18 comments/ 87450 views/ 42 favorites The Síochán Ch. 01 By: JazCullen Sometime in the early 1800s He walked through the dark night, his strides long and confident as he moved gracefully and silently along the dirt pavement. It was usually his favourite time of night, two hours passed the witching hour and he enjoyed the solitude even as he felt a slight weariness settle into what was left of his soul. Being a night walker was invariably a lonely life. He seldom came across others of his kind and usually regretted it when he did. They were often uncouth, little more than predators with no concept of how to be discreet when they slaked their hunger. He longed for this century to be over with already, though it had barely begun. He prayed the next century would be better, that the humans would progress into a more civilised state, that he could walk among them at night and ease the loneliness that crept up on him from time to time. Nathaniel Ryan sighed deeply and scanned the empty streets with bored green eyes. His long black hair fluttered in the cold night air and he pulled his long black cloak tightly around himself. It wasn't that he felt the cold; it was more a case of stopping the garment fluttering wildly in the breeze. His hunger was on the rise and he knew he would need to feed soon. He hadn't fed in almost three months. Being an Elder he didn't need to feed as frequently as a newly turned vampire. They had to feed nightly, sometimes even more than once a night. The older a vampire became the easier it was to control the burning hunger and Nathaniel was old. He was probably one of the oldest vampires still living and he was proud of that fact, even prouder that his bloodlust didn't dominate his life. Nathaniel had managed to last a complete year without feeding once. He had almost paid for it though. When he did finally feed, he had almost lost control and killed the lovely wench who had offered herself up to him. He had not made that mistake again. Now he chose to feed every three months or so. He found that time scale was the most fitting for his needs. He sighed as he felt the burning itch in his throat start to build the more he thought about feeding. The desire to find a woman to satisfy his baser urges was increased too. With the bloodlust came the lust for sexual activity. He often lay with a woman without feeding, but the satisfaction he received from the joining paled in comparison to feeding whilst riding between a woman's pale thighs. Feasting on a woman's hot blood during the act of sex was completely wondrous; for both partners. His body hardened and he felt his fangs begin to elongate. He tried to shift his thoughts to something else, but it was too late. He needed to feed; he needed to sink deep inside a beautiful woman's body. Immediately. He stretched out his senses and began to scent the air, smelling for that one intoxicating scent which would stir his blood. He found it quickly, a few houses down from where he was standing. The building was stately for the small town he was in. It must belong to a rich merchant or possibly the town mayor. He followed the scent of violets and sunshine, pulled inexorably towards the woman whose scent teased him so. He paused at a downstairs window, looking inside and being faintly surprised to find the owner of the intoxicating scent sitting in a large cushioned chair beside an open fire. It was the early hours of the morning and most humans had been in their beds for hours. He ran his green eyes over the woman's face and smiled slowly. He was looking at the face of an angel. She was quite simply exquisite to look at. Her face was heart shaped and as she looked up from her book he could see deep green eyes framed with long, thick, black lashes, a small, straight nose and wide, luscious lips. Her skin was porcelain white with not a blemish in sight. It was her hair that arrested him the most. It was golden in colour and naturally curled. It was tied back at the nape of her neck in a sapphire blue, satin ribbon, and as she moved to set down her book and tease the fire, he could see that it was extremely long and came to her waist. He imagined wrapping himself in those long silky tresses and his body hardened further. She was dressed in a long white cotton nightgown with a high neck and long sleeves. The garment effectively hid her body but not enough that he couldn't see that she was slim beneath it, with full breasts. He silently eased around the house until he reached the back door. It was no effort to tease the lock open with his mind and slip silently inside. He followed the scent until he had navigated the dark house and reached the parlour the woman was sitting in. She was waiting for him. It was the only conclusion he could come to for when he appeared in the doorway, the angel with the golden hair was standing before the fire, her face to the door. Large, green eyes regarded him with only a hint of fear in them. "I knew you would come, Sir," she said quietly as he simply stood there, drinking in her exquisite beauty. As she spoke he recognised her voice, for it was light and musical, the voice of a woman he had heard speak before. He searched his mind and remembered waiting while she spoke to a merchant he had been purchasing travelling supplies from. He had been intent on buying his supplies at the time and paid no notice to her after the first glance. She had obviously remembered him though. It was not uncommon for women to remember him. He cut a tall, imposing figure, with his wide chest and trim, fit physique. He knew his appearance was particularly appealing to women. It was all part of the many attributes he had gained when choosing this life of his. "Did you?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his tone. "Then you have me at a disadvantage, because I did not know, until a moment ago that I would be visiting you." Her gaze was fixed on his as she shivered slightly at the seductive quality in his voice. He had automatically lowered his timber, sending out his compulsive tone as he spoke. It came naturally to him when he needed to feed. "Our hands brushed that evening in the merchant's shop," she answered almost breathlessly. "I have a gift, Sir. Sometimes I can see what will occur in my life, in the near future. That day, I saw you here in this parlour. It was the dead of night. I have been waiting every night since for you to arrive." Her words surprised him and he inhaled deeply so he could fully scent her. Her sweet floral scent rushed over him and he felt his body harden so much he was almost ready to burst. He ignored his needs for now, carefully checking that the woman before him was human. He sensed no other smell except that of a human female. This gift she had was not related to any other kind of outwordly being. "An interesting gift you have," he breathed softly, his voice lowering further as he entered the room fully, moving steadily towards her. "Why did you not act to protect yourself if you knew I would come?" The angel before him smiled slightly sadly as she watched him approach. The firelight behind her was casting shadows against her cotton nightgown and he had a tempting glimpse of her womanly curves. "I have learned that I cannot fight the visions I have, Sir," she said quietly, her expression resigned as he stopped in front of her. She tilted her head back to look up at him, for her height was barely five feet and he exceeded six feet by a few inches. "There was nothing I could do to stop this meeting so instead I decided to embrace it. If it is my time to die this night then I cannot fight it." Nathaniel reached out a large hand and gently brushed one perfect cheekbone. His touch was light, caressing, and he watched her shiver slightly as he grazed her fragile skin with one long finger. "Your life is not forfeit this night, beautiful angel," he sighed softly, wanting to reassure her. "Unfortunately I cannot say the same for your chastity for I intend to take that delight, as well as to satisfy my other needs." He heard her suck in a deep breath at his touch and then another at his words. He breathed in deeply and scented the first sweet tang of her arousal. His bluntness invariably teased such a sweet reaction from the women he chose to slake his lust with. It was often against their will because these were times when a woman prized her chastity above all else. Still, when he announced his intentions, their sweet bodies always betrayed them. "You are exquisite," he breathed softly, allowing his finger to trail slowly down to her jaw and then to her neck where he halted at the spot where her pulse beat so fast and her precious fluid flowed so temptingly. She shivered under his light caress and he had to concentrate to contain his fangs for he wanted nothing more than to bury his mouth in the side of her neck and to drink deeply of her delicious taste. "What is your name, child?" he asked, for in his eyes she was but a child, despite her womanly curves. "Summer," she breathed softly and he smiled again, a slight tugging of his lips as he rested his finger on her pulse. "Summer," he whispered, his smile growing. "Such a beautiful name, such an apt name for that is what your scent reminds me of, a beautiful summer's day with the sun beating gloriously in the heavens and the flowers swaying in a light summer's breeze. How long have you graced this world with such beauty, little Summer?" He watched her swallow nervously, her little pink tongue coming out to dance lightly across her bottom lip as she sucked in a deep breath, reacting to his closeness. "I am eighteen, Sir," she answered breathlessly, fighting down a deep moan at the feel of his hand on her neck. Her entire body was tingling at having him stand so close to her. She could feel a wetness between her thighs, a feeling she had never experienced before and it frightened her even as it exhilarated her. "Nathaniel," he sighed softly. "That is my name. I would hear you breathe it softly as I pleasure your beautiful body, sweet Summer." "Nathaniel," she murmured almost as if she were in a trance. The sound of his name whispering from her lips almost made his knees buckle. It was the sweetest, most arousing sound he had ever heard. He had never been this hard before, never been this shockingly close to losing complete control with a woman. This beautiful little woman child teased his senses mercilessly as she gazed up at him and licked at her bottom lip again. He quickly stretched out his senses to detect the others in the house. He counted four sleeping heartbeats and slipped into each mind stealthily, nudging them into a deep, unnatural sleep. Now that sweet Summer had breathed his name, he knew he would have to hear it cried out loudly in her passion. He did not want others to interrupt their time together. Nathaniel trailed his finger slowly from her pulse and down to the tie that held the bodice of her nightgown closed. A quick, deft flick of his fingers had the tie undone and the virginal material gaping wide to his gaze. He sucked in a deep breath as his movements revealed more porcelain white skin and the swell of her full breasts. She shivered under his touch, a flush of rosy pink decorating her cheeks as he slowly peeled back the nightgown, sliding it from her shoulders and down her body until it lay in a pool around her ankles. She stood gloriously naked before him and his cock twitched in his breeches as he looked his fill of her beautiful body. The cool night breeze puckered her dusty pink areolas and hardened the tips of her beautiful breasts. Her peaks were naturally long and so hard, he couldn't resist grazing a thumb lightly over them and smiling when an involuntary moan was dragged from her lips. She may be young and inexperienced when it came to men, but she had a hidden lust which he was happy to tease out of her. Nathaniel stepped back from her and unclasped his cloak. Summer had known the man with his sinfully beautiful face would come for her. She had known the moment their skin had accidentally grazed each other a few days before in the merchant's shop. She had thought to try and prevent the meeting somehow, but had quickly realised it was futile to do so. Her strange gift of being able to see into her own future was always deadly accurate. All her life it had always come true with no way to avoid it. Now he was finally here, his long dark hair flowing silkily down his back, his light green eyes boring into her very soul as she watched him remove his clothing, his gaze never wavering from hers. She shivered in trepidation as he bared his wide, hard muscled shoulders and firm chest to her view before his hands went to his breeches and he was swiftly removing them along with his boots. When he stood to full height again, her eyes went round with shock as she looked upon her first sight of a man's naked, excited body. His shaft stood proudly from between his thighs. To her innocent eyes it looked monstrous, long, thick and pulsating with his need. Yet, it looked oddly beautiful too and she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to touch it with her hand. She flushed pink again at the boldness of her thoughts, her eyes travelling back up to his face and seeing him watching her with a hint of amusement in his beautiful eyes. His hard lips twitched with a little smile as he stood still for her perusal. "So innocent, sweet Summer," he breathed softly, reaching out and undoing the ribbon in her hair. He played with her tresses for a moment before he slid one hand slowly down her arm until he came to her hand which he caught in his larger one. Summer shivered and caught her breath when he moved her hand towards his maleness which seemed to throb in time to her own rapid heartbeat. "Come, touch me," he said in a low deep voice. "Do not be embarrassed to want to feel a man's cock in your little hand. With a beauty such as yours, I am sure you will receive ample opportunity to touch a man in your future." Nathaniel groaned softly as he wrapped her little hand around his thickness and kept his hand on top of hers so she couldn't pull away. He ached to feel her stroking his hardness and the pleasure of a simple touch was enough to set his heart racing. He used his hand to slowly stroke hers up and down his throbbing body. She was an apt pupil, quickly taking control of her own actions, gripping his cock tightly in her tiny fist and stroking him boldly with a rapt expression on her beautiful face. He released her hand and threaded his fingers into her curls as his hips moved in time to her movements and he tilted her head up so he could taste her lips. The sweetness of her mouth was truly intoxicating. He slanted his mouth over hers, teasing her lips apart and slowly easing his tongue into her hot mouth. She moaned and her hand tightened on his cock eliciting another groan from him as he began to move rhythmically against her hand. He was so close to achieving his release already, so hot and hard for this ethereal little woman before him. Nathaniel had wanted to spend just a little time on his needs but decided to enjoy Summer for longer than he had originally intended. She was too beautiful to rush and he wanted to pleasure her completely, teach her the joys of being a hot, passionate woman. He rocked his hips into her hand, harder and faster, his breathing becoming more ragged as he plundered her soft lips over and over again. "Your hand is so pleasing, Summer," he groaned against her lips. "Stroke me faster and harder, beautiful one." She obeyed him as he knew she would and he felt the sweet tension in his stomach coil as the little virgin pushed him towards his release. His cock swelled in her hand and he groaned loudly and erupted against her stomach, shooting his hot seed onto her body as she continued to stroke him hard and fast. He smiled against her lips and detached her hand from his cock, standing back to admire his fluids running down her stomach towards her nest of blonde curls. She had pleasured him greatly but seemed a little surprised that he had decorated her body so quickly with his release. Like the sweet little virgin she was. Her innocence enthralled him and amused him. His more feral half delighted at the thought of defiling one so innocent whilst his more tender side wanted to teach her the art of lovemaking and releasing her passion. For a moment both sides warred with each other for dominance as he watched his seed continue to slide into her silky blonde curls. The sight spurred his more feral side to victory and the smile he gave her was nothing short of wicked. Summer stared at her body and then slowly looked up at Nathaniel. He was smiling at her but the smile was one of devilment, almost bordering on evil. She felt a little shiver run through her as he used one long finger to scoop up his release from her body, the thick white fluid coating his digit. She started in shocked when he smeared his finger against her lips and she felt his seed coating her mouth. "Open," he breathed softly, using his command tone on her just ever so slightly. He wanted to test her willingness to be corrupted and was rewarded with her almost instant compliance. "Lick my finger, Summer," he growled. Her little pink tongue danced out of her mouth and slowly licked his cum from his finger. He watched her intently as she frowned slightly at the first taste of him and then returned for more, becoming bolder and sucking his finger into her mouth greedily. He breathed deeply as she cleaned his digit and then proceeded to lap at the cum he had smeared on her lips. He felt his cock twitch in appreciation of the sight and he lifted her quickly and strode over to the chair she had been sitting in before the fire. Nathaniel settled her in his lap, her back to his chest, her head resting on his left shoulder. Her firm backside pressed against his growing cock and he delighted in the slight discomfort he felt from being crushed between her fleshy cheeks as he slowly hardened again. He sighed and used his finger to scoop up more of his cum from her stomach. He fed it slowly and relentlessly into her waiting mouth, moving lower towards the silky curls between her thighs as he sought to capture ever drop of his essence from her body. He could feel her little heart thrumming and could smell the intoxicating scent of her arousal the closer he came to the apex of her thighs. This little beauty was being so compliant in her own seduction that it heated his blood and hardened his body quickly. His now fully hardened cock was trapped within the comfort of her ass cheeks. He moved his hands to her hips and rocked her gently against his throbbing shaft. His head grazed her little puckered hole and she gasped in surprise at the sensation and tensed slightly against him. He smiled as he slipped inside her mind to listen to her fractured thoughts. Her mind was already full of lust and confusion and he listened in as she wondered fearfully if he would choose to enter her puckered asshole as his rubbing cock seemed to intimate he would like to. It wasn't something he had considered doing but he didn't write the idea off. Underlying her fear that he would take her there, there was also a slight longing to know what it would feel like. Nathaniel shelved the thought for the moment, deciding he would re-evaluate his needs later on. For the moment, it was the hot, wet apex of her thighs that he craved so badly, that and her hot, willing mouth. He slid Summer from his lap until she was kneeling before him. He spread his legs and tangled his hands in her glorious golden curls and pulled her towards his aching cock. "Your hand was delightful on my body, Summer," he smiled wickedly. "Now I would like to know the touch of your mouth on me. Take me in your mouth and suck on me, little virgin." He pressed her head towards his throbbing shaft and growled slowly as her lips parted and she sucked in the head of his cock timidly. The Síochán Ch. 01 The sheer eroticism of watching his cock stretch her lips, combined with the heat of her wet mouth encasing him, made the blood rush to his groin and his cock to swell further. She had no knowledge to draw on so he coaxed her with his hands, teaching her how to slowly bob her head onto his hard shaft and use her tongue to tease him with little licks along his length and then across his sensitive tip. Again, she proved to be an apt student. Her tongue became bolder in its stroking and he groaned his approval at her ministrations. Her curiosity was boundless and he released her hair and placed his hands on the arms of the chair, his green eyes glittering as he watched her lick against his heavy balls, sucking gently for a moment before licking up the length of his shaft and sinking her mouth over the tip. He groaned and rolled his hips upwards, sinking deeper into her wonderful mouth, his spongy head grazing the back of her throat. He wanted to slide down her beautiful throat, he wanted to hold her head tightly as he fucked deep into her mouth, but he contained himself out of deference to her innocence. Fully enjoying cock was a more mature woman's speciality. Inexperienced little virgins couldn't cope with passion on that level. Nathaniel closed his eyes and gave himself up to her ministrations. Summer was humming her pleasure and the vibrations were teasing him pleasantly along with her bold tongue stroking him with each movement. He knew he would quickly reach release again and he pondered on whether he wanted to fill her mouth with his seed or begin his assault on her body. His kind had such high sex drives. His body recovered almost instantaneously after each release so he knew he would quickly be ready again if he chose to cum in her sweet mouth. Her enjoyment of his seed had aroused him so much only moments earlier. He found he wanted to watch her surprised face as he emptied himself into her mouth. His hands once more moved to her curls and he moved her head faster on his throbbing shaft. The tension was once more coiling in the pit of his stomach and his breathing was turning harsh and ragged as she pleasured him so beautifully. Summer was lost in the carnal act she was performing. She knew it was so wrong to be willingly doing this to Nathaniel but with every sound that came from his throat it sent a little shiver down her spine and a warm heat between her legs. She knew he was taking immense pleasure from this act and she knew what the consequences would be if he continued to take his pleasure. When his hands once more twined in her hair she knew that he intended to continue until he shot his thick, tangy essence into her mouth. She worried over it for a moment, part of her crying out that it was so wrong to be doing this with him but just as she was about to pull away, to question what was happening, a vision shot through her head and she stiffened for a second. The vision was truly wicked. She was bent over the arm of the sofa with Nathaniel behind her. He was on his knees and his mouth was between her parted thighs, his tongue greedily licking at her most vulnerable part. He was feasting on her body and she was moaning her pleasure at his touch. The vision was gone within seconds but it encouraged her body to release more moisture between her legs and her mouth to suck harder on his throbbing shaft in her mouth. She wanted to know what it would feel like to have him pleasure her body as she was pleasuring his. She increased her ministrations with renewed vigour. Nathaniel caught the fleeting vision she had and he growled loudly as he rode the brief image with her. His cock swelled in her hot mouth, his body pulsing as his seed rushed up from his heavy balls and began to spill into her open mouth. His nostrils flared as he cried out loudly, his eyes fixated on the sight of his seed spraying against her tongue before she closed her mouth and swallowed as she sucked out more of his offering. He pulled from her mouth, gripping her hair tightly enough that her lips remained open as he gripped his throbbing shaft and stroked it hard. He aimed the thick ribbons of his cum between her open lips, growling as his seed hit her tongue again and then splashed across her lips. Summer moaned and licked at her lips, eagerly trying to capture more of his essence to swallow. Nathaniel sighed softly as he finished emptying himself into her mouth. He had achieved two amazing orgasms already and decided it was time to return some of the pleasure Summer had given him. He pulled her up against him and kissed her long and hard. She whimpered slightly against his lips and then returned his passion, her tongue stroking boldly against his. He smiled and pulled back, gentling his touch as he framed her beautiful face in his hands and waited for her to open her eyes. When she did so, her eyes were glazed with desire and there was a faint hint of embarrassment in them too. He laughed lightly at the contradiction in her expression and ran his thumb lightly over her swollen lips. "You have a very talented little mouth, Summer," he breathed softly. "I swear you enjoyed sucking me as much as I enjoyed using your beautiful mouth. Did you like the taste of my cum? You certainly appeared to be relishing it the way you eagerly swallowed everything I gave you." He laughed loudly as her cheeks blushed scarlet and she tried to avoid his penetrating gaze. "Nathaniel," she said quietly, a hint of shame in her tone. "This is not right and you know it." She was once more in control of her thoughts and aware that she was kneeling naked between his thighs having performed a carnal act on him that must surely only be experienced between a husband and wife. She was honest enough with herself to know that she had willingly performed the act. He had not compelled her to do so, though she knew he would if she balked at anything he asked of her. Nathaniel felt a moment's conscience creep into his thoughts as he witnessed her shame at her behaviour. He briefly considered feeding from her immediately and then leaving her with her innocence intact. His conscience lasted barely a moment though and he smiled wickedly at her. "Will you feel better if I use my compulsion on you, Summer?" he asked slightly mockingly. He allowed her gaze to escape his as he rose swiftly, hauling her to her feet and moving over to the sofa. He bent her face forward over the arm as her vision had played out and he heard the slight hitch of her breath as she realised his intentions. "Nathaniel, no," she ground out through clenched teeth but he ignored her and sank to his knees behind her. He cupped her firm ass in both hands and took a moment to gently knead the plump flesh before he licked her soft skin roughly. She tasted delightful and he smothered her cheeks with his warm saliva until she was moaning and pressing back against his mouth. He chuckled lightly at her wantonness and spread her cheeks apart to bare her puckered rosebud to his gaze. He used one fingernail to lightly scrape against the opening and she cried out and tried to move away from his touch. He gripped her ass firmly and repeated the movement, spreading her cheeks as wide as he could before he brought his mouth to her forbidden entrance. He stabbed his tongue into her and she cried out again but this time he could scent her sweet juices flowing between her legs and she was pressing backwards onto his tongue. He smiled and licked at her rosebud, teasing her with light touches before stabbing back inside to taste her tangy flavour. She tasted so good he growled loudly and used his tongue to fuck into her over and over again as he lost himself in her sweet taste. Summer found herself accepting him eagerly. The wicked thing he was doing with his tongue was immoral but the pleasure she was experiencing overrode everything else in her head. She craved more and pushed her ass backwards onto his rigid tongue, her breath coming out in short, hard pants. His name escaped her in a breathless whisper as she felt his saliva lubricate her hole so fully it was almost as wet as between her thighs. Then he pressed one long, thick finger deep inside her ass and she felt an explosion rock through her body at the pleasure pain she felt at his wicked intrusion. Her body seeped with wetness as his finger moved in and out of her, dragging deep, ragged cries from her throat as she moved to meet each thrust inside her. He was relentless, moving faster and harder as her hips rocked backwards and she experienced another