The woman began to kiss him, his neck, his chest, moving lower and lower, her hands fumbling at his trousers. He fondled her neck. “See my power? And you are the one I have been seeking to join with me, to share my power.”
“That woman doesn’t adore you,” Alexandria protested. “You’ve used hypnosis to make her a puppet. She has no mind of her own. Is that what you call power?” She put as much contempt into her quavering voice as she could.
A low, deadly hiss escaped the monster’s mouth, but he continued to smile at her. “Perhaps you are right. This one is useless, is she not?” Still smiling, still staring straight into Alexandria’s eyes, the man caught the woman’s head between his palms and wrenched.
The crack was audible and seemed to vibrate right through Alexandria’s body. She was shaking so much, her teeth were chattering. With one hand the monster casually dangled the woman’s broken body over the cliff’s edge. She hung there like a rag doll, her neck at a peculiar angle, a once beautiful woman now an empty, lifeless shell. The monster discarded her by merely opening his hand and allowing her to fall into the greedy water below.
“Now you have me to yourself,” he said softly. “Come to me.”
Alexandria shook her head violently. “Not me. I’m not going to come to you. I see you as you are, not what you made those poor women see.”
“You will come to me, and of your own free will. You are the one. I have searched the world for one such as you. You must come to me.” His tone was soft, but held a whip of warning, a hiss of command.
Alexandria tried to take a step backward, but Joshua erupted into a growling frenzy, kicking and biting. She stopped again and got a firmer grip to prevent his escape. “You’re sick. You need help. A doctor or something. I can’t do anything for you.” She was searching desperately for a way out of this nightmare, praying someone would come. A security guard. Anyone.
“You do not know what I am, do you?”
Alexandria’s mind felt almost numb with terror. She had spent considerable time reading and doing research on ancient legends of vampires to work on her sketches for Thomas Ivan. And this monster was the epitome of that mythical creature, feeding on another’s blood, using hypnotic trances to command helpless humans to do his evil bidding. She took a deep breath to calm herself, to try to bring herself back to the world of reality. Surely it was the fog and wind, the dark, starless night, and the eerie crash of the waves below that made her think what could not possibly be. This was a twenty-first century sociopath, not some legendary character of old. She must hold on to her wits and not allow the horror of the night to fuel her imagination.
“I believe I know what you think you are,” she said evenly, “but the truth is, you’re simply a vicious murderer.”
He laughed softly, wickedly, the sound scraping like nails on a chalkboard. She actually felt icy fingers along her skin.
“You are a child hiding from the truth.” He raised a hand and beckoned to Joshua, his glowing eyes on the boy’s face.
Joshua struggled madly, fought and kicked, biting at Alexandria’s arms in an effort to get free.
“Leave him alone!” She concentrated on subduing her brother, but he was strong enough in his trance-induced state to wiggle free. Instantly he ran to the monster on the cliff, hugged his knees, and gazed adoringly up at the man.
* * *
Chapter Two
Alexandria’s heart skipped a beat. She straightened very slowly, her mouth dry with terror as she saw those claw-like hands sink into her brother’s shoulders.
“You will come to me now, will you not?” the monster inquired softly.
Alexandria lifted her trembling chin. “This is what you call free will?” Her legs felt so rubbery, she could take only a few steps toward him before she had to stop. “If you use Joshua to control me, that isn’t my coming to you of my own free will, is it?” she challenged him.