She pulled away from the dock with the moon and stars reflecting off the water. “I had this built before the civil war. I upgraded the interior in 1987. I even allowed a magazine to come out and shoot the house, telling them the family doesn’t like publicity,” she told him.

  When they were closer, Kenneth spotted a pier jutting out and the dark outline of a massive structure. A ramp ran down to the water up into the bottom of the structure, and he pointed at it as the detail of the structure slowly came into view. It was built out of stone and reminded him of a castle without the outer wall.

  “Oh, that’s a boat ramp. When the magazine was here, they couldn’t believe anyone that rich wouldn’t have a way to drive a boat into a covered shelter. I didn’t believe them, but sure enough, I went around to other large houses on the water and found them. So I had one added. I’ve used it once or twice, but I still prefer to just run here,” she said, pulling up to the pier, guiding the barge into a dock.

  The way she guided the boat, Kenneth was having difficulty believing she didn’t drive the boats often. She turned it off and looked over at him. “We can take our guests to their rooms; then, I’ll show you around,” she offered with a smile.

  Dumbfounded, Kenneth just nodded, walking over to the generator. He followed her up the pier to a stone walkway. He fought the big generator up the steps with Besseta slowing, giving him time to catch up.

  Reaching the main house, Besseta walked down a covered set of stairs leading to the subbasement. Kenneth slowly rolled the generator down the steps one at a time and looked up as Besseta put the coffins down. She opened a keypad beside the door and pressed numbers on it, and the double door gave a click. She pushed them open, and the dogs ran in first. She walked inside, turning on the lights. Kenneth looked at the doors with a startle, noticing they were solid steel and over an inch thick.

  Kenneth looked up the long line of steps they had just come down. “We’re under the basement, about twenty feet down. There are two floors above us, each a foot thick with granite. The walls here are the same. That should be enough to stop radio signals, right?” she asked hopefully. “I can’t get cell signal down here.”

  “If they can get a signal down here, we won’t be able to stop it.” Kenneth gaped at the area. A hallway went down the middle, and he noticed four steel doors on each side. “This is a prison,” he noted.

  “Yes, if someone had more information than I could remember, I brought them here,” she said, looking around. “But I had it built to hold vampires,” she said with a smile and went back and carried the coffins in. She kicked a door open on the right side and put one in then walked past it and kicked the other door on the right open, putting the other coffin in.

  “The cells on the right are for vampires,” she said, coming back out and walking past him. She went to a panel and flipped switches, flooding the rooms with UV light. Kenneth noticed a stone table in the center of the room with a thick steel plate covering the top. There were steel rods that went through the table, bolted to the bottom of the stone top. Looking up toward the light, he saw they were sunk up in the ceiling behind some thick glass and small, steel bars.

  “Without the lights, could you get out of that?” he asked, moving closer, noticing the stone top was over a foot thick with a two-inch steel slab.

  “It would take some time, and I would have to rip my hands and legs off,” she said, shrugging.

  Kenneth shuddered. “Then it will do,” he said, walking out. Besseta followed and opened a metal storage locker, pulling out big, U-shaped bolts that were over an inch around then pulled out thick shackles.

  While she was dragging the pile of steel and chains down the hall, Kenneth came back in, following her. As she dropped the stuff in the first cell, he walked over and started smearing thick sunscreen over her body. She looked up, smiling. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t have forgotten. When I walked in here with that, I thought my arms where going to fall off.”

  “I know you wouldn’t have, but I can’t pass up a chance to rub all over you,” he said with a grin.

  When he was done, Besseta opened the first coffin and immediately stomped William in the face until he was unconscious. Grabbing the chain that was wrapped around him, Besseta threw him on the table. Watching her, Kenneth could tell she had done this before. She took one of the U bars and placed it around Williams’ neck, feeding the ends through two holes. When she grabbed two massive nuts, Kenneth moved over and put them on. Besseta grabbed two more and loosened the chains on the legs and repeated the process, placing the U’s halfway between the knees and ankles.

