The Darkest Colors- Exsanguinations

by David M. Bachman

  Raina placed her thong inside the shoes she held in her left hand, took Serenity by the chin gently, and guided her lips toward her own for a brief kiss. Serenity immediately opened up to it, but Raina ended it just as quickly, before it could go too far. She looked at the lovely blonde Elder High Court and smiled. It hardly occurred to her at the time, but Raina eventually realized that it was the first time that she had kissed another female in that way since … well, since she had lost Brenna. It should have been a significant event for her, and yet it was not. It just seemed right at that given moment, practically as natural as a handshake or a hug.

  “If you can promise me that this won’t lead to anything more,” Raina said, “then I’ll be happy to accept your offer once you’ve shown me to the bedroom.”

  Serenity clearly was pleased, but her excitement was slightly restrained. “Why not here, where we may be alone?”

  “Because … quite honestly,” Raina admitted as she felt her cheeks grow a bit warm, “I’ll probably need some alone time right afterward … if you catch my meaning.”

  Serenity narrowed her eyes and raised a thin, sculpted eyebrow. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

  Raina rolled her eyes and lowered her voice to nearly a whisper. “Drinking blood makes me horny, okay? So, if I’m going to go along with this, then you have to promise me that we won’t wind up doing anything together.”

  “Would you prefer to be with one of my consorts, instead?”

  “I’d prefer to just be alone afterward, if that’s okay,” Raina insisted gently. “Just let me have a little taste, and then I’ll go tuck myself into bed and sleep it off. I know how to take care of myself.”

  Serenity smiled broadly. “If that is what you wish, then I shall make it so.”

  Serenity emptied her glass quickly and set it down upon the table near the door next to the bottle of rum, bowl of ice, and extra tumbler that her consort had dutifully left. She led her out of the building and back along the covered walkway. The night air seemed to be twice as cool now as it had when they had first come this way, seeming uncharacteristically cold to Raina for an October night in Arizona. She had to consciously remind herself that temperatures were usually quite cooler on average here in Sedona than they were in her native lower-elevation homeland. A glance at the moon revealed that it would soon be full within the next couple of nights, eerily just in time for Halloween.

  Raina had not been exaggerating her claim to being less than able to get intimate with anyone. She was utterly exhausted. Her legs seemed to hum and most of her body tingled with a strange numbness that warned her the next time she sat still for more than thirty seconds, she’d probably fall asleep right where she was. She still craved a shower, as she didn’t want to go to bed in her current condition with the smell of chlorine so heavily upon her skin. For once, she actually found herself wishing that someone like Svetlana was around to assist her, simply so she would have someone to check on her and make sure she hadn’t passed out and drowned while bathing. Although, as she contemplated that idea, she realized it might not be such a bad way to go out…

  They passed through the kitchen and glanced by the den, whereupon Raina could not help but to look. Sophie was curled up on one of the sofas and snuggling herself against the fuzzy brown blanket that covered her. She was already unconscious, having succumbed to jet lag and the booze that she had downed. With her bare arm and bare left leg showing from under the blanket, in addition to the dress upon the floor, Raina was able to safely assume that Sophie was mostly or completely nude where she lay. Thomas was awake, although seemingly just barely so, as he looked to Raina with squinty eyes and offered a lazy wave of greeting. Sophie was apparently using his thigh as a pillow. Apparently, he had not only drunk Sophie under the table, so to speak, but presumably ravaged her into exhaustion as well, given the way Sophie had been acting earlier. Oddly enough, Thomas was just as fully clothed then as he had been when they earlier had been left alone together.

  “Pity,” Serenity commented with an amused smirk as they passed. “It looks like we missed the show.”

  Thomas held up his hands innocently, slurring his words as he said, “I swear … I did nothing. I was a good boy.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you were more than just good,” she chuckled as she led Raina down the hallway.

