Inflaming the Vampire's Stone Heart

Chapter Four

A few hours later and the party was at its height in the middle of the night. Dancing to Gypsy folk music as a band played on violins and drums was more than hilarious. I would have thought that the village would have been dressed in what Nicolae had described as traditional clothes. To me, that implied red and white patterned Romanian wear with colorful floral motifs. However, the dull colors of black, brown, and beige dresses and suits seem closer to an English Renaissance style. If they were all dressed like peasants, then the boys matched, and Julia and I looked like court ladies in our costumes 

Eddy and Carl were completely drunk and happily taking part in the festivities. I had about three glasses of mulled wine and was too starting to feel a bit tipsy tonight. A waiter was passing around a wooden tray of some red cooked meat. I remembered the deer and decided that I was not hungry. 

Watching the servants glitter with their vests throughout the dancing, had me thinking about the way Nicolae had dressed himself much more formally then the rest of the village. They were all wearing what I would have considered peasanty items from the seventeenth century time period. Single colored dresses, and brownish pants with white fluffy cotton shirts were a definite theme. If this was four hundred years ago then Julia and I looked like we were in the aristocracy in as much as Nicolae did. And where is that man come to think of it? 

“You guys travelling through Romania as well?” A man approached me with a cup of mulled wine in his hand. 

His accent was American. I could place a bet on New York, and therefore a tourist like us. So, we were not the only ones invited to this strange evening. He was in his mid-twenties, I think. A few years younger than myself. He was reasonably attractive. Messy black hair and dark brown eyes set against olive skin were his best features. He was skinny though and I like muscular men. Not as muscular as Carl, but with enough definition. I thought again about the hunter by the stream hours ago. He was what I thought the perfect type of a male formed body would be that I could imagine was under the leather robe and white silk shirt. Why could I not stop thinking about him? 

“Yes, we are from London.” I offered lifting my own cup. 

“Robert.” He gave me his hand to shake. 

I only smiled rather than taking it, and hope that he takes the hint that I am not interested. 

“Laura.” I looked around bored trying to find Julia and a way out of this introduction. 

“Nice to meet you. Those are your friends?” he asked lifting his cup of mulled wine towards Carl who was jumping around a fire pit with his hands waving high in the air. 

Oh, that is embarrassing. 

“Afraid so.” I said with a smile as Eddy was pouring Carl another glass from a pitcher that he was drinking straight from. 

Dear lord, they are getting out of hand. I know from plenty of past experiences that there is absolutely no hope in controlling them. It’s also not my job to. Let’s just hope that we do not offend our hosts here. 

“I am here with a few of my friends as well from my job as a stock broker in New York.” Tick: New York. That accent of his was too pronounced to be anything else. “We were about to fly to Greece when we met a local from here by the name of Nicolae a few days ago and he invited us to this thing. We have been staying here for a few nights leading up to this party.” He nodded towards two rather pretty young women who waved back at the pair of us before whispering to each other. 

Those two women looked to be around the same age as him. They were dressed in similar costumes as the four of us were. One had short brown hair, the other black and just as shortly cut. Even if they were dressed for the occasion, they could not hide the stiffness of the New York elite in those costumes. Their recent haircuts, manicured nails, and posh black layered makeup dropped no illusions that they were upper-class New Yorkers. 

I am positive that whatever those two women were whispering it was regarding what Roger was up to with me. I could tell that they were just friends, and not romantically involved with this man. However, that giggle one of them just made seemed to indicate that they knew the reputation of this Robert and that he was finding his tour through Europe a playground of many women. The way that he dropped the fact he was a stock broker into the conversation was an explicit line that I am more than certain he used plenty of times to indicate he was wealthy upon a first introduction. The showing off of his Rolex on his right wrist with his shirt rolled up to expose it is just as obvious a statement. He is not going to count me as one of the women on his vacation, that is for certain. 

