by Various
“Is that all you want? Then ask.”
“I want to know where Devon is. That’s it.”
“If you would get off of me, I won’t challenge you again. You have won.”
Aria nodded. So I rolled off of him and moved to one of the chairs. My shoulder was beginning to throb, and I grew weary. I needed to feed. The thought of warm blood in my body gave me something to look forward to and gave me an extra boost to stay focused, but it wasn’t going to last long. Maybe he was going to be loyal to his word, but somehow I doubted that.
“I’m looking for Devon. He’s your height, has short dark hair, skinny, long fingers, big hands. He may have had a woman with him, his slave. I need to know where they’re staying.”
He closed his eyes, relieved I had moved the candle from his face. He took a moment to compose himself, and then faced me. “There was one you spoke of. He was here about a week ago. He didn’t have a woman, but he brought me a delectable meal. He said if he could do anything just to contact him, but sadly I do not know where he is staying. I didn’t need to ask. He has always been welcome to move about my territory.”
I searched his face. He couldn’t lie now that I had taken his honor from him. Everything he had worked for had been taken away in a matter of moments. It was degrading for him just to be talking with me. He would rather I had killed him. I sighed, all my hopes of finding Veronica melting away. There was nothing I could do, but wait and hope that somehow, some way, she would come back to me. I wanted to leave the lush dungeon he had set up. I scanned the room, surveying the other vampires that waited expectantly for me to make a move, to bid them to do or say something. They had lost a Master but gained me as a Mistress, though I wanted nothing to do with the foul smelling beasts that lingered in this plush basement.
A piece of me wanted to stay and rule the brood, just as it had wanted to be dominated by Malachai, but this was one of the remaining things that connected me to the race of vampires. Even though part of me wanted to be conquered, it would never happen because I would always remember what I was and overcome that small flame in me. No, I would go one step further and free the humans he had captive. Yes, that seemed like a good move.
“Release the mortals,” I instructed Malachai.
He looked at me in shock. “You’ve got to be kidding!”
“Brenna, what are you doing?”
“You said I had won. Release them all.”
Before he could answer a loud howl split the noise of the room. I glanced around the room and saw the other vampires were salivating, and they got the sense that I wasn’t going to instruct them. Hunger bled into their eyes as they anticipated something and then the door burst open. A large man-wolf came barging into the room, driven by the scent of blood. I caught a whiff of its animal scent and knew it wasn’t a vampire. I wondered if this was a werewolf.
Malachai looked at me and smiled. “I don’t think I’m going anywhere. Nor are you.”
“But you said I won”
“Child, you bested me, yes, but you are nothing more than a meat-lover. And I would never relinquish my brood to one like you.”
I took a few steps backward as I watched his brood take a few steps toward me. Malachai was a monster, just like the others I had encountered. Only Aria had proven to be different than all of the rest of the cretins. Aria grabbed me, but his brood turned away from me and then back to their Master. Malachai’s look of triumph faded and was replaced by fear. The skin on a few beasts’ faces rippled and contorted as the undead pushed forward.
“She’s a meat-lover. I have not lost my place among you,” he screamed to his children. Aria pulled me toward the door as I watched his children descend. The werewolf howled again and jumped on one of the unsuspecting humans. Claws shredded flesh, sending a torrent of blood across the room. The monster sank its muzzle into the human. High-pitched wails erupted from the prey as they were broken from their spells. I tried to help the mortals, but Aria grabbed my arm and pulled me with her.
“You can’t help them. Come on. It’s them or us. I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to meet my Maker.” We made it through the door as Malachai’s pet feasted on what was left of the human. We slammed the door behind us and then made a run for it.
We passed the two gyrating twins and I noticed the gaping holes in their chests where their hearts had been eaten. The obscene orgy had evolved with a new twist. Two of the female vampires had transformed their faces and had their wings out, while the rest of them remained human. They had their victims sandwiched between them in mid-air, while they fucked and sucked them. The third female I had seen was now lying on the bed, spread eagled, letting drops of blood cover her naked body, so the others could lick it off her. I cringed at the sight. I went to enter into the room to try and free them, but Aria tugged on my arm.
