Adam's Story
Chapter 6

I spent that night, as I did so many others, in the library. Unable to keep my mind on the facetious affair of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, I eventually ceased trying to read and yielded to the aimless wanderings of my mind.

As I lay back on the settee and stared into the nothingness around me, my thoughts drifted to my mother. I often wondered what kind of woman she had been. She had obviously been very beautiful, but what had her personality been like? Was she flighty like me? Or had I inherited my discontent from my father? Sister Mary had always spoken of Charlotte Calloway with respect so she could not have been much like me. She had to have been a fine lady for someone like Mary Williams to admire her.

I played out the events in my mind of what my life would be like if my mother had lived as the rain pecked steadily against the tall, stained-glass windows. I felt myself growing drowsy and gave in to sleep.

I awoke to darkness. The rain was still falling at an even pace and thunder rumbled nearby. A flash of lightning eerily illuminated the library casting long shadows on the walls.

I raised myself into a sitting position and clicked the lamp switch. It remained off. I tried a few more times before finally concluding that the power was out. Mr. Sullner kept oil lamps and matches in all the rooms in case of such a situation. In the library, they were positioned on the desk to my right. I stood and made my way to where they should have been but could not find them.

I got the strange sensation I was being watched. When I turned, I could see nothing in the darkness. I called out Tom’s name, hoping he had come to the main house to light the lamps.

“He is not here,” replied a pleasant female voice.

I was vaguely surprised when Helena struck a match and lit the lamp in her hand. She looked not at all as she had when I saw her a few hours ago. Her hair was loose and hung to her shoulders in damp curls, her make-up was smudged slightly from the rain, and she had changed clothes. What she wore now looked more like a night dress – tight, thin, and revealing – compared to her refined garments of earlier. She wore no shoes.

“I discharged him,” she went on in a voice huskier than I remembered. “I hope I was not wrong in doing so.”

So many questions went through my mind, but I couldn’t form a whole one into words. It befuddled me that Helena had known where to find me or why Tom would have allowed her entrance at such a late hour. And how, even with her lack of shoes, she had managed to navigate the Manor in complete darkness undetected. The more I tried to make sense of it all the more I could come up with only one conclusion. And it did not make sense.

Yet in all my logic, I could not bring myself to fear Helena von Strauss. I only stared at her until she laughed at my stupidity.

“You are not afraid of me?” she asked seductively.

“No,” I replied with a bravado that shocked even me.

Helena approached me at a relaxed pace. I stood still with my back to the desk and watched her intently. She stopped an inch away from me and, tilting her head back, looked into my eyes.

“You are very brave, Adam. I like that about you.”

“Is that why you’re here?” I asked. “To try and scare me?”

Helena stared at me through her long lashes. “You offered me a drink, remember?”

My willingness to say whatever was on my mind had often earned me the nickname ‘smart aleck’ by Sister Mary and had accounted for much of the abuse of my ear when I was a child. I knew Allison shared in this opinion, but most times I couldn’t control it. My mouth acted quicker than my brain.

“And I take it you don’t want brandy,” I said.

Helena laughed. Not in a condescending or playful way. “You are not only brave but funny. Another quality that I like about you.”

“Yeah, I’m a riot.” Her coyness was starting to irritate me. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s bad manners to play with your food?”

Something like hurt dampened Helena’s spirit and she lowered her eyes. “I did not come here to kill you, Adam,” she said meekly.

Reaching around me Helena picked up a large book off the desk and began thumbing through it. With fascination, I realized it was Mr. Sullner’s family Bible.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“I want to give you something.”

“What?”

“Eternity,” she whispered.

I stared at Helena as I considered what she was offering me. I didn’t know much about vampires at that time. What I had read and seen was being disputed before my eyes. I was curious. But I was not scared.

Helena put the Bible back on the desk. “It will not hurt,” she told me.

I remained still as she closed the distance between us and put her small arms around my shoulders. I returned her embrace as she stood on her tiptoes and pulled me close. The feel of her breath against my neck gave me chills. I flinched slightly as Helena’s sharp teeth penetrated my skin. The wound burned as if covered with alcohol but it did not hurt.

I held onto Helena fearing she would leave now that her deed was finished.

“What happens n-”

The shattering of glass cut off my speech as one of the full-length windows broke covering the library floor with colorful shards of debris. Rain came pouring in soaking the carpet and drapes.

I heard Helena call out “Lucian!” with fear in her voice.

Before I could wonder what was happening, she released me with such force that I fell backwards over the desk and hit my head on the wall. I had not the time to recover when I felt a strong hand close around my throat and lift me off the floor. I gasped for air as the world grew increasingly blurry and my lungs began to burn. I could hear Helena screaming as if my ears were full of cotton.

I then had the sensation of flying and the pain of hitting the bookshelf at the far side of the room. A wave of dizziness hit me as I tried to raise up and I had to fight not to pass out. Something warm and wet was trickling down the right side of my face and my head was spinning sickeningly. I felt an immense heat and as my eyes focused I saw that the room was on fire.

Willing myself not to pass out, I crawled out of the library and struggled to my feet. Using the railing for support, I managed to make it downstairs. I fell three times on my way to the front door but eventually made it across the six foot distance. After a minute of fighting with the knob, I remembered it was locked. I unlocked it with trembling hands. The cold rain assaulted me as I ran into the driveway. It was there that I allowed myself to pass out.

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