The Devil's Respite was a different kind of night club. The bar was a woodpanelled room decorated with soft curtains and carpet and plush seats. The doorman's bald head was unmistakably adorned with two little horns, and whenever the bartender smiled, you could see long fangs. At the back of the bar, framed by red curtains and soft lighting, was a spiral staircase leading down with a sign next to it. "Play Spaces" it said in large, curly letters. Entrance to the club was free, you always paid the price in the end.

Shae peered into the club through the narrow coloured glass windows framing the entrance. She often passed the club but she never dared to go in, she wasn't the adventurous type. She fantasised about what went on in that place sometimes, but she would probably never work up the courage to go in and ask for what she wanted. She sighed and fidgeted with a strand of her red hair in front of the window, not yet ready to go on her way.

Suddenly, she inhaled sharply. A strange feeling took hold inside her chest, as if something gripped her heart and made it beat faster. She felt an urge to move and her hand immediately reached to open the door. To her own surprise, she walked into the club past the red-faced doorman who greeted her with a nod.  Even though the place was not loud, it was overwhelming. Not just the smell of perfume and sweet drinks designed to mask the odour of alcohol and sweat underneath. Not just the soft, conspiratory tone of conversations happening over drinks and the people in varying states of undress hanging around the bar waiting for someone. It was also the way her legs kept carrying her deeper and deeper into the club, almost against her will. Why was this happening? What was this strange feeling? She looked around the bar and then stopped in her tracks. Those eyes…

A woman standing at the bar locked eyes with Shae across the room and it made her heart stop. She was tall with raven hair and blue eyes that stared straight into Shae's soul and froze her in place in the middle of the bar. The woman smiled, showing white pointed teeth that contrasted with her deep red lipstick. Even though she was too far away to hear her voice through the din of the bar, Shae could read her deep red lips perfectly.

"Come closer." Her long, pale fingers curled into a beckoning gesture.

Shae felt her knees go weak and it was as if that strange feeling gripping her heart was a fishing line, and that woman reeled it in just by blinking her eyes seductively. Everything was a blur, as if she floated across the bar towards her, caught by her gaze. No one else in the crowded room mattered, she couldn't really see or hear any of them. When she stopped in front of the woman, she reached out to touch Shae's chin.

"Good girl. There you are. Finally." Her voice was low and hot, speaking slowly, drawing each word out for maximum effect.

Shae opened her mouth but she couldn't speak, only a wordless moan came out. She felt like she couldn't move, immobilised by her fingers tenderly holding her chin, fixated by her gaze.

"I'm a vampire. My name is Ecstasia." She smiled, showing those fangs again. "But you may call me Mistress. Give me your name, girl."

Shae's lips moved silently for a moment before she managed to speak in a hushed voice. "It's Shae, Mistress." Ecstasia's unrelenting gaze made her warm and light-headed. 

"Good girl. Now tell me why you're here."

Why was Shae here? She didn't know. Why did those two simple words give her hot thrills when Ecstasia said them? Why were her eyes so captivating? Why was it so hard to think?

Her fingers trailed from Shae's chin over her jaw to the side of her neck, the light touch gave her goosebumps.

"Is there something here you want? I saw you standing outside. If anything here catches your fancy, I'm sure it can be arranged." She tilted her head as she looked Shae in the eye, her voice sweet and irresistible. "There's no shame in admitting it." 

"You, Mistress." Shae blurted out and immediately blushed hot red.

"You flatter me." Ecstasia's hand finally retreated to touch the glittering pendant with a deep red faceted jewel around her neck. Her bosom moved with a deep breath and then her hand made a wide gesture at the rest of the room as her eyes finally released Shae. "Are you sure? Have a look around." 

Shae leaned on a bar stool, suddenly feeling dizzy. Her hands undid the top buttons of her blouse, an attempt to breathe more easily and relieve that hot and sweaty feeling. 

Ecstasia stood there, waiting patiently. She wore a low-cut black dress, heels that made her look even taller, and that beautiful glittering pendant. 

With a deep breath to steady herself, Shae glanced around the room. At first glance, it was just a bar where people seemed to be a little more handsy than normal, but looking more closely she could see the inhuman eyes, teeth, and other features of some of the patrons. And then she started to see how some people in booths were kissing and biting each other's necks and how some other people had these dazed, mesmerised looks in their eyes. It was everything she had fantasised about…

Ecstasia stood next to Shae and followed her yearning gaze to a dishevelled woman lying sprawled on someone's lap. Her eyes fluttered endlessly and her mouth hung open in a vacant expression while that someone spoke to her in hushed tones and played with her limp hand. 

"She's enthralled." Ecstasia smiled mysteriously.

Shae replied in a breathless whisper. "That… I want that…" She blushed deep red as she hugged herself.

