Chapter 6

New York City 2007

There were times in her long life that she thought she'd come to regret the decision that she made that night at the Duke's manor in England. A thousand life times to live and learn, that's what she'd told Lothie that finally convinced him to that the fateful and fatal step into immortality, but if she'd known what she did now, Elizabeth wasn't so certain that she would have ever considered it.

Picking up the crate of mugs, she moved towards the sink, dumping them without ceremony into the warm soapy water. She still didn't understand Lothian's fascination with this place; a bar tucked into an alley in New York City, but they had called it home for nearly seven years now. When she'd first been shown the warehouse, it was rundown with no running water or electricity. Hardly her first choice to turn into a booming business, but somehow, after a lot of work on all their parts, they'd completely turned it around.

It was the kind of place that catered to 'others', as she called them. She was sure that Lothie had seen the idea in a book someplace before but they'd turned the crumbling brick building with no electricity or running water into a place where creatures like them could mingle with those that were like them and those that wanted to be them. They had all sorts that would walk through the door, from vampire to human and after the first year, she'd had to grudgingly admit to Lothie that it was a good idea.

Elizabeth found that she actually loved it. Of course, many of their customers were dark and moody, the pseudo Goths that wanted to be vampires and even a few who were. She called it the 'vampire syndrome' and it always annoyed those around her that she remained pale and blonde and beautiful and chipper throughout her nights. She got to be the sweet hostess and then try her hand at being a rock star by taking the stage for one song a night. She always had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.

If only they really knew the pain behind her eyes, the quiet moments that made her feel melancholy and despair. She sighed as she watched the bubbles overtake the glass in the sink and decided to leave it for later, turning round to sit behind the bar. Resting her chin in her hands she looked up towards the skylights, knowing that night would come soon, the frosted glass already turning pink and purple with the dying light.

It was out of the blue that she felt a tear course down her cheek, her fingers catching it and bringing it out so she could look at it. Crystal clear, just as they always were, hanging from her fingertip before dripping to the counter. That was the first sign that things weren't right, her tears showing her for what she really was. As another escaped her eyes, she thought back to the night in England that she'd decided to join the ranks of the creatures of the night; one of many nights in her existence that she wished she could have back.

England, 1487

Elizabeth stepped into bedroom with a shiver. Her mind was already thinking of a millions ways to back out of this. Her resolve wasn't so strong as she saw Gabriella standing by the fire, her gown of white linen gleaming in the soft light. She jumped as she felt Lothie brush past her, watching as he made his way to Gabriella's side and whispered something in her ear. Gabriella's eyes went wide before a smile took over her face and a light seemed to glow from within her.

"Oh, Elizabeth," She murmured, her face full of motherly pride as she stepped towards the girl, her cold hands wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her into a tight embrace. "Are you sure about this?" She whispered in the girl's ear, her cold breath making Elizabeth shiver.

"She better be because I doubt we could let her back out at this point." Lothie said over Elizabeth's shoulder, slipping past her to stand by the fire, his eyes glowing in the soft light as he appraised the girl before him. "Are your intentions pure?"

"I ... I believe so." Elizabeth answered back, her voice shaking as she stammered, unable to get the words out that she so desperately wanted to say. She shrank away from the look that he was giving her, wishing the floor would open and swallow her whole.

"If they are not pure, then I do not believe that any of us would be happy with the outcome." Lothie insisted as he watched her body and mind war with each other, half of her skittish and ready to run and the other standing proud in place, accepting the things that she had no control over.

"Lothie, you scare her." Gabriella hissed at her mate, giving a reassuring smile to Elizabeth as she wrapped an arm around the trembling young girl. "Give us a moment, darling." Her voice was a whisper, but the threat was clear if Lothie didn't leave. Gabriella wouldn't have this girl scared anymore than she already was.

Lothie nodded after a moment, his eyes narrowing at the woman that he loved, his mind sending her a dangerous message as he exited the room, the door clicking shut softly behind him.

