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“Cursed to live forever. Cursed to be connected to a painting. A curse that can evolve. I have decided to start over again. Always starting over. Never evolving myself like that curse. What is the point of life? I would destroy the portrait of myself if I thought it would grant me freedom. But I cannot. I will not be granted freedom until I gain my redemption. Damn the fates that cursed me.
Okay, so it may have been my fault for trying to find the secret of immortality. I should never have asked Henry for a key to immorality. And I should never have been so shallow. Sybil… She was one of a kind. Killing her and making it look like suicide was not my brightest idea, but I wanted to preserve her beauty!
Like mine was preserved. Killing Henry was just because of my insanity. If my Sybil couldn’t have immorality no other but I shall. Destroying all his works but my own portrait was not hard since Henry, the dear little man, loved me. I was his ultimate muse. Funny how I find my own muses from life to life before I toss them away. Will I ever not be shallow?”
Darin got up from his desk in his flat. He was in London; but he was moving to Grand Prairie Rapids. Lucas said they would put him up for a while. He looked down at the people in his bed. His most recent muses. He smirked. One thing about the curse was that to remain forever young, he had to hurt those who loved him. These two beauties so did love him. But alas, their time as his muses has ended, and he had to feed the curse so he couldn’t age.
He took the needles and plunged them into the arms of his muses. All this time and he still used ‘poison’ the poison changed and the delivery method changed, but it was one thing about him that was consistent from muse to muse. After their hearts stopped, he took the hearts and drained them over his painting. He cleaned up after and grabbed his guitar and his duffel and smirked as he got on the plane.
Lucas was not in a good mood. He was waiting for Darin and pacing as he waited for him. His plane landed an hour ago. “Darin!” He yelled.
Darin was playing a young set of twins when he heard his name. It was low. Damn wolf frequencies. “Darlings, I will be living with my college friends. You will be my perfect muses as I prepare for my shows. Here is the address. And my number so you all can call me, darlings.”
The twins giggled as they took the piece of papers. “We will call you!” They giggled again as Darin gave them a kiss to their cheeks. And he bounced out.
“Damn if Luc! I gotta find my victims to give me my immortal beauty!” Darin laughed.
Lucas growled. “We have no problems with your tactics Darin. It is having me wait for hours to pick your lazy ass up!”
“Hour. Hour, Lucas.” Darin sighed. “An hour.” Darin through his guitar and bag into the back. “Come on! I hear Frankie is a daddy! And I want to see this little bundle of monster!”
Lucas growled. “You will keep everything kosher with the child Darin; or I will kick you out!”
“Whoosh! What side of the bed did you wake up on? You know we don’t touch each other’s families! So, how is the cute little bundle?”
“We are looking for the biological father. Part of us is hoping he is a monster so it will be hard-wired into her brain to be like us. The other part doesn’t want any monster to stake claim to our cub.”
“Our cub?” Darin looked at him.
“Hey! She is as good as mine too. Frank is my best friend, man.”
“Okay, okay! Sheesh I said nothing, Lucy.”
Lucas growled. “Do not call me Lucy! I have killed entire packs for less.”
“Down boy! Friend, remember? Aall said in good taste!”
“Yes, well, keep your ‘good taste’ in muses away from Sophie. The baby doesn’t need your victims as role models. Her grandmother and Morgan are the best, I think.”
“Not Jo and Kat?”
“Frank still wants to kill Kat, and Jo, no offense, could be a bit more selective in her bedmate.”
“And if Sophie has succubus blood?”
“Then we teach her how to choose good victims and not the drunken frat boys that will just take their pleasure and make her work for hers. But she doesn’t seem to have a draining aspect or we would have seen that by now.” Lucas pulled up to the house. “FRANK! We are home!”
Frank came out with Sophie. “Darin. Meet Sophie. Drake is out on the hunt and Cameron is over at his latest prey’s house.”
Darin smirked. “Cute kid pops!” He threw his guitar on the couch. “So, what is for grub?”
Frank rolled his eyes and went back into his office with Sophie. Lucas laughed. “On your own, my man. This is fend for yourself house.” Lucas grabbed his book bag. “Later Darin.” And he left.
Darin huffed. “Well, what can I do now?” He looked at his guitar. “Looks like it is time to get a gig. It is Friday, after all.” He grabbed his case, looked in the mirror and smirked. “You are one handsome dude. Go get them tiger.” He then growled at himself. He laughed as he walked out the door. Yep, he was an egotistical asshole.
It didn’t take him long to talk Jo into letting him play Friday and Saturday at her pool hall. He smirked at the all the college kids. Not as nice as twins but most could be talked into joining him and becoming his muses for the night, weekend, week, month, etcetera, etcetera. In fact, he had a couple hanging off him now. Sorority girls. “Well, it is only a matter of time before I can’t do shows for free. I am a high demand commodity right now!”
The girls giggled. “Of course, you are Darin! You are amazing! That last song, it is like it totally sang to my soul.”
“Yes, well, it was so hard to come up with without proper muses. You two wouldn’t like to come with me when the bar closes to help inspire my next major hit, would you?”
The girls giggled some more. “We would Darin!”
Darin smiled and slapped them on their asses. “Well, I got another set to do darlings! Be in the front for me!” He smiled and slipped them something in each drink. It made them compliant enough for the night until he… well, until he killed them tomorrow morning and had Tony come and get the bodies.
Poor Tony. Under appreciated. That man needs to let loose and have a party. Maybe get Jo to throw him one.
Okay, so Darin just loved a delightful party. Didn’t matter the excuse, he always found another victim at them.
He jumped on stage and started to play. Soon… Soon… Was all he could think as he looked down at his ‘muses.’
The three crashed through the doors of the room Darin was staying in. He told the girls to keep it down; they didn’t want to wake his roommate’s baby. The girls were tearing at his clothes as they crashed into his bed. Well, this was the fun part!
The next morning the girls were still sleeping when he woke. He stood up and after putting on a robe he held up the two syringes full of ‘poison’ he sighed as he plunged them deep into the sleeping girls’ veins.
But he was too afraid of death.
Too afraid of growing old.
Too afraid of being ugly.
Yep, he would always be that shallow guy.
He waited until their hearts stopped and then taking a knife; he cut open their chests and took their hearts out. He walked over to his portrait, blood dripping from the hearts the entire way across the room, and squeezed them over his portrait.
The more blood, the better.
The more blood, the younger and better he would be.
The more blood he gave, the more it craved.
And the more it craved, the more he had to feed it…
Or pay the price…
And there were a lot worse things in this world than death…
Kris Charles - Author 