“ My Lord Vaistian is waiting inside , Lord Lazarius . I am to stay out . Please go on in .” The boy pushed the door open and Lazarius walked into his fate .
I stood in the center of an ancient Japanese stone garden - huge boulders , lots of sand and rocks , a small pond in the center with koi splashing playfully in the moonlight . Everything was dark , darker than it should have been with the light of a full moon shining down on me . I could see nothing beyond the circle of light I stood in , but fear struck my heart . There was someone standing within the shadows of the sugi trees . I knew the visitor was a vampire and I assumed male . The height of the glinting red eyes gave me that much detail .
“ Who are you ?” I asked the figure . “ What business have you here with me ?”
The darkness did not answer , but merely breathed deeply , inhaling my scent . My skin crawled and an irrational fear overtook my senses , as a long-fingered hand reached its way out into the moonlight . It was the only thing I could see of my visitor . A single finger beckoned me forward , wanting me to join the madman in the shadows .
I shook my head , unable to utter a sound . My voice was frozen like a lake in the dead of winter , and no sound could be forced past my vocal cords . Again , the fingered beckoned , and I felt my heart turn to ice . I was not used to fear drowning me . What could cause me to feel this way ? I tried to step back from the shade among the shadows but found I could not move a muscle . The feeling of want and desire flowed out from the darkness , calling to me to submit ; to give in to the being ’ s wishes .
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