CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Morid Curiosity

The skeletal remains of the deciduous trees stretched into the overcast sky, signalling that Fall was underway. All but the evergreens had been stripped of their leaves; their brown and orange corpses littered the wood’s floor and were blown by the wind over the courtyards to congregate in all the damp corners. Several days of heavy rain had held Karou captive in the unit, as she would have ended up soaked to the bone if she’d dared venture out to the tavern where she often met her friends.

It was late October, and Warren was in Russia; he’d used the plane ticket he’d been gifted for his birthday. He’d had left just over a week before, and she hadn’t heard from him since. Things between them had returned to what Karou now considered normal. Warren had shut her out once again, proving that all her efforts to be his ‘friend’ had been in vain. She never mentioned the few days in September when it felt as if they’d turned a corner, but in her sleep, she had wasted plenty of dreams reliving those moments. The closeness, the kisses, the tender touches, and the one time he’d set his fangs on her. All hope that anything like that would recur had disappeared.

The place Warren had gone was called Blue Ash; that was all she could glean from the snippets of phone conversations she’d overheard between him and Magnus. The place name meant nothing to her; she’d never heard of such a place and presumed it was a code name or perhaps another Compound. Warren seemed to have rekindled his strange relationship with Ellis and had called her often before his trip. Karou didn’t doubt that he would be spending most of his nights in her bed during his stay. Ellis’ jealousy must’ve been disproved by now, but Karou hated the feeling that perhaps she was now the harbourer of the ugly, green emotion. The vampiress held an imaginary victory over her – a battle had been won that Karou hadn’t even been drafted for. The reality of the situation was worse, though - Karou’s own curiosity had made a fool out of her because she’d allowed herself to be used by Warren, and now she was left feeling worthless. She was undoubtedly a meaningless fling to him, and it hurt that her first intimate experiences had been insignificant to the other party involved. Somehow, she still couldn’t hate him; after all, he was somewhat of a saviour.

In his absence, she spread herself out in the unit’s queen-sized bed every night and tried to enjoy the space it granted, but all it actually did was make her feel lonely. How can you miss someone that doesn’t care about you? She wondered but then would argue with herself for hours about whether or not he did. Many of his actions contradicted his words and wishes, but all the cold shoulders were evidence that he merely tolerated her. That was when the thought that gnawed away at her surfaced – had Warren retreated because she had pushed him away? Since she’d rejected him the night of his birthday, he’d retracted back into himself, and for that, she felt guilty and annoyed at herself. If she’d just given in to what he wanted, she might not have been in the lonely position she was in now. She’d cut her nose off to spite her face and was bitter about it.

That morning she laid in until gone noon. Having brought a good book to bed with her, the first thing she did upon waking was to get right back to where she’d left off. It was getting to the good bit; she could feel it. With the blinds up to let the grey autumnal daylight flood in, she sat with all the pillows piled behind her as she turned page after page, consuming the novel with eager eyes.

When he walked in, the first thing that hit him was the heat! It was uncomfortable to walk into, having come from the outside, where the wind had chilled his face. Setting down his luggage and pulling off his boots, he turned down the thermostat and ventured further inside. He was back a few days early due to having to rearrange his work schedule mid-trip. He was relieved the find that the unit wasn’t too much of a mess considering Karou had been left to her own devices.

There was no sign of Karou in the lounge or the kitchen, and when he peered into her room and the bathroom, he found she wasn’t there either. Finding her where she was, had never crossed his mind.

Who had been more surprised neither of them could know? Karou screamed as Warren burst into the room without announcing himself. Instantly, she dropped her book and yanked the sheets up to her chin.

Before she could cover herself, he’d gotten an eye full of what little she was wearing - he hadn’t expected her to be sitting in his bed so scantily clad. Putting two and two together, he came out with five and turned to peer around the room and hallway.

“Is there a man in here? Am I interrupting something? His tone sounded both bewildered and accusatory all at the same time.

“How is that the first thing you say to me when you get back?!” Karou huffed; her expression was incredulous.

“Then why are you in my bed in just your underwear?”

“Because it’s hot? I mean, it was cold last night, so I turned the heat up, and then I got hot in my sleep.”

“And you didn’t get up to turn the heat down?”

“No... It was really late, and then this morning I... I got hooked on this book and haven’t actually gotten up yet.”

