by P. Mattern
Now Dante Febere was one of the most powerful trans-universal entities. It was rumored that he could even control the weather and the tides. His estate only appeared in the temporal realm when he deemed it necessary.
Most of the time he did NOT deem it necessary. He was making a notable exception to harbor the fugitives from the Midwest.
He had advised the leaders of the V-net that he was only interested in offering permanent residency to a few of the humans and vampires that would be staying with him for respite, and that those that stayed on a more permanent basis would be hand selected by none other than himself. That pronouncement had caused a sort of pandemonium, with rumors flying wildly. To both the phylums, human and vampire, the idea of finding sanctuary with Dante Febere was the best case scenario. In his castle fortress safety and security would be insured for those fortunate enough to reside there.
The Mistress of Dante Febere was also legendary, renowned for her beauty. Her name was Mistress Miel., miel being the word for ‘honey” in French. She was a golden energy, with flowing hair the color of honey and a naturally golden skin tone. She was kind and gracious to all who lived in the castle and on the limited grounds, and was excitedly making preparations for the weary human and vampire hoard headed there.
Faun was the assigned Blood Donor for Charley and Fressenda. She was a shy bespectacled woman in her midtwenties who had been a schoolteacher for kindergarten through third grade. She and her cat had joined the fleeing humans after she’d heard that the human residents of the street two blocks from where her apartment complex was located had been chipped. She had immediately joined the family of one of her former students to evacuate and hadn’t looked back since.
Faun’s blood was type A-, and Fress considered that they were very fortunate to have her as their donor. Fresss had accessed some equipment from Dr. Caligare, a small , makeshift Alyx-type machine that used a smaller more comfortable needle and collected twice the amount of red blood cells while returning essential fluids quickly back into the donor’s bloodstream so that the donor was kept more comfortable. Fress, with her nursing experience, knew how to operate the machine and always chatted Faun up, causing her to feel relaxed and taking the stress out of the procedure.
Fress was grateful for her medical background, and she, Faun and Charley became fast friends beyond their symbiotic relationship. Fress thought that that was a good thing because she had her own agenda, and she hoped to broach it to Faun when the timing was right.
Unbeknownst to Charley Rabbit, Fress was looking for a surrogate to carry Charley’s biological child. She had attempted to bring up the topic with Charley several times, and only been successful in getting Charley to discuss it once. All other attempts had failed because Charley inevitably made a joke, changed the subject,, or made love to her. Fress knew why he did those things. It was because he never wanted to make her feel inadequate in any way. Only once had she been able to corner him on the topic of having babies. As he had put it ,”Fressenda you are my entire world and there is nothing lacking. I don’t give a fig of a damn about not being able to ‘spawn’ with you…looks like my mother and Cass are out to repopulate the V-net and that’s great because you and I will have all kinds of relatives to spoil and interact with. “
Fress had responded in all seriousness, an imploring look in her eyes.
“But…if there was a way, a way I could hold your baby…Charley it would fill a void in ME that has been vacant for centuries. It is too late for me to have my own vampire child, and I accept that. But YOU…you COULD! If only we could find a female energy, either a newly Turned vampires or a human female…”
He had cut her off abruptly.
“I want you to really search your soul Fress, and get back to me on that. Fressenda my darling your complete happiness is the most important thing to me in the universe. But I can’t help but feel that part of your motivation for even considering this is that you don’t want ME to feel like I missed out on anything. Can’t you believe me when I assure you that nothing is missing for me? That having you as my lover completes me in a way that fills me up with no missing pieces, no yearnings, no voids. Can you comprehend that sweetness?”
“And by the way,” he added, before she could say anything, ”The idea of ‘doing’ any other female energy just to make a baby grosses me out! Or jacking off into a test tube. It reminds me of that Meatloaf song that goes,”I would do anything for love….but I won’t do THAT!”
Fress had been quiet, then said,”But for me? Would you do it for me?”