"You have to be sure in this, Elizabeth." Gabriella murmured in the girl's ear as she guided her towards the fire, turning her away from the flames so that she looked at her. "This is not a decision to suddenly decide is a mistake."

"I do not believe it would be a mistake." Elizabeth whispered softly. "I'll die without this."

"You'll die because of this." Gabriella's laughter in the matter served to unnerve Elizabeth even more, her shaking intensified as her resolve began to crumble anew. "My dear, if you do not wish for this fate then we will make sure that your last days are filled with comfort and happiness. You know we would do nothing to harm you."

Elizabeth sucked in a deep, shuddering breath as her mortality was spoken of as a fleeting thing. She knew it was true, but part of her wanted to rage against the dying light within her body. Comfort and death or death and life, those were her choices.

"Then I am prepared to die." She said, her voice strong as she raised her tear-filled eyes to meet Gabriella's strong gaze. "God needs no more angels. Perhaps I can do good here on Earth."

"Perhaps." Gabriella spoke softly as she stepped forward and caressed the side of Elizabeth's face, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before taking her hands and pulling her deeper into the chamber. "Do you know what you are, my dear?" Gabriella asked as she drew Elizabeth towards the fire, seating her in one of the comfortable chairs that she always kept near.

"A farmer's daughter." She answered simply, her face growing red as Gabriella began to laugh. "Nothing special in this world."

"No, my dear, you are something very special. A being that is as old as time." She reached out and brushed an errant hair out of Elizabeth's face with a soft smile. "My dear, you're an Immortal."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at Gabriella as she spoke; lying was one thing, but to tell her something that wasn't the truth as a matter of comfort felt horribly patronizing to her.

"I promise you, little one, that I do not lie." A cool hand stroked Elizabeth's fevered face as Gabriella spoke. "There is a small group of those that live through time, living life among us as if they were normal. Most live and die, but they will always be resurrected."

She thought on that for a moment, her eyes sparkling in the light of the fire. She could choose death and hope that she would be resurrected like Gabriella promised. "You mean I could choose to die?"

"You very well could, Elizabeth. It is your right as an Immortal to do such, but a warning first. If you choose that path, it is hard. You remember nothing of your former life and yet you are doomed to repeat it. Your life as you have already lived it will be what awaits you in the next. Lothian and I wish to give you a chance to live in the way that you want."

"It is what I wish." She murmured softly as Gabriella wrapped her in a hug and held her for a long moment before she went to find Lothie. Elizabeth couldn't bear the thought of losing a lover again and again; once had been hard enough and though she knew that she would not remember it, it was a heartache powerful enough to make up her mind.

Her thoughts were still far away when both vampires returned and Lothie spoke, the words lost as Elizabeth's head snapped towards them. She stared dumbly at them as he smirked and began to laugh, causing a deep red stain to creep across her cheeks.

"Stand up, princess." He repeated again and laughed once more as Elizabeth stumbled to do such. He stood looking at her intently as Gabriella moved off into the background, letting her lover have his fun, but still keeping a watchful eye out for Elizabeth. Pausing for a moment, he had a thoughtful look in his eye before he reached out and had his protégé naked in an instant, her nightgown flung to the far reaches of the room.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth shrieked at him as she quickly covered herself for modesty with her hands.

"Searching, princess, just to make sure." He murmured as he reached out and traced his hand over her cheek, smiling at her in his disarming way as she slowly dropped her hands, her toes curling into the carpet beneath her feet with nervous energy.

Lothie circled her, looking over her body with a careful eye. He knew what he looked for, it was just a matter finding the small mark. As his fingers traced over her hip, leaving gooseflesh in their wake, Lothie paused as he felt the small piece of raised flesh. It was small, no bigger than the tip of his little finger.

"Scar?" He asked casually as he let his fingers leave her flesh, watching as she turned her eyes towards him for a moment before reaching her own fingers behind her hip to trace the mark.

"N-no. I've had this since birth." She murmured, shivering slightly at the look in his eyes as he carefully kneeled down behind her, his cold fingers gripping her hips to keep her still as he closely examined her skin.