“So... to be clear, there isn’t a man here?”

“Oh my God, Warren! No! You should know better than to ask me that. My sex life isn’t as interesting as yours.” Karou sassed. The bedroom was tidy save for the pile of ‘worn once’ clothes she’d abandoned on Warren’s piano stool. Now while awkwardly keeping the sheet around her with one hand, she gathered as many of her clothes from it as she could - apparently, she was vacating his room and giving it back to him. Warren moved aside to let her leave and watched as she dumped her clothes onto her bed before returning for the rest of her things, a few stray items of clothing but, most importantly, her book. “I’ll strip the bed and get your sheets washed.” She muttered as she left the room for the third and final time.

Sat down on the empty piano stool and tried to be discreet about the deep breath he took and how he revelled in how his whole room smelled of Karou. Staring at the crumpled mattress sheet, the folds Karou left in her wake encapsulated her scent in concentrated form - it was particularly torturous how appealing Karou’s scent was since feeding from her. Nothing else really sated him, and his bloodthirst came quicker. It left him with mixed emotions of yearning and guilt but definitely suffering from a dose of melancholy.

Karou was cross with him for retreating back behind his façade, but it was all he could do to behave since she made it clear that she didn’t want to be toyed with. Since she’d rejected him on his birthday, he had tried not to lay a hand on her or say anything remotely suggestive. He’d even gone to the extreme and actively encouraged her friendships with other males; he didn’t know that that had only made her bristle more.

However, one thing that was proving impossible was keeping his eyes off her. Almost as impossible as keeping her off of his mind. Stray thoughts had somewhat ruined his trip to Blue Ash; Ellis had taken off only two days into his vacation as she couldn’t cope with being in the castle with him and his ‘poisoned thoughts’ any longer. Incidentally, her premature departure hadn’t disappointed Warren; actually, he’d greatly enjoyed the quality time alone with Magnus. They’d had many interesting conversations and puzzled through some of those poisoned thoughts together. Warren had ultimately come home with a clearer mind.

With his trip in mind, he absentmindedly answered one of Karou’s earlier comments and muttered to himself, “I wouldn’t call my sex life interesting either...”

Karou had dressed in a ‘too big’ fit sweater and stepped into the hallway just as Warren spoke. She thought he had been talking to her and replied with a “Really? How is Ellis?” She instantly regretted the snide remark and backtracked; “I mean Magnus, how’s Magnus?”

“Huh? Oh…” He’d realised her faux par and smirked, “He’s good. I spent most of my time with him because Ellis left for Budapest two days into my trip, but honestly, two days with her was entirely enough.” Warren stood from the piano stool, pulled the sweater from over his head and carelessly tossed it onto the bed, which was unlike him.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back.” Karou admitted but added, “It’s creepy here alone,” before she turned and walk away.

Warren glanced at his wristwatch; seven o’clock, he thought it was late enough to settle down for the night. Lounging back into his corner of the couch, he contemplated pouring himself a drink but didn’t really crave one. He just wanted a deep and restful sleep and only made it to eight-thirty before his eyes flickered closed and his head lulled back into the leather.

Karou had been waiting. Perhaps twenty minutes passed, maybe thirty, but it felt like long enough for Warren to have fallen fast asleep. She had stopped reading her book and reached out to place it on the coffee table. Next, she crawled towards him as quietly as possible, tugging her blanket in tow. Then, delicately covered him over and left him there. Climbing over the back of the couch, she tiptoed to the master bedroom and was quietly thankful that the sweater he’d been wearing earlier hadn’t made it into his laundry and sat folded on his piano stool. With what she’d come for in sight, she snatched up the garment and plunged her face into knitted wool, breathing in deeply. Her nose was in no way vampiric in its sensitivity, but she still enjoyed Warren’s scent almost sinfully. It was the only piece of her sensory memory she’d lost since he’d taken his vacation. What filled her nose brought back memories of their closer times, and that was her fix. She’d never felt so high or alive than the night he’d kissed and bitten her. The passionate rendezvous in her books or the movies she’d watched didn’t compare to her small glimpse of intimacy, regardless of how shallow the act had been on Warren’s part. If she could never have it again, she wanted to remember it for as long as possible, and if that meant sneaking a sniff of a sweater or shirt every so often, then so be it.

