Welcome to this next to last installment of my story. I really hope you have enjoyed the tale so far, and will be pleased with the ending. I'm not sure when the second story will start, but I'm sure their will be a short break between them. Please send your thoughts and comments to leoinbama@gmail.com
Under Your Spell
Chapter 8
S.S.D.D.
Finally exiting the cave I was relieved to see the sun again. Even in the dense forest what little light that shined through was just radiant and joyful compared to the cave. It was at this point that I realized my 'companion' was not bursting into flames.
"I thought vampires couldn't walk in the sun?" I asked him.
"We don't really like the sun, but it doesn't kill us. There are many things about vampires that you don't know I'm sure." David told me.
"That's just wonderful I'm sure you would love to fill me in right?" I asked, hoping in particular for what kills them.
"Well, one thing you might want to know is we don't have to drink blood to survive, but it does make us stronger. We also will age if we go too long without drinking blood." He said.
"You look about my age, so have you been skipping meals?" I asked hopeful.
"Yes, I had a bad transition period. I didn't know I was a vampire for a long time. When my parents told me what I was, I was furious." He said.
"So wait, your parents are vampires too?" I asked.
"Yes, my whole family to be exact is a line of vampires. You see unlike in the movies, vampires can have children like anyone else. The children show no signs of vampirism till adult hood, mainly 18 though some start earlier or later." David said.
"So other than small talk why are you telling me all this?" I asked.
"Since I accepted my fate I have found the subject rather fascinating, and I must admit I haven't had many people to talk to lately. Brody hasn't been much conversation either sadly. I believe he's angry with me." David said looking hurt.
"Well, abducting people is usually not the best way of making friends. Why didn't you just tell him you were alive years ago?" I had to ask.
"Like I said, I had a bad transition. I'm afraid I was quite mad really. My father locked me up after I burned the house and killed my mother." He said.
"So you started the fire, and I thought your parents just moved.I had no idea your mother was dead." I said shocked.
"It wasn't made public knowledge that she died. After the fire and the murder my father knew the vampirism had driven me quite insane. I was furious that I was a monster and lashed out. Father said it was hormones. Either way recently I got out from my prison, and I am feeling much better these days." He assured me.
"That's just peachy! So again, why didn't you just talk to him and why did you try to kill me?" I asked.
"I came to tell Brody the truth that day at the graveyard. However, you were there and snatched him away before I could get a moment alone with him. Then, then! You little whore you made him care about you. You dated him! I always knew you would cause trouble for us." He was starting to show his monster side again.
"No offense, but as far as I can tell there hasn't been a you and Brody in a long ass time. Brody and I are in love, and you will just have to get used to it." I said.
"Love, you know nothing of love, you didn't spend the last 10 years of your life stuck in a cell wishing for nothing but the touch of your true love!" He said.
"Well for me that seems a bit unhealthy all around. So your father let you out at least, so things are looking up!" I said sarcastically.
"Who said he released me? I escaped and killed the bastard." David said.
I didn't much have a witty comeback for that. David led me through the forest for what seemed to be hours, and finally we came out to find a beautiful mansion by a picture perfect lake. I would have been amazed more had I not been with Mr. Personality, but even with David there the view took me aback.
"Welcome to my home, the Craven estate has been in my family for many years. I'm sure you will enjoy your stay, because you will be here for many years as well." It was then that the lights suddenly went out.
I woke up sometime later to find myself setting in a cell much like that of a prison. I was also sporting a rather large head ache which I could only suppose was directly connected to the large bump on the back of my head.
"Where the hell am I?" I asked.
"Anthony! Is that you!" I heard Brody's voice.
"Brody! Where are you?" I screamed.
"I'm in a cell, you must be close I can hear your voice." He said almost desperate.
"I'm going to get us out of here. Just keep shouting I said!" I tried to use my powers to destroy the bars, but nothing happened.
"Sorry my friend, but you can't do that. The cell is magically binding. However, at least you aren't alone!" A familiar voice said.
"Please tell me that isn't you Allen?" I asked.
"Sorry to disappoint but it is! I get to live with you here for the rest of my life, as my reward for helping David get Brody." Allen said.
"Your reward is to spend the rest of your life in a cell?" I asked.
"Of course not! As soon as Brody comes around and marries David, then we'll be free to roam the estate as we please. We'll make love in ever room in the place. We'll take walks around the lake. It'll be so wonderful!" Allen said.
"Has the whole world gone mad or is it just you and David?" I asked.
