Sudden cold woke Mira from her nightmares of fangs and blood. Opening her eyes to blackness, she could imagine Rillan standing over her. I wish I had started a fire, she thought. Her mind raced with uncertainty. Finally she decided that he had to be there. No other explanation made sense. “Rillan,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I was the only sacrifice left.”
“What?” All Rillan could think was, she’s back. Why is she back?
The annoyed sound of his voice sent a jolt through Mira’s body, and she forgot her fear. Rising to her knees on the bed, she moved toward the sound, reaching out she found the blanket first and took it from his hand. She didn’t know what to say or how to make him understand what she had done and why she was here.
Rillan reached out and stroked the hair back from her face. “I believe I could be lost in those deep brown eyes.”
Mira smiled, feeling his gentle touch and hearing the need in his voice. Placing her hand on the back of his, she closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek against his palm. “I missed you,” she admitted.
“I don’t believe I will ever understand you,” he answered. Leaning down he kissed her forehead, her temple, her cheek, and finally her lips.
Passionate fire exploded in Mira’s chest and burned its way throughout her body. Her breathing grew shallow. She was scared to open her eyes, not wanting to find herself dreaming. I can’t believe how much I missed this.
Mira felt the shift being pulled from her. She waited impatiently to feel his hands on her body. She knew they would be cold, at first. Met with nothing but air, she fidgeted. “Rillan?”
“What have you done,” he said breathlessly.
“Nothing. What do you mean?”
“You’re covered in runes, Mira.” She flinched at the anger in his voice. “What did you let them do to you?”
“I wanted to be with you,” she said, finding a strength in her voice that she didn’t realize was there. “Now. Like this. I can always be with you. No more sacrifices. I’m the last.”
Rillan stared at her horrified. “You don’t know what you’ve done.”
“I know better than you or any of the others think.”
“I know you fear me, Mira. I feel you tremble when I feed on you. You can’t survive an eternity of that. No matter what they may have changed you into. No one could.” Rillan sounded as if he was pleading with her to change her mind.
“Don’t underestimate me. It’s too late. I feel no remorse,” she told him. “I did what must be done, because no one else can.”
“What did you say?” How many times over the centuries have I told myself that? Maybe it takes the Fates centuries to create two people capable of this kind of life.
Mira didn’t answer him. He didn’t need her to. She heard and felt the sound of his clothing being pulled from his body. The rustle of fabric dropping to the floor sparked a warm pleasurable anticipation in her belly.
Shocking cold flesh against hers made Mira gasp. I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t get this deprived of blood in the future, she thought with amusement. His arms wrapped around her, and his lips peppered kisses along her neck. Mira let her head fall back, trusting him, as he pulled her down onto her bed.
Rillan felt the heat of her body flood into him. She was so warm it almost burned to press against her. For the first time in the whole of his beastly existence, he didn’t find himself wrestling with the vampire for control.
Moving down along her body, Rillan gently urged her legs apart. Mira’s breath came in short sharp gasps. Her hands reached out in the darkness to find him. She felt him lower himself between her legs. It was too long since the last time he tasted her, heard her whimper in excitement, or felt her needy touch. Her scent shot through him, driving him on.
Mira flinched when his cold tongue drew a tentative circle around her clit. Try as she might, she couldn’t help the moans of pleasure that erupted from her body. Rillan sucked her clit into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue as he gently sucked. His hands slid up her legs and cupped her butt, holding her tightly to him. Squirming in his intense grip, she couldn’t escape, not that she truly wanted to.
As Mira’s reactions to his mouth calmed, Rillan shifted his grip on her. Sliding one hand around her thigh, he stroked up her leg and parted her wet lips with one finger. In a swift gentle movement, he pressed his finger inside her, and began stroking the soft spot inside her. Within moments Mira convulsed, drew in a sharp breath and began trembling with the release.
