Born of Fire

by Danika Kane

  As if a glitch in an operating system, the tethering to Michael was fading away. He took a giant stride forward. He had to know what in the hell was going on. All of it. “Wait. What do I need to do?”

  Michael’s body was barely illuminated in the dim lighting. Kill the one who threatens all you are. Remember the man who turned you…

  Turned him? A wild flash of his memory shifted back to a time he could barely remember. His life had been nearly perfect, having achieved every goal he’d ever wanted. There was little during the years he wanted for. What was Michael getting at? For a few minutes he remained completely still, unable to comprehend what in the hell had been told to him. As a warm wash of understanding enveloped his being, soothing the ragged edges, he understood. He was the savior. The protector. Turning his head, he glanced at the window and for the first time he was at peace, something he’d been searching for. For so long. Caldre exhaled slowly, feeling the frigid cold of his breath, and grabbed his keys.

  Barely twenty minutes later he stood in front of Sakima’s house. Caldre knew why he was here and what was going to happen. He was so weak and in need of feeding he had no way of holding back any longer. Coming to terms with the monster he was hadn’t been easy and he still didn’t understand what was happening completely. He was, as Michael had been those last days together, dying. His human life had begun to unravel even before meeting Michael. Or had Michael been sent to protect him? He was no longer certain.

  He sensed Sakima just behind the door and as he walked up on the stoop, the door was opened. The two monsters stared at each other and there was such a feeling of kindred spirits and incredible warmth suddenly between them. There was no doubt any longer about their connection. He could suddenly see his life clearly, as if he’d always been destined to be here. Pain racked every inch of his body. He held his stomach, nausea turning into an almost desperate feeling. He was freezing but hot flashes remained, draining every inch of his strength. Of his life. He licked his lips, his body weak and every inch sore as muscles seemed to be ripping from around his bones. He’d never felt such pure anguish in his life.

  “I was hoping you would come,” Sakima said as he tilted his head back, his eyes seeming to explore the dark recesses of Caldre’s mind.

  “I seem to have no choice.” Caldre was barely able to say. “What is happening to me?”

  “You are becoming.” Holding out his hand, Sakima tilted his head back. “Come inside. I will not only protect you but I will guide you through this.”

  “What if I don’t want this? No, I don’t want this. This is horror.”

  “There is no choice lest you die.” His eyes imploring, Sakima remained where he was. “Embrace death as you’ve embraced life and you’ll rule the world, one full of men who have no understanding of how to live.”

  “How the hell do you know?”

  Sakima smiled. “My life has taken many turns, ones I’m not always proud of, but I’ve come to terms with what I am.”

  The words were haunting and the very ones he’d heard for years. Now he fully embraced the meaning. There was no choice. None. The man, his lover, and the master vampire was right. He was already lost to the creature he was becoming. He swallowed hard and glanced over his shoulder at the full moon. This would be the last night he was on Earth as a human. Instead of being afraid, he was exhilarated.

  “What you will feel will be the very beginning of a new life. Don’t be afraid and don’t fight.” Holding out his hand Sakima narrowed his eyes as he issued a low growl, the sound floating into the air. The moment Caldre allowed the grip, he pulled them both backward into his living room. “The man in the picture is you.”

  “How? I don’t understand.”

  “Because you have lived before, reborn to live out what is both your destiny and mine. We are intertwined together, our very damaged souls healed once together.”

  “Destiny. What the hell is my destiny?” Grimacing from the horrific pain racking his stomach, he doubled over.

  Sakima pulled him forward. “There are many puzzles to our kind, several I don’t fully understand and have yet to embrace, but together we’ll learn.”

  As Sakima wrapped his arm around him, pulling him into the heat of his body, Caldre shuddered, flashes of his past entirely different than reality. There was no need to talk, no concept of words that would ease the pain or dull the ache in Caldre’s belly. He closed his eyes as Sakima lowered his head, capturing Caldre’s mouth. The sweet taste of the man, the vampire was unlike anything he’d tasted before. There was pungency to the flavor, a coppery essence that was so overpowering, yet so delicious.

