by Myra Nour
“She is not fairy,” he stated with a no nonsense tone. “But something older and more dangerous than all four of you put together.” He hoped to back them off with the natural superstitious fear that shifters held towards the more ancient shapeshifters.
“Then why can’t we smell it on her?” The leader stated angrily.
Sighing, he said impatiently, “I told you, it is her first shift. You can choose to believe it or not.” If he were not fearful of Briana’s fragility, he wouldn’t be standing here arguing with them. He could probably fight two of them effectively if the vampires jumped them, but unless his mate shifted, they’d have no chance against four.
“I still say you’re a liar,” the brown-haired man said.
The shift came on with a gut-wrenching speed. He let it flow through him, his anger fueling a much swifter change than was usual for him. He saw immediately when he came out of metamorphosis, the group had gathered closer. He hissed as they’d done earlier, backing the less dominant male and female a step.
A ripple in the air next to him alerted him to Briana’s shift as well. He knew she was terrified and was heartily glad for just now. He didn’t need to glance aside and see when his mate attained her snakewoman shape; the vampires hissed as one and backed up several steps.
His side vision noted her hypnotic swaying movements, and then she sounded a huge sibilant release that put all their earlier efforts to shame.
The less dominant vampires took another step back. The two others looked fearful but held their ground.
Heaping fuel to the fire, he said, “She is not merely a snakewoman.” He waved in her direction. “Can’t you sense her power, she is a snake goddess?”
“One of the old gods,” the redhead gasped in fear and ran to the curtain, her body poised at the entrance. The weaker male vampire stared between her and Briana, and then made a graceful stroll to take up position by his mate.
“Nonsense,” the dominant female said vehemently, though her eyes denied her words.
Raynor shrugged. “Believe it or not,” he echoed his earlier words. “But, do you want to see what it feels like to be swallowed whole by a ‘snake woman’?” He emphasized the last two words for effect, clearly indicating he thought she was anything but a snake woman.
“Come on,” the red haired vampire whispered fiercely to her companion, pulling on his shirt. “Let them have the place.” With a hesitant glance at his friends, the male disappeared after his mate.
Raynor stared at the remaining pair, refusing to back down, but chose politeness instead of confrontation. “Perhaps you have another place in which we can spend the night?” He waved at the room. “We wouldn’t wish to deprive you of your abode.”
The vampires looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. “You think we live here.” The leader sneered and threw back his cloak to expose the clothes underneath, the female following his example. “We are rich nobles in this century.”
He saw the truth of his statement. The material covering their bodies consisted of silk and velvet, trimmed with fur. Rings bedecked their fingers and the lady wore an intricate cut metalwork necklace. Everything about them bespoke wealth. He was confused.
“Then,” again he waved at the room around them, “what is this place to you?”
The leader’s face became angry; he didn’t seem to like being questioned. But then he glanced at Briana’s slithering form; she’d become agitated and moved back and forth behind Raynor’s back.
Suddenly, the man grinned, a smile one would expect from some beast of the underworld. “We use it for pleasure.”
“Oh,” Raynor felt some relief. “I thought as much, a place for lovers to meet.”
“Some of that, it’s true,” he replied. “But, more the pleasure of blood and death, than of sex.”
“You bring humans here and kill them?” He couldn’t keep the building anger from exploding.
He inhaled a deep breath; then almost hissed himself. They were killers. He could smell fresh human blood on their skin. He should have guessed it from their appearance and the evil expressions on their faces. But, even though he’d been told of such beasts in shifter classes, he’d not expected to run across any killers of humans; they were fairly rare. To have four such creatures facing him was disturbing in the extreme.
Chapter Eight
The couple chuckled, the woman speaking this time. “Not to this room. The torture chamber, as you would probably call it, is in the next tower. We keep this room for our own private council and pleasures.” She eyed the bed in the corner, her lush lips drawn up in a sensual smile.
