Voracious - Alice Henderson [42]
“One night, Anna’s family was away in Salzburg and had left her behind with her brother, Gregor. He spent most of his time drinking and carousing and brought all sorts of unsavory types back to the house.
“On this night, he brought home several men to play cards with. They were all drunk. Anna was playing the piano in the sitting room. I came by to call on her. She was happily playing; her brother’s habits seldom affected her adversely, though she hated to see him drink so much. A Welshman, Ffyllon, had passed out on the settee, and Gregor asked me to carry him to one of the bedrooms. When I got back, he was standing over her while she played, and Madeline, you could feel the lust coming off him. His eyes filled with it, gleaming as he watched her play. He didn’t even see me enter. The other guests had left the room to play cards in the parlor.
“I had been watching for only a second when he began to … change. He opened his mouth, revealing a hideous row of sharp teeth, and he lunged down, sinking into her neck.
“I cried out—and that’s when he realized I was there. He tore away from her and sprang toward me on all fours, his body becoming more squat and animalistic, his skin darkening till it was completely black. Then he was on top of me, his gray eyes enlarging to red orbs that glowed fiercely. He clawed at me, raked my chest and neck like he was in a frenzy. I fought as best I could, punched and kicked, but it was useless. He had so much power! I knew he was going to kill me, and the thought was terrifying. And then above the scuffle, I heard this gut-wrenching sob. He stopped attacking me and turned to the piano. Anna had fallen from the bench and was trying to stand. Blood covered her yellow dress, staining it scarlet down the front.
“ ‘Get away from him,’ she hissed, and I’d never heard her like that before. Her eyes were narrow and threatening, her face contorted in anger and pain.
“He left me there and stalked over to her as I struggled to get to my knees. As he reached her, she lifted her hand high. Something gleamed there, but I couldn’t see what. I tried to get to my feet. And then she brought it down on the creature, driving it deeply into his neck. He screamed and bolted away from her, red eyes wide with surprise. He burst from the room and crashed through one of the French doors.
“Anna collapsed. I rushed to her side and cradled her head …” Noah’s voice cracked painfully. “I could see how bad … how bad she was hurt. I took off my cravat and pressed it tightly to the wound. ‘The metal,’ she started to say, and then she choked. Blood bubbled on her lips.” He bit the corner of his mouth. “I remember she said, ‘Oh, Noah, I wanted to marry you …’
“And then she was gone. Her eyes just went vacant. I clutched her to my chest and kissed her lips and hands, her blood in my mouth. I begged to have her back, begged God, the earth, begged time itself, but still she lay there, lifeless, pale, and limp.”
Noah broke into tears, and this time Madeline did get up and put her arms around him. She held him tightly while he cried. He wrapped his arms around her. “It was so long ago, but the pain is still so fresh that the very thought of it breaks me down.” He continued to cry, and Madeline brought him closer.
After a while, Noah said from her shoulder, “It was the blood.”
Madeline’s brow wrinkled. “What?” Gently she pushed him up so she could see his face. His expression was dire, his eyes cheerless and empty.
“The blood,” he said again. “When I kissed her hand, I tasted