Lost Lamb

by M. P. Taylor

  Her burning red eyes felt a bit more intimidating than they had a moment ago. She was capable, she was deadly and I had sworn a geas into her service.

  “It is done,” I declared.

  A hand grabbed my mane, yanked my head roughly to the side, and fangs plunged into my neck without the least bit of mercy. Before it had been a light point of pressure but now...now it was pain and pleasure that were so mixed that I didn't know were one started and another began.

  Panicked, I tried to raise my hand to ward her off. I couldn't. I'd sworn to be her servant. Both of us had known that would mean my blood was hers to drink. The geas prevented interference and my hands sat limply at my side as she partook in her feast. It wasn't unpleasant after the first few seconds. Venom had flooded my body, making me melt in her hands. I didn't have the will to tell her off. Even if I did, I couldn't.

  The geas made me unable to do anything but wait until she pulled her fangs out. She didn't. Not until my consciousness was fully faded, and the darkness I feared so much took me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning came an eternity later. Pleasure had been my dreams, a constant bliss that I'd forgotten could exist. No demons, just a few pleasant memories and hopes for the future. It reminded me of my childhood. Theron would tuck me in, tell me a story and I'd live it in those peaceful hours between the darkness.

  All good things ended, I opened my eyes.

  The light of my room was warming. I felt comfortable in my hopes for the day before I even remembered what they were. A lingering, tingling sensation could be felt through my limbs. It took me a moment to realize where it had come from. Hell, it took me a moment to even think. The vampiric venom had set in over the night, allowing me peaceful rest. It made me feel contented and safe – two things that logic would argue was impossible for myself.

  My eyes closed again, suggesting that I should sleep for a bit longer. I'd taken a beating the last few days, I deserved it. It took effort, but I shrugged the laziness off. I'd not been lifted from perdition, nor spared the struggles of my life. This was just another day albeit one where I'd gained something so terribly rare. Sleep. It was such an alien notion to be so well rested. No fatigue of body or of mind.

  As I stretched out, I felt only the faintest of aches from my wound. So much so that it was entirely worth ignoring and continuing the motion.

  For a moment, I wondered if the last few days had all been some sort of dream. A fanciful illusion meant to bring my sleeping mind enjoyment.

  Looking down at my bare stomach, I was forced to conclude that it hadn't been. A thin scar laid upon it from where Irena's blade had pierced my flesh and sealed my fate. It wasn't the only one either. My hand traced up to my neck and there it felt two slight bumps of crusted blood from where I'd been feed upon the last night.

  One might have thought such recent, broken flesh would be painful to the touch...quite the opposite. A chill went down my spine as though the entire region of my neck was changed into sensitive flesh.

  Was that part of becoming a thrall? A changing of biology that made me more receptive to being fed upon?

  If I'd given Theron's lectures on the major supernatural threats more attention, I might know something useful about vampires. Their lineage and major weaknesses were all I really knew. If the effect of the venom would erode my will over time, that was something I could only speculate on.

  What I did know was that I needed to clean up.

  I wasted no time in getting to my bathroom, which was connected to my bedroom, and splashing some cold water on my face. It helped to break the haze of positive emotions. It also allowed me to think, to remember last night and the purpose of Irena's visit and the deal that I had made.

  Gerald.

  I ran from the bathroom and into the living room. My eyes shot to the couch that a wounded Gerald had been on the night before and...he was still there. He and Irena. The two of them were apparently having words over breakfast, eggs and toast that, judging by her apron, Irena had made.

  “Catherine...” Gerald voice was filled with unease as he shifted his eyes away from me and towards a blank spot on the wall, “Your um... clothes.”

  “Oh,” I could feel the blush in my cheeks as I tried to conjure up some excuse, “I-I didn't thin-you were hurt last time I saw you a-”

  “And you were worried,” Irena said, “Of course you were, but, as you can see, Gerald is quite alright. I tended to his wounds while you got some much need shuteye and the two of us have been having a most enlightening conversation. I'd be honored for you to join us but I really must insist on you getting dressed first.” '

  I went back to my room.

  There really wasn't anything to say though I had plenty questions, mainly about what Gerald and Irena were talking about. If she wanted me to be a spy for her, doubtless against the elders, then she'd need my cover to be maintained. Was she coming up with some elaborate story to justify her presence or perhaps she already got to Gerald in some manner.

  That scared me. He'd been a prisoner of Erik's but what if, in the time between Erik holding Gerald and Gerald's arrival to my home, she'd made some kind of deal. Gerald was certainly capable of making a geas of his own.

  I shook my head.

  There was no point in speculation when time would give me the truth. I just went about getting showered and dressed. After doing that I went and considered my appearance for a moment in the mirror – there was something I needed to check.

  Upon my neck, the marks were still there. More importantly, they could be seen with the naked eye. Two red dots. I cursed.

  It needed to be concealed. Not just because it might led to some rather uncomfortable questions but also because of the nature of the geas. I was unable to do anything that would have me knowingly breaking the contract. That included leaving evidence in plain view, one couldn't outwit a geas once the terms were made. Gerald was justicar, someone who'd take note if Irena continued feeding on me. Once in battle was fine, but a second time in my home... that would bring up questions.