Suddenly, Raynor had a mental picture of all four caught up in a wild orgy. It sickened him. Not because orgies were forbidden to them, at least with humans, but once mated, the monogamous relationship between shifters was one of their most sacred traditions.
With mammoth control, he asked, “If you’re wealthy, why not do your dirty business in your own castle?”
The woman shuddered in an exaggerated fashion. “Why, we’d never choose to live in a drafty old castle. This place is bad enough.” Again, they smiled, Cheshire cats who’d stolen the cream. “Besides, its isolated location is perfect and its rumor of being cursed is ideal. Our manor house just would not do…the people are too superstitious and the servants always seem to gossip. You do see our problem?”
“The only problem I see is what we are going to work out.” He looked around. “I don’t like the idea of staying in your fun house, but like you said, its reputation will keep the natives away.” He hated the thought of dealing with these vile, disgusting creatures. But nothing beat a cursed, haunted castle for keeping humans away.
They wore bored expressions now, as if they’d played the game long enough with him and were ready to move on.
“I’d like to stay here with my mate until we jump.”
“Ridiculous!” the man exclaimed, his indignation returning quickly.
Raynor’s body became rigid with anger and he clenched his jaw. “Your attitude is pissing me off.” His tone of voice was very firm. “You don’t live here, and we’re only going to be here a short time. We have no other secure place to go.” He took a step forward. “If you don’t agree, then let’s straighten this out right now.”
They looked at him nervously and then at each other, as if trying to make a decision.
His aggressive stance seemed to make an impression on them. He saw Briana out of the corner of his eye. She moved with whipcord speed, to within a dozen feet of the vampires, and snapped out her long tongue. A squeal emitted from the creature she’d entrapped with her appendage, and then she flipped it quickly into her mouth. A long, hairless tail flicked back and forth frantically between her lips. His mate seemed to make an exaggerated movement while she swallowed slowly, never taking her eyes from the couple.
He didn’t know if Briana did what she did out of her building agitation, out of an attempt to back them down with a display, or if she simply were hungry. But it worked. The woman screamed and the man blanched paler than his normal skin tone.
“William,” she tugged at his sleeve frantically, “let them have whatever they want.” She stared at Briana with terror stricken eyes. “You know I can’t stand rats.” She shuddered, put one hand over her mouth, and ran out through the curtain.
“My wife has spoken.” He smiled grimly. “Just make sure you stay out of our way. And I’d advise you to stay away from the tower next door.” He paused and eyed them both. “And keep your mate under control.” He nodded stiffly, and swiftly departed.
Snakewoman rubbed his back with her body and whispered fiercely, “I don’t like those vampires. They smell strange.”
He turned to face her. “You are so right, my love.”
“Hungry,” she suddenly said, her tongue flicking her lower lip.
Raynor groaned inwardly. After two heavy sessions of sex, he was ready to relax. Add on the excitement and danger from the unexpected visitors, and he was r
eady to crash for the night.
His mate made a fast dart behind one of the chairs and came up with another rat. He said “thank you” silently; she wasn’t hungry for sex this time. Swallowing the large rodent took her only a few seconds. She’d definitely been putting on a dramatic show for the vamps earlier.
Queasiness gripped his stomach and he turned away. Watching her gleefully consume her nasty dinner took a strong constitution. He knelt down by the brazier and piled more coals onto, staring into the fire until he sensed her presence at his back. A crazy thought flitted through his mind—would his lovely snake goddess turn on him and devour him too? He knew very little of the old gods and goddesses, except they had great powers. Shrugging, he had to trust that she didn’t care for the taste of shifter, especially her sexual partner.
Snakewoman stretched out beside him, her face happy and content. She was well-fed and warm. He couldn’t help but glance at her lush lips—so glad she’d chosen to eat after they kissed. Turning to eye him, she took a deep breath.
“You are hungry.” It was a fact, one he wasn’t truly aware of until she said it. His growling stomach was suddenly very noticeable to them both.
