Chapter 5

Elizabeth seemed to be getting better by the day, although she was still a shell of the person that Lothie had first met. She had been unusually quiet though, trying to decide whether what Lothie had told her was part of a dream or the truth. She would go through the daily motions of being well, but they were halfhearted. Both Lothie and Gabriella could see that she wouldn't be long for this Earth.

It was late one evening, the snow falling thick outside as the three of them hunkered into the library. Lothie and Gabriella were discussing a book as Elizabeth stared into the fire. She'd been doing that a lot lately, spending hours staring into the flames until they were just embers. He knew that the news of Richard had almost completely broken her spirit, but he also knew that Gabriella wasn't ready to give up on her. She'd showered the girl in gifts, making her smile for a few short moments, but the sullen look would always settle back on her face. It seemed hopeless.

They were interrupted by a soft knocking at the door. Lothie was up in a flash, opening it and looking out to see who was there, grinning at the man who was standing there. "And where have you been hiding?" He asked Dmitri, ushering the man into the room and closing the door behind him.

"Here and there." He said with a grin as she nodded to Gabriella and turned his attentions to Elizabeth who hadn't looked up from the fire yet. "Hello." He said, making her jump slightly, turning to look at him.

"Dmitri." She said with a smile as she stood up from her chair, her eyes brightening as he took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles.

Lothie watched this reaction curiously. He hadn't seen that animated of a look on Elizabeth's face in days. It was then that a thought occurred to him, one that seemed to suck the breath from his lungs, filling him with a dead feeling. Her soul was calling out to those that were like her, and they would claim that very soul before she even had a chance. He didn't miss the sidelong glance that Dmitri gave him, a slight smile settling over the other man's face as Lothie growled softly. No one would take her from him.

"My old friend, I mean no harm. I've come with news." Dmitri said, turning from Elizabeth when he heard the growl. He watched as Gabriella moved across the room, sensing the danger that had suddenly taken over.

"And what news is that?" Lothie asked, glancing at Gabby as she brushed against his side, her presence tense yet calming. At least Elizabeth had not noticed the tension, so absorbed in Dmitri that she was numb to everything else.

"She has a gift." Dmitri said proudly, looking at the two vampires as they looked back at him with suspicion. It was as if he had some great secret and took great pleasure in telling the entire world about it. He turned and took Elizabeth's hand, guiding the startled girl over to the keyboard and taking a seat as he smiled at her. "Show them what you can do."

Elizabeth blushed deeply, bowing her head slightly. "I can't do that." She whispered, glancing over at Lothie and Gabriella as they stared at each other, a myriad of emotions passing over their features. She wondered if it had something to do with the confession that Lothie had made to her.

"Of course you can. There is so much more to you than just a beautiful face. Show them what you are capable of doing." He insisted again, gaining the vampires attention at that, the smirk on his face growing wider.

With that, Dmitri started a song, his hands gliding over the keys like silk as he started at her, his eyes willing her to start. After growing another shade of red, Elizabeth opened her mouth and began to sing softly, her voice barely a whisper.

Lothie watched with a slightly disappointed look on his face. To hear Dmitri talk, there had to be something amazing there, but he was straining himself to listen to even the softest of notes that came from Elizabeth. Glancing at Gabriella, he saw the hope that she had on her face laced with the same disappointment. He sighed and shook his head, taking his seat again as Gabriella settled in beside him.

Dmitri stopped playing suddenly, giving Elizabeth a hard look. "You're not even trying. Sing like you did the other day. This is no different from then." He accused her, his eyes lit as if there were a smoldering fire in them. He had a point to prove to Lothie and Gabriella and he would be damned if this girl made a fool of him.

"This is completely different." She murmured in her own defense as she turned her attention back to Dmitri.

"No, you just don't want to try. Poor little girl is scared." He knew that he was playing with fire, pushing her until he was rewarded with a hard glare and the hard set line of her jaw as she gritted her teeth in anger. "Sing it like you mean it." He said, starting again.

She continued to glare at Dmitri, tears stinging her eyes as she felt betrayed. He was forcing her into something that she didn't want, but as much as she wanted to be stubborn and storm from the room, she began to sing with all her worth, her anger at the man behind the keyboard flowing out with her words.

It was as if all the air in the room was suddenly sucked out as Elizabeth sang, the haunting melody wrapping around the two vampires, enticing their senses more then anything ever had in their long lives. Lothie sat dumbfounded, staring at the frail girl as her voice rose. He glanced at Gabby, a smile on her face as her fangs gleamed white against her lips. He stood slowly from the chair, moving across the room as if in a fog, the only thing that he was conscious of was the voice in his head.

Dmitri could have easily finished his job then, taking from Elizabeth what he had come to the estate for while she was distracted, but he found himself stopped by something that he hadn't experienced in many years: his conscience. Why deprive the world of something so beautiful, he asked himself as he noticed the lethargic look on Lothie's face. Just as he'd been told many years ago by the council, the voice of an angel that could entice even the most hardened heart. He mused on that as he slowly stopped playing, flashing that disarming smile at Elizabeth as she stopped with him.

Lothie stood silent beside Elizabeth, staring at Dmitri as the song finished, the last sounds dying away from the keyboard. The two men shared a look, Dmitri looking smug at all of the secrets that he knew while Lothie had an immediate understanding of what all of this was. "Your voice is beautiful, princess." Lothie said finally, making Elizabeth turn a bright shade of crimson.

"Thank you." She whispered softly, catching her breath before Gabriella was suddenly upon her, gushing at the performance.

Dmitri took the moment to close the latch on the keyboard before silently slipped away from the two women. Lothie caught him by the arm, staring into his eyes for a moment. "Give us more time." He whispered, his eyes imploring his old friend to hold off on his mission.