Blood Lovers

by Jophrael Avario

  "You can ask me anything, cica."

  "Is this a dream?" Tamir whispered, staring Vidar in the eye.

  "Do you want it to be?" Vidar asked, just as quietly, pulling him just a little bit closer.

  "No," Tamir answered, resting his forehead on Vidar's. "I want it to be real."

  "Then it is." Vidar kissed Tamir, his hand snaking up to hold the younger man's neck, keeping him close. "I'm as real as any fantasy you can imagine, cica. Now, let me ask you something."

  Tamir nodded, resting his head on Vidar's shoulder and nuzzling into Vidar's neck. Vidar and Tamir turned slowly on the spot, as though dancing, but neither noticed.

  "Do you know what I am, cica?"

  Tamir nodded. "You're a vampire," he murmured into Vidar's neck.

  "How did you work it out?" Vidar asked gently, kissing Tamir's cheek.

  "You told me."

  Vidar didn't recall ever having said the word aloud, let alone to Tamir. "I did?"

  "Yeah. When you were here before."

  Vidar stilled, closing his eyes. Tamir must have been hallucinating about him. That's why the humans had locked him in here.

  "Vidar?"

  "Shh, it's okay." Vidar went back to rocking Tamir. "Do you want to be a vampire, Tamir?" he asked quietly, almost too quietly for Tamir to hear.

  Tamir pulled back, holding Vidar's hands in his. He let go of one of Vidar's hands, resting it on Vidar's cheek so he could look into Vidar's golden eyes, which were glowing slightly in the darkness.

  "Vidar, I would be anything if it meant I could stay with you forever."

  Vidar smiled and kissed Tamir. "Do you want to be a vampire, Tamir?" he repeated.

  Tamir kissed Vidar, throwing his arms around Vidar's neck. "I would, Vidar. I want to be just like you."

  Vidar smiled. He pushed Tamir away gently, just enough to bite into his arm again and suck out a mouthful of blood. He tangled his hand into Tamir's hair and pulled him closer, kissing him hard, pushing him against one of the padded walls as he kissed Tamir's soft, familiar mouth.

  Tamir relaxed into the kiss, pulling Vidar's hard body close to him. Vidar opened his mouth, and he felt Tamir stiffen when the blood gushed across the kiss. Vidar licked a stray drop from Tamir's chin, then kissed Tamir again, holding the younger man's arms above his head, against the wall.

  Tamir swallowed the blood when Vidar licked the stray drops from his chin. He smiled at Vidar, and saw Vidar's fangs, which made Tamir's chest tighten. Vidar licked his lips, making Tamir lick his in reflex, and Tamir realised he'd grown fangs too.

  Tamir wriggled an arm free from Vidar's grip and felt the fangs with his fingers, smiling at Vidar. "You turned me?"

  Vidar nodded. "Feeling better?" Vidar asked, leaning in to kiss Tamir's neck.

  Tamir purred. "Much better." He kissed Vidar, then looked around the room. "How do we get out of here? I want to go somewhere private."

  Vidar smiled and kissed him, then stepped back. "I would have thought you'd be hungry."

  Tamir shook his head. "Not yet." A glint appeared in his eye. "At least, not for blood."

  Vidar laughed, then turned to the door. "That is our biggest challenge. After that, it's home free for you and me." He winked at Tamir. "Think you can take it?"

  Tamir grinned. "What, do you think I adopted a massive case of super-strength when you changed me or something?"

  Vidar grinned. "Yep." He shoved Tamir lightly in the small of the back. "So show me how super-strong you are, cica." He grabbed Tamir's ass with one hand and squeezed.

  Tamir squeaked and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going."

  He pressed his hands against the door and pushed. The padded door didn't budge.

  "Shove it, don't push it."

  Tamir shook his head and shoved gently at the door. The hinges groaned, but it didn't budge.

  "Weakling," Vidar said affectionately, slapping Tamir's ass gently. "Step aside, you. Let the master through."

  "As you wish, sir." Tamir laughed and stepped back, bowing and watching Vidar. He didn't care if this was a dream. He was happy to spend any time he could with Vidar. Especially this happy, lively Vidar. He was more beautiful, so much better, when he was happy.

