Little Doll (Blackmoth House #1)

Chapter 20

Fane

I stepped through the dark magic of Blackmoth House and took Ren Ripley to my bed. I wanted to undress her, to feast on her with my eyes, but she wouldn’t allow it. She said she wasn’t ready yet to show me her naked flesh.

It seemed odd to me, seeing as how I’d just fucked her while my little sister lay sleeping nearby. But what Ren desired, Ren would receive. So, I made love to her again, with her clothes still on. Then I took my own clothes off, and I fucked her until she screamed. Afterwards, she lay trembling in my arms with drowsy eyes.

“Fane?” she whispered; her breath hot upon my cheek.

“Yes, Willow Wisp?”

Her eyes were closed, but she smiled. “Are you a vampire, too?”

My eyes widened as I peered down at my sweet girl. “Did Nova tell you?”

She nodded, her messy hair tickling my chest with the movement. “Yes. About Astrid and herself. But you?”

After a pause of consideration, I replied, “No. I’m not.”

Her eyes popped open, and she lifted her head to prop up on her hand and one elbow. “Why do you sound glum when you say that?”

I still couldn’t believe Nova had shared such a devastating secret with Ren. Or with anyone. I understood she was feeling lost and lonely just then, but I would have thought she’d have enough good sense not to jeopardize our family secrets like this.

Then again, the cat was out of the bag, so what was left for me to hide? Anyway, I couldn’t seem to awaken from the spell cast by Ren’s bewitching eyes.

“I’ve been taking care of Astrid as though she were my little sister for years. Decades even. Our Grandmother Cleo cared for her before me. Cleo is still with us, but she is an old woman and can’t have much longer to live. And when I grow old and my time is up? What happens to Astrid then?”

“Well, there’s Nova. What about Nova? ”

I nodded. “Yes, that’s true. Now. I don’t know if Nova told you, but she only very recently became a vampire.”

She gave me a sleepy nod. “Yes, she told me all about it.”

“It’s impossible to tell as Nova grows into her new lot in life what she will want. Perhaps she will not want to care for Astrid.”

“Oh, I don’t think that will happen. She obviously adores Astrid.”

“Yes, but the other thing is that I love Astrid so much. I want to be the one to care for her. For all eternity. It pains me to think of a day that Astrid will live on and I will be rotting within the earth.”

Ren traced a finger along my jaw and contemplated me for a moment before replying. “Why don’t you have Astrid change you, then?” she asked.

I sighed. “It isn’t that simple, Willow Wisp. There are a myriad of reasons why a child vampire cannot create a new vampire. A child vampire is an abomination in and of itself. But what it could possibly create… It’s unfathomable. The conversion could be unstable. It could cause me to become an insatiable blood-thirsty monster. Violent. Unpredictable. Emotionally unstable. Which, to be honest, I already am as a human,” I confided with a wicked smile.

Ren giggled and rested her head again on my chest. “Precisely why it doesn’t matter, then that the conversion could be risky. You’re already a madman, so what difference would it really make if you graduated to mad vampire?”

“I suppose the difference would be adding supernatural abilities and blood lust into the equation. Making me a mad man times one thousand. But that isn’t all.”

“What else?” she whispered with a yawn.

“When a vampire sires a progeny, a soul connection is formed. An unbreakable bond that binds the two for all eternity. If the sire is a child, however, the bond could be a disaster. Not only could I turn into a monster, I could also be turned into a child… In a man’s body.” I shuddered to think of it.

“Hmmm… What else?”

“Well, another problem is that there is a hierarchy in the world of vampires. Our family aren’t the only ones. These creatures of the night have roamed the world for millennia and will continue on for many more. There are laws, and perhaps the most important, and the most viciously punished is not to create a child vampire, and if one exists, under no condition must they be allowed to sire a progeny. Such atrocity is punishable by death without exception.”

“My, my,” she breathed. “Anything else? ”

I chuckled. “The other thing is that she most likely would just kill me. In years, she is a decrepit crone many years over. But in what remains of her dark little pumping heart, she is a child. She lacks control. And there have been rumors she was a… mentally unbalanced child even in life… So, she would probably just kill me by mistake and then be so sad about it that she’d go on a murdering spree and kill everyone in London.”

Ren giggled. “Well, that sounds awful. That won’t work!”

“Decidedly not. Believe me, Willow Wisp, I’ve thought it through many times.”

She popped her head back up one last time. “I will convince Nova,” she said, giving me a warm smile.

My heart pounded. It would be more than I could hope for. “I’ve never said anything to her about it,” I mentioned.

“I understand. I will wait till the time is right. We’ll make it happen, alright my darling?”

She placed a soft kiss on my lips, then settled down into my arms and drifting off to sleep.

When I woke with morning light on me, she was gone.