The Vampire's Assistant

Chapter Five

I couldn't tell you what time it was. Consciousness had been wonderfully fleeting for the past few hours. I imagined it had to be close to sunrise, but then, I'd been thinking that for a while now and yet the strange vampire was still awake, showing no effects of the sun's pull.

He'd been having a grand time, laughing gleefully during my slow torture. At first I was thankful that he seemed to relish taking his time. It was my only source of hope that I might make it out of this with my life. But after the endless hours of pain, I felt I was ready to go.

Through the hours, I had mentally catalogued my biggest mistakes and regrets, the biggest of course being pulling into the parking lot tonight like a damn fool. My short life had played out through my mind and I had prayed for the first time in years, asking forgiveness for my many transgressions. I had made my peace. I was ready. If only he'd get it over with.

The little office seemed drenched with my blood. My body was weak from the loss of it and that helped me slip in and out of consciousness, which was a blessed relief. I got the sense that the vampire left me alone when I passed out and waited patiently for me to wake up to resume my torment.

My clothes were long gone, shredded into tatters and tossed around the room. Only my panties remained and it seemed like he was holding off on those for a final treat. Although I refused to look, I knew my body was literally covered in bruises, bites, and gashes. Mr. Northman's chair was saturated with my blood and my once white cotton panties were red with it.

There was a noise and I sensed the vampire behind me. He knew I was awake though I kept my eyes tightly shut. His smooth hand wound round my neck and another slid its way down to my breast. I wished for death. All of the kissing and caressing he'd intermingled with the biting and slashing left me no delusion where it was all headed. I didn't want to endure that. Surely I was too weak by now though, I would die before he got around to it. Hopefully.

"You've been such an entertaining hostess," he purred in my ear, "I really appreciate all your hospitality."

His hands snaked down my chest then, and I sent up one last silent plea for death. Fingers danced along the waistband of my underwear. I wondered if I could force myself to pass out. Maybe if I held my breath...

There was a soft, sudden thud and the hands were abruptly gone. I opened my eyes and almost cried out in relief as I took in the large figure in the doorway. Mr. Northman's expression was the very essence of rage as he perused the scene before him. He growled, a feral, primitive sound like I'd never heard from him before, and bared his fangs at the vampire behind me.

The next minutes were chaos, a flurry of motion too quick for my tired human eyes to follow. I gave up the effort, and slumped back against the chair, my ears flooded with the sounds of snarling, snapping, and tearing. And then there was silence; as quickly as it had begun it was over and a pair of cool hands rested on my shoulders. I jumped at the contact and a deep, familiar voice said, "It's all right. You're safe."

With an effortless tug Mr. Northman freed my feet, then my hands. I was too weak to support myself though and pitched forward and would have hit the floor if he had not caught me. The rush of relief I had felt at his appearance dissipated and I realized that he was probably too late. I had lost so much blood; my head was swimming and my vision was blurry. Though I could feel his arms around me, Mr. Northman seemed very far away.

"Abby, I need you to stay awake," he said sternly, but it was as if he was speaking over a bad connection. A hand gently slapped at my cheek but my cheek didn't feel like my own any more.

I vaguely registered a sound, like a crunch and then cool liquid flowed over my lips. I coughed and sputtered, but Mr. Northman's voice, clear and strong now, demanded, "Drink!" and I obeyed.

The liquid, at first cool, was warm as it slid down my throat. It didn't have a pleasant taste, but it wasn't awful either. It was rich and thick and... old. I forgot myself as I drank, could only think of the strange fluid. I didn't notice my wounds, my nakedness. The last hours' torment were like a dream. And then too soon my drink was gone.

I opened my eyes and realized I possessed perfect clarity. The reality struck me that I was nearly naked on the floor of my boss's office, cradled in his arms. The mess was still all around us, blood coating almost every surface. But I no longer felt any pain. I risked a glance at myself and though I was bloody, there wasn't a single mark on my body.

I gasped, a new kind of panic coming over me, but Mr. Northman quickly sat us up and grasped my face in his large hands. He met my gaze and held it sternly.

"You are fine. Everything is okay." He shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around me. I huddled in the leather and turned my head to scan the room. Mr. Northman's hand stopped me short of looking past his desk. He shook his head silently.

"How?" I asked and was surprised at the strength in my voice.

"We can talk later. We have to leave now."

He helped me to my feet and ushered me from the room, locking the door behind us. Outside, my car still sat in the employee lot. The driver's window was completely shattered and there was a large dent in the hood, but Mr. Northman helped me into the passenger seat and started the ignition with the keys that still dangled there.

"Thank you," I said as we drove towards the apartment.

He only glanced at me, his face unreadable. But I noticed the tightness in his jaw. He didn't respond and I was too exhausted to press him. I fell asleep before we reached my neighborhood.