He shrugged. “I’ll eat after I shift.”
“Poor Raynor.” She stroked his arm. “It may be a long time before you change.” She flowed upward to her snake knees and turned her elegant neck sideways. “Feed.”
He wanted to deny her request, but her neck looked so inviting and her blood smelled like the sweetest ambrosia. His hands clutched the joining of her neck and shoulders; he paused for a few seconds, giving her time to change her mind. After a few heartbeats, one hand came up and pulled his head to her jugular.
With a groan, Raynor dove right in, there was no finesse in his vampire kiss; he sunk his teeth in with one strike. The warm liquid poured over his tongue, as sensual in its own way as the sexual act. He swallowed without thought, without guilt.
Minutes went by, filled with the rhythm of her magnificent heartbeat and the flow of her blood down his throat. Strangely, he was aware of her thoughts as well, as if he were listening in from a far distance. The words need and desire were intermingled with his name and memories of her tongue stroking his cock. She seemed to be as tuned into his feeding frenzy and the sexual sizzle it created as he.
Somehow, he sensed it was time to disconnect and he did so gently, licking the puncture marks afterward. She yawned and laid her head into his lap. He was ready to fall down in exhaustion too. Picking her large form up into his arms took some maneuvering, but she aided him by wrapping her tail around his waist.
He laid her on the soft mattress and then quickly covered her shivering body with several thick wool blankets, then a heavy fur throw that had been draped on the end of the bed. Next, he pulled the heavy brocade curtains, gathered at the posts, shut. Their body heat, plus the enclosed space, would help keep them warm. She snuggled down, facing him, watching with sleepy-eyed interest when he climbed in beside her. Bending down he softly kissed her neck and said, “Thank you.”
She simply smiled, a sweet stretching of her sexy mouth that was quite surprising in her present form. Taking her into his arms, Raynor allowed sleep to pull him down immediately. No worried mind-wanderings would intrude tonight. His last thought was gratitude that his shifter abilities, even in a completely different form, could be controlled. Otherwise, he could have injured his mate, or at least drained her to a dangerous level.
“Vampires?”
He knew what she meant. “Don’t worry, my shifter abilities are finely-honed from years of use. I’ll hear them even in my sleep if they try to sneak up on us.”
Without another comment, her eyelids closed and she curled into a ball.
* * * * *
Briana slept hard, but awoke the next morning recalling vague, disturbing dreams about snakes, werewolves, and vampires. It was a most unpleasant mixture of nightmarish images. She must have been exhausted to be as rested as she felt upon opening her eyes to daylight.
She was surprisingly toasty warm, except where her shoulder peeked from the covers. Readjusting the blanket, she bumped into something solid next to her. Turning her head slowly on the soft pillow, a shudder ripped through her upon spying the handsome Raynor fast asleep next to her. His very real presence brought reality crashing down on her. His amber eyes opened suddenly and he stared back at her.
“Good morning.” He sounded cheerful, yet also cautious.
“Tell me this is all still a dream.” Tears laced her quivering voice. She didn’t really believe that and didn’t think he’d confirm it either.
Sticking one arm from under the covers, he tenderly stroked her cheek with one finger. “It’s not a dream, and I think you know that now.”
“What does this all mean…what am I?” A single, lonely tear ran down her cheek and he wiped it away gently.
Raising up, he propped himself on one elbow. “Are you ready for the truth?”
She nodded, too fragile-feeling to answer. If she didn’t keep a tight grip on herself, she was going to dissolve into a pitiful, crying bundle.
Pointing to his chest, then her blanketed one, he said, “I…you…are shifters.”
Trying hard to keep further tears from gathering, she nodded for him to continue. Am I a monster? Does that mean I’ll turn into that horrible creature throughout my life? Her eyes misted. How could she go on with her life if she never knew what to expect—like that creepy snakewoman appearing whenever she wanted. What would my co-workers think? That thought made her smile inside. Some of her fellow employees could stand to be scared to death. Shaking off her musings, she listened as Raynor answered her.
