dear friend Max, who sees only black and white.' He turned and walked across the room, twitched the curtains to look out.
The movement allowed a bit of light into the room; it was lighter than it had been when she last remembered being in the carriage. She must have been here overnight.
That meant that tonight at midnight would begin the Day of the Dead. If she were going to have any chance of stopping Nedas, of attempting to kill him, she had to get away from Sebastian and the vampires that lurked somewhere nearby. Her neck was still chilled.
Victoria pulled on her arms, fixed above her head, elbows bent. 'How long are you going to keep me like this?' she asked.
He turned, half-shadowed by the sunlight streaming in from the window, reminding her that no one was completely shadowed or lit; no one was wholly good or wholly evil. Even, if he were to be believed, vampires. 'Since I rather relish seeing you in such a helpless position, I'm not motivated to make any changes to the current arrangement.' His smile was back, but it showed the signs of strain.
She tugged at her wrists again. 'My arms are hurting.'
'I'm certain I can find a way to take your mind off the pain.'
'You might find it more enjoyable if I were able to participate.'
One of his brows lifted. 'Your idea of participating would probably not be what I had in mind. I think I'll leave you just the way you are.'
'Where are the vampires? I know they are here. Friends of your grandfather's, I presume?'
'Just as a bit of added insurance,' he said. 'Outside the door there. You should be flattered that I felt the need to have additional assistance.'
He walked toward her and stood, looking down. 'When this is all over—tomorrow, perhaps—I'll release you and then you can start to pick up the pieces. For now, though, I bid you
He bent, gave her a gentle kiss next to the corner of her lips, where he was far from her angry teeth, and left the room.
As soon as he was gone, Victoria started to look about for an opportunity to escape; but no sooner had the door closed behind Sebastian than it opened again and another man came in. A vampire.
His eyes glowed red and his fangs were out, and for one horrible moment she thought he meant to attack her. Surely Sebastian wouldn't allow it. But Sebastian was gone.
As the vampire walked over and stood next to her, her vision swirled and her stomach fluttered.
'Quite a shame that we must leave you untouched. I've never had a Venator before.' The implication was clear, and she felt her panic begin to subside.
But then the vampire traced a cold finger over her neck, using his sharp nail, and she felt the prick of its point, surely deep enough to draw blood. He bent toward her and she stiffened, pulling at the ropes beyond her head, feeling them jolt something above her, but he did not bite. Instead he dragged his wide, cold tongue over the place he'd cut. Victoria turned her head away, her stomach pitching, her back arching, hoping that whatever protections Sebastian had put in place for her would be enough once the vampire had smelled and tasted her blood.
Her veins surged, her blood pulsing through them as though shooting to the place on her neck where he'd scratched her. Victoria's breathing became trapped, slow, sluggish. The world funneled into a whirl of sensation: the cold moisture of his tongue, long and slow on her flesh; the scrape of his teeth; the sharp-nailed fingers that now dug into her scalp, beneath her heavy hair; the beat of her heart racing, pounding through her limbs as she struggled to free them.
When he pulled back he smiled, and his eyes were glowing deep bloodred. Hunger glistened there, and she smelled blood on his breath. 'That was lovely,' he murmured, tracing a long nail gently down her neck and to her breast. 'I am so very tempted.' His nail paused, pressing into the tender skin that swelled over her bodice.
The mad thumping of her heart pounded so harshly that her breast jolted in rhythm as she scarcely dared to breathe.
The vampire's eyes glowed red, then redder, then softer again as he seemed to contemplate his options.
But at last he pulled away. 'It is fortunate for you, Venator, that I value my own existence more than what delights you offer,' he said, looking down at her. 'Perhaps later, when Vioget tires of you… but for now… I must regretfully decline.' He said this last over his shoulder as he walked away; and she relaxed, watching as he went back out the door.
If it hadn't been for Sebastian—and possibly his grandfather's influence—she would have been in trouble. The vampire's actions put quite a damper on Sebastian's arguments: the vampire was clearly ready to take from a helpless woman, and only fear for his own safety stopped him.
But now… now she must attend to finding a way out.
When she'd pulled hard on the bonds of her wrists, she'd felt something move above her. Giving her attention more closely to her environment, she recognized that she was bound to a bed and that the headboard had become loosened by her struggles. Perhaps she could break it free.
She didn't know if the noise would bring the vampire guards in, but she had to attempt it. Trying to keep the banging to a minimum, she pulled on her wrists, felt the ropes scrape over her skin, and jerked around, trying to see if she could get the top of the bed loose. She wasn't even certain what it was made of; it sounded like metal of some sort.
Victoria struggled, then began to tug on her feet in the same way, causing low, deep creaking sounds to emanate from below—hopefully low enough that it wouldn't alarm the vampires. If she could loosen those ropes, she could bring herself closer to the headboard and perhaps be able to use her hands instead of just pulling on her bounds.
The end of the bed gave way first, and when she finally flipped her feet up, the whole iron footboard came too, and crashed onto her legs. Groaning with pain, she scooted up closer to the headboard and was able to feel around with her fingers, trying to get a grip on the metal.
But then she found something better. The wrought iron was rough and ornate, and the back of her hand scraped against part of it that was rather sharp. If she could position herself and move her wrists to saw the ropes against the edge…
It took a long time. Her arms were already sore from being held in such a position and from pulling; but she wasn't a Venator for nothing. At last the ropes loosened enough that she was able to pull them apart.
Her arms free, Victoria sat up, shook them out, and began to work on her ankles. Soon she was on the floor, hurrying to the window, carrying the rope that had been around her legs. It was still daylight—past noon, if she were to judge by the position of the sun. She had less than twelve hours to get from wherever she was back to the opera theater to try to kill Nedas.
She could go out the door and fight the vampires; there would be a certain satisfaction in plunging a stake into the one who'd sampled her blood. But that would take time and there was the chance that she'd get captured again. Not a good chance, but one nevertheless.
The window was four stories above the ground, however, which was why she was going to put Sebastian's rope to good use. And once she was outside the window, climbing down, the vampires would be helpless to follow her in the full sunshine.
And then she saw it: the silhouette of San Pietro's Basilica. She was still in Rome! That, at least, was in her favor.
When she looked down, she swore and stepped back from the window. But it was too late—Sebastian, who'd just alighted from a carriage, had seen her looking down from the window. He gave her a mocking salute as if to say,
So he didn't think she'd go out the window, did he? She thought he knew her better than that!
Her filmy skirt swirling about, Victoria grabbed the metal footboard that still lay on the bed and smashed it through the window, which had been painted shut. She could hear the pounding of feet on the steps below, and knew she had little time. Swiftly she tied the rope to the stone railing just outside the narrow window ledge at the edge of a balcony the size of a mere pillow.
The door to the room flew open and the vampires rushed in, but she was already out in the pool of sunlight, climbing over the rail, rope in hand. Victoria could hear Sebastian's curses when he came into the room, but she