  As before, Raina had to consciously force herself to follow after Serenity rather than staying behind to admire Thomas. He looked drunk enough that he might not remember if they … just … perhaps … no, no, forget it. It didn’t matter, anyway. It wasn’t worth considering. It was a bad idea – a random fantasy, nothing more.

  As Serenity apologized for the fact that the home was not as large as she would have liked for hosting company, she showed her along the hall and paused briefly at each doorway to show her where the office, the guest bedroom, and the second bathroom were at. The office was very cabin-like in design and décor, and the guest room had an obvious but not tacky Southwestern theme to it, and it was large enough to comfortably feature a king-sized bed. Serenity insisted, however, that Raina take the main bedroom and bath for the day, however, and so she led her up a half-spiral staircase to the second floor, the bedroom half of which was a loft that overlooked the den area – something she hadn’t noticed while sitting there earlier.

  The bedroom was simply stunning. Right away, the centerpiece that immediately caught Raina’s attention was the gigantic and unique bed. The bed was immense, almost like two queen-sized beds placed together, and its huge frame featured thick, rough-finished log corner posts that extended all the way up and disappeared into the ceiling, like fat pine trees that had grown right up through the center of the home. The bed’s construction made it appear to be an integral part of the house, not simply bolted to the floor but actually seeming to be incorporated into its structure. The ceiling and walls featured a photographic-quality mural of a dense, foggy evergreen forest scene, and the similarly cabin-like design of the accompanying standing oak closet and dresser and the large potted plants in each corner gave the feeling that they were standing in a half-open forest cabin of some kind. Raina half expected a bear to come lumbering out of the bathroom at any moment, or at least a few rabbits to bounce out from under the monstrously huge bed.

  “This is … wow,” Raina said after looking around for a few moments. “This is pretty wild.”

  “I’ve been told by some that it’s a bit tacky, a little bit too over-the-top,” Serenity said as she stepped into the room. “Again, this is Redhorn’s home, and so he does with it as he wishes. He is an avid hunter, and he loves to spend many hours in a tree stand.”

  “He goes hunting at night?” Raina asked.

  As though on cue, Lord Redhorn stepped out of the bathroom, toweling his long, thick, inky black hair. He was bare from the waist up, wearing only a pair of camouflage pajama pants. He turned to Raina and Serenity with a subtle smile as he threw back his damp hair over his shoulders.

  “I hunt whenever and wherever the elk are,” he told her, his deep, ultra-masculine voice seeming to reverberate within Raina’s chest. “When I hunt during the day, I am covered by camouflage and the shade of the trees, so the sun does not burn me. When I hunt at night, I wear as little as possible. Clothes tend to make noise and scare away the elk.”

  Feeling almost dazed as she stared at Redhorn’s broad, bare chest, she only replied, “Oh.”

  He glanced down at himself for just a moment as she stared at him. “I apologize for my appearance, your grace.”

  “Oh … forget it. It’s your place. It’s no problem,” Raina said with a casual wave. Her eyes drifted down from his chest to his stomach and then to the drawstring of his pants. “No problem at all.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find the bed to be more than comfortable,” Serenity told her as she stepped over to it and peeled aside the dark green covers to show her. “I had this mattress special-ordered in this size to accommodate up to four people comfortably. I can assure
you, though, that even as many as six can rest upon here quite comfortably.”

  She and Redhorn exchanged an amused glance, and he added, “The bed frame is very strong.”

  Raina could not help but to stare a bit longer. Redhorn was very tall, his shoulders were very broad, his jaw and nose and brow quite strong, and his chest muscles very clearly defined. She found it easy to imagine that he had a very long waiting list of high-paying customers for his massage therapy business. She was willing to bet that the vast majority of his clients were female and probably single or divorced. She was sure that he kept things professional and never crossed that line which might place him in legal jeopardy, but Raina could not help but to wonder just what one of his massages might be like. The feel of those big, strong, capable hands upon her back, her shoulders, her thighs…

  “I could have him stay with you afterward, if you’d like?” Serenity murmured softly into Raina’s ear as she snapped out of her momentary trance.