“Come on,” she yelled.
“We have to help them.” I stood my ground when I heard a loud banging behind us. Screams of humans and vampires alike still sounded from behind the large oak door, but when I looked back the door was splintering. The large shape of something had already become embedded into it.
“Shit.” That was not one of the vampires. It was Malachai’s pet.
“Come on,” Aria screamed.
I stayed one more second, wishing to help the poor mortals when I knew I couldn’t. It was either them or us.
We made the stairs just as the door broke and something else happened. The stairs went soft as clay. My foot got stuck in the top one. I stumbled, tried to pull it free from the boards, but it was like putty, and when I looked up, I stared into the red, beady eyes of Malachai’s pet. Blood dripped from its long, brown fur. Its sharp teeth grinned at me as a pink tongue laid waiting in between them. I screamed. The muscles in its haunches bunched as it was about to pounce. Aria grabbed hold of my arms and pulled me into the kitchen just as the wolf landed. Its claws raked my leg to the bone. Aria half dragged me out the door as the werewolf struggled to hang onto the doorframe with his enormous claws. Like everything else the whole house was beginning to bleed together like a wet painting. Nothing was substantial as Aria made it through the back door and into the swamp just as the house dissolved into the mists and waters of the bayou, taking everything, including the wolf, with it.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“I told you Malachai used to be a magician before he was made into a vampire. He could create illusions, but when he crossed over that power became more substantial. Not that it matters. He’s dead.” Aria helped me. I was soaked with bog water. My hunger burned within my veins, as my body used the blood I had taken earlier to heal itself. I needed more if I was going to be completely recovered by dawn, or whenever I awoke from my slumber.
“What was that?” Aria asked. Her talons extended as she searched the remains of the swamp.
“I didn’t hear anything. Can we just go?”
“No wait. It’s coming from over there.” She pointed to a tree.
I tried to hone my senses to the area she indicated, but everything was fuzzy from the blood loss. I just shrugged my good shoulder as she went up to the tree and came back with a writhing bundle.
“Look, what we have here,” she purred.
“M-m-master,” the boy whimpered.
I groaned. It was Joey the junkie. Aria offered him to me, but I turned my nose up at him. There was no way I was going to take anything from one of Malachai’s brood, especially this one, who got off on just the thought of being bitten.
“Suit yourself. It’s a shame to waste a good meal.” She smiled.
Before I could protest, Aria’s claws cut through Joey’s neck. His cranium flew like a Frisbee across the swamp and plopped somewhere in the water. A second later, I heard the swishing of alligators going after the morsel. His body stood erect, blood erupting from a geyser in his throat. Aria opened her mouth wide to catch the blood, and then let the deadweight drop, his body folding like a lawn chair on the ground. Aria licked her
fingers clean and smiled at me.
“What?” she asked as if nothing had happened.
I shook my head, disgusted over the display. I really wasn’t like her in any way.
“What was the quarrel between you and Malachai anyway?” I willed my wings out so we could venture back to the city.
“It was over nothing, really. We had this game. Whoever could lure in the most humans in a century won. Well, I won by one mortal. He lost. He never let it go. He was such a sore loser, going on about how his honor was hurt and how I was a woman and all that bullshit. Finally I had enough so I left.”
Both of us flapped into the night, our wings making slight swishing sounds against the breeze.
“I’ll never understand what makes you guys tick. When this is over with I want nothing more to do with any other vampires.”
I yearned for Veronica to be back in my arms, but I was no closer to having that. Malachai didn’t help. The only real lesson I learned coming to this place was how perverted other vampires were. I just wanted everything back to normal.
