I woke up groggily an unknown amount of time later. There was another plate of food inside the cell, along with another pitcher of water. Brother Worm was nowhere to be seen, so I took the food onto my lap and started to eat. I felt like the water would be drugged again – but my throat felt like sand, so I resisted as long as possible before I allowed myself a draught of it. I drained almost half the pitcher and finished most of my food.
I figured that after the success of bribing Brother Worm with food that it would be a safe bet to save him some scraps from all of my meals. Whatever had been in the water this time didn’t put me to sleep, but I figured it must have been Xanax or something like it from how calm I was feeling. Even in the face of being kidnapped and apparently destined to marry some random man – I was laying on my cot, hands behind my head, tapping my feet along to a song I was humming in my head.
What felt like a few hours elapsed before Worm made his presence known again to collect my dishes. I sat up and put my glasses on at his appearance – I still didn’t know what the point of them was, but I figured I should get used to them while I had the chance.
“Here, I saved you some again.” I said with a smile, as I held out the plate of unfinished food.
Worm again looked around furtively, then made some sort of contorted movement of his mouth which I thought was his approximation of a smile.
“Mmm, Mary is nice.” He said as he sat on the floor and ate.
“How’s Avery doing?” I asked.
“Mmm, Avery? Other one?” Worm began. “Cries very much, yells at Worm – she’s not friendly like Mary.”
My heart broke a bit at the news, knowing my friend was suffering and there was nothing I could do, and I leaned back against the cell wall.
“Mmm, happy.” Worm said, as he finished his food and took my empty dishes away. He returned a few minutes later swaddling something in the folds of his clothing – he pulled out a bottle of wine and nudged it into the cell.
“Thank you.” I said with a bit of a laugh, and Worm attempted again to smile before disappearing.
With nothing better to do that day, I spent the hours drinking wine and daydreaming. I’ve never been much of a religious person, but I prayed for the first time in years as well. I prayed for Avery mostly – then for myself, I prayed that I would be strong enough and brave enough to get through what was happening to me.
I had no idea what time of day it ever was down there as there were no windows – the only lighting being provided by a mixture of taper candles and dim lightbulbs. As such I can’t tell you what time of day it was when I heard a commotion from the main room, and the door opening to the sound of a small crowd approaching. I sat up on my cot and watched as six people appeared before me.
Sarah, Mel, and Jordan hung around in the background as a man I hadn’t seen before looked me over. The strange man was flanked by Brothers Bellaston and Worm on either side.
“You were quite right brother Bellaston – she is indeed beautiful.” The man said, eyes still fixed on me. He was tall, though looked short in contrast to Bellaston. He was exceptionally handsome, well muscled, with angular, hawkish features. A full head of neatly trimmed black hair and a clean shaven face left him as a stark contrast to the hulking Bellaston and the wretched Worm. He wore an archaic looking three piece suit, and had the same icy blue eyes I had previously noticed on Sarah.
“Hello my beloved. Don’t be shy.” The man said, approaching the cell door and extending a hand. I reached out and tentatively shook it – his hand was ice cold, and I shuddered at the touch.
“I am Agon Biabrus, your betrothed.” He said with an emotionless smile.
“Mary.” I managed to squeak out. His smile grew broader and more ferocious at this. He dropped my hand and turned to the three girls hovering on the other edge of the room. Worm fidgeted restlessly and Bellaston stood, eyes fixed on me unmoving.
“Excellent finds both, my dear Sarah.” Agon said. “But I think I shall wed the other one first, she seems quite… distempered at her confinement – which I hope to remedy through our nuptials.”
“Of course, father.” Sarah said, bowing her head slightly.
“Worm, Sarah, see that young Mary is refreshed and well for the celebration tomorrow.” Agon said, “Mary my dear, I hope you have a restful evening.”
With those words, the crowd departed save for Sarah and Worm – Worm continued his restless fidgeting and fumbling around, seemingly unable to keep still, while Sarah approached my cell door.
“I trust you’re doing well.” Sarah said.
“I’ve been kidnapped and I’m going to be forced into a marriage – I’m doing fantastic.” I replied.