  Sakima grunted as he raked his fingers down the length of Caldre’s back, his talons ripping the thin linen.

  He knew what was happening, realized this was the beginning of the end, but there was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable. His heart thumping wildly, he slipped his arm around Sakima’s waist, gripping his shirt. Fear remained but a sense of incredible peace was pushing hard against the raw emotions. God, he was so alive. Every taste, every touch was more enigmatic than the one before and he struggled to make sense of why he was so turned on.

  Their tongues entwining, the kiss became a passionate roar between them, their bodies gyrating together as both men became lost in the nearly crazed actions.

  Twisting and turning, Sakima pulled them in to a heated dance of intensity. He broke the kiss, hisses becoming snarls as he wrapped both hands around the edges of Caldre’s shirt. Using little force, he jerked the remnants of the material aside, ripping until he yanked the remainder off. “You are now mine. You will no longer be a man but a beast, one who savors all things immortality can give you. Do you come willingly?”

  The words echoed in the room. Caldre shuddered as an odd flashing of bright lights swirled in front of his field of vision. Taken aback, he had no idea what to say.

  “Do you take me as your master?”

  “I…”

  “Answer me!” Sakima cupped Caldre’s chin, pressing his nails into his skin.

  This time there was no hesitation. “Yes!”

  “Then it begins.”

  He planted his feet apart as he sucked in his breath and in a nearly insane blur struggled to remove the rest of his clothes. When he was fully naked he looked up to find Sakima unclothed as well, but his usually handsome body was shimmering, a warm glow covering every inch. In the dazzling illumination appeared an odd transformation, not quite man and yet not any other creature. The flux was startling. “What is happening?”

  “The truth.” In a flash, he pulled Caldre into another embrace, the gnashing of their mouths and teeth almost instant.

  There was such wildness to the connection, a totally unbridled sharing of nothing but pure body heat, a strangling level of adrenaline. He was so overwhelmed he had no concept of sight or sound, every pore and cell in his body electrified. “I want more.”

  “And you’ll have more.” Wrapping his hand around Caldre’s neck, he held him tightly as he licked up and down his cheek. “Much more.”

  He was shivering all over, his muscles screaming with such agony he stood panting, his leg twitching.

  “Mine. Forever mine.” Yanking back his head, he eased his mouth over Caldre’s neck, sucking on his skin.

  The slight pricking of sharp teeth against his flesh was surprisingly pleasant and he leaned forward, a simple but very powerful level of euphoria enveloping him. He shifted forward, gripping both of Sakima’s arms. He merely held the stance, his body wavering back and forth.

  Sakima growled, the sound only discernable to both men, and reared back.

  In the single flash of dim lighting the entire situation seemed to be a moment of slow motion. The fangs were sharp, the blood in his body chilled, and the anticipation off the charts.

  Sinking his teeth into Caldre’s neck, Sakima kept the hold powerful as he tipped him back into a slight arch.

  Agony and ecstasy unlike anything he’d ever experienced
before rushed into every cell in his body. He was instantly on fire, his limbs shaking. Caldre knew he was trying to scream out, trying to make sense of what was happening. He was completely paralyzed, succumbing to the man—to his master. Opening his eyes wide, he leaned his head back. A vibrant series of lights swirled around him, the brilliant colors such an amazing display of what he was feeling, what he was thinking. This was very much like shutting down his heart, seeing the very past in incredible detail. From childhood to his first love, the adventures of school and work to Michael and…

  Sakima sucked, drinking in Caldre’s life blood. He held him against his chest, keeping them both unmoving.

  And… what… Michael and their life and going to clubs. Wait, the clubs were dark and something so… A sense of losing consciousness, memories becoming infused with desire, hungers so intense pain wrapped around him creating a thick haze. He closed his eyes finally, a wonderful feeling of being relaxed and savoring the dazzling series of sensations. A dull hum blanketed his body, perhaps his very being.

  Breaking the connection, Sakima eased them both down to their knees and leaned back. Taking his thumb, he brushed the tip back and forth across his own mouth, swiping the drops of Caldre’s blood. “Now we begin.” He pushed his finger into Caldre’s mouth.