  I waited for Harold to show up and fleshcraft the mark away, but alas he didn't magically materialize as I'd hoped he would.

  A quick throwing on of my jacket didn't quite do the trick. At certain angles it could still be seen. It wasn't subtle, but I managed to find a silky scarf stuffed in the corner of my clothing closet that I never used. A quick loop and it was tied about, concealing the marks.

  Now I just had to hope he hadn't caught a glance earlier. Judging by the way he'd snapped his neck away from me, I doubted it would be an issue.

  When I got back into the main room things were slightly less awkward. Slightly.

  Gerald was hesitantly poking eggs with his fork while Irena watched with what could only be described as smug amusement.

  Her eyes came to rest on me asI stepped out. I blushed.

  It was an instinctive reaction, flashes of memory came to the surface – of being held while she feasted on my blood. It had felt so good that just the sight of her made my heart flutter with excitement. It was terrifying. I knew it to be a biological response from the venom but, like an addict, I had a desire to feel that high again. To be feasted on like a good thrall.

  It made me angry.

  My hands wrapped about Gerald a moment later. Pleasure was one thing, but love was far more powerful, and I did love Gerald.

  He was my brother. Fate had decided that, not blood. He embraced me with a weathered sort of grunt. I hoped my hands didn't brush up against any unseen scars from the torture he'd recently endured. If it gave him great discomfort, it didn't show. He, like myself, was able to shrug off the primitive emotions to embrace a sibling.

  Words had always been hard for me. I found the closer I was to a person, the harder, and I was really close to Gerald, “Are you well?”

  “Amateurs,” he grunted, “Training with Natasha is far worse.”

  “Amateur,” Irena corrected from a chair that sat across from me and G
erald, “Erik was never meant to be a blood knight. I knew him when he was still a human brat...always crying that one.”

  Gerald broke off the hug and gave me a 'start talking' look.

  “So, you two have talked?” I asked.

  Irena grinned at that and nodded, “I told him about us.”

  That made me frown.

  The last thing I wanted Gerald to know was that I was under the geas of some ancient vampire warlord. He had enough on his plate being a justicar. He didn't also need to be worried about me slipping under the control of yet another creature of darkness. He eyed me with a hard look, wanting answers, but I was unable to do much more than stammer my mouth in a futile attempt to explain the situation. To tell him that Irena had given me the terms of his release – my servitude.

  “Is it true?” Gerald asked, looking between me and Irena, “I'm not going to judge you or anything. I just... I'm surprised really.”

  His voice wasn't critical. It was surprised, if anything, but more than that their contents didn't make much sense with my train of thought.

  I turned to Irena, “How much have you told him?”

  “The truth,” Irena said with a perfectly honest expression, emulating the emotions that one might expect for a heartfelt subject, “That the two of us have been together for some time. That I asked you to look into a private matter for me and that you got hurt on my behalf.”

  That would have been enough but Irena continued, no doubt delighting in her own performance, “That Erik was the one to kidnap Gerald, and that I set him free after you killed Erik and allowed me the freedom to claim his spoils. And that I am so terribly sorry for getting you wrapped up in this mess.”

  Irena's red eyes looked pleadingly at me – a falseness within, “Please forgive me, my love. I didn't mean for you to get hurt...or for your friends to be caught up in this.”

  Once more Gerald looked at me. I put my hands up in a expression of frustration. Irena had pressed my buttons, both in the good and bad way.

  Channeling my frustration at her, I spoke, “This isn't how I wanted you to find out?”

  “You're serious?” he asked. I looked at the ground but nodded, “Gods Cath. Can't you do anything normal?”

  Irena took offense, “Come now. Women have been sharing beds since the sun was turning.”

  Gerald stumbled over his words for a moment, “Ah, I didn't mean the whole...you're a vampire. And judging by the swords at the doorway over there, I'm guessing your with one of the elder dragons. We don't really get along that well.”

  Irena reached across the table and took my hand. A tingling sensation raced along my arm, bringing a smile to my face – a rare sight.

  “We,” my apparent vampire lover declared, “Are at peace. So are your elders and my lord. It certainly wouldn't be the first time our sides have fraternized and I hardly see what's wrong with loving instead of fighting.”

  Gerald let out a sigh, “I can't argue with that but others will. I don't know what Cath had told you but things aren't exactly stellar between her and the leadership. Too many red flags and they'll bring down the hammer. Trust me, I've been working on stopping it for a long time.”

  “And,” Gerald continued, eyeing Irena, “I'm not certain about you. Your kind have a reputation of being...well evil.”

  “Gerald. She got you out,” I said, compelled by the geas from giving the whole truth and explaining her motivation for doing so, “Let her actions speak for her. And, if you still don't trust her, trust me.”

  Those words were hard and I wouldn't have spoken them if my will was my own. I had lied to Gerald. Worse yet, I had done it by playing his heart strings. Asking him to trust me while I was compelled to spew out half truths.... it was enough to ruin any good mood I might have been feeling from my morning high.

