Hunter's Kiss

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘But there’s two,’ Leanne pointed out, ‘and that second one looks a lot like the mora picture.’

  ‘More gore around the fangs,’ Mike pointed out.

  ‘And he undoubtedly needed a half-naked woman in the vampire plate,’ Dione added.

  ‘Well, obviously,’ Leanne said, grinning.

  ~~~

  ‘I should really think about making a move,’ Dione said. She did nothing to move and did not really want to. She was comfortable right where she was, on the sofa. It had been a longer day than she had expected, and very pleasant, but it was getting late.

  Leanne, who had decided that it was appropriate to stretch out in the middle of the sofa with her legs in Dione’s lap and her head in Mike’s, made grumbling noises. If Dione was going to leave, she was going to have to move and she had no desire to do that either.

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Georgina said. ‘You’ve had quite a lot to drink, it’s late and dark, and these two are staying. Arrangements can be made.’

  ‘There are only three rooms,’ Mike pointed out.

  ‘And one arrangement is that you two will have to give up this pretence of not sleeping together when you’re here. Your bed is a little small, Mike. Perhaps you and Leanne can take the guest room, if you’re okay with Diana using yours.’

  Dione’s lips twitched upwards at the edges as she watched her partner’s cheeks colour. ‘Isn’t it funny how they always think they’re being so circumspect?’

  ‘Oh, it’s as if they forget we were all once their age.’ Georgina’s own lips curled into a smirk as she looked across at Dione. ‘Of course, in my day, it was a little more difficult. Davey had a Chevy Caprice with a huge back seat and we’d park up over by–’

  Mike covered his ears. ‘Mom! I don’t need to hear this.’

  ‘And, of course, they always think you were celibate, despite the fact that they aren’t adopted.’

  ‘I sort of am adopted,’ Leanne said as the older women laughed and Mike went crimson.

  ‘That’s no excuse,’ Georgina told her. ‘Your choice, Mike, shall we put Diana up in the guest room or yours?’

  ‘I guess it would be better for the two of us to use the bigger bed,’ Mike mumbled.

  ‘That’s settled then. Unless you really can’t stay, Diana?’

  ‘I would be honoured to,’ Dione replied. ‘Thank you, Georgina.’

  ‘Right then,’ Leanne said, ‘that’s settled. Ghost story?’

  Georgina chuckled. ‘I suppose it’s that time.’

  ‘Know any ghost stories, Diana? You must have some good ones.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Diana mused. ‘Would a tale of vampire horror and romance do?’

  ‘Sounds perfect.’

  ‘Very well.’ Diana settled her shoulders, took in a breath, and began. ‘It’s the summer of thirteen forty-nine and the richer residents of Venice have taken to escaping the heat of the city to go up to their summer dwellings in the mountains where the air is cooler. The previous year saw plague strike the city and those who can prefer to leave rather than risk a painful death. One such family is the Garibaldis.’

  ‘Like the biscuit?’ Leanne asked.

  ‘Just like the biscuit. This year, the Garibaldis have a guest with them, Paulo Santorelli, a young nobleman who is courting the youngest of the Garibaldi daughters, Alexandrina. The couple are very much in love and hope to be married the following year. Paulo has intentions to broach the subject with Gianni Garibaldi while they are away and then he plans to propose. He has the spot picked out already, in an arbour of roses in the garden.’

  Leanne sighed softly and Dione waited for her to stop before continuing. ‘Now, it so happens that Paulo has taken to long constitutionals in the morning since coming to the Garibaldi estate. He walks out along the road to the village nearby and then back along a track which runs along the foot of a cliff. While he tells everyone that he enjoys the mountain air so much, his real reason is to pluck up the courage to talk to Gianni for he is quite nervous.’

  Another sigh interrupted the tale and Dione looked across at Leanne. ‘This will go smoother if it’s not interrupted.’

  ‘Sorry, it’s just… romantic,’ Leanne said.