  Vidar took three steps forward, pushed his hands forward, and the door buckled, allowing him to push it out of the way with a single finger. Tamir laughed and shook his head.

  "I loosened it up for you," he said with a grin.

  "No," Vidar countered with a grin, taking Tamir's hand and stepping out to meet the running humans. "You're just a weakling, cica."

  Tamir shoved at Vidar, grinning too, and almost knocked the vampire over. Vidar laughed and pulled Tamir into a headlock, even as a small assortment of humans stood in front of them, pointing guns.

  "Vidar Gentson, stop in the name of the law!"

  Vidar shook his head, then looked down to where he had Tamir caught underneath his arm. "You hungry now?" he asked, his fangs appearing.

  Tamir smiled back and licked his lips. He escaped Vidar's hold and stepped towards the humans, his arms in the air. They grabbed him and pulled him behind them, as though to shield him from Vidar. Tamir stepped back a couple of steps, assessed who the leader of the group was, and attacked.

  Vidar laughed as the humans fought against Tamir, their weak human strength undone by Tamir's new superhuman muscle. "Well done, cica!" He clapped.

  Tamir had the last man in his hands, his face buried in his neck. Vidar felt a pang of jealousy, then a bead of blood dripped down the man's shirt, staining it red. The jealousy evaporated, and Vidar found himself vaguely wondering how that was so. He stared at the blood for a second, then realised that his stomach was growling. Living for a year with only one meal a month hadn't killed his appetite at all.

  Vidar jumped onto one of the humans that had staggered to his feet and was running away. He brought the man down, sinking his fangs into his neck, and drank heartily until the man was dead.

  ~ * ~

  Vidar smothered a burp as he dragged two of the bodies into the padded room Tamir had been occupying. Around them, inmates howled and carried on, some cackling, some roaring, some sounding disturbingly sane. Tamir threw the last body into the room after Vidar, and Vidar pushed the door back onto its hinges and straightened it against the doorway.

  Tamir jumped on Vidar, his legs around Vidar's waist, hands around Vidar's neck. Tamir kissed him, sucking the blood from both their tongues, and thrilled at the taste. "Mmm, what a rush," he said with a grin, kissing Vidar again.

  Vidar moved so Tamir's back was against the wall, helping to support him. "You did well, cica," he said between kisses. "Want to come back to my place?"

  "Won't the police look for you there first?" Tamir asked, releasing his legs from around Vidar's waist and standing tall against the wall.

  "If they do, you can eat them," Vidar said with a grin.

  "Why didn't you eat them when they came for me?" Tamir asked, looking vulnerable for a second.

  "I couldn't take them all. Besides, I didn't know this was going to happen to us." He gestured around them, at the hallway. "If I had, I would have attacked them, rather than let them take you."

  "Oh."

  "Besides, I didn't know you were cool with me being a vampire." He smiled. "I thought you'd run away if I showed myself as what I really am."

  Tamir took Vidar's hand and kissed him. "And now you know I won't. So we'll share the people who are against us."

  Vidar smiled and kissed Tamir's hand. "That sounds like a wonderful idea to me."

  ~ * ~

  The house was deserted when they landed in the driveway. Tamir fell forwards, but Vidar was fast enough to catch him before he broke his nose. Vidar manhandled Tamir into a standing position and coached the young man through removing his wings, and they headed to the front doors.

  "What happened to Amanda?" Tamir asked Vidar, clinging to his hand.

  "She and Brendan were released from custody after it was f
ound they had no idea you'd been kidnapped." Vidar snorted in derision. "If they're not here, then they moved on to other employment while they expect me to still be in jail."

  "Oh." Tamir sat down on the front stairs. "I'll warn you if someone comes. Go get what you need."

  Vidar nodded, bending to kiss Tamir on the cheek. Tamir grinned and watched him walk inside, admiring the way the grey tracksuit clung to his ass, then turned to look out at the lawns around Vidar's manor.

  The grass was taller than Tamir in places, making it easy to hide people and things inside it. Tamir and Vidar had done a sweep of the gardens and noticed a cop car sitting on the street. They'd assumed the men inside hadn't been able to see them, but now Tamir wasn't so sure. The front door was large and up higher than the grass. What if they had seen the door opening?