“Well at least you have a sense of humour about it.” Sarah said dryly. “Worm! Go fetch the lady something for dinner.”
“Mmm, yes yes.” Worm said, shuffling away.
“What are these glasses for?” I asked once Worm had vanished.
“Shhh, anyone could be listening.” Sarah hissed, dropping her voice to near a whisper. “You’ll need them. When the time comes, just play along. I’ll bring you more information when I can.”
“Okay…” I said, leaning back against the cell wall. “What the hell is Worm anyway?”
“A servant of my father.”
“Yeah, but like what IS he?”
“Perhaps I’ll tell you later.” Sarah said with a smile.
“Whatever. So – that’s your father? Agon?”
“I call him father, yes.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” I said rolling my eyes.
“I’m aware.”
At that moment Worm came shuffling back into the room with another tray of food for me. He hobbled to the cell and pushed it inside along with another pitcher of water. “Mmm, food.” He mumbled.
“Thank you, Worm. I should be going. Get some rest Mary.” Sarah said, spinning on her heel and exiting the room.
“Mmm, Mary need anything else?” Worm asked.
“No, I’m fine thank you.” I said, tucking into my dinner.
After I had finished, I put the tray near the cell door, and curled up on the cot to sleep. Slipping into a deep and dreamless unconsciousness, I woke up feeling refreshed an unknown amount of time later. I was still alone, and rose to stretch in my cell.
The hours passed by as all others had during my captivity so far – I sat on the cot, Worm brought food, I shared some with him, he mumbled his thanks and brought me something in return. Other than that I paced the cell or laid down trying to nap, but sleep never came. Hours had come and gone when I was paid a visit by Sarah. Unlike her typical woodswoman garb, she was now clothed in a bright red dress that accentuated her golden hair strikingly. She deposited a bundle of cloth on a table in the room and walked over, unlocking my cell.
“This will go better for you if you come along without fighting.” Sarah said. “It’s a lesson Avery would have done well to learn.”
I accompanied Sarah without speaking – she led me down a series of twisting corridors until we reached a shower room. She let me inside and shut the door behind me. The room was fully equipped with soaps and whatnot, and I took the first shower I had had in days. It felt amazing to be able to just stand under the hot water and let it run off of me onto the floor. I took my sweet time and found a stack of towels by the door.
Sarah opened the door as I was toweling off and handed me the bundle she had been carrying earlier – it was fresh clothing, with a dress that matched hers closely, and a new pair of shoes. I dried my hair off and dressed, admiring myself in a mirror, I still looked somewhat haggard from the whole ordeal of Springhill, but it was a step up from my dirty travelling clothes and eyes puffed and red from crying.
I was next led out and up a winding staircase, through corridors and out from a large entry hall into the street. It was dusk, but the feeling of sun was a shock to my eyes that hadn’t seen the sky in days. As we stepped into the street, the church loomed menacingly in front of us, and I turned to see that I had been held inside of the large, whitewashed mansion in the centre of town.
The sun was dying over the tips of the pines, painting the sky red in its descending course. Lights flickered and danced in the windows of the church, and a faint singing could be heard through the large wooden doors. Sarah led me up the steps and heaved the great wooden doors open. I was instantly buffeted by sounds, sights, and scents all at once.
A large red carpet ran all the way from the door to the far end of the room – ending at the base of a large stone altar that supported a large bronze bowl. Both the altar and bowl were splattered in blood, both fresh and old. Behind it, mounted on a dais, sat a large golden throne. Rows of pews flanked both sides of the carpet, packed to the brim with women in red dresses identical to mine. The walls of the church were grey stones that were blackened with soot, large stained-glass windows punctuated the walls of the church all the way from the front to the back, draperies and tapestries of red and black fabrics, decorated with images and scenes of battles and hunts and bloody death, were hung all about the bare exposed walls.
There must have been over a thousand candles burning in the church, which made the room into a furnace in which it was hard to breath. Tables stacked with candles poured wax in white rivers onto the stone floor, and metal candle-stands occupied the spots where tables wouldn’t fit. Two big barrels of incense burned on either side of the golden throne, heaving clouds of perfumed smoke into the air. Even drowned in wax and incense, the smell of blood was omnipresent and overwhelming.