"If I were to enthrall you…" Ecstasia mused as she played with her pendant. "...there would be no way for you to resist. You would be helpless against my power. You would be putty in my hands, mine to mold and reshape. Think carefully before you…"

"Yes, please." Shae said in a small voice as she fiddled with a strand of her hair, too shy to look at Mistress Ecstasia.

"If that is what you truly want…" She chuckled wickedly and started to saunter off towards the spiral staircase. "...follow me."

Shae stared after her, mesmerised by the way her hips swayed. It wasn't until she went down the stairs that Shae realised that she should move. The dizziness had passed so she had no trouble walking, but before she reached the stairs she bumped into someone. Two mumbled apologies later, Shae arrived at the top of the staircase and Ecstasia was nowhere to be seen. Shae made her way down the steps to a carpeted hall with many doors. The emergency exit glared at her with its neon green sign but further down the hall was only soft lighting.

Shae tentatively took a few steps into the hall and looked at the doors, wondering where Mistress Ecstasia could have gone so quickly. Every door had an engraved copper sign with a colour and a number in elegant black letters. She paused next to the closed door marked Red 2 where she could hear a deep male voice talking, even though she couldn't understand most of the words. Further down the hall, she could see some doors that weren't closed, she better look over there than disturb whoever was in here.

The sound of a woman in the throes of passion could be heard from beyond the door marked Blue 3. It made Shae blush and as she wandered down the hall, her thoughts wandered thinking about what kinds of things went on behind these doors. She shouldn't be surprised that there would be sex, but the patrons of this club had so much more to offer… it puzzled her why anyone would just want to fuck. But she also found herself imagining that some of the things Mistress Ecstasia could do would feel better than sex. And that made her blush more. 

"Come to me." 

Ecstasia's voice seemed so close by… like she whispered the words into Shae's ear and gave her goosebumps. Shae turned around but she was still alone in the hall. However, that strange feeling gripping her heart returned, almost lifting her off her feet and dragging her to the correct door. Purple 4. 

Shae was light-headed, she could feel her hand shake as she opened the door, she could feel her legs wobble as she entered the room. Her eyes were drawn to the opposite corner of the room where Mistress Ecstasia perched on the edge of a big bed covered in fluffy pillows. Her fingers curled into a beckoning gesture and Shae staggered towards the bed, falling to her knees.

"Good girl." Ecstasia reached out to lift Shae's chin up with one finger and locked eyes with her.

Shae forgot to breathe. Her vision narrowed, honing in on those eyes. She kneeled there and listened, fascinated by that sultry voice echoing in her head.

"There you are." Ecstasia smiled wickedly. "Surrendering yourself to me. You're such a pretty girl, Shae. And your eagerness is delicious…" She paused to touch and lick her own lips.

How could a voice make her feel so weak? Shae opened her mouth and let out a sigh. She didn't have the wherewithal to form words or even vocalise.

"I'll tell you a secret, my thrall." Ecstasia chuckled gleefully. "You already are my thrall. You asked for this. You chose to follow me. With every step you came down the stairs, you abandoned your inhibitions and your worries. With every door you passed as you came towards me, you forfeited your free will. For me. To be enthralled by me. That's what you want. And here we are…"

Shae's vision blurred. She felt as if she was hovering above the floor, held aloft by her gaze piercing her mind.

"Do you know what I do to my thralls?" Ecstasia leaned closer, her voice dropping to a hot whisper. "Do you know what your purpose is?"

It was not the light-headedness that made Shae's head droop to the side as her hands reached up to open her blouse further and bare her neck, it was an instinct, an urge she couldn't control. Her eyes finally closed and she froze there, offering her neck.

"That's right, my thrall." The tip of a finger with a long nail stroked the side of Shae's neck. "You feed me. You sustain me. Your surrender gives me power. Thank you."

The sudden bite was a blissful kind of pain. The feeling of being drained, becoming weak and empty, made Shae moan with abandon until there was nothing left of her.

Ecstasia wrapped her arms around Shae and dragged her onto the plush bed, her lips never leaving her neck. Shae was limp like a rag doll and Ecstasia laid her down on the pillows to straddle her. The bite seemed to last forever. 

Until Ecstasia sighed softly and lay down beside her thrall. She tenderly stroked Shae's temple and languidly rested her leg on top of Shae's. "I am your whole world now, my thrall. No thoughts. No will. You exist to obey me."

Shae's eyes fluttered open. "Yes, Mistress." She gasped breathlessly.

Ecstasia smiled contentedly. "I want to hear you say it. You are my mindless thrall."

"I am your mindless thrall." The words fell from Shae's lips without any conscious effort. Her eyes stared vacantly up at the ceiling.

"That's right. You are completely under my thrall." Ecstasia purred as she petted Shae's pretty red hair.

"I am completely under your thrall." Her voice had a strange, toneless quality, so soft and so serene.

"Just like you asked."