The Crimson Z

by Robert Cloud, Lee Rush, Richard Savage

  "One day, however, in returning from the castle to the cottage Zaven had made for them in the woods, he was attacked by a wolf and almost killed."

  "Oh my god, Adrian! What happened to him? Did he live?"

  Adrian smiled down at her and brushed her hair back from her face.

  "He sits before you, Crys. Though many generations have passed and many children have been born and died, I am still here."

  Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him. She had heard that vampires were immortal but it had really never crossed her mind that he was as ancient as his words implied. Then she smiled again and leaned into his embrace, not caring about his age or his past, only caring that he was here and with her again.

  "Thank you, Adrian. That was a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it with me."

  "Thank you, sweet Crys, for being here to share it with me. And now, my sweet, it is time for us to share something else."

  With a gleam in his eye, he smiled down at her, gathered her even closer and brushed his lips across her ear, whispering soft words.

  "I have loved thee, Crys, for some time now. You have brought me much happiness in the times we have been able to be together. My only regret is that we have not had more times such as these. I have lived a long time, and loved a few in that time, but I swear, I have loved none more than I love you. I would give you a gift, my love. One that will last longer than simple roses."

  She looked up at him, a soft smile on her face at the tenderness of his words.

  "Adrian, you don't need to give me a gift. Being with you is gift enough. I need nothing else."

  "Ah, but this is a special gift, my sweet love."

  He ran his clawed fingers through her silken hair.

  "It is a gift for only us to share. Say you will take the gift from me and I will make it so."

  "I will take a gift from you, Adrian. But only on the condition that is from your love and not a sense of obligation to me."

  "But I am obligated to you, in a sense, Crys. You have shown me a deeper love than I have ever known. Unquestioning, unconditional love and that is more important to me than you can know. But it is not the reason I want to give this gift. It's because I love you more than my existence itself."

  Crys smiled up at him, lifting her hand and slipping it down the soft fur of his cheek, lost in the dark pools of his eyes.

  "And I love you, Adrian. More than I thought it was possible to love anyone.

  His tongue slipped out and slid around the shell of her ear as he listened to her love for him expressed almost breathlessly. He lowered his head and nibbled at her neck, letting his fangs brush against the tender, silky skin of her throat. She gasped against him and her body tensed as she anticipated the dark pleasure of his fangs again.

  As his fangs slipped into her flesh, a surge of pleasure she had only known with this one, filled her with an ecstatic joy. Her body was trembling against him as he drank from her and he held her tight. She clung to him, breathing hard, and tears of joy at his love slipping down her face. When he had appeased his thirst, he withdrew his fangs and licked over the puncture marks to close them.

  In a trice, he was on his feet, unfastening his pants, then kneeling beside her again, holding her against him as she labored for the breath his ecstasy had stolen from her. He leaned to kiss her softly, his furred hand slipping beneath the hem of her dress and moving slowly up the inside of her thigh. As it moved up, her legs parted almost automatically, her breath quickening again at this touch.

  Her hand moved to the back of his head, caressing, ruffling the fur at the back of his neck. She heard the catch in his breath against her neck as he moved his hand up to the apex of her heat and began to tease her clit. It always pleased her that he was as excited to touch her as she was to be touched by him. Her bottom rose off the soft grass and sought to press upward even more to his hand to feel his touch more. She had been so long without him this time that all she craved was him ... his touch ... his kiss. She smiled softly up at him as she lifted her face to his, those last inches such a barrier to her desire for him that she couldn't bear it any longer. His lips pressed to hers and she gasped with pleasure. His tongue flicked out against her lips, then slipped between them to tease hers ... his taste so sweet to her once again.

  Then he moved over her and was between her legs and she was trembling with need and desire. Her arms went around his neck and pulled him into a deeper kiss just as she felt his shaft pressing against her enflamed heat. A little flick of her hips and the head of his cock entered her and she moaned softly in the kiss. Her muscles clenched around his shaft and pulled him deeper and he filled her completely. His breath caught in the kiss as she clenched around him.

  She delighted in her heart that she could give him such pleasure in return. Then he stopped all movement, broke his lips from the kiss and seemed to glance up for a moment. Then he turned back to her and spoke softly again.

  "My darling Crys ... this gift I give you will change your life, my love. For the better, I hope. Cherish it as I cherish you and your love for me."

  Her eyes opened wide and she peripherally noticed the lightening of the sky above them. She put her hands on his chest and spoke quietly, but with fear in her voice.

  "Adrian, the sun."

  "Never fear, my love. Everything is as planned."

  He moved his hips over her and thrust his shaft into her. Before she could protest again, she was lost in the passion and moved to meet each thrust of his shaft. Deep inside she wondered at the risk he was taking but he assured her it was all right and she needed him as much as he needed her. Her body responded to each movement, the pleasure growing with each thrust. She could feel him twitching inside her and could see the morning coming closer.

  "Adrian ... please, love ... the sun."

  "Ssshhh ... I love you, Crys."

  And then it was too much, the pleasure had reached that height and she was lost in his love. She tripped over into the soaring joy that he always gave her and felt him pulsing deep inside her.