The whole congregation was singing in a strange, guttural language that I couldn’t identify as any language I had ever heard – but it sounded as though everyone were drowning on their tongues. Agon was perched on his golden throne, Mel and Jordan sat on wooden chairs below their father’s dais – where a third, empty chair sat evidently meant for Sarah. Brother Bellaston stood to the side of the altar, wielding a staff with some gargoyle-like image mounted on the top. Worm stood on the opposite side of the altar, fidgeting nervously and fingering some sort of wicked, ramshackle, evil looking sword that he held across his chest.
Sarah pointed me to an empty seat near the back, where I sat next to a very young-looking girl, who smiled at me warmly as I settled myself in. Sarah vanished to take her seat by her father, and I was left to my own devices. I was instantly sweating and struggling to breath from the heat and smoke in the church but managed to hold myself together. I looked around furtively for Avery but couldn’t catch sight of her anywhere.
“Are you Mary?” The girl next to me asked, pulling on my sleeve to get my attention.
“Yes, that’s me.” I said, smiling as I choked on the air.
“My name is Mary too! We’re going to be sisters!” The little girl said excitedly – the smoke and heat not seeming to bother her in the slightest.
“Sisters?” I confusedly asked her.
“Yeah! I heard you were going to marry Mr. Biabrus, then we’ll both be married to him, and we’ll be sisters! I can be little Mary and you can be big Mary.” She said with a smile.
“That sounds great, I can’t wait.” I said with a forced smile and squeezed her shoulder.
The church fell silent as Brother Bellaston stopped his singing and raised his hands – he began leading the congregation in some sort of call and response in the same guttural language he had been singing in earlier. The unsettling language made my skin crawl – it sounded like noises humans weren’t meant to make. Bellaston then began conducting a service that seemed like some sort of dreaful mockery of a Catholic Church service, with hymns and prayers, standing and kneeling, call and response, and readings from some ancient looking leather-bound book.
I remembered something of the proper order of mass from my time in catholic school, though I couldn’t decipher anything of what was being said. When the time rolled around for celebrating communion, the everyone in the church rose from their seats and began to sing. Row by row, the women of the congregation stood and began to progress to the base of the altar.
I almost wretched as the dreadful ordeal began to take place. As each woman reached the altar, she would produce a knife from somewhere on her person – some had them hanging on necklaces between their breasts, others had them tucked in belts, some had them squirreled away up their sleeves, and others walked with them held bare in their hands. As they reached the altar, the women would cut themselves somewhere on the left arm – opening their palms, wrists, cuts along the arm, lancing the veins under their biceps, it didn’t seem to matter from where, but they would each let their blood flow into the bronze bowl that rested atop the altar.
It was a messy business, but none of them so much as flinched or winced at the affair – many splattered fresh blood upon the floor, altar, or sides of the bowl, but as the congregation proceeded through the grisly ceremony, it eventually came to our pew’s turn.
“It’s only scary the first time, don’t worry.” Little Mary said, taking me by the hand and waiting with me in the line. I swallowed hard and was starting to feel faint from the heat, the choking smoke, and the fear and revulsion that was rising in my chest.
When we reached the front, little Mary had to be hoisted up by Brother Worm so she could reach the bowl – whereat she sliced her palm and let the red blood flow into the vessel. She was set back down and with trembling step I stepped forward to the bowl. Brother Bellaston, who was still singing, scowled at me and shook his head slightly side to side. Worm reached out from his sentry post and grabbed me by the wrist.
“Mmmm, not yet, not for Mary – not ready.” Worm said and pointed me away with his mangled sword.
I let out a huge pent-up breath that I had been holding as I caught up with little Mary and followed her back to our seat. It was then I noticed the myriad number of scars and cuts and punctures that covered her left arm. Blood still dripped onto the stone of the church floor, mingling with litres of blood that had been spilled in that short time span.