Aria laughed. “You can say that now, but one of these days you might be knee deep in a brood yourself. Don’t discount the future. Things have a way of coming back to you. Just you wait and see.”
“Is that a prophecy from the Delphic Oracle or are you just saying that?”
“Oh, I’m not telling. You’re the psychic, you figure it out.”
I groaned, not even acknowledging her, and moved even more swiftly into the night, to a soft bed where I would lay down my head and fall into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Thirty-One
My name is Ronnie.
“Ronnie,” Devon called my name.
His voice was smooth and strong. I melted inside as the syllables of my name twisted around on his tongue. I gazed up at him and then bowed my head, rubbing up against his knee. He ran his fingers along my spine and I shivered. The sensation made me want him then and there, but I waited expectantly.
“Your child is coming for you. Do you know this?”
“Yes, Master. I’ve sensed her in my dreams.” I paused, my voice nothing more than a whisper so it wouldn’t hurt my Master’s ears. I knew my child was coming for me. In my dreams I had seen her fighting with an Ancient. Devon knew she was searching because she wanted me back, but he did not have the daymare visions I had. He was not blood-bound to her. He hadn’t given her a new life. I had wondered if he had dreams of me, being able to track me over the years, but somehow I knew he hadn’t.
When I woke that night to the glorious rays of the moon, my child had been on my mind. In the vision I had, I felt fear for her. That was strange and I surmised Veronica had somehow unshackled herself and was running rampant in my mind. I hadn’t wanted Brenna to get hurt. Something in me desired to comfort her, and even as I woke to greet the night, I had troubling emotions. I should have gone to my Master, but he wouldn’t understand. He would think that I was turning into my human counterpart, that I was turning into a meat-lover, too.
“What is it, Ronnie? You have something on your mind. I can read it in your thoughts. Tell me; I won’t be angry.”
I sighed, looking up at my Master briefly to get a read of his face, but it was as blank as uncarved marble. Veronica turned as I mulled over the decision of whether or not to tell Devon how I felt. I decided against it. I didn’t think it would be the best. I didn’t want to fall out of favor.
“It’s nothing, Master. I only fear for you if she comes. I wish nothing to happen,” I lied, lowering my head, hoping he had not been monitoring my thoughts as I said this. I felt ashamed. For the first time I lied to the one who had brought me into this glorious life, where I was a god to the mortals we fed on. I simply did not know how to tell him the truth. I did not want to appear weak, but the more I thought of my child, the more I craved to be reunited with her. In my visions, I experienced feelings for her. This was not related to my human side. I truly felt something for the girl. I wanted to nurture her, and as much as I loved my Master, I felt something was wrong.
His hand ran down my spine again. I responded, but for the first time his touch elicited no true thrill. The more I thought of this, the more I realized he didn’t care for me. I worshipped him, showed him kindness, was an obedient servant; but now that he had me back, he was bored. It seemed our rutting was only to relieve his tension. Inside I cried out in frustration.
See what have I been trying to show you for years, Veronica whispered in my thoughts.
I whimpered, trying to ignore her, but her words echoed in my thoughts. I leaned against his leg, but it was only to regain my composure. My Master thought it was to get more attention. He patted me again, his claws digging into the vertebrae of my back. He traced the curve of my muscles and went to my ass, swiftly inserting his talon into my asshole. I drew in a breath and backed into his talon as he impaled me. I heard him sigh as if doing me were a job. Within a second he had withdrawn his talon and mounted me, sticking his cold, hard dick into my cunt. He reared up against me and I participated as expected, but this time I took no enjoyment from his touch. For the first time, I distrusted my Master. I closed my eyes, wondering if my human side was actually right.
My Master withdrew from me, but it was an automatic response. He slapped my ass and mumbled something, dismissing me. It was all I could do to keep from hissing at him. I held my forked tongue and crawled away, back to the corner in which I slept. I sat, closing my eyes, trying to figure some way to warn my child before she came here, before she was broken and turned into something like myself. I did not want to see her get hurt.
