Her grip on my arm tightened as her wide eyes frantically searched the darkness of the room around her. Sharp fingernails dug into my flesh until I could feel the dampness of my own blood on the sleeve of my shirt. She was in such a panic that I don't think she even realised I was there. She struggled to her feet, tipping my coffin over on its side in her haste to escape the monsters that still attacked in her mind.

It was then that she caught sight of me. For a moment she simply stared and there was no recognition in her fearful gaze. She released my arm and leapt back with such terrified force that she hit the desk hard, sending the candle toppling to the floor and shrouding us both in blackness.

She couldn't see a thing, but my preternatural vision granted me a perfectly clear view of her. Her slender arms had moved instinctively to cover her bare breasts and her heart pounded so loudly that I was certain it might burst from her chest at any moment. In a strong, but still trembling voice she warned me to stay away and I knew that in the blink of an eye she could attempt to make an escape and possibly injure herself further in the process. This room was made of solid stone and iron, after all.

"Shh... you're safe now, ma chere," I lied in the most comforting voice I could manage while reaching out gently with one hand to draw her nearer.

There was only the briefest hesitation before she literally tumbled into my arms. Sobs wracked her thin frame and she clung tightly to me as if I were her only salvation amidst the chaos. She was mumbling incoherently, something about how I must help her out of this place and how she couldn't die like this... not here and not now. Her fingers found the silver cross belonging to my mother that I always wore on a chain around my neck and the movement of her warm lips against my cold skin was almost sensual as she uttered the old Latin prayers.

"Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae."

I wanted her more than I had ever wanted anything before, but I also wanted her alive. There was a fire burning deep within her soul that no amount of fear or hopelessness could extinguish. I found myself completely captivated by her determination and will to survive where others had so easily given up. Even I had descended quickly into madness after an experience similar to hers. Countless others like her had begged me to end their pain, yet here she stood, drained and fevered in my arms, pounding her little fists against my chest and demanding that I aid in her escape.

I think I loved her instantly.

A strange calm eventually came over her. Tearful sobs gave way to moments of reason and I found out that her name was Aurele. She was an aspiring actress when they dragged her in from the city streets. Penniless and hungry she had come to our doors in hopes that we might have some small job to offer. She would have been more than willing to mend costumes and empty slop buckets for a warm place to sleep and the opportunity to some day stand upon that painted stage herself.

Her story was painfully familiar and I didn't want to hear another word of it.

"I know of a way to get you out of here," I explained, ignoring her questions about who I was or how long they had been keeping me here.

She thought me to be the same as her, a mortal prisoner held captive by these fiendish demons with razor sharp teeth and blood stained lips. In the darkness that surrounded us she couldn't see the whiteness of my skin or the unnatural gleam of my eyes. She didn't realise that I longed for the taste of her innocent blood just as much as they did, if not more so. Self control has never been one of my strengths and it took every ounce of it to prevent myself from ending her life right there.

There was an air shaft in the corner of my room. A small stone passageway too narrow to let in any sunlight, but just wide enough to vent the smell of rotting flesh. Though I hadn't seen it for myself, I'd heard the patrons complaining about the move of more than six million corpses from the cemeteries into the mines, so no one in the stinking city above would notice a bit of added stench anyhow. I could never have squeezed through there myself and I wasn't even sure that I wanted to, but I was certain that a tiny creature like Aurele could climb the slanted tunnel to freedom.

"But what about you?" She questioned as I held the chair steady on the desk and encouraged her to climb atop it.

"I'll be fine. Just go now while you still can."

To my complete surprise and utter astonishment, her warm fingers touched the side of my face and she pressed her lips to mine before reluctantly turning away.

"I'll come back for you," were the last words she spoke before disappearing from sight.

And what was even more incredible was the fact that she did.