When the last woman had finished, the who congregation leaned forward on kneelers as Brothers Bellaston hoisted the sacrificial bowl above himself and carried it to the dais, where he knelt down, holding it up. Worm produced a golden chalice and passed it to Agon and his three daughters, who each helped themselves to a brimming cup of blood that ran freely down their faces and chests.
The service concluded, the bowl was replaced, and Agon took his seat once more. Bellaston harangued the crowd for a moment, then, after striking them up into another horrific song, he vanished into the shadows of the church.
As the song reached a fevered pitch, the whole congregation turned to the front door of the church, where Bellaston stood, roughly gripping Avery by the arm, who, gowned completely in white and veiled, was struggling against his iron grip. My stomach turned over and my legs went weak, a wave of fear crashed over me as she made eye contact with me as she was dragged by – her eyes were fierce and wild with terror.
Bellaston brought her to the foot of the altar, and Agon descended from his throne to stand in front of her. A number of words were spoken by Bellaston, who then lifted the veil from Avery’s face and grasped her struggling head, forcing her to look at Agon. The moment their eyes met, I could see all resistance disappear from Avery’s body – her eyes lost their fire and terror, and her shoulders relaxed. Her will was broken.
I looked down at the ground, unable to bear the sight – and instinctively reached up to adjust the glasses on my face.
“Play along.” I heard Sarah’s voice whispering from my memory.
“You wear glasses.” Her memory echoed.
My head shot back up to focus on the ceremony, Avery was bleeding her palm into the bowl, with Agon and the three daughters gathered around. I looked into the stone face of Sarah, who seemed to sense my eyes, and immediately looked my way. I can’t be sure I saw it right from the distance between us, but I could have sworn she winked at me quickly before turning her stoney features back to the ceremony.
After imbibing the blood, Agon and Avery shared a kiss, followed by the a standing ovation of the congregation, who called out some things in the inhuman language, and some things in English. Brother Bellaston lifted the bowl of blood and led a procession out of the church. Avery and Agon followed hand in hand behind him, both smiling, followed by Agon’s three daughters, with Brother Worm taking up the rear.
The congregation began to filter out, and little Mary took me by the hand to pull me along with the rest. The second I stepped into the fresh air of the evening I took a gasping breath – incense smoke and candle heat was pouring out of the church doors alongside the congregation. It was a wild Dionysia of blood and worship fevered women, who sung and danced alongside the newlywed couple across the street. The doors of Agon’s mansion was thrown open, and the party poured in, directed into a side corridor, and led to a large banquet hall.
Tables were set up all around the room, with a large table at the head of the room on a raised dais for the wedding party. Everyone took their seats, and I was shown to a table near the head of the room, where I was seated with a table of strangers. Little Mary disappeared through a side door, and it soon became evident that the younger girls along with Brother Worm were the catering staff of the event.
Wine and food were brought out in copious amounts, and the tables were heaped with plates, glasses, and bottles. All the guests were wild with excitement as they ate and drank and laughed and sang – and Avery was no exception, seemingly having become one of them in the process of the wedding ceremony. Agon and his daughters drained the bowl of blood along with gallons of wine, and the party lasted wildly into the night.
Agon stood up, new wife in hand, and announced something to the assembled crowd in the language of the church service – a language which Avery now seemed capable of understanding. There followed a round of raucous jeers and jokes before the newlyweds departed the hall hand in hand.
The party however continued in full swing – the food had ceased to come out, and the whole crowd was solely fixed on drinking now. I had helped myself to plenty of the wine even though I gagged as I tried to drink it, the colour far too reminiscent of blood for my liking. I forced myself through multiple cups, but it was the woman next to me who ended up puking and collapsing on the table prior to be dragged away by Brother Worm and a young girl, to the general laughter of the assembly.
There was a tug on my sleeve, and I turned to see little Mary hopping onto the chair next to me. I smiled at her as she sat down.
“The food’s all served so Worm said I could go sit down.” She smiled, folding her hands on her lap.
“Did you get some to eat?” I asked.
“Yep! We get to try everything in the kitchen to make sure it’s good.” She replied.