"A fire mark. I've read about many of these before, but never in my long life seen one." Lothie murmured, his breath caressing her bare skin as he stared at the mark.

"Will this have any ill effects on her, Lothie?" Gabriella murmured in the darkness as she watched the scene from her chair, worrying that the girl might be harmed.

Heated eyes met hers as a smirk appeared on his face. "I've never heard of an Immortal being changed, but I guess we will find out, will we not?"

"They could kill us for that, Lothian. It is not something to be done lightly."

He glared at his mate as Elizabeth shook in his arms. He knew that she didn't like the way they talked about her as if she weren't there. Not changing her now wasn't an option with him. He would rather die a painful death then to let the girl he'd come to care about pass into the night without so much as a soul to remember her. She deserved a chance to make her mark upon the world and in his tutelage, it would be a glorious one.

He was quick about it, no point in drawing out a death that could be painful. He circled his arms around her, pulling her tightly to his cold body as his hands caressed over her smooth flesh. Then, in a lightening fast moment, he struck, his teeth burying themselves into the tender flesh at the young girl's neck as the first splatter of blood hit his tongue.

As she screamed as he chose the moment to bite deep into the tender flesh of her neck. She screamed louder, her body clenching tight not only at the fingers that were still playing with her wet folds, but also at the pain of the bite on her neck. She fought against him, his grip like steel on her naked body as she tried to get away; her body was screaming that something was wrong as she began to feel lightheaded from the pull of the blood through her wound.

She was fighting him hard, something that he didn't wish as he freed a hand and moved his fingers to her surprisingly wet sex. They explored and touched places that he was almost certain that she'd never explored herself. As she moaned out in pleasure instead of fear, he pushed deeper into her, stopped by a small and fragile barrier.

"A virgin?" Lothie whispered in her ear in such a way that made Elizabeth shiver from head to toe. "Good girl." He laughed softly against her skin as his hand continued to play between her legs, never breaking the barrier that she'd worked so hard to keep.

Elizabeth's heart was racing as a soft moan escaped her lips, unsure of why she was feeling like this. This wasn't the same way that Richard made her feel when they'd sneak off from under her parent's watchful eyes. The way Lothie touched her made her fearful, but it was intoxicating the way his fingers worked, strumming against that tiny spot that made her muscles strain for more.

"More." She begged quietly, her voice a whimper of need as he pinched and prodded, seducing her with his fingers. "Please, Lothie, give me more."

He gave into her request, playing more as he finished drinking his fill. Soon, he felt her release upon his fingers with a weak cry, her honey coating his hand as he gently walked her towards the soft bed in the room and lay her upon the covers. Her skin was flushed from her pleasure, eyes rolled back so only the whites showed and he could hear her heart begin to stop. Cutting into his wrist, he pressed it against her lips, urging her to drink with soothing words as he felt a hand upon his shoulder and turned to see Gabriella watching intently.

"Drink, princess. It's the only way to survive." He murmured as Elizabeth's lips latched onto his wrist and began to pull the sweet liquid into her body.

She could hear voices around her, almost as if she were under water. Her body felt heavy and so very cold suddenly, although she still shook in pleasure every so often. And then the strangest sensation of all when her heart ceased beating and there was nothing but silence.

The nights that followed were horrible, her body in agony as she twisted and turned upon the sheets of their bed in delirium, begging both Gabriella and Lothie to end her suffering as her mortality slipped away. By the end of the first night, she slipped from the mortal coil, her body expelling all that had made her human and leaving her a simple empty shell that would be rebuilt. By the third night, her skin turned cold, eyes bright, and skin pale like marble, blue veins tracing exquisitely through her almost translucent skin and her body was deathly calm.

As the moon rose on the fourth night, Elizabeth sat next to the fire, huddled beneath a brocade robe, her body filled with a soothing calm of nothingness. She felt nothing but cold, her lungs no longer trying to drown her and her thoughts at peace for the first time in ages. Hearing the door open, Elizabeth peeked around the back of the chair, watching as Lothie strode in, his body held in such a regal posture that she'd never really noticed before.

