by P. Mattern
Since that time the features had appeared less and less in the female Fairy population, becoming a rarity.
Ruthie Lily was a rarity… And Ian couldn’t have been more head-over-heels delighted with her evolutionary throwback status. Ian had proposed from the first time that they’d made love, and finally Ruthie had accepted. She’d been in love with the Welsh vampire since the first time she’d set eyes on him, and would have saved him no matter who he’d been. But her growing attraction and feeling toward him had made assisting his escape imperative.
On the day of Buttercup’s demise, with the house quiet and most occupants in their rooms, Ruthie and Ian filled hours of the afternoon teasing each other to a frenzy, satisfying their urges, and then starting all over again after a brief respite.
“I love you Ruthie Lily, my betrothed.” Ian whispered against her neck as he began yet another campaign to arouse her again.
“And I, you.” Ruthie replied. There were so many things to love about this male energy, she reflected. She loved the sensuous feel of his long hands traveling her body. She loved their perfect ’fit’. She loved the way his wet mouth and hot breath worshipped every inch of her.
Suddenly she sat straight up in their bed as a thought occurred to her.
“Oh my God!” she said, her beautiful eyes wide.” Ian we haven’t - we’re not - I could…” she stuttered.
Ian pulled her down and looked into her eyes as he loomed over her, running his fingers over her abdomen lightly, circling her navel with a finger.
“Get pregnant? Is that what you’re thinking love?”
Ruthie gulped.
“Well yes… I just don’t know what has gotten into me! I’m usually very careful about these things!“
Ian chuckled quietly at her reaction.
“Well I intend to marry you anyway you know.“ He said, playing with her hair. ”I have declared so to everyone in the house that would listen to me. And if you become pregnant I’d be delighted, actually.”
He peered even more closely into her eyes.
“But that’s me being selfish again I suppose! How would YOU feel about it Ruthie my wife-to-be?”
Ruthie looked thoughtful.
“Well I always wanted to have a career - the kind that came with top secret clearances and classified infobytes. It wasn’t easy being a half-Fay to get to where I wanted to be. I mean the challenge part was fulfilling. But discovering the darker aspects, the realities that made my blood run cold, and knowing that just simply being privy to that sort of information would keep me under surveillance for the rest of my life ruined it for me. Every place I have lived since I got top level clearance has been bugged with cameras and audio. Being Fay I was aware of it early on, but there was nothing I could do. I knew that everything I did-eating, dressing, taking showers, even going to the bathroom, was being watched by a government employee being paid 100K a year, JUST to watch me.
I don’t know how much you know about fairies Ian - but we can’t stand to be watched. Or crowded.”
She turned to him and responded as his mouth covered hers for a sustaining kiss.
“Now my life has changed forever,” she said, drawing back to tell him what was in her soul. ”And I’m not sorry at all. And, with you, I feel alive again. And I could never go back.
So I guess what I’m saying is… I love you and I would LOVE to have your babies, under any set of circumstances. I’m ready to have a life worth living!” she finished, her earnestness shining in her eyes.
Ian smiled at her, caressing her shoulder, thanking his lucky stars that he’d ever found her.
He switched positions so that he was on top of her again, bending his full lips down to kiss her soundly, then saying,
“Then It’s settled. I’m getting you with child, my darling Ruthie Lily - TONIGHT!” he said eagerly.
“SOLAR!” Cass said with emphasis, ”We need to convert everything that depends on fossil fuels as soon as possible. We can only count on energy sources that derive from nature AND are accessible in a pinch!! Look around you my dears - wind and sun and if we are lucky enough to discover an abandoned coal mine or two - not likely around here though… we’ll be set for The Great Upheaval!”
All the other vampires gathered in the Sunday afternoon shade after Buttercups memorial service and burying under the largest willow tree nodded soberly, including Mitzi. Despite her grief over Buttercup’s loss, as a Tribite her enhanced prescience caused her heart to swell with pride. Cass was correct in everything he was saying and watching him explain the various sources of energy and their drawbacks caused her to be more proud of him and more in love with him than ever.
