SIX
Hello again, hope you're ready to meet the coven Gerard and Mikey live with!
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Frank was given a pinstriped button up dress shirt and a fitted pair of dark jeans to wear for dinner. The jeans weren't nearly as hugging as they appeared on Michael, but they clung to his calves in a way he wasn't quite familiar with when he normally worse loose fitting pants. Gerard fussed with Frank's hair, brushing it until it sponged up before ruffling it all over again and deciding the tangled look of his locks suited him better. Despite the distaste for Frank's sneakers, he concluded that they'd wasted enough time with his hair and needed to head to the dining area before any suspicions rose.
Gerard himself had changed into a pair of black leather pants riding low on his hips, a studded belt loosely pulled through the loops sewn onto the waistband, a loose black tank top hanging off his frame with a black denim jacket going over it. Frank didn't quite know where to look when the vampire looked offensively handsome, feeling like his own looks dimmed drastically in comparison. Gerard caught the latter looking a few times, only shy glances sweeping over him, and he informed Frank that Lindsey preferred it if everyone dressed similarly to one another for a sense of unity. Gerard himself found it rather silly, but no one dared to go against her wishes.
Frank was instructed to stay by Gerard's side the entire time. He couldn't think of anywhere else he could be where he'd feel even a bit safe, so he clung to Gerard's side as close as he could without physically touching the vampire. The outside smelled of rose petals, the blooming scent of candle wax penetrating through the sweet scent along with the hint of smoke coming from the dancing flames trapped inside hanging lanterns placed along the gray stone walls of the long, cavernous hallways. The floors were made of ivory, swirls of a tanner color mixing into the light shade, and Frank's sneakers squeaked slightly whenever he took a step on the polished floors. He flushed red, hating that the annoying noise was breaking the silence between himself and Gerard.
They passed many doors, some a crack open and others tightly shut. It was eerily silent, the quiet crawling under Frank's skin and causing goosebumps to rise. He felt like he was walking through tunnels from another dimension, no sign of the current world breaking through all of the unfamiliar sights. Frank wondered for a fleeting moment if he was meant to die here behind these cold stone walls harboring ancient secrets inside them. The thought nearly sent him quailing, but he concealed his fear and continued to walk, keeping his eyes on the ground.
Gerard lead him to an opening to the right of the last hallway they stepped through, marble steps and a chalky stair railing carved so the white stone appeared like thick bodied snakes curving down instead of normal pillars, the detail in their reptilian scales mesmerizing Frank as they paused at the top of the dwindling staircase.
"I need you to remain calm through this dinner." Gerard whispered to him, glancing at the steps and back at Frank. "You may see some things you've never seen before, but I don't want you to be afraid."
Frank's heart accelerated. "What kinds of things?"
Gerard pursed his lips, taking a gentle hold of Frank's shoulder and turning him around so he faced the stairs. "It would be a waste to prepare you for things that may not happen."
Beckoning him with two fingers, Gerard started down the steps, glancing back at Frank to see if he was following. Frank stumbled forward, his palms sweating as he dug his nails into the meatiest part them. He went back to hiding in Gerard's shadow, hoping it would be enough to conceal him from whatever prying eyes awaited them downstairs.
When they reached the end of the stairs, Frank finally looked up, and gasped as his eyes drank in the vast dining room. A chandelier so similar to the one laying abandoned in the mansion above ground hung from the ceiling, supported by gleaming silver chains, the crystal sparkling brilliantly and casting circular white orbs over the marble flooring and the blood red walls. The room was extravagant with the wide paintings hanging from the walls, the luminous flames of sticks candles being spread across the room and the furniture held by the branched arms of candelabrums made out of matte gold, shining dully underneath the fire they held. The mouth of the large fireplace at the far end of the room also spat orange flames, the frame and the shelves above of the pit curving up and holding what seemed to be bottles of wine Frank had never seen before, rose petals spread out over the wood and falling onto the ivory colored flooring below.