  ‘Quite. Hush. On the morning of his fifth attempt to get up the nerve to speak to his future father-in-law, Paulo was walking down the road and was almost at the village when he spied a procession coming towards him. It was a sad scene. A coffin was being carried to the local cemetery. Women in black were wailing, and the men looked more stern than sad, as though there was something strange about this burial. Paulo stepped aside and doffed his hat in respect, but his curiosity was piqued and he stopped one of the mourners as they passed. “What great sorrow has befallen this poor person that all appear so shaken and disturbed?” he asked, and he was told that the coffin held the body of a girl not yet sixteen. That was sad enough, but to make matters worse, her death was unusual and the villagers believed that a strix had killed her. Many worried that she would return to plague the living and her corpse had had a stake driven through its heart to avoid this fate.’

  Dione paused to take a sip of wine, checking that Leanne had nothing to say on the matter, and then continued. ‘Now a strix is a kind of bird or bird-woman who is believed to prey on beautiful young women, draining them of their blood at night, and Paulo, being an educated man, knew of other beliefs, related beliefs, in other parts of Europe. The strigoi and moroi of Romania, and the lilitu of ancient myth. He knew of them, but he did not believe in them, and he put the entire thing down to peasant superstition. Still, the funeral disturbed him a little and it was not until the following day that he went before Gianni and asked for Alexandrina’s hand. Of course, Gianni had known full well what Paulo had planned and gave his consent with some vigour. Now all that was needed was for the love of Paulo’s life to say yes.’

  There was another sigh, bitten off as Dione fixed Leanne with a glare. ‘But that night, the house was awoken by a scream from Alexandrina’s room. They rushed to find out what was wrong, expecting robbers or bandits, but the girl was huddled in her bed, quite alone, and she said that she had had a terrible nightmare. A dark shape, like a huge bird, had stolen into her room and held her down, smothering her. She had fought to break free and succeeded, and then she had awoken, still with the terror of it in her heart. It all seemed odd, but they thought nothing of it. Her sleep disturbed, Alexandrina was unwell the following day, and Paulo had no chance to propose.’

  ‘Should’ve listened to the–’ Leanne began and then hid her face under Mike’s arm when Dione looked her way.

  ‘It’s always the most rational ones who feel the need to comment.’ Dione sipped her wine. ‘There was no disturbance on the next night, but Paulo noticed something odd about his love when she came down from her room. She seemed distant, almost distracted. She was happy, very happy it seemed to him, but not quite herself. And she had wound a scarf about her throat for no reason he could see and would take it off for no one. Once again, Paulo delayed his proposal to allow Alexandrina to recover, but the following day things were worse. Alexandrina had a fever, her skin was pallid, and she would do nothing but lie in her bed, moaning softly and complaining of “the black bird.” A doctor was called and he declared that she was anaemic. Paulo saw the doctor leaving Alexandrina’s room, and he looked almost as white as his patient, so Paulo stopped him and demanded to know what had frightened him so. And the doctor told Paulo of the marks he had seen on Alexandrina’s neck.’

  Leanne let out a little squeak and hid her face against Mike’s chest. Dione let that one pass since it was cute, wet her throat, and went on. ‘And so Paulo went to the servants and demanded to know of the village gossip concerning the strix. When he heard that the funeral he had seen had not been the first, he vowed to stop the creature from taking his beloved and petitioned Gianni to stand guard that night, with a rapier at the ready such that he could dispatch the thing. Gianni, who had heard the gossip too, agreed and Paulo sat
up on a chair at the foot of Alexandrina’s bed, his rapier in his lap and his eyes on the window.’

  Now Dione paused, sipped her wine, and said, ‘How am I doing?’

  Leanne let out an affronted squeak and came out of hiding. ‘You can’t take a break there! What happened?’

  ‘The rational ones always seem to get so wrapped up in the story too,’ Georgina said. Mike patted Leanne’s head and grinned at her.

  ‘I’ll take that as “I’m doing okay” then,’ Dione said. ‘Alexandrina slept fitfully, tossing and turning in her bed. Paulo sat in anguish for it was clear that his love was tormented by foul dreams and there was nothing he could do until the monster showed its face. And then, just after midnight, she stopped her thrashing and lay still. Paulo heard her whimper and then moan. He turned to look and saw her pushing aside her bedclothes, arching her back as though awaiting a lover. Embarrassed, he turned away, and that was when he saw the shape of a huge, black bird alight on the window frame. Rising quickly to his feet, he ran at it, rapier raised, but the bird transformed before his eyes into a tall, dark man with piercing eyes. The glare of those eyes caught Paulo, relieving him instantly of his strength, and he fell into a dead sleep at the man’s feet. When he awoke in the morning, Alexandrina was gone.’

