by Zara Novak
“But why do they do it?” Kat asked Ansel at a quiet spot. “Why volunteer to be a slave?”
“For a chance to be a vampire. For them it is the ultimate reward, though I’m not sure it’s worth it… it is a tough life, and it requires a significant devotion. Usually five or ten years… and being turned isn't even a guarantee.”
Their welcoming tour finished up in a small communal area near their accommodation. It was here that they met the woman of the house, Eric’s human breeder, Claire. The most animated response was between Claire and Rubago. From what Kat understood, Rubago had been a witch to the family not too long ago. The family had thought she was dead, and her presence here was something of a miracle.
Once the initial shock passed, Eric introduced Claire to the rest of the group. Ansel and Edmund were amicable and respectful, perhaps with even a glint of fear in their eyes. Their reactions amused Kat somewhat, but coming face to face with the girl evoked the same response inside of her.
“Claire Eldridge,” she said in a low but powerful voice while holding out a hand. Kat took her hand and feebly gave her own name back. Claire was human, just like her, but a subtle power radiated from her presence. She was the first human in a century who could breed with vampires, and that probably had something to do with it. Here was a woman who held real power, and everyone else in the room seemed to know it. Kat couldn’t get over how beautiful Claire looked. She was a year or two younger than her perhaps, but everything about her painted the picture of an elegant woman. From her sharp blue eyes to the rotund curves of her body, the woman oozed strength.
They all retired after that, and a servant escorted Ansel and Kat to a private room nearby, which would act as their home while they stayed in the castle. The bedrooms were just as ornate as the rest of the castle and were more like large apartments than anything. In their room there was a living area, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Two long walls of glass cornered their large living space, providing a stunning view of the valley.
Upon entering, Kat could see the sun was just bruising the horizon with tinges of dawn pink. There were no blinds on the windows, and Ansel opened his mouth to air his concerns with the servant that had brought them to the room.
Before he could air them, a faint buzzing sound came from the corner, and the large glass panes flicked over with dark black, obstructing the sunlight in an instant. Their servant was a young vampire girl named Harley, and she explained. “Electric current flows through the windows on a timer. The glass darkens at sunrise, filtering out 95% of the light. Guests with even the highest light intolerance have reported no problems.”
They thanked her and she promptly left. It seemed their hosts had thought of everything ahead of time, including in the bathroom where a wide tub of steaming hot water lay waiting. They undressed without speaking and sank into the waters, relaxing as heat enveloped their tired bodies.
“You need to rest.” Ansel said through a smile as Kat straddled him in the water. She brushed a hand through his hair and pushed her lips against his, tasting his sweet flesh.
“And what better way than to be exhausted by a vampire?” She rolled her hips over his crotch in the water, moaning as his steel burned between her folds. He brought his hands down over the curves of her hips and pulled his crotch tight against hers. What she would give to have him inside her right now. Maybe they’d waited long enough? Maybe she was ready for him again?
“That’s not what I meant.” Ansel smiled and kissed her back. “You're still recovering from your injury Kat, you could have died.”
“I'm good as new now. I don't know what your blood did but my body feels fantastic.” She didn’t know how vampire blood healed humans exactly, but its rejuvenating effects were positively invigorating. Despite his protests, Ansel’s lips pulled down her throat, and she bristled momentarily at his his teeth grazing on her skin. He paused briefly and carried on down to her chest where his lips sucked around her rosy nipple.
“Oh baby,” she purred while dropping her head back and thrust her hips against his. He bit down gently onto her nipple, pulling just enough to make a gasp escape from her lips. They spent the next half hour relaxing in their affection. After that Ansel picked Kat up and carried her from the bathroom into the adjoining bedroom. They dried each other, using the activity as another excuse to grope each other sensually, and then he laid her down on the bed, placing himself between her legs, putting her feet on the back of his shoulders.