“We come from an alien race,” he was saying, “called the Reeshon, one that crash landed here centuries ago. They were legendary scientists. Their specialty was studying time travel.”
Her eyes circled the bed’s interior space, comprehension sinking in about her surroundings. They had jumped through a time portal into another century. How wonderful—how frightening. Would they be able to jump back to the twenty-first century? Where they two hapless victims of some greater scheme? “Are we one of their experiments?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Much of their technology was lost, but we did retain the time portal, which you and I passed through to get here.”
“But why, why continue to study time if they were stuck here—that is right, isn’t it?” She still couldn’t accept she was a part of these alien beings. How could I be? She’d lived a normal, human life until she met Raynor. Only those weird dreams, which she now knew revolved around him, had been something different than her peers experienced. At least, none of her friends had ever shared such experiences with her. She desperately wanted to believe this was a bizarre dream, but it was too real to be. But how could she accept the reality Raynor offered?
“We continue because it was our ancestors’ way—we record the information.” He paused. “I guess if our people come looking for us one day, we’ll have a great deal of good data to share.”
“Why wouldn’t they know where your—”
He pointed to her and she corrected, “our ancestors had landed?”
She wished she could shove his words back in his face. She wanted no part of this alien culture. She wanted to go back to her old life, no matter how stressful or boring. Being human was comfortable, and familiar.
He’d paused, waiting for her to accept his correction. His handsome face was serious, his eyes understanding, as if he knew her reluctance to accept her heritage. “Some of the knowledge of their flight has been lost from memory, but it appears their ship had mechanical problems and their navigational systems were shot.”
“Hmmm. Sounds familiar.” The brow he shot upward and smile that tugged his molded lips, showed he appreciated her sardonic words.
“Lost in Space? Lots of sci fi movies?”
A smile threatened to spill from her in response to his silliness, but she felt too sad. Drawing her knees upw
ard, she hugged her body, trying to comfort herself. Staring in thought, she asked, “Raynor, why do we shift? It’s as if our bodies can’t decide what we want to be.”
“This we don’t understand completely ourselves.” He caressed her arm soothingly. “Our true selves, as our ancestors were, are tall, thin humanoids.”
“Really? With large heads and black eyes?”
He peered at her and laughed. She realized her own eyes had grown larger when she widened them unconsciously.
He laughed. “No, just different. Our ancestors were able to metamorphose. Nobody knows why. Perhaps it started out as a protective mechanism, but then it probably made their scientific studies much easier.”
“Huh?” Her thoughts were muddled. What exactly was he talking about? His expression was enthusiastic, while she was sure hers was nothing but confused.
“Think about it. They could travel to different planets and imitate the natives, so be inconspicuous.”
“Am I understanding you correctly—that werewolves, vampires, and snakewomen—are imitations of alien species?” This was too much! What a bizarro world idea. Now he was laying claim to Earth’s legends and myths?
Snapping his fingers, he said, “You got it. Where do you think human legends sprang from?”
“Us?” Oh boy. In a few sentences, he’d destroyed the joy of fairy tale stories. According to Raynor, most of the magical or beastly beings in these stories were based on the Reeshon—her ancestors. The magic of imaginary worlds just flew out the window, replaced with an even stranger realism.
“Exactly.” He gave her a pleased smile. “There are times when a shifter will be seen by humans, no matter how careful we try to be.”
“Like these medieval vampires try to hide their activities.” Sadness and shame flashed through her. How can I be a part of a race that produces such monsters?
He grabbed both her arms and brought her eyes back to him. “No. They are not the norm in our society. Never think that.” He gently caressed the hair by one temple, the actions of someone trying to sooth a frightened puppy. And she did feel as fragile as a small animal, not sure what its powerful master had in mind for it. What did being a Reeshon entail? What would it mean to her life? How would it change her?