Feeling the walls inside her grip his finger, Rillan intensified his sucking. She tried to pull away from him. The pleasure was near pain, when he dragged her release out and caused a second peak in climax. Mira pushed at his head, trying to stop him.
Finally, smile splitting his face, Rillan let her go, but only long enough for him to move back up her body and position himself to enter her. Mira felt as though the bed was spinning. Before she could get a grip on herself, she felt Rillan’s cock glide inside her. Mira gripped his arms and braced herself as he began moving against her, slowly at first and then with more force. The time he spent with his face between her legs had him ready before he even started. Rillan held back only as long as it took for her to come one more time. Her writhing beneath him was more than he could handle. Rillan released into her, letting his cold dead seed fill her body, and feeling her warmth wrap around him.
He wasn’t actually sure that he heard it. She was so quiet. In the intense aftermath, just as he was collapsing onto her body, trying to control his fall so as not to put too much weight on her, Rillan could have sworn she said, “I love you.”
Epilogue
Lilith found herself at the head of the elders' council table once again. Years wearing on her caused her handwriting to shake. Still she believed that this letter should be penned personally. Folding the paper over, she sealed it and handed it to the girl who waited patiently to deliver it.
“Now,” Lilith intoned. Her voice reverberated in the silence of the room. “I know we’re all concerned about this decision. I urge you all to stay yourselves before leaving this room. We will need to provide a strong front to reassure the populace that this is the correct course of action. That at least we all agree on.”
The quiet rumble of reluctant consensus was interrupted, when one of the older men at the table cleared his throat. “Lilith,” he replied in a voice that was far stronger than his fragile appearance would have suggested. “It’s not the vampire we’re concerned with. You know that.”
Lilith sighed. She appeared much older. “Change weighs heavily on me,” she said. “I’ll hear all suggestions.”
“His replacement should be less violent.”
“Should be loyal without our having to hold something over his head. Feeding the vampire kept it faithful, but hurt our people.” There was wide agreement on that thought.
“His replacement should be strong enough to do all that the vampire did, but not so frightening.”
“There should be more than one. I’ll not support creation of a creature whose very existence is loneliness and torture.”
One voice harrumphed. “Some of the things you’re all suggesting we dispense with were put in place by the ancients to allow us to control the beast.”
“I agree,” someone else chimed in, “there must be some balance. We can’t create something so incredibly powerful as the vampire, but without any of the consequences to his existence.”
A heavy silence descended on the room. No one knew what to do, and none of them had ever experienced so little guidance from Lilith.
“I’m just as concerned for the situation as the rest of you,” Lilith said. “If we are to preserve our peaceful existence we need an army. Not just any army, but one capable of standing up to armor and an advancing world outside of the Circle. We want an army that we will not feel guilty for bringing into existence. We’re asking the Fates to bring us a solution that will simply be a strong military breed who will choose to protect us and act with t
emperance and logic as we would. We want ourselves to be an army, but we don’t want to pick up weapons. There isn’t a mind at this table able to come to a solution which resolves this issue. The two thoughts are naturally opposed.”
Everyone in the room could feel the frustration in her voice. “We need to consider one thing that no one has mentioned.”
Lilith turned toward Alwyn and smiled wryly. She already knew what the small woman was suggesting. “We need a protector capable of standing up to the vampire. Just in case one of them returns.”
“We also need to consider that Rillan ap Tiernay may not be capable of dealing with Aris. Or worse, that Aris may create more vampires before he can destroy her.” The matter of fact tone in Alwyn’s voice sent chills down everyone’s spine. “We need to consider the possibility that there will be an entire army of vampires. I personally don’t see the sense in creating another breed that may be able to multiply as easily as the vampire or cause as much damage as the vampire. To some extent I believe we’ve done enough damage pretending that we can stall the Fates. Perhaps we should consider resigning to our philosophies and allow the Fates to guide our existence. I even dare to suggest that the ancients laid aside the knowledge you’re all considering evoking for a reason.”
