Ariel's Desire: A Novel of Vampirism and Submission

by Candace Smith

  "How do I 'earn my freedoms'?" she inquired.

  "Obey me," he answered.

  Ariel rested her head back against his chest. The smell of 'horse' was added to the leather woodsy smell of Lucien she was becoming accustomed to. She drifted on and off as the horse rocked her steadily against his body. Occasionally, Lucien's free hand would caress her bottom, lightly tickling the painful welts. He'd murmur into her hair, "You doing alright, little one?"

  "I'm fine, just nervous. You know I'm scared." she sighed in a faraway, sleepy voice.

  He rubbed the back of her neck above the collar as they continued in silence. He was well aware of how the strain of the night's activities would have depleted her.

  As the shadows grew long, there were only infrequent patches of trees. The rocky expanses at the foot of the mountain were slowing down the travelers. The men following the horses were wondering if they would be stopping soon, though they didn't see a likely place to rest.

  The Slave-master was talking to Dave. "Tonight, we'll stop late at the foot of the cliffs. We won't set out until almost sunset tomorrow because there isn't any protection from the sun when we cross over."

  "Would the Vampires burn up?" Dave asked.

  The big man laughed. "No. It unnecessarily tires them though, so we always take the cliffs at night. There's a cave with a spring running through it. You'll meet two of my friends, Paul and Zippo."

  "Zippo?"

  "You have to remember, Dave, we joined the Clan in the late '80's. Our group worked together at a bar. "'Flame-Throwers'", he chuckled. "God! That place was great! Carl, Paul and Mason were bartenders, Angie, Heather, Sarah and Hannah were cocktail waitresses. Jimmy and I were the bouncers. They closed the bar for a week to re-model, so we all decided to go camping. Turned into a long camping trip, huh?

  "Anyway," he continued, "we were about fifteen miles from pulling into the park when we see this guy hitchhiking. He looked like a hippie throwback from the sixties. Well, we were all a little drunk, so we decided to pick him up. He gets into the car, we ask him where he's going and he grins. He points out the windshield and says, 'That way looks cool with me, man.' The guys' brains are fried. He starts lighting up the most potent weed we'd ever smoked. The joint starts burning down and the guy pulls out this old silver lighter. It's got a little guitar roach clip attached to it with a chain. He finishes the last toke and someone asks him his name. He gives that goofy grin and says, 'Zippo' and snaps the lighter shut. We decided to ask him if he wants to go camping with us for a few days. He says, 'Got any munchies with ya'?' We tell him we do, and he ends up with us when the Vamps nailed us," Ethan finished.

  "You think your friends will be okay with me? I'm not stupid, well maybe I am. You know, they may look at the other guys and ask why you picked me." Dave was getting worried.

  "They're going to like you, trust me. The other guys with you are like the preppie ass-wipes that used to come in the bar. Holier than thou because they got their parents to support them a few more years. We've really come to like our life with the Vamps. They'll treat you well when you've proven you can be trusted. There are a few lessons your friends need to learn before we set out tomorrow. You going to help?" the Slave-master asked.

  "Ethan, I told you. I'm your man." Dave smiled up at him.

  CHAPTER 7

  THE CAVE

  The sun had been down for several hours when the weary captives walking behind the horses finally stopped. Ed actually walked into the back of Nicholas' horse not prepared to end the march. The men stood exhausted, silent, waiting for their next orders.

  Lucien dismounted after scooting Ariel further up the horse's neck. He reached up and gently set her on her feet. "Wait here a minute. I'll be right back." he said as he dropped the reins.

  The Slave-master and Dave started untying the men from the horse leashes. The men were giving Dave open mouthed stares not believing the 'dummy' had earned a position of such trust. Dave beamed and glanced over at Paula to see if she noticed his new status. She was leaning tiredly against Damon and not paying attention. He knew he had lost her to the compelling mountain man. That's okay. Do what ya' gotta' do Paula. He was over his infatuation.

  Lucien walked around a large boulder to the hidden entrance of the cave. Paul and Zippo were sitting against the sides of the cavern surrounded by several large parcels. They had built a nice fire and greeted him.

  "Lucien, all is well?" questioned Paul.

