“What did you do to me?” Her voice was shrill.
He stood and brushed off his clothes. “Now to see what you will do. You know what you are. You are fully transformed now that you have fed. You are just at the beginning of your new existence. But, you have difficulties. Such as the room full of bodies and the inability to venture out in the sunlight. ”
“It's night time,” she said, her dull reply automatic. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but she did.
He smiled slowly. “Yes, it is. Frankly, I am curious to see what you will do. Will you try to hold onto your old life as so many of my former children have? Or will you strike out on your own?”
Amaliya slid off the bed and looked around for her clothes. To her dismay, she saw they were soaked in blood. “Give me your jacket. ”
“What?”
“Your jacket. Now. ”
With a little smile, he slid it off and handed it to her. “Just this one time of assistance. No more. ”
“Fuck you,” she answered. She pulled it on. Trying not to panic, she stepped over the bodies until she found her shoes. They were black, so blood was not immediately noticeable on them.
“You're not like them, you know? It's not the tattoos, the piercing or your rocker girl persona; it's your strength. How old were you when your mother died and your father married your cousin? Ten, was it? Living in a house full of boys and knowing that your father was fucking your cousin while your mother lay dying of cancer. ”
“Shut up,” she growled. She had to escape this nightmare right now. Her thoughts were jumbled. She needed to get away to think.
“You went to work at what age? Thirteen, wasn't it? Saving for college. But everyone made fun of you. That wasn't what the daughter of Samuel Vezorak was supposed to do, was it? No, no; you were supposed to get married and have babies. School grades were sufficient, but not enough to get you a scholarship. Yet you managed to get one through your drumming. Off you went to Austin, to the University of Texas, where you dyed your blond hair black, got a few nifty tattoos, and learned how to rock with the best of them. ”
Buttoning up the coat, she brushed past him. She ignored the ache between her thighs. It was hard to forget how insanely good he had felt inside of her. Being around him made her feel weak and wanting.
She had to get out of here. Away from him and this room of -
She stopped in her tracks.
“They're dead,” she whispered in shock. “I killed them. ”
“It was when your younger sister, half sister really, got the terrible cancer, just like your poor mother, that you gave up your scholarship and went home. Now, years later, you are at a second rate college in East Texas, hoping to God it isn't too late to claw your way out of your bayou existence. ”
Whirling around, Amaliya screamed, “Shut the fuck up!”
“You see, fate had other plans for you. I have never made a child with your background. I honestly have no idea how you will fare, though I’m absolutely excited to see what you will do. ”
“Leave me alone!”
“Oh, I intend to. And that is the reality of it now, you see. You are on your own. ” His fiendish smile made his attractive face much crueler.
How could bagging a hot professor end up this badly?
“I don't need you,” Amaliya snapped, pushing past him.
“We'll see,” he said in a mocking tone.
Not looking back, Amaliya whipped open the door and ran out.
The professor smiled with satisfaction, tucked his hands behind his back, and followed.
***
Amaliya struggled across the vast lawn that led to her dorm. She stumbled every few steps as her heels sunk into the moist, dew drenched soil. When she reached the nearly-empty employee parking lot, her foot got caught in a small pothole and she tripped. She hit the asphalt on all fours. Grimacing at the pain, she pushed herself up on her battered hands. She managed to get her feet under her with a little difficulty. Brushing the grit off her bloodied knees, she began to run again.
The stinging in her hands and knees faded. Glancing down, she realized she had already healed. Only gravel and smears of blood remained on the smooth heels of her hands. The sight of her restored flesh horrified her. A quivering moan of despair fell from her lips. Her mind felt incapable of understanding what was happening to her.
Behind her, she heard a car door open.