explosion deep between her legs. This one was different from the first because it seemed to go on endlessly, her body shivering with the spasms of pleasure rocketing through her. He stilled his movements but kept his finger buried inside her ass as he spread her legs wide and his tongue dived between her legs. Nathaniel growled hoarsely as her thick cream coated his eager tongue. Dear God, her essence was completely intoxicating, he thought as he lapped greedily at her. Her sweet taste slid down his throat and he growled again, slowly removing his finger from her tight ass so he could angle her better over the arm of the sofa. She was so wet, her sweet cunt drenched with her nectar as he began to lick steadily and with great relish at her body. His tongue scythed through her fleshy folds, seeking and drinking down every single bit of moisture she had to offer him before he speared her virgin hole with a quick stab of his tongue. He had already rewarded her once for one of the orgasms she had given him, now he sought to reward her again by fucking her tight hole rhythmically with his tongue. She gave him copious amounts of thick cream to swallow as she rocked hard against him mouth. She was very vocal with her pleasure too, uttering the sexiest moans he had heard in a long time. He avoided the little nub at the top of her cunt, wanting to feast longer on her sweet nectar. He moved his tongue to her fleshy folds again and began to suck her swollen lips into his mouth, lightly grazing the sensitive flesh with his teeth. His cock was standing proud once more, throbbing painfully with the need to sink inside her beautiful body. He ignored his own needs for now, as he pleasured her ruthlessly, wanting to hear more of her sexy moans. She responded so wantonly to his touch that he was soon lost as he buried his mouth feverishly between her legs. Summer thought she would die from the sheer pleasure Nathaniel was giving her. She was sinning and would surely go to hell, but even the thought of being damned wasn't enough to stop her from grinding her body against his wicked mouth. "Please," she whimpered softly. "Nathaniel, please!" She didn't know what she was begging him for but he seemed to. His tongue touched an area he hadn't been before and she screamed loudly as it rasped over a spot at the top of her pussy. He did it again and she screamed once more, completely overcome with the sharp, stabbing pleasure coursing through her. She bit down hard on her bottom lip to try and contain the sounds she was making. The more she tried to halt her cries the harder he rasped his tongue over her sensitive nub as he tried to draw them out of her. He paused, sliding his tongue from the top of her throbbing body all the way to the bottom and then sliding back up to her puckered rosebud and diving in for a few short, hard thrusts. She was completely wet below the waist from the combination of her own juices and his saliva. She wanted him to go back to that spot on her pussy and she tried to wiggle her body to achieve that but he held firm and continued his assault into her asshole. He finally kissed both cheeks gently before he raised his head as he stroked her soft flesh. "If you refuse to surrender completely then I will not give you what you want," Nathaniel said huskily. "Stop restraining yourself, Summer. I want to hear you fully appreciate your enjoyment of my mouth on your delectable little cunt. If you want me to feast on your clit then I want you to let me know how much you are truly enjoying it." She turned her head to look back at him and he sucked in a deep breath as he scented her blood. She had bitten her lip hard enough to break the skin and the sweet, intoxicating aroma of her blood filled his senses and teased at his fangs to elongate. He rubbed his soaking wet mouth against her right ass cheek and kept his eyes fixed firmly on hers. Her long silky curls were framing her little body and her eyes were glazed with her need even as she flushed scarlet again at his words. He meant what he said. He would not resume his torture of her clit until she submitted completely to him. "Please, Nathaniel," she whispered softly. "It feels so good when you lick me there. Please, continue. I promise I will not contain myself again." Nathaniel smiled his satisfaction and rewarded her boldness with a light flick of a finger against her clit. He watched her eyes dilate with pleasure as a loud groan escaped her throat. His smile widened and he repeated his action, watching her with lust filled eyes as she responded honestly to his touch. Completely satisfied that he had her fully, he dived back between her legs and beat her clit with long, hard strokes of his tongue. She cried out hoarsely and bucked wildly against his mouth as he launched a relentless assault on her body. He licked and teased her until she was almost ready to peak and then he withdrew, stabbing his tongue deep inside her body to lick at the fresh batch of cream she had produced for him. He kept her on the peak of her release for long, endless minutes as he drank from her greedily. Finally, he let her have her way, sucking her clit hard into his mouth and scraping it ruthlessly with his teeth as she screamed his name loudly and shattered against his mouth. He suckled and licked greedily, lapping up her cream like a man demented, his throbbing cock almost releasing his own cum at her sweet, abandoned reaction to him. He rose swiftly, positioning her knees firmly on the arm of the sofa, raising her ass high in the air and affording him unrestricted access to her virgin body. He positioned his cock at her opening and pulled back as he thrust forward hard. His thickness pressed relentlessly into her, spreading her cunt wide as he cried out loudly at the painful tightness of her body rippling around his aching shaft. He ripped through her maidenhead with one long, hard thrust, hearing her sharp cry of pain and knowing it would only last momentarily. He had deflowered many virgins over his long life and had experimented with many techniques to minimise the pain they suffered as their bodies received their first hard cock sliding inside them. He had found that doing so quickly was the best technique to use. The pain was short and sharp but quickly forgotten once their bodies acclimatised to the hard cock spearing them so fully. Summer's body was no less different than the others. She was scalding hot and so tight around him, her muscles convulsing wildly causing shivers of pleasure to ripple through him. He held himself still within her as she breathed through the pain of his intrusion. He toyed with her little rosebud, tickling her opening with his nail to distract her from the pain of his entrance into her cunt. Her ass fascinated him as did that fact that he had already taken her virgin mouth and was now buried inside her virgin pussy. Taking her virgin ass would complete her education into the delights of lust between a man and a woman and he, again, toyed with the idea of sampling all of her many delights. Her breathing was somewhat more normal now so he pulled out experimentally then thrust back inside her welcoming body. The cry which ripped from her throat was pure pleasure and he growled in response, then slowly stroked into her with long, hard thrusts. He pressed his finger hard against her rosebud and forced it deep within her bowels. She screamed loudly and bucked against him as he took her ass along with her cunt. Summer was mindless with pleasure, moving with Nathaniel as he assaulted her body so thoroughly. The pain of him entering her had been sharp enough to bring tears to her eyes but now all she felt was pleasure as he stabbed his hard shaft deep inside her belly. He was stretching her so wide, and she felt so full as he rocked into her over and over again. When he pushed his finger into her ass she just about died from the sheer pleasure that rocked through her. It made her body feel tighter or it made Nathaniel's shaft feel thicker inside her. She wasn't sure which one it was, she just knew she loved the feelings that were being generated inside her. She had no reference to relate to, but she somehow knew that Nathaniel was a very skilful lover. He was hard and determined as he stroked into her over and over again, dragging sharp cries from her throat as he took his pleasure from her body giving her equal pleasure in return. He thrust hard and deep, his strokes measured as if he didn't want the wonderful feelings to end too soon. She didn't want it to end either but she could feel the now familiar feeling of tightness beginning to coil in her stomach. She knew she would soar soon and scream out when her body exploded in bliss. The previous two orgasms had been wonderful but Summer knew this one would surpass them. She gasped in disappointment when Nathaniel pulled free of her body. His hands gripped her hips hard and he turned her, pushing her onto the sofa to lie on her back. He was sliding between her thighs in an instant, his hard shaft pushing once more for entrance into her body. Nathaniel couldn't hold off the bloodlust any longer. The pleasure Summer's body was giving him surpassed any he'd had before without feeding during the act. It came close to being as good as sex when he was feeding. His blood was rushing from every point in his body straight to his groin, hardening his cock to almost epic proportions even for him. He had to taste her blood. He had to know if it was as wonderful as the sweet juices she had given him from between her thighs. He lay over her, baring her neck as his fangs elongated and his mouth watered as he watched her pulse beat in the side of her neck. He heard her startled gasp as she saw his fangs and he grinned wickedly at her and licked slowly up the side of her neck, feeling her shudder under his touch. He distracted her by thrusting hard and fast into her body until she was so mindless with the pleasure he was giving her that she forgot all about his fangs. He growled and rammed hard into her body, his fangs slicing through the soft skin of her neck to bury deep in her artery. She screamed and reared up beneath him as her orgasm crashed over her with the first pull of his mouth against her neck. Her hot blood spurted into his mouth and he groaned and swallowed deeply, the taste of her essence sending him over the edge as he thrust into her hard and fast. His cock swelled as his balls tightened and his own orgasm rocked through his body, a tidal wave of pleasure assaulting him as he feasted on her blood. He took two more long pulls at her neck before he retracted his fangs and licked her wound closed, his body shuddering as his hot seed bathed her tight body over and over again. He was aware of Summer crying out once more as another orgasm rocked her tiny body and kept him on his own sexual high for a few seconds longer. He continued to thrust into her until her final release abated and then he slowly lowered himself against her, resting his arms on either side of her so as not to crush her fragile little body. Heart racing, breath whistling raggedly from his throat, he gazed down at the angel beneath him, his expression awed as his eyes roamed over her beautiful face. He had never obtained such physical satisfaction from a woman before, both with or without feeding. For a moment he honestly considered taking her with him when he left the following night. He could Sire her, make her like he was and keep her forever. He would never have to be alone again. The Síochán Ch. 01 Summer opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him and the regret he saw in her eyes quickly quelled his thoughts of taking her with him. She was too beautiful, too fragile to live the life that he lived. Already his feral side was abating, having satisfied both his sexual lust and bloodlust. Now all that remained was his tender side and he felt regret for having taken her innocence even as he lay still sheathed within her tight body. "What are you, Nathaniel?" Summer whispered, almost fearfully. "A vampire," he answered slowly, shifting on the sofa until he was lying on his back and she was draped across the top of him. He arranged her long, golden tresses around them almost like a blanket and then stroked his hands down her back to her ass which he cupped firmly and pressed her against him. Summer stared into his beautiful face, her thoughts in turmoil. She had allowed a creature of the night to take her and she had loved every moment of it. She would never find a good husband now she was no longer pure. Nathaniel had effectively ruined her and they both knew it. Even now, he was still inside her body and he was still hard. She should move away from him but she didn't know if he would let her go. "Nathaniel," she said softly. "How am I to recover from this? He frowned slowly and removed himself from her body, laying her back before he rose and proceeded to dress. "Abstain from lying with a man again until you marry," he said quietly as he closed his breeches. "Your body will tighten again from lack of use and your husband will not be able to tell that another has lain with you. If you are strong enough, keep a small dagger at hand and cut yourself unobtrusively after he enters you. Combine your blood with your fluids and mark your sheets. He will never know the truth." He finished dressing and smoothed his unkempt hair back from his shoulders, pausing to lift her nightgown before he crossed back to the sofa. He helped her into it and lowered his head to give her a long, wet kiss. His tongue invaded her moist depths and tangled with hers in an erotic duel and he sighed his disappointment at having to leave her. It was almost dawn and he had to be safely home before the sun rose. "You will not be back," Summer said quietly and he shook his head. "I leave tomorrow night. I will not return this way for almost half a century, if not more. You will not see me again, Summer, though I will always remember you with great fondness. You gave me pleasure that no woman has ever given me before. I doubt any other woman will ever pleasure me as greatly again." He rose and headed to the door, glancing back once before he disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. Summer lay on the sofa as her beautiful vampire disappeared into the night. She had performed such acts that were sinful but were so blissful too. She regretted her actions for the most part but deep down inside her she was glad that she had had this one night with Nathaniel. The heights of ecstasy he had taken her to would live on in her memory for as long as she drew breath. Sighing deeply she rose from the sofa just as she heard the click of the front door opening. She stiffened in surprise, thinking Nathaniel had returned only to see her father's lodger, Frederick swaying drunkenly as he entered the house. She froze in fear and tried to step back so he wouldn't see her but she moved too slowly and his cold brown eyes fell on her and she shuddered deeply. Frederick had been leering at her for months, ever since her father had accepted him as a lodger into their home. He was always trying to get her alone, trying to fondle her body when no one was looking. He was old, her father's age at least, with thinning hair and a thick gut from drinking too much ale. His personal hygiene left a lot to be desired and he frequently had an obnoxious odour coming from him. Now he had her cornered and his leer was on his face as he steadily advanced towards her. "Were you waiting up for me, Summer?" he asked drunkenly. "Have you finally decided to spread your pretty thighs for me?" Summer backed away in fright, her eyes going wide as she realised she was not going to be able to escape him. "Father," she screamed loudly, trying to dodge around Frederick but he reached out and caught her hair and pulled hard. She had no idea that Nathaniel has placed her family in such a deep sleep. She was expecting her father to come down the stairs and rescue her so she fought him to buy her father time to arrive. She kicked him on the shin but only succeeded in hurting herself as she was barefoot. He groped at her breasts and she pushed against his chest to try and break free of his grasp. Her push infuriated him and he lashed out, striking her across the face so hard she felt backwards with a startled scream, the back of her head striking the stone hearth as she went down. Lights danced before her eyes and pain lanced through her head and she felt herself starting to get light headed. She was vaguely aware of hands on her body as she felt darkness rushing in. She tried to suck in a deep breath to scream but found she couldn't do so. She couldn't draw breath at all and she felt panic invade her mind. Her last thought was of Nathaniel's beautiful face before she succumbed to the lack of oxygen reaching her vital systems and the darkness rushed in and consumed her. Nathaniel changed his mind. It was not often that he did so but the moment he woke after sunset his first thought was of Summer and their time together. He rose quickly, dressing and hurrying from his rented room towards her house. He would convince her to leave with him. He would not use his compulsion on her. He didn't think he would need to anyway. He knew she had experienced the same level of pleasure as he had from their time together. He hoped it would be enough to convince her that she would have a future with him. He stopped in surprise when he saw the blacked out windows of her house. Human's blacked out their windows when one of their own passed away. He felt a trickle of apprehension deep inside himself as he slowly stretched out his senses and entered the minds inside the house. He recoiled in shock from what he heard. Summer was dead! Murdered after he left in the early hours of the morning. He stood rooted to the spot, trying to imagine a world where the angelic little woman didn't exist in. It seemed unthinkable. The more he traipsed through the minds within, the more his shock and sorrow grew. He felt the weight of guilt settle heavily on his shoulders as he learned that she had been murdered by the family's lodger. He remembered putting her family into their unnatural slumber. If she had called out for help, no one would have heard her. Nathaniel turned from the house, his footsteps taking him quickly away from the horror he had unwittingly unleashed on the grieving family. He had killed sweet Summer just as surely as the man who had physically ended her life. His heart felt heavy as he hurried back to his room and gathered his belongings and travelling provisions. He vowed never again to allow himself to come to care for any woman as he had allowed himself to care for Summer after their brief time together. Stifling down the pain he felt, he glanced once more around the town he had resided in for the last five years and then turned and began his long trek towards his next life. ****** All around Summer was a bright, pulsing light. She blinked in confusion, her muddled brain trying to understand what was before her. One moment she had been fighting with Frederick in the parlour and the next she was lying on the floor, unable to breathe as pain rocked her body after he had struck her. Now she was standing in her nightgown, in a completely alien environment, surrounded by a blinding light. "Hello?" she called loudly, turning a full circle and seeing nothing but whiteness surrounding her. "Is anyone there?" To be continued... The Síochán Ch. 02 Summer didn't know how long she stood alone in the unending whiteness of her environment. It didn't feel too long but it was hard to tell because there were no reference points at all. There was just the whiteness everywhere, surrounding her, disorientating her. A man suddenly appeared in the distance, walking quickly towards her. He was dressed completely in white, his hair as golden as hers, his face as beautiful as Nathaniel's. She watched him carefully as he neared, wondering if she should fear him or welcome his approach. He smiled as he reached her, a feeling of peace overcoming her as his lips tugged into a gentle curve. "Welcome, Summer," he said softly. "I have been waiting a long time for you." His opening words surprised her. His voice was rich and deep, his expression almost reverent as he looked at her. "Where am I?" she asked in confusion. "Who are you and why have you been waiting for me?" She wondered if she was sleeping. She toyed with the idea that she was dead and was now in Heaven, but after the wicked acts she had just performed with Nathaniel, she quickly dispelled that idea. She would most definitely be in Hell if she were dead. So his next words surprised her completely when he patiently answered her questions. "Where are you? Well, you are technically dead at the moment," he replied, his smile never wavering even though she gasped in shock at his words. " I am Lucas, your instructor. I was so excited when I was told you would be coming to join us, Summer. I had hoped it would be before you met up with Nathaniel but it appears it wasn't to be." He appeared slightly peeved as he mentioned the vampire, but then his beautiful face cleared and he was smiling once more. Summer stared at him, his words making no sense, her confusion growing with each passing moment. "You know Nathaniel?" she finally asked, deciding she didn't want to know any of the others things he had mentioned. Not if he was going to tell her she was dead. The thought of her family grieving over her was more than she could bear. Lucas sighed softly and rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows Nathaniel," he sighed dramatically. "Such a disappointment he was. He used to be one of us but chose to go down another path. I tried to dissuade him from doing so but he always did have a mind of his own. So stubborn; so certain he knew what was best." It was disconcerting having someone talk about things that she knew nothing about. Lucas appeared to assume that she would be able to follow this conversation intelligently when in fact, her confusion was just growing steadily. "One of us?" Summer questioned. "One of the Síochán," Lucas smiled, his blue eyes twinkling as if that explained everything. He watched her confused face for a long moment and then gave her a sheepish grin. "I suppose I should explain a little," he said ruefully. "But first, let's get out of here. This endless white is painful on the eye." He didn't appear to do anything but suddenly they were no longer surrounded by the whiteness but were instead in her parlour. Summer gasped in shock as she looked around the room. There was no apparent transition between the two places, they were just suddenly surrounded by a different environment. She looked closely at the parlour and detected a very slight, dull edge to the room. The colours were less vibrant, the room slightly less tangible than she was used to. "Very good," Lucas praised with a wide smile, as if he had just read her mind. "You will learn very quickly, I think. You have already determined that this is not your real home. It is merely an approximation of it. We can make it more real so it truly reflects the place, but we tend to leave it a little off kilter just so we know that we are not on the mortal plain. Sometimes it can be a little confusing, all this hopping about. I remember when Marcus first joined us. He spent countless hours in one location only to discover he hadn't actually gone to the mortal plain and was working here instead. He was very angry when he discovered his error." Lucas laughed loudly at the memory, his long blond hair swaying as he threw his head back. It seemed to take him a moment to realise that Summer had no clue as to what he was talking about and he shot her another sheepish grin. He wasn't doing a very good job on this introduction thing. His excitement at finally having someone as strong as Summer to train was overtaking his duties. "My apologies, Summer. I digress a little," he smiled, waving a hand towards the chair she had sat in earlier. The same one Nathaniel had sat in as she knelt between his thighs and took his hardness into her mouth. She blushed furiously at the memory and tried to put it out of her mind as she tentatively sat down. Whether the chair was real or not, it felt real enough and as she sank back into it, she felt slightly comforted at being in familiar surroundings. Lucas sat in the chair across from her and once again smiled a comforting smile at the beautiful woman before him. She really was quite exquisite. He could understand how Nathaniel would have been drawn to her before she crossed over. He was finding himself immensely attracted to her himself but he knew that he would have to contain himself. The poor thing was already overawed by everything that had happened to her, but he had no doubt that he and Summer would enjoy some delicious, carnal pleasures in the near future. He quickly brought his mind back to the task at hand. "Now where was I?" he mused quietly. "Ah, that's right! We are the Síochán. It is our job to ensure that harmony exists between good and evil on the mortal plain. We are the Peace Makers so to speak. When something threatens the balance too severely, we step in and correct it so everything is back in harmony again. Síochán means peace." He frowned slightly and pursed his lips. "Though I suppose that is a bit of an oxymoron, having a name meaning peace when the nature of our work is often quite violent." Summer stared at him open mouthed and wondered if she was really even here with him. What he spoke of was so out of her comfort zone. It didn't sound possible at all, and yet, if someone would have told her a day earlier that she would have given herself so wantonly to a vampire, she would have laughed and thought the person mad. She eyed Lucas quietly for a long moment, waiting to see if he would say anything further but he didn't, so she finally broke the silence. "You said Nathaniel was one of you?" she queried. The vampire seemed to be the only thing they appeared to have in common. Plus he was all that Summer seemed capable of thinking of at the moment. His beautiful face kept coming to her mind unbidden, the memory of his intense lovemaking swirling madly in her head. Lucas's beautiful face creased in a small frown before he relaxed and rested back in his chair. "He was one of the very best of us," he answered quietly. "He was always sent on the toughest assignments because he always achieved such positive results. We didn't notice how much he longed to walk in the world below, until the need was ingrained too deeply inside him. He chose to become mortal and then realised he would eventually die, so he sought a way to stop that from happening, and ended up becoming a vampire. Nasty creatures, vampires. We have to intervene with them quite often. I had hoped Nathaniel would police his own kind, given his dual nature, but he steadfastly refuses to get involved." Summer tried to bring it all together in her confused mind. "So, Nathaniel was a......Síochán who chose to become a vampire? Something about me brought him to my door just before I was murdered by Frederick, and I have been brought here to you, because I am now to become one of these Síochán? Have I understood you correctly, Lucas?" she asked quietly. Lucas clapped his hands together in delight, immensely proud of Summer's keen intelligence and ability to adapt to her changed circumstances so swiftly. He beamed happily at her. "You are indeed correct, Summer," he smiled. Summer bit down a choked sob as her eyes filled with tears. "You are clearly insane, Lucas," she said tremulously. "This is all a wicked fantasy and it is not real. I want to go home now. I want to wake up, back in my own bed, surrounded by my family and everyone I hold dear. Tell me how I do this!" Lucas's elation died quickly as he watched big, wet tears course down her beautiful face. He had thought it had been going amazingly well but it appeared he had erred in his judgement. Summer's grief pierced him deeply and he moved to kneel before her, gathering her slight frame into his arms and holding her close. He stroked her hair gently as she began to sob in earnest. "I wish I could tell you how to do so," he breathed softly. "But that life is over for you now, Summer. I promise you, you will come to adapt to this one. It is not such a bad life to lead." ***** Half a century on... Summer peered into the water fountain, her green eyes searching keenly for him. She came here every day at the same time and used an hour of her day to search for the man who never seemed to leave her thoughts. Nathaniel. She never found him. Once she thought she had caught a quick glimpse of him but he was gone in a heartbeat. Lucas would be along soon. He invariably interrupted her time searching for Nathaniel. His laughing blue eyes would turn pensive, a frown marring his perfect features as he caught her searching the Scrying Fountain. He was jealous that she was unable to stop longing for Nathaniel. He knew she felt linked to the dark haired vampire and it annoyed him greatly. The past fifty years had definitely been an education. Lucas's words had been true and she had spent the first year slowly adapting to that fact that she was no longer alive in the mortal world. It had been hard at first, but Lucas had been patient with her and she had slowly adapted to her changed status. Being immortal was most definitely a plus side to being dead. She looked exactly the same now as she did when she first met Nathaniel. Well, almost exactly the same. She had cut her hair to a more manageable level though it was still long and curly but it fell to the middle of her back now, instead of to her waist. It had been a necessity as it had soon proved to be impractical to have it so long when she was training. So, she still looked the same for the most part but she was much different inside. Shaking off her preconceived notions of right and wrong was the hardest thing she had to achieve. She had lived in a morally restrictive time and it had not been so simple to shed her upbringing. She had done it eventually. She had no choice in the matter. The Scrying Fountain showed the future so she was constantly bombarded with the world below changing rapidly as thoughts and ideals moved on. Summer liked the future. It was so progressive and women had such great freedoms as time wore on. They wore pants like a man, and short skirts which bared their legs to the world. She couldn't wait for the day that she could walk among them with the same freedom she witnessed day in and day out. It wasn't that she couldn't wear the same type of clothing where she was, because she could. She wore tight pants and loose tops when she trained with Lucas, but it wasn't the same as walking among humans. Her training had taken years. Her skill of being able to tell her future was honed with careful meditation. Lucas had taught her many techniques to be able to make her gift work at will and now she could look ahead almost a month into her future when before she could see only hours or sometimes days. Lucas had done all her training personally. He had taught her how to fight with swords and daggers. He had taught her how to use the many different handguns and rifles humans were so fond of killing each other with. She had just recently completed her hand to hand combat training and had successfully pinned Lucas in their last bout, much to his chagrin. He had been proud of her achievement even as his ego had been wounded at being bested by her. