Helena's Turning

Part 3

The overlap of myth and reality was too much for Helena – how could there be such a rational-sounding explanation for the vampires' legendary fear of the sun, while they possessed such a fantastical power as flight? And how had she succumbed to the blood hunger so easily, after she had been so determined to resist? Why did she now feel the desire for it stirring inside her, still echoing, the delight of the taste as it slid down her throat, the thrill of the feel as her teeth had sunk deep into the poor girl's gentle throat?

She was brought out of her reverie by the feel of the ground beneath her feet again, and she opened her eyes. It was difficult in the dark, even with the streetlights of the city to help her, to determine where in the city she was. What was clear was that the building was taller than those around it, and would be something impressive to see in daylight. In her heart, though without knowing how, she knew that this was the vampire's home. They were standing on the roof, gazing out across the nightlife from their elevated position. Helena felt giddy as the rush of sensations from the last twenty-four hours continued to flow through her.

"It is time for you to understand the full nature of your position," said the vampire, in a serious tone of voice. "You have become a vampire, a creature who thrives on the consumption of life from others. Where, as a human, your survival depended upon the death of plants and animals to feed you, now you feed directly – that death is at your fingertips, your lips and your stomach. But it is not mere sustenance that the blood you consume represents. It is life itself, directly from the life of another. You might pull back before they die outright, but every mouthful brings them closer to that everlasting darkness, and takes you a step further from it. The vampire's dependency on blood is both a source of power and a chain that ties us to the humans.

"And that leads to the bond between vampires that is the most important thing for you to understand. First, recognise that magic is real, and the power of symbolism is not purely imaginary. How else could we have travelled as we have done tonight, through the air and racing across the flat ground? Now you must see that there is a powerful bond created when a vampire turns someone into a fellow vampire. In fact, the new vampire is not an equal, but a subordinate not merely in age and experience, but in magic as well. When a new vampire is created, she is essentially enslaved by her creator." Helena started at this comment, as the severity of the step she had taken broke through the tumult within her, but even as she started to form an angry remark, a cloud seemed to smother it so that she could not speak.

"You see? There is a magical debt that can only be repaid when you pass on the curse to a new vampire of your own turning. I can see everything that happens in your mind, and choose what becomes action, and what perishes there. If I choose to give you a direct command, you cannot refuse it. Any time that I wish to call you to me, no matter how far distant you are, you will instantly know and will feel an uncontrollable compulsion to seek me out. And any time I want to know your location, I can feel it and see what you are seeing."

"Why have you done this to me?" begged Helena, the shock of his explanation shuddering through her, her confusion over her actions thrown into a stark light by these revelations.

"You chose it when you lay with me last night. You saw in your unconscious mind what I truly am, and chose to come with me. You accepted my seed and gave your life willingly, and you climaxed in doing so. Most importantly, you surrendered yourself to me as completely as it is possible for anyone to do. You have chosen the path of vampirism, which is one of power and slavery, death and fullest life. And you are mine."

Something shifted in Helena's mind, not the work of her master, but a simple clarification. The nameless girl's death had become Helena's life. Helena's subordinate role was her path to learn true power. Her eyes turned to his, and her gaze was one of trust and of obedience.

"Well done," he said, "I knew you would make the journey tonight, you always had the dream in you. Now, follow me."

The vampire took the naked Helena by her hand and led her across the roof to a door that opened onto a stairway leading down into the building. It only then occurred to her that she had not been shivering – another effect of her vampire body.

The stairway only went down one floor, and another door opened onto a white corridor that seemed to stretch into infinity (although this was clearly not the case, it was just an illusion). The corridor had a number of doors in it, each with a distinctive and intricate design on the front, in a colour that was only slightly darker than the pale walls of the corridor itself.

The vampire released Helena's hand and went to the nearest door, which Helena saw led to a closet, from which the vampire took something. He came back and showed her what he had brought. It was a strip of black velvet.

"Tie this over your eyes, so that you cannot see anything," he commanded. It was a direct order, and Helena found that it was as he had told her on the roof: she simply could not disobey. She had taken his words seriously, but it was only after her initial attempt left a small gap of light in her vision, that she discovered that all the will in the world to simply leave it at that, was not enough. She could see something, just the tiniest thing, and it was enough to set off a jarring sense of intense discomfort in her until she corrected the blindfold and was utterly sightless.