  “What? Oh … oh, no,” she said with a small laugh. “No, that’s okay. I’ll be just fine.”

  Redhorn smiled knowingly, cracking his knuckles loudly as he flexed his fingers. She, too, could keep it “professional.” She could just lay face-down for awhile, let him knead her back for awhile, and she would probably be snoozing in just a matter of moments. Probably … although the temptation would be there … and he would be so close…

  Redhorn gave a slight bow and excused himself from the bedroom to go down the short hall and descend the stairs, his solid build giving the floor a slight tremor with every step of his bare feet. His back was just as muscular as his front, still slightly beaded with drops of moisture from his shower. Raina had a weird desire to drag her fingernails slowly down that smooth, strong back, leaving light, raw tracks in his flesh, maybe even drawing just a tiny bit of that precious crimson fluid to the surface so she could…

  “Raina,” Serenity whispered into her ear as she embraced her about the waist from behind. “You’re teetering on the edge. You must feed before you go too far.”

  Raina let out a heavy sigh and her shoulders slumped. Damn it all, she could never tell why she was really attracted to anyone these days. She could never tell whether it was because she genuinely liked them or if she were simply being overcome with her vampiric urges. Anymore, she wasn’t sure if there was any difference between the two. What appealed to her body and what appealed to her conscious mind too often seemed one and the same. Perhaps because she spent far too much time on the edge of bloodlust, refusing to adequately take care of her vampiric needs, she no longer could be certain about anything when it came to her desires.

  Serenity raised her left arm with her palm upturned, silently offering her wrist. Raina accepted it reluctantly, noting that her arm was completely bare in spite of the long-sleeved robe that Serenity was wearing. As she held Serenity’s wrist, she found her explanation in the form of what she felt clearly pressing bare against her back. A glance to her right and slightly back showed that Serenity’s robe was lying upon the floor.

  “I thought we weren’t going to make this sexual?” Raina asked softly.

  “It’s a nice robe,” Serenity replied. “I’d rather not get blood upon it.”

  “Oh.” Raina hesitated. “So, umm…”

  “Take as much as you wish, dear,” she whispered encouragingly. “I am not afraid. I trust in you … but I am also happy to give myself to you completely, if you will have me.”

  For a moment, Raina considered straightening Serenity’s arm and instead biting at the crook of her elbow, where she figured the bite would hurt less – much like how she had drawn blood as a practicing phlebotomist. However, that move would have placed her in an even more intimate position than this, as she would then have her side against Serenity’s bare front, and having her so close like that … well … no. It was just better this way.

  Raina raised her wrist toward her lips and steeled herself for the moment. Her heart was aflutter in her chest, mostly with anticipation but also with a bit of fear. Would she drink too much? Was that even possible when feeding from the wrist? Would Serenity notice how much of an amateur she was at conventional feeding? Raina could just about count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she had truly fed by biting … not counting the little love bites and bloody nibbles that sometimes occurred during lovemaking with Loki, of course. Perhaps it was time that she finally “grew up” and just accepted this as the norm. Everyone else had – why couldn’t she? What was it that she hoped to prove by sticking with clinical phlebotomy for feeding rather than using what she’d been given by nature? Did she still truly believe that she was better than everyone else? Did she believe that she was above this brutality? Was she really going to keep denying what she truly was?

  No. She parted her lips, brought Serenity’s wrist into her mouth, and pressed down mildly with her upper fangs. It wasn’t enough to break the skin, or at least not enough to do so adequately, and she felt Serenity tensing up with pain in response to what she was doing. Serenity’s hand went to Raina’s hip and pulled back firmly as she felt her clenching up.

  “Do it,” Serenity hissed. “Do it now! Take it!”

  Raina pressed down firmly now, pushing the wrist upwards onto her own fangs. She felt Serenity’s flesh part with a pair of soft, silent pops that was not unlike the feeling of piercing a fat vein with a large-gauge needle. Immediately after the puncture, Raina drew back and sealed her lips around the wounds she had made, suckling upon the two small holes she had made just below Serenity’s wrist.