  When Kenneth was done with the neck, he moved down and did the other leg. Besseta moved up to William’s chest. “I know you’re awake, dumbass,” she said with a smile. William’s eyes flashed open, and he took a breath to speak. Besseta’s right fist shot out, crashing against the side of his face. She didn’t stop with one, and the blows continued to land, and Kenneth could feel the impacts on the bottom of the table.

  Raising his head, he saw Besseta stop hitting William and stare at his face. Her fist was covered in blood. “I think he got the message,” Kenneth said, bending down and tightening the bolts.

  “I don’t care. That felt really good,” she admitted with a grin. “He killed two vampires in Normandy that I liked and there are very few I like.” Reaching down, she pulled the chain off William’s chest and pulled out his arms, undoing the chain that tied them together. Then, laying his arm on the table, she took another U bolt and put it just above his elbow then started tightening it down. Kenneth stood and grabbed the other arm and copied her.

  “Where in the hell did you come up with the idea for this?” he asked, more than a little worried about the answer.

  “The inquisition. Some knights caught me and delivered me to some monks. They were going to question me before burning me at the stake. Lucky for me, they used leather, not metal,” Besseta said, pulling out a knife. She cut William’s jacket and shirt off then grabbed the shackles.

  A rage washed over Kenneth as he stood. “They have family still alive?”

  Laughing, Besseta handed him a shackle. “I doubt it. They were monks after all.” She locked the shackle on William’s wrist. The clamp part of the shackle didn’t meet to form a circle. The ends allowed each edge to pass through each other, allowing the clamp to form against the body.

  “Damn, really thick and wide handcuffs.” Kenneth nodded approvingly and copied her on the other arm. They pulled off William’s boots and did the same to his ankles. Then, Besseta grabbed the ends of the chains and bolted them to the bottom of the table.

  Kenneth stepped back in amazement. He had seen and watched people get restrained before but never to this level. “Let’s do the other one. The generator’s fumes are giving me a headache,” she said.

  As Besseta opened Everett’s coffin and stomped him in the face, Kenneth turned off the generator, filling the small dungeon with silence except for the sound of Besseta pounding Everett. When they were done, Besseta walked over to the control panel. “I can adjust the amount of light they receive,” she said, turning dials, and he saw she was turning them down.

  “Isn’t that dangerous?” he asked.

  “No, I’m almost certain if I left it on that high, they would eventually die. Besides, I need them to heal,” she said, closing the panel. She grabbed a ring of keys off the wall and locked the doors.

  She left the stuff they brought in and wiped the blood off her hands. She grabbed Kenneth’s hand and led him up the stairs and to the main doors. Two massive, wooden doors formed an arc in a stone wall. Kenneth looked along the front wall and noticed all the windows were high up off the ground.

  “I didn’t want people that were fishing to see inside,” she explained, walking over to a keypad. She pushed the numbers, and a large sliding bolt unlatched, and Besseta grabbed a large ring on the door and pushed it open. Kenneth looked at the door, hoping he could move it. When Besseta let the door go, it continued to swing open. Kenneth walked over, stopped the door, and closed it after the dogs ran inside. It was several inches thick but glided with little effort.

  “Was worried I wouldn’t be able to move that damn thing,” he said.

  Then, Besseta started the tour. In the first hour, Kenneth gave up, keeping track of all the rooms. On the second floor, he stopped. “Just how big is this place?” he asked, still trying to get the general layout.

  “Without the dungeon, nine thousand two hundred square feet,” she said, seeing the lost look on his face.

  He shook his head. “You have maps?”

  “I’ll draw you one,” she offered, leading him down the main hallway. “This is our bedroom,” she said, opening two massive doors. Looking around, Kenneth was sure this one room was bigger than half his house. A canopied bed that seemed too large to be real stood to one side, and Besseta pulled him to a door past it.

  Stopping inside the door, Kenneth paused, stunned to see a bathroom that was bigger than his old bedroom. With marble covering every surface, it made the room seem larger than it really was. Kenneth looked at the massive tub, which had steps leading down into it. “I’ll need a life jacket,” he mumbled, pointing at the small swimming pool.