  "Yes, Paul. Five of each. How did your little endeavor turn out?" Lucien asked.

  Zippo gave Lucien a cock-eyed grin. "What a trip! I looked in the windows of the last house. We knew the people were gone. They got some weird ass gadgets now, Mr. L."

  Lucien smiled at Zippo's irreverence. He'd been the same from day one and some things just weren't worth changing. Lucien knew he was receiving total respect in Zippo's drug fogged mind, brain cells fried before they ever landed at the campsite two decades ago. He was Hannah's biggest customer for the pot garden she didn't realize Lucien knew about. On top of his other duties, Zippo had been weeding and watering her gardens for years in payment.

  "I'll give you a run-down of our haul when we're settled, Lucien. I'll redistribute the packs. I only set up five not knowing you'd be so lucky on your end," said Paul.

  "Just leave it at five. If you've done that well, you and Zippo don't need to be packing up the mountain," he rewarded the men. "We ready for tonight?" Lucien asked, already knowing they were prepared.

  "It's a go, Mr. L." Zippo smiled.

  Lucien made his way back to the horses. "Dave, bring the saddles and packs inside, then tie the horses over there." Lucien indicated a small patch of grass with a few trees a few feet from the group.

  "Yes, sir," Dave replied cheerfully, pleased he'd been called on to do something so important. Dave got busy as the Slave-master guided the other male captives to the cave. The Vampires followed, each with his weary woman.

  As they settled around the cavern, men in a group, Clansmen with their women, Zippo stood. He observed the captives and turned to the Slave-master. "Shit!" he exclaimed. "They've already been marked! That ain't fair!"

  "We had an unexpected turn of events that made it necessary to do it last night," the Slave-master told his friend.

  Shawna, Christal and Ariel looked at each other nervously. The mountain men didn't think the women would try to escape, except for maybe Justin. He'd thought Shawna might try. Everyone had expected Mike to run.

  The Slave-master waited until Dave finished the task Lucien had given him. "Dave, this is Paul and Zippo."

  "Hey, I'm Dave." He looked at Zippo. "You still got the lighter?" he asked the aging long-haired man.

  Zippo looked a little surprised and produced the tarnished relic from the pocket of his buckskin pants. "'Zippo' lighter. Never hit the road without it, man. More like my lucky charm now. No flint or good fluid for years. Clip still works though." He squeezed the body of the brass guitar and the stem with the frets opened. Zippo grinned.

  "Dave, keep an eye on your friends. I'm sure they're too tired to try anything but I'm going to talk to Paul and Zippo for a while," Ethan said.

  "No problem, Ethan." Dave replied.

  Paul and Zippo immediately started firing questions at Ethan. He told them what Dave had said about the football scholarship that had landed him in college. "His other friends treat him like an overgrown lapdog. He knows they think he's an idiot and the only reason they let him hang around was because of Paula. That was ending with his nonexistent football contract. He's not stupid. He just takes time to figure things out so they make sense to him. I really like the guy. He's laid back, never caused a minute's trouble."

  "They're all college seniors, or would be." Ethan started pointing out the captives. "Shawna and Allen are pre-med, Teri was studying to be a veterinarian, Doug, a journalist, Christal and Ed were on opposite sides of the fence in poli-sci, and Ariel studied botany. The Barbie Doll, Paula, used to date Dave and had no
clue what she wanted to be, other than spoiled rotten."

  "Someone's missing from that run down, man." observed Paul.

  "That would be Mike, the asshole over there. He was studying to be a lawyer," sneered Ethan.

  Paul looked at Mike's leather cuffs and bare neck, "Indians, huh? Let him spout his legal shit at them while he's busy bustin' his ass."

  Paul and Zippo immediately disliked the man. They had a flashback of Jimmy, the narc who had been bouncing at 'Flamethrowers'. He was with the Indians now, too.

  If the Slave-master lost your respect it was as bad as the Clansmen disliking you. There was always a good reason because the settlement would feel the loss of anyone useful.

  "Last night we had a feeling Mike was going to run. We were kind of waiting for it. Well, sure enough he bolts. Damon, Nicholas and Justin go after him, then the dark girl, Shawna. I guess she was a track star. Anyway, she shouts and the curly, mophead, Christal, takes off with her. Master Lucien gets up to go after them and his little gal starts screaming and clinging to him like glue."