What Robert said was interesting though. Nicolae had met and invited these other three as well. I distinctly remember him saying that he did not often have an opportunity to share his hometown with outsiders and was looking forward to it. I do believe that was a lie, given he not only invited us but this other trio as well. They all wore the same style costumes as us. Robert was now in a brown tailcoat suit like Nicolae’s. I think that Nicolae actually took them to the exact same costume store back in Bucharest. It reminded me that I still have not gone to the inn where he said he was going to drop off our bags. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you.” I said stepping away as I spotted Julia taking a fresh cup of mulled wine from a servant but Robert took hold of my wrist holding my cup.

I looked back at him in shock and anger pulling my hand free instantly from his grip and in doing so spilling half the contents in a splash to the ground. 

“Sorry,” he said lowering his hand back down. “Just wanted to talk a bit more, and ask you to dance.” He said with a smile realizing the grab and not only startled me but had upset me. 

“I am going to catch up with my friends.” I said curtly but he stepped after me which had me looking back at him blankly. 

He quickly caught my side. 

“How about that dance?”

“I am not a good dancer.” Was a true statement. 

Not that what Carl and Eddy were currently doing was what I would ever consider dancing. Their chaotic spinning around that fire pit is more like watching two ostriches fight over a meal. Flapping hands in disoriented directions and fumbling intoxicated feet heading in the opposite. It was far from a Waltz. 

“It’s just that we are the only two here who are single by the looks of it and who are from out of town. I thought that we might enjoy this festival together.”

“You only met me a second ago?” I said continuing at a now faster speed towards Julia and the boys. 

Who does this guy think he is? He might be a bit attractive yes but he is also without a doubt in my mind a playboy. His flirt is not only brazen, it is out of place. He makes it sound like we are going to end up having a one-night stand and that is not at all in my nature. In fact, I have never just had a one-night stand. I have way to much respect for myself, let alone have never had the incline for that kind of spur of the moment raunchiness. Robert needs to back off. I am simply not interested. Period. 

“Yeah, but you are the most beautiful girl here.”

Girl? I am a woman, you i***t. Some girls might fall for you for one night, and I bet they sure as hell regret it the next day. 

“Thanks for the compliment.” I offered and continued to walk. “I am just not interested. You have a good evening, Robert.” I say trying not to sound too annoyed or rude. 

“What are you too good for me or something?” He said and his tone was both frustrated and offended. 

Was this guy just an absolute sleaze bag or what? I decided not to answer to him. He no longer deserves a response from me. 

“Hey. I am talking to you.” He said and took hold of my arm, far rougher than before and pulled me back in his direction. 

“Let go of me!” I ordered berated that he take hold of my arm like that nearly making me fall over as he jerked me in his direction. 

There was no kindness to his eyes. I only saw impatience and violence. I think he was about to try to make me kiss him and I was ready to hit him if he did. The pain in my arm from his hold is blazing up to my neck. I am only looking at him trying to pull free of his hold and there is clear tension between our two stares. 

He begins to pull me back in his direction even harder. I instantly think that I cannot get him off of me, and something bad is about to happen that I don’t want. I want to call out to Carl or Eddy to help me get away from this jerk but they are so far away I doubt they would even hear me. Everyone, even the villagers are far away. If Robert was about to drag me into the forest and hit me unconscious, he might do it without anyone hearing my scream. 

“I believe the lady said that she was not interested.” I heard a voice seethe to our side. 

The man I had seen before hunting the deer was standing next to us. I had not heard him approach. I thought that the two of us were completely alone. I did not even see him in the group of locals in the village before at the party which had been going on for hours now. As I looked at him, his grey eyes were deadly focused on Robert’s grip on my arm. He released me instantly and I stepped back. I don’t know why, but I felt protected by the stranger and so I stepped in his direction with my back to him. It was a move that made it look like we were together, which we were by far not. I didn’t know the man at all. But it was also a clear physical signal to Robert that I was not available. 

As I did so, I could not help that the strange hunter stiffened turning completely stone. I even think that I heard him take a deep breath as though trying to control himself from moving away from me, or worse pushing me back in Robert’s direction. It has me feeling that I should not have made that move at all. I look up into his eyes, despite my fear of Robert, and feel even more afraid at the cold grey glance he is now giving me. The fierceness from the forest when I watched him kill the deer is still there, an ever-present reminder that I am not from here, and I do not feel welcome.