  He wrapped his hand around Sakima’s wrist as he sucked the blood off his lover’s fingers, aware that the beads were his own. When Sakima pulled out his finger, he nodded and opened his mouth, exposing his fangs.

  Sakima smiled, showing his sharp canines, just seconds before ripping open his own wrist. As blood dripped, pooling onto the floor, he shoved his arm toward Caldre. “Drink. Take my blood. Share my flesh. Become a part of my very being.”

  The moment the blood filled his mouth, all bodily functions were completely shut down, every inch of his body melding together. The pain that had been wreaking havoc and the raw sensations in his body were suddenly nothing but pure bliss. His nails dug into the flesh of Sakima’s arm as he sucked and drank. The thirst was overwhelming and he craved to consume every drop of blood. There was nothing he could do but drink more, consume more and he’d fight to the death to have more.

  “That’s it. Drink from me. Become mine. Become the man you always knew you were.”

  He heard the soothing words but didn’t give a shit. In the moment of ecstasy, there was something else, a knowing. And the knowing became more and more terrifying.

  “Born of fire, ending in fire. You are the flesh of mine, a tethering of souls.”

  Were the words really said? He had no idea but he wasn’t entirely certain he cared. The session broken, he sucked in his breath, unable to see. No matter how much he blinked he was unable to see anything clearly. The fog seemed to be dressed in crimson, a smoky haze of what he wanted. Immortality.

  Sakima eased his wrist from Caldre’s grasp, his eyes flashing. He leaned forward and licked across the seam of Caldre’s mouth as he took both hands and eased them down his chest. “You’ll be hungry soon and I’ll be here to help you.”

  Whatever the words meant he didn’t care. He was jazzed, every part of his body full of such an intense rush he wasn’t certain what was real and what was merely the continued burning thirst. He wanted to ask questions, to know what he was about to face, but the last remaining concept of rationality screamed that it simply didn’t matter.

  Cupping Caldre’s crotch with both hands, he squeezed around the base of the fighter’s cock as he narrowed his eyes, gazing down Caldre’s face slowly. “You’re so damn handsome.”

  The words seemed odd given what was happening to him, perhaps to them. He struggled again to say something, anything but nodded, unable to detect a heartbeat, but it didn’t matter. Need was the only thing on his mind, the only aspect he wanted to concentrate on.

  “Yes, the effects are beginning.” He took Caldre’s hand, sliding his fingers around his own cock, forcing the man to stroke up and down.

  The amazing feeling of holding the man’s throbbing shaft in his hands left him hungry. “I need to suck.”

  “And you will.” Chuckling, he rolled Caldre’s balls between his fingers as he breathed across the base of his lover’s neck. Sakima licked and nipped his skin, his tongue dragging back and forth across.

  “Oh, God.” He was now more alive than ever. Pumping up and down on Sakima’s cock, every sensation had become electrified. He was barely able to contain his needs, a savagery taking over him. There were a few minutes he heard sights and sounds that he had no understanding of, a powerful chanting he longed to understand. What’s wrong with me? What’s happening? You’re a monster. You’re a horror.

  “You’re not a monster. You’re coming into your own.” The words lingering, Sakima kept him just at bay, stroking as he squeezed Caldre’s balls, twisting until he moaned. “I’m going to fuck you, share with you the final moment of your becoming.”

  “Yes. I…” Tipping his head back, Caldre laughed, the sound almost unrecognizable. He couldn’t get enough of touching the man he so craved. He was completely off the charts with desire, an unbridled hunger racing through him.

  Grunting, he eased one hand around Caldre’s head, pulling him down to his chest.

  Caldre instantly swirled his tongue around his lover’s nipple, biting down. He palmed Sakima’s chest, flexing his fingers. This was going to be the best sex of his life. The odd thought made him cringe deep inside, yet he remained euphoric. Was this really about sex? He moved back and forth, sucking and tasting both nipples as he continued to stroke Sakima’s dick, the friction driving him nearly wild with longing.