  "My love ... he will not be as I am."

  "Adrian ... Adrian."

  She gasped his name as she clung to him, her body shuddering under him as the throes of passion and love filled her senses. Then he tensed again and she opened her eyes to gaze up at him.

  "Adrian!"

  He was fading over her, disappearing into nothingness still holding her close, his shaft still spurting inside her.

  "I love you, Crys,” a last whispered expression before he fell into ashes.

  Her scream of anguish filled the little glade as her body registered the absence of him, as her mind registered that he was gone from her ... forever.

  "Why, Adrian? Why have you done this?"

  The words screamed out in pain, sorrow and despair echoed in the glade. She was wracked by sobs, shaken by his disappearance, bereft that he would leave her like this. She couldn't understand why he had done it. He knew the sun would mean the end of him and if he had loved her as much as he had said ... how could he leave her like this? A gift? Of a child? And he left her alone to face that without him? How could she do it ... bear his child without him to help her?

  She was sobbing, her heart broken at the loss of her love and as she turned on her side and curled into a ball, she saw a sparkle in the grass where he had lain beside her. One hand reached out to touch the sparkle and she found the pendant he had shown her when he had first come into the glade.

  Her fingers closed around it and she brought it to her lips, kissing it as she had kissed him. Broken hearted, sobbing for her lost love, holding the pendant against her chest, her other hand came to rest on her belly. He had said the gift would change her life and that ‘he will not be as I am'.

  His long life had been filled with sadness he said and now hers would be just as sad without him. She longed for him, to feel his arms around her and to know that he would return as he always had ... to love her and hold her again. A breeze came up then and scattered
the delicate ashes into the glade where he had last made love to her.

  She clutched the pendant tighter to her breast and wished on it as you would wish upon a falling star. If wishes did come true, she would see him again ... somehow, she would see him again. She sat up slowly and thought she heard the murmur of his voice as the breeze moved the willow branches around her.

  "I will always be with you, my love."

  She closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree, more tears sliding down her face, but softer tears now ... softer in the knowledge that he loved her enough to leave her a son.

  The tears faded as she came to know that he would always be with her, would always smile at her in the old way, through the son he had sired this day.

  Her arms wrapped around her belly then and squeezed gently. Though he was lost to her as a lover now ... he would always be loved and would always love her. She slipped the delicate chain over her head and held the pendant between her breasts as Cara had held it so long ago. Maybe ... just maybe, if the pendant still held the magic of old, maybe she would see him again.

  * * * *

  Five months later, Crys returned to the little glade. She hadn't been there since her last fateful day with Adrian. As she maneuvered her awkward body down onto the blanket, she felt a twinge in her back and soothingly patted her belly.

  "Sshh ... my little one. It's a lovely day, the sun is shining, the breeze is cool and I feel your father's presence here."

  She leaned back against the tree trunk, a soft smile on her face as she thought of Adrian and the times they had spent together in this place. The willow branches seemed even thicker than the last time she was here and they swayed softly in the breeze. She closed her eyes and could almost feel Adrian's fingers caressing her face. Her hand came up and touched the rose pendant suspended from the fine chain and laying between her growing breasts.

  Suddenly her eyes popped open as she heard the sound of a broken branch close by. She sat up straighter, grimacing at the discomfort from the sudden move and turned toward the noise. Just as she was about to speak, a man pushed his way between the hanging branches.

  "Oh! Sorry, I didn't know anybody was here."

  Crys was startled by his sudden appearance in her secret place and before she had a chance to think of words to say, she gasped as she caught sight of his eyes. They were blue with spikes of green around the irises. At the same time she saw his eyes; she felt a shock between her breasts and looked down to see the pendant glowing against her skin. As the pendant glowed, the baby kicked harder than he ever had before.

  She smiled up at the stranger who seemed so familiar to her.

  "It's not a problem. You haven't interrupted anything here but a bit of rest."

  Her breasts began to ache as she gazed into his eyes, even though he had made no overtures to her. Her breath was coming faster and the child was kicking hard enough to make her grimace again.

  Her smile was genuinely welcoming to him and he felt himself smiling in return. Even though she was very obviously pregnant, he was caught by her beauty and the sudden pain in her eyes.

  "Are you all right, Miss?"

  She smiled again as she looked up at him, lost in those familiar eyes.

  "Forgive me, Miss but ... have we met before? Though this is my first time in this part of the woods ... there is something about you that is very familiar to me."

  She raised her hand to him, saw it trembling only a little bit and watched as he took her hand in his. The shock surged through her body at his touch and she saw the startled look on his face as he almost pulled his hand back. Then he smiled down at her and pulled her gently to her feet.

  He was standing close as she gained her feet and she inhaled his scent. A dizzy sensation left her weak in the knees as she looked up at him and she leaned against him for just a moment, her eyes closed as she felt his body so strong against her.

  The pendant was still warm against her skin as she answered him.

  "Oh yes ... I'm fine, just fine."

