Shades of Pink

by 33 authors

  Catriowgyn hadn’t seen anyone, male or female, that tall or skinny before. She stopped in the center of the clearing where the moonlight could shine down on her. Her skirts made a swooshing noise as she came to a standstill. They stood there, staring at each other, for what seemed like hours. Then, the man spoke.

  “You are a lovely vision, standing in the moonlight as you are.”

  His voice was gravelly, as if he hadn’t spoken in a very long time. She jumped slightly at the sound of it, but recovered quickly, replying, “Why, thank you, kind sir. I must admit that you startled me some. Can you come join me under this wonderful moonlight so that I may see you better?”

  * * *

  CHAPTER 2

  Catrigowyn stood in the middle of the clearing, holding her breath. She wasn’t sure, exactly, what she was waiting for but she waited.

  The man chuckled, even that was gravelly, and answered, “The moonlight does not agree with me the way it does with you and I fear that you might be frightened once you see me.”

  She was already shaking her head before he had finished and replied, “I believe we have gotten the frightening me out of the way, so please just step out of the shadows.”

  She saw the shadow of him shrug and straighten to his full height. He took a slow step out of the shadows. He seemed to want to drag out revealing himself, like it was just a game to him.

  She gasped as soon as all of him was exposed. He had pale skin that the moonlight made almost translucent and shaggy deep black hair that fell just below the collar of the blood-red shirt he was wearing. His pants looked like the type a pirate would wear. He didn’t step any closer than the line of trees he’d crossed, but he wore a smirk, like he found something amusing.

  Catriogwyn took an involuntary step back. His smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. She had apparently been wrong about not being frightened any more. He appeared to be enjoying her fear.

  “Here I am, little one, in all my glory. Are you still so brave?”

  She just gave a small shake of her head and turned to run, only to be stopped by a long-fingered hand with almost translucent pale skin wrapped around her wrist.

  * * *

  He could feel her pulse jumping underneath her skin on the wrist he held, could smell her fear as it permeated the air, and he could feel himself losing the tight hold he had on his control. He pulled her into him, gently stroking the pulse that was beating on her wrist like a bird desperately trying to escape its cage.

  She gave a soft whimper as he dropped her wrist and wrapped both arms around her body. He leaned down, watching the frantic pulse in her throat.

  “I have been walking in these woods for the last three nights, trying to find the source of this wondrous smell. When I smelled it again tonight, I decided to wait in those shadows for it to find me. I never dreamed such an intoxicating smell could come from a human.”

  He felt her trembling as he talked. The trembling doubled as he ran his tongue up her neck.

  “What are you going to do to me?”

  She’d whispered it, her voice tinged with the fear he could smell on her.

  “I am going to give you a beautiful gift. I shall make you immortal!”

  With that, his fangs descended and he bit into her neck. He took a long pull, and then lifted his head.

  “You are not merely human! You are half Succubus! Oh, my, my, my. Miroslav has been a very busy demon indeed!”

  He laughed and returned to his feeding.

  * * *

  Catriogwyn couldn’t break his hold on her. She wiggled and squirmed trying to get him to let her go. She whimpered when he licked her neck. She was trembling in her fear. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do to her and she prayed that she would get out of the situation she was in alive. She was kicking herself in the ass, she’d been warned by Aidan not to travel too far into the woods. That strange things had been happening.

  But she’d been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn’t paid any attention to where she’d been heading and had wound up in the middle of the woods. Then the man bit her and all thoughts had frozen. She stiffened in his arms and when he lifted his head, she felt drops of her blood drip onto her collar bone.

  His gravelly voice so close to her ear caused her to jump as he said, “You are not merely human! You are half Succubus! Oh, my, my, my. Miroslav has been a very busy demon indeed!”

  He bit her again and her last thought as she lost consciousness from the combination of shock and fear was, A Succubus? I’m part demon?!

  * * *

  CHAPTER 3

  When she came to, the moonlight was still shining down on her but it seemed brighter, harsher. She looked around, only to discover that she was completely alone.

  She was beginning to think that she’d had some sort of lucid fantasy, until she noticed drops of blood on her skirts as she was wiping bits of debris off of them. Her hand slowed and she gathered her skirts up, preparing to run home. But a voice stopped her.

  “Ah. So you have come to. For a moment there, I was afraid the change had not taken and I had simply drained you dry.”

  She turned toward the voice and saw the shadow of the man who’d attacked her.

  “Change? What change?” she asked him, her voice squeaking.

  He simply chuckled and stepped out into the clearing. He looked her over, taking in her disheveled hair, soiled dress, and frightened eyes.

  Clicking his tongue, he answered, “Why the change into Vampire. I was afraid it would not take because of the demon blood coursing through your veins. Being Succubus, your life span is much longer than that of a mere human and some Demon’s blood does not mix well with Vampire’s. But as I was draining you, I decided to give it a shot. A Succubus is a lot like a Vampire in some regards. What I want to know is how is it that you did not know you are half Succubus?”