Stood silently in the darkness of the hallway; he watched her. She looked serene, backlit by the pale moonlight that teamed in through his vertical bedroom windows. He knew what she was doing but didn’t know why all of his assumptions as to why irritated the already present ache in his chest in a way that wasn’t pleasant; he supposed it hurt.

“Karou?”

The sweater sailed from her hands to the floor. She’d never counted on getting caught. In explanation, all she managed was an incomprehensible stutter. Before Warren could do anything, Karou had brisked past him and closed her bedroom door completely to keep him out. In bed, engulfed in darkness and overwrought, she felt water gathering on her lower eyelid. Embarrassment, frustration, and anger muddled together in the tears that she shed; taking cover under her quilt, she clenched it to herself tightly.

It was already late, and eventually, she slept some, but the residual tension left over from her crying had made her neck feel tight. Slowly the uncomfortable pressure travelled down her back, and before she knew it, she couldn’t sleep anymore. Her back hurt in all the usual places.

Lately, it was getting progressively worse and more frequent. Although she’d told Warren that she’d been to see the doctor just so he would stop asking about it, she hadn’t seen anyone. All her life, there had been something wrong with her. It had put her off engaging with medical professionals just to be told there was something else to add to her list of ailments.

An hour passed, and the pain had been somewhat bearable while lying down, but the moment it wasn’t, she was out of bed and pacing the hallway.

The rain patter against his bedroom windows had relaxed him, but he hadn’t found enough peace to fall into a deep sleep. He just listened and rested in the sheets. When another layer of pitter-patter joined that of the rain, Warren sat up. Karou’s awake.

“Is it your back again?” Warren’s voice called out into the darkness of the hall.

“Ngh- Mhmm,” was all Karou replied. Their eyes didn’t meet, and she didn’t stop pacing. She walked the floorboards with her arms wrapped around herself.

With her situation explained, Warren disappeared from the doorway, but he returned shortly with his usual remedy, a glass of water and a selection of pills. Offering his hand to Karou, she knew the drill. Without question, she took what he offered and swallowed them.

“You know you don’t have to wait until I offer; you can just come in and get them.”

“I can’t go through your rifling through your drawer...”

“Then I’ll put them in the bathroom cabinet for you.” With that said, Warren turned to go back to bed. “Go get some rest, Karou.”

Karou did as he instructed, seeing as it was what she wanted to do anyway. The pills worked their magic, and soon the pain subsided enough for her to fall asleep.

Warren didn’t intend to sleep like she might’ve thought. He wouldn’t admit to himself what for and why he was waiting, but he sat at his piano, waiting for her to at least fall asleep. Attentively he listened to her heartbeat and breathing pattern and for the tell-tale signs of peaceful slumber. Once Karou was suitably docile, he’d make his move.

~*~

Davikov Castle was cold all year round, winter, summer, rain, or shine; there was usually snow on the ground. It was at its most peaceful at night; everyone had tucked themselves away in their private rooms, whether they slept or not, which left the common areas desolate.

Walking the stone corridors and halls barefoot calmed Warren. He’d been in turmoil for a month or so, and the emotional distress was starting to take its toll.

The Coven kept a healthy stock of blood in the cellar, and he’d been well-fed during his stay, but that night he woke up painfully thirsty after a particularly vivid dream. The events of his dream weren’t real, but they’d been inspired by something that had taken place around his birthday. It was the catalyst to his troubles, but he’d only half come to that conclusion by his wilful ignorance.

With his thirst came a familiar ache in his thigh that threatened to become a bigger nuisance if he didn’t feed himself. He’d already stopped off and gotten himself a ‘drink’, but the silver-plated goblet he held in his hand was a little flashy for his taste; a glass would have sufficed, he’d thought. Still, he continued his night-time stroll towards the highest rooms with it grasped between his fingers. When he arrived at the observatory, he took a seat.

“You still awake?”

“Si, old men, don’t sleep,” Magnus replied, closing the book he’d been reading to look over at the man he loved as a son. They shared a stronger bond than Magnus had with his biological son, Enrique, and to Warren, Magnus was the father he’d always sought but left wanting in his father, Harry.

“I can’t sleep for the constant noise. The castle, she creaks and moans; it keeps me up. What’s stirred you from your bed at this hour, Mijo?”