Her sight was so much sharper in the hereafter, the way she could see everything in the shadows to the individual hairs that were atop Lothie's head at first seemed like a novelty, but then reality came crashing down on her as she noticed the serious look that he had on his face.

Taking the seat across from her, Lothie appraised her pale looks, admiring the beauty that was before him for a moment before he cleared his throat and settled back into the welcome chair.

"You seem much better, princess."

Elizabeth nodded her head gently, opening her mouth to speak, but stopping as she couldn't find the words to express how she felt. Her tongue darted between her teeth, tracing the sharp canines that now hung low seemingly too big for her mouth. "I do not hurt any longer." She finally whispered, her voice so loud in her head that it was if she were shouting her answers.

"You learn." A reminiscent smile on his handsome face as he saw her mind warring with her body, trying to figure out all that it had to offer now that she was no longer living. "The first few years are filled with learning. In time, you'll know all that you're capable of, but you must learn one thing now. Make no mistake, Elizabeth, if you break this cardinal rule, not even I can protect you."

"What rule?" She asked, her voice stronger as she nervously twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers.

"As the hunger grows you must learn to choose your victims wisely. Never children nor those that can be easily missed."

The thought truly disgusted her, the very act of thinking about taking life was more then she could bare. She tried not to, closing her eyes against the beastly nature that so badly just wanted to be released. "No, I'm not like that, Lothie."

"Princess, there are better men that you that have tried and failed. It's a noble cause, it truly is, but you pay for this immortality with blood. It never is easy, but it's how we survive."

"I'm not like you, Lothie." She murmured, her eyes opening to stare at him, the resolve plain in their depths as she clung to her humanity. "I can live just fine without it."

Lothie chuckled to himself, admiring her resolve, but knowing that it wouldn't last long. She was just like him in so many ways, young and headstrong, filled with sorrow and questions that might never be answered. He'd lasted two weeks before his resolved crumbled and he'd taken his first life. Leaning forward, he cupped Elizabeth's chin in his hand, bringing her gaze to his. "Choose wisely, Elizabeth. You cannot hold out forever and I do not wish to see one as young as you make mistakes."

She was silent, a slow nod of her head the only sign that she'd heard his words. She hated him in that moment and she let a deep, scorching hatred passing through her very core. He acted as if she had no control, but that simply wasn't true; she was always in control and she'd be damned to let someone tell her otherwise.

"I thank you for your warning, Lothie, but I do not need it." She looked at him with those intense eyes; those haunted eyes that were not tinted with madness.

"As you wish, princess." He said softly as she turned and stormed away, a small shiver racing up his spine as he thought of what a colossal mistake he might have made.

Her fingers slipped over the keys like water, the music coming forth in a haunting melody that seemed to speak of sorrow and need, a passion that overtook all that could hear. Her voice was crystal clear, beautiful and mourning; over what, Elizabeth really couldn't say. In just a few short days, she'd not only lost the greatest love she'd ever known, but she'd also lost her life, a decision that was completely her own, but hard to swallow none the less.

"Such a lovely Siren to go along with her song." The voice in the room cause her to pause in her playing, glancing over her shoulder towards the door to see who dared disturb her.

The Duke stood there, the disgusting letch with a smile that oozed with his misdeeds. Elizabeth slowly smiled at him, seeing opportunity and a warm body. 'No, ' she quickly reminded herself, her attentions snapping back to the keyboard. Lothie had told her to choose wisely and she was sure that the Duke was anything but a wise choice. He was important and powerful, but then again ... she looked over her shoulder once more, sizing him up from head to toe. Would anyone really miss him?

"You flatter me, milord." She murmured as she slowly stood from the bench she'd been sitting on, smoothing out her silk skirts as she turned to look at him. "I still don't know why such a common girl like me would catch the fancy of someone like you." Her smile was charming, an innocent seduction in her eyes as she moved forward and ran her fingers over his chest lightly.