  She regarded him with some curiosity. Everything seemed to be in much better focus. She took in her surroundings again, thinking about his question. The leaves on the trees had more contrast. She could almost count the veins in them.

  When she’d finished looking at everything around her, she found that she had no choice but to return her gaze to his.

  “Our father disappeared when my older sister became an adolescent. Not much has been spoken about him since. Out mother died a few years after of what everyone assumed to be heartbreak. Freya, my older sister, has tried talking to me about a condition having to do with her husband after sex but I never gave her the time to finish her thoughts.”

  She stopped talking abruptly. The man had been listening intently and he let out a soft sigh.

  “I see,” was all he said.

  She turned to the edge of the woods she’d entered the clearing through.

  “Oh my god! Freya! I have to go home and tell her!”

  He came close and wrapped his hand around her wrist, saying, “I am afraid you cannot go back home. You must come with me.”

  She stared at him as if horns had suddenly sprouted out of his head.

  “What do you mean, I cannot go home? I must! Freya and Aidan will be worried.”

  He shook his head sadly, “I am sorry but you cannot. The smell of the blood coursing through their veins, especially your sister’s, will make it difficult for you to keep your hunger under control. Come, we must go.”

  Catriogwyn wasn’t sure how to feel. She couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing her family again, but she’d wither away, immortal or not, if she ever hurt them. She had an internal struggle, trying to make the right decision.

  “My, where are my manners? My name is Lukas Spilka and I know Miroslav, your father. In fact, he and I are good friends.”

  She turned to him and raised an eyebrow, “Introductions are a bit late, do you not agree? But I am intrigued about my father. My name is Catriogwyn Stacey. You mentioned that we needed to go? Lead the way.”

  She remembered him saying, “So Stacey is the last name he has fabricated for this da
y and age” as she took his outstretched hand and following him into the woods. He led her to a small cave that she never would have found on her own. They made small talk on their walk to that cave and it was only when they entered the mouth that she stopped him.

  “You live in a cave?”

  He sighed and tugged on her hand as he replied, “Yes and if you would only follow me, I will tell you why.”

  She recalled his explanation and a small smile played upon her lips. She shook off the clinging remnants of the memory concerning the night she’d been turned and focused on the letter from the attorney’s office. She needed to pack and book a flight to Wilshire, Maine for the reading of her Great-Aunt Prudence’s will.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 4

  Catriogwyn made it to the airport with time to spare, which was a good thing because of all the metal detectors and tightened security. By the time she’d been scanned and her luggage rummaged through, she barely made it to the gate to board the plane.

  She was just getting settled into her window seat, when she remembered the book she’d packed to read on the flight. She stood and reached for her bag in the overhang. As she was pulling it down, she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned around, her bag falling into the aisle, and came face-to-face with a very handsome man.

  He reached down and picked up her carry-on bag, handing it to her while saying, “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just looking for my seat. Is this aisle B, seat ten?”

  She took her bag and dropped her gaze, muttering, “It is. Looks like we’ll be aisle buddies for the flight. Where are you headed?”

  She brought her gaze back up and caught his smile. She felt like she’d been sucker punched and was having a hard time catching her breath.

  “I’m heading to New York. You?”

  She returned his smile, sat back down in her seat and opened her bag. Digging through it, she found her book and brought it out. She answered him while zipping her bag back up.

  “I’m headed to Wilshire, Maine. I have business to take care of there.”

  He held his hand out, “I can return that to the overhang, since I’m still standing, if that’s all right?”

  She nodded at him and handed over her bag.

  He put it back in the overhang and turned back to her, with his right hand extended, saying, “My name’s Demetrio Pirozzi. It's nice to meet you.”

  She took his hand in a firm grip, giving it a slight shake, “Catriogwyn Stacey, nice to meet you, too.”

  She returned to her seat, hoping that her aisle buddy wouldn’t be much of a talker. She was opening her book when he finally took his seat. He seemed to take the hint, because he was doing a crossword puzzle when she looked over.

  The pilot’s voice suddenly filled the plane from the loudspeaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re ready for takeoff. Kindly take your seats and fasten your seat belts. After takeoff the stewardesses will walk you through our emergency procedures. Thank you for flying Heritage Airways.”

  Catriogwyn placed her book on her lap and fastened her seat belt. She hated flying. She’d never really understood why such a thing had ever been invented.

  When the plane started moving, she picked her book up determined to make sure she was distracted. She knew it was a foolish notion when her stomach dropped to her toes as the plane left the tarmac.

  She gripped the armrests of her seat, her book forgotten, as the plane leveled out, her eyes squeezed shut. She smelled Old Spice and masculinity as her aisle buddy, Demetrio Pirozzi she recalled, leaned over and slid the shade on the window down. Then she felt his warmth as he captured her left hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “Scared of flying or heights?”