“Dreams, thirst, pain, confusion - the usual culprits.” Warren sipped at his goblet of blood before setting it down on the table.

“You must have a lot on your mind. It isn’t the usual suspect, is it?”

“I’m not thinking about work if that’s what you mean. For once, I know which direction I’m headed in, in that department. I shouldn’t have anything to worry about at all. Cloned blood has become a fashionable commodity amongst my wealthier clients. It’s the new fad; ecological, clean, and sustainable-”

“Your sales pitch won’t work on me. I’m proud of you, but I have no interest in manufactured blood; I like my meals supplied by ‘naturally grown produce’.”

Warren didn’t blame him. He agreed that the genuine article was always better.

“You’re talking about work to distract from the reason you’re awake. And that trick won’t work on me either.”

“Hmm, you got me.” Warren chuckled and took another sip from his goblet. When he put it back down, he stroked over the three days’ growth on his chin. “I don’t know that it’s going to go away...”

“Si, you’re stuck with her indefinitely.”

“I-... I just need more time.”

“Time for what? You won’t let her leave until the war is over, and you won’t give her what she wants. Either give in to her and stop wasting her time or put her out of her misery. She’s only mortal, mi amigo…”

“You don’t mean that... You like her too much.” Warren looked at him disapprovingly, his brow furrowed deeply over his blue eyes.

“Ha-ha! I’m not the only one who likes her too much, no? The way I see it, you have two choices, you do whatever it is you’re beating yourself up about doing, or you don’t. And if you don’t, then you’ll have no choice but to get rid of her one way or another.”

~*~

Finally, Karou was asleep. Warren stepped into her room like a shadow and pulled back the sheets to gather her sleeping form into his arms. She grumbled quietly, but it pleased him how she instinctively leaned into his chest and wound her arms about his neck. Securely in his arms, he carried her into his room and laid her down on his bed. In her sleep, she was pliable and slipped from his grasp without waking. Behind her, he shuffled under the sheets and slid his arm under the pillow at her head and nestled the crown of her head under his chin. She wasn’t quite close enough yet, though, so he manoeuvred her with his other arm and placed her hips against his so he could curl his thighs up under hers.

Warren had never been one to instigate moments like this before, and truthfully, he hadn’t laid in bed with a woman he wasn’t currently involved with since he’d been engaged to Camille. He and Ellis didn’t lie and hold each other. Cuddling certainly wasn’t on the cards during any of his purchased liaisons. So, he figured he was overdue some traditional affection, though it was extraordinarily rare for him to crave it. Still, when he did, he usually had no other option than to put such thoughts aside and throw himself into something work-related before cursed loneliness crept up on him. Karou’s presence in his life had turned everything he took for granted upside down, but with his nose nuzzled into her soft hair and her scent filling each of his breaths, he struggled to imagine a more pleasant way to fall asleep. It was comforting how her petite body fit against his so naturally, blissful even.

Hours passed like that until Warren had to turn over to switch off his alarm. Karou roused slightly when he moved but caught the beeps just in time.

Warren sprawled on his back, and Karou rolled over and curled herself back into his side; it surprised him a little, but ultimately, he relaxed and closed his eyes even though sleep wasn’t likely to return. One of her dainty hands spanned over his chest, and he gently held her wrist, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. Karou would wake up eventually; he just hoped she wouldn’t freak out when she realised where she was.

Thirty minutes later, Karou moaned her way into wakefulness and nuzzled her face into his t-shirt as she came to. With bated breath, Warren waited for her reaction.

“Mmm, what happened?” she murmured.

“I had you sleep in my bed... with me.”

“Why’d you do that?” Taking her hand from his chest, she rubbed over her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow. She remained tucked into his side, though, and looked down at his face with an adorable, confused expression, but at least she was calm.

“I don’t have a reason,” He lied. “I just wanted you to.”

“So, you just brought me in here, and we slept?”

“Yes. As easy as it would’ve been to do unspeakable things to you while you were out cold, I didn’t.”

“Hmm, the way you said that makes you sound suspicious… but I believe you.” Karou looked around at their current position and gnawed at her lip. Seeing as he wasn’t fighting to get away or insisting, she leave quickly; she laid her head back down onto his chest and her hand too. “Can we talk?”