The vampire's hand took Helena's and he led her, nude except for the cloth wrapped around her eyes, down the corridor. Without vision she had no idea how much further down the corridor they went before he opened a door and guided her through. Helena was apprehensive about what the next phase in her initiation would be, but now that she was so bonded with the vampire, she was sure that it would be a moment to treasure. The violence of the next few moments came as a total shock to her.

She felt him stand in front of her, and then swiftly he grabbed both her wrists and pulled them forward and together, slipping a noose over them and pulling sharply to tighten the loop around Helena's arms. She staggered under the force of the actions, and was surprised by the gentleness with which the vampire caught her and straightened her after the ferocity of his tethering her. Shock had so frozen Helena's systems that she could not yet even formulate a question or a protest at his rough treatment of her so far. Still more was to come.

His grip fastened onto Helena's lower arms and lifted them over her head. Unable to see what was happening, still Helena couldn't help aiming her obscured eyes in the direction of her hands. She felt it as his hands looped the rope over some protuberance from the ceiling (or so she imagined it must be). He pulled on the rope until Helena was forced to stand right on the tips of her toes before wrapping the rope around her wrists and tying it off on the protuberance. Helena's naked body was stretched to her full length, her arms straight above her and her legs and feet pointed straight down. In order to gain a little extra reach, Helena had thrust her head right back to make room for her arms to go as directly as possible.

The vampire circled her, she could hear his footsteps and a part of her was aware of his location even when he stopped, like a small spot in her mind's eye. He stopped behind her, and reached around to caress her breasts as he whispered in her ear.

"I told you on the roof that I knew you would make the transition and take a kill, but I also know that you tried to resist it, that you sought to rebel against your nature and against me. That cannot go unpunished. Now you will start learn what power a vampire of my long existence likes to wield!"

Cold fear did what the cold air outside had failed to do, and Helena shivered. He ordered her to hang her head forwards, and despite the effort it took to achieve it, she had no choice but to take more of her weight on her arms and move her head between them and over her breasts. He removed her blindfold then, and showed her what he was now holding. It was a cruel-looking whip. Helena felt intense shame as her helpless terror caused her bladder to release its load over the floor, splashing against her legs and ankles. During the course of the night, she had drunk a huge amount, first at the club and then from the girl's neck so there was a lot of piss there. The vampire simply stood back and calmly watched the flow. Although Helena hadn't noticed it, there were drainage holes in the floor through which the piss trickled away, instead of forming a large puddle around her feet. When she had finished, he stated in a matter of fact voice, "I'll have to devise something extra for that," and then he strode behind her.

Helena had no experience against which she could compare the pain as the first lash tore across her back. Her shriek filled the room, and the effect caused her legs to give way, so that her entire weight was suspended by the rope around her wrists. She only had enough time to draw breath, but not enough to vocalise her protest, before the second stroke streaked its band of pain into her. This time, it was a desperate wail rather than a shriek, and uncontrollable tears of agony welled in her eyes. This time, he waited for her to respond, but instead of the yell she would have made after the first blow, she only gasped a single word: "Please." Before she could say anything else, the vampire gave her the third stroke. Again, there was a pause and Helena could feel the vampire savouring her anguished response to his blows. Again he struck, and again, each time pausing just long enough for Helena to appreciate her agony not just as a physical response, but on a mental level as well, enhancing her knowledge of her inability to sway him or avoid his intentions. Then he stopped.

It took Helena a few moments to realise that the punishment was over, that he was not going to deliver a sixth terrible stripe to her. Blinking the tears from her eyes, she began to focus again on her surroundings, and saw him standing beside her.

"It would have hurt less had you learned to control your skin as I described to you before," were his coldly spoken words. Then he turned and walked to the door.

"Please don't leave me here!" gasped Helena, desperate now that her whipping was over to stretch and move freely again, but the vampire simply shrugged and said, "I told you there would be extra punishment. Today, you sleep as you are. Or you don't sleep. I will be back at sunset to see how you are doing."

With that, he shut the door gently, but still it seemed that the sound of the latch was the loudest slam that Helena had ever heard.