

Natalie set the pen aside and held up the pact, checking it for mistakes or vulnerabilities.

The following agreements shall be observed for the duration of Paige Clarke's life:

I. Paige Clarke will share no knowledge of vampires, excepting those individuals who are already aware of their existence.

II. Paige Clarke will not conspire with any vampire to act against the wishes of Natalie Stoia, or sign any future pacts with vampires other than Natalie Stoia.

III. Natalie Stoia will not kill or physically harm Paige Clarke

The following agreements shall be observed for thirty days:

I. Paige Clarke will reside in the home of Natalie Stoia, and will not flee the home unless doing so is necessary to preserve her life.

II. Paige Clarke will offer her blood to Natalie Stoia each night.

Finally, If Paige Clarke flees before completing thirty days of service, All agreements binding Natalie Stoia are rendered void.

Attempting to account for every possibility within a pact was a fool's errand. Each new line had the potential to bind oneself in unforeseen ways. Better to keep things simple. Avoid overly restrictive language and instead include a catch-all, as she'd done here.

This way, she would only be bound by the effects of the pact so long as Paige remained for the entire month. Plenty of time for the Bloodsong to fade and for Natalie to satisfy herself that Paige wasn't special so she could return to her life with her honor sufficiently intact.

She slid the paper toward Paige and watched the girl's eyes flit back and forth as she read.

"My entire life?!" Paige quickly exclaimed.

"Standard procedure. Any human aware of our existence has agreed to the same."

Most of them, anyway.

"Okay, and what's up with the second line?"

"Many humans try to ally themselves with other kin to worm their way out of pacts."

Paige pursed her lips, but said nothing more as she continued to read. Her face remained impassive, but for a split-second something changed. A twitch of the lips. Eyes darting up to read an earlier item.

"Hey!" Paige exclaimed as Natalie snatched the paper and read it again. Then again. She caught her mistake the second time.

She took up the pen and made an addendum to the first monthly constraint:

Ia. Paige Clarke may not intentionally bring about any danger or situation that would require her to flee the house.

Paige grumbled When Natalie handed it back, but had the sense not to complain. Not about that item anyway.

"Every day is too often, I'll become anemic. How about Once a week?"

Paige's tone was casual, but her pulse raced. Was she that afraid of being bitten?

"Every other day." Natalie conceded. "And you'll be fine. I don't need more than a thimble."

"Don't think I didn't notice the wording either." Paige said as Natalie began crossing out text. "It only says that I have to offer my blood. It doesn't limit how often you can drink. Rephrase it."

Clever.

"Fine. How about this?"

She rewrote the line and added a new one to bottom of the pact so they read:

II. Paige Clarke will offer her blood to Natalie Stoia each night every other night.

III. Natalie Stoia will only feed from Paige Clarke when Paige Clarke offers.

Natalie had no doubt that Paige would spot the loophole she'd created. A bit shameless, she had to admit, to turn a pact into a game. But she couldn't resist. If she was binding herself for the duration of Paige's life then she would at least have some fun during their time together.

Paige's brows furrowed as she considered. "I still want my money."

"You'll receive it at the end of the month."

"It's not written down," Paige pointed out.

"I'm not using a blood pact for something so mundane."

"Fine," Paige relented. "Not like I have a choice."

"Blood pacts can't be forced, you always have a choice." Natalie said as she offered Paige a second, fresh pen.

"Sign the pact..." she began.

"Or die." Natalie finished.

Paige took the pen.