“You taste so divine,” he said while planting kisses on the insides of her white thighs. He brushed a finger up the center of her sex, and then she felt a finger slip inside of her, curling until it found the right spot. Kat closed her eyes, a breathless grin spreading over her face as pleasure consumed her. His breath tickled over her skin like fire.
She thought of his incredible strength and speed. If she didn’t want to be here, was there any chance he’d ever her let her escape? Probably not. She couldn’t escape him even if she wanted to, and part of that danger made everything about this more sexy. She never thought she’d have a man like Ansel, she never thought someone could make her feel as sexy as he did.
Sometimes the excitement subsided, and she reminded herself of the stark contrast between them. Here between her thighs, was a dangerous man, a murderer, kissing and loving her with tender affection. Could he ever turn on her? Could he lose control and do something irreversible? Could loving someone so dangerous be inherently worth it?
As the thought crossed her mind, she got more turned on. In a way she felt as if she had control over Ansel, just as Claire did with Eric. Maybe Kat was a slave to his irresistible guile, and maybe he was just as much a slave to her. She knew what she saw in Ansel, but she still couldn’t understand what he saw in her. And at that moment, it didn’t really matter. His lips always knew how to act, his tongue always knew what to do, his hands moved as if controlled by magic. She came hard, squeezing her eyes tight, grasping his head in her hands. As she came her hips bucked wildly, and her breath raced, whispering traces of his name. Sleep came as it always did, but she tried her hardest to keep her eyes open. She fell asleep in his grasp, safe and protected—his arms wrapped tight around her.
*
In the morning, servants escorted the new arrivals down to breakfast to talk with their hosts in greater detail. The only vampires in the room were the ones considered necessary. Eric and Claire were there, along with some other members from their family. Will York joined the table with two members of his coven, and Ansel and the rest of his group were present too. The morning began with a hearty breakfast. The castle's blood supplies waned at the moment, but Eric spared no expense on this initial joining of groups. Vials of dark blood filled the long broad table, accompanied by a variety of rich and exotic foods. They broke bread together, people shared stories, Ansel and Kat shared what had happened since they met.
When the jovialities were over, a tapping sound rang over the chatter, and everyone hushed to see Rubago standing with a glass in her hand. Time was of the essence it seemed, and the witch didn’t want to delay at all in starting their tasks.
“By now, you all know of the prophecy, you all know what is at stake. Claire… if you may.” At this, Claire nodded her head and stood to join Rubago, she turned away from the group and lifted her shirt to reveal a spiral birthmark at the bottom of her back. Everyone understood the mark's significance by now, and it stirred quite a reaction in those who hadn’t. If the mark wasn’t confirmation enough, the brief presence of their three vampire children was also a remarkable demonstration. After much cooing, Rubago brought the table back under her control.
“Since Claire’s pregnancy, the prophecy has kicked into action, and now we are moving on a timer. That timer counts down to success or failure, depending on our actions. There are groups out there trying to sabotage the prophecy for reasons unknown to us. Like us, they assume the lost daughters will be somewhere in this region.
“As the first was destine
d to a Belmont vampire, they assume the next is for a York vampire. Somewhere out there, a renegade witch is working with the White Order. She has possessed several of their members with Nephilim spirits. Dangerous magic. Black magic. Along with the magical interference, a higher entity seems to have contracted the Order to work alongside shifter packs. At this moment, we don’t understand who is behind this.
“As some of you might be aware, the prophecy needs the second daughter. I believe Black Fang is a warning, a message to show what will happen if we don’t locate another daughter soon. Destiny isn’t patient, it expects things to happen on a strict time line. The plague, the attacks… it’s all part of it. If we don’t hurry, it will get worse.”
“So what do we do?” Edmund asked.