  Besseta playfully slapped his arm, leading him over to a shower that would’ve held a basketball team and still had room to spare. He turned to look at her with glazed eyes. “We won’t abandon this place if they find us. We can’t let them destroy this.”

  “No one knows about this,” she said, reaching up and rubbing his face. “The only people I’ve had here are humans to work on it. You’re the first person I’ve showed this to.”

  A small smile spread on his face. “Thank you. It’s beautiful,” he said, hugging her. “We still won’t give this up without a fight.

  “It’s just a place, Kenneth,” she said with her face buried in his chest. Not in the mood, Kenneth just hugged her tight. “Let’s get the rest of the stuff, and the hot water should be done by then, and we can take a bath,” she offered.

  Knowing the hot water was for him, Kenneth smiled and let her go. She walked out, holding his hand, and Kenneth stopped and walked to the other side of the bed, pulling back thick, velvet curtains. He looked out the window, realizing it was a balcony overlooking the lake. Opening the French doors, he pulled her outside. “This is a place a person can relax and focus on a task,” he said, stopping at the stone railing.

  “Yes, but I can share it with someone now,” she said, wrapping her arm around him.

  “I can’t think of a better place to gather our thoughts,” Kenneth said and turned around, heading inside with his arm over Besseta’s shoulders. “It’s going to take the dogs a week to make it to the bedroom, you realize.”

  “We’ll carry them,” she said, looking up. “They will still have to stay outside the door at certain times.”

  After carrying the pile of stuff in, they carried the dogs upstairs, and they all jumped in the bathtub. When the bath was done, the bedroom door opened, and two dry and clean pugs were placed outside it. The pugs turned to look as the door closed behind them.

  Chapter 19

  Slowly opening his eyes, Kenneth was shocked to see the room dark but noticed light coming in from a corner of the curtain over the French doors to the balcony. He looked at his watch and said, “Damn, ten o’clock.” He got up and grabbed his pants. Walking off the rug the bed was on, his feet hit the cold, stone floor, sending a shock through his body.

  “Shit!” he shouted, jumping off the stone back to the carpet. Looking around, he found his boots and shoved his feet in them. In a dead run, he headed for the bathroom. Feeling much better, he opened the curtain, flooding the room with light.

  He left the room and followed the hall until he came to the stairs. Looking off the veranda to the hall below, he shook his head at the sheer size of this castle. When he reached the bottom, he stood still and listened and heard pots and pans rattling. He followed the sound to a massive kitchen and saw Besseta hovering over a giant stove, cooking. “Feel better?” she asked.

  “Man, you bet. Seven hours of hard sleep did me wonders,” he said with a smile, walking over.

  She turned around with a frown. “You’ve been asleep for over thirty hours,” she told him.

  He came to a stop in shock. “Whoa, are you sure?” he asked like an idiot.

  Nodding with her frown turning to a pout, she said, “You can’t push yourself like that.”

  Seeing her worry, Kenneth quickly regained his senses. “Well, I had good incentive to sleep hard,” he said, grinning again, but she just looked at him with sadness. “Don’t worry; I’ll be alright,” he said, walking over and wrapping her in his arms.

  “You get a pass this time,” she said, snuggling in his chest.

  Seeing food cooking, he looked around. “You knew when I woke up?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied. “Now, sit down,” she said, letting go and pointing at the counter. He walked over and sat on a barstool then turned back to watch her go back to the stove.

  Then, he realized what she was wearing: one of his dress shirts, and she was barefoot. “Besseta, that floor is way too cold. You need something on your feet,” he said, getting up.

  She spun around and leveled a spatula at him. Unsure what she could do with a spatula, Kenneth sat back down. “The floor feels good. Now, park it,” she said, narrowing her eyes. With safety measures kicking in, Kenneth wisely nodded. “Bonnie!” Besseta snapped, and Kenneth almost shot under the table.

