by Folsom, Tina
“Fucking bastard,” she cursed and kicked her right leg at him in a Bruce-Lee-style move, knocking the wind out of them. He stumbled against a door behind him. “What the fuck is this about?” she yelled as she went after him.
But she hadn’t counted on him being armed.
When he pulled a chain with a ball at each end out of his jacket pocket, she was unprepared. He swung it with precision and cunning, his wrist releasing it an instant later. The chain wrapped around her knees and made her lose her balance.
Yvette crashed against the wall once more, her hand already reaching for the chain and balls. She hissed in pain when she touched the metal. Silver.
How in hell had he swung it without burning himself? She cut him a quick glance and saw him grin, then wave his right hand at her. She zeroed in on it, and only now noticed the flesh colored glove he wore on that hand. He must have put in on when he’d followed her out of the bedroom.
When he bent over her, she swiped at him with her claws, but he landed on her chest, his knees pinning down her shoulders disabling her from moving her arms. He was heavier than her and stronger. Yvette flashed her fangs at him.
But he only laughed. “Should have let me go to the house like I told you. But no, you’re a controlling bitch who has to have the last word on everything. I’ll show you women who’s boss.”
The words sank deep into her. Women he’d said. Instantly she knew what this was about. “Maya.”
“Yes, Maya. I’ll get her now. She’s been mine all along. And neither you nor Gabriel can keep me away from her any longer.”
Yvette shivered. Ricky was the rogue. All along he’d hidden in their midst, and nobody had suspected him.
“How did you do it? How did you evade us for so long?”
He chuckled to himself, then he gave her a cold stare. “Zane had his doubts about me when he checked my alibi, but even he isn’t strong enough to get past my gift.”
Yvette cursed.
“Yes, finally my gift has turned out to be quite useful. You guys always used me to smooth things over when there was a problem. I let you. But finally, I figured I’d use it for myself. Zane firmly believes I had nothing to do with Maya’s attack. Nobody suspects me, because the minute I sense their doubts, I invade their mind and control those doubts. Puff!” He made a theatrical hand movement.
He’d played them all, and now that he knew Maya was alone at the house with only Carl as protection, he’d get her. “Gabriel will get you,”
she spat.
“By the time Gabriel gets back to the house, I’ll be long gone, and Maya will be with me. Nobody will ever see us again.”
“You traitor.”
“Call me what you want, I don’t care.” He stuck his hand into his jacket pocket.
Yvette froze. He’d stake her, she knew it. Her eyes widened. When he locked eyes with her, he laughed again, a cold emotionless laugh.
“A stake’s too good for you. You don’t deserve to die like a man.
Women like you, who play with men’s feelings, who lead us around by our noses, make us think you love us, and then just drop us like a hot potato when you’ve had enough. Not anymore.” He slapped his hand across her face, whipping her head to the side. Pain seared through her neck and jaw, but she knew his speech wasn’t meant for her – it was meant for Maya. He was angry at her.
“No, you, fucking bitch, will fry in the sun.”
He pulled out another chain from his pocket and wrapped one end around her left wrist. The metal stung and her skin sizzled as if somebody had dropped acid onto it. The bastard was binding her with silver – a metal she couldn’t touch or break.
Quickly, he removed his leg from one shoulder and brought her arms together, tying her up over her head. Then he jumped up, took her by her hands and dragged her along the floor into the living area.
“You’re gonna pay for this!” she promised.
“I doubt that very much, especially given that you’ll be dust in a few hours.”
Ricky lifted her up onto her feet. When she was eyelevel with him, she spat into his face. All it earned her was another swipe with his claws. She barely felt the pain now.
Without much ado, he secured her bound hands onto a hook over the fireplace, effectively suspending her a few inches in the air. Then he secured her legs against the grid in front of the fireplace, immobilizing her.
With a few long strides, he went to the window and pulled back the curtains. Once the sun came up, it would shine straight onto her, and within minutes she would fry. It would be a painful death, not the quick relief a stake would bring.
Trying to stall him, she said, “What happened with Holly? Did you go after Maya because Holly dumped you?”
He snarled. “Nobody dumped me. I broke it off with the stupid tart when I met Maya. I wined and dined her, I promised her the world, anything she could possibly want. And what did Maya do? Throw it all back at me like I was some beggar. Now I’ll make her beg.”
The thought of what might happen to Maya frightened her. If Ricky took her, Gabriel would be devastated. “I’ll get you for this.”
He cast her another quick glance and shrugged his shoulders. “If it makes you feel better to say that, go ahead, but the reality is, you won’t.
Enjoy the sunrise. The weather report said there won’t be any fog tomorrow.”
His evil laugh echoed through the house as he strode out, slamming the door with such force that the lock broke and the door swung inside again, remaining ajar.
Twenty-seven
There was a buzzing sound and Gabriel pressed against the door.