At this, Eric stood up, sharing a glance with Rubago before addressing the table. “At this moment, we have a few priorities. First, we must try to find the other daughters. Like the Order, we assume they will be in the region somewhere. Using our knowledge of the valley, we will scout out across the forest and neighboring towns, trying to catch wind of anything unusual. Breeders pretty much go undetected until they reach their Red Moon… which is an internal biological clock. Once the girls have reached full maturity, their bodies will signal what they are. It won’t take long for other vampires in the area to notice that. If we keep our eyes and ears to the ground, we might pick it up too.”
“As well as finding the daughters,” Rubago said, “I want to find the witch aiding the groups. If we can track her down, I can disable her magic, and possibly use it to find the lost daughters. Even if I can’t, it’s still useful to disable the Nephilim magic in the Order.”
“And finally,” Will York added, “I wish to find the members of my castle taken prisoner by the shifter pack. They have my brother Eli captive, along with several blood servants.”
“Everyone in this room plays a part.” Eric said. “It’s clear that our new guests have a variety of powers that are useful. We will break up into groups that take advantage of those powers, and we will begin our search. Someone out there is trying to wipe vampires off the map. I’m not sure about you guys… but I want to give them one hell of a fight.”
10
A fresh night came around, and groups parted from the castle, eager to make progress with their plans.
“And why the fuck do I need to come?”
Eric rolled his eyes as his elder sister, Veronica, threw her predictable tantrum. She swathed a hand through her blood red hair, scowling at Eric. Out of all of his siblings, Veronica was definitely the most insane. Torture, hunting, murder—it was all just one big game to her. She had given up any semblance of trying to do the right thing centuries ago.
They were journeying to a vampire brothel hidden in the woods, an hour north of their position. Eric assigned Kat and Ansel to go with him. The outlaws running the brothel managed to stave off a shifter attack a few weeks ago, and Eric wanted answers. If the group had something that could help with their fight, he wanted it. Ansel’s strength would come in handy should they come across any unexpected interruptions on the journey, and Kat’s Cognizance could hopefully keep them out of any trouble.
The brothel was a shady place, owned by a gang of vampire bikers known as the Vandarks. Zora Vandark, one of the eldest daughters in the family, was the one in charge.
His history with the Vandarks had been a frayed one. Outlaw gangs were always an inevitability in the vampire world, and Eric had put his fist down several times to keep the renegade groups in check. There was a mutual understanding between the families, but there was also an inherent dislike.
The Vandark bike gang believed they should have been free to rape, hunt and pillage as they wished. Under Eric’s instruction, they were free to operate in his region if they followed strict guidelines. The gang played ball most of the time as life in the valley was lucrative. Eric might have been a tyrant in their eyes, but life was still better here than most other places.
The outlaw groups disliked and shunned Eric for his order, but generally liked his sister. Veronica had a tendency to indulge in the darker parts of life, and biker gangs and criminals were a regular part of her social calendar.
“I need you there to get me in with Zora Vandark. She won’t talk otherwise.”
“Damn right she won’t.” Veronica scoffed. “She’s still pissed after you put those hunting sanctions on her group.”
“They were taking too many humans and drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. What’s worse, a slap on the wrist from me, or a visit from the Red Circle?”
Veronica shuddered. A crazy as she was, even she didn’t want to risk pissing off the Circle. “I’ll come, but in exchange you'll let me hunt as much as I want.”
“You can take one person a night, but keep it at that. There’s a plague going around remember, you don’t want to get yourself riddled with this fucking Black Fang.”
“I’m a Belmont, Eric.” She said flatly. “Bad things don’t happen to me.”
No, you just inflict bad things on others, he thought.
“I’m serious. Curb your hunting. With the plague around it’s too risky. Raid blood banks as much as you want, take blood from safe spots. Don’t drink from unknown humans. It’s just too risky. Promise me V.”
“We’ll see.”
And so he’d convinced Veronica to come along with him. Upon their departure, she was less than pleased to see they were traveling with a human.
“What’s this?” She said while rearing her head at Kat outside the castle walls. “I ain’t traveling with no human.”