“That means you have something you want to talk about…”

“Yeah, I have a few things I want to say. Questions I need to ask.” Karou took a deep breath before she continued. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for how my being here causes you problems and might’ve ruined your birthday visit from Magnus and Ellis. But I also wanted to ask if anything like what happened that night might happen again?” Gauging Warren’s stunned silence, Karou thought she’d better add her expectations. “I know the answer is probably no, but I just need to hear you say it.”

“For what happened, Ellis and I are to blame. I put you both in a compromising position with my selfish actions, and she took it as badly as she could have. I saw it coming and carried on regardless. I… have some choices to make, Karou. Mistakes have already been made. I know that. I just need some more time.”

“While you’re making up your mind then, do you think you could make some more ‘mistakes’?” Boldly Karou lifted her head to look at him directly; she looked hopeful when she posed her request.

“You always ask for so much.”

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get it, right?”

“Look, what I’ve got to decide between… Neither option is pretty. Karou, this doesn’t end well for you.”

“What’re your choices?” She asked open-mindedly.

“To sire you or...” Warren stalled, he wished he didn’t have to say it, but he closed his eyes and bravely spoke the second option into reality. “Put you out of your misery.”

Karou was shocked by how bluntly he stated his choices. For a moment, she wondered where the option to stay there, as a mortal, until the war was over had gone. As she didn’t really want that either, it didn’t matter that he seemed to have made up his mind that those were the only two options available.

“Well, the first isn’t likely, but that’s okay; you’ve already told me to find someone else t-”

“No one here will entertain you. I’ve already made sure of that. I’ve been pulling strings behind your back for months, taking your choices away from you before you’d fully set your heart on them. I know that’s manipulative, but I’m not sorry. I just can’t let you choose vampirism. So, seeing as I’m not going to sire you, the only option is the latter, do you understand?”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Karou felt she had to ask because the situation had taken a turn for the surreal.

“Have you ever known me to be anything other than serious?”

“Well… No, but I mean… If that’s inevitable, then you’re just deciding when?” The irony that she laid in the arms of her killer would’ve balled most people over - caused them to stagger to their feet and run, run for their lives, but not Karou - she was brave. Truth be told, she’d always imagined that her death would come at the hands of the people who had given her life to begin with, so the prospect of being killed by Warren wasn’t that frightening. There was the possibility that he’d be merciful in his method, at least.

Her eyes welled up a little, though; she couldn’t deny she was a little disappointed it’d had to come to this. For a while, she’d felt free, felt that she’d been given another chance to chase a better life. At least now she had answers - a direction to move in, even if it led to an end, but didn’t all things lead to an end anyway? She laid her head back down onto his chest.

“Can we wait ‘til my birthday?”

“You’re taking this awfully well. I can’t decide if you’re fearless or ...” Warren was bewildered by her reaction. He remembered the taste of fear as he fought for his life on the floor of his Parisian apartment when he was sired all those years ago. “Why do you want to wait until your birthday? Isn’t that a little morbid?”

“I suppose I’ve been living on borrowed time for a while. At least now I know I have a way out of this limbo. And twenty is a nice round number. Plus, there are a few things I’d like to do first. I know my options are limited because I’m stuck here, but I think I can work with that. I’ve got a month to complete my bucket list.”

“You don’t want longer than a month?” A small part of him wanted her to rethink her acceptance of her fate, say yes and put it off for as long as he would allow. In truth, he didn’t know how long that would be, but it was probably much longer than a month.

“This way, I get a month, and I’ll have lived here a year. A year is nothing to you, right? With all your years ahead of you, you can forget a year easily.” Karou’s mind was running through the things she would like to do, but some self-explanatory ones were at the top. “Are you planning on putting me on one of those machines?”

“No.” He couldn’t hide his alarm, “Why’d you ask?” Staring at the ceiling, this felt like one of his weirder, darker dreams. It almost certainly fell into the phantasmagorical category.

“I don’t really care about what happens once it’s over. Y’know, if you’d just let someone else sire me, I would’ve left and could’ve been rid of me. I wouldn’t have snitched to anybody that you’re all here. I like a lot of the people that live here; some are my friends; I wouldn’t want to hurt them.”

“Perhaps I realise that now; that’s why the decision was so difficult to make...”

Karou sat up, stretched her arms into the air, and let out a great yawn. “So, breakfast?”