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face. Summer loved Lucas with a vengeance. He was her entire world here and she had spent the last half a century with only him for company. He was kind and devastatingly handsome. He had a ready wit and easy smile but could be hard and unyielding when the need arose. Despite Nathaniel always being on her mind, she could view Lucas as a man and see that he was a fine specimen. He was around six feet tall and had long flowing blond hair which ended just passed his shoulder. His blue eyes were deep and always seemed to be twinkling, no matter what mood he was in. His wide shoulders and hard muscled chest tapered off to a trim waist and flat stomach and more than once she had licked her lips during a training bout when he wore nothing but a pair of tight black pants. She knew Lucas desired her. He never attempted to hide his attraction to her. He actually went out of his way to tease her quite mercilessly with delicate little accidental touches which lightly grazed a breast or caught the inside of her thigh before moving swiftly away. Lucas was waiting for her to come to him. He was waiting for her to forget her obsession with Nathaniel. Lucas was striding quite angrily towards her even as she mused about him. Her lips curled into a slight smile as she turned from the fountain just as he reached her side. His expression surprised her. He was clearly very angry, a mood she had never seen him in before. His deep blue eyes were so intense, his usually smiling mouth set in a firm, hard line. "Enough of this, Summer," he ground out through clenched teeth, his hands reaching for her shoulders and pulling her hard against his chest. "I have waited far too long," he groaned before his mouth descended on hers and his tongue forced its way inside to taste her sweetness. She was so startled by his actions that for a moment she could only stand rigidly against him in shock. Then her training kicked in and she twisted automatically in his embrace, catching him completely off guard as she deftly used his height and surprise to toss him smoothly over her shoulder. He landed with a loud thud onto his back, his head cracking off the cold, hard floor. For another long moment silence reigned in the Scrying Room as Summer stared down at Lucas in shock at her actions and he simply lay there with a stunned expression on his face. Summer wondered if she had really hurt him when he just lay there but then his lips curved into his customary smile. "You could have simply told me you didn't want me to kiss you," he chuckled lightly, rolling his eyes as he sat up slowly and felt the back of his head where it had struck the floor. "Did I hurt you?" she asked concerned, kneeling down beside him to check his head. She couldn't really hurt him and she knew that. They were immortal after all. Still, she had reacted on instinct and she felt a little guilty that she had reacted aggressively towards him just because he had kissed her. "Only my male ego," he answered, chuckling lightly again as his blue eyes roamed hungrily over her beautiful face. She really was driving him insane with desire. Training her had been both a joy and a nightmare at the same time, but he wouldn't have traded with any of his counterparts for the position as her instructor. She was magnificent. So beautiful, feisty and utterly desirable. Seeing that he wasn't truly hurt, Summer allowed her own smile to break through as she shifted her position so she was sitting beside him. "You shouldn't have grabbed me like that," she said ruefully. "You have just finished teaching me how to protect myself. It was a rather silly thing to do." She watched his face carefully as she spoke, laughing at his rueful expression when she pointed out the obvious. "Why now?" she asked quietly. "We've been together for over half a century, Luc. Why did you suddenly decide to kiss me now?" Lucas sighed at the abbreviation of his name. She had started doing it quite early on in her stay with him and whilst he would normally have dissuaded others from doing so, he allowed Summer to address him as she saw fit. He had seen it for what it was even as he had mentally cringed at hearing it. She was trying to connect with him, trying to build a rapport with him. It didn't bother him as much as it once had, in fact, he rather enjoyed hearing it now from her lips. It was as if it were her own special name for him. Still, if anyone else tried to do it..... "The others have been finding it highly amusing that it's taken me fifty years to pluck up the courage to attempt to lay with you," he admitted with a wicked smile playing across his full lips. "They tease me and prod me at every opportunity. I've just come back from speaking with Marcus and he was having such fun at my expense that I lost my head for a moment." He watched her reaction to his words, seeing the curiosity at him mentioning the other Síochán, and slightly surprised to see she didn't appear concerned that he had actually kissed her. He understood her curiosity about the others. He had kept them away from her, allowing her time to settle in and complete her training before meeting with the other Síochán. He was honest enough to admit to himself that he hadn't wanted to share her, either. He had jealously guarded their time together because it was bad enough competing with Nathaniel for her affections. It would have been excruciating if he'd had to compete with the likes of Marcus or one of the others as well. Summer rolled her eyes at him and gave him another smile which sent a shiver of pleasure through him. He loved the ethereal little woman before him so much. He knew she loved him too but he also knew that in a straight contest between himself and Nathaniel, the vampire would win every time. He had stolen her heart first and would always be entrenched deep within her. But that didn't mean that they couldn't explore their attraction together. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his again, keeping his touch light and tensing slightly just in case she decided to beat him up again. She froze for a moment and then slowly relaxed and moved her lips experimentally against his. She sighed softly and parted her lips, granting him access into her moist, hot mouth. He groaned loudly at her capitulation, his kiss turning more demanding as he threaded a hand in her hair at the nape of her neck and tilted her head back so he could explore her sweetness more fully. His body hardened instantly as she met his tongue boldly, licking and stroking against him as the kiss deepened even further. Lucas smiled as he pulled his head back and stared into her beautiful green eyes. "God, I want you, Summer," he said huskily. "I've wanted you since the very first moment I saw you." His admission didn't surprise her though her reaction to it did. She had been looking for Nathaniel for so long that she had expected never to feel sexual attraction towards another man. Her old views of love were still ingrained within her. If you loved someone, and she did love Nathaniel, then surely you wouldn't want to be with another person? She pondered it quietly, her expression turning thoughtful as she sifted through her confused feelings. It wasn't as if she had had a relationship with the vampire. He had come to her home and taken her body and her blood, then left with barely a backward glance. That she had attached such importance to their encounter was her problem, not Nathaniel's. Lucas was beautiful and so incredibly sensual. He oozed the same sexual appeal that Nathaniel had, but he was different as in he was less intense, more relaxed. She did love him. It was hard not to love Lucas. Now that he had finally kissed her, she knew that she desired him too. Fifty years was a long time between sexual encounters. Nathaniel had awoken a desire in her which needed to be quenched. The Síochán Ch. 02 She turned her gaze back to Lucas who was watching her with a slight smile on his face. He appeared almost amused and she wondered if he had been reading her thoughts again. She had quickly learned that the Síochán had abilities not unlike vampires, though they didn't need to drink blood to survive. "Yes, I am reading your mind," he said, answering her thoughts even though she hadn't spoken them aloud. His tone held a healthy dose of amusement in it as he reached out to play absently with one of her curls. "I thought you would have thrown out all of your old ideals, Summer. Do you seriously think Nathaniel has abstained from bedding women in the last half century?" His smile grew as she flushed slightly and dropped her gaze to his hand, watching him coil her hair around one long finger. "He will not be your only lover," he said softly. "He may have been your first but who knows how many centuries will pass before you two meet again. It's foolish to think you have to remain true to him. You will miss so many wonderful experiences if you hold to that belief, love." His casual endearment made her heart stutter and she felt a warm heat spread through her body. Lucas was right and she knew it. Nathaniel had had his chance. He could have taken her with him. He would have saved her life if he had and that thought made her frown slightly. She would never have met this beautiful man before her if that had happened. Thinking of never knowing Lucas made panic rush through her and she uttered a startled gasp. When she drew her eyes back to his he was smiling so widely she knew he was listening into her thoughts again. "Will you stop doing that?" she said with a touch of exasperation in her voice. "I have to use all the tools at my disposal, love," he laughed with a devilish glint in his blue eyes. He knew the reaction his endearment would cause and he used it deliberately in his assault on her senses. He wanted her and he was determined to have her. She may need a little longer to work it out in her own mind but he was sure she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Summer couldn't help but laugh at his roguish behaviour. Despite his current light hearted approach, she could see the steely determination in his eyes. He had one goal in mind and that was to have her in his bed. His determination caused a thrill of pleasure to run through her. She knew being with him would be incredibly satisfying and the longer he played with her hair, sitting so close to her, the more her excitement grew. She shook her head, pulling the lock of hair he was playing with from his grasp when she did so. "You are outrageous, Sir," she said primly but the smile she gave him was so full of loaded promise that he sucked in a deep breath and she saw his nostrils flare as his eyes narrowed tightly. His returning smile was enough to stop her heart for a second. "Then let me outrage you even more," he breathed softly, pulling her tightly into his arms as he effortlessly moved them with his mind. One moment they were sitting on the cold hard floor of the Scrying Room and the next they were sitting in the middle of a bed so huge it looked like it could sleep six comfortably. Lucas released her immediately and lay back against the pillows, his arms cradling his head as he watched her. Summer slowly surveyed the room they were in with an open mouth. They were clearly in Lucas' bedroom. The private rooms of the Síochán were the only places that were completely off limits to them without a personal invitation. This was the first time she had ever been inside his sanctuary and her curiosity was piqued. It was a very masculine room. The walls were cream and there was a thick, brown carpet on the floor. The huge bed dominated the room and was covered in black, satin sheets and pillows. There was other furniture in the room, a closet which wasn't really required because they could wish their clothes into existence, and a large dark wood desk with a black leather chair behind it. Along one wall was a large, open fire which was currently lit and blazing with a warm, comforting heat. She turned her gaze back to him and smiled. "Is your bed big enough, Luc?" she asked slightly dryly and he laughed softly and pulled her down to lie beside him, smothering down a groan at how wonderful it sounded to hear her say her special name for him whilst lying in his bed. "That depends on how much rolling around I do on it," he quipped, smoothly rolling to pin her beneath him and pressing his full length against her. Summer gasped when she felt his hard shaft pressing against her. It certainly felt very impressive in length and hardness and she couldn't help shivering slightly at the thought of him pleasuring her with it. Her reaction didn't go unnoticed either. Lucas prised her thighs apart with one, hard muscled leg until he could settle himself between her thighs. He was pleased she was wearing a skirt today rather than her usual pants for training in. Not that she didn't look great in the tight material of her training pants because she looked stunning in them. No, the skirt would make much easier work of getting to her body when he wanted to. For now, he chose to rub himself slowly against her heat, teasing her with slow lazy movements. The little minx had been teasing him unbearably for the past fifty years. It seemed only fair that he should exact some little revenge on her, now that he was confident that she wanted to be in his bed. The deep ragged moan which escaped her throat sent a wave of pleasure straight through him and he answered her with his own groan as his mouth latched onto hers and he rubbed his cock against her molten heat again. She felt so amazing in his arms. He knew she was passionate because he had seen her with Nathaniel in the Scrying Fountain all those years ago. He had been captivated with her beauty even then, regretfully biding his time as he watched her respond to the vampire with such wantonness. He had known she would be coming to him after that encounter. Part of him had wanted to intervene when he saw Nathaniel was in the area close to the time that Summer was due to Ascend. He had known his former friend would be drawn to her, that he would lie with her first, but he had also known that what was fated to be couldn't be avoided in some circumstances. He groaned again, banishing all thoughts from his mind except how sweet she tasted and how wonderful it felt to hold her pressed against his aching body. Fifty years wasn't such a long time in the grand scheme of things but for some reason the passage of time had felt almost endless to him as he'd waited for his opportunity to possess her. Now that he finally had her in his bed he was going to enjoy every second with her. Lucas couldn't completely banish all thoughts of what he had seen her experience with Nathaniel. Some of the things they had done together had stirred his blood almost to the point where he had been tempted to release his cock and stroke it as he had watched. He wanted to experience those same things with her and he sat up, reluctantly pulling himself from her embrace so he could quickly strip his clothes off. He could have wished them away but he did enjoy the little natural pauses, such as removing clothing during lovemaking. He watched Summer's face as he removed his clothes. She was still new to the whole concept of lying with a man. That one night with Nathaniel was all the experience she had to draw from. True, her restrictive moral upbringing was practically a thing of the past now so she didn't have that to contend with anymore. He heard her suck in a deep breath when he freed his aching cock. Summer was stunned by Lucas' beauty. Her breathing was becoming shallow as she gazed at his rippling muscles, licking her lips slightly as his hardness was revealed to her curious gaze. God, was he impressive to look at. It suddenly felt really hard to breathe as her eyes feasting on his long, thick, throbbing cock as it stood proudly between his legs. She felt liquid heat course through her as he knelt before her on the bed. Wetness drenched her between her thighs and she was moving without thinking, the urge to taste him overriding whatever little shyness she may still have had left deep within her. She was sliding his cock deep into her mouth with no urging needed. Her mouth stretched wide as it slowly sank down on his thick, hard shaft and she heard him groan loudly as he thrust his hips forward instinctually. She moaned her own pleasure, feeling his head graze the back of her throat as she used her tongue to tease him lightly. His hands fisted in her hair and he was pulling her backwards and then pressing her forward again. She allowed him to control her movements, luxuriating in the feel of him taking control, guiding her to pleasure him how he liked it. Lucas wondered if anything he experienced in the future would ever feel as heavenly as it felt to slide deep into Summer's mouth. The wet heat surrounding his cock was dragging deep groans from her throat as he thrust as deep as he could get into her willing mouth. Her tongue was dancing over his tip as he withdrew and then stroking over his length as he slid back inside. It was the most incredible sensation ever. He held her head still, using her hair to keep her motionless as he slowly began to fuck in and out of her. His breathing was harsh and ragged, his eyes glinting as he watched himself take her mouth as he wanted to take her body. It was a very erotic view to have and it made his blood rush to his cock, expanding it further, making it so incredibly hard as he continue to rock his hips at a pace which was designed to maximise the experience without reaching a conclusion too soon. He wanted to fully enjoy the sensations of Summer sucking his cock. Summer was moaning softly with each thrust into her mouth, signalling her own pleasure at the experience. Her tongue moved incessantly over him, roughly laving his cock and sucking gently at his tip. Her actions enflamed him and he thrust harder, trying to reign in his passion but she was driving him insane with her ministrations. He knew he couldn't hurt her so he gave into his needs and thrust hard into her mouth, pressing relentlessly until he breached her throat and she took him all the way down. He roared loudly, feeling her lips brushing his groin, her throat rippling around his cock sending fire shooting through his body. He pulled all the way out of her mouth before he pressed forward hard once more, sliding down her throat with ease, pausing long enough to enjoy her throat massaging his cock before he withdrew again. He felt a moment's satisfaction at knowing Nathaniel had not done this with her. She had sucked the vampire's cock but he hadn't penetrated her throat as he was doing now. It felt slightly juvenile feeling satisfaction that he was doing something Nathaniel hadn't done but he couldn't help himself. It was a male thing, this need to be the first with her in some fashion. She was accepting him easily, the scent of her arousal flooding the air, so he set up a steady rhythm, deep throating her over and over again. He leaned forward, gathering her skirt up to her waist and wishing away the black lace panties she was wearing to expose the beautiful globes of her ass to his view. He groaned loudly and ran his hands down her back as she knelt on her hands and knees, her little hands around the back of his thighs as she moved her head forward to meet each thrust into her mouth. She eagerly took him into her throat and he growled softly at her willingness as his hands reached the firm skin of her ass and he began to stroke her flesh hard. She moaned on his cock when he lightly grazed her rosebud with his fingers and her sexy sounds stirred his lust making him ram deeper down her throat. He knew she enjoyed having her ass played with. He had seen Nathaniel teach her just how erogenous her ass was. He dipped one hand lower, coating his fingers in her soaking wet cunt just long enough to gather up her thick cream. He spread the cream on her rosebud and skilfully worked a finger deep inside her. The strangled moan she uttered reverberated all along his shaft and he growled again, his fucking of her mouth becoming harder and faster. Lucas pulled back from her throat as he began to thrust his finger in and out of her ass. "Suck me," he ordered hoarsely, groaning when she obeyed him, using one small hand to slide along the base of his cock as her lips captured the head and began to suck hard on him. He was close to cumming, her mouth was just too good and he knew he would have to release soon. "Fuck, Summer," he groaned, working a second finger into her ass and watching fascinated as she easily accepted him and rocked her ass onto his hand almost frantically. He plunged his fingers deep inside her bowels as her sucking drove him to the point of release and he let out a deep, guttural cry as he felt his balls start to tighten. His cock expanded in her mouth and he cupped her head quickly, sitting back enough so he could watch his cum shoot into her mouth. Wave after wave of exquisite pleasure rocked his body as he emptied himself into her. She sucked and licked and swallowed as his thick cum pulsed deep into her mouth, his groans of pleasure filling the room. She continued to suckle and lick long after his orgasm has passed and he stroked her hair gently as she nuzzled at his cock while he worked to get his breathing under control. Finally he pulled her head away from his body, dragging her up to her knees so he could kiss her delectable mouth. "I would gladly wait another fifty years if I were to be guaranteed that you would worship my cock so beautifully at the end of it, love," he murmured against her lips before he slid his tongue inside her mouth and licked leisurely at her sweet taste. He could taste himself on her and it was a truly intoxicating flavour. Summer smiled as she pulled her mouth away from his, shifting forward slightly until she was sitting astride him, her hands coming up to frame his strong face. She slowly traced each hard, angular feature, her eyes locked on his as she learned his face by touch, something she had often wanted to do but was unable to with the slight distance between them. "I don't think I would be prepared to wait as long as you, Luc," she laughed softly, watching his nostrils flare slightly as his eyes darkened with desire at her admission. Lucas had planned on taking his time with her. He had wanted to slowly worship her body but her words had him instantly hard again, her wet heat pressing against his cock so temptingly. He wished her clothes gone without even pausing to think about it, his hands coming to her hips to raise her body up so he could thrust deep inside her. His deep groan coincided with her muffled moan as he slid her forcefully down onto his cock, her tight body sheathing him like a hot, velvet glove. The sheer beauty of sliding into her beautiful body was nothing short of exquisite. Her name ripped from his throat as he held her still for a moment to allow them both to fully savour the feeling of their joining. She was so wet, so tight around his aching cock. It was all he could do to take a moment to calm himself before he began to thrust wildly inside her. Summer threw her head back, arching her body onto him as he impaled her with his impressive shaft. He was stretching her body so impossibly wide and the sheer bliss radiating through her was so intense she thought she may reach her release instantly. She probably would have if Lucas hadn't taken complete control of her body at that moment. He held her pinned on top of him, not allowing her to move even a muscle though she ached to ride up and down his thick shaft. She opened her eyes to see him watching her face intently, his need clearly visible in his eyes even as he gave her a truly wicked smile. He moved then, raising her up and lowering her back slowly onto his cock, his movements controlled and achingly slow. She could feel every hard ridge and bump on his cock grazing her inside walls so teasingly that she couldn't stop the deep cry of pleasure which erupted from her. It was as if her cry was a catalyst of some kind. Lucas moved so swiftly she gave a startled gasp as he all but threw her onto her back and thrust up hard into her, pinning her hands above her head as he began to stroke hard into her body. Liquid fire shot through her body as each stroke seemed to go deeper and deeper into her, sending tiny jolts of pleasure everywhere his body touched hers. She ground back hard against him, demanding more, needing more. "Luc," she groaned hoarsely. "Oh, God, that feels so good. Please don't stop." Lucas rolled his hips up hard, trying to drive as deep inside her beautiful body as he could. Her muscles gripped him so tightly, her wetness lubricating her body in copious amounts to aid his entry into her. He had fantasised about being with her for so long, each fantasy becoming progressively hotter and hotter, but all of them paled in comparison to actually riding between her sweet thighs. She was perfection. It didn't matter that he couldn't keep her forever. He would take whatever time he could get with her and savour every moment of it. He rode her hard and she met each thrust with one as equally as desperate as his. His breath was gasping out hoarsely as they moved together in such perfect harmony, lust, desire and love all mixing into one as they sought to attain