The Key 24

Hi again guys!! Time for my second story here! I'm particularly proud of this one. As always, leave your thoughts and comments. Lexis story may continue if y'all like what's happening so far.

It was one of the hottest summers on record, yet, as she stood there staring at the old, dilapidated mansion that towered over her, Lexi had chills. It was something she couldn't quite put her finger on, but it wasn't enough to make her have second thoughts. She'd waited years to own a home with Justin. Now that dream was a reality, even if it was a fixer upper.

They worked tirelessly for months, both day and night, to get the old mansion into a liveable home. The day they moved their new furniture in, was a day of joy and celebration. As the last piece of furniture was put where it belonged, she exclaimed "Justin we've finally done it!" as she kissed him softly on the lips. This quickly turned into a brief makeout session before they broke the kiss and looked around at the home they had finally made theirs. They were happy and excited over the new adventure together. Unbeknownst to them, the happiness that overflowed from them would soon, in Justin's case, be replaced by fear. In Lexi's case, it would be replaced by something else entirely.

He had waited for centuries, locked away in that infernal prison made of old magic. Old magic that held strong over the centuries.... Until she came. "Finally the key has come," he thought. It would take some time to mold her into what he wanted, given his current situation... But he'd been locked up for centuries and now saw the way out. He didn't mind wait a little bit longer. He was something older then the mansion itself. He was a vampire. The oldest surviving vampire. The worst of the worst.

No amount of searching, even if they knew of it, would have led that couple to his prison. The old bastards had made sure of that. No, if he wanted out, he'd have to twist and corrupt her mind to fit the prophecy of the key.

He was the oldest of the family. Once virtually unstoppable. His reign of terror had been legendary and went on for well over a century, until The Order stepped in. In those days, a vampire didn't need to hide in fear of their lives as they do now. He had intended to keep it just as it had always been. When The Order came, however, he began to lose control of the people he kept as thralls. He had heard of them before, but they were in the business of governing people, not vampires. He hadn't expected them to interfere with his kingdom.

The magic they came with was nothing anyone had ever seen before. It was apparent that no one in The Order felt their life had any meaning if they couldn't lock his type of evil away forever. That kind of magic took a soul to work properly.

But those ignorant fools had left a way out. A key. And now, after waiting for centuries, here she was. Unassuming and innocent. All of this was about to change. Lexi's life, as she knew it, was about to end. He smiled an evil smile as he began his plan.

"Justin, it looks fine. Just come to bed already."

Lexi was getting annoyed, though she wasn't sure why. Justin made some more last minute adjustments to the position of the large dresser that sat against the wall in front of their bed. "There. Perfect." He turned and yawned and looked at Lexi. Blinking twice, he wasn't sure if he was imagining things but her face had seemed a bit more pale than normal. "I'm just overly tired," he thought. He finally climbed in bed and reached over to kiss her softly on the lips. Soon it turned to more passion and before long they were christening their newly renovated home.

Sensing that she had fallen asleep, laying innocently next to Justin, he came to her in her dreams. Never speaking. Just observing. She knew he was there and, even though it was only a dream, she knew she should fear him. But somehow she couldn't. There was something about this dark, handsome stranger that drew her in. He seemed quite comfortable being in her dream, as if he had always been there. "Maybe he has," she thought. It was as though he craved her from afar. And she craved him just as much. She heard his whispers in the dream but couldn't make out what they said. Something about the way he gazed at her made her flush with desire. His plan was moving along well and it was only the first night. He smiled to himself from the confines of his magic cell. "This is going to be easy. I'll be out of this prison soon enough."

Lexi woke with a start early the next morning, 2 hours before her alarm went off. She lay there and pondered the dream she had last night, debating on whether to try and sleep longer or just take the loss and get up. There was plenty of stuff that could still be done outside of the house and it would be best if she did most of it before the sun came up. She quickly and quietly, slipped off to the bathroom and changed into her beat up clothes, the ones that she had deemed beat up enough to work outside in. As she was leaving the bathroom, she heard the same whispering from her dream. "I couldn't be hearing anything," she thought to herself. It didn't bother her much as she focused her mind on the day ahead.

The next few nights were much like the first. He would always be there in her dreams. Just watching her and not saying a word. She always noticed him. There was something about this mystery man that she couldn't pinpoint but then again, she didn't want to.

On the 5th night, things were different. As she drifted off to dream, he came to her again. He was a little closer this time. With that, the whispers became louder and she could make out what they said. She wasn't sure how, but they were whispering her name and an invitation. "Lexi, come to me."

She looked at the mysterious man, who had moved closer to her. She jumped a little when she realized he was within arms reach of her. Her first instinct was to run, but instead she looked in his eyes. Suddenly she couldn't run away, even if she wanted to. As she stood there, he walked around her, taking her all in. For the first time, she heard him speak. "Hello Lexi. I've been looking forward to meeting you for a very long time."

When he was done walking around her, he stood in front of her again and made sure she was looking deep in his eyes. As soon as their eyes locked, she had lost herself. She just didn't realize it yet. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. She found herself leaning into the kiss, wanting more of him. As he broke the kiss, he leaned into her, kissed her neck and...