  I knew we should have killed them. Tamir stood up. I could be back before Vidar appears—

  Tamir's head whipped around without him telling it to. Something was creeping through the grass towards the house. Tamir crouched, taken over by instincts too new to ignore. He slunk over the gravel drive and into the dried grass, heading towards where he'd seen the glint in the weeds.

  ~ * ~

  Vidar ran through the house, heading for his bedroom. He shut the door and counted the panels along on the wall. When he got to the fifth one, he pulled back his fist and slammed it through the wood.

  He punched the wall a couple more times, then pulled out a sports bag full of money, ID and other things he'd need. He threw the bag on the bed and unzipped it, rifling through it. He needed to alter them a little, to create a new alias for Tamir.

  Vidar pulled out a passport, a driver's licence and a birth certificate. He left the names the way they were, then looked at the photos on the documents. There would be no time to change them now—he'd have to do it the next time they stopped.

  Abandoning the idea of altering them on his bed, Vidar threw the documents back into the bag and pulled out a wad of cash, tucking it into his pocket. He threw some underwear into the bag, grabbed them both a change of clothes, grabbed an old necklace that was sitting on a statue in the corner, and zipped up the bag, tossing it over his shoulder. He stopped at the doorway to his room, looked around at all the things he would have to abandon, and ran back down the stairs.

  When he got to the doorway to the kitchen, intending on grabbing a couple of things from the cold room, gunshots resounded from outside. Vidar ducked instinctively, abandoning the kitchen and swearing.

  "Tamir!"

  Shots echoed around the chamber, and a figure staggered up the stairs. It took Vidar less than a second to realise that it wasn't Tamir. He hit the man from behind, tearing his throat out with his fangs, but ran outside before the taste of the man's blood could seduce him into staying.

  Vidar leaped down the stairs and landed in a crouch, sprinting over the gravel and into the grass. Bullets whipped through the air near his head as he ran, and he heard a man scream.

  "Tamir!"

  Vidar suddenly staggered into a clearing in the grass, the area trampled flat and slick with blood. Vidar went down, a bullet in his gut, and he cursed as the bag dropped. He hadn't zipped it up properly, and some cash came out, sticking to the bloody grass.

  Vidar curled around his gut, even as Tamir screamed, leaping on a new foe. Vidar couldn't look away as Tamir tore the man's throat out, the blood mixing with the grass and dirt under his feet. Tamir's wings were free, the black-haired man gliding on his black wings as often as he leaped on his victims.

  Vidar admired the younger man as the pain in his gut slowly diminished. Tamir leaped into the grass, and a second later, another human staggered out, Tamir pointing the gun away from himself, squeezing the man's throat with his other hand.

  Vidar stood up, breathing heavily, as the man in Tamir's grip fell. "Tamir, quick!"

  Tamir stopped, whirling around. He ran to Vidar and helped support him. "Where are we going?"

  Vidar grabbed the bag, relying on Tamir to stay upright. The pain in his gut was lessening, the skin healing, but it would take some time, and he didn't trust their bloodlust not to distract them. "To the garage. Quickly."

  Tamir helped to haul the bag and Vidar towards the large shed in the back of the garden, near the rear gate. Vidar had recovered enough to peer down the street, seeing no police cars near. The police obviously hadn't figured out that his property included the lot behind the manor.

  "Which car, Vidar?" Tamir asked, taking off his clothes and wiping his hands on the few clean spots he could find. He still had blood in his hair and on his face, but they didn't have time to bathe.

  Vidar limped over and swapped clothes as well, thankful to get out of the stupid grey tracksuit they'd forced him into in the jail. He checked his stomach, but the pain already told him that there wasn't going to be a very big hole left.

  "What happened?" Tamir demanded, running his finger over the wound.

  "I got shot. But I'm healing fast enough." Vidar leaned into the nearest car and grabbed a small box of tissues. "Clean as much blood off you as you can, Tamir. We have a long way to go before we stop, and I don’t want the car stinking of dead blood."

  Tamir nodded, doing as his lover advised. Half a box later, he was relatively clean, his clothes changed and his heart light. Vidar looked the man over and grinned, kissing him.

  "Better. Now, grab the bag and follow me. We'll take the car the cops don't know about."