In the center of the room was a long table filling up a majority of the space, a red velvet table runner smoothed out over the polished wood, and dark wooden legs carved out to match the snakes he'd seen carved into the stone at the staircase. The rug underneath was black with red embroidery threaded into it, elegant swirls and loops going across the fabric until the edges spread out in lace finishings. Frank glanced up, watching in shock as figures darted in and out of the room as ghosts traveling through dimensions would move, blurring into focus momentarily to place platters of food and other dinner preparations onto the table. Frank watched with fascination as these beings faded into the air after leaving behind silverware and wine glasses, moving with their impossibly quick speed and blending in with the other colors in the room.
Frank noticed that, at the head of the table, someone took residence in the seat, filling up a glass with purple colored wine with slow precision. Her feet were propped onto the table, and she was completely uncaring that when she finally kicked one of her legs down, anyone could easily see up her dress. Frank flushed, looking away from the obscene position she took.
When she took note of Gerard and himself, she straightened up, dropping her other leg onto the floor and instead swinging them to the side so she could quickly stand with the wine glass still perfectly handled in her pale hand. She smiled widely, and in a blur of white and purple, she appeared in front of the pair. Frank tried not to look so shocked, but his heart stuttered from the suddenness of her movement.
"Gerard, my friend, so lovely for you to bring a guest to join us for dinner," Her voice was lower than the normal high and soft tone Frank was used to hearing from his best friend, but her voice was soothing, smooth in all of her words like a swan gliding across a lake of sparkling water.
Gerard nodded, a ghost of a smile plastering onto his handsome face. "It has been quite a while since I've brought back a human." He glanced at Frank for just a moment, a second between both of them, and Frank knew he was only playing the part of a vampire with prey at his side for the sake of secrecy.
The vampire in front of them, a woman whose beauty brought redness to Frank's cheeks when her intense eyes raked all over his body, could have only been one person when he sensed the boldness of her presence. Lindsey, the infamous coven leader Frank heard about previously. She was taller than him by just a bit, her raven colored hair pinned away from her pale face in tubular curls contained by a silver netting imbedded with pearls. Her lips were as red as blood, her dark eyes framed by thick eyeliner, and she lashes swept across the tops of her cheeks whenever she blinked. A matte black corset wrapped around her body, cinching her waist, the black ribbon laces falling onto the layers of her deep purple skirt open in the front, but training behind her like the gown of a bride.
"I hope you choose to keep him, he's quite handsome." Lindsey purred softly, raising her arm sleeved in spiraling lace sleeves, and holding out her ringed hand for Frank to take. Frank swallowed, pushing down all of his nerves, and raised his own tattooed hand to met hers. She grasped it firmly, but not tightly, long black nails and pale skin making his olive toned flesh look much darker than it was.
To his complete and utter shock, Lindsey lifted Frank's hand to her face, pressing his wrist close to her nose, and she took a deep whiff of his scent. Frank gasped, wanting to draw his hand away, and Gerard stiffened beside them.
"Lindsey, he just arrived, please don't make him uncomfortable." Gerard pleaded, trying to keep panic from leaking into his voice. But Frank could hear it, a dull echo in the back of each of his words. Frank gulped, drawing his hand away quickly when Lindsey let go.
The woman's eyes had already snapped open, so dark that Frank feared he would sink into them and forever be lost in the near blackness. The hairs on his arms stood as a result from the hardening of her expression, her bleak eyes turning onto Gerard who was already staring at her. The two watched each other for a moment, Lindsey maintaining her unbreakable expression and Gerard attempting to remain composed and mildly protective as he took a step closer to Frank, his cold fingers brushing over his arm.
Lindsey tore her gaze away from Gerard, focusing on Frank all over again. Her lips parted into a sickeningly sweet smile that showed her set of perfectly white fangs, reaching out to take Frank's hands again and hold them as gently as a cold creature could.
"What is your name?" She asked him.
Frank's cheeks filled with color. He couldn't speak for a moment, his lips closed and opened until his own name rose to his tongue and he managed to spit it out. "Frank."
Lindsey laughed softly, her eyes twinkling. "Your full name, silly."
Frank glanced uncertainly at Gerard, finding that the vampire's expression was blank and his eyes were set on the female stood in front of him.
"Frank Iero." He concluded.
He didn't miss the too quick glance Lindsey shot Gerard, nor did he not pay attention to the way Gerard's jaw tightly clenched as he turned away, slowly making his way over to the table until he gripped one of the chairs and stood there with his back turned.