“Good, how’s your hand?” I asked, taking her arm and inspecting the cut she had made earlier, which had been washed and bandaged.
“It stings a bit but I’m used to it.”
“How often do you have to do that?”
“We do it every Sunday when we go to church.”
I swallowed down my disgust and rage and fear with another chug from my wine glass. I spent the next hour talking to little Mary – asking her what her favourite things were and what she liked doing. She answered cheerfully as she sat in her chair kicking her legs until she let out a large yawn and said she was going to bed. She hopped down and scurried away, skillfully ducking and dodging around all the drunk maenads in the hall.
I felt sleep calling my name as well, so I looked around the room for a while before I finally spotted Brother Worm against one of the walls, barking instructions at a pair of young girls. I shouldered my way through the crowd and he fidgeted as he spotted me, furtively making and breaking eye contact as I approached.
“Mmm, everything is good for Mary?” he said wringing his hands.
“Very good, thank you – but I’m tired, can you take me back to my cell?” I asked.
“Mmm, yes yes, back to the cell. No, Worm can’t – Mary is for Sarah now. So the master says.” Worm answered, and gestured at Sarah who was sat up on the dais, watching me. When I turned to look at her, she waved, and stood up, making her way towards me.
“Everything satisfactory, Mary?” Sarah asked, without a tinge of drunkenness in her voice despite all the wine she had consumed. Her lips however were stained a bright, blood-red that gave her face a frightening appearance.
“Yes, I’m just quite tired and was hoping to go to bed.” I said.
“My father has said that based on your good behaviour these past few days that you can come stay with me for the next week.” Sarah smiled. “Come along, I’ll escort you.”
Sarah immediately dove through the crowd, which cleared aside to let her through. I followed close at her heels until we both emerged into the cool night air and the sounds of the party faded away behind us. We walked silently through the road, turning up second street before reaching a stately brick house right at the end by the border of the forest.
Sarah unlocked the door and let me inside – it led into a tastefully furnished living room, decorated in a style long out of fashion but very classic and cozy. I saw that my bags I had last left in the car were sat on Sarah’s couch. I stumbled a little from the combination of exhaustion and wine, and sat myself down on the couch, pulling my shoes off and letting out a sigh. Sarah stood statuesque by the door, watching me.
“So now will you answer my questions?” I asked.
“Now that you’ve seen what you have – ask away.” Sarah said, seating herself cat-like on a chair across from me.
“Why not tell me this earlier?” I started.
“You wouldn’t have believed me.” She smiled.
“Alright that’s fair.” I shrugged. “So… Agon and you three are…”
“Vampires, you’d probably call it.” Sarah said, rolling her eyes at the word.
“Is that not accurate?”
“It’s a vulgar term… but acceptable.” She replied.
“So, is he actually your father?” I asked.
“In a sense – he gave me and my “sisters” the gift, but we were born to human mothers and fathers.”
“Is Bellaston a vampire?” I asked.
“No.”
“What is he?”
“No clue, some sort of hulking eunuch slave that Agon bought centuries ago in the Ottoman empire, doesn’t age, die, or get sick – but I’ve never been told what he is.” Sarah said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
“How old are you?”
“Three hundred something or other, you stop keeping track after a while. Any questions that are more… on topic?”
“Sorry.” I spoke. My mind was spinning at the moment as my conception of history and reality was thrown for a loop in the course of a few minutes. Sarah waved her hand acceptingly and gave me a warm smile similar to the one she wore when I first met her.
“All the women in town, what about them?” I asked, thinking of little Mary.
“Slaves, thralls, bond servants, whatever term you want to use – they’re bound to Agon’s will when they look into his eyes.”
“The glasses.” I said.
“Now you’re catching on – yes, they’ll prevent you from falling prey to that ability.” Sarah said with a devious smile.
“Wait a minute, I looked into your eyes when we met, why aren’t I bound to you?”
“It’s an ability, it doesn’t happen accidentally. Besides, if I had bound you to me my father would know.”
“So, I go through with this wedding, he thinks I’m his slave, then what?”