  “That’s it. Suck me. Taste me.” Sakima held his head, entwining his fingers in Caldre’s hair.

  Biting down, the rush of blood into his mouth startled him at first, then he sucked harder, hearing his own grunts pulsing into the room. There was a moment of pure knowledge, a brief yet crystal clear understanding of the future. As Sakima’s hands caressed and kneaded his shoulders and neck, moving down the length of his back, he wanted nothing more than to submit to this man.

  “You’re all mine.” The words were husky, laced with a slice of pure danger.

  From somewhere in his mind he registered an unraveling of his inner soul, a touch of realization he’d longed for. Why could he no longer focus? Why wasn’t he able to make sense of this? “What am I?”

  “You are now a man of pure strength, one of pure hate, yet you love. You are a man, not a monster who takes more than he gives. You are a creature of the night, longing for the day. You are a lost soul, only complete with the nurturing and teaching I can give you. You are an eagle ready to soar. You are all mine.” Grunting, Sakima shifted and in a flash, turned Caldre so that he was on his knees and hands. Leaning over, he breathed a swath of hot air across the back of Caldre’s neck before speaking, his voice low and husky. “There are men and women who will refuse us, some who will deny us. There are times we will have to kill to save our lives. There are other times we can merely be the men we once thought we were. Embrace what is, not what was.”

  The whispered statement penetrated the dark recesses of his mind. Caldre knew he was teetering on the very brink of a heightened level of sanity, one he remained terrified of. There was a moment of clear understanding, a realization what his Empath skills had always been about—giving him the realization of what he truly was. His entire body was so alive, so damn electric, but his heart could barely keep up with his need for air, his hunger to explode with desire. “I don’t understand.”

  “But you soon will.”

  “Destiny?” The word lingered in the back of his mind. Was there such a thing?

  Easing the tip of his cock to Caldre’s asshole, he gripped both sides of his hips. “Mine.”

  The instant the man thrust the entire length of his dick into his ass, Caldre was no longer able to breathe. He opened his mouth in a silent scream, but no words, no sound pushed past his lips. He was in agony, white-hot heat exploding through his system. As S
akima thrust in and out of his asshole, his muscles clenched around the thick invasion and he growled, the sounds much more beast than man.

  “Yes.” Sakima’s voice was nothing but a husky grunt. Harder and faster he drove his cock into Caldre’s ass, his actions more crazed.

  The moment was freeing, the intensity of their rough sex captivating and he arched his back as he clawed the floor, meeting every hard plunge with one of his own. Flashes of light swirled around him and with some a voracity that he could no longer focus. Every muscle in his body was aching, pain tearing through every tendon, every bone. But in the agony, was pure ecstasy. He knew Sakima was close to coming, ready to fill his ass with hot seed, and he tipped his head back, exposing his neck. This was a nothing more than an offering. Blood and sex.

  Sakima roared as he grabbed Caldre by the hair, yanking back his head. “Forever.” He sunk his canines into Caldre’s neck.

  As Sakima climaxed, spewing cum deep into his ass, Caldre opened his mouth wide, dragging his tongue across his erupting fangs and he knew.

  This was his true destiny.

  Chapter 9

  “What am I?” Caldre asked, his voice barely audible. “No bullshit. No riddles.”

  “You are vampire. You are the truest form of a wind-walker.” Sakima answered.

  “As in Indian?”

  Smiling, Sakima nodded. “In ways, you would never imagine.”

  “Wind-walker.”

  “You were always meant for this.”

  “Yes, my destiny,” Caldre whispered as he groaned. “You mentioned a curse.”

  “Yes, one of our people, one meant to keep us small in number. I suspect the curse was Satan’s method of a joke,” Sakima stated, his tone devoid of inflection.

  Caldre tilted his head. “Tell me about a Soul Monger.”

  “A human that is to become our mate, however, one that could also be our demise. By all rights, I should take your life.”

  “But I’m immortal.”

  Chuckling, Sakima walked closer. “Not as much as you think. Let’s just say you have no understanding of our powers yet, but you’ll learn.”