"You are much more receptive without your friends around." He commented, catching her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "You're chilled, my dear."

"'tis a cold evening." Elizabeth countered, feeling the blood pump furiously through his veins, calling to her with its own sweet music. Her tongue darted between her lips, moistening them to a dusky pink color as she warred with herself, fangs poking gently into her tongue as she fought.

"Perhaps I can warm you up." The Duke commented, chuckling to himself as if he'd said the most humorous thing in the world.

She smiled as she allowed him to pull her from the room. "I have no doubt that you could," she kept her eyes on the Duke, ignoring as servants stopped in their wake and stared at them with surprised glances.

The human side of her that struggled so valiantly to hold out was quickly losing ground. The monster deep inside of her howled at the nearness of warm blood, the sound of his heart calling out to her as she was pulled to a sudden stop outside of two large wooden doors. Within lay his bedchamber and she knew that once she set foot inside, one of them would never reappear again. It would either be her hell or her salvation.

"How many girls have set foot in here?" She asked him with a pleasant smile as he pushed open the doors, dismissing the servants that were within with a flick of his wrist.

"My aren't you intelligent?" The Duke asked with a boisterous laugh as he escorted Elizabeth through the outer chambers until they were tucked deep within his inter sanctum where he knew they wouldn't be disturbed. "Well, my dear, many is the answer you are looking for."

She stepped around the room, running her fingertips over the rich woods and colorful tapestries that adorned the bed chamber. "Were they willing?" She murmured, peeking at him from around one of the bedposts with a sly smile. She could feel his blood begin to beat faster, a sense of disgust crossing her mind at the tightness in his pants.

"Some," He pulled at the ties of his doublet, a patch of unwashed skin appearing on his chest as he stepped up to the bed, beckoning her closer with a wave of his fingers. "Others did it for duty."

"Is that what you call it when they do not want your advances?" She asked, skirting around the bed and stepping closer to the fire that was burning in the hearth, the warmth sinking into her cold skin and igniting something deep within her. It was primal and grew with each passing moment.

"You do not know when to watch your tongue," The Duke said as he stepped up behind her, his hands tracing down her shoulders before stopping to rest on her upper arms. He dipped his head in to kiss her throat that was left bare by the neckline of her dress.

It all happened so quickly that he had no idea what was going on. Elizabeth had turned, her hand gripping his throat in a punishing hold as she glared at him with hard, unforgiving eyes. Her face was twisted in anger, a frown cutting deep lines in her soft skin as she squeezed her hand tighter, cutting off his air supply.

"Tell me, milord, did those women that did it for "duty" scream for mercy?" She asked as she released him, watching him collapse to the floor as he struggled for breath, his windpipe nearly crushed. She continued to circle him as he squirmed, her skirts rustling softly in the silence that surrounded them. Dropping to her knees, she straddled his body, a smile coming to her lips that was feral and dangerous.

"Will you scream for me?" She asked as she took his face between her hands, his eyes going wide as he saw her fangs as she loomed closer. The last thing he knew before the pain took him away from himself was the look of death in her eyes and he knew somewhere deep inside that it was a righteous one.

"Where's Elizabeth?"

Gabriella heard Lothie's voice and looked up from her book, staring at him with a confused look as she looked towards the empty seat by the fire. Thinking back Gabriella couldn't remember the last time that she'd seen the girl.

"I have no idea. Perhaps she's in the music room."

Lothie nodded and turned to head down the corridor to the music room, the air too silent and tense to make him feel at ease. Something was wrong, he thought as he pulled himself to a stop at his destination and opened the door. Looking around the empty room, he could still feel the heat of a person, the scent in the air. It was then that he realized whose scent it was and he cursed under his breath, turning to run down the hallway to track down his wayward ward.

Gabriella stood with eyes wide as Lothie went racing past, a sense of dread passing through her body as she hurried after him. "What's the matter, Lothie?" She gasped after him, trying to keep up in her flurry of skirts.