Mitzi glanced over at the twins, sitting together with Jaxon at some of the additional picnic tables that had been brought in. Cory and Jaxon had their heads together, undoubtedly discussing what Cass had just said. Ab sat with a slightly bored but contemplative expression on his now-adolescent face. He raised his hand, and at his father’s nod began to speak.
“If it comes to the point where we have to relocate, rather than BEING relocated… and I understand that this would be the worst case scenario - how would we proceed? Would we be able to use the portals?”
Cass grinned widely, and answered quickly.
“Excellent point Absolam. And there is no telling whether that would be an option at this point. Even if it IS an option, we have to consider how we would get all the equipment and supplies through the portal system. The movement of large quantities of material goods through the portal system has never been tried. And I expect that it would be a very tricky proposition without some sort of ionic stabilizer.”
Cass paused for a moment, reaching behind him and pulling out two gadgets from a case behind him that, when he’d extended their transformer - like parts away from their cylindrical centers resembled old fashioned byplanes made of metal and soldered to lightweight solar panels.
“I’ve consulted with several scientific minds in the V-net community and they agree with me that sending a specialized drone or two through the portals would be a good acid test. We can have someone at the portal destination ready and waiting for them, and testing them to see if they’re still completely functional after travelling through the portal. Portals involve some level of radiation that doesn’t appear to affect vamps but might affect how equipment functions-we’ll have to see how it all plays out.
After taking a swig from his open bottle of Sanguo, Cass continued to address the group again.
“Who can tell me of alternate forms of power that existed before electricity and nuclear power?” He asked.
Merilee raised her hand. She was dressed in an orange and yellow striped sundress and was with her new boyfriend Skyler.
“The earth’s magnetic field has been harnessed b vamps for centuries, by aliens and by the Egyptians.” She pointed out.
Cass rubbed his chin with one hand, looking professorial.
”All true Merilee! But other than vampires being able to direct it in order to fly, I’m not sure we can figure out how to harvest it in a relatively short time. Good call though. Anyone else?”
Daniel Cook, sitting slightly apart from the group, his hand firmly in Channing’s, raised a hand.
“How about the Jules Verne stuff? Steam and gears and whatnot?”
Cass pointed at Daniel.
“Exactly what I’m talking about! Some of what we’re moving toward could indeed be considered retro. And the solar and wind stuff is extremely adaptable as a source of energy generation. We are starting the switchover immediately. We’re talking cars, vans, solar powered laptops, cell phones, the gamut.”
Ruthie Lilly raised a hand.
“Yes, Ruthie?” Cass responded, delighted that the newest member of the group felt comfortable enough to join in on the discussion.
“How much time do we have?” Ruthie wanted to know. ”I know we have some High Prescients in this group, and I am personally lost in this regard. Being a Half-Fay I can do some mi
nd reading but Fairies are not traditionally prescient, save for the Queens. I suppose I’m wondering if we will have the time to prepare that we’re assuming that we will have.”
Her question seemed to sober Cass, and he waited a moment before speaking.
“I am told,” he began, a serious tone in his voice, ”By those of us with such abilities, that the shifting energies in the world at this moment are so varied and subject to change that it is impossible to predict just when these changes will occur. We are at a pivotal point in history, ladies and gentlemen.s There are changes in the structure of the planet that are ongoing and creating these energies, as well as some environmental changes affecting the weather patterns globally. All of these phenomena, added to the energies emitted by all living creatures who inhabit the planet, have created quite a stir in the energy fields surrounding us.
Quite literally,” Cass finished, looking somewhat weary, ”Anything could happen. At any time. And I will have to leave you with that.”