"Such a lovely name. I hope Gerard wants to share you, would you like that, darling?" Lindsey batted her eyelashes, one of her pale fingers drawing a slow line from the corner of Frank's jaw to the pulse point on his neck, hammering away. His heart jumped into his throat and his instinct was to pull away from her, his eyes widening.
She titled her head back slightly, laughing at his reaction. "Such a sweetheart." She lazily turned on her high heeled boots laced up to her knees, metal buckles shining in the lighting filtering through the room. She ghosted past Gerard, leaning down to whisper something, but her lips so quickly and discreetly that Frank couldn't decipher what she was saying. Gerard growled, low and intimidating, but Lindsey only kissed his cheek and skipped back over to where she'd been sitting when Frank and Gerard entered.
"Lovelies, come out for dinner!" Lindsey called out into the room, lifting her arms into the air as her full lips pulled back into a smile radiating with delight.
Gerard turned and went to retrieve Frank whole stood there, dumbfounded, leading him to the dinner table to sit beside him just as multiple blurs of color flashed before Frank's eyes. Each streak of color developed into a vampire, all of them standing around the table in all of their pale, beautiful glory. Frank shakily sank down onto the seat Gerard pulled out for him, thankfully a good distance away from the coven leader, and he tried his best to avoid any eye contact with the vampire beckoning for their mates to come out of the shadows.
All of Frank's own kind looked unbelievably calm with their surroundings. Their eyes onced over the room like they'd done so many times before, some even allowing a tiny smile of fondness fall onto their mouths as they sat down beside their vampires, fixing themselves in their chairs. Frank looked at one of the men seated beside a beautiful female vampire with black hair hanging like a thick curtain to her corset cinched waist. His neck was covered in puncture marks, the skin turning purple and blue from the bruises, and he held no shame when the vampire brushed her fingers over his neck, possessively gazing at him as the others filled the room. Frank's hands shook in his lap, suddenly feeling very cold both on the inside and the outside.
"Are you alright?" Gerard whispered quietly near Frank's ear.
Frank looked up at him with rounded eyes, giving a little shake of his head. The vampire bit his lip, glancing around with a dissatisfied look, and he gently touched Frank's elbow to remind him to be calm. Frank sucked in a deep breath through his nose, shrinking a bit into his chair.
"How was hunting tonight, my loves?" Lindsey spoke up at the end of the table, lifting a goblet of wine to her lips and snapping her fingers. On cue, a flurry of color surged to the corner of the room, settling into the form of three vampires holding instruments in their hands. Classical music filled the room, the soft tones of their strings echoing in the vast space, and the tone matched their aristocratic appearance.
"Divine as usual." Michael, sitting across from Gerard, spoke with an air of satisfaction surrounding him. He turned to the brunette woman sitting beside him, reaching out and cupping her chin. "I found myself a lovely one."
"Well done, my sweet." Lindsey took a long sip, reaching out for one of the platters being passed around to retrieve and small handful of grapes. "I decided not to bring anyone along with me this time, thinking perhaps one of you wouldn't mind sharing with me."
"You know I will always volunteer, Lindsey." One of the female vampires spoke up, a startling lovely woman with a curvy body and long lashes that batted together as she exchanged a heated look with the coven leader. Something about the openly sexual exchange had Frank looking away, feeling like he was invading their moment.
"You've always been my favorite, Chantal." Lindsey giggled, popping a grape into her mouth.
One of the trays of meat was passed along to Frank, and though he didn't eat meat, he was terrified to reject it. Thankfully, one of the humans occupied to seat on his other side, but he did feel the eyes of vampires on him. He slipped a few thin slices of ham onto his plate, cubes of cheese to overpower the taste of the meat. Gerard was pouring red wine into Frank's goblet, passing along the bottle when he refused to have some for himself.
"I supposed you've met Gerard's little human." Michael leered at Frank from across the table much to his shock. He picked up an apple, his fangs sinking into the crimson skin first with a soft pop. Frank shivered and flushed when all eyes turned onto him.
"Do we not have other matters to discuss?" Gerard quickly cut in, not bothering to look up as his elegant fingers wrapped around the stem of his wine goblet. Frank nervously picked apart a slice of ham, letting the streamers of meat fall back onto the porcelain plate.