  She stormed past him, and he was relieved that he wasn’t in trouble. Besseta walked over to the dogs, who were standing looking up at her, wearing small hoodies with innocent faces. Leveling the spatula at Bonnie, she said, “I saw that. It’s not your bowl. Look at the name.” Besseta pointed at the bowl. The dogs glanced at it, thinking Besseta threw something, then turned back.

  “See, that’s not your name,” Besseta informed Bonnie. Crossing her arms, Besseta just stared at the dogs and started tapping her foot. “Now, eat out of your bowl.” As luck would have it, the dogs went to the correct bowls. “See, you know which one’s yours,” Besseta gasped, throwing her hands up, and headed back to the stove.

  Kenneth fought not to chuckle as she walked past him. Risking it, Kenneth slid off his stool and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around Besseta. “Those dogs love you now more than me.”

  “I doubt that,” she said, continuing to cook.

  Kenneth laughed. “They won’t let me put clothes on them,” he said.

  “Well, you did try to put one of Bonnie’s shirts on Clyde,” Besseta pointed out. “A boy dog doesn’t want to wear a pink flower shirt no more than a human boy would.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Besseta that the dogs couldn’t tell but wisely kept his mouth shut. “What have you been doing since I was in a coma?” he asked, kissing her neck.

  “Mmm,” she moaned, closing her eyes. “I put up our stuff and last night ran to town real fast,” she said, leaning her head over. “Keep on, and you’re going back to bed,” she told him.

  “Promise?” he said, laughing.

  “You can count on it,” she said as he let her go.

  “Well, let me eat first. My stomach thinks my throat’s been cut,” Kenneth said, climbing on the stool. Besseta came to a stop and had to work out what he was saying, and then she smiled and went back to cooking.

  “Kenneth, can I ask you to do something for me?” she asked, turning around with a plate of food, sliding it over to him.

  “I’ll do whatever you want. You don’t have to ask; just tell me,” he said, diving in his plate.

  “Can you put a dishwasher in here?” she asked, waving her arms around. “I miss the one we had at your house.”

  Looking around the massive kitchen, he said, “Sure,” and she broke out into a huge smile. “When are you going to start on William?” he asked as she set down a cup of coffee.

  “After we go get a dishwasher.”

  That afternoon, Besseta went outside and headed into the dungeon. She walked over to the console and looked at the two little monitors and could see both of them trying to get loose. Smiling, she walked in to see William.

  Hearing the key in the door, William lay back down and glared at Besseta as she walked in. “Bitch, when I get loose, I’m going to kill you so slow time will come to a stop,” he growled.

  Besseta laughed and walked around the table. “Whatever makes you think you’re getting off this table alive?” she giggled, and William felt fear grip him. “Yes, that’s right. I’m going to kill you that slow. Don’t worry; you will be quite insane before the end,” she told him, leaning down to his wrist, and bit.

  “You bitch!” he screamed as pain shot up his arm. He had been bit by other vampires before, mainly females as they played hard. But none were a feeding bite, and none ever sent pain in him like that. The only bite he could compare it to was his birth bite.

  His vision started wavering, and the room started spinning, and the pain stopped, but the memory was almost as bad. “Hey!” Besseta called out to him from far away, then William felt a slap on his face, and he struggled to open his eyes. Then, he smelled what he loved: blood.

  His eyes flew open to see a bag of blood hanging over him. Besseta stuck a straw in his mouth, and he drained the bag in seconds. “That’s all for now,” Besseta told him, walking out, locking the door.

  Every afternoon, Besseta would walk down and feed, draining William almost to death then allow him to feed on bags of blood she had brought. After three days, William would start screaming just hearing the outer door opening. He would beg and plead until the pain of the bite hit him. By the end of the, William just cried any time he was awake.

  It was the end of the week that Besseta started to feel pain increase tenfold, but she ignored it so Kenneth wouldn’t become alarmed. The pain was very uncomfortable but nothing compared to her change. She continued the feeds, and each day, the pain became worse, feeling like fire was flowing through her veins. She would lay on the cold floor for a few hours until she came to terms with the pain. Putting on a brave smile, she would head back upstairs to Kenneth. Before she started, Besseta had made Kenneth promise not to come down as she did this.

 

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