The debate went on all evening. The elders were scared. This was the first time the Circle had been truly threatened since the creation of the vampire.
“Perhaps Alwyn is right.”
A shrill scream shattered the tense silence in the room. After some confusion, the elders flooded out of the council round house into the night. All around the village people were coming out into the night and searching frightfully for the source of the scream.
A terrible feeling turned Lilith’s stomach, when she spotted two figures disappearing into the tree line. Fortunately everyone’s attention was diverted by the gruesome scene at a nearby roundhouse. From what Lilith could tell no one else saw the two figures.
Picking her way through the crowd, Lilith arrived at the door of Liam’s family home. Liam stood at the doorway, holding Helen and comforting her. Apparently Helen was the one who screamed.
A set of bloody footprints led to the pair. Lilith followed Helen’s horrific trail into the round house. Upon entering the house, a distinct metallic odor assailed Lilith’s senses. The bloody footprints led into the bedroom which belonged to Liam and Helen’s mother. The woman had been very sick since the death of her husband, and nothing that had been done for her seemed to be helping her recover. It was all Lilith could do to keep from losing her stomach contents.
Never had Lilith seen such carnage in the whole of her life. No wild animal ever did to a person what was done to the matriarch of the household. Liam’s mother was ripped apart. Pieces of her were scattered around the room, and blood splattered walls and ceiling. Entrails led from the body across the floor. It almost looked like the body had been fought over. The only thing that was worse than what Lilith could see was the fact that there were things she couldn’t see. Specifically, pieces were missing. The woman’s chest was torn open, and her heart was missing. Her skull had been shattered, and her brain was nowhere in the room. What’s more, even though there was blood, there wasn’t nearly as much as should have been coating the floors, after a body was shredded like this.
Turning away from the nightmare, Lilith left the house, wiping tears from her cheeks as she went. Emerging from the house, Lilith stared up at the moonlight sky. Gazing at the starry night, the world almost seemed to be okay with what happened. Is this truly what the Fates want for us, she asked herself. Are we paying for what we created? Was it so wrong?
As if answering her thoughts, a lone wolf howled into the night sky. The beautiful wolf song almost sounded mournful. It was as if the creature knew the tragedy and was questioning the Fates as well.
“Lilith?”
The elder refocused her gaze and found Liam standing in front of her. His face was angry, but resigned.
Having her attention, Liam cleared his throat. “Lilith, I know the elders are debating what is to come next. No one is saying it, but everyone is scared. If the Empire doesn’t take us over, the vampire appears to be willing to eat us. I want to be part of what is done. Please. Tell me we’re not just going to accept this.”
So it seems that the population of the village knows more than the elders believe about what goes on in the council round house, Lilith thought sadly. So much for protecting them. “Alright Liam. Come with me.”
Leaving the distraught Helen with a small group of women to organize the cleaning of the mess, Lilith suggested that a group of men get together and create a watch for the rest of the night.
Lilith led the elders and Liam back to the council round house. Her confident demeanor had returned and put the elders more at ease than they had been in days. Once everyone was seated Lilith stood and looked them over. “I understand Alwyn’s concerns, and to some extent agree with her. However, I am unwilling to lie down and accept this change. I will concede to the decision of this council if that’s what you wish.”
“Lilith, you must have some new thought on the matter or you would not be speaking thusly.”
Smiling Lilith looked to Alwyn. Philosophy of acceptance or not, no one wanted to die or be forced to hand their knowledge over to the people in the Empire’s senate. When no word of protest came, Lilith continued. “I believe that Liam ap Arnauk and the wolves are our answer.”
* * * *
Letter in hand, Mira quickly navigated the familiar halls. She could guess what the letter said. There were only so many reasons the druids contacted Rillan. Now that the sacrifices were no longer necessary, this could be only one thing.