as much pleasure from their joining as possible. He could feel her body starting to tense, knew she was close to her completion and he increased the speed and hardness of his thrusts until she screamed out loudly and threw her head back as she shattered around him. Summer rode the waves of blissful pleasure as Lucas continued to move deep inside her. Her release was incredible as she had known it would be. God only knew how many women had lain with Lucas in his long life. He had had countless millennia to perfect the act of pleasuring a woman and he was truly perfect at it. Her orgasm seemed to last for eternity but finally she started to come down from the heady high she was on, moaning softly as he slipped from her body and turned her over until she was on her hands and knees before him. His hands moved to knead her ass cheeks, his thumbs lightly brushing over her little rosebud causing her to moan and press back even though she currently felt completely satiated after her powerful release. Lucas didn't seem to care that she was most probably tired. He was still aroused, having not achieved his own release yet and he seemed fixated on her puckered rosebud as he leaned down and dragged the flat of his tongue roughly against it, forcing another deep moan from her throat. Lucas inhaled her sweet scent and licked slowly around her puckered hole, savouring the sweet, tangy taste of her. He spread his saliva all over her, wetting her completely so he could slide one long, thick finger up her ass. His arm snaked around her stomach to hold her up tightly as he began to work his finger in and out of her body, his breathing harsh and ragged as he watched her ass open up to receive his digit. He growled at how easy it was to enter her body and how erotic it looked to see his finger disappearing into her forbidden hole. Nathaniel may have taught her that she enjoyed having her ass played with but he hadn't taken her virgin hole. The thought of sliding his cock deep inside her made the blood rush to Lucas's head. It wasn't so much the fact that he would be taking another first from the vampire which caused his lust to rise so sharply, though admittedly his male ego did perk up at the thought he would have been there before his former friend. No, he genuinely enjoyed riding a beautiful woman's ass though he was unsure if it would be a step too far for Summer. The Síochán Ch. 02 He pulled her up until her back was against his chest, his finger still embedded inside her ass and fucking slowly in and out of her as his lips whispered against the side of her neck and slowly moved to nibble at her earlobe. Her breath was coming in short pants and she was pushing herself onto his finger which only served to increase his lust. "Summer, I want you here," he growled softly, pressing another finger into her and pressing up hard, his breath whispering across her ear as he spoke. "I want to slide my cock deep inside you where my fingers are right now. If you don't want this, tell me now, otherwise I'm going to take you there in the next few seconds." Summer moaned loudly at his words, his fingers stretching her ass so wonderfully causing her body to seep its juices between her legs. She wondered if it would be painful if he pushed his hard shaft up her ass. His fingers felt so wonderful but they were not as big and thick as his shaft. She panted loudly, pressing herself onto his fingers frantically as she felt endless waves of pleasure crash through her body. "Luc," she whispered hoarsely. "Oh, please! Do whatever you want. Take me there, just don't stop pleasuring me." The last came out on a tortured moan as he pushed her back down onto the bed, removing his fingers and using his other hand to plunge three thick digits into her soaking wet cunt. He fucked his fingers in and out of her body, coating them liberally with her juices before he brought them round to her little rosebud and began to work the lubrication into her tight ass. He stretched her as much as he could before he pressed his cock into her cunt and gave her some long, hard strokes which left her crying out her pleasure in loud, deep moans. He pulled his well lubricated cock out of her cunt and moved to her puckered rosebud, pressing carefully until his head breached her tight outer ring. He roared out his pleasure as her ass gripped his tip so tightly, pulling her back up and sitting on his heels. He held her little body suspended with just the tip of his cock inside her tight sphincter. He wanted to press up so badly but he knew he had to take it slow with her. "Press down when you're comfortable, love," he breathed softly. "Stop if it becomes too uncomfortable. Allow your body to adjust to me." He kept a firm grip on her hips as she slowly slid herself an inch onto his cock and paused when the pain became too severe. He held her steady, gritting his teeth as her ass gripped him so tightly. It felt so amazing to be partially sheathed in her ass. He had to fight hard not to thrust upwards, but his iron self control was not easily broken. Summer was mindless with pleasure at the feeling of him being inside her forbidden hole. She pressed down again slowly, crying out at the sweet pleasure pain as he slid further and further inside her. Her breath hitched in her chest as she continued to relentlessly impale her ass on his cock. It was uncomfortable, bordering on painful but she wanted him to be completely buried inside her. With one last push, his entire length sank deep into her bowels and she wailed loudly as her senses became overloaded. Lucas slipped a hand between her legs and mercilessly began to rub his thumb over her clit and he growled loudly with the pleasure of being fully inside her body. He distracted her from whatever pain she was feeling by teasing her clit so ruthlessly that she quickly forgot about everything, her thoughts only centred on what was going on between her legs. When he was sure she had adjusted to his intrusion, he once more, pressed her forward and began to slide slowly in and out of her tight ass. He groaned with each hard thrust as her amazing body massaged his cock so erotically. Her throaty moans and sexy cries signalled her complete pleasure so he stroked more boldly into her ass, taking her hard and fast, his fingers dancing across her clit as he strummed her body to heighten her pleasure. She bucked and cried out over and over again, moving backwards to aid him with his movements as he pushed her higher and higher towards another release, her tight ass quickly egging him towards his own explosion. He tipped her over the edge, rubbing her clit so hard she screamed and shuddered as she came with her most explosive orgasm yet. She chanted his name over and over again as he continued to stroke her clit until she had finished her orgasm. He then took her hips in both hands and held her still while he began his final assault on her beautiful body. He began to thrust hard and fast into her ass, his breathing so ragged that he was sure he was close to hyperventilating. It didn't stop him pistoning in and out of her tight hole, his groans turning to loud grunts as he felt the tension in his stomach start to coil and he knew he would soon be decorating her tight hole with his released. Amazingly, Summer was still with him, moaning and pressing herself onto his cock almost desperately, her own breathing sounding so laboured as she pushed herself towards another release. If he could have thought rationally at that moment he would have been astounded at the capacity of passion she had deep inside her. But all he could think about was how fantastic it felt to be deep inside her ass, how wonderful it felt to have her muscles contract around his aching cock so painfully. He roared out loudly, his head tipping back as his balls tightened and he began to shoot thick ropes of his seed deep inside her bowels. He was vaguely aware of Summer shuddering beneath him, a loud cry issuing from her throat as his orgasm pushed her over once more and she joined him in his pleasure. He pumped into her a few more times as he emptied himself completely, ecstatic waves of pleasure cascading through his body. Finally he was completely spent and so was Summer. He eased himself carefully from her body and lay down on his back. His breathing was so ragged, his body so tired that for a moment he couldn't even stop to wonder how she felt. Eventually he managed to calm his breathing enough that he could turn to look at Summer. She quite literally took his breath away. She was lying beside him on her side, her eyes closed, her beautiful face flushed with her passion, her body slickened with sweat as her chest rose and fell so swiftly. She had never looked more beautiful and he rolled to his side so he could gather her into his arms and hold her close. "You're amazing," he whispered softly, tenderly stroking her damp curls away from her face. Her beautiful green eyes fluttered opened and she smiled dreamily at him, her fingers tangling in his own damp hair as she leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "And you're still outrageous," she laughed lightly, stretching and stifling down a little moan. Lucas laughed softly and hugged her close, kissing her long and hard, playing with her tongue for a moment before easing gently back. "That doesn't sound like you're complaining, love," he murmured, a beautiful smile crossing his face. Summer sighed and buried her face in the side of his neck, licking at his salty skin before kissing him lightly. "No, I'm not," she agreed in a very satisfied voice, luxuriating in the feeling of cuddling up against him now the sex was over with. She hadn't had this luxury when she had been with Nathaniel and she decided she liked it very much. Lucas forced himself not to react when he heard her think of his former friend. It was second nature for him to be inside her mind. It was an important part of keeping her mentally balanced as she became accustomed to her new life and it was a hard habit to break now that she didn't need him to do it anymore. It wasn't as if he hadn't come into this with his eyes wide open. Summer wasn't his to keep. He knew that before he ever met her. He settled them under the sheets, pulling her securely into his arms once they were comfortable. "I think it's time you met the others," he said quietly, sighing softly because their time alone was at an end. It was probably a good thing because it would stave off becoming too emotionally involved with her. She would always be special to him and he to her, but their paths would separate eventually. Summer turned her head to look at him, her green eyes wide with excitement. "Really, Luc?" she asked breathlessly. "Really," he smiled stroking her cheek gently. "Your training is finished, Summer. I suppose you could view this as your graduation." He chuckled at his joke, his blue eyes dancing with laughter as she pouted and slapped him lightly on the chest. "Now it's time for you to learn about being a Síochán, love," he continued more seriously. "I've only told you the bare basics. There is much more to learn and I may not be the best person to teach you what you need to know. So, it is most definitely time for you to meet the others." Summer felt a mixture of elation and sadness. She was so curious to meet the others and find out what her new purpose in life was going to be, now that she had learned all the physical training required. But a part of her was sad that she was losing this personal time alone with Lucas. What they had just shared had been so amazing, but she could almost feel him starting to pull away from her already. "Luc, you won't leave me alone, will you?" she asked worriedly. "We can still spend time together?" Lucas frowned slowly but his arms tightened around her. "Our alone time will be greatly decreased, Summer," he answered quietly. "That's unavoidable, but we will be able to spend some time together. We can do this again if you want to." His tone was hopeful, his eyes intent on her face as he searched her expression avidly. "Oh, I want to," she said fervently and smiled when she saw the pleasure her words brought to him. "Did you doubt that I would want to, Luc?" "Not exactly doubt, but I did prepare myself for it to be a one off occurrence," he answered carefully. "Your time will be taken up with so many new things, Summer, and you will meet others of our kind who are equally as charismatic as I am. Who know what will happen then?" Summer immediately dismissed his words. He was only her second lover. Did he think so little of her that he would imagine she would go from his bed to another's so easily? She actually felt a little insulted that he would think that way. His soft laughter brought her gaze back to his and she frowned darkly at him, knowing he was inside her head again. "Lucas!" she said crossly, but he just laughed harder and cuddled her closer. "Sweet Summer," he breathed kissing her forehead tenderly. "I think you're going to be very surprised to find you won't be able to wait another fifty years before you choose another lover." She snorted in response but didn't answer him. He could think what he damned well pleased! Despite being annoyed with him, she buried her head back in the crook of his neck and clutched him tightly as she closed her eyes and let her mind go blank so she could fall asleep. It had been an exhausting day and she felt so comfortable lying in his arms. Within moments she was breathing softly as sleep claimed her. Lucas sighed deeply, relaxing when Summer finally fell asleep. The simple trust she placed in him tore at his heart. He was glad he had this moment with her because he knew it wouldn't last. When she met the others and learned more about their mission in life, she would learn things he had deliberately kept from her. She would most probably be angry with him. Maybe she would even come to dislike him. Sometimes hard decisions had to be taken to achieve an end goal. This had been the case with Summer. The decision to allow Summer and Nathaniel to meet had been unanimous. It was The Síochán's last attempt at bringing Nathaniel home to them. He had never spoken of this to Summer because she was still too new to this life. She hadn't matured enough to come to understand the necessity that sometimes they had to act against their heart's desires to achieve their objectives. She would be told though, before she was allowed to go back to the mortal world. Her Ascension was preordained. She would be one of the strongest of them, possibly even rivalling Nathaniel when he had walked among them. She would keep the peace between good and evil like the glorious avenging angel she was, but that was not her sole purpose in this new life of hers. No, she was also to be the catalyst to heal the fracture within The Síochán. The fracture which had been caused when they had lost Nathaniel from their midst. This beautiful, ethereal woman lying in his arms had been assigned what must surely be the toughest assignment any of them had ever undertaken. She had to love Nathaniel Ryan and in turn make him love her back with such utter devotion that he would be unable to refuse to come back home. And the only way for him to return home was for Nathaniel to die. Summer Melrose, with her laughing green eyes and golden blonde curls had to convince Nathaniel Ryan to trust her enough to allow her to kill him... To be continued... The Síochán Ch. 03 This chapter is mainly character development. Hope you enjoy it. * Summer was nervous. It had been five days since Lucas had said he would introduce her to the other Síochán and finally he was going to do so. She had expected it sooner but Lucas has been more interested in spending more time in bed with her. Not that she had been complaining. He was very inventive in bed and he had amazed her with all the incredible orgasms he'd wrung out of her body. Still, she was bored because of the lack of training schedule and they couldn't make love all day. Well, Lucas could if she allowed him too. She smiled at the memory of his petulant expression when she had taken some time out to go back to her rooms. Being a Síochán, she required very little rest. Sleep lasted anywhere between five to fifteen minutes but she still liked to lie in bed and pretend she was still human, pretend she needed more rest than she really did. In reality, she just needed a little time to herself so she'd taken to her rooms. Lucas had taught her how to conceal her thoughts from him. He had said she would need to do so from now on because the other Síochán wouldn't think twice about peaking inside her mind. That was another thing which made her smile. Lucas' frustrated expression when he tried to slip into her mind now and came up against a blank wall. Their whole relationship had changed. She was no longer the student and he the instructor. They were more equal since they had become lovers though she was aware of just how much of a novice she still was to this life. Summer willed herself into the Scrying Room, smoothing down her long, white dress as she did so. It was styled from her era and she thought she looked good in it. If she'd had any doubts about it they were soon settled as Lucas turned from the Fountain to look at her, his blues eyes shining with appreciation. He smiled a truly wicked smile and crossed the room to her to pull her into his arms and slide his mouth eagerly across hers. "You look stunning," he sighed against her lips, his body already hard for her as he sipped at her sweet lips with such relish. He couldn't get enough of Summer and was severely tempted to forget about introducing her today and taking her back to bed. He had put off the introduction as long as he could because he didn't want to lose this closeness between them. The man Summer knew was only a small part of who he truly was. He had wanted to put off this discovery for purely selfish reasons. He didn't want to see her beautiful green eyes looking at him with disappointment and possibly loathing as she realised he wasn't as good as she thought he was. Lucas kissed her again and then sighed and stood back. He couldn't really put it off any longer. His eyes ran over her beautiful face as he memorised her happy, relaxed expression and he smiled fondly at her when she raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. "Summer, there are a few things you need to know before we leave," he smiled gently. "Firstly, you cannot call me Luc when we're with the others. We are all rather formal when we're together and there are certain expectations when it comes to personal behaviour. Our time here together is more relaxed and I know it is what you are used to, but you need to keep that informality separate from your dealings with the group." Summer nodded slowly though she felt her nervousness increase. She wasn't used to being in a formal setting and Lucas sounded so grave, so different to what she was used to. He was still smiling at her but she could sense a level of detachment to him and it worried her slightly. "Am I going to recognise the new Lucas I come to see?" she asked slowly. He started slightly and then his smile widened and he gave her a quick hug before he pulled back again. She was so very perceptive. "You cut straight to the heart of what I'm trying to explain," he sighed softly. "No, you most likely will not recognise much of whom I am, Summer. You see just a fraction of me when I am here with you, my more tender side. I hope you can still find it in your heart to be kind to me once you see the other many facets to my personality. I will understand if you can't." Summer shivered slightly as she listened to him. Her entire world was about to be rocked again. It was what he was trying to prepare her for. She was going to lose the one sure thing she had in her world right now. She was going to lose the Lucas she knew and loved so much. She nodded again and managed a weak smile. "I will always be grateful to you, Lucas, no matter what happens from this moment on. I will always hold you dear in my heart." She felt like she was the one doing the reassuring as she watched his beautiful face relax a little at her words and he seemed unable to stop himself from giving her another hug. He held her tightly this time, his body tense as he ran his hands slowly down her back and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. "You will always be dear to me too, Summer," he breathed softly before he pulled himself together and walked away from her. "You will learn what is required of you today," he said almost conversationally, his eyes intent on her face. "You most probably will not like all that you hear and will be tempted to react emotionally as you're accustomed to. I must ask you to try and refrain from any outbursts, Summer. I need you to hold your peace until you can think rationally and compose a logical, concise response to what you hear. Do you think you can do that?" She frowned deeply and shook her head. "Probably not," she answered quietly, because she knew she wouldn't be able to reign herself in if she became upset about something. "But I will try my hardest, Luc. For you. I will try not to shame you with my uncouth behaviour." Her terminology made him smile. "You could never shame me, Summer. I may become the butt of some teasing from the others because I've been a little lax with my instruction but I will never feel ashamed of you. You are such a warm, passionate creature. Most of us have been in this life for so long we've learned to mask our more exuberant traits. I know you will try your hardest to contain yours but do not worry about my feelings, because I am sorry to admit that I will not be concerned about yours during the meeting. I will say and do what I must and hope you forgive me in advance for any harsh words which may come between us." His honesty made Summer's heart sink though she appreciated him being so honest with her. At least she knew where she would stand once she fully entered the world of the Síochán; she would stand alone. She stared at him for a long moment and then she suddenly ran forward and threw herself into his arms. "I forgive you, Luc," she whispered urgently, holding onto him tightly. His arms crushed her tightly to him and his mouth came down on hers in a hard, desperate kiss. He was so going to miss her; he took a moment longer to luxuriate in the feeling of her soft body pressed to his before he gently put her away from him again and gave her a crooked smile. "Saying goodbye is always such a hard thing," he smiled. Summer returned his smile with a weak one of her own. It did feel like they were saying goodbye. Their time together was at an end. Maybe once she had become used to the changes, they'd be able to feel this closeness once more but from the expression on Lucas' face she doubted it. He was resigned to this being their last tender moment together and he was the one who knew what was coming. "I love you, Luc," she smiled sadly. He stroked the side of her face gently, his eyes sad for a moment and then he was smiling again, reverting back to his usual persona when they were together. "I love you, too, Summer," he said softly. "Now, it's time to go." He dropped his hand from her face and took hers gently in his. "Slip into my mind so you can follow where I am taking us," he instructed. "You will need to know how to get there yourself as this will be the only time I will escort you to the meeting room." She did as he asked and followed his mental picturing of the room he was taking her to. The room surprised her because it was so dark. She had a brief mental image of dark wooden bookcases filled with books and black leather sofas and chairs, before they moved effortlessly from the Scrying Room and appeared in the doorway of the meeting room. Summer slapped up her mental wall immediately as she registered the other people already in the room and Lucas' hand slipped from hers as he strode forward into the room without a backward glance at her. She stood rooted to the spot as all eyes swung towards her and she tried hard to dampen down the sudden welling of apprehension she felt as she stood alone before the other Síochán. Her gaze slid to Lucas' retreating back and she watched him cross to one of the sofas and sink down gracefully beside a man with long, black hair. She started slightly because his colouring reminded her immediately of Nathaniel, and she suddenly realised that she hadn't searched once for the vampire the entire time she was with Lucas. She hadn't even been aware that she had stopped going to the Scrying Room. The object of her scrutiny was speaking quietly to Lucas and suddenly turned his head to look at her as if sensing her perusal. Icy, light, blue eyes peered coldly at her and ran slowly down her body as if taking a mental inventory of her form. She took the same time to examine the man. He was nothing like Nathaniel in appearance really; just his hair was similar in colouring. He was beautiful to look at, with a hard angular face and though he was seated she could tell he was tall, maybe an inch or two shorter than Lucas. His build was slim, though she could tell his muscles were very tightly honed. He was dressed completely in black and he seemed to favour human clothes of the later centuries she had viewed in the Fountain. His T-shirt and jeans hugged his body like a second skin and she was quick to see that he was a strong, virile man. Lucas' words came back to her about the other charismatic men among their kind and her possibly choosing another lover from their midst. As her eyes came back to his face she smiled slightly, her lips barely twitching as she immediately dismissed the potential for any relationship with him. Despite his beauty there was something she immediately disliked about this man. Her instincts usually ran true though she would give him the benefit of the doubt until he proved her wrong. "Summer," Lucas called. She turned her gaze back to him as he waved a hand for her to approach. She did so, moving slowly, ignoring the others in the room for the moment. She wanted to take in the measure of each person one at a time and try and get a feel for them individually. "This is Marcus," Lucas said as she finally reached them. She inclined her head slightly to the dark haired man. His face was devoid of all expression, but she felt a slight mental nudge and knew it was Marcus. His blatant lack of respect irritated her. She nudged him back mentally, her green eyes flashing a challenge for him to say anything. Marcus' lips curled in a little smile as the beautiful woman standing before him responded to his rudeness with a little of her own. Lucas had said she was unpredictable and slightly emotional still, and he couldn't resist testing her resolve. She had the art of showing no emotion on her face down quite well but he had caught the little flicker in her eyes when she had first seen him. He knew she would be thinking of his slight resemblance to Nathaniel. "So, Lucas has finally let you out of his bed," he drawled softly, his voice rich and deep, his tone slightly mocking. "You must be something pretty spectacular, Summer. We've never known Lucas to bed a woman for five days straight. He usually gets bored long before the end of the first day." If he thought to embarrass her he was wrong. She refused to allow her cheeks to flush with colour even though she was mortified at him talking about her love life as if it were his business to do so. She steeled herself against his mocking and met his eyes. "I was surprised he lasted five days before he conceded defeat," she remarked coolly, seeing Lucas fight to contain the smile which threatened to cross his face. Her response surprised Marcus and his lips curled further into a smile. He mentally gave her the point and felt his respect for her rise a little. She was obviously trying to behave as Lucas had instructed her. The fact that he could tell she wanted the ground to swallow her up was not a negative in his mind. No, it made her cool response even more admirable. Summer moved her gaze from Marcus and turned back to Lucas. His expression was carefully blank and she didn't know what to do now. She had no idea what was expected of her from the other Síochán. Lucas was not going to be any help either judging from his expression. "Am I to stand here and be examined like a new toy or will one of you speak and tell me what I'm required to do now I have completed my