  Blood Ritual of

  The Crimson Z

  The Commission

  An Interlude by Robert Cloud

  The Commission

  Zachariah paused to wipe a tear from his eye. He looked to Melanie who had sat on the floor at his feet as he was telling the tale and saw the tears in her eyes as well. The room had grown dark even with the overhead lights on for night had come. He smiled to her and reached out a hand to help her to her feet. As she stood he added, “It is a story that is hard to tell though I have told it many times. It is like I knew those involved and the love they felt for each other.

  "There is another tale behind this one that is difficult for me as well for it involves my own family. My ancestor Zakarias had lost his wife before the making of the pendant, but there was magic when someone asked for one of these pieces to be made. The magic reunited him with his wife for a short time. On the very night that he was reunited with his wife from the magic of the commission of another piece was when Zavon came to commission the pendant."

  Tears ran down Zachariah's face as he recalled the memories of the time. “Something strange had happened since a commission occurred during the magic of another's piece being completed. His wife had been able to stay with him longer than she normally could. She even helped with the piece when it was time to choose and set the gemstone."

  "This pendant was only the third item created by Zakarias and it was created jointly by the love of him and his wife whom he'd been able to share not one night with but an entire month.” Zachariah lowered his head and wiped away more tears as they fell down his cheeks. “Their talent together was beyond anything you could imagine and she had a touch of magic about her as Zaven had said. Some who have heard the story say it is Zakarias’ tears of blood over the loss of his wife that make the most magical of the pieces have that crimson hue."

  Again he paused as he took a deep breath and then looked at Melanie, “I am sorry sweetheart. It is just when I think of my ancestor it is almost as if I was there and it was I that had lost my wife and was getting that second chance to be with her again.

  "After all, did loose my wife very early in our marriage, so I feel so close to my ancestor. Almost like he and I are one and the same sometimes.” He smiled to her and then lowered his head a moment as he gathered his thoughts again.

  "Now, back to the tale, others that have heard the tale say that it was the blood that Adrian had shed for his one true love and that somehow it had connected with my family.

  "There is little doubt from the story that the wolf that attacked him was a vampire in its wolfen form and it had doomed him to many years of loss. When he met Crystal he could not bear to loose yet another.” Zach wiped away another tear and Melanie turned and looked about, seeing a box of Kleenex she brought one of the tissues to him. He thanked her and continued his tale. Melanie took several of the tissues out to wipe away her own tears as she listened.

  "According to the legend though, that was not the end of the story. Lilith had extracted a price from Zaven to weave such a precise spell upon the piece. When Zaven parted this world a piece of him was forever trapped within the pendant. He became a harbinger to those who held the pendant. It was for this reason that when Crystal's son inherited the piece he brought it back to my ancestor. Whenever something important was about to happen in his life a shadow of a huge dragon would pass overhead. More than once it had scared him and it had nearly frightened his wife to death the one time she had seen it. Crystal's son told my ancestor the story of the pendant and he put the rest together. My ancestor paid him a small fortune for the pendant and the man left happy. He and his family would be well financed for many generations."

  Papa Zach stopped his story and rested a moment before Melanie asked a question that had bothered her from early in the story, “Papa Zach, an Anthrofox? I have never heard of that. They are not like werewolves, but always caught in that half human half fox form?"

  He smiled up, how brigh
t she was. It would not have been likely she would have heard of such a thing. “You are quite right. The legends of such are quite old, much older than the time frame of the story. Anthro-creatures date back to the time of the ancient Greeks and even before. The oldest known civilizations that I recall were the Sumerians and the Babylonians; they also exist in the Asian legends. But those old legends are often hard to understand even if properly translated so maybe one of my ancestors updated it to a more modern time. Feudal England, when they still believed in Dragons seems a logical time.

  "My own ancestors believe that Dragons were dark creatures that God did not allow upon the ark and that were therefore destroyed in the flood. Only a very few survived beyond the flood. The strongest ones that could stay aloft for all the time the waters were upon the Earth. So that would make the story even older yet."

  Melanie smiled and reached out quickly kissing his cheek, “Thank you, Papa Zach for such an amazing story. I have one more glass case in the back corner to clean and then I should call it a day. My mother will be expecting me home for dinner at the normal time.” As she turned to run to clean the display case Zachariah's hand rose to his cheek as if to hold the moisture of her kiss upon his cheek as long as he could.

  He looked up, with his hand still lingering over the kiss, fondly pressing its memory into his mind, “Speaking of your mother, did you not say she would probably drop by?"

  "Yes, I am certain she will. I am surprised she has not been here yet."

  "Well, maybe she will come tomorrow."

  "Maybe,” Melanie said though Zachariah could see there was doubt in her eyes.

  Then almost like magic the clouds in her eyes vanished as her mind grasped another thought. He could tell that anytime she was not thinking of her mother was a relief to her and he wondered why that was.

  Suddenly Melanie announced, “Oh, I will be a little late tomorrow. I will be here right after Church and will work all that much harder."

  "Sweetie,” Zach smiled at her. “You are doing a good job; do not worry about an extra effort."