Indebted to the Vampires

by Lilly Wilder

  I never intended to kill her. I never wanted to cause that much harm to another person, but as she came at me I knew I wasn’t going to have a choice. There was only so much defensive work I could do to deflect her blows. At some point I had to strike back. She screamed like a banshee and I continued backing away, waiting for the right moment. I watched her hands flail about and then, when the time was right, I shifted my weight onto my back foot and angled my body back, kicking her in the middle of the chest. I struck with such impact that she was thrust back as though she had been hit by a car. Her body crumpled and cracked as it slammed against the rear wall, and her head jerked. There was a sickening crack as her body slumped to the ground, and the stake rolled out of her hand, sliding limply against the table. Her head lolled to the side and her eyes were lifeless. It had happened instantly and I rushed to her, hoping that there was still some flicker of life inside her, but there wasn’t.

  I hung my head. This day had extracted a heavy toll, and it shouldn’t have been that way. I was supposed to save people, not kill them, but with Julia I had no choice.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The boys came around me to support me.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Josh said.

  “She attacked you. She had it coming,” Troy added. Adam remained silent. I stared at Julia’s lifeless body and then looked around at the dust that had settled on the table and chairs; the only remnants of the master vampires. I bowed my head in sorrow for Julia, and then turned to face the men I loved, the men who had saved me.

  “Thank you,” I said. Troy took my hand and squeezed it gently. I looked at each of them in turn and offered them appreciative smiles. I rested my head against Josh’s strong body, and I breathed out in a long exhalation. My body trembled after all the strain, and the pain still throbbed from where I had been wounded.

  “Why did she attack you like that?” Adam asked.

  “Because she was ordered to, by my watcher. Slayers aren’t supposed to fraternize with vampires like we do. She was told to take care of me if I showed any sign of disloyalty. They weren’t going to let me get away with my feelings for you,” I said.

  “But you did anyway?” Josh asked.

  “Of course. I’m not going to obey anything that tells me these feelings are wrong. Being with you is the only thing that’s ever felt right to me. I’m just sorry that Julia had to pay the price, although she never had the mentality to be a true Slayer. She was always too hot-headed. Arthur made a mistake in sending her with me…I will have to have words with him,” I said with grim determination. My face turned to stone. Everything I knew was crumbling before me. The academy had turned out to be a sham, my mentor had sent someone to kill me behind my back, and I had killed a fellow Slayer. I wasn’t sure what the punishment for that was, but I knew it wouldn’t be a good one.

  “Why did you come for me? I thought you weren’t going to leave your masters?” I asked.

  Josh glanced at the other two. “After you left me I was afraid and angry. I couldn’t believe that you were a Slayer, or that I had fallen in love with you. But then I thought about what you said, about if we were really free. I thought about a lot of things actually. You know I’ve always been thinking about what happens to our soul-”

  “Josh, if there’s one thing I’m sure of it’s that you have more soul than Julia ever did. I’m starting to think that everything I was taught about vampires was wrong. I don’t think you’re soulless, and I don’t think you have to be worried about being anything less than you are…any of you,” I said, hoping to reassure them.

  “Thank you Julia. That’s what I’ve been thinking about. On the way home I thought about the kind of man I wanted to be and I realized that undeath didn’t have to be the end of things. We have been given a second chance at life which very few people get, and we were wasting it. And I thought that if I was able to still dream and hope for things, if I was still able to fall in love, then maybe I did have a soul after all. And it’s such an elusive and ethereal thing there’s no definitive answer anyway. There’s nobody who can turn around and tell me that I don’t have a soul.”

  “Exactly. The same holds true for all of you, and I don’t think I could have fallen in love with any of you if you didn’t have souls. If there wasn’t something special and unique about you then I think you would all be the same, and that wouldn’t be very fun at all,” I said. Given the overwhelming nature of the situation it was easy for me to fall into my emotion and focus on my love for them. I was drained and exhausted, and the adrenaline was still rushing through my system. The shock of it all meant that I hadn’t processed the finality of Julia’s death even though her dead body was sitting near us. I also wasn’t ready to think about the betrayal I had suffered. It niggled at the back of my mind, as though it was trying to remind me of something, but I couldn’t face it yet. I wanted to focus on the warmth of intimacy and affection.

  “Adam, from the moment we met I was intrigued by your quiet nature. You seemed removed from the world, but I had a feeling you had something interesting to say. In botany class we spoke and I was struck by your affection for the plants. Your profound interest and way of looking at the world really struck a chord with me, and when we kissed it was special. I know you might not have realized how special it was at the time, but I wanted to be close to you.” As I said this I noticed Josh and Troy arch their eyebrows. Neither Adam nor I had made mention of the fact that we had kissed in the midnight gardens, but no comment was made.