  It worked. I knew it would. Gerald nodded his head at me, in apparent acceptance of my judgment. My true mind screamed for him to call me out on my own bullshit. I pulled my hand away from Irena.

  “There is one way that we shall be accepted, my love,” Irena said with a seductive undertone that made me more uncomfortable, “You simply need to solve the issue plaguing our city. If we can show both sides that we can work together, for the common good, I can't see how they could look down on us.”

  I shook my head, “So all we need to do is track down a rogue wizard.”

  “Huh?” Gerald asked with a raised eyebrow.

  I filled him in on what I knew. He shook his head, “This is why I don't take vacations. The place falls apart.”

  That got a scoff of amusement from Irena.

  Gerald had a sort of infectious confidence when he was in his element. His job as a justicar brought out the best of him. His suspicious eye and, frankly, monstrous body were something to fear. He was built for war and had been waging it for years now. I was still finishing my apprenticeship when he was cutting down the things in the dark. It was good to know there were people like and him and Natasha, people to whom monsters were just another day at work. Never mind what that said about the state of our world.

  “What about you?” I asked, “There must be something you learned while being ah, tortured.”

  Gerald shrugged, “Not really. The bald one, Erik right? He had a thing for pain. Didn't seem all that interested in much beyond causing it. Asked a few token questions about the safe house but nothing that was pointed. Seemed like he just wanted an excuse to cause some suffering.”

  “Sounds like Erik,” Irena confirmed, “Spoiled child. He probably would pull the wings from a fly if he had a chance.”

  “You're with them,” Gerald commented, “Was he acting on orders?”

  “No. He acted on his own accorded and betrayed the will of my master. He was a traitor and my master offers his thanks to the elders for dispatching him,” she nodded toward me specifically, “You, as promised, may keep his blade as a spoil and thanks. We'd be even more happy if his accomplice could be found and executed.”

  “Do you know anything else?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she shifted a bit, “But such information can't be given away.”

  Gerald narrowed his eyes, “Meaning what exactly?”

  I understood, “She can't say.”

  “I can't,” she confirmed, “But you have all the information you need to know. Together, you can figure out who the wizard is.”

  That was actually somewhat frightening. Her words seemed to imply that it was someone that I or Gerald knew.

  Natasha. She had the power that would be required to summon such creatures and the politician position to hide those activities.

  No. It couldn't be her. She just wasn't the type to go on a power mad rampage. There wasn't any logical reason for my conclusion, but I'd talked with her recently and she just wasn't that evil. Someone like her, someone who embodied the duty of a justicar, wouldn't harm mortals and plot with vampires. Only scum like me dealt with vampires.

  “Gerald, walk me through everything that happened after you left,” he grimace but nodded.

  “Left your place and got jumped on the way back to my car. Made it to the streets. Not really sure what happened. There was a bit of a pain and then I was out. Thought the vamp might have gotten me, fangs and what not, but there wasn't any of them um...side effects,” I tried not blush at recent memories. Oh, how I knew the side effects.

  Gerald cough and continued, “Woke up and spent the last day or two getting sliced by some sharp things.”

  Those last words angered me a great deal.

  I turned to Irena, “Was Erik with you the rest of that night?”

  “Sadly yes. He and I looked over the papers. Papers which conveniently disappeared the moment I went away,” she brought the statement to a point, “But yes, he couldn't have been the one to attack your friends. He was with me at the time.

  Gerald was having a very bad week but, like a professional bad guy killer, he managed to keep his cool. He looked like a big teddy bear that needed a hug. Given that
I'd already tried a hug, I decided on the next best thing. To catch the one who was responsible for all this, and I was starting to get a good idea of who that was.

  I stood up from the table, “I got to make a call.”

  “Cath?” Gerald gave me a curious look, “What's going on.”

  “Shush, I have a theory.”

  My home phone was on the wall of my kitchen. The place smelt of cooked eggs and bread. It was around that time I heard a faint grumble from my belly and remembered that it had been some time since I'd eaten last. It might not have seemed a big deal but wizards ran on energy and part of that equation was food. I grabbed a apple and took a bite as I dialed the number of regional stronghold. A robotic messaging system greeted me and I had just enough time to finish the apple before I connected to a real person.

  “Oakenvale Hotel, Jameson speaking,” a receptionist type said in a utterly fake, happy tone. It belonged to a construct, one of the arcane servitors that ran the place. Humans were too expensive apparently, “How may I help you?”

  I covered my mouth and whispered the call sign, “The seven clocks sway and the book of life opens before me.”

  “I'm sorry, I don't understand,” the voice on the other end told me.

  Wrong call sign. Blasted elders were all abut secret words and handshakes like they were the damned Illuminati. The updated call sign was probably in the pile of letters that sat on my mantle. One day I'd open them. I got Gerald to tell me the new one.

  “Black holes in his golden stare,” I grumbled, wondering if servitors could detect annoyance.

  The pleasant tone of the servant came up a moment later, “Call sign acknowledged, what is the nature of your call?”