Charley had stood back and looked deeply into her peerless blue violet eyes.
“Is there any chance of your dropping the subject without my agreeing to this?”
Fress had felt a surge of triumph and joy.
“None whatsoever. If I can find a surrogate, will you agree to do it? For me?”
Charley had sighed,”You are impossible. And I am reluctant. But if it is what you need, I will…but you knew that already didn’t you?”
“YES!” Fress had responded. “But I wanted YOU to know it as well…
After all I will be calling upon your vampire super sperm to accomplish it!”
The arrival at Dante Febere’s castle was without fanfare, the long and winding road up the mountainside giving way to an immense gravel and stone strewn area that was as flat as a parking lot and large enough to be the roadside stop at an interstate rest area. It was obvious that the terrain was elevated, and a mistlike fog drifted in swirls around them though the sky above was blue as a robin’s egg. In the far distance they could see a thick forest, and nearby the an immense edifice built of grey stone that sported turrets, citadels, outdoor terraces and curious and elaborate carvings at intervals.
It was the castle of Dante Febere.
Without being instructed, both humans and vampires parked their vehicles and spoke in hushed tones. The arrival of the entire group took over 45 minutes as the last of the convoy arrived. Cass had instructed Ab and Jaxon to send drones to scope out the area to make sure no stragglers were left behind.
Exactly one minute and 25 seconds after it had been determined that everyone had arrived, the huge drawbridge of the castle was lowered soundlessly, and a solitary figure appeared in the vast opening.
It was Dante Febere himself.
“Greetings,” he said, his voice acoustically as audible as if he’d been speaking over a loudspeaker.”Welcome to Castle Febere. Invisible and inaccessible to all but the formally invited. I trust your journey was a pleasant one. And I know that the humans among you are tired and sorely in need of rest and respite. But first I think it would be provident to lay down some Rules of Association before your visit fully commences and you become my guests.
You needn’t worry for your accommodations. I have an entire wing that I will be offering as housing for you and your families. You will have no need of anything but a few changes of clothing and some personal items. Although Castle Febere is not completely modernized we do have the equivalent of running water, indoor toilets and showers and appetizing food. You will have little need for anything else. Your cell phones and computers will not ‘work’ here. Any emergencies of communication will be reported to Castor Noble and we will examine those on a case by case basis.
I would caution you to keep your families together and stay within your wing unless asked to do otherwise. It is possible to become dreadfully lost within these walls. You should also know that some of my employees are not as ‘enlightened ‘ as the V-net vampires and may mistake you for a snack. There are interdimensional hallways here that are kept open , sort of the way you humans keep a car idling to warm up, so that we can depart to another inter dimensional realm within seconds. If you wander into one of those realms it will be impossible to retrieve you, so please harken to my instructions.
I am thrilled to have all of you here, and my prescient sense tells me that some of you will want to stay. You will be here approximately 19 days before venturing forward
again.
I would also caution you to stay out of the woods. Unlike the earthly realm , the extension of the 11th dimension that we reside in is flat, just as humans thought the earth was flat at one time…you can literally fall off the outskirts into an interdimensional void. Better safe than sorry.”
Finishing he made a sweeping gesture.
“Come in. Welcome. Do not bring with you anything other than very personal items. Everything you require will be provided during your stay.”
With that, he abruptly turned and walked back up to the arched entrance, the long brown train of his cloak trailing behind him, his hair and beard shining like that of a golden god.
A swell of murmured conversation arose from the gathering, most of it in hushed and awed tones, and the crowd moved forward in an orderly fashion, the vampires allowing the humans to enter first.
Cass found Lux and Pierre in the crowd and went over to confer with them.
“How’s the rumor control going?” he wanted to know, “Anyone asking about the missing members that were staying in the caverns? Wondering what the hell happened to them?”
Pierre and Lux both shook their heads.