training?" she finally asked. Silence greeted her and she felt her irritation start to rise as she continued to look into Lucas' eyes. She saw no sign of the man she knew. He examined her like an object just as the others were doing. She tried to remember his words on how to act. He had said to think logically and concisely about her responses but plain rudeness and bad manners was not something she could think logically about. If these men thought to test her just to satisfy their silly egos then they were in for a shock. She wasn't going to be treated as they saw fit. Her gaze still locked with Lucas', she gave him a little smile before she leaned down and brushed her lips lightly across his. She felt him stiffen in surprise and her smile grew wider. "When you boys can remember what it means to be gentlemen, let me know, Luc," she said loudly. She willed herself back to her rooms before he realised what she intended. She knew Lucas would be angry with her but she didn't care. She deserved better than to be thrown to the sharks like that with no knowledge of how to protect herself. He could be angry all he liked, she wasn't sorry for her actions. Lucas managed to keep his expression completely neutral despite his rage at Summer's behaviour. One part of him silently applauded her for having the courage to stand up for herself, she would need that courage in the days to come. But mostly he was just annoyed with her. She had been overly familiar with him by kissing him and her use of his shortened name was unacceptable. He hadn't asked much of her before bringing her here. She could have at least have made the effort. "Well, Luc! It would appear your little protégé is somewhat lacking in the patience department," Marcus laughed softly at his side, stressing the shortened name and drawing smiles from the others in the room. Lucas smiled coolly at him biting down an instant retort. Spending so much time with Summer made him sometimes fall into her bad habits and he wasn't willing to give Marcus any further ammunition to poke fun at him . When he was sure he could keep his tone level, he responded to the other man. "It would appear I erred in judgement when I introduced you to her first, Marcus," he replied smoothly. "I should have left you until last. You do have a knack of scaring women away." He stood as he spoke and turned away from him before he could respond. "If you will give me a moment, I will ask Summer to rejoin the meeting," he said to the room before he disappeared, going straight to the door of Summer's bedroom. He activated the chimes for entrance and waited. Summer knew it was Lucas at her door. She also knew that he wouldn't go away until she answered him. She pondered how long she could put up with the incessant noise before she answered him and then sighed loudly. It was childish to hide from him. It was time to learn who the real Lucas was. "I suppose you're angry with me?" she asked from behind him when she appeared from her room silently. Lucas spun around, his blond hair flowing wildly, his blue eyes flashing as he furiously regarded her. "How dare you?" he spat out. He moved towards her, grabbing her upper arms and spinning her around to push her hard against the wall. She uttered a startled whimper, a brief flash of fear going through her before she stiffened her body, ready to attack back if he tried anything to hurt her. At the moment he was just holding her pinned against the wall. "How dare I?" she asked calmly raising an eyebrow at him. "How dare I? How dare you, Lucas? You could have prepared me better for that little debacle. Instead you threw me to the sharks and left me to sink while you sat back for your own amusement. Why, Lucas? Why did you do that to me?" She couldn't stop the plaintive note that crept into her voice as she tried to conceal her hurt from him. "You think I can be around to hold your hand forever, Summer?" he answered shortly, his eyes still glittering dangerously. "I trained you better than that. You are no longer a student to be protected. You are a Síochán and you are expected to act like one." Summer pushed against him, forcing him to let go so she could step away from the wall, her own eyes glaring angrily back at him. "And how is a Síochán supposed to act, Lucas? Like an ill mannered, rude, obnoxious excuse of a being? If you are waiting for me to take on those despicable character traits then you will have a very long wait indeed. Maybe the rest of you have forgotten what it's like to be human but I haven't. Manners cost nothing, Lucas. I will not tolerate being disrespected and having my love life bandied around so you and your friends can score points against each other. If that's what you have planned for me then you made the wrong choice in saving my life because I will not be that person, ever!" Lucas appeared to be lost for words for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of his anger. "You mean that little act was all because you thought Marcus was disrespectful?" he finally asked in an incredulous tone. "It's time you grew up, Summer. There is a lot worse to come than a few words being bandied around about your sex life." He stared at her with a cold, hard expression on his face. "How am I supposed to know that, Lucas?" she argued back furiously. "You have told me nothing! I don't know anything about the other Síochán. I don't know anything about what is expected of me. I don't know about the hierarchy or structure of the Síochán or what we really do. Then I find the one person who I thought I did know, is someone completely different. Were you too busy bedding me to get around to these important facts? Was satisfying your own physical needs more important than making sure I was prepared for this first meeting?" He stared at her for another long moment and then frowned slightly. He thought he had explained most of those points to her. He wracked his brain trying to dredge up the memory of having that conversation with her and his frown deepened before he smoothed his expression and gave her an apologetic smile. "I do appear to have forgotten to elaborate on a few things," he admitted quietly. "Perhaps you are right, Summer. Perhaps I did indulge in your charms to the exclusion of preparing you enough for this meeting." He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to work out the best way forward. The other Síochán were waiting for them to return to start the meeting but Summer's frame of mind wasn't really up to it at the moment and he needed some time to explain things to her. It would probably be best to postpone the meeting but he didn't want to do that. Summer's anger evaporated as she watched Lucas obviously working through something in his mind. Unlike when he was in the meeting room, his expression was not guarded and she could tell he had a dilemma on his hands. She knew she was the cause of that dilemma. "Tell me quickly of the personalities involved," she sighed softly. "I've worked out Marcus myself but the other three men?" The Síochán Ch. 03 Lucas shot her a grateful smile. "We represent what I suppose you would term individual virtues," he began, moving away to stand beside the Scrying Fountain. "Harlan is Perseverance. He is more congenial than Marcus but has a tendency to anger quickly and become dogmatic. He calms down just as quickly but he is pretty fierce when he blows. Stand up to him if he tries it with you. He respects strong people. Anton is Impartiality. Very quiet and doesn't speak much but when he does it is usually something worth listening to so we tend to pay attention when he speaks. He views all angles before commenting. Kincaid is Detachment. He is pretty cold and ruthless. He doesn't suffer fools gladly and he detests emotional displays. He and Harlan tend to ignore each other for the most part because they are such polar opposites in character. They seldom find a middle ground." Lucas paused to turn and look at her. Her expression was carefully schooled so he didn't know what she was thinking. He sighed softly. "Marcus is Defiance. He has a tendency to swing in the opposite direction of the group just for the hell of it. He likes to upset the equilibrium as you have already noticed." He stopped talking again, turning back to look in the swirling waters of the Fountain. "They all sound so formidable," Summer said quietly. "You didn't describe yourself, Lucas. Don't I need to know that too?" He shot her a slightly pained glance, the physical distance between them not even beginning to reflect the engulfing chasm now between them since the first abortive attempt of the meeting. He silently mourned that distance even though he had been prepared for it. He knew he should have better prepared her for what would go on in the meeting. "Me?," he sighed softly. "I suppose I am viewed as Justice. We all have an equal say in all matters, yourself included, Summer. But once we have reached a decision it is ultimately up to me to make the judgement on our course of action. I suppose I am a little bit of all of them, with a cold, hard core running right through me." She swallowed hard as she tried to come to terms with how very different he was and how little she really knew him. She had only ever seen his softer side and that was the part of him she loved so much. It was sad to find out that it was only a very small part of the man she had come to care for and rely on so much. She gave him a sad smile. "So what does that make me in this group of egotistical men?" she asked curiously, wondering how Lucas really viewed her. He smiled softly, his expression turning warm. "You are our Temperance, Summer," he answered quietly. "You may be new to us but we need you so very badly. We need a clearer voice to help us make the right decisions. The Síochán are fractured, Summer. When Nathaniel left, it quite literally had us reeling for a couple of centuries. No one has ever left us before and we didn't know how to deal with it. We have become hardened in our ways and we need a fresh pair of eyes to get us back on track." He didn't tell her everything but he told her enough. The rest she would find out soon enough. Summer contemplated his words with a thoughtful expression on her face and then she nodded her head at him. "What about Nathaniel? What was he when he was here?" Lucas sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "Nathaniel was Zeal," he answered quietly. "I told you he was one of the best of us. It was his zeal which made him so. Once a judgement was pronounced he was the first to offer his services to execute that judgement. He believed so strongly in what we do that sometimes it was hard to rein him in. That was until he decided one day that he didn't want to be one of us anymore." Summer tried to picture Nathaniel as a zealot. He had definitely shown signs of being very determined when she had met him. She wondered what could have possibly turned him from being so dedicated into wanting nothing further to do with the Síochán. It must have been something very important to him. "I'm ready to return to the meeting now, Lucas," she announced quietly. If she was Temperance and the group needed her so badly as Lucas said, then it was up to her to learn all that she could to try and help them. He accepted her decision without argument, relieved that she was calmer and apparently more accepting of everything. Together they returned to the meeting room. This time Lucas didn't leave her side immediately, instead he took her hand and steered her over to a chair where a tall, dark skinned man sat. He was young in appearance but completely bald. To Summer's eyes it looked like a natural occurrence rather than a preferred choice. "Summer, this is Harlan," Lucas introduced her. Given her recent disappearing act, she was surprised when he answered her smile back with one of his own. "An honour to meet you, my lady," Harlan said with a slight twinkle in his green eyes before he turned to survey the room quickly. "That is how one behaves like a gentleman," he tacked on with a wide grin and Summer found herself laughing even as her cheeks reddened slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Harlan," she smiled and let Lucas escort her to the man sitting in the chair beside him. "Kincaid," the man said, brushing his long brown hair back across his shoulders, his brown eyes were intent on her face as if he was trying to size her up. She had no idea what decision he came to but his features relaxed slightly and his mouth almost quirked into a little smile. "And I'm Anton," a voice said from the left and Summer turned to find herself looking into a pair of hazel eyes which were twinkling slightly as a hand appeared in front of her. "Anton," she smiled, accepting his hand and starting when he raised hers to his lips and brushed it gently with his mouth. Anton was dark haired, not quite brown and yet not exactly black either. He wore his hair shorter than the others, it merely brushed the bottom of his collar though it was all one length and slicked back from his forehead. He did not share the same exquisite beauty as the others in the room but Summer found herself liking him immediately. He was handsome more in a human kind of way, whereas the others were almost angelic in appearance. "Come, sit with me, Summer," Anton was saying, patting the sofa he was sitting on as he tugged at her hand to pull her down beside him. A quick recap of what Lucas has told her reminded her that Anton was supposed to be the quiet one of the group and yet, he appeared to be the friendliest so far. She sat down beside him as Lucas once more drifted back across the room to sit beside Marcus, who was watching her with a slight smile curving over his lips. "Ignore, Marcus," Anton laughed softly. "He views himself as a lady killer and is deeply disturbed that you not only prefer Lucas over him but that he also managed to scare you from the room." Summer dampened down a scowl and tried not to react to her love life being brought up yet again. It appeared they thought it amusing to try to fluster her and she was determined not to react the way she had the last time. She took a deep breath and smiled. "I apologise for leaving so abruptly earlier," she said to the room. "I am not used to being in such a formal environment. I dare say I will most likely do other things to offend until I get my bearings. I hope you can all be patient with me." "Hah, remember when Marcus first joined us," Harlan laughed. "He caused much more upset when he....." "Harlan!" Marcus growled angrily and the other man laughed harder but didn't continue with what he was about to say. "Maybe we should begin?" Lucas sighed trying not to roll his eyes. It was bad enough putting up with Summer's little foibles at the meeting but if the others started they would achieve nothing. "I've explained a little to Summer but she needs to be fully briefed on our purpose and what that means for her." He looked around the room and was very surprised when Anton was the one who chose to speak. "It's really quite simple, Summer," Anton smiled. "We monitor the timeline through the Scrying Fountains as you most probably already know. We go back and forth on the mortal plain because time had no real meaning up here, not in the linear fashion the mortal world experiences. Usually when we see a course of action about to play out which will seriously endanger the balance between good and evil, we meet to discuss it and then decide what course of action to take. Occasionally an event will come to pass that we do not notice and we receive an alert to it. This alert is quite noticeable. The water in all the Fountains turn red and each one will show the time period that the danger relates to. We decipher the event that triggers the danger, then as usual, we act." "How many Scrying Fountains are there?" she asked curiously. She had assumed there was just one and that the others viewed it when she was occupied with Lucas. "Oh, there are seven," Harlan answered with a smile. "There were six and then you ascended to join us so a new Fountain was born for your use." Summer frowned slightly, her eyes moving swiftly around the room. "But there are only six of us. If each person has their own Fountain then why are there seven now?" The room fell silent and everyone turned to look at Lucas who was staring off at the far wall as if pretending he hadn't heard the question. "The second Fountain belongs to Nathaniel," Kincaid finally said in a hard voice. Summer's eyes flew to his and she saw a deep anger in his brown eyes before his gaze dropped from hers. "So, no one can use anyone else's Fountain?" she asked, her heart picking up slightly at the mention of Nathaniel. "Limited use can be made of another's," Harlan answered, "but not to the depth that is required to do the work we need to do." Summer nodded slowly as she took in what was being said. Her Scrying Fountain belonged to her alone. She actually quite liked the thought of that though she hadn't felt territorial about it before. She smiled slightly at the thought that there was a Fountain somewhere that Nathaniel had used as his own. She wondered if she would be allowed to view it. "So once an intervention is required and we have all discussed it, how do we go about righting the wrong?" Again all eyes turned to Lucas and this time when her eyes turned to his, he was looking at Summer. His beautiful face was carefully neutral as he regarded her intently for a moment and then he almost seemed to sigh without quite doing so. "We go down to the mortal world and we remove the problem permanently," he said quietly. "We do so as discreetly and quickly as possible. Our existence is to be guarded at all times. Only one person down below knows of our existence. We ensure it is kept that way." She knew he was alluding to Nathaniel again and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "We go down and we eliminate the threat," she said, just so she could get it clear in her own mind. She knew she was trained to kill, but she hadn't really thought about it too much because it had always seemed such a long way off before she would have to confront it. "What if the balance is swinging too much onto the side of good?" she asked with a frown. "Good, evil, it doesn't matter what side the swing is. We take care of the problem," Lucas said coldly. The inherent wrongness of killing someone who was good hit her hard. She could justify killing an evil person but a good one? She had been a good person and she had been murdered. Her family had shed who knows how many tears at her loss and she was expected to go and do that to other families? "I'm not doing that," she said firmly, her face setting in a determined expression as she met Lucas' eyes. "I'm not going to kill someone whose only fault in life is being too good." "You don't have a choice in the matter, Summer," Lucas answered coldly. "If the assignment comes up and you're the only one available for it you will accept it and do your job." She jumped up from the sofa and glared hard at Lucas, completely oblivious to everyone else around them as her anger flared. "I am not killing good people, Luc, and there is nothing you can do or say to make me do so. It's just wrong and you can just find someone else to do it." "You don't get to pick and choose what jobs you do," Lucas grated out, rising too and glaring back at her. He had known she would balk at the necessity to do so but after their last talk he had hoped she would have taken the time to think it through and at least voice her objections in a less strident manner. He could feel the other Síochán's eyes on them and he was annoyed she was putting him in this position again so soon. "You don't get to tell me what I do or don't do anymore," she retorted. "I'm no longer your student. You told me that yourself. You said I had an equal right to voice my opinions in this meeting and I'm voicing my opinion now. I'm telling you I will not cause the same heartache on another family that mine went through when I was murdered by Frederick!" She detected a slight tightening around his eyes as she brought up her own death. If she hadn't spent so much time with him she would most probably have missed it. She felt a sinking feeling deep inside her as she looked deep into his eyes and tried to determine what that involuntary movement meant. "You knew," she breathed softly, the sinking feeling starting to get worse as she stared at Lucas in shock. "Was I too good, Lucas?" she asked in a hard voice. "Was that what you meant when you said you had been waiting for me for a long time? Was I one of the good people who needed to be eliminated only you realised you didn't actually have to do it yourself because Frederick was already in place to do it for you?" The accuracy of her words hit Lucas hard and his lips tightened ever so slightly but it was enough to confirm to Summer that what she was saying had some merit to it. "Summer," he said calmly, using a soothing tone because he knew she was ready to come apart and he didn't want her to do so in front of the others. "I'm right," she suddenly yelled at him, her eyes filling with tears though they didn't fall. "You were all set to kill me. Which one of you was going to do it? You, Lucas? How convenient for you that Frederick came along and did it for you." "Will you please calm down, Summer," Lucas said sternly. "Shouting and getting all emotional about it isn't going to solve anything." "I'm standing in a room full of men who were calmly sitting around discussing which one of them was going to murder me and you think I don't have a right to be bloody emotional about it?" She stared at him, a feeling of such betrayal rippling through her as she looked into his beautiful face. He didn't even look the slightest bit ashamed. He had taken her into his bed, when all the time he had known that he could have been the person chosen to end her life, if Frederick hadn't done so. Summer felt something break inside her and realised it was most probably the last of her innocence finally shattering from her soul. She suddenly understood why they were all such cold people despite their smiles and twinkling eyes. They had to be like that because it was the only way they could survive doing what they had to do. It didn't make it right but she could at least understand it. "What else haven't you told me, Lucas?" she asked in a voice devoid of all emotion. He had told her she would hear worse than her sex life being discussed. What she had heard so far was pretty bad but she had a feeling there was still more to come. Lucas watched her very carefully, seeing the light die in her eyes. It twisted painfully at his heart to see her so shattered, but he knew she was strong enough to deal with it. She would be angry for a long time but she would eventually come to understand sometimes difficult choices had to be made for the greater good. "We discussed whether or not to let your meeting with Nathaniel go ahead," he answered quietly. "Whether to let the natural time progression occur or step in before you came into contact with him. It was agreed to allow you to meet." His answer stunned her. What did Nathaniel have to do with this? He wasn't one of the Síochán anymore. He had walked away from these people and she couldn't blame him for doing so because it was what she wanted to do herself. "Why was my meeting Nathaniel so important?" she ground out hoarsely, the pain inside her chest getting worse the more she learned. "We want Nathaniel to come home, Summer. We saw his attraction to you. For a moment there were two paths open to you. The one where Frederick killed you and the one where Nathaniel took you with him that night. It was why we had to consider intervening earlier. If you had gone with Nathaniel then that would have been problematic." Her mouth dropped open in shock as she stared at him. "Nathaniel wanted to take me with him?" she whispered, completely rocked by this knowledge. She had though the vampire had walked away with no further thought of her. Lucas nodded solemnly. "He thought about it and dismissed it, freeing the timeline up for your death. He changed his mind and came back for you the next night but by then it was too late, you were already dead and here with me." Nathaniel had come back for her and Lucas had known this. Just as he had known how much she loved the vampire even though she had barely known him. And he had still talked his way into her bed, knowing all of this. There appeared to be no depths Lucas wasn't willing to sink to. "Spell it out for me, Lucas. The whole thing. What is the significance of Nathaniel coming back for me?" "He loves you, Summer," Lucas said quietly. "And you love him too. We need you to bring him back to us." Nathaniel loved her! The very thought filled her with such joy and such heartache. Not only had he come back for her, albeit too late, but he had come for her because he had loved her. The bittersweet irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. Nathaniel had left the Síochán and centuries later they had met and despite knowing each other only a handful of hours, somehow fallen in love. Now she was a Síochán and Nathaniel walked the mortal world, and the others expected her to go back down there to convince him to return to a life he had given up for probably very good reasons. Her green eyes shone with unshed tears even as her face twisted into a bitter mask as she looked at the man who had shared her bed and used her so shamelessly to further his own ends. She felt so betrayed by Lucas. She tried hard to get control of her emotions, tried to remember to think logically about it all but it was hard to do so when it was her heart, her very life which had been used as a plaything to achieve their goal. Lucas was getting the brunt of her anger because he had been the face of the Síochán to her for the last fifty years. It didn't make the others any less culpable but she didn't care about them, not like she cared about Lucas. "I don't blame Nathaniel for leaving you, Lucas," she said bitterly. "He probably couldn't stand being in the same room with a monster like you. I will not help you bring him back to this life and I will not join you in this life either. I'd rather be dead than spend one more precious second of my time in your company. Release me, Lucas. I don't care how you do it, just do it. Kill me if you can somehow do it, or make me mortal again so you can kill me. Just let me go." Lucas stared intently at Summer, carefully keeping a neutral expression as he saw the hurt and betrayal in her eyes. He knew it was unavoidable that he would be the target for her anger but it didn't make it any less easy to stomach. He had considered telling her the truth earlier but decided against it. She had a better chance of dealing with it now she was fully trained. He could wait for her anger to subside. They had eternity to work out their personal differences. The Síochán Ch. 03 The room had fallen into a deadly silence after Summer stopped speaking. A silence which was shattered when Kincaid suddenly muttered under his breath, "Oh, spare me another emotional diva." "What do you mean by that, Kincaid?" Harlan snorted. "You better not be alluding to me with that comment. Just because you're a cold hearted bastard doesn't mean the rest of us have to be." "Harlan, Kincaid," Lucas said with a weary sigh, his eyes never leaving Summer as he tried to nip the inevitable squabble which was about to break out between the two men. Now was not the time for them to be distracted. "It has been a challenging meeting for you, Summer. Perhaps you need to take some time to think things through," Anton said in a kindly tone, rising to take her hand and turn her away from the man she saw as having betrayed her. "Come, walk with me a while. We do not need to speak." "You can't leave now when it's just starting to get so interesting," Marcus laughed softly. "This has been the most entertaining meeting in a long time." "Summer," Lucas interjected. "Perhaps it would be best if you took some time as Anton has suggested. We can continue the meeting later." He shot a quick, withering glance at Marcus as he spoke and the dark haired man just laughed harder. Summer stared at all of them. She wanted to slap Marcus' smug face because he was enjoying her pain so much. Kincaid and Harlan were having a private, heated discussion and ignoring her completely. Lucas was looking at