  This time there was a chorus of squeaks from Leanne and Georgina, and Dione shook her head, grinning. ‘It was clear that the strix, or whatever it was, had taken Alexandrina and intended to make her like him. Paulo vowed that this would not happen, or if the worst came to the worst, that she would not be forced to live as one of the undead. He went to the wisest of the village elders and asked what could be done, and was told that Alexandrina was almost certainly lost, but that if Paulo could find and dispatch the creature which had taken her before the next dawn, then she might be saved. Now, Paulo had an idea of where the creature might have made its lair. In the cliff face he walked past each morning there were caves and, taking his rapier and an axe, he went out to search for his beloved Alexandrina. All day he searched, for there were several caves and they cut deep into the mountain. When night fell, he did not give up and tried not to think what the monster might be doing to his love now that it would be awake. All night long he searched the caverns, restless and worried, for the dawn, and Alexandrina’s demise, grew ever nearer. The sky in the east was growing pale when he entered the last of the caves he knew of and there, towards the back, he discovered the vampire, sluggish from the coming dawn, settling down in a coffin beside a second box in which Alexandrina lay, still as the grave.’

  Leanne made a little whimpering noise and pressed her lips together, eyes wide and fixed on Dione. Dione smiled at her. ‘You’re looking a little tense, Leanne. Perhaps this is too much for a Christmas night. I should–’

  ‘You can’t stop there!’

  ‘I don’t know…’

  ‘Don’t tease, Diana,’ Georgina said in an even tone though she was looking a little wide-eyed herself.

  ‘Dashing forward, Paulo raised his axe and struck at the monster, but even in its weakened state, it was strong. It pushed the boy aside and fixed him once again with that terrible stare. Paulo felt himself weakening and stepped back, and the vampire pressed forward, raising clawed hands to rip out Paulo’s throat. But Paulo knew that only he stood between his love and a horrible fate. Gripping his axe tightly once more, he swung and, in one cut, beheaded the creature. The once-handsome form Paulo had beheld turned to a decaying corpse before his eyes and Paulo knew he had won.’

  ‘Yes!’ Leanne said as quietly as she could so as not to disturb Dione, who ignored the outburst entirely and sipped her wine.

  ‘But all was not well. For Alexandrina still lay as still as any body laid out for its final rest. Thinking that he had been too late, and that the sun had already risen, it was with a heavy heart that Paulo took up his would-be bride and carried her to the mouth of the cave where the dawn light had turned the sky into a beautiful blue. He knelt down upon the rocks and laid Alexandrina in front of him, preparing himself for the task which he knew he had to perform. He raised the axe and said a prayer, and just as he was about to cut her head from the neck he longed to kiss, the sun burst over the mountains. Alexandrina drew in a breath and opened her eyes. He had not been too late.’

  There was another chorus of sighs and Dione sucked on one of her fangs for a second, lips twitching as she tried not to grin. ‘Paulo proposed to Alexandrina right there and they were married that autumn, and they lived long lives, but always with a cross above their beds and garlands of garlic flowers grown around their bedroom windows.’

  ‘Oh, you can tell the ghost story next year too,’ Leanne said. ‘Did you just make that up on the spot?’

  ‘Not entirely. It’s based on some events that did happen in Italy in the fourteenth century, but I just embellished a little.’

  ‘Well, I won’t be sleeping with the window open this summer.’

  ‘Thank the Lord for air conditioning,’ Mike said. ‘That must really cramp your style if you’re a vampire.’

  Dione shrugged. ‘Burglars aren’t the only people who can learn breaking and entering techniques. So make sure you have good locks or I might come get you in the night!’ She widened her eyes and bared her fangs at Leanne.

  Playing along, Leanne gave a squeak and hid against Mike. ‘Save me, my beloved,’ she said in a melodramatic tone. ‘Save me from the vampire lady.’

  Mike shook his head. ‘Alcohol does very strange things to her,’ he said.

  ‘I am not drunk. I’m pleasantly inebriated. And getting tired. Maybe we should turn in.’