Ansel was in her face before Eric could respond, surging forward and pressing her throat against a tree with his forearm. “If you’ve got a problem with her, you say it to me,” he hissed.
“Take it easy buddy.” Eric put a hand on Ansel’s shoulder and attempted to pull him back. After a second Ansel relented, pulling sharply away from Veronica and walking back to Kat.
“I like this one!” Veronica said with a wicked glint in her eye. “Me and you should fuck Romeo!”
“I’d rather take a nap in the sun.” Ansel spat.
“Cut it out both of you.” Eric said while looking at Veronica. “Kat here because she’s Cognizant, she’s our canary down the mine.”
Veronica’s eyes widened slightly at this admission. “Great, so she’s not human—she’s a witch in disguise.”
“I’m not a witch you stupid fuck.” Kat said, finding that her patience for the female vampire had grown thin.
“Well the only fucking Cognizant people I know are all witches, so you explain that you fucking freak. Tell me, can you tell what I think of you?”
“No,” Kat said with a dry smile. “But I can tell you how you die if you want.”
Veronica grew pale at this, and Eric and Ansel both burst out laughing.
“Guess you’re not so tough.” Ansel said.
“Let’s get a fucking move on,” Eric said. “Grab hold of Ansel, Kat. It's time to jump.”
Speed in the forest was risky, it was noisy and there was always a chance they would attract their enemies. Eric relied that Kat’s Cognizance would keep them safe. Every ten minutes they stopped and waited for Kat to check their location. Most of her checks came back okay, but there was a point about an hour in when she gave pause.
“I wouldn’t go straight ahead.” She said after staring into the tree line for a minute. “I get the sense that something is there…”
“Shifters?” Eric asked. “The Order?”
“I can’t tell, just that it would cause a fight. Not a good one either. We should veer right.”
“That’ll add another hour onto the journey!” Veronica protested. “The only thing ahead of us is an old burned out church!”
“We veer right,” Eric said sternly. “I don’t want to risk running into any unnecessary fights when there are only a few of us.”
And so they went, and as they traveled around the bad spot in the woods, K
at confirmed that they were moving around it at a safe enough distance. Zora’s brothel was in a small and rural town, which acted as an unofficial vampire settlement for the area. Technically, all vampire settlements had to register as Sanguis towns under Circle law, but Eric let this one slip.
The town was a few blocks across on each side, a small gathering of decrepit looking buildings which housed a wide collection of unsavory characters. In town, Veronica quickly moved to the front of the pack, and the rest of them followed behind her closely as she led them through the streets to Zora’s brothel. The brothel resided on the main street, alongside several other illicit businesses: gambling dens, whore houses, hit men for hire, seedy bars.
“I fucking love this town.” Veronica grinned as they walked along the street. The sound of heavy metal flooded out of one neon lined bar while the sound of a bar fight broke out from the one next to it. The vampires in this town were high on blood, drink and god knows what else. Ansel kept a tight hold on Kat as they followed Veronica.
“How much for a suck?” A gray skinned man jeered at Kat from the crowd as they walked past. A few seconds with his throat underneath Ansel’s fingers made him take the question back.
“Just keep your head.” Veronica said under her breath. The group already stuck out like a sore thumb in the town and now even more eyes were on them. “You’re lucky that guy wasn’t in a gang, if he was, you’d have two dozen vampires on you right now.”
Ansel wasn’t too concerned. By the looks of things there weren’t many vampires with bright red eyes around here.
“And I know what you’re thinking.” Veronica said. “Doesn’t change the fact that they’re ready for a fight. Look around hombre, everyone here is packing.”
He did and saw that every vampire in the town was carrying a gun of some kind. Ansel growled under his breath, stayed close to Kat and tried to keep his cool.
Zora’s brothel stood right in the middle of the strip, jutting out from the terrace of seedy businesses around it like a neon shrine of sin. Out front stood two tatted up vampires with muscles hulking around their tiny black shirts.