her with a slightly sad expression on his face and for a moment she actually felt sorry for him even though she didn't want to. She finally looked at Anton who was waiting patiently for her decision and she nodded her head mutely. She didn't particularly want to be with any of them but if it was the only way to get away from Lucas then she would go with Anton. Lucas would only come to her if she were alone and right now she couldn't imagine ever wanting to speak to him again. As soon as she nodded, Anton whisked them both away and she found herself in a Scrying Room. For a moment she thought it was her room but there was a subtle difference to the whiteness, almost the tiniest hint of blue rippling through the walls and the floor. "Where are we?" she asked quietly, her tone subdued. "I thought you might like to visit with Nathaniel," Anton smiled gently at her. "I know he isn't here but this is his place. You've learned some pretty shocking things today, Summer, and I know you're dreadfully angry with us, Lucas in particular. But one of the things you learn very quickly here is that the concepts of right and wrong, good or bad, are just that, mere concepts when one is holding the fate of humanity in ones hands." Summer's gaze was riveted to the Fountain as she listened to him. She wanted to go over and see what it was that Nathaniel had been looking at before he made the decision to leave. "Nathaniel lived here," she breathed softly, moving towards the Fountain as if drawn to it against her will. "Yes," Anton said softly. "We used to spend quite a bit of time together Nathaniel and me. We were an unlikely mix, Zeal and Impartiality but we liked each other well enough. Before you look into the waters, Summer, I must speak with you about Lucas." She halted and turned to face him. His handsome face was wearing a kind expression. "I look at all sides to everything before I speak my mind, Summer," he said quietly. "Don't judge us too harshly. Don't judge Lucas too harshly. He volunteered to train you, knowing that he would bear the brunt of your anger when you learned the truth. You think he has hurt and betrayed you. His pain is no less than yours. He loves you in his own way. Your rejection of him will distress him greatly, but if he had the chance to do it over again, he would make the same choices even knowing what he knows now. He has learned that the greater good is so much more important than any one person's feelings. He didn't keep the truth from you out of malice, Summer. He merely waited until you were strong enough to be able to endure it." She stared at him, her thoughts in turmoil. She had been with them long enough to be able to segregate her thoughts and feelings when she tried hard enough. She tried now, remembering the sadness in Lucas' eyes before she left. Her initial anger waned slightly. She was still completely shell shocked by what she had learned, but she could objectively look at Lucas' actions without allowing her emotions to run rampant. She could understand Anton's logic on the matter. "But the good and evil thing, Anton. Maybe I can forgive the rest in time but I can't ever envision being able to take the life of someone who's only crime is to be a good person." Her distress was evident in her voice. "It is our mission to protect all of humanity, Summer," he sighed softly. "We do so by ensuring that the balance between good and evil remains as constant as possible. You are so sure that good is the best option because you have been taught that evil is wrong. But there has to be a balance between the two of them, Summer. Too much good would be just as destructive as too much evil. Humanity would suffer under both extremes. In time you will come to see that too, though you probably won't believe that right now." She didn't believe him. For her to reach that conclusion would mean that she would be leaving the last of her humanity aside and she wasn't ready to do that. She still thought of herself as being human. Hell, she didn't even know what she was now. "Think on it, Summer," Anton smiled. "I will inform the others we will be postponing the meeting until another day. Take some time here and then think about what you have learned. I will ask Lucas to give you the space you need at the moment." "Thank you, Anton," she said managing a weak smile. She turned back to the Fountain sensing him depart and thankful that she was now alone. She gazed down into the swirling waters of Nathaniel's Scrying Fountain and reach out with her senses. "What were you looking at, Nathaniel?" she whispered softly. "What did you see that made you turn your back on what you held so dear to you?" The waters rippled and then suddenly calmed, the surface seeming to become like a mirror for a second before it changed into glass. Through the glass Summer saw a street with a wealthy house at the very end of it. Her breath caught and she felt a stab of pain in her chest as the vision before her shifted and she was inside the house, an invisible spectator.... "Father is going to be so cross when he finds out what you've done, Christopher," the pretty girl with long blonde curls laughed as she viewed her little brother who was completely covered in coal dust. "I was only playing," the little boy whined in a high pitched voice. "Please help me, Summer. Father won't be home for an hour. Help me get cleaned up before he arrives." Sixteen year old, Summer Melrose shook her head with a fond smile on her face as she regarded her ten year old brother. "Run upstairs and bathe quickly. I'll tidy up the cellar for you. Hurry, off you go!" "But the water will be cold," Christopher grumbled under his breath. "It will be but at least you'll be clean when Father gets home." She shooed him away quickly and laughing softly to herself, as she turned to walk down to the cellar to cover up his antics. Summer stepped back from the Fountain with a startled gasp. Tears sprang to her eyes. She could remember that day as if it were only yesterday. They had managed to hide all signs of Christopher playing in the coal cellar from their father. Why had Nathaniel been watching her home? Why had that been the last thing he looked at before he left? And why hadn't he recognised her when he came to the house on the night of her death? A sudden numbness overcame her and she bit down a cry. No one had answered her when she had asked which one of them had been going to kill her before Frederick came along. She didn't think they had refused to answer because they were sparing her feelings. No, they had refused to answer because the person who had been selected for that task wasn't in the room. They had known she was a danger by the time she was sixteen. Nathaniel had been the one chosen to eliminate the problem. Only he hadn't done so, he had left the Síochán instead. She had come to the meeting looking for answers and had ended up with more questions. Suddenly unable to deal with any more, Summer took herself to her private rooms and climbed into bed. She closed her eyes and blanked her mind completely, succumbing to a deep sleep instantly. To be continued... The Síochán Ch. 04 Kincaid sat quietly in the meeting room. He was stretched out in his favourite chair; his long legs perched on the low coffee table before him. The room was empty apart from himself and for that he was immensely grateful. He liked the peace and solitude. Summer's introduction had unsettled him as it had everyone else. Lucas was acting very out of character. His usually cool facade was slightly fractured and he was letting some of his emotions leak through. Anton was acting strangely too. Kincaid couldn't remember when the last time the other Síochán had been so vocal in a meeting. He closed his eyes and pondered it for a moment and then decided the last time Anton had spoken so much was when Nathaniel had told them he was leaving. His brows drew down in a deep frown as he thought of Nathaniel. Of all of them, Kincaid found the vampire's desertion the hardest to take. Lucas came a close second to his feelings on the matter but inside, Kincaid burned with a deep rage that Nathaniel had abandoned them. He didn't even know why he felt the way he did about it. It wasn't as if he had been particularly close to Nathaniel when he had walked among them. And yet, any thoughts of Nathaniel caused a slow pulse of rage to burn deep inside of him. Perhaps he was jealous? Perhaps he wished that he had the courage to stand up and say enough was enough? Living forever, doing the same thing day in and day out could be pretty repetitive at times. Despite their mission in life, long periods of time went by when little or no work was required. Even though they weren't constrained by linear time as such, they still measured the passage of time in their own realm as the humans and otherworld beings did below. The other Síochán found things to do when it was quiet. Kincaid's natural predilection for detachment made it hard for him to find other things to occupy his time. So he invariably found a quiet spot and sat by himself ruminating over whatever thoughts went through his mind. Maybe that's why he was so angry with Nathaniel? He had too much time on his hands to sit and think about things which should probably be best left forgotten. Right now he was mulling over the changes to the world as he knew it. The changes all came back to Summer Melrose. Lucas had told them she was Temperance. He snorted a laugh which held no humour. He'd seen precious little temperance in the beautiful blonde woman so far. In fact, she had upset the equilibrium worse than Marcus did when he decided to get going. Kincaid snorted again and rolled his head slightly against the back of his chair, feeling the corded muscles in his neck start to tense. He was allowing himself to become annoyed again. Harlan had an inbuilt radar which seemed to spring to life whenever Kincaid became irritated. If he didn't calm his thoughts soon, Harlan would appear and start to irritate him further. He really was in no mood for another disagreement with the man. The last one at the meeting had raged on for almost three hours, all because he had allowed Summer's emotional 'kill me' outburst to irritate him enough to speak. He sensed someone enter the meeting room and slowly opened his eyes. His expression stayed carefully neutral even as he sighed inwardly at seeing the object of his most recent displeasure before him. Summer Melrose. She was simply stunning in appearance and his reaction to her on a male level made him grit his teeth in annoyance. He would have to be a eunuch not to find her attractive. His lips firmed slightly as he looked up at her and she met his gaze with her own carefully neutral expression. "Will you answer a question for me, Kincaid?" she asked quietly, her expression so serious, her green eyes full of conflicted emotions. "I am not the best person to ask," he answered with a sigh. "You should talk to Lucas, Summer. He was your trainer. He was supposed to prepare you for this life." Summer stared into Kincaid's beautiful face solemnly as her thoughts whirled through her mind. She had hoped to find either Anton or Harlan in the room, anyone but Lucas, Kincaid or Marcus. It would appear her luck was out and she had only Kincaid to turn to. That he didn't want to help her was more than obvious. She was not going to let that stand in her way though. She had questions and she wanted, no, she needed , answers to the them. "I don't want to talk to Lucas," she said with a stubborn tilt of her head. "I want to speak to someone else and as you are the only one here then that leaves you to ask what I need to know." His beautiful face settled in a slight grimace before he sighed again and inclined his head. "Sit then," he said coolly. "I'm getting a crick in my neck looking up at you." He closed his eyes again and she rolled hers as she sat in the leather chair beside him. He wouldn't get a crick if he wasn't even looking at her! "Nathaniel was watching me in his fountain," she began almost hesitantly as she tried to string her thoughts together. "I was younger then, about sixteen if I remember correctly. So why didn't he know me when he met me two years later?" This question had been nagging at her for days now. Kincaid almost groaned out loud as he slowly opened his eyes again and turned his head fractionally so he could look at her. She had to pick on him! He almost wished to go another five rounds with Harlan than have to answer her about Nathaniel. "I'm sure you've pieced most of it together already," he answered quietly, his tone resigned. "Nathaniel was chosen to terminate you when you became known as a threat to the balance between good and evil. He developed feelings for you instead and found his faith in our world shattered. He lost his zeal. He began to question all the other 'good' people he had terminated. He allowed emotions to overcome his perspective of the greater good. We spent a century trying to work out the issues with him but he decided he wanted to become mortal. He wanted to be placed in the same era as you." He pursed his lips thoughtfully as he watched her guarded expression. She was giving nothing away and he couldn't resist having a little mental nudge at her mind. His lips curled slightly as he met her strong wall. She was definitely not a soft touch, he would give her that. "We met and discussed the options without Nathaniel being present," he continued after his brief pause. "After weighing all the options Lucas pronounced our judgement. Nathaniel could become human again but he would not be allowed to live in your era. We set him back in time over a millennia before you came into existence. Nathaniel was furious at the judgement. He saw it for what it was, a punishment for him leaving us. He and Lucas fought bitterly about it but Lucas would not alter his judgement. He knew Nathaniel hadn't lost his true zeal, that he would find a way around this barrier we were imposing on him, so he added another punishment. He left Nathaniel's memories of the Síochán intact but he removed all memories of you. Nathaniel must have sensed some inner purpose when he was made human again. Perhaps Lucas left a little marker inside him, a little hint that he was missing something important in his life to add to his turmoil? Who knows where Lucas is concerned. His fury knew no bounds at the time. Nathaniel made the choice to become a vampire early on in his mortal life. He chose a being which was literally immortal so he must have wanted to meet you very badly even though he probably had no idea why he made the choice that he did." Summer frowned as she listened to Kincaid. The more he revealed, the more blows rained down on her wounded psyche. Lucas' abysmal behaviour, his outrageous decisions seemed to know no bounds. He called himself Justice? From the sounds of things his judgement upon Nathaniel sounded more like a petty man exacting vengeance rather than true justice. And Kincaid didn't appear to be the least put out by it. He appeared to agree with Lucas' judgement. If the other Síochán cared so little for each other as people then how could they be tasked with keeping the mortal world safe? It was all so confusing. She knew she was still thinking in human concepts and that if she gave herself over to this new being she now was then she would probably be able to fully understand why they did as they did. She also knew that soon she wouldn't be having this internal debate with herself, that she would lose that last link with humanity she still retained. The question was did she really want that to happen? Now, at least, she understood why Nathaniel had been drawn to her. She could understand why this had caused some concern for the other Síochán and why they debated on whether or not to let them meet. They didn't want to kill Nathaniel; they wanted to bring him home to them. If he had taken her with him that night and they had been forced to step in, then they may have had to take his life because he would surely have fought to save hers if his feelings for her had been as strong as they had told her. From every angle she looked at it, things had turned out spectacularly well for the Síochán. The threat of her goodness had been neutralised so the mortal world was safe. They had taken her into their fold, turning her into one of them so they could use her to lure Nathaniel back. Lucas had used his not so inconsiderable charms to get inside her head, play with her emotions, and make her care for him as a person, so that when the truth came out she would be less inclined to react negatively. She may have thrown a fit in the meeting. She may still be furious at Lucas and to a lesser extent, the other Síochán. But Lucas had trained her well. He had skilfully manipulated her and honed her into what she was becoming. Despite her anger, despite her hurt, she was thinking as a Síochán so much more than she was thinking like a human. The deep feeling of responsibility to do the right thing rather than what she personally wanted was starting to settle into her very soul. The Síochán had to maintain their watchful stance over the mortal world and keep it safe. It was a heavy responsibility and it required such heartbreaking decisions to be made, but the need to make them was being ingrained into her the longer she stayed in this realm. She was losing herself. She felt like a butterfly about to break out of it's cocoon as it reached its last stage in its lifecycle. She was fighting the change as hard as she could but she knew she would succumb soon. She suddenly ached to see Nathaniel. If she could just see him, talk to him, maybe she wouldn't lose herself. The moment the thought crossed her mind she had to stifle down a shudder. He would know what she was instantly because he still retained those memories. Now she knew how devious Lucas was, she wouldn't put it past him to have left something in Nathaniel's mind, some caveat that should they meet again, Nathaniel would remember her completely. It was what she would have done if she had been in Lucas' position. The final snare to tempt Nathaniel back to his former life. Nathaniel would know her completely; he would know she had been trained as he once had. He would most probably also know that she had been with Lucas intimately. How would he react to that? She did shudder then, turning to look deep into Kincaid's eyes. "Thank you for answering my question," she said quietly. "I want to go back to the mortal world now. How do I do that?" She needed to see Nathaniel. She needed to know where she stood with him, if they could overcome the almost insurmountable barriers between them. She needed to know if he could accept her being with Lucas, even though she hadn't been in a relationship with Nathaniel at the time. Her restrictive views on morality were still strong in her mind. Lucas had casually shrugged off those views as if they didn't matter but they mattered to her. If Lucas and Nathaniel had as great an enmity between them as Kincaid intimated, then the vampire may not be as willing to accept her relationship with Lucas. Kincaid's eyes narrowed and his expression turned thoughtful. He moved from his relaxed position, sitting slightly forward in the chair. "You're not ready for that yet," he answered coolly. Summer's green eyes flashed with annoyance and she took on a mulish expression. "I didn't ask if you thought I was ready for it, Kincaid. I asked how I went about doing it." He sighed deeply and raised his eyes to the ceiling. His peace and quiet was about to be shattered and he was irritated with himself for having answered her question to begin with. He should have stuck to his guns and made her ask someone else. "Lucas," he called loudly. A fraction of a second passed and then Lucas appeared in the room. Summer met his eyes, determined she would not wilt under his gaze, would not react to the new information she had received. He watched her intently, his blue eyes narrowing slightly as he took in her expression. "Summer wants to go down to the mortal world," Kincaid sighed, once more shifting in his chair to take up his relaxed pose. He was effectively handing her off to Lucas and appeared grateful to do so. "You know everything about Nathaniel," Lucas said quietly to Summer. She nodded but didn't speak, merely kept looking at him with cold detached eyes. He wanted to sigh just as Kincaid had. He had hoped she would have had time to adjust more fully before she learned of the judgement passed on Nathaniel. It would appear not a lot was going in his favour at the moment. "Very well, I will show you," he finally said and Kincaid's eyes snapped open quickly and he sat up abruptly. "She's not ready, Lucas," he said tersely, completely stunned by the other man's decision. "You know she isn't. She still thinks like a bloody human half of the time." Lucas' eyes met his calmly, his expression carefully neutral. "Do you wish a full formal meeting called to reach a decision on this, Kincaid?" "Isn't the last meeting still ongoing?" Marcus asked from the sofa behind them and they all turned their gaze to look at him. He was smiling slightly, his blue eyes flashing with humour as he took in their careful expressions. Summer's arrival truly was very entertaining and he, for one, was enjoying the fireworks immensely. Harlan arrived and smiled at Summer before moving off to sit on another sofa. He didn't speak though he watched Kincaid keenly with a slight smile tugging at his lips. Summer broke the silence as they all stared at each other, each waiting for someone else to speak. "I want to be shown how to return to the mortal world," she said quietly. Marcus laughed loudly and stretched out his long legs with a satisfied expression on his beautiful face. "This should be fun," he laughed softly. "Summer knows of the judgement placed on Nathaniel," Kincaid said in a clipped tone. "I wouldn't be so quick to find this so amusing, Marcus. At the moment she fully intends to keep Nathaniel away from us. She probably thinks she is acting in his best interests. So a little trip downside is not going to be very productive for us at the moment." "Who told her?" Marcus thundered, the easy humour wiped from his face to be replaced with a dark scowl. He was glaring at Lucas as he spoke, expecting him to have been the one to have been stupid enough to give Summer the information she wasn't ready to deal with yet. "Does it really matter?" Harlan asked. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the sound of his voice and she saw Anton had also entered the meeting room but was standing detached from the group perusing one of the many bookshelves along the far wall. The whole group was now here and it would appear they were going to continue with the aborted meeting of a few days ago as if nothing untoward had occurred in it. Marcus glared at Harlan. "Of course it bloody matters," he snarled. "She can't be let anywhere near Nathaniel until she completes the transformation or this whole debacle will be for nothing." Summer was tired of them talking about her as if she wasn't in the room. She stood up. "Does a Síochán usually request approval from the other members before going down to the mortal world?" she asked dryly. She somehow doubted it and from the expressions on their faces it appeared she was correct in her assumption. "Before you leave you must know the complete truth, Summer," Anton said quietly turning to face her. "The judgement passed on Nathaniel was an unusual one obviously because he was the first to ever leave us. It was unusual in another respect too as it wasn't Lucas who pronounced the judgement as is customary." Summer's eyes flew to Lucas and she felt a moment of remorse as she looked at him. She had just assumed that he had passed the judgement because that was his primary goal here, to be justice. He met her gaze with a carefully neutral expression and then looked away, moving over to Marcus whom he naturally seemed to gravitate towards when in the meeting room. "I passed the judgement," Anton continued crossing over to her and meeting her gaze with a level one of his own. "It may seem cruel to you right now but it was necessary. Nathaniel couldn't be allowed to intervene with your ascending. I watched every permutation of what would happen depending on what actions we took at the time. This was the only way to ensure that you would ascend. ." She stared at him and fought down the quick retort which came to her lips. Did it really matter who had passed the judgement? They had all agreed to it. They had all manipulated both herself and Nathaniel for their own ends. "How do I go down to the mortal world?" she asked tiredly. "I will show you," Lucas answered. "I will meet you in your Scrying Room in a moment." She nodded and disappeared leaving the five men alone. The moment she disappeared Lucas turned to Anton, his lips tight with displeasure. "Are you totally sure about this, Anton? I don't want any harm coming to Summer. What if Nathaniel doesn't help her? What if he walks away and leaves her alone?" Anton smiled gently and rolled his eyes. "The problem is you equate Nathaniel with your character defects, Lucas. He would never walk away and leave Summer in danger, not even for the greater good." He watched his barb strike home. He could tell by the increased tightening around Lucas' mouth that he had scored a wounding blow to the other man. "Nathaniel will not want to get involved but he'll be unable to leave Summer in a vulnerable position. I have spent a century going over the various permutations. They come back the same every time. When the demons attack Summer, Nathaniel will step in and help her." Anton disappeared the moment he finished speaking. "Isn't Summer waiting for you?" Marcus remarked drolly and Lucas shot him a glare before he took himself into the Scrying Room. It was the first time he had been alone with her since her introduction to the others. She was standing beside the Fountain, staring into the water but not applying her talent to it. "Summer," he breathed softly and she turned to look at him. For a brief moment he saw the girl he had come to care for and then she closed off from him and he saw the Síochán who was almost at the end of her transformation. "I suppose we should talk," she said thoughtfully moving to stand in front of his and meeting his wary gaze with an unfathomable expression on her beautiful face. "I can understand your actions, Lucas, even as I disapprove of them. Not just your personal actions but also the group's actions too. What we shared personally was a wonderful experience and I thank you for the training and the time you invested in me. But it is over now, Lucas. I will always remember Luc with a deep love and affection but that man is gone now." It was to be expected but it still made him feel sad. He had always known he could never have Summer, that she was on loan to him for a brief moment in time before she would once more return to Nathaniel's side. It still hurt though because he had come to care for her as he had cared for no other woman he had known. And yet, he knew his love for her paled into insignificance compared to the love that blazed inside Nathaniel for this beautiful, ethereal little woman. It was only right that she know that love. The Síochán Ch. 04 "I wish I could tell you I regretted my actions, Summer, but I can't," he answered quietly. "I would do the same again to spend one glorious moment with you and I'm talking as a man here and not as a Síochán. Being with you was not about manipulating you to our way of thinking. It was personal entirely to me. You may choose not to believe it but I wanted you to know anyway. Perhaps it will soothe your soul a little." He wanted to reach up and brush her curls from her face but he didn't think she would accept that gesture from him. She had emotionally withdrawn from him completely. So he was surprised when her expression suddenly softened and she threw her arms around him tightly. "Thank you, Luc," she whispered softly. "It does soothe my soul a little." He held her tightly, silently saying goodbye to Summer, the girl who had taken up so much of his time for such a long time now. She felt good in his arms, so soft and fragrant. He stiffened and held her away from him before his body betrayed his need for her. He flashed her a lopsided grin. "Perhaps one day we will be friends again," he smiled. "Perhaps," she agreed with her