  Tamir picked up the bag and followed Vidar into the depths of the shed, past Audis, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and other sports cars. Vidar led him deeper into the vast shed, heading down a ramp, and they came across Jeeps, Fords, Volkswagens and other less flashy—but still expensive—cars.

  Vidar led Tamir down another ramp, and he heard Tamir gasp as they rounded the corner. In front of them sat a deep grey Reventón.

  "No way." Tamir backed up a few steps. "Vidar, we can't escape on that," he said, looking Vidar in the eye. "It's too conspicuous, and they'd know you have it, anyway."

  "No they wouldn't." Vidar opened the door and threw the bag in the middle of the car. "They don't know I have it. I had to buy it directly from the factory, and as far as the authorities know, this car resides in America."

  "But—but it's still far to conspicuous—"

  "Tamir, you have to trust me. This is the fastest car I have. If it's going to get us from here and to the safety of France, then we need to take this car. Now get in."

  "Vidar—"

  Vidar shut his scissor door, looking at Tamir. "Please, just trust me. I have done this often enough to know what I can get away with."

  Tamir hesitated only a second longer. He ran around to the far side of the car and opened the scissor door, climbing in and taking the bag from Vidar before closing the door and gritting his teeth.

  "Relax," Vidar said, squeezing Tamir's thigh. He smiled at the other man, rubbing his leg. "We'll be okay. Please, Tamir, trust me."

  Tamir closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I trust you, Vidar," he said, looking the man in the eye. "I'm just nervous. It's not like I've ever done this before."

  "It's okay, cica." Vidar leaned over and kissed Tamir's cheek, then started the engine. "Just do what I say and we'll survive."

  "Okay." Tamir hunkered down in his seat.

  Vidar smiled reassuringly and turned the car on. Without putting on his seatbelt, he roared up the ramp at a speed that would have caused even the most experienced street racer to cringe. He fired his way down the aisle, past the cars, and up the next ramp.

  "What's going to happen to all this stuff?" Tamir asked quietly, clinging to the armrest on the door.

  "I'll buy it as soon as it comes on the market, contents included." Vidar swung the wheel, and they raced up the other end of the aisle, towards the doors. "I've been re-buying this place for four hundred years, continuously. I've been putting a lot of money back into the local economy doing it, too."

  "Wow. That's a lot of money."r />
  "Yeah, but I've been saving it up since I was turned. I have a lot of it." Vidar climbed from the car and opened the gates, checking that the coast was clear before climbing back in the car and heading off over the garden. "Not having to buy food saves a lot of money. Same with not needing heating or cooling."

  "How long ago were you turned?" Tamir asked gently, his eyes darting around. The engine was a quiet purr, not loud enough to be heard at the other end of the garden, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  Vidar looked Tamir in the eye. "Two thousand years."

  Tamir whistled his amazement. "You are such an old man," he said with a grin.

  Vidar rolled to a stop just inside the back gates. He turned to look at Tamir. "If you want to go, go now. You don't have to stay with me. It won't be easy for the first few years, but you'll get used to the life, and—"

  Tamir reached over and pulled Vidar into a kiss, cutting him off. Vidar relaxed into it, returning Tamir's passion. When Tamir broke the kiss, he smiled.

  "I take it that's a 'Shut up, you dumbass, I'm coming with you'?"

  Tamir grinned. "I'll go make sure the way's clear."

  ~ * ~

  Tamir and Vidar sped down the new Channel Tunnel, the windows up and the air conditioning on. They were singing along to the radio, Vidar holding Tamir's hand.

  "Are you okay, cica?" Vidar asked, rubbing his thumb over the top of Tamir's hand.

  "Yeah. Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

  Vidar glanced at Tamir. "You look ashen."

  "I'm fine. Getting a little claustrophobic, that's all."

  Vidar looked at the odometer. "Just a couple of miles to go, cica. Then you'll be able to see the sky again."

  Tamir nodded.

  "Close your eyes, Tamir." Vidar squeezed his hand. "Just listen to my voice."

  Tamir nodded then closed his eyes. Vidar told Tamir his plans for them as they drove from the tunnel, out into the open air. Tamir wound the window down and stuck his head out, breathing in the smells of the open air.

  "Feel better?"

  Tamir nodded.

  "Good. There's a farmhouse we're going to on the outskirts of Gangelt."

  "Which country is that?"