"Anthony!!! I can't hear you anymore! Where are you?" Brody yelled again.
"I'm trapped in this stupid cell! I can't get to you baby! I love you!" I screamed back to Brody.
"I love you too! Please find a way. I can't use my powers anymore." Brody said.
"It was because we were so far apart!" I yelled.
There was no response. I was worried, but knew there was little I could do at the time.
"I guess David came and collected your ex-boyfriend." Allen said.
"He's not my ex, he's very much my current boyfriend. There's no way he'll choose to spend his life with David, anymore than I would spend mine with you Allen. I hate you! If it wasn't for being trapped with a stink ridden corpse I'd kill you right now! I've never been so angry at anyone in my life!" I told him.
Allen had betrayed me in the past, but this was too much. Working with a vampire to hurt not only me but the man I loved? For what? He wants me all the sudden? News at 11 I suppose. He spent so many years not giving a fuck about me, why now?
"Okay I have to ask. Why exactly do you suddenly care about me so fucking much?" I said.
"I've always loved you, it just took me some time to realize how important you are to me. Please forgive me for wasting so much of our time." Allen said.
"I'm glad you left me that last time. I didn't want you to stay even. I realized that last time we were together that I didn't really love you, Allen. I loved the sex, and yeah I didn't want to give you up for a long time, and I really convinced myself that I loved you. However, now I know it was just an obsession. It was unhealthy and stupid. You never really cared about me, all you did was use me. I thought I didn't deserve better, but now I know I do." I told him.
"I..But." Allen tried to argue but he came up with nothing.
"Listen maybe you do really care about me now, or maybe you just miss the way things were. Either way I don't love you. I love Brody, and you can either help me get out of this cage, or you can sit quietly and let me think of a plan. I will not be talking about happily ever after with you." I told him.
"Fine! If you want Brody so bad then I guess I'll just have to take joy in knowing that neither of us will be with the one we love." Allen said and sulked over to the corner and set down on a bench.
I tried to do any kind of magic I could think of, but nothing would work. The cage was not only magic proof, but it stopped magic from even happening. I only had one hope left, and that was that David would slip up. Now that Brody's powers would start working again, Brody was my only hope.
"Remember what I told you Anthony, sometimes you have to save yourself." I heard grandmothers voice, but I didn't see her. It must have been telepathy because Allen didn't seem to notice any one speak.
"But how I don't have any powers." I thought to myself.
"You don't have any magic, but you aren't powerless. Use the things around you, find a way." She said.
"Like ramming Allen's head into the bars till one of them breaks?" I thought to myself.
"You know you wouldn't do anything so violent darling. You will have to come up with something a bit more clever perhaps." She said.
"Any hints?" I asked.
"Try giggling the handle." She said and then she said no more.
I looked and saw a toilet in the cell with us. Allen was still brooding in the opposite corner so I thought maybe it was safe to check it out. I quietly as possible removed the top and locked in the back. I half hoped to find a key or something like in Saw, however I didn't. I did find a chain though-the one's that are normally found in the back of toilets. It occurred to me that the chain might could be used to pick a lock if I could bend the metal enough. However, that seemed unlikely since those little chains aren't very stout. The material would probably break if I even tried.
I was about to give up when I remembered what she said. Jiggle the handle.I flushed the toilet and that was when I heard the water move through a pipe going up and then into the wall. I listened carefully and I could hear it rather well, especially in one part. The wall must be almost hallow there!
"I hope everything came out okay." Allen said walking up to me.
"Of course it did!" I said and hit him on the head with the top to the toilet that he obviously didn't see in my hand.
"Sorry Grandma I may not be violent enough to kill, but knocking him out is just good therapy." I said out loud.
I flushed the toliet again and put my ear to the wall. It didn't take long to find exactly where the water sound was the strongest. I took the lid and struck the wall. Nothing much happened, but I tried again and again. I almost gave up when the wall finally started to give. The bricks were loose from years of what appeared to be a water leak. It wasn't enough to cause much trouble for the house, but enough to weaken the wall in the cell.
"I wonder how they get running water out here anyway?" I asked the air.
Behind the wall was a small hallway that appeared to be some kind of a secret passage. Perhaps it would lead out of the basement. I supposed I was in a basement anyway. It seemed awfully damp and cold there. I walked for a long time down the hall and finally came to a door. It was dark but oddly enough there were letters glowing on the door. It read S.D. I really didn't have time to figure out what those letters meant, any port in a storm I say. I opened the door and to my surprise I came out exactly where I wanted to be. Right in front of me was Brody and David.