own faint smile. No matter how angry she was with Lucas she knew there was a part of him which did genuinely care about her. One day she hoped to see him as a friend and not someone who had fallen short of her high expectations. Perhaps her expectations were set too high in the first place. Perhaps her issues were with the Síochán as a people rather than Lucas as an individual. It was something to think on. "So, are you going to show me how to go down to the mortal world?" she asked, stepping fully out of his grasp. He smiled again and nodded his head. _____ Nathaniel Ryan sat in the secluded back booth of the seedy bar on the outskirts of another nameless town in another nameless state. He had only been in the town for a few short days and already he hated it. The bar he was in was full of otherworld beings. There were some vampires and Weres, even a handful of demons. The place was a haven for non humans and it was protected by a powerful spell which essentially drew human eyes away from it if they ever looked too closely. He had spent the last three nights coming to the bar, getting a feel for who was hanging around the town and what their purpose was to be there. He liked to know who was around in case he needed to move on sooner than he planned. He hated being embroiled in whatever otherworld plot was brewing. He craved his solitude with a vengeance and hated to be among others but doing this same ritual was necessary to his peace of mind. Two more nights and he wouldn't have to come here anymore. He could manage two more nights. No one approached him. His body language warned all away though he did receive many speculative glances. He knew no one would come near though, not after the first night when he had tossed the little female witch onto her ass when she had sashayed up to him thinking she had found a bed partner for the night. He smiled slowly at the memory. The entire room had gone quiet when the stupid bitch had stood up and tried to attack him with one of her weak spells. The look of horror which had crossed her face when she realised none of her silly little incantations worked on him had been priceless. He could have killed her but he settled for paddling her backside on the bar while loud cheers rang out at the very thorough spanking he gave her. She would be lucky if she could sit down for a week after he had finished with her. Unless, of course, she could heal herself or knew of another witch with healing powers. The witch hadn't been back to the bar since that night and everyone else had given him a wide berth too. Which suited him just fine. Nathaniel came out of his musings to glance across at the table with six demons all sitting closely together. They were all in human form, all dressed completely in black. Two were dark skinned with long black dreadlocks and black eyes. The other four were bald and pale skinned with eyes equally as black. The taint of their evil permeated the room and made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. These demons were up to no good. There was some killing going to happen this night which meant it was his cue to move on before it happened. For the briefest of moments he considered staying, considered intervening and then the thought fled his mind. Once, a very long time ago he had gotten involved in things he had no business being involved in. Those days were long gone now. He was no longer a Síochán even though he retained all of his memories and still had all of his considerable skills too. Why the others had left his powers in tact he never could understand. It only served to make him the most formidable otherworld being to walk the planet, hence why the witch's magic hadn't worked on him. He could do everything he could before he became mortal and then a vampire. Everything except go back to the upper Realm. Not that he wanted to go back but he found it curious all the same that the other Síochán hadn't stripped him of his powers when they cast him down to the mortal world. Lucas had been angry enough at the time to do so, Kincaid too. Perhaps Anton had intervened. His old friend had a habit of speaking up when situations became too intense in the meeting room. Nathaniel gave himself a mental shake. He hadn't thought about the Síochán for such a long time, centuries even. He wondered why they sprang to mind now? He picked up his glass of red wine and sipped the tart liquid. He needed to feed soon. He was approaching the time when the hunger would become too intense, when he would be in danger of losing control if he didn't feed within the next week. He was leaving it later and later to feed, pushing his endurance level to the very limits. He knew why he did it. Every time he needed to feed he thought of her. Pretty little Summer with her long blonde curls and bright blue eyes. With the need to feed came the need to sate his lust. He avoided all women until such times but when the blood lust was upon him he craved to slide deep inside a hot willing body. He couldn't contain his sexual lust. It was a wild beast inside him which had to be fed as much as his hunger did. So he sated both lusts at the same time and always he saw those beautiful blue eyes shining with excitement and innocence, always he felt the soft, virgin flesh beneath his body as he drove into the woman he was with. It had been over a century since he had lain with her and still she haunted him. How many times had he thought 'If only'? It was pointless to think that way but he did. If only he had taken her with him that night. If only he hadn't placed her family in such a deep sleep so he could enjoy her body with no interruptions. She would have been alive when he came back for her. He would have taken her with him, changed her into a vampire and have spent the last century losing himself in her sweet body, hearing her soft cries of pleasure as they writhed against each other. Nathaniel felt his body respond to the mental images of little Summer's mouth sliding over his cock eagerly and he bit down a groan and drank more of his wine. It was pointless to keep thinking about her. She was dead and had been for a very long time and he didn't have the luxury of being able to go back in time and save her anymore. He had given that up when he left the Síochán. The moment he thought of the Síochán he scented one. He stiffened in shock and immediately threw up an invisibility shield around himself. Did they know he was here? Had they seen him? Who was it? Lucas? Maybe Marcus? If it was Kincaid then he would avoid him. He had seen Kincaid once before and the expression on the Síochán's face had been what could only be described as hatred. Kincaid wouldn't approach him but possibly Marcus or Lucas would. His shock increased when the second scent washed over him. Sunshine and violets. His stomach cramped and his head turned towards the door. It couldn't be! She was dead. And yet, standing in the doorway was the woman who had haunted him endlessly, Summer Melrose. It took him a few seconds longer to merge the two scents together, to understand and his breath hissed out furiously. 'Lucas!' he screamed in his mind, his rage at boiling point as he stared at Summer and attached the Síochán scent to her own unique scent. The bastards had taken her and changed her. They had replaced him with the only woman he had ever given a damn about. Something clicked inside his head, something hammered to be let out and he bent forward as a shaft of pain burst through his mind. He kept silent only by sheer force of will. When the pain subsided his memory was intact and he knew everything, every single little detail of that last meeting, the judgement passed on him. The rage inside him was like nothing he had ever experienced. If it had been any Síochán other than Summer standing in the doorway he would have done his best to rip them to pieces as the memories flooded back. They had taken her away from him, stopped him from going to her, from saving her. His Summer. The young girl who had captured his heart when her pureness had shone through in the Scrying Fountain. His Summer who he had been tasked to eliminate from the mortal world forever. Each memory crashed through him and his pain and rage escalated in proportion to the wrong done to him, the wrong done to Summer. How could they take her? How could they change her into the cold, unfeeling bastards they were? She was better off being dead than becoming a Síochán. The moment he thought it, his brain rebelled. Her death had haunted him for so long. At least she was still alive even if she was a Síochán now. She would know about him too. If she was on the mortal plain then she had finished her training and she would know all about the others who had made up the group. He hungrily watched Summer walk into the bar and head over to ask for a drink. She looked as beautiful as he remembered. Her long golden curls were loose and cut a little shorter than when he first met her but the tresses were still glorious as they swayed around her tiny frame. Her beautiful face surveyed the bar slowly, passing over his 'empty' table without pause. He sighed with relief, pleased to see his invisibility shield still worked as strongly as it had done in the past. This was the only way a Síochán could hide from another, not that they chose to do so very often but it came in handy sometimes, like now. His green eyes blazed with his hunger as he ran them slowly over her beautiful body. He remembered the taste of her breasts against his lips, the sweet intoxicating taste of her juices as he'd feasted between her legs. Those womanly curves were obscured by the loose black pants she wore and the white tunic style top which was covered by a black waistcoat. On her feet was a pair of knee high black high heeled boots. She wasn't exactly dressed for the era but she looked hotter than Hell in those boots and his body was rock hard in seconds. What was she doing here? Was she looking for him? Her green eyes were once more travelling the room as if she were looking for someone. Did he dare hope that she had come down to the mortal world to find him? Summer perused the bar again and tried to contain the sigh which was bubbling up inside her. She knew Nathaniel was somewhere in the bar but he had obviously cloaked himself behind an invisibility shield so she leaned against the bar in full view of the room to give him ample time to register her presence. She knew he would sense straight away what she now was . Lucas had explained a few things before she had made the journey down. Her scent was masked in a witch's scent so the otherworld beings wouldn't know what she was but that wouldn't work on Nathaniel. He would know what she was the moment she walked into the bar. So she waited impatiently to see what he would do. He could have left already and she would never know. She had seen him enter the bar, her heart leaping at the first proper sight of him in so long. He had definitely come in here and she didn't intend to leave until she was sure that he was no longer in the building. Her appearance was attracting some attention, particularly from the group of demons sitting at the table across from her. She hoped they weren't going to give her any trouble. She wasn't here to be a Síochán. She was here to see Nathaniel, to talk to him, to find out if he still harboured any feelings for her. This was purely a personal visit and she didn't want anything to get in the way of it. She sent out a tight, narrow psychic link. Lucas had said Nathaniel still had the abilities of a Síochán. "Nathaniel," she breathed softly with her mental voice. "I know you're here somewhere. Show yourself." The sound of her sweet voice rocked through Nathaniel as he watched her from his vantage point. He wanted to answer her but something held him back. She had come looking for him but what was her purpose? Was she here to ask him to return to the Síochán? He wouldn't put it past the others to use her to try and lure him back into the fold. If that was why she had come then she was in for a rude shock. He would never go back to them. He couldn't, not even if it meant he could be with Summer for eternity. He couldn't live that life again, eliminating people in the name of the greater good. How many other 'Summers' had he killed over the millennia? How many beautiful people had he cut short their lives all in the name of balance and harmony? Summer's disappointment at Nathaniel's silence was cut short when two of the demons approached the bar and flanked her on both sides. It was the two dark skinned demons and their black eyes were fixed firmly on her. She stifled down a deep sigh at being interrupted from her mission. "Little witches shouldn't travel alone," the demon on her right said in a low, guttural voice. Summer didn't turn to face him, merely maintained her relaxed pose against the bar. "Little demons shouldn't bite off more than they can chew," she answered conversationally, her tone holding more than a hint of boredom. She just wanted them to go away so she could find Nathaniel. The demon on her left hissed close to her ear and his rank breath made her wrinkle her nose. "You really need to clean your teeth," she said waving a hand in front of her nose. "Maybe I'll clean them on you, little witch?" the demon laughed hoarsely and she shuddered at just the thought of his filthy mouth anywhere near her. "Look, I'm just here to meet a friend. Maybe you've seen him? A very tall vampire with long black hair and light green eyes. Very charismatic but prone to being rather broody?" Summer watched the demon's eyes flicker towards an empty booth and she followed his gaze, staring into that seemingly vacant booth and wondering if Nathaniel was still there. "It would appear your friend has left already," the demon to her right grated. "Don't be disheartened though, you have new friends now." His companion laughed along with him as Summer fought to stop herself gagging from the stench coming from their mouths. "I don't need any new friends," she said firmly. "Believe me, the ones I have already leave a lot to be desired as it is. Adding you to my acquaintances isn't really going to improve my social circle. So, toddle off like good little demons and leave me to find my friend." Her dismissal infuriated the two demons at her side and she tensed as she saw the other four across the room from them start to rise. Six against one wasn't great odds for a witch but then she wasn't a witch. She could vanquish them with a thought but she couldn't do so in such a public place. The otherworld beings would know they were witnessing something new, something different and they would start to try and find out about the Síochán. She was mentally running through her moves to take out the demons in hand to hand combat when suddenly the two demons at her side were lifted bodily and tossed into the other four. "Didn't Lucas tell you not to provoke demons unnecessarily?" Nathaniel breathed softly from her left side. "He might have forgotten to mention that to me," Summer answered, a moment before she ducked to avoid the fist flying in her direction. She danced away from the attacking demon and spun with her leg out, the sharp heel of her boot spearing him in the groin. The demon shrieked loudly and collapsed to his knees even as she regained her balance and was reaching out to break his neck before turning towards the next demon to attack her. From the corner of her eye she saw Nathaniel rip the head from a demon with practically no effort involved. There were already two demons lying dead at his feet and she couldn't help feeling impressed by his skills. He really was a killing machine when his ire was up. Being Zeal suited him perfectly. The hard punch to her face caught her off balance and she fell backwards, tripping over the demon she had just killed and landing flat on her back. She felt her nose break and for a second she was stunned by the sharp pain, then her anger at her own stupidity kicked in and she rolled just before the demon who'd punched her, landed on top of her. She was on her feet, licking at the blood on her cut lips as the demon roared and came back at her. He was incensed at being denied his kill and his thought processes didn't seem to be much above a primordial rating. She punched him squarely in the face, repaying him with his own broken nose. The blow stopped him momentarily and she followed up with a hard kick between his legs which brought him to his knees. "Will you stop toying with him? It's not nice to let him think he stands a chance of living," Nathaniel said drolly, leaning casually against the bar with four dead demons surrounding him. Summer spared him a dark look and broke the demon's neck with a quick, efficient movement. "You could have helped instead of making asinine little quips," she snapped waspishly. His green eyes flickered to the demons at his feet. "I thought I had helped," he remarked dryly. "And you seemed to be doing just fine on your own." His gaze settled on her bloody lip and he frowned slightly before he dug his hand into his pocket and tossed some coins to the barkeep. "For your trouble," he said, turning and walking out of the bar. Summer followed him, her heart thumping wildly. It was a combination of adrenaline and also excitement at seeing Nathaniel again. She wondered if he'd vanished or if he would be waiting for her when she walked out the bar. Nathaniel was angry with himself. He hadn't meant to get involved but the moment the demons had flanked Summer he knew she was in trouble. She wouldn't be able to vanquish the demons by thought alone, she would have to physically take them out. No matter how good her training was, six against one wasn't good odds, particularly when she was hampered by being in a public place. His anger at the Síochán had still been burning brightly within him. He couldn't take that rage out on Summer so he did the next best thing, he took it out on the demons who were getting ready to try and kill the little blonde. The demons would have been unable to kill her but they could hurt her. One of them had and it sent him into a dark rage. He should have done more to help her. He should have killed the demon who had dared lay his fist in her face. He meant to leave the moment he was out of her sight. He could move very swiftly and he knew he could mask his scent enough to evade her search but he found he couldn't do so. He leaned against the side of the bar and waited for her to come out. Summer breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Nathaniel waiting for her. She took a moment to let her eyes travel over him and her heart thumped wildly as her gaze ran over his beautiful face and down his impressive body. He was just as she remembered, arrogant, broody and so damned sexy she could feel her body responding just to his closeness. Nathaniel Ryan was all she had ever wanted. The question was, did he still want her? The Síochán Ch. 04 His light green eyes were appraising her as sensually as she was appraising him and she felt her heart skip a beat as their eyes met. The sexual tension between them was so thick she could almost reach out and touch it. Her breathing quickened as she lost herself in the smoky depths of his eyes, watching his hunger for her build with each passing second. He still wanted her. He still craved her the way she craved him. "I took Lucas to my bed," she said more loudly than she intended. She was pleased at how calm and level her voice sounded as she announced it. She wanted it out in the open, no secrets between them. If they were going to have any kind of relationship then Nathaniel had to know everything. She watched him stiffen and a black scowl cross his face. His breath hissed out angrily and he took a step towards her before he halted and glared at her. "You had to choose him, didn't you?" he ground out through clenched teeth. "Out of all of them, you had to choose that bastard to lie with!" His rage surprised her. It surprised her because she had expected him to be angry that she'd been with someone else, instead he was angry that she'd chosen Lucas as her lover. What was it between those two that provoked such strong emotions? She watched him warily, seeing the conflicting emotions warring in his eyes. For a moment she thought he might lash out at her but he seemed to get himself under control. He turned away from her but he didn't walk away. She didn't know if that meant something but she hoped it did. "Why are you angry I slept with Lucas and yet you're not angry that I actually slept with another man?" she asked curiously. Nathaniel spun around to stare into her face for a long moment and then he suddenly started to laugh softly. The unexpectedness of his reaction to her question confused her greatly. She wasn't aware that she had said anything amusing. "Oh, that's just priceless," Nathaniel laughed. "You're still human! You have to be to ask me a question like that, Summer." He watched her confusion grow and fought down more laughter. The irony of the situation was just so funny it was hard not to laugh at the Síochán. "I'm not angry that you chose another lover, Summer," he said quietly. "I was Síochán for millennia before I walked this world as a vampire. I haven't held to the mores of humans for what feels like eternity. I may not be too impressed that you chose Lucas but I don't hold it against you for laying with another man. I have lain with hundreds of women since we were last together." He didn't add that he had thought of her every single time he had sated his lust with another woman. He didn't ask if she had thought of him when she lay with Lucas. Her sweet scent washed over him and he fought the need to go to her, to take her in his arms and press her softness against him. His hunger flared deep inside him, his need for blood giving him a painful itch at the back of his throat. He couldn't feed now. Not so soon after seeing her again. He couldn't bear the thought of laying with another woman now he knew Summer still lived. It would happen if he fed. He would be unable to contain himself. His nostril flared as his eyes darkened into a deep shade of green. Summer's breathing was turning ragged, her own eyes darkening with passion as he scented the sweet aroma of her arousal mixing in with her scent of violets and sunshine. He growled and took another step towards her. She was so intoxicating, so hot and wanton in her own passion that it was hard to fight against her irresistible pull. Summer's heart beat frantically in her chest as Nathaniel's expression turned sensual. She could tell he was aroused. She saw the flash of excitement in his eyes as he continued to scent her as if he had no control over his actions. He wanted her and he was trying to fight it. From the looks of things he was losing that battle because he was taking small steps closer to her with every breath he took. She knew she should be asking him questions, like what was so funny about her still retaining some humanity? What did that mean for the rest of the Síochán? But all she could think about was how close Nathaniel suddenly was, how beautiful his face was, how hot his eyes were as they burned into her. She could see his hunger clearly now. He was almost at the end of his endurance level when it came to needing to feed, which meant he needed to be with a woman too. It was all she could do not to lean forward, not to press her body against his and beg him to take her. "How long have you been there, Summer?" he breathed softly, his eyes trapping her in their heated gaze as she watched his nostrils flare and knew he was still scenting her, scenting her attraction to him. "Have you finished your training?" he whispered silkily. "You must have otherwise they would never have allowed you to come down here." Her breath came out shakily as her senses filled with everything that was Nathaniel and she found it becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. "Over half a century," she answered breathlessly. "My training is complete. This is the first time I've come down to the mortal world." A soft groan broke from Nathaniel's lips and his head lowered, his breath whispering against the side of her neck as she unconsciously tilted her head back to give him full access to whatever it was he desired. "You're still human, Summer," he whispered softly. "Your training is complete but you still retain some humanity. You have finished transforming. There are no more changes to be expected. The Síochán have ascended a human into their midst. Despite all their manipulations of both you and I, they have made a mistake. You bring Chaos to the Síochán. You bring change and unpredictability. They're not going to know what's hit them when you unleash yourself fully among them." His closeness was intoxicating, her need for him spiralling out of control as he groaned softly again and kissed the side of her neck gently, his tongue laving at her pulse. She knew her blood was calling to him. She could feel the tenseness within him, his blood lust warring with his sexual lust. "Nathaniel," she whispered softly. "Please, Nathaniel." She didn't know what she was pleading for. She just needed to be joined with him in some way, any way. "Summer," he breathed huskily, his lips travelling slowly across her jaw, light teasing little kisses feathering their way to her lips where he paused, keeping her gaze trapped with his. "Enter my mind," he ordered softly. "Take us there, Summer." She was obeying with even thinking about it, slipping effortlessly into his mind, seeing the room he wanted her to see, reaching to slide her arms around his neck as she shifted them both effortlessly into his bedroom. She under compensated, not knowing the true dimensions of the room and they were falling onto the bed in a tangled heap. Nathaniel's body covered hers instantly, his hands fisting in her hair, his mouth ravishing hers in a kiss that was so soul destroying that she felt her heart stutter for a moment before it began to pound loudly in her chest. She parted her lips eagerly, desperate to taste him, her tongue dancing against his the moment he swept in to taste her. Desire shot through every nerve ending, burning her up instantly, dragging a deep moan from the very depths of her soul. Nothing existed except Nathaniel's lips on hers, his hard body pressing restlessly against her. She felt the scrape of his teeth against her bottom lip, felt the urgency in his body and she wrenched her mouth from his. "Feed, Nathaniel," she urged softly, turning her head to expose her neck to him. Nathaniel let out a tortured groan as Summer exposed the pale white column of her throat to him. His fangs elongated and his hunger cramped his insides so hard he was almost doubled over with the effort to resist the lure of her blood. He couldn't feed from her. She was Síochán. God only knew what would happen to him if he chose to feed on her blood. He pulled back, forcing his way out of her arms, practically flying from the bed to stand beside the door. His hunger burned his throat as Summer sat up, her beautiful face marred with confusion as she stared at him bewildered. "Nathaniel, what's wrong?" she asked gently. His breath came out in deep tortured gasps as he examined her face carefully. Was she trying to trap him by luring him with her blood? Would drinking from her somehow lure him back into becoming a Síochán? He searched her face intently, looking for some sign of deception on her part. Was she here to bring him back to the fold? He knew that's what the others wanted. Knew they would not be above using Summer to put a leash around his neck. Was she part of it? "Nathaniel," Summer said quietly. "Talk to me. I know your hunger is bad. I know you need to feed. Why won't you accept from me?" She rose from the bed, approaching him slowly but determinedly. He tried to escape her but his hunger was making him sluggish. She was in front of him before he could coax his tired limbs into moving, the intoxicating scent of her blood screaming at him. With a muffled groan Nathaniel reached for her, lifting her high into the air as he twisted one hand in her curls and exposed her creamy throat to his mouth. He turned, pressing her hard against the door his fangs slicing effortlessly through her soft skin, piercing her vein and sucking down her hot sweet blood as it pulsed into his mouth. Fire exploded through his body as Summer's Síochán blood raced through his