  “I know that you have suffered sorrow in your life and you have been hard on yourself,” I continued, “but that is no reason to stop yourself from feeling the kind of love that you deserve. I learned a long time ago that you can’t force anyone to feel anything. I used to try my hardest with the people who came around the orphanage. I always wished that they would love me, but for one reason or another they never chose me and that didn’t make me any less of a person. It didn’t make me any less worthy of love, just like your experience hasn’t made you any less worthy. You’re such a compassionate and kind-hearted person. I know you only want the best for the world and the best for me, and I’m grateful for that. I promise that I will always take care of you and I trust that you will never hurt me, just like I shall never hurt you. We will all look after each other and it’s going to be wonderful.”

  I turned to Troy. “Troy,” I said, with a smile on my face, “you have always been so enthusiastic and eager to try new things. I have never gotten the sense that you are burdened by anything. You try your best at life and you always strive to push yourself, whether it’s on the basketball court or in your personal life. I wish I hadn’t been forced to see Mrs. Thorpe because I would have loved to have seen you play, and I’m sure I’ll get the opportunity at some point. You’re strong, confident, and enthusiastic. I know that you’ll help to push and encourage each of us to be better versions of ourselves.”

  Then I turned to Josh. I took his hand and squeezed it happily. Although Adam had been the first one of the three I had kissed, Josh was the first one I had fallen for. I smiled widely at him and there was an unspoken sentiment that passed between us, as though we understood that we would always be there for each other no matter what.

  “Josh, Josh, Josh,” I said, “what can I say about you? You were the first one I met. You were the first friendly face I saw around here. I don’t think I would have survived that first day had I not enjoyed that conversation with you, as it proved that I could make friends and that there were some nice people in the academy. I wanted to try and get to know you, but there always seemed to be something you were holding back. Now I know what it was. You tried to explain yourself to me and you’ve always been struggling with your identity. But I think we all know that you are your own man. You’re going to help us think about our place in the world and always ensure that we’re doing the best thing for us.”

  I stood up and opened my arms, embracing the three vampires.

&nb
sp; “You three are the most wonderful men I’ve ever known, and I’m not going to let any harm come to you. Your previous masters neglected you and forced you into this life. I’m going to make sure that you become the best people you can be. We’re going to escape this academy and go somewhere else. We’re going to start a new life where we can be free of all of this.”

  “Where are we going? And what will happen to this place? Should we clean anything up?” Josh asked.

  “The council of watchers know exactly what has been going on here. Arthur will have told them. They’ll be by soon to clean up the mess, and they won’t let the truth come out. They can’t afford to let the world know that vampires exist, or that a Slayer has been killed. But we should leave before anyone else comes in,” I said. We dragged Julia’s body behind the table and locked the office behind us so that it wouldn’t be easily found. We scurried back through the darkness towards the dorms. Thankfully the academy was so big that sound didn’t carry too far and the commotion we caused hadn’t roused anyone. It also helped that the masters had been secretive and wouldn’t allow anyone near their office either.

  I tried not to think about the future of this place because it was doomed. I wasn’t sure what my future held either. I had to confront Arthur and perhaps my entire role as a Slayer was in jeopardy, but somehow that didn’t seem important any longer. With the vampires flanking me I knew I had everything I needed and I wasn’t going to let anything else bring me down.

  *

  We entered Josh’s dorm. The hallways were quiet as everyone else was sleeping. I led the three of them and opened the curtains a crack so I could look up at the moon.

  “Beautiful, isn’t she?” Josh said. The boys came around me. Josh stood behind me and I felt his arms curling around my waist. I smiled and leaned back, resting my head against his body. I patted his arm and felt the soft hair that stopped at his wrist. I felt underneath his wrist and to my surprise there was a pulse.

  “How are you doing that?” I asked.

  “I guess there are some things even Slayers don’t know,” Josh teased. “You want to tell her Troy?”

  “Sure, basically whenever we feed it brings us closer to what you’d class as human, which is how the experienced vampires are able to blend into the human world so easily. As long as we keep feeding we can have a pulse and blood flows through our body,” Troy said.

  “I suppose that explains something else,” I said, pressing my hips against Josh’s body, grinding myself against him. I smiled when I felt a twitch. “But I think if I want a lesson in vampire anatomy I should have a hands on lesson,” I said. I turned around and kissed Josh passionately. With my hands I reached over and brought Troy and Adam in to me as well. I moved from Josh to kiss the others, and held them all tightly. I wished I could express my love for them even more deeply than was possible physically. I wanted to show them how much they meant to me, and I’m sure that they felt the same. I had broken the loyalty they had to their masters. Their devotion to the people who had saved them from death wasn’t as much as their devotion for me. I was their new mistress, their new salvation, and I would treat them better than any vampire ever could. I was a Slayer, and even though my destiny was supposed to be to kill vampires, I knew now that I could do nothing but love these ones.

  “Get on the bed,” I said. They turned around and marched to the double bed. It looked like it was going to be far too small for all of us, but I didn’t care about that because it just meant that we were going to have to get close and personal. They sat on the bed, looking up obediently at me, and the memory of the dream flashed back in my mind. I remember the surge of arousal that came with the image of the three vampires kneeling before me. I had their trust, their devotion, and their obedience. I looked down at them and bestowed my blessing upon them. The pain and anguish from the battle had been replaced with something far more frantic and frenetic.