  Paul's eyes got wide. "She attacked Lucien?" he said incredulously.

  "Sure did. He had a hell of a time getting her off him!" chuckled the Slave-master. "I go over to settle down the rest of the guys and all of them, except Dave, start kicking and hitting on me. 'Course I settled them quick enough with the 'cat'. After we got everybody back to camp, Lucien decided to mark 'em."

  Zippo didn't feel nearly as cheated from participating after hearing the exciting story. "Can't believe the women ran. Man, that must have been crazy!"

  "You know how the Vamps are about their women. We're lucky it worked out." Ethan said. "I think you'll still have some fun. Mike, the asshole, was the boyfriend of Lucien's woman, Ariel. None of our new friends know he won't be sticking around. Oh, yeah. The Vamps didn't exactly perform the whole ritual last night."

  Paul and Zippo waited for their friend to finish. "They saved pairing the men and the feeding for tonight. The asshole, Mike, already fed them the night we arrived at their campsite, and, get this ... he's the only one who doesn't know they're Vamps! Lucien's kept him separated from the rest of the group unless they're gagged. He's got to be going nuts trying to figure out why no one else is fighting them. I guess he'll find out tonight!" he laughed.

  Paul whispered to Ethan, "Look at those boobs!"

  Ethan looked over at Teri and Nathan. As usual, Nathan had unbuttoned Teri's shirt and was attentively stroking her huge breasts. "Nathan's got Teri totally mind-fucked, hasn't let her go or out of influence since he caught her. When he brings her out of it she's not going to remember anybody else. He hasn't stopped playing with those things for two days. I don't think he even knows what color her eyes are." The three men laughed.

  Lucien waited while Paul and Zippo handed around bowls of stew that had been cooking over the fire while the rest of the group showed up. As everyone settled down to eat, he asked how their raiding adventure had gone.

  "Six sheets, three plain and three flowered for the women, eleven pairs of jeans, various sizes, seven shirts and five blouses, eight towels, ten wash clothes, fifteen pairs of socks, eight boxers, three briefs, eleven panties, six bras – none that will fit her, Nathan." Paul smiled as he continued his inventory. Nathan grinned back proudly. "Three pretty good lengths of water hose, stripped two bikes of chains and tires, a pair of pliers and two hammers, a half-full box of nails, three pails, a mophead and a shovel head (they removed the easy to replace handles), a decent rope from a tire swing, and all the rope and pegs from the three clothes lines."

  "We watched the people pull out of the last house. They locked it. We weren't sure how long they'd be gone and they'd see the empty clothes line when they pulled back in the driveway so we made a quick grab at the garage and found a couple of cans of oil, some spare sugar and salt. The guy had no tools. Most of the garage stored unmarked boxes and we didn't want to press our luck going through them."

  Paul continued, "Only three houses with outside clotheslines and the last house was barely within the border you gave us." He shrugged.

  "Sounds like you made out pretty good. We knew the haul was going to be lighter. We may have to figure out different ways to get supplies next time but you've given Sarah enough cloth to work with for awhile. Obviously, no one saw you. Good job, men." Lucien praised them.

  "Thanks, Mr. L." Zippo was pleased at the compliment. He couldn't figure out why Lucien had assigned him to go on the trip. Paul would keep it organized but Zippo figured he never really had the Clan leader's attention.

  Lucien, on the other hand, felt confident Zippo would never leave Hannah and her neverending supply of marijuana and knew he liked the security the settlement offered him. He was also hopelessly in love with Paul.

  Zippo had spent too many times going hungry, getting beat up as a vagrant in his old life because he couldn't concentrate long enough to hold a job. The routine of the settlement worked well for him and now that he was to become an elder, it would be even easier for him to manage.

  The stew was finished, empty bowls placed in front of and beside the travelers. The Slave-master signaled to Dave and he silently got up and collected the empty bowls from around Ethan and his friends and the captive men. Then he brought them over to the spring running along the edge of the cavern, washed them and brought them back to where the packs were stacked. He returned to the Slave-master's side and sat down. The women watched his actions, waiting for him to come get their empty dishes as well.