He didn't answer, a growl coming to his lips as he smelled blood in the air, the beast within him trying to surface as he forced it violently down. He pulled open the chamber doors to the Duke's apartments, the wood threatening to splinter as he shoved his way through.

"Elizabeth!" He barked into the silence before he barged into the bedroom, stopping in his tracks at the horrors that were before him. He was barely aware of Gabriella coming up beside him, a gasp sharp in his ear as she grabbed hold of his arm to steady herself.

"What did you do, Princess?" Lothie asked, his mouth agape at the amount of blood that filled the air with its sweet metallic scent. The body of the Duke lay in the middle of the floor, the smell of his death mixing with the soil in his pants, the entire scene surreal. "Why did you do this?" He asked, his gaze finally averted from the body and to the woman that stood across from them, her gown soaked in blood, a gory mess that also seemed to stain her lips and chin.

She stared into the fire that was burning bright in the hearth, her form unmoving for a long moment before she turned her head to stare at the two. "He deserved it," She said with a shrug, her need for blood sated yet her mind oddly disgusted with the taste that remained in her mouth. "And as he died, he knew it deep in his soul. I did nothing wrong."

The last words were spoken in a hiss, Lothie taking in the way that she curled her lips over her teeth, baring them as she spoke of her first kill as if it were nothing. Lord help them if Xander heard about this or, even worse than him, the council of Immortals. They would surely kill them all if they caught wind; steak them to a hill in the sunlight to watch them burn. It was a fate that Lothie didn't wish to partake.

"We didn't teach you this, Elizabeth!" Gabriella's angry voice joined in causing a betrayed look to flit across Elizabeth's infuriated features. "Certainly not to kill in this way and not to kill someone of such importance."

"You did not teach me anything! You simply asked me to make a choice." Crystal clear tears sprang to Elizabeth's eyes as her cool exterior began to crumble and she raged, causing Lothie a moment of pause as he noticed this curious discrepancy. Why were her tears not of blood like theirs?

"You would have died. We gave you life." Gabriella tried to counter as a rage filled scream came from Elizabeth, both elder vampires taken back as the younger pulled her hair and screamed into the stones of the chamber.

"And now you talk of death! I am so sick of speaking on matters of life and death! My heart beats no more. I am no longer living." Elizabeth wheeled around on the both of them, her blue eyes burning bright in the light from the fire, her teeth bared as it appeared she was losing her mind. "I can go from sun up to sun down without breathing one breath and yet I'll survive. Never again will I feel the warmth of the sun upon my skin, but this is the life that I chose! You created me." She pointed at Lothie, her eyes accusing, breath ragged. "You made this and now you wish to destroy it all. I'm not a mistake that can just be gotten rid of; swept under the rug as if I'm nothing but dust."

"Elizabeth, you need to calm yourself." Lothie spoke, his voice sounding stern in his own ears, wondering just he was so collected.

"You wish to turn me in to the council." She had no idea what she spoke of, but she couldn't help the thoughts that seemed to flow from his mind and into hers. "Every word, Lothian, here in my head. I hear it all. Your blood is in my veins."

Lothie and Gabriella looked to one another, a wall instantly appearing around his thoughts as this new revelation came to light. It was true that Gabriella could read his thoughts if she tried, but even though she was his creation as well, the flow had never been as free as it was between himself and Elizabeth. Something very strange was happening, something that he'd never experienced nor heard of in his very long life.

'She's gone mad.' He heard Gabriella's voice in his mind and he shook his head knowing that it was only temporary.

'She's struggling with what she is. You did the same.'

'Lothian, I never killed anyone like that. We have to deal with this.'

Lothie began to growl deep in his chest, knowing that she was right, but not wanting to completely destroy the girl that he had come to love. The one that broke into his thoughts at night, invading his dreams until she were all he could think of. It was then that he realized what was wrong, his attention snapping back to the still upset vampire before them.

Her voice, the tears, the thoughts, the haunting quality of her very being, even the rage she felt now all added up in his mind and he was suddenly slapped hard with the fact that he and Gabriella had made a very grave mistake by changing this girl.