As the group disbanded, conversations were kept low key, and even Cass was far from his boisterous self. Personally, he considered the untimely demise of Buttercup a portent of events to come. And even though he hadn’t seemed to have any prescient gifts whatsoever in his entire time of having been a vampire, he could feel changes coming.
He hadn’t said anything to Mitzi yet, but he was sure that they would have to leave the Farm. Despite all the security measures they had implemented to make the residence an underground fortress, the fact that it WAS underground was it’s weak point, it’s built in fallacy that rendered all their efforts to fortify it futile.
Quite simply the Farm could be destroyed by either fire - they could be burned out- or water-they could easily be flooded out. A well-engineered trough dug from the nearby stream and directed to a tunnel connected to any room of the farmhouse could flood the entire underground structure in mere minutes.
Cass was determined that his family and also his extended family would be long gone before any of that could happen. In his desperation over the Great Upheaval he had consulted Yaya Wisceivisc on the matter. Kindly but firmly Yaya had advised him that any ‘spoilers’ Cass was seeking would compromise the Great Balance, but encouraged Cass to” follow (his) gut instincts over anyone else’s”.
Even over his twin Lux-who had an impressive reputation for warfare strategy. Cass was disheartened and heartened at the same time. He knew Lux would argue fiercely for his point of view and even physically challenge Cass for leadership. But at the same time Yaya’s advice encouraged him because he had a very strong feeling that the vampires should migrate West when the time to pull up stakes came.
Yaya had assured him that many V-net vampires would stubbornly stand their ground, and be slaughtered… the government would call it “extermination” and “relocation” - but either of those programs would amount to the wholesale slaughter of immortals despite the fact that they had evolved to the point of holding human life in protective esteem. At that point all the efforts of the V-net officials would amount to nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Yaya also told him that vampires, as immortals, would survive, actually breeding for a time, and emerge stronger. Yaya further predicted that the Dhampir population would become a force to be reckoned with, with their own organization and political clout in the scheme of things.
Cass sighed. That would be quite a world to see. He only hoped he would survive to be part of it. The one thing that he was sure of was that he was willing to give up his OWN immortal life to defend his family.
Adrastos groaned in ecstasy on top of his Declared Woman Parmitsvia Elaine Rabbit. It didn’t bother him in the least that his bed partner was out cold and unresponsive to his lovemaking. Her body was limp but his lovemaking stimulated her physically even in her unconscious state. He rather liked her in that state - unable to resist whatever his penchant was, every orifice on her beautiful body open to his overtures.
The fact that he had grown to look forward to these trysts reminded him that he still harbored feelings for Parmitsvia. He desperately wanted to impregnate her again for his own sake, but particularly for Argent’s sake. Argent had assured him that Parmitsvia was a wonderful mother and Adrastos was determined that Argent would not be an only child. This was why he had used all the cunning and Magick at his disposal to arrange these monthly nighttime abductions during the peak of her fertility.
He would have preferred to have her there full time, but was not ready to show his hand yet. He had taught enough Magick to Argent that Argent was able to make sure that Castor Noble never awakened while Mitzi was brought through portals to Castle Fauquier, and that Mitzi never retained any recollection of being made love to by Adrastos.
Argent was an adolescent now, and the previous month Adrastos had given him his choice of three lovely wetnurse clones with sexual features to usher in his manhood.
‘Like father like son’, Adrastos had mused to himself. Not surprisingly, Argent had selected all three and lost his virginity in triplicate that night.
While Arastos was busy with Mitzi, Argent now occupied himself gaining sexual prowess within the walls of Faquier Hall. He would have preferred to stay there full time, assuming his rightful position as heir to Adrastos Animavorous, but his father had cautioned him that the time was not yet right. Emotionally he was growing increasingly bored with life at the Farm and distant from his brother and his stepfather. The only person he cared about was his mother - and he did care about her, though he thought that she had been abysmally foolish to choose Castor Noble over his powerful father.