  The flavor was immediately powerful and nostalgic, like a favorite childhood memory brought back into the present in its entirety. So very, very sweet and so very warm, Serenity’s blood was so akin to wine that it seemed less a metaphor and more like a literal definition. The blood of a High Court was unique in its flavor, no doubt, but not even Loki tasted like this. No, to taste Loki was to taste herself. While Raina did not object to the flavor of her own veins, she felt that she was quite bland compared to a pure-blooded High Court vampire. Whereas Raina’s blood was a hybrid of High Court, Commoner, and human, Serenity’s was pure and untainted High Court. In her veins, Raina tasted countless centuries, legacies, conquests, tragedies and triumphs, love and hate, and whispered promises of infinite power and endless life. Blood was a drug, and Serenity’s was nothing less than pure heroin.

  “There you go,” Serenity exhaled as she relaxed against her back. “That’s it. Take as much as you want, my dear. Let my blood flow into you and make you well again.”

  Serenity kept at that, whispering and murmuring words of encouragement as Raina sucked at the twin wounds she’d made. She would take it all. She would take every last drop if she could. It was being offered – why shouldn’t she accept it? Consciously, she knew that doing so would be wrong, that there would be consequences; far below that level, though, she selfishly didn’t care in the least. She wanted to feed, needed to feed, and she would feast upon this beautiful deliciousness.

  Dimly, she was aware of Serenity touching her, her free hand going places she otherwise would not have allowed it. Serenity’s soft, slender hand slipped in through the opening of her dress, cupping her, pinching her, caressing her, and then soon diving down, exploring, probing, and finally penetrating. Raina didn’t care. Nothing mattered, save for that which flowed into her mouth and down her throat with every wonderful, blessed gulp. She didn’t want sex, not really, not in the traditional sense, but anything close to it at that moment felt good enough that she didn’t refuse it; either way, it was all secondary to the equally carnal joy that was gracing her taste buds.

  Of course, it didn’t last long enough. The flow began to subside. The blood did not fill her mouth as readily as it did immediately after the bite. The wound was already beginning to seal, to gel over. Raina lapped her tongue at the wound, flicking it from side to side against the puncture sites. Doing so aggravated the injury and caused Serenity to tense up with pain once more
.

  “That hurts, dear,” Serenity told her. Raina heard her, but she wasn’t listening. “Your grace … Raina … you’re hurting me.”

  Raina probed the tip of her tongue into the left puncture, trying to break the gel-clot and get things flowing again. The blood did come a bit more readily when she did that, and so she began to suckle anew. She was slurping audibly now, sloppily. She felt a bit running down her chin, seeping past the corners of her mouth. She would catch it later. She would not waste a drop. But for right now, she wanted the fresh stuff, the hotter fluids, right as they came from the flesh. Raina felt Serenity’s hand withdraw from its more lewd tasks and move to clasp her forehead.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I … I can’t,” Serenity finally said as she began to pull back on Raina’s head. She forced Raina’s mouth away from her wrist and wrenched it free from her grasp.

  Raina spun about to face her abruptly, gasping for air, her eyes wide and her mouth agape for a moment or two. She finally wiped at her lips with the back of her hands and then glanced down at them. Seeing bright red, she instinctively began to lap at them, cleansing herself cat-like with thoughtless automation as she looked to the Duchess again. Serenity was clasping her wrist with a concerned and slightly pained look upon her face.

  “Blessed Goddess,” Serenity gasped, “I had no idea you were like this!”

  “Wha— … what? What’s wrong?” Raina asked with genuine surprise.

  “I knew you were close to the edge but … but I didn’t realize just how close,” Serenity said as she took away her hand for a moment to glance at the damage done. It apparently wasn’t severe, but still more than she had anticipated. With wide eyes, she asked, “How long has it been since you last fed?”