"I don't see why we shouldn't speak about it while the subject is at matter." Lindsey piped in, smiling over the rim of her cup. "It's been plenty of years since you're brought anyone back, Gerard."
"What made you change your mind?" The vampire, Chantal, inserted her question into the uncomfortable conversation. Frank found himself being watched, every single one of his movements being traced by the eyes of vampires and humans. He lifted his gaze momentarily, meeting Michael's stare. The latter grinned subtly, popping a cube of cheese into his awaiting mouth. Frank tore his eyes away and glanced at Gerard frantically.
Gerard stiffened. "Nothing extreme, if you believe so. Can I not bring someone along with me every now and then? I wasn't meant to stay away for the rest of eternity."
"It seemed like you would." The man sitting furthest away at the table chuckled, causing a hum of agreement to rise from each of the other ten vampires taking residence in the room. His long dark hair was similar to Gerard's, but completely straightened and slick, his eyes rimmed with thick black makeup.
Gerard only glared down at his plate. Frank was unsure if he was allowed to speak, but even if he was, he was unsure of what he could say to keep the rest of the vampires from making unwanted comments on Gerard's actions. Frank chewed nervously on a grape, feeling too uneasy to stomach more than that.
"He smells divine. Better keep him close to your chest." The vampire female with the cascading black hair smiled sweetly at Frank, her white teeth digging into her bottom lip in such a hungry manner that Frank had to stop himself from launching from his seat and running far away from her intense gaze. She took the arm of her human lover, tenderly stroking the inside of his wrist to his curiosity, and in such a shocking turn of events, she slit his skin open with one of her pointed fangs so his blood leaked out from the wound. He hissed in pain, but didn't protest, allowing her to hold his wrist over her goblet until the blood dripped inside in a steady stream that would soon fill the cup.
Frank's fingers dug into his thighs, fear racing through his veins when he was suddenly surrounded by vampires with glowing eyes watching the human share his blood with his vampire, the smell of it having to had reached their noses and fueled their thirst. Gerard, on the other hand, growled softly, turning away from the sight and curling his fingers into the side of his chair in an act of self restraint. Frank was horrified to see none of the humans or vampires were bothered by the action taking place at the dinner table. All of them seemed starving for it, and Lindsey, she seemed much too pleased with herself for it to be normal. Her laughter filled the room like the bells of Nortre Dam, leaning across the table to touch the lips of Chantal's mate as the other female inhaled the scent of his neck.
Soon enough, everyone was reaching for their human mate, biting into some part of them and indulging in their blood as if they hadn't hunted at all tonight. The sounds, the quiet moans and the heavy breaths surrounding Frank filled him with a deep feeling of dread, all of the color draining from his face as he watched vampires feed for the first time. The humans seemed to enjoy the pain, being bled out into the mouths of vampires until they felt the life slowly leaving them and they began to panic, their bodies swaying and their eyes snapping wide open. Registering their fear, feeling it crawling underneath his own skin as his heart jumped with alarm, Frank couldn't take it any longer.
He shoved out of his chair, stumbling backwards until he tripped over one of the chair legs and went falling backwards. To his surprise, instead of landing painfully on the marble floors and possibly damaging the back of his head, he was suddenly wrapped up in a pair of solid arms keeping him from making a fool out of himself. Frank gasped sharply, opening his eyes and meeting a pair of green eyes suddenly glowing until they were taking on a cooper shade where they wanted to turn completely red. Frank shook violently, the world around him blurring in an array of smudged color until everything stopped whirling at an impossible pace and he was being dropped back onto the ground.
Frank fell back onto the familiar softness of a bed, the thickness of the comforter and sheets he had covering him not too long ago. He was dazed, sick to his stomach, his mind filled with whirling images of people slowly dying in the arms of vampires. He scrambled back onto the center of the bed, his gaze frantically flying across the room in search of Gerard.
He found the vampire pacing the room, tugging locks of his hair until he finally stopped and whirled around, flitting over to Frank and kneeling on the edge of the bed.
"I need you to stay in here." Gerard ordered, his voice gravely and full of aggravation. "I'm going back out there to speak with Lindsey."
