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๐๐ย ๐๐๐ย ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ย ๐๐๐๐ย ๐๐๐ย ๐๐๐๐๐ย had kept him intrigued, leering over the bannister to watch the swirl of richly dyed fabrics amble across the floor.ย ย occasionally the monsterโs keen sight would pick out the pale face of a jilted lover or the markedly beautiful face of a fledgling whose name could scarcely be remembered.ย ย at times the fog would clear and his eyes would dance with lucid memory through the distant burrows of time, and in the glare of mournful light that surrounded the red iris would come the faintest and purest look of levity that the count could ever muster.ย ย it disguised his own discomfort, which was to any pair of sharp eyes actually quite evident in every false breath his deathly lungs had drawn.ย
as he leaned further over the richly carved railing, his eye was caught by a most familiar-looking mien; chiseled and as pale as his own, but young and gallant in the way that humans were, when the vampire was most prone to change, and blood in them was as fresh and quick as the days when once theyโdย lived.
the countโs terrible mouth drew back to smile when his gaze fell to the sharp pair of teeth between harkerโs own red lips, and the feeling of unimaginable power came over him wildly and filled him with the sadistic excitement his heart had been secretly yearning for.
โย ย did not i tell you, my dear friend jonathan, that i was not attuned to such happy gatherings and their frivolous celebration?ย ย and while there is no work for me this evening but to watch the enjoyment of my guests, i cannot yet allow myself to succumb to the enticements and temptations of this sacred nightโฆย ย ย โย ย ย the countโs question was rather pointed, relying solely on the memory of a once-beloved prisoner that had finallyย succumbed to the hellish nature of the very temptation heโd tried so hard to avoid.ย ย kisses for all there had been, and yet more for his beloved wife and the strapping american that had been so invested in the protection of his once beloved brideย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย with a maliciously bitter smile, he turned to jonathan in a particularly gruesome way;ย one hand outstretched to cup his shoulder through finery and lace, though his grip was still like iron.ย ย ย ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ ย ย but perhaps i can yet be persuadedโฆย for the eucharistย has yet to be had from our special guest of honor:ย ย pray, what do you know of this night and its traditions?ย ย ย โ
long had the fangs bestowed upon him ached to bite, to rip, to tear into pale flesh which housed so tumultuous a spirit; so vile that it, too, stirred even the clouds, which hung low and dark about the spires of his castle. a memory! so foul was it that it ate at his decaying heart, cold and unmoving. how deeply he wished to drink of the man before him, inhale his sweet blood and bring life to himself once more, which was so stolen from him! but softened heart still wept at such monstrous desire, and so his rage curled, deep into the dark pits of his soul, and festered there still.
not a friend, no, never friend. enemy yet, even as in his veins clung the thick, evil verses of the devil. blooded by his ruby mouth, cold against the nape of his neck, which had drunk so deeply of his humanity and filled him in turn with an endless greed.
โ โพ i should say i know little. โย ย or perhaps that he did, but did dare not speak of the evil! thirsty tongue fell dumb in his mouth, as he summoned speech. taking not one, but two times to conjure his voice, as eyes raised, leaden in their speed, to meet the icy stare of the other. through all difficulty, however, he secured his gaze. cruel! the delight in his eyes, far beyond simple pleasure for the joys of the evening, instead the evil satisfaction of a beast who has claimed his slaughter. how he must revel knowing he will soon take another beyond the grave.
โ but that there is quite the means for celebration. you spoke to me once at length regarding the traditions of one walpurgisnacht, and once of deceased ancestors. โย ย but he did know: it took no little theory to devise what exactly the count had planned, and it made jonathanโs heart weigh heavily. to think another innocent soul would be taken by the devil turned what little blood lay in his veins thick and hot. though, sickeningly, he could not separate the rage from the thirst! somewhere in this grand castle beat the mortal heart of another sacrificial lamb. and in the grand hall danced devils, waiting to break bread with the forbidden fruit.
โ pray, dear count, what of our guest ? โ
