Hiss, Rattle and Bite

Sunset on December 24th | Part 7

"What's in this eggnog?"

Mari snapped out of her haunting memories and blinked rapidly as she focused on the here and now. Seated in the VIP section, the small group around her laughed at the comedian's funny tale about accidentally spiking his grandmother's holiday drink. She missed the joke, but laughed along anyway. Anything to keep from crying. She hated when thoughts about her brother escaped the locked and buried treasure chest she invented to contain all things related to Heath.

"Master?" Marigold asked politely.

Sharing a love seat with him, she felt too openly displayed for her current emotional state. When he made an inquiring sound, she continued, "May I be excused for the night?"

"On Christmas Eve, my dear?"

Despite his subtle taunt, she knew that he was not going to give her the gift she craved most. All other gifts, no matter how new and shiny, could wait until tomorrow.

"May I?" she repeated her request.

He stopped looking at the stage long enough to look into her eyes. He saw that which she wanted to hide, her longing and weariness, her loneliness and heartache. Like all the other men in her life, he continued to test her patience as if he were skating on thin ice, unafraid of her murky depths.

"Dismissed."

She rose swiftly and made a discreet exit. Annoyed by his ability to see her pain and ignore it warred with Mari's desire to be near Rhett and become like him.

"Sleep," Mari muttered to herself, knowing that she was both tired and hungry, but only one of those options was free.

The ground floor of her master's property housed Die Laughing. There was a basement level below it that held several rooms: ample storage, a modest blood bank, guest rooms for staff and guests, and a mysterious interrogation room that was only referred to as The Box.

Like a bat hanging from the ceiling of a cave, Mari's master and his vampire companions lived on the floor above Die Laughing. The residence consisted of a humongous open area that was easily converted into a ball room when the occasion arose. The room was suitable for plays and musicals, boxing and wrestling, or other purposes. Brown leather furniture filled the large area, which meant it was currently being used as a living room. Numerous side and coffee tables accompanied the couches and loveseats. The polished hardwood floors gleamed, and the blue, sea colored walls were a great contrast for the black and white nature photographs that celebrated nocturnal creatures.

Mari punched in her access code to unlock the door that led to the upper floor. Theo, another guy from Rhett's personal security team, was stationed at the tiny security office near the top of the stairs. He was there to ensure that only members of Rhett's coven roamed this restricted area.

"Hey," Mari mumbled, failing to suppress a yawn.

Tired from being awake for the past twenty-four hours, she headed for her rarely used bedroom. A private room was one of the few job perks of being Rhett's servant, along with a modest paycheck and clothes for special occasions. For the umpteenth time, the temptation for Mari to move into Rhett's home nagged her. The large home also had a kitchen, formal dining room, library and Rhett's private three-room suite. And yet she continued to resist. She knew that she needed privacy more than comfort. Rhett would never trust her again if he knew what she did when alone in her own apartment.

Theo sat on a stool in an open doorway near the top of the stairs. His lean, muscled body was covered in a black t-shirt and black slacks. His thick and straight black hair was tied tightly into a low ponytail with a leather string.

Mari had to admit that she found his taciturn and composed nature as alluring as his big, almost triangular eyes. While her heart was already full of men who didn't love her in return, she still had a soft spot for him.

Theo lifted a hand and gave her a casual wave using three fingers. He watched her walk across the large living room until her sluggish yet still graceful walk was obscured by the gigantic, seven-foot-tall Christmas tree holding court in the center of the living room.

To protect her while sleeping, Mari trusted that Theo would place his Nintendo Switch aside and renew his interest in the security camera footage displayed on the four monitors in the tiny guard station. She disappeared into one of the many rooms that branched off the living room.

Tastefully decorated with white and gold lights and snowflake ornaments, it proved that the tinsel, holly, and Christmas wreaths adding holiday cheer to the comedy club on the ground floor was done with restraint. Without Mari's minimalist style to restrain him, Rhett would have put up multiple Christmas trees downstairs, and used a machine to simulate snowfall for his patrons.

Finally able to rest, Mari stripped quickly and slid under her fluffy, navy blue blanket. The cool bed sheets shocked her warm body clad only in black underwear. No shower, teeth brushing, or bandage check performed. It could all wait until she shut her dry eyes, relaxed her heavy limbs, and used her dreams to sort through all the jumbled thoughts, feelings, and memories crowding her mind.

Her paycheck as Rhett's servant was modest to begin with and she spent most of it on rent. Rhett complained she didn't live under his roof but didn't force the issue. She alluded to the loud love making that ensued when she spent time with her beau as her reason for needing her own space. The real reason wasn't nearly as fun and yet far more disturbing.

Sometime after midnight and after a couple of hours of sleep, she thought she heard the locked door open. A faint click, hushed footsteps, and a single hiss. Too tired to awaken fully, she turned over in her sleep without opening her eyes. No one said anything or turned on the lights in her room. She must have been mistaken. Mari squeezed her eyes shut tightly while stretching.

The last thing she remembered, or imagined, before falling back asleep was the cold skin of a large serpent slithering up her bare leg. 

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