Inside the modern commercial building, he turned to his left, following the witch’s instructions. As he walked along the sterile corridor with its white walls and light green linoleum floor, his heart beat heavy in his chest. He wanted to claim Maya as his own, but he wanted to do it without this deformity. Despite the fact that she’d let him fuck her, he was not convinced that she could truly look past this ugly thing. Fucking a guy who was a freak was one thing. Marrying – blood-bonding with such a freak – was another.
He pushed the door that said Lab 87 open and stepped into the brightly lit room.
“I’m in the back,” Francine’s voice immediately greeted him. He followed the sound and walked past the work benches, the sinks and centrifuges and the large fridges and freezers that lined the path to a small office. In it, he found the witch, sitting behind a messy desk.
She looked up when he entered and pointed to the chair opposite her. “Take a seat.”
Despite feeling antsy, he dropped into the chair and leaned back.
“You have an answer for me?”
She tsked. “No good evening, how are you?”
He frowned. “Are we still playing games?”
“Cheer up, I’ve got good news for you.”
Gabriel straightened in his chair and leaned forward. “Don’t keep me on tender hooks. I know it gives you pleasure to see me suffer, but for once just give it to me straight.”
“You should really grow a sense of humor, Gabriel. Life is not all dark and without fun.”
He merely lifted an eyebrow, indicating he was out of patience.
“Fine, fine. To the news then. You’re not a full blooded vampire. I
tested your blood and it came back with -“
“What do you mean, not a full blooded vampire? Of course I’m a vampire.”
“On the surface, yes. But you have other genes in you too.”
“And what’s that got to do with my deformity?”
She smiled. “Everything.”
“And how would that be considered good news?”
“You’re a satyr, Gabriel, and that thing you’ve got is not a deformity. It’s a second penis.”
Gabriel jumped up from his chair. “What?”
“Just what I’m telling you.”
“You mean I’m some sort of beast
– half man, half bull?” He tried to wrap his brain around the news.
“No. You’re talking about a minotaur. A satyr is a little different. A satyr is a mythical creature, fully man, but a highly sexual creature whose need for carnal pleasure has endowed him with a second appendage for double the pleasure so to speak,” the witch explained.
There was a soft chuckle in her voice.
Gabriel shook his head. “If you’re right in what you’re saying, then how the fuck do you explain that deformed thing? It looks nothing like a penis. Double the pleasure, my ass!” He turned away from her and heard how her chair scraped against the floor as she pushed it back and rose.
“Gabriel, listen. There’s a reason it doesn’t look like a penis.” She paused. “Yet.”
At her last word he turned. “Yet?”
She nodded. “A satyr’s second penis doesn’t develop immediately.”
Gabriel gave a mirthless laugh. Wasn’t it shock enough that he was some kind of beast? “Francine. Do you have any idea how old I am? I’ll tell you. I was thirty-three when I was turned, and I’ve been a vampire for over a hundred and fifty years. Do you know how old that makes my so-called second penis? I’d say that thing is a late bloomer. Are you telling me I have to wait another hundred and fifty years for it to turn into what it’s supposed to be?”
So he was still a freak. Well, at least now he had a name for it: satyr.
Now he was a half-vampire, half-satyr with a deformity. And she called that good news?
“No. I’d say your transformation is already starting. According to the legend, once a satyr meets his life mate, his genes go to work and change the growth. Haven’t you told me that you’ve already seen a change, as if it appears to be growing?”
He stared at her. “But it doesn’t look like a penis.”
“Because its final transformation only comes once you’ve had intercourse with your life mate for the first time. Within hours after that, it’ll turn into a fully functioning penis – hard-on and all.”
Gabriel took a step back. He’d had sex with Maya only a little over an hour ago. Could it be that something was already happening to him?
“What?” the witch asked.
“Maya and I, we -” Gabriel stopped himself. He couldn’t tell her.
This was too personal to reveal. But it appeared he didn’t have to say another word.
“Ah, I see. Well, then it’s just a matter of time.”
“Excuse me for a second,” Gabriel told her and turned around. He unbuttoned his jeans and pulled his zipper down, then pulled his boxers away from his body and stared at his groin. He couldn’t believe his own eyes. “Fuck!”
Francine shuffled behind him. “Can I see?”
He held out his arm to the side to prevent her from coming around him. “No!” His eyes glanced back at the place where his deformity had lived for the last nearly two centuries.
It was gone. In its stead was a beautifully formed perfect cock, slightly shorter and slimmer than his other one, but nevertheless as perfect. He pulled back the skin and revealed the purple head, the tiny hole in its tip indicating that it would be a fully functioning organ.
He quickly arranged the boxer shorts and closed his zipper before he turned to the witch and smiled for the first time since he’d entered her office. “Just like you said.”
She frowned a little. “You could have let me look at it. I’ve never seen a real satyr before.”
“As much as I appreciate your help, the answer is no.” The only person who would get to see him like that from now on would be Maya.
And he sure as hell hoped she liked what she saw.
“There’s something else you should know.”
“What is it?”
“Satyrs only take other Satyrs as life mates. Maya must be a satyr too, given that you and she had sex and it resulted in your second penis developing. I think it’s proof enough. It would explain an awful lot.”