“He dies.” Sarah let the words fall from her lips. The gravity of what was being asked of me was finally beginning to sink in – was I capable of killing some centuries old monster?
“Why…?”
“He’s a tyrant and a beast – he’s wrapped up in his theatrics of being worshipped in his church and having hundreds of wives. He gets more delusional by the day. Me and my sisters have been waiting for a capable stranger to stumble into town, and here you are.”
“Why not Avery?” I shot back.
“She could barely hold herself together the whole time she’s been here – you’re far more level-headed and capable.”
“Why not you or your sisters?”
“I won’t get into the intricacies of the nature of my… people, but suffice it to say it’s not possible, I’m afraid you’ll have to trust me on that one.” Sarah mused.
I sat in silence for a moment, clenching and unclenching my hands while staring at the floor.
“It’s quite a bit to take in, I know.” Sarah began. “But you’ll have a week to gather yourself – you have full freedom of my house and the town until that time, use it wisely and speak nothing of this to anyone but myself.”
“What happens when he dies?” I muttered.
“Mel wants to return to Europe, Jordan will take over Springhill, I myself intend on setting off to wander about the world for a while.” Sarah smiled.
“What about the women here?”
“All they know at this point is bondage. Killing Agon will throw them into a chaotic and panicked state of mind as the bond is severed, but Mel and Jordan should have no problem rounding them up again. Mel will take a few as servants, Jordan will keep the rest.”
“You don’t plan on setting them free?”
“We can’t have idle talk about our existence floating around.” Sarah grinned.
“What does that mean for me?” I asked, looking up and into the cold eyes of Sarah, feeling at that moment as though only the glasses were protecting me from her.
“You… are a special case. In thanks for your service, should you wish, me and my sisters will happily share the gift with you and allow you to join yourself to our blood. If you wish instead to go free, I’ll allow that as well.”
A million thoughts raced through my head at once – thoughts of immortal beauty, youthfulness, power, strength. The thought of never being afraid again. But then also came the thoughts of living a fugitive in the wild places of the world, unable to show myself save to enslaved strangers, knowing all those I loved were doomed to whither and die.
“I want Avery and little Mary too.” I said.
“The histrionic and the snivelling brat?” Sarah spat. “Your mindless friend and that idiot child would blab their stories to any available ear.”
“I want them too or I’m not doing it.” I said, crossing my arms.
Sarah raised herself from the chair and approached me, seeming to grow taller than she had previously appeared.
“You are not some mythical chosen one in the spot to make bargains. You are an opportunity. An opportunity that will come again with time – and you should know, my kind are capable of waiting for a very. Long. Time.”
“I want them, or I’ll go tell my future husband what you’re planning on doing.” I grinned sardonically.
“I could kill you in the blink of an eye!” Sarah hissed at me.
“Do it. I’m sure my fiancé would love to hear your reasoning for that.”
“AGH.” Sarah growled and threw herself back into her chair. “Fine, take the child and your hapless friend, I think it unlikely anyone will believe them anyway.”
“Thank you.” I managed to mutter.
“Your guest room is upstairs on the right – you’re welcome to retire anytime you please. We can discuss plans anytime you please.” Sarah managed, gesturing vaguely to the second floor of the house.
“One last question.” I started, as I stood up and made to head upstairs with my bag.
“Spit it out.”
“What is Brother Worm?”
“Some sort of flesh construct that father tinkered with for a while. He didn’t get it quite right… obviously.”
“So he’s made out of… dead people?” I asked.
“More or less.” Sarah shrugged.
“Who’s he made out of?”
“It took a lot of bodies to make Worm.”
“Whose bodies?”
“Tell me Mary, - you smart little one, what do men and women often produce together once they’ve been married?”
“Children?” I posed nervously.
“Very good. What a quick learner you are.” She said, gazing at the ceiling. “Father has a hundred wives and there are no children in town – I’ll let you do the math as to what Brothern Worm was constructed out of.”
I stared for a moment before plodding up the stairs to the guest room, attempting to keep myself from retching. The bed was warm and comfortable – preferable to a wooden cot, and I lay there staring at the ceiling as the black night of sleep descended upon my eyes.