“Not a peep,” Pierre answered, “But that sort of makes sense, since there were entire families staying there that were wiped out. And we HAVE had at least two families change their minds and DROP out--apologetically of course. They told us that they felt they might stand a better chance if they weren’t attaché to a large contingent and are determined to go it alone. So everyone knows that our population has decreased. They just haven’t realized the reason for that.”
“Yeah we are lucky that the massacre didn’t spark a mass panic,” Lux agreed. He was wearing his long blonde hair in a braid down his back, Willie Nelson style, and Pierre was playing with it and looking at Lux fondly as he spoke.
Lux turned his head and spying a sturdy young woman moving up the path toward Castle Febere called out,”Raine! Yo! Come here a minute would you?”
The pretty human girl’s face lit up as she recognized her ‘Donation recipients’ and she swiftly trotted over to join them.
“Hey guys, Cass. Don’t mind me if my eyes are literally bugging out of my head. I’ve never seen a real castle before, and this one appears to be a doozy! I can’t believe we are here. I almost feel as though I entered a time warp!”
Cass smiled at Raine’s enthusiastic upturned face.
“Not exactly a ‘warp’ but more a ‘tear’ in the time/space continuum. This real estate that you’re standing on doesn’t technically exist in either the third OR 11th dimension. Dante is a powerful practitioner of the Magical Arts and is the only entity that found a way to exist BETWEEN the two dimensions. This castle is kind of in its own world. He can make it appear or disappear at will.”
Raine looked as though she were digesting the information.
“So—for all intents and purposes we exist on neither plane, and can’t be seen or tracked?”
“Precisely,” Pierre said, smiling at her. “Do you notice anything different in the way your body feels in this interdimensional plane?”
“As a matter of fact, yes!” Raine replied excitedly.”I feel different…I think LIGHTER than usual. As if the pull of gravity is not as strong as it is in the first dimension!”
Lux offered her his arm.
“Well Dante has a suite for the three of us. A large common living area and two bedrooms, a bathroom and a study. We want to keep tabs on you Raine. We are in a different environment now. I hope you don’t mind.”
Raine’s megawatt smile lit up the space between them.
“Oh that sounds great to me. I hope you guys don’t snore too loudly. And I wanted to ask Cass something else,”
Turning to Cass again she asked.
“So if we are inbetween…what is the 11th dimension like, anyway? Lower gravity? How is it different?”
Cass took Raine’s other arm so that she was linked with both of the Noble twins as
the foursome walked toward the castle entrance.
“Dante has been there. So has Yaya-another friend of ours. It’s a charming place, but very different in subtle ways. Lux, for instance, is very homely in the 11th dimension…”
Lux snorted.”And Cass has erectile dysfunction…yes, indeed, a very strange place.” He finished, winking at Raine.
Raine started laughing.
“Do you Noble brothers always give each other a hard time?”she asked.
“Only when they’re together,” Pierre said, laughing and answering for them.
Charley felt himself tensing up. Fress and their Blood Donor Faun both stood before him, expectant looks on both their faces. He felt beyond scrutinized, caught offguard, and as uncomfortable as he’d been when he was still in the process of Turning and started having the classic dream about being naked in class when everyone else in the classroom was dressed and staring openly at him.
To add to his embarrassment, he felt himself flushing.
“How?” was all he could muster for a reply, looking for any sign of indecision on neither of the female energies faces.
There was none. Both of them looked determined.
Fress stepped forward smiling a little.
“How do you think, silly?” she said, running fingers lightly from his hairline to the hollows of his neck and then down his finely muscled chest. In spite of himself Charley noticed that he was getting turned on.
“The usual way is probably best,” she continued matter of factly, ”I think you know the drill by now. ‘The male and female make contact with affection, The male becomes aroused, and urges his partner to become aroused also. Then when the member is turgid with the extra blood flow that rushes to it, the male enters the female and through a series of in and out movements…’”
Charley cut her off,”YEAH…I think I recall Sex Ed, Fressenda—and I see that you are laughing—very cute of you…but how does Faun feel? Never mind-what’s wrong with me-- she’s right here, hey Faun how do you feel?”
