Chapter 17

Alicia awoke to find herself lying naked on a cement floor. For a moment, she struggled to recall what had happened the previous night but failed; finally deciding that someone must have slipped her one hell of a mickey. She rose smoothly to her knees and then stood, marveling at the fact that, despite her odd sleeping arrangements, all of the aches and pains that she had accumulated over her forty years did not trouble her in the slightest.

Peering about curiously, she determined that she was in a large basement shaped like a "U" with the center being partially taken up by a small bathroom. Alicia heard movement in the other arm of the "U", but decided that her full bladder had a higher priority than meeting whoever it was that had brought her here.

Even as she walked towards the bathroom door, she wondered at her lack of fear. As she considered this, she realized that there were a number of things that were glaringly wrong with the situation, even beyond the obvious fact that she was naked in an unknown basement: What was that knot of emotion, of cold, hard resolve, that she could feel in her mind but which didn't seem to truly be a part of her?; What was that odd, coppery taste in her mouth that made part of her want to be violently ill but made another, larger, part of her hunger?; and, Why did she feel no chill even though she could tell that the cement floor was freezing cold?

As she walked past the bathroom mirror, she caught a sight in her peripheral vision that made her stop and do a double take. With eyes widening in confusion and wonder, she leaned closer to the mirror. The face that looked back at her was her's, but as it was twenty years before. In disbelief, she brought her hands to her face; her skin, while pale and rather cool to the touch, was soft, smooth and completely unmarred by any blemish, wrinkle or line. Stepping back slightly, she saw that her breasts stood high and firm, with no sign of the sag that had been developing over the past fifteen years. She traced a finger down across her stomach and was astonished to find that the stretch marks that had been present since she was fourteen were completely gone, leaving only smooth, taut skin.

Grinning in delight, she spun, stood on her tiptoes and peered over her shoulder. Her ass was round and tight with no trace of the cellulite dimples that she knew were present just the day before. Her survey of the changes that had occurred to her body, seemingly by magic, was interrupted by her bladder again making its urgent need known to her. As she sat on the toilet, she could feel a change in that knot of emotion in the corner of her mind; a sense of growing nearness.

The cold resolve of that knot became tinged with amusement and she heard a voice speak calmly from the doorway, "That is the last time that you will ever have to do that, Alicia."

The sound of that voice caused the memories of the previous night to resurface and crash around her in waves of pain and fear and humiliation. She began to cower away from the dark figure in the doorway, but then forced herself to straighten and, pushing her fear aside, asked quietly, "Did you do this to me?"

"Yes," the voice answered simply.

Alicia was quiet for a moment, the memories of the pain that this man had forced her to endure warring with the joy she felt over the changes that he had wrought in her body. Finally, she replied quietly, "Thank you."

She felt the amusement grow in that knot of emotion inside her mind. With a slightly mocking laugh, the man answered, "You are welcome, Alicia. I know you must be hungry. I will take my leave of you so that you may clean yourself. When you are ready to eat, you will know how to find me."

As the man turned to leave, Alicia called out, "Wait! Who are you?"

Turning slightly back toward her, the man answered, "My name is Arthur. You may call me, 'Master.'"

A protest began to rise to her lips but died before it was even half formed. With a nod she said, "Yes, Master."

As her Master again turned to leave, Alicia called out again, "Master?"

"Yes, Alicia?"

Alicia was silent for a moment, unable to put words to the question to which she must know the answer. At last she fumbled out, "What are you, Master?"

The amusement in the knot of emotions grew even further as her Master laughed at her. "When you are finished with what you are doing, return to the mirror and bare your teeth. I believe that will answer the question of what I am, of what we are."

Confused, Alicia remained silent as she felt a growing sense of distance in the knot of emotions. She suddenly realized that, although her Master was out of her sight, she could point directly to him using that knot of emotions; the knot that could only be her Master.

When her bladder was finally empty, Alicia stood and moved to again face the mirror. Timidly, she leaned forward and pulled her lips back, but could see no difference in her teeth from the way they were before. Still looking into the mirror, she opened her mouth. When it was fully open, her canines slid downwards, extending into three inch long fangs. She fell backwards with a cry, suddenly recalling fangs, nearly identical to the ones in her mouth, being revealed by a smile, sinking into her breast, and biting into her throat.

For a long while, Alicia sat huddled on the floor, her knees clasped tightly to her chest, her mind in turmoil. "There are no such things as vampires; they do not, they can not, exist!" she whispered to herself over and over again. But the evidence was undeniable. She looked down her body while considering the benefits of what she had become. Finally, her mind again calm, Alicia rose smoothly to her feet and turned toward the shower. Her Master wanted her clean.

Fifteen minutes later, Alicia, still nude and now dripping from her ablutions, ventured back out into the basement proper. Walking around the bottom of the "U" she found the stairs leading up into the house, noting that whatever had made the noises that she had heard earlier was now gone.

Emerging from the basement, Alicia followed the knot in her mind, and turned right into a hallway. After just a few steps, she found her Master talking with two heavily armed men in a well appointed living room. She could not only see the men's eyes widen as they took in the sight of her but could hear their hearts begin to beat faster in their chests. She could even smell their lust. Her nipples tingled and thickened under the weight of their approving gaze.

Her Master glanced at her with an eyebrow raised in amusement. "Come, child," he told her, "It is time for you to feed."

As she followed her Master across the room, she added an extra swing to her hips, laughing quietly as she heard the men's hearts beat even faster. Her Master led her down another hallway and through a door. Inside the room, a man knelt on his knees. His hands and feet were tied; his mouth gagged. He stared up at Alicia and her Master with eyes that were wide and fearful, and Alicia heard his breath quicken and become shallow as his heart began to race.

The room was filled with the most deliciously wonderful aroma that Alicia had ever experienced. Eyes closed in sensory euphoria, she wove her head from side to side trying to home in on the source of the incredible smell. Following the strongest concentrations of the scent, Alicia moved slowly into the room. She leaned forward and realized that the scent was stronger closer to the floor. She dropped to her hands and knees and continued to slowly crawl forward until her hands encountered an obstacle. She opened her eyes and saw that it was the bound man. His eyes had opened even wider, nearly bugging out of his head, and, even through the gag, she could hear his muffled screams.