Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

LOMD Chapter 3 - A Cottage In the Woods

Chapter 3

VIVIENNE SLEPT the day away and woke up around nightfall. In boredom, she explored the other rooms on the second floor. They were all furnished sparingly and impersonally, as though the furnishings belonged in a catalog. There were no personal effects anywhere. As she descended the stairs and entered a small modest library she noticed there was a painting hanging over the mantle place. Vivienne paused and studied it. It reminded her of the paintings her father used to talk about, that hung at the Malgrave. Her father taught at that school in Manna City when she was born although Vivienne had no memory of those times.

She knew because her father had a ratty old black and white photograph of one of those paintings that he had taped to the head of her bed. That was one of her earliest memories, that photograph and her mother telling her that one day, her father will take her to Manna City. One day, she'll finally understand why that city captured her father's imagination and heart so much so, that he had no love left for his daughters. Vivienne used to look at that photo on nights when her father didn't come home and wonder if she made it Manna City one day, to stand before these artworks if she would find out some secret to winning her father's love. But, now she knew, especially as she was already an adult, that there was no mysterious riddle to solve — there was only acceptance that her father didn't want her.

"What are you looking at?" Blake asked. Vivienne jumped in shock and he chuckled at that. He was standing beside her, wearing a black dress shirt, jacket, and pants. The color suited him well, as it contrasted wonderfully with his light features. Now that he had washed the blood off, he looked clean and whole again. As she studied him, she could tell he was still weakened by his wounds. He was standing with his shoulders slightly hunched and he leaned against a bookshelf to steady his injured leg.

"I've seen this painting a lot like this before, in a photo my father took," Vivienne said as she gestured to the picture of a scaled dragon with amber eyes. "It hung in the Malgrave."

"No, my family are the original owners of that painting. The one in the Malgrave is a copy," Blake said. "Do you know what this painting is of?"

Vivienne chuckled. "Well, it's obviously of a dragon."

"It's actually of a nobleman named Orius Balan from back when this city was founded," Blake said. "He had a demon form that was a fearsome winged dragon. According to legend, he went mad and he was eventually killed by the king at the time. He had really spectacular powers before he lost his mind, or so I've been told by my teachers."

"You have a demon form too, don't you?" Vivienne asked, cautiously. It sent a shiver down her spine to recall the hairy monster with a fanged snout and knife-like talons. She remembered the blood that the monster had spilled as it ate the witch who was chasing her. "I think I saw it in Gambit Castle."

"Yes," Blake admitted as he looked down at his feet. "I don't spend much time in that form. There's always a price for every advantage of being a demon. The price of turning into that form is that slowly, you lose your mind. I'm able to tolerate it better than most people but I try to avoid it." He reached for her hand. He seemed eager to change the subject. "Come, let's go to dinner."

~*~

Vivienne allowed Blake to lead her into the dining room with an artistic chandelier made of gnarled driftwood. It seemed fitting for a dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out into the dark, haunting forest. From where she sat at the dining room table, she could even see the reflection of their brightly lit room reflected back on the still black waters.

Conall appeared with an aperitif of crab over a light salad. Vivienne noticed he served her while Blake simply sat and drank from a glass of what could have been either red wine or something sinister.

"Can you eat?" Vivienne asked as she inhaled her food in large gulps. She was starving and the food here was much better than it had been in Cosel. She recalled they served large sloppy portions of potatoes and brown sauced meats.

"I can but I don't enjoy it or need it the way you do," Blake said. "I do enjoy sitting here with you, though."

"Do you sleep during the day, to avoid the sun?" Vivienne asked.

"The sun doesn't bother me as much when I drink more. Don't worry, I rarely drink from humans. I like drinking demon blood better and there's a source of it nearby."

Vivienne nodded as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin. As Conall brought the courses to follow, she started to think the only famished animal in the room was herself and her growling stomach. Blake stared into the darkness of the forest as she ate. Now that he was no longer staring at her, she almost wished she could catch his attention.

"What are you thinking about?" Vivienne asked as Conall brought her a dessert course of chocolate cake with ice cream. As she swallowed the thick, heavy cake she once again wondered what it would be like to kiss Blake. He had that look on his face as he sat deep in thought, that reminded her of the dreamy, wistful boy who used to play fight with her among the vampire graveyard. What was it about him that made her simultaneously terrified of his strength and yet want to curl up in the nook of his arm?

"How beautiful your eyes are, of course," Blake said with a comforting smile, as though she had abruptly brought him back to the present. His eyes were gentle as he studied her. "Am I allowed to say that?" He asked sarcastically. "Or do you consider that too forward?"

"I'm not going to sleep with you just because you complimented my eyes," Vivienne said and realized that more of a resolution for her own sake than a command. She felt a fluttering inside her core, and then an ache down below, as she stared into his eyes. She had no idea what that feeling was except that when she was with him the rest of the world fell away. When his eyes met hers, nothing else was on her mind, not even her parents, except a desperate need to touch him, to know every inch of him. Her eyes drifted down to his lips and she felt her breathing quicken. Vivienne ripped her gaze away and cleared her throat.

"I know you're scared," Blake said, mistaking her shamed body language for fear. "I promise, we'll find your family soon and then you can go home."

Vivienne nodded and placed her napkin on the table to signal to Conall that she was done eating.

"I'm fine as long as you're here with me," Vivienne said. "You said something about demons near here?"

"Yes, but don't worry, they won't harm you. In the days to come, I might come and go but Conall and his staff will keep these grounds protected." Blake stood up and touched her shoulder as he walked by. "Get some sleep. Don't worry, there will be no unwanted guests in your bed while you're here."

"Blake," Vivienne said and then bit her lip. She wanted him to sit with her a little longer. Now, that night had fallen, her loneliness had set in. She longed for him to put his arms around her and hold her just for a second like he had done in the gardens behind Pearl Tower. He cocked his head at her, waiting for her to finish her sentence. She saw him place his hand on the back of her chair to steady himself as he stood there. "Please find my parents," she finally blurted out.

What Vivienne really wanted was to grab him, force him against the wall, and kiss him. She wanted to be one of those femme fatales from the movies that simply tackles the hero and rips his shirt open. She wished she had the courage to be someone other than her innocent, dorky self. But this was no movie; the man standing before her could snap her in two like a dry tree branch if she made him angry. She had better not flirt with him before he got the idea she was inviting him in for more than just a simple kiss.

"I'll do my best," Blake assured her.