Faun smiled in her quiet way and said ,”I agreed the moment Fress proposed it. I feel really honored. I feel like I would be a contributing part of our new society. And I love you guys…your happiness is my happiness.”
Fress turned to hug Faun, then both of them, still in each other’s arms, turned back to Charley.
“Well?” she said.”Faun is ovulating and it’s a beautiful day to create new life. Do you need an engraved invitation Charley Rabbit or are you willing to jump in?”
To his credit, Charley didn’t need to be asked twice.
Jaxon , perhaps by virtue of the fact that he had started out his existence as a dhampir instead of a vampire was arguably the best driver of the entire vampire tribe. Even though older drivers were available Jaxon had politely insisted on driving the Winnebago himself for most of the entire trip out West, even the leg of the journey taking the caravan to the castle of Dante Febere. He was a careful driver and he needed something to do to occupy his time on the road.
As he had predicted the last time he and Rosalie were together, since they had embarked on the journey, and since she was traveling with her parents and brother they had had no opportunity to be alone. Jaxon was sexually frustrated and also missing their ’couples’ time. Jaxon had taken every opportunity to see her, but it was always under the watchful eye of her parents. He was tired of spending time with her parents, and thought her brother Stefan was just creepy.
Now that they were at the castle of Dante Febere he was hoping to arrange some clandestine time with Rosie. The castle was immense. He was positive that they could find a meeting place.
Every time they were apart his heart literally ached for her. She was intoxicatingly sweet to the touch and taste. He had always figured that he would play the field for quite some time, but from the moment that he looked into her eyes and felt her womanly body in his arms his existence began to make sense. She was his touchstone, the measure of all things, his North Star to guide his life b
y.
Aside from his abiding love and lust for her, Jaxon had another reason to have a private discussion with her. He wanted to get engaged before he pursued a recently proffered opportunity.
Dante Febere had offered him an apprenticeship, and Jaxon had accepted.
Jaxon knew that it meant that he would be away from Rosie for a period of two years filled with intensive training, and that Dante Febere required that his apprentices adopt a celibate distraction-free lifestyle for the duration. Jaxon was apprehensive about telling her for that reason. To ask her to wait for him, when two years was an amazing amount of time in proportion to their youth, seemed too much to ask. But he was certain that it was his destiny to become a learned practitioner of magic, the kind of quantum magic practiced by less than 5 living energies in the only world that he had ever known--the world of the third dimension.
Fressenda was overjoyed at the news that her ‘adopted’ son would be studying with such a great mage, and had been quick to spread the news among members of their immediate tribe. All of them realized that it was an incredible opportunity, of course, but all of them also expressed their sadness that Jaxon would be remaining behind as they continued their journey .
Jaxon smirked inwardly as he remembered Absolam’s unexpected reaction. He’d thought at first that his best friend might actually cry or do something similarly embarrassing because Ab had gotten a really odd look on his face. After a few tense seconds, Ab had recovered enough to express enthusiasm and congratulate him.
“That is nothing less than awesome man,” Ab had said, giving him the standard one armed guy hug.”You’d better not embarrass the family by screwing up!”
That afternoon presented the first opportunity that Jaxon had had to spend some serious time with Rosie. Her parents were attending an afternoon tea sponsored for the group by Dante, an extravagant affair with everything provided including semiformal attire in the old style. It was impossible to tell at a glance the vampires from their human counterparts. The men were dressed in doublets, breeches and boots with cloaks fastened at their throats by chains or bejeweled pins. The women were in gowns of velvet, silk or satin, most of them with long, lacey, bell sleeves and gathered skirts. There was no tension in the group, because there were no safety issues. As long as they were in Dante Febere’s private realm they could not be tracked, attacked or detected by anyone.