I curled my lips at this thought. No, my Master would not turn her into a slave. She would outsmart him. I knew this. As the sun rose over the horizon, signaling my sleep, my only thought was of her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
My name is Brenna.
My nostrils flared at the scent of crackling bacon. The smell of it turned my stomach. I yawned, wondering what day it was. The last thing I remembered was my shoulder aching after my confrontation with Malachai.
Then I had fed, drinking from a victim who crossed my path. My attack had been vicious, but like my first victim, I could not kill him. Even then, with the wounds I had sustained, I took another, drinking until I was sated, leaving my prey alive. Aria laughed at me, as I had been so vicious with Malachai. I paused, looking up at her, blood dripping on my naked breasts, and growled. Aria made the comment that I wasn’t as different from her kind as I thought. I projected a mental slap into her mind and she quieted down after that. I finished my meal, sating my hunger. Blood surged through my system, renewing some of my strength. It cleared my brain, moving away the cobwebs so I could focus. It warmed me, making my heart speed up as the blood settled in my system.
I licked my lips again as I thought of the thick, salty fluid. My stomach growled, but then the smell of eggs wafted to my nose and the contents of my stomach threatened to come up. The thought of what Aria was doing in my kitchen made me get out of bed.
I stretched, noticing the stiffness of the muscles in my arm and my leg where the werewolf had clawed me and Malachai had almost severed my arm. When I examined the wounds, only faint pink marks remained.
“Humph!” I was impressed with my body’s ability to heal. I slipped on a robe.
“Hi,” Aria called, chipper as the morning sun trickled in through the shutters.
I winced at the light, letting my eyes adjust to the brightness. “What the hell are you cooking?”
Aria smiled as she moved breakfast onto two plates and offered one to me. I picked up a piece of bacon, sniffing it. The hardness cut into the ridges of my fingers. The scent of it impaled my nose, causing me to sneeze. Never before had I smelled something so hideous. The burnt pork, which I used to eat on occasion, held no appeal to me and reminded me of burned rubber. I dropped the piece of blackened meat, marveling that it didn’t break when it hit the porcelain plate.
“You should have some. You’ve b
een asleep for two days, so I thought you might be hungry. I hope you don’t mind.”
I shrugged, listening to her chomp on the bacon, grinding it between her teeth like broken glass, pounding it to dust. I cringed at the creaking her jaw made as she swallowed the meat. I didn’t understand how she ate the stuff when all we needed was blood to survive.
“How can you eat that?” I finally asked.
“Just because our bodies don’t need this stuff to survive, it doesn’t mean we can’t take in human food. Most of us lose the taste for it, but it helps when you’re eating in public. Then there are no questions. Besides, I find that what humans eat is delectable. You still drink things, so why not eat? Besides, don’t you wonder what chocolate tastes like now that you’ve changed? Trust me; mortals don’t know what they’re missing. It really is better than sex. Well, human sex anyway. So why not have some?”
I scanned my plate one more time and knew I couldn’t eat the bacon, but the eggs looked edible. I grabbed the fork and popped a few of them into my mouth and chewed. Their rubberiness was nothing new to me, and their taste was the same, still disgusting, but I swallowed them anyway. I took another bite of breakfast and saw Aria smile. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. It seemed this time they were easier to eat, probably because I didn’t need their energy to keep me going. It made me wonder what other foods tasted like. It was awkward to have the food lingering in my stomach, weighing me down as though someone had lined my belly with stones.
“Silly.” Aria laughed at me. She had been monitoring my thoughts as I examined the effect the food had on my body.
“What?”
“You have to think about digesting the food. It doesn’t happen automatically anymore. Just tell your stomach to start. It’ll get the juices going. If not, you’re going to have it sitting in there for as long as you want. I have to warn you though, it’ll be quick. Our bodies normally expel anything that is unwanted.”