Mira pushed open the door to Rillan’s practice room. Even with her upset about the apparent news, she had to smile watching him busily cleaning the mess. It had taken weeks to clean up the halls and rooms he trashed in his anger. Still he did it all with a relatively good humor. The frequent breaks to make sure the beds were still in working order didn’t hurt either.
Rillan knelt on the floor next to the practice dummy gathering the pieces into a pile. He couldn’t stop smiling, and his face hurt. Without looking up he said aloud, “I don’t think my cheeks are used to being happy.”
Chuckling, Mira leaned down and held out the letter, kissing him on the cheek. “Not that I want to change that attitude,” she teased. “But I think this might fix it for you.”
Rillan’s brow furrowed, when he looked up from the shards of armor to see what Mira was talking about. He couldn’t help the low annoyed growl that issued from deep in his chest. “Of course we can’t be left alone for long.” Standing, he unceremoniously took the letter from her hands, broke the seal, and flipped the paper open.
Patiently Mira watched him read. Rillan’s expression was nearly impossible to interpret. Finally, he let the hand with the letter in it drop to his side. Without looking at Mira, he cast a gaze around the room.
“You look as though you’re thinking very hard,” Mira said with a note of worry.
“I guess I am,” he sighed. “It may sound odd, but I’ve grown rather used to this place.”
“What? You’re not making much sense.” Mira placed a hand on his cheek, drawing his eyes to look into hers. “What’s going on?”
“The Circle has decided that I’ve become a liability. They suggest that I take care of the problem I created…”
“And?” Mira prompted when his sentence trailed off.
“And I’m not to come back when it’s done.” Rillan read the letter one more time. Then folded it carefully and placed it in his pocket. The corner of his mouth rounded up in a half smile. Reaching out, he took Mira’s hand. “I actually expected something like this to happen someday. In the very beginning, I thought they would be done with me much sooner than this. As the years continued and began bleeding together, I adapted and waited. My first thought was to where we could go.” Rillan lifted her hand to his lips and placed a gentl
e kiss on her palm. “But as I think about it,” he continued, dragging his lips to her wrist and placing another kiss there, “we can go anywhere you like.”
Mira smiled, leaned in and kissed his cheek. “So it seems that we’re free to live our lives without the killing?”
Rillan nodded and grabbed her up into his arms, swinging her around, and making her giggle.
“So where do we go first,” Mira asked, suddenly excited.
Putting her down, Rillan’s face took on an apologetic expression. “I think the Circle is right. We should deal with Aris.”
Mira smiled widely. Although the topic was unpleasant and Rillan sounded so upset and guilty, he had said ‘we.’ “Well, even though there is some unpleasantness to deal with,” Mira said cheerily, “when it’s over, there will be you and I, forever.”
“You truly are happy with that?”
Staring him in the eyes, Mira placed her hands on his shoulders and drew him closer. “Forever,” she whispered.
The End
ABOUT LEIGHANN PHOENIX
It’s always the quiet girl. She sits in the back of the class or stands at the bar, while her friends all mingle. She’s the one mom always said was a “good girl,” and all her friends believe is a prude. Leighann Phoenix has been writing since she was a child. The passion and pain reflected in her writing are little glimpses of what’s lurking just beneath the surface. Her publications to date will be left in the dark where they belong. The new incarnation of her writing burns with a fire of it’s own.
If you enjoyed MIRA, you might also enjoy:
LEADER OF THE PACK
By Leighann Phoenix
Running for her life, hiding as a waitress in a sleazy bar, Aislinn never dreamed she would meet her soul mate. Compelled to save her, Cullen finds himself inexorably drawn to this mysterious woman. Aislinn believed her life couldn’t get any stranger than it already was, until she happened across Cullen. As Aislinn discovers her lost past and Cullen works to protect his pack, they find themselves stronger together then they ever were apart. Now they just have to convince the pack elders that the alpha werewolf in the pack should be mated to a supposedly human girl.
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