  ‘You two go up,’ Georgina said. ‘I don’t know about Diana, but I think I’ll have another drink before I go to bed.’

  ‘I’ll keep you company,’ Dione said.

  ‘Okay,’ Leanne said a little too quickly. ‘Goodnight.’ And then she pulled something out of her present pile before heading for the back of the house and the stairs.

  Mike got to his feet. ‘Night, Mom. Goodnight, partner.’

  ‘Sleep well,’ Dione said.

  ‘When you get to that part,’ Georgina added, and Mike was blushing as he followed Leanne up the stairs. ‘She really doesn’t have a clue, does she?’ Georgina said once her son was gone. ‘“Save me from the vampire lady” indeed.’

  ‘She’s a sweet girl and they seem to be made for each other. It’s one reason I’m doing my best to avoid any suspicions that Mike and I may become involved. She’s had enough tragedy in her life without that.’

  ‘You know about her parents?’

  ‘We do very thorough background checks on anyone we plan to invite onto the team. I know what happened. I know it hurt and that you essentially took her in while she got herself back together, but I wasn’t there to see it.’

  Georgina sighed. ‘They’ve known each other since they were children. They met on their first day at school and they’ve been almost inseparable ever since. Oh, they both dated other people for a while because they didn’t realise they loved each other like that, and they were apart while Leanne did her degree, but even then Mike would visit whenever he could. And then her parents died. A car crash, just one of those stupid accidents. She was devastated, Mike too. I’d known Sam and Lidia as long as Mike had known Leanne, and it was hard for me too, but they needed someone to keep them going. She treats me as though I adopted her and, if I’m honest, I like that. What about your parents? I’m not sure how old you are. Do you remember them?’

  ‘I said I was from Sparta, yes? That’s the old one, Ancient Greece. My father… I’ve more or less managed to blot him out entirely, but I still remember my mother. She was called Ianthe. I remember her as a tall woman with long, dark hair which she usually wore up. Strong, fit, but compassionate. When I woke up after I’d been converted, everyone wanted to burn me alive and she begged… got down on her knees in front of the house, and my father, and begged them to let me leave. It must have cost her everything she had to do that. I’m
never going to forget her.’

  ‘Your own father wanted to kill you?’ Georgina asked, and there was less sympathy and more disgust in her voice.

  Dione gave a small shrug. ‘Being a vampire isn’t all blood and roses.’

  26th December.

  Mike felt the rhythmic clench and release around his shaft which told him Leanne was close and that he would soon be lost. He focused on his lover’s face now to keep himself from coming early and almost lost it then and there.

  Leanne’s hands were in her red hair, a look of bliss on her face. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted; she was lost in the moment, in the rise and fall of her hips, in the pleasure welling up through her. Mike loved it when she took charge though she was often quite passive in the bedroom. Less so recently, in his estimation. Since their first night at the Black Candle, when Pat had juiced Leanne up on valentine virus, Leanne had been growing more adventurous. It just made him love her more.

  Her inner muscles tightened, her brow furrowed. ‘Oh… God…’ escaped her lips before her jaw widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth, screaming into it. But she kept riding.

  Mike lost sight of her as his eyes went blind and his teeth clamped together, and he was lost, the release so sudden and complete it felt as though he was pouring his soul into her.

  ‘You can buy me more lingerie,’ Leanne whispered. At some point, while his senses were elsewhere, she had bent forward and was lying on his chest. He could still feel aftershocks rippling the muscles around his semi-hard cock.

  ‘I will,’ he replied. She had put on the teddy and posed for him. She had never had much of an exhibitionist streak: they usually made love with the light off. Tonight there was light and he could see the sleepy pleasure in her eyes. ‘We should get some sleep.’

  Leanne giggled. ‘Yeah, but I need to clean up or I’ll be lying in a puddle. I think you emptied two months’ supply into me.’

  ‘I had reason to excel,’ Mike told her, grinning.

  With another giggle, Leanne lifted, slowly, off him, a look of intense concentration on her face which only released when he came free and she gasped. ‘God, I’m sensitive tonight. It’s great. Back in a couple of minutes.’ She hopped off the bed and picked up the discarded teddy, pulling it up her legs and reaching back to tie the halter in place.