Gabriel remembered Maya’s medical file. “She has two extra pairs of chromosomes.”
“Just like you. And her going into heat could have been a reaction to you. While a satyr female goes into heat several times a year, she does so more intensely and more often when she’s around a satyr male. And then of course there’s the fact that she drinks your blood.”
He felt overwhelmed with the knowledge that Francine imparted on him. “What of it?”
“Well, normally Satyrs don’t drink blood, but since you and Maya are also part Vampire, that’s natural. But what I’m thinking is that because you gave her your blood to complete the turning, her latent Satyr genes awoke and they instantly honed in on you as a source to sustain her.”
“Does that mean she’s dependent on me and that’s why she won’t drink human blood?”
Francine shook her head. “She could easily drink human blood and be sustained on it, but her Satyr genes are influencing her taste buds.
That’s why she rejects it. Her Satyr genes like your blood because you are similar to her. Does that bother you?”
“What bothers me is thinking that the only reason Maya wants me is because we are both Satyrs and I fed her my blood.” He still wanted her more than any other woman in the world, but did she have any choice?
“Even Satyrs have free will. Yes, they are more sexual than other creatures, and are driven more by their carnal needs, but their hearts still tell them who’s right for them. Don’t worry about it. If you love her, it’s not because you’re drawn to her because of her Satyr genes, but because of who she is in her heart. And the same goes for her.”
Gabriel released the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Now all he had to do was talk to Maya and tell her everything and hope she loved him the way he loved her.
He took Francine’s hand into his big palms and squeezed it. “Thank you so much.”
When he stepped back to turn, she stopped him. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
He stared at her. What was she talking about? She couldn’t possibly want a hug? When he stepped closer and moved in for a friendly embrace, she shook her head. “Your gift. You were going to let me use it.”
Gabriel jolted back and let out a nervous laugh. He’d completely forgotten about it. “Of course. Sure.” He paused and looked around.
“Where do we find the person you want me to do this on?” He glanced at his watch. “I have less than three hours till sunrise.”
“I am that person.”
“You?”
“I misplaced something very valuable. I need you to go into my memory and find it for me.”
Gabriel relaxed, relieved that he didn’t have to breach some poor soul’s privacy without his consent. “Not a problem. What are you looking for and how long ago did you lose it?” It was all the information he needed to scan her memories quickly.
“It’s a charm to ward off evil. I need to retrieve it.”
“As long as you’re not going to use it against me …,” Gabriel mumbled to himself.
“I heard that – and no, you’re not the evil I feel.”
* * *
The knock at the door tore Maya away from her thoughts. She’d gotten dressed after her shower and was still planning how to make Gabriel accept her the way she was, even if that meant he couldn’t have what, according to Yvette, all vampire males wanted.
p. “Come in.”
The door opened and she saw Carl come in, a stack of papers in his hand. She’d already sensed him. There was a homey scent to him despite the formal outer shell he portrayed.
“A fax arrived. It’s from Thomas – the phone records.” Carl handed her the papers.
“Thanks, Carl, that’s very nice of you to bring it.”
“If you need anything else, just call for me.”
Maya smiled as he left the room. She fanned through the pages.
There were at least thirty or forty of them. Had she really made and received
that many calls in six weeks? In the last few days she hadn’t made a single one. Which reminded her, she hadn’t even called her parents yet.
But she couldn’t do that now either. For starters, it was just past three in the morning, and besides, she still didn’t know what to tell them.
With a sigh she bent over her phone records. Each row had a telephone number and name together with a date of when the call took place. She started scanning the names and recognized many of her patients’ names, her colleagues’, and the clinics. Her parents’ number came up many times, as well as Paulette’s and Barbara’s cells. Then a few other assorted friends, the pizza place down the road when she’d called for takeout and the Indian around the corner. Her bank was on the list, and so was her dentist’s office.
She scanned page after page. By the time she was halfway through the stack and still hadn’t seen any unfamiliar names, she heard the entrance door being opened. Maya glanced at the clock over the mantle.
Finally. Gabriel would probably be upset if he found out how long it had taken Yvette to get here. Well, she wasn’t going to tell on her.
As she continued reading down the list of names she heard Carl’s voice. “I wasn’t expecting you, Ricky.”
Ricky? She was sure Gabriel had ordered Yvette to the house. Maya strained her ears to hear the conversation, her sensitive hearing picking up most of the sounds.
“You know how it is with women. Yvette is not getting on with Maya, so she asked me to take over for her,” came Ricky’s reply.
Maya sat up, uneasiness spreading inside her. She and Yvette were getting on just fine, particularly since Yvette had protected her at the hospital. Why would she suddenly claim that they weren’t getting on?
She shook her head in disbelief and looked back at the fax. Clearly, she’d misjudged the other vampire female, just when she’d thought she’d found a friend who she could trust.
Her eyes moved down the rows of names. As if on autopilot she read them: Bill Shaw – a patient, Martha Myers – another patient, Richard O’Leary –