But then, in his opinion, women were the most frivolous creatures ever created anyway. He thought that it was self-evident that they’d been created to breed and then create more men and breeders. His studies had shown him that males were the superior sex in every species of creature. He loved to roam Faquier Hall realizing that within it’s walls the staff-soldiers, clones and even demons - feared him just as they feared his Lord father.
Too soon Argent’s evening of dalliance was over, and his father Adrastos escorted him through the portal back to the woods outside of the Farmhouse.
“The next time you come here,” Adrastos told him, ”You will come to stay. They won’t dare stop you.
As far as your MOTHER is concerned… she may yet join us here. But she is a stubborn woman and will take much convincing.”
Argent frowned for a moment.
“And what of my brother, my so-called ‘twin’? Will he come to reside here also?” Argent no longer considered that the other twin was his brother, but rather a half or ‘step’ brother due to the unusual circumstances of their birth.
Adrastos smiled.
“If it pleases you, and your mother wishes it. But surely you know Argent,” Adrastos continued ,”He would always be your inferior and bound to take orders from you - as well as any other children I should sire through your mother. You are my SON. You will take orders from none but myself!”
Argent seemed to absorb this information. His mother, laying across Arastos’ arms was beginning to stir. Adrastos bent his head briefly to kiss her, then handed her to Argent.
“Make sure your mother is placed safely in her bed. And carefully. She may be with child.”
Argent’s eyebrows rose in surprise. ”She must be very fertile.” He commented.
Adrastos smiled conspiratorially.
“Oh yes.” He replied.”VERY!”
Blue, shirtless and perspiring in the camper bed, bent down again to kiss Nora’s soft and yielding lips. He was still large, but now was firm and muscular. He looked like a vampire on steroids.
Nora sighed as he kissed her. There was something so comforting about his body covering hers. She felt sheltered and completely protected.
Blue’s large hands traveled her small body, exploring aimlessly. The camper was so quiet that they both could hear the crickets chirping loudly outside. The wanton summer night was hinting of Fall,
and Nora reflected that if she could be any place in the world, any place at all, she would choose to be in Blue’s arms. His face had lost its former roundness and he looked very handsome. His hair had gotten longer too-it was full and thick and fell almost to the tops of his shoulders now.
She had convinced him to get his tongue pierced. He had acquiesced after she had demonstrated one night when they were along together how delicious the small barbell she had in her own pierced tongue felt on certain areas of his body. He had decided then and there that he wanted to afford her the same pleasures that she had introduced to him.
She pulled her tank top over her head and shimmied out of her jean shorts. Blue felt his heartbeats increasing as he gazed at her loveliness. He bent his head lower to swish his tongue in circles around her navel, making her giggle. Then he moved down lower still, pushing the flimsy material to the side with his tongue and lapping at her. She began moaning involuntarily and excited him by moving her hips in an undulating pattern, her thighs relaxed in the grip of his large hands.
He stripped away the tiny sodden triangle of material that separated him from her lush femininity. Blue nearly gasped at her display. Her sex was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, even in the dim light of the camper, which consisted mainly of the nightlight over the kitchenette and the light of the full moon streaming into the small window at the end of the foldout bed.
She was woman… HIS woman… waiting to receive him.
He reached over to his abandoned jeans and fumbled in first one pocket and then the other for the ultra-thin condom he had purchased from a vending machine.
Nora moaned. ”Blue?”
Blue cursed his clumsiness.
“Just a moment sweet.” He half-whispered, reflecting that he should have practiced putting on a condom with ONE hand, instead of two. He was trying not to ruin the sexual momentum by taking both his hands away from Nora’s perfect body at the same time, but he was having a hard time even getting the condom out of the package.
Suddenly he felt Nora’s small hand on the back of his .”Let me, Blue.” She said quietly, a slight smile playing around the corners of her mouth. She had the condom out of its package and on Blue within seconds, and pulled him back on top of her with amazing strength.