  Lucien leaned down to Ariel. "Go wash the bowls." he ordered.

  "What?" she asked in confusion.

  The correct response is "Yes, sir."

  Ariel was stunned. Okay, this is a change. "Lucien, did I do something wrong?" She tried to think.

  "Ariel, you will acknowledge when I ask you to do something and do as I ask without hesitation. We have already experienced what happens when you are left to your own devices." He stroked one of the welts on her back.

  "Um, okay." She was still confused as she picked up their bowls. She turned to him and quietly said, "Yes, sir?" it came out as a question. He nodded and she followed Dave's example.

  When she finished, she sat next to him nervously, wondering if there had been a change in their relationship. He lifted her onto his lap and somehow the fact that his hand started stroking her, reassured her instead of making her want to squirm away.

  Shawna already had a mark against her and mumbled her "Yes, sir," to Justin as she picked up the bowls.

  Teri and Paula both giggled their "Yes, sirs," as Nathan tweaked Teri's nipple and they headed to the stream.

  Then there was Christal. Would she never learn? "Yes, Sir? You son of a bitch! Not likely. No man is lord over me!" she shouted, hands on hips.

  All eyes were on Christal and Nicholas. He stood and looked down at her. He growled and bared his fangs. Christal backed into the wall in terror as he said calmly, "Remember, Christal, I'm not merely a man."

  She gulped, "Yes, Sir," and bowls in hand, ran to the stream.

  Mike had seen Nicholas' distended canines. "What the hell?" he demanded of no one in particular. He looked at Doug, who looked miserably back at him. "Doug, what the fuck was that? Did you see that dude's teeth?"

  "Not just their teeth, Mike. They're the real deal," his friend responded.

  "Oh, hell no! You are not going to tell me these guys are Vampires. You've been out in the sun too long, guy." Mike stated.

  "Mike, why do you think we haven't been fighting them? We don't have a clue what they can do. Allen's been trying to come up with something but we don't know anything about a real Vampire. Obviously, the sun doesn't hurt them. What did you think we could do, other than get hurt? That won't help anyone. That's why the girls ran. We figured they wouldn't hurt them," Doug said quietly. He still felt miserable about the treatment the women had suffered trying to help them.

  "Do all of you know? Does Ariel know?" Mike asked.

  "Yeah, Mike. We'
ve known from the first night. They've either kept you separated from us or we've been gagged. We were afraid if you freaked out again they'd be pissed off at us. You didn't see, Mike. When you took off last night, we tried to fight the Slave-master so the girls could get away. He's not one of them, just kind of a helper. Even so, we were tied up after you left and he whipped the shit out of us. Ariel attacked Lucien and you saw what he did to her." Doug shivered. "Why the hell do you think we got caned last night?"

  Mike realized he was so caught up in his own misery, he never had questioned why Ariel and his friends got whipped. Then he said quietly, "How come you all knew and I didn't?"

  Doug shook his head. He didn't want to tell him. Mike turned to Allen who had been listening. "Allen? Tell me."

  "That first night, you know, after Lucien whipped you? You were really out of it. When they got you down from the tree, the men, the Vampires, they, shit, Mike, they all sucked your blood. It sounds crazy, but I swear. Nathan was first, we thought he was talking to you. He turns around with these fangs with blood dripping from his mouth." Allen shuddered. "They each took a turn, Lucien went last. That's why you were so tired yesterday. How the fuck were we supposed to tell you something like that? It was obvious they threw some kind of a hoo-doo on you, because you didn't remember it," Allen finished.

  "Ariel just cuddles up to him after he did that to me?" Mike was enraged.

  "Damn, Mike. She has to do whatever he tells her to, just like the rest of the girls. They don't know what's happening. The only one that's been able to get anywhere near us is Ariel, when she went to you. You saw what Lucien did to her. The rest of the girls won't even try to talk to us," Allen stated.

  "What Lucien did to her? What Lucien did to her!" Mike repeated. "That bastard got her to rub her wet cunt all over me while he fingered her until she came. He was laughing at me the whole time. Then she just walks off with him, riding into the sunset. Did you hear her riding in front him? All moaning and shit while he was groping her." Mike was completely pissed off.