  She felt his breath on her cheek when he whispered in her ear. She let out a sarcastic laugh.

  “Both, actually.”

  She had tried to convey by her tone that she didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to talk, period. She wanted to spend the three hour flight gripping her armrest, squeezing her eyes shut and feeling her heart somewhere in the middle of her stomach.

  Demetrio didn’t seem to get the memo. He started yammering about some kind of project his advertising agency was working on for Heritage Airways.

  It was the name of the airline that had caught her attention, her eyes flying open to stare into Demetrio’s blue ones.

  “Did you just say that your ad agency is working on a project for Heritage Airways? That’s the name of the airline this plane belongs to!”

  He gave her a smug smile, “Why, yes I did and yes it is. That’s the reason I’m headed to New York and I thought what better way to get to know the company I’m representing than to take a flight on one of their planes.”

  Her eyes widen as she realized what he’d done. He had distracted her from her fear of flying by talking about the airline itself.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 5

  When the plane started to descend, she barely noticed her stomach drop to her toes. Demetrio helped get her bags down from the overhang and they departed the plane together. He had a fifteen minute layover in Maine and he’d wanted to make sure she found all of her luggage.

  He seemed nice enough and he was very handsome, but Catriogwyn wasn’t interested in getting to know him, or anyone, that well. She had too much on her mind and the fact that she’d just lost the last living family member she had made her gun-shy about getting too close to another human.

  After retrieving the rest of her luggage, she and Demetrio said their goodbyes and Catriogwyn left him in the airport and made her way outside to hail a cab. She checked her watch, saw that it was six o’clock and knew that she was going to head straight to her hotel. She was getting hungry, so she was going to have to troll the streets of a city she didn’t know to find her dinner but it would have to wait until after dark.

  The problem she had, and one of the reasons she went so long between feedings, was that she had dual hungers. She had the hunger of the Succubus on top of that of the Vampire. It’d been hard enough growing up as half-Succubus, with that set of desires and urges; then Lukas had come along, taken her human half away and put a different sort of predator with different urges and desires in its place. Though it seemed that one desire remained the same no matter the species. The desire for sex was always alluring and strong from the time she’d reached her teenage years, but when Lukas had added the blood of Vampire into her system, the drive for sex had become more intense as the years went by.

  A cab pulled to the curb in front of her and she shook her head, clearing it, while the driver got out and helped her load her bags into the trunk. He opened the passenger door for her and helped her in. Once he’d gotten settled behind the wheel, he asked her where she wanted to go. She gave him the address to her hotel, then let her mind wander for the drive.

  She steered her mind away from thoughts of the first forty years with Lukas and how easy it’d been to embrace the predator the Vampire had helped her become, deciding to focus on her Great-Aunt Prudence instead. She felt bad for not having spent more time with her. Catriogwyn, of all people, should have known that money wasn’t the answer to everything.

  She’d spent time with Prudence, certainly, but not as much as she should have. Her only excuse was that Prudence looked so much like Freya that it’d hurt her too much to spend even that little amount of time with her.

  “Here we are. The Holiday Inn, ma’am.”

  The driver’s voice jolted her out of her thoughts. She looked out the driver’s side window to the building looming over the cab. It looked like every Holiday Inn she’d ever been to. She asked how much the meter said she owed him, paid and climbed out. The driver got out as well and unloaded her bags.

  After the cab pulled away from the curb, Catriogwyn grabbed her bags and made her way into the hotel. She checked in and went up to her room. She just left her bags by the door and headed into the bathroom, starting the shower.

  She ret
urned to her bags, snatched up her carry-on and took it with her to the table. She opened it up and dug through it, looking for the letter that had brought her on this journey.

  When she located it, she picked up the phone and dialed the number on the paper.

  “Thank you for calling Kemp and Evans, this is Mandy. How can I help you?”

  Catriogwyn took a deep breath before saying, “Hello, Mandy. My name is Catriogwyn Stacey. I’m in town for the reading of my Great-Aunt Prudence’s will and I thought that I should let Mr. Kemp or Mr. Evans know.”

  “Of course, Ms. Stacey, of course. Do you mind if I put you on hold for a few moments while I locate one of them for you?”

  She smiled softly because it sounded like poor Mandy was a little flustered. Maybe Kemp and Evans Esq. didn’t deal with death that often.

  “That’s fine, Mandy. Thank you so much.”

  She heard the faint click as Mandy hit the hold button, presumably to dial one or the other of her bosses to the phone. She listened to the music that most companies seemed to feel was needed when placing people on hold.

  She heard the click announcing that she was no longer on hold, and a deep voice answered “This is Michael Kemp. How can I help you, Ms. Stacey.”

  She let her breath out in a rush and answered, “Hello, Mr. Kemp. I’m only calling to let you know that I’ve just arrived in town and will see you at the reading. Will there be many people there?”