"What are you going to say?" Frank could sense his face was pale. He lifted his hands in front of his line of vision, watching them tremble violently.
"They know why I've kept you. I must discuss it with her." Gerard stood up, stalking towards the door, but Frank was crawling off the bed, meaning to stop him.
"If you tell them I'm the child, we'll both be killed!" He called after him.
Gerard turned back to look at Frank, his eyes shockingly filled with a heavy abundance of pain, and Frank's breath caught at the intensity of it swimming in Gerard's irises.
"These are matters we must take privately, I can assure you that no punishment will be given. It isn't what you think." With the door swinging shut behind him, Gerard darted away, vanishing completely out of sight and leaving Frank on the bed in a state of shock. If he listened closely, he could hear the shrill screams of a woman coming from downstairs, piercing through the air with a fear of a person who was being murdered. Frank's stomach roiled horribly, the urge to vomit becoming stronger by the second.
Frank sank down onto his side shakily, clutching his stomach and willing for the feeling to go away. After moments of sitting and taking deep breaths to calm himself, the sensation passed and he was able to sit up again. He licked his chapped lips, trying to push the memory of vampires feasting out of his mind.
"Human," A voice from the doorway suddenly filled the room. Frank jumped, crawling to the head of the bed and looking towards the door with large eyes. It was Michael, leaning against the doorframe and peering inside with raised eyebrows.
"Jesus, you scared me." Frank's fear didn't lessen to much when he realized who it was, he could only hope the brother of Gerard would respect the latter's wishes to keep Frank as safe as possible.
"That was quite a show you put on out there." Michael swayed into the room, stopping in the center of it and placing his hands on his narrow hips. His frame was thin, lanky, but he wasn't quite scrawny either.
Frank gulped. "I didn't think anyone would notice I was gone. You were all . . . occupied." If there was a correct word for it.
Michael cracked a smile, his fangs poking out from behind his lips. "The most satisfying dinner possible for a vampire."
Frank felt chills rushing down his spine, imagining Michael's teeth sinking into the neck of a faceless human being trapped in his embrace. Sliding so easily through skin that it could have been as soft as a fragile fruit in their hands. The vampire noticed Frank's unease, smirking with a twinkle in his eye.
"It seems Lindsey will have a spill when Gerard meets her downstairs. We all know why Gerard chose you, little one." Michael's eyes dragged down the expanse of Frank's body, taking in every single one of his features until his gaze felt like spiders crawling over his skin. Cold fear sprouted in Frank's chest, his heart palpitating.
"Please, don't let her hurt him," Frank slid off the bed, rising shakily to his feet. "I know him so little, but I know he's a good man. And I know he was supposed to kill me those years ago as an order, but he didn't go through with it due to pure intentions-"
Suddenly, Frank's teary rambling was cut off by a tight grip wrapping around his upper arm. He gasped jaggedly, his eyes widening and staring up to meet the blazing gaze of Michael.
"You're the child he was instructed to kill?" Michael hissed through clenched teeth.
Frank's blood chilled. Frozen, unkind dread began pumping through him instead, leaving him stuck to his spot and unknowing of what he could say to undo the mess he just brought upon himself and the vampire who saved him too many times for the favor to ever be properly returned. He gaped up Michael, his throat tightening until it closed up completely and he thought he might choke on air.
Harshly, Michael began tugging Frank towards the door, his fingers digging in until Frank bit the inside of his cheek at the bruising pain. He struggled to keep up with Michael, knowing that if he tried to run away, he would be killed on the spot without a second thought crossing the vampire's mind.
"What are you doing?" Frank could hear the alarm seeping into his voice.
"To Lindsey and my idiot brother." Michael only glanced him before gripping Frank and tugging him close, much to Frank's terror and distaste. "Your death sentence is long overdue."
And they were out of the hallway, flashing towards the place where the other vampires stood, and numbness spread over Frank's body as he finally began to accept his fate.
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A/N: Shit is going down. Writing this fic makes me anxious, but the visuals in my head are so vivid that it also gives me intense happiness. Time for some really real stuff to begin happening, hope you're ready for that.
What do you think? Do you like it so far? I hope so!
Any theories? Those are so fun to read.
"You were meant for this love, you're my flesh and blood."
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