"Brody! I'm here baby!" I said and started to walk forward. It was then that I realized he wasn't moving or talking.
"Brody can't hear you. I have him under my grasp. Soon I will drink his blood and he will become like me." David said walked towards him.
"Not a chance in hell!" I said and threw a fire ball at him.
"Nice try human, but I'm quite fast." David said dodging my projectile like it was nothing.
"Well, in my defense it was my first fireball. By the way I'm not 100% human. Try this on for size." I threw a ball of pure light at him. It burned at his skin and I could see the pain and rage in him.
"Light doesn't kill us, what's going on!" He screamed.
"That isn't normal light. It's pure goodness. It's burning the very evil in you!" I screamed and threw another one at him.
"Let me help!" Brody said and he threw a ball of light at him as well.
"Glad to see you joined the party lover." I said with a smile.
"After what he's done to us I can't let you have all the fun." Brody said.
"I will kill you both for this!" David screamed.
"Not happening!" Brody took my hand, and together we concentrated and threw one last massive ball at David. He burst into flames.
"That almost seemed too easy." I admitted.
"How did you get out of that cell?" Brody asked and took me into his arms and held me tight.
I told him about how I got out. Also I told him that Allen was still around, and informed him about Allen being a witch or whatever.
"So we might not be totally out of the water then. Maybe we should go before he wakes up." Brody suggested.
"I think you are right. Let's get out of here." I said.
"Um.what are you doing dear?" He asked. As I kind of started vibrating.
"I was trying to teleport us home, but all that happened when I tried was that vibrating thing. Maybe this house has some kind of block on leaving?" I asked worried.
"Let's just try to get out the house the regular way then." Brody suggested.
We looked for the exit for many hours, but every door we found seemed to just make the search more confusing. Most of the doors we tried had writing on them like the other. Some said S.D. others said D.D.
I figured out pretty quickly that S.D. must have meant same door, because those doors led us back to the room we had been in previously. D.D. must have meant different door because they would lead to new rooms. We had been searching for hours when we found a bedroom. We decided we would have to rest for now, till we could figure out this puzzle we were stuck in.
"There's no way this house is that big. I saw it from the outside." I told Brody.
"Nothing is making any sense here. I'm pretty sure this house is controlled and altered by some kind of magic." Brody said.
"That would make sense, but who's pulling the strings? We killed David right?" I said.
"I'm not sure we did. It seemed way too easy." Brody told me.
"So what you think maybe he's like licking his wounds somewhere, and waiting for his chance to get us?" I asked worried.
"Most likely." Brody said and pulled me onto the bed and held me to him.
"Shouldn't we keep moving if that's the case?" I suggested.
"I don't think I can keep moving. I need to rest. I haven't been able to sleep since I was abducted. I was too scared. Now that you are here maybe I can recharge a bit." He said.
"I don't think I've slept much either, but sleeping in this house, especially if David is still alive sounds like a bad idea." I told him.
"I think it will take him a good while to recover. Even if he is alive I know we hurt him pretty badly." Brody argued.
"How are you doing besides sleepy babe? Seeing that David's still alive after all these years, how are you dealing with it?" I asked him.
"I'm not. That thing isn't David. I mean yeah it may look like him, but he doesn't act or feel like the boy I fell for back then. I was a little confused at first. However, when he tried to kiss me I knew he wasn't the real David." Brody told me.
"He kissed you?" I asked somewhat upset.
"I said he tried. I didn't let him. There was just something in his eyes that let me know it wasn't the real him, and also I knew I couldn't cheat on you. I love you Anthony, more than I've ever loved anyone before." He told me.
"I feel the same way about you. I was going nuts trying to find you. Now if we can just get out of here. I want to be at your house in your bed. Not here." I said.
"Me too babe. I'm sure we'll get out of here some how, but for now lets get some rest. I think your grandmother will wake us if anything stirs." Brody offered.
"She talked to you too?" I asked.
"Yes, she's the only reason I've kept my sanity through this. She kept telling me to be strong and to believe in you. So I was and I did." He said and kissed me softly on the lips.
"I believe in you Brody. I know that together we can survive this mess." We kissed for a few more minutes and then we slept.
To be Continued
The chapter title is totally a tribute to Dream Catcher. I love that movie! Join us next time for the conclusion of Under your Spell. Thanks for reading!!!!