  I pulled off their clothes. One by one they became naked, their flesh exposed to me. I ran my fingers along their necks and shoulders, down the middle of their chests. I pushed them down so that they were flat on their backs and then I undressed them completely. I pulled away their pants, tugging them down before flinging them to the floor. I tossed their underwear away. There was no shame among any of them. Their erections were on display for me, standing tall and strong. Vampiric blood surged through them and I felt drool seeping out of the corners of my mouth.

  “Don’t move,” I cooed gently. I plied their flesh with my hands, tracing lines all over their bodies. Adam’s was the thinnest, but there was beauty in the way the skin clung to his bones. Josh was the hairiest, and my hands felt nice as they ran through the tangle of hair that sprouted from his chest. Troy was in the best shape. His muscles rippled and his skin was taut under my hands. Each one of them had their own unique beauty and delights. It was a feast of flesh and it was all for me. I teased them by dragging my fingers lightly down the middle of their bodies, making them shudder and tingle.

  I shuddered and tingled myself.

  I curled my legs underneath my body and sighed as I leaned over to play with each of them. I had two hands and a mouth, and I made good use of them. I used them as a bed to rest my body and idly played and toyed with their erections. I felt the taut skin and ran my nails along the rippling veins. I kissed each of them lightly with my mouth, and took great delight in hearing the soft rush of breath that erupted from their lips as I bestowed pleasure upon them.

  I breathed in their masculine scents and dragged my tongue up down their bodies, leaving a trail of saliva behind me. I buried myself in them, and the arousal grew within me. I felt a deep throbbing inside me, an ache that originated deep within my soul, but soon spread out to reach the tips of my toes and fingers. I wanted to drown in their flesh.

  After playing with them, teasing them with strokes and squeezes and playful tickles to their smooth tips, I twisted away from their impressive symbols of lust and fell back, draping myself upon the three of them.

  “Place your hands upon me,” I said. Immediately their hands fell on my body and began groping me. I laughed with delight. It was a deep, throaty laugh and it echoed through the quiet atmosphere in the room. I was fully ready to let myself go and embrace these dark desires. Their fingers crawled over me, eager to explore and slip underneath my clothes to get to me. Their touch was erotic and sensual. I closed my eyes, again loving the mystery of not knowing whose hand was touching me where. One of them had his hand resting on my throat, curling slightly, placing just enough pressure to keep it exciting. Another’s hand slipped under my top and his finger circled my nipple. It hardened instantly. Breath rushed out of me as I arched my body and felt the finger run around the nipple, moving up and down and around, eliciting a great deal of pleasure from me. My skin felt as though it was on fire. Nails dug into the soft flesh of my breasts and I groaned with delight. My nipples were so sensitive and it felt wondrous to be touched there.

  Then I twitched and writhed as another hand traveled down my thigh, squeezing tightly, the fingers searching to get ever closer, teasing and tempting, and it was at this point that I realized I had far too many clothes on. Sweat prickled all over my body and I was uncomfortably warm. I yearned for them. I was so hungry I wanted to feel their flesh against mine, to lose myself in this sea of undulating flesh once again. The intimacy under the moon in the gardens had been but a taster. This time I wanted to go all the way, to live up to my ancestor and embrace everything these vampires had to offer.

  I got them to support me as I rose and then they undressed me. I could feel the desire in their bodies as they peeled away my clothes. We enjoyed deep kisses as they took my garments away and left me naked. They gazed at me in awe and they all asked permission to touch.

  “Ravish me,” I said and fell back on the bed as the three vampires came over me like hungry beasts. Their hands and lips were all over me, leaving thunderous hot kisses over my skin. They nibbled and bit and I laughed gl
oriously again. Adam suckled on my breasts while Troy kissed my mouth, and I groaned as Josh buried himself in between my thighs. He lifted one leg of mine and hooked it around his neck before he started lapping at me with his eager tongue. I saw his mound of hair sliding up and down as he made love to me with his mouth, and I felt his tongue dancing inside me. The pleasure was electric and overwhelming. For a moment I thought it was going to be too intense for me and that I was going to pass out, but the pleasure never threatened to stop and I wasn’t going to end it.

  Their bodies were heavy against mine and I was almost crushed by their weight. I wrapped my arms around them and held them tightly as our mouths mingled. At one point the vampires shifted position and changed what they were doing. I was so lost in the whirlpool of my own mind that I had no idea it had happened until I looked down and they were all in different positions. I reached out and grabbed the nearest erection I could find, wanting to feel their lust. My mouth opened in hunger and low, guttural moans burst out.

  I dug my nails into their skin and heard them wince. I watched them give themselves to me. I pulled Troy closer and smeared the warmth of his erection over my mouth, feeling the heat spread from my cheeks to my forehead. I opened my mouth and sucked eagerly, wanting to reward him and thank him for coming to my aid. I swirled my tongue around his thick shaft and heard him moan. Occasionally my mouth hung open because the pleasure I received from Adam going down on me was too much. Josh was at my breasts now and our hands linked together in one long, endless chain. My soul broke open and hot molten lust poured out.