veins. His cock throbbed painfully hard as he ground against her, desperate to be inside her beautiful body. He pulled hard on her neck, frantically trying to claw her pants from her body. One moment he was touching material the next his hand was touching bare skin. He growled ferociously, his hand slipping between her legs, his fingers thrusting hard inside her wet body. Summer cried out as Nathaniel's fingers entered her. She had taken care of their clothing when it became apparent he was lost within his hunger and desperate to join with her. The sweet pull of his mouth at her neck was sending shivers of pleasure through her body. His relentless fingers were thrusting hard and fast inside her throbbing pussy, pushing her ruthlessly towards her orgasm. She was writhing and crying out her release within moments, her hot juices soaking his hand as he continued to move within her body. Nathaniel growled loudly pressing his rigid cock against her opening, his mouth pulling incessantly at her neck as he fed as if he were starving. She vaguely wondered if he could drain her but before she could really start to worry about it he thrust up sharply and impaled her with his long thick cock, dragging a feral groan from deep within her. Summer moaned helplessly, holding onto Nathaniel's wide shoulders as he began to drive into her aching body with long, hard strokes. His feeding at her neck began to lessen as his blood lust was finally sated and his sexual lust took dominance. He licked at her neck, sealing the puncture wound he had made, his mouth moving to hers as he concentrated solely on thrusting into her body. She kissed him desperately, her body on fire as he took her with a ferociousness that made the blood sing in her veins. When they had been together the first time it had been passionate but it paled into insignificance compared to the raw, animalistic joining they were currently engaged in. There was no need for Nathaniel to be gentle with her like the first time. She wasn't breakable anymore. She wasn't the shy, virginal girl he had loved a century ago. Summer tried to muffle her cries of pleasure but every hard thrust into her body dragged a new one from her throat. Nathaniel's hands and lips were everywhere, squeezing and caressing her, fanning the flames of her passion to new heights. His mouth tugged relentlessly at her swollen nipples, teasing them gently and then sucking them hard as his hips rocked up endlessly as he impaled her over and over again. The sensations were too much, the pleasure too intense. Summer felt as if she was soaring weightlessly as he held her pinned to the door with his hard body. She fisted her hands into his long black hair and dragged his mouth back to hers kissing him frantically. She has missed him so much, longed for him for so long and now she had him in her arms again she never wanted to let him go. She was so close to her completion. He was pushing them both hard and fast towards the precipice and she exulted in the pleasure rushing through her body. He thrust inside her hard and her teeth grazed his bottom lip, slicing through the plump flesh and drawing blood. Her tongue snaked out, tasting him without thinking about what she was doing. The instant his blood hit her system she screamed loudly, her body shattering in endless waves of bliss as her orgasm crashed over her. Nathaniel muffled her scream with his lips, her hot pulsing body tightening around his throbbing cock, his own release sweeping through him like a tidal wave as he ground his cock harder into her body. His hot seed raced up his shaft to bathe her insides as he roared his pleasure, his body shaking wildly at the sheer intensity of his orgasm and the combined pleasure of her release mixing with his own. He came down slowly from his pleasure, holding Summer gently in his embrace as his heart thundered loudly in his chest and his breath came out in deep harsh rasps. Never had loving a woman been so spectacular. Loving Summer surpassed anything he had ever experienced or would ever experience again. He could feel her blood racing through his veins, he could feel her inside his head, nestled in a quiet corner of his mind, her thoughts hazy and sated. He stiffened instantly, pulling from her body and lowering her to the floor. His green eyes turned hard as he stared down at the woman who had captured his heart so irrevocably so long ago and still held it. She was in his head! He could feel her there. She was happy, sexually sated, excited to be with him. Loving him. "What have you done?" he whispered hoarsely staring at her with suspicious eyes. Summer stared up at him in puzzlement. She could feel him withdrawing from her and she couldn't understand why. Why was he so angry? Why was he in her head, his fury lancing through her mind? She tried to shield from him and then gaped at him in horror. She couldn't do it! She couldn't close her mind from Nathaniel. He was still there, in the corner of her mind, his anger radiating almost as strongly as his hunger had moments earlier. "Nathaniel," she gasped. "Get out of my head!" He stared at her with a cold expression on his face. "Don't play the innocent, Summer," he ground out. "You bit my lip. You drank my blood after I drank yours. You knew what would happen when we swapped blood. I can't get out of your head anymore than I can get you out of mine!" The colour drained from Summer's face as she stared into his cold eyes. They were linked somehow. How she didn't know but Nathaniel believed that she had done this deliberately. It was written all over his face. It was in his thoughts too. She could feel the certainty in her mind. "I didn't know, Nathaniel," she whispered. "I swear I didn't know." Nathaniel paid close attention to her thoughts and feelings within his mind. He read her confusion, her silent plea for him to believe her. Maybe she hadn't known. Maybe it had just been something that had happened in the heat of the moment. It was a moot point anyway. The connection was there which meant she would be able to track him anywhere. The Síochán had a perfect hook to find him any time they wanted to. The connection would fade if he didn't drink anymore of her blood and vice versa. He supposed in the grand scheme of things it could be decades before he saw Summer again. By then the link would be broken. Still, it was something he didn't want. It wasn't that he didn't want to be connected with Summer because he wanted nothing more. He just didn't want to be connected with the Síochán and as she was now one of them he couldn't be with her the way he wanted to. His anger died and his expression softened as he reached out and touched her cheek gently before he turned to find his clothes. They were lying in a heap on the bed where Summer must have transported them when she got them naked. He dressed quietly. When he turned around Summer was dressed and watching him intently. "This can't be repeated," he said quietly. "You are Síochán now, Summer. I believe that you came looking for me on a personal level. You retain enough of your humanity that they can't corrupt you entirely, but they can use you and they are using you." "Do you think I don't know that, Nathaniel?" she asked softly crossing to stand in front of him. "I know everything about what happened to you. I know they want to use me to bring your back to them. I've already told them I won't do it." "They can be so persuasive, Summer," he sighed softly sitting on the bed and pulling her down onto his lap, stroking her glorious blonde curls lightly. "And they never give up when they decide they want something. How long did Lucas wait for you, Summer?" She stiffened in his embrace. "Half a century," she whispered. "They will wait millennia to convince you to believe that it's in mine and everyone else's best interest for you to convince me to return, sweet one," he said sadly. "They will convince you eventually, Summer, no matter how hard you try and fight them. You must let me go. It's the only way." Summer felt tears gather in her eyes as she clung onto him tightly. "But I love you, Nathaniel," she whispered brokenly. "I've loved you for so long. I don't want to let you go. I can't. Please don't make me, Nathaniel." Nathaniel fought down the sharp lance of pain that ripped through him. He wanted to be with her but there was just no way that could happen. He loved this beautiful woman in his arms but he could never go back to the Síochán and they would never allow her to come to him. They would use her to bring him back and he would go back eventually if he kept seeing her. One day saying goodbye to her would be just too unbearable. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and fought down the tears which threatened to spill down his cheeks. "Go home, Summer," he said firmly, his voice hard and unyielding. "You are Síochán and your place is with them. Don't look for me again. I will not welcome your company the next time we meet." "Nathaniel, no!" Summer cried trying to kiss him, trying to stop him from doing what she knew he didn't want to do because she could sense him in her head. But he was determined and he pushed her away from him, standing up and striding towards the door. "Go home," he said before he slipped his invisibility shield tightly around him and blanked his mind completely. He turned and vanished from the room. Summer couldn't contain the whimper of denial which escaped her as Nathaniel cloaked himself in his invisibility shield and vanished from her sight. "Nathaniel!" she cried softly, hurrying to where she had last seen him, knowing he was already gone. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned away, giving up her search for her vampire. Nathaniel may still want her but he wasn't going to allow himself to take what he wanted and it was all the fault of the Síochán. The tears in Summer's eyes dried instantly and her gaze turned wintry. The Síochán had a lot to answer for. Nathaniel was right, she wasn't Temperance, she was Chaos. And she was about to unleash her wrath on the cold hearted men who made up the Síochán. To be continued... The Síochán Ch. 05 Lucas sighed, rolling his eyes as he stared around the meeting room. Pink! She'd decorated the entire room in shades of pink, with fluffy cushions, chintz curtains, the whole works. He was glad the others were all out on assignment at the moment. Anton and Harlan may have seen the humorous side to finding their meeting room altered but he was sure Marcus and Kincaid would not. His lips twitched in a little smile and for a moment he considered leaving it as it was, then he sighed again and waved his hand, righting the room back to normal. "I liked the new look," Summer growled aggressively behind him and he took a deep breath before turning around. "I liked it too but I'm afraid the others wouldn't share our more eclectic tastes," he responded keeping his face totally straight. He knew she was desperate for a fight. She had been pushing him relentlessly for the last three days but he wouldn't give in to her. She was angry, upset about her meeting with Nathaniel and his subsequent rejection of her. He could understand it so he didn't rise to the bait. She needed to work her disappointment out of her system and until she did, he would just have to put up with the disagreeable behaviour. It was easier dealing with her with the others away. He could relax more, be more understanding of her pain. He hoped she worked out her demons before they returned or things could turn ugly. Nathaniel was right, Summer was Chaos and she was quite literally ricocheting around The Síochán like a speeding bullet, sending them all crashing for cover. He wondered if they would ever be the same again. "Are you ready to talk about it, Summer?" he asked gently, watching her brows draw down in a black scowl and holding down a weary sigh. "You think I would trust you to ever open up to you again, Lucas?" she asked incredulously. "After all you've done, all the pain and misery, the lies, the manipulations. I'd rather go through the agony of having Nathaniel reject me a thousand times over than ever trust in you again." Her voice broke slightly, her pain shining through even as she tried to hide it. "So you're just going to quit?" Lucas asked with an edge to his voice. "You're just going to tumble around here, throwing childish temper tantrums and let him slip away from you? Did I really train you so badly, Summer? Did I really train you to be a quitter?" He knew his words were harsh but he needed to reach her somehow, shake her out of her self pity. She punched him in the face. It was so unexpected that he fell backwards landing with a thump on the floor, his hand going to his broken nose in reflex. He stroked it lightly feeling it set back in place. He looked up at Summer wondering if one punch would be enough to satisfy her and was surprised to see an expression of remorse on her face. "I'm sorry," she said quietly casting her eyes down. "I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have done that." "No harm done," he sighed softly. "It's healed already." "I can feel him, Luc," she suddenly whispered, her use of his shortened name surprising him more than her punch had. It wasn't a Síochán standing over him, but the confused, frightened girl who had come to him so very long ago. "He's so angry all of the time." Lucas rose quietly, reaching out to take her hand and pull her down to one of the sofas. They must have shared blood. He had watched most of their encounter in the Scrying Fountain but had given them privacy when it had become obvious their meeting was taking a more amorous turn. The sharing of blood must have occurred after he stopped watching. "Why does he hate you so much?" Summer asked. "He really didn't like the thought of us together." Her green eyes bored holes in him and he had to fight to keep his expression neutral. Lucas stared off into the distance as he let his breath out slowly. "We have a history, Summer, one that doesn't involve you. It is personal and between the two of us. Nathaniel doesn't hate me, not completely anyway. He's angry with me, furiously so, but he could get over it if he really wanted to." He could have told her more, was surprised to find that he actually wanted to tell her more but he wasn't used to sharing his secrets with anyone. "I wouldn't be holding your breath waiting for it," she remarked caustically. "If anything, I'd say you being my lover has just compounded whatever problem he has with you." He laughed softly at her tone, rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Not one of my smartest moves," he admitted with a rueful smile. His blue eyes took in her delicate features and he had to concede that despite everything she had been worth it. If Nathaniel never forgave him to his dying day he would live with all that entailed to retain the memory of his brief moment with the beautiful little woman sitting beside him. He sighed deeply and released her hand. "So, what are you going to do to resolve this impasse with Nathaniel?" It was Summer's turn to sigh. Punching Lucas seemed to have drained all the anger from her, leaving her feeling ashamed of behaving so childishly. Inflicting pain just because you could was wrong on every level. She knew it and yet she had still hit him because she was frustrated that Nathaniel was being so stubborn. She could either continue to blame the Síochán for everything or she could work out a way to fix things. "I don't know what to do," she finally answered. "He said he wouldn't welcome me the next time if I came looking for him. And yet, he's so angry inside my head. Sometimes the anger wanes and I feel such longing coming from him and then he masks it again with the anger. He's almost as blinkered toward the Síochán as I am." She wasn't telling him anything he didn't already know. "He's done a lot of things he's struggling to deal with," Lucas said quietly. "He's been one of us for so long now, been active in most of the more challenging assignments. It's a lot to take in when suddenly you don't have the faith in what you are doing anymore. Nathaniel thinks he's atoning for his past deeds, that travelling aimlessly from one spot to another, living the life almost of a vagabond will somehow redeem him. He couldn't be more wrong but he hates us too much to see that. He needs you, Summer." She stood up pacing around the room, wringing her hands together because she suddenly felt a need to hit something again. She knew Nathaniel needed her but he was being too stubborn, too obstinate to admit it. Her frustration levels were starting to rise again. "There's an assignment coming up," Lucas finally said when it became apparent she wasn't going to speak. "A particularly nasty demon who's been making life hell for a coven of witches. He's got it into his head if he takes enough of them he'll be able to breed a hybrid. The thing is he is right. If he does achieve his goal he's going to bring into creation a new species which could have devastating consequences on humanity." "He's raping them?" Summer gasped, her eyes widening in horror. "He's seven feet tall and prefers to bed them in full demonic form," he remarked drolly. He left the rest unsaid, seeing her face harden, a deep fury blaze in her eyes. "What aren't you telling me?" was her next question, and his lips quirk in a little smile as she quickly switched into full Síochán mode. "You're going to need help with this demon," he smiled. "Unfortunately, the rest of us are busy at the moment. There seems to be a spike in activity. All evil," he added before she could start frowning at him. "So where is this help supposed to be coming from?" she asked suspiciously, watching him intently. Lucas smiled widely at her. "Well there is only one other person who has the strength of the Síochán, as well as his own unique skill set." Summer snorted loudly, her green eyes turning glacial as she glared at him. "You have got to be kidding me, Lucas. Seriously? Tell me you haven't just suggested that I go to Nathaniel and ask him to come on an assignment with me. Have you lost your mind? Has anything I've just said to you not made one blind bit of difference at all?" She couldn't believe she was letting him do this to her again. Lucas sighed deeply, shaking his head in an almost weary gesture as she prickled at him. "You want a way to get close to him, Summer. You know he won't refuse you, especially if you tell him it's a Mnak Demon. I'm not manipulating you here. I'm showing you a way in with Nathaniel. The more contact you have with him the harder he will find it to push you away. So we come back to the question I asked you earlier. Did I train a quitter? Or are you willing to fight for what you want?" She stared at him for a long moment and then she looked away. "What if he says no?" she asked so quietly he almost missed the question. He could hear the slight trace of fear in her voice, knew she was afraid Nathaniel would reject her again. "He won't," he answered gently. "He'll never say no to you, Summer, no matter what he threatens to do when you're together." She stood quietly for another long moment. "I need time to think about it." She vanished from the room leaving Lucas frowning darkly behind her. This had to stop. He was getting tired of dancing around Nathaniel's hurt feelings. He was acting like a child, his actions causing untold issues. With another deep sigh Lucas took himself to his Scrying Fountain and searched for the object of his irritation. _____ Nathaniel tensed, his eyes flashing dangerously as he turned his head slowly to the right as the scent of a Síochán filled his small room. For a moment he thought it was Summer but then he saw who his visitor was and the fury within him built swiftly. "Lucas!" he hissed furiously, springing from his bed and hurtling towards the tall, blond man standing beside his window. He snarled with rage as he bounced harmlessly off the personal shield the Síochán had erected around his body. He fell to the floor, immediately crouching, coiled tensely to spring again. His fangs had elongated and his hair was wild around his face as his eyes flashed furiously. "Really, Nathaniel," Lucas sighed softly as he stared down at the man crouched in front of him, with sad eyes. "Did you seriously think I would leave myself undefended when coming here? I know I heal from everything, but I have no wish to suffer the initial pain you can inflict on me. Summer's already taken a punch at my face today. Once is more than enough for me." The dark haired vampire glared murderously at him, hissing loudly, infuriated that the other man's expression softened and he smiled benignly at him. It had been a thousand years since he had last seen Lucas. A thousand years of imagining how it would feel to break his bones and rip into his flesh. To be thwarted was like another dagger in his back, buried deeply with all the other daggers the Síochán had placed there. Lucas' words penetrated his fury and he suddenly straightened from his crouch. "I hope she hit you hard," he growled softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips at the thought of Summer punching the other man. Lucas laughed. "Yes, I trained her well. She can break a nose with one punch." Nathaniel knew that, had seen her do so against a demon. She was skilled in hand to hand combat as long as she kept focused on what she was doing. He growled again and moved to sit back down on his bed. "What do you want?" he demanded roughly. He didn't want to discuss how well Lucas knew Summer. He didn't ever want to discuss her with the other man. Lucas frowned slightly and then gave a resigned sigh, moving closer, sitting down beside the vampire. When he had decided to come here he was angry, determined to make Nathaniel see sense no matter how hard he had to be to achieve his goal. He hadn't counted on how he would feel at finally being in his company again after so long. His anger had quickly melted away to be replaced with a deep inner sadness. "When is this going to end, Nathaniel?" he asked wearily. "When are you going to stop this and come home where you belong?" Nathaniel turned incredulous eyes on him, disbelief etched on his face. He couldn't believe Lucas was actually asking him to come home. After everything that had happened? "Never, Lucas," he breathed heavily, venom lacing his tone. "I can't believe you have the audacity to come here and ask me that." The blond man sighed softly turning to survey the room they were in. It really was a depressing room, all dark and dingy, sparsely furnished with mismatched broken pieces of furniture. "I grow weary of this, Nathaniel," he said quietly. "Your place is with us and yet you choose to live here in near squalor. Does this truly soothe your soul? Do you think if you live one step above the gutter that you will somehow find redemption for your past actions? You know you never will so why put yourself through this?" "Leave! Or I will," Nathaniel ground out hoarsely, his eyes blazing with a renewed fury as he glared at the Síochán . He had no intention of justifying himself to Lucas. He jumped up from the bed, pacing to the door, his hand reaching for the dirty, round doorknob. "And go where?" Lucas called softly. "Where can you run to this time, Nathaniel? Another hovel? Another empty town full of loathsome creatures you can't abide being a part of? What you want is at home with us. She waits for you. All you have to do is come home and this endless torment will be over." Nathaniel spun fast, flying across the room at him, crashing into the Síochán and gripping him tightly around the neck. "Don't mention her," he hissed quietly, rage washing over him like a tidal wave. "Don't you dare speak of her, try to use her against me. You took her from me!" His grip tightened around Lucas' throat and it took a moment to sink in that the Síochán had lowered his shield, that he wasn't fighting back at all. That he was steadily crushing Lucas' neck beneath his hands and he was letting him do so. He should have felt ecstatic as he stared down into the blond man's pain filled face but instead he felt wretched. With another loud hiss he released Lucas and spun away again, moving to stand at the window with his back to the other man. Lucas waited for his throat to heal from the crushed bones Nathaniel had inflicted. It didn't take long, it never did when it came to Síochán healing. He could sense the confusion roiling from the vampire's mind. Confusion because he had finally had what he'd longed for and he didn't feel the satisfaction he'd expected to feel. He could have told Nathaniel he would feel this way but the vampire would never have believed him. "Summer needs you, Nathaniel," he said quietly watching the other man stiffen at the sound of her name on his lips. "She's confused and angry by your rejection. You need her just as much as she needs you. Why do you punish her for the Síochán's actions?" "You took her from me," Nathaniel whispered hoarsely. "I had her in my hands. I came back for her but you'd already been there. Who was it, Lucas? You? Kincaid? One of the others? Which one of you took her life and don't give me that rubbish about some unknown lodger. Which one of you killed her so you could keep the balance?" "Nathaniel, we didn't kill Summer," Lucas said urgently. "We didn't stop her death but we weren't responsible for it. Her father's lodger really was the guilty party. We merely brought her into our lives. From a certain point of view you could even say we did save her." "You find a way to justify everything, don't you, Lucas?" Nathaniel whispered, his voice weary, his shoulders slumping slightly almost in defeat. "I could have saved her if you'd come to me then, told me what was about to happen. I could have taken her away that night and none of this would ever have happened." His tone held a note of accusation, a deep throbbing vein of disappointment within it. "You say I can only be happy if I come home, Lucas? That's a lie and you know it. I could have been happy if you had only come to me that night. But it didn't fit the Síochán's plans did it?" Lucas rose quietly coming to stand behind the dark haired vampire. He was glad Nathaniel was turned away from him, that he couldn't see the pain his words had caused. "Everything happens for a reason," he sighed softly. "You may not see that reason at first but it usually becomes clear in time." He reached out tentatively and placed a hand gently on the vampire's shoulder. He expected him to shrug it off but apart from stiffening slightly he allowed the hand to remain. "The Síochán need Summer, Nathaniel. You assume everything is about you, that we do these things to punish you for leaving us. You are so lost in your own self loathing that you've become insular, paranoid to the point of insanity. All of us need Summer, but you are all she needs, all she desires. Help her so she can do what needs to be done." Nathaniel took a deep breath, his thoughts in chaos. Lucas sounded genuine. As if he was trying to secretly tell him something which was of great importance. Part of him wanted to trust in the other man so badly but he had trusted in him too much before and look where that had gotten him. He wanted to tell Lucas to leave but they were talking about Summer here, his beautiful, feisty little Summer. "What does she need to do, Lucas?" he asked turning around slowly to stand face to face with him. The expression on Lucas' face sent a chill through Nathaniel. He had seen many an expression cross the other man's face before but he had never seen him look afraid. Nothing ever frightened Lucas and yet something did now. "What have you gotten her mixed up in?" Nathaniel growled. "Why her?" His second question came out on a tortured groan as he felt himself wavering, felt himself getting sucked back into the life he had left so long ago. The blond man moved away from him, turning his back to mask his expression. He had known this meeting would be hard, that Nathaniel's pain and sense of betrayal would run deep. He just hadn't realised how hard he would find it to deal with. "You know there are things I can't tell you," he breathed softly. "I want to but I just can't. You've never really understood that, Nathaniel. You've always looked to me as if I have all the answers, all the power. I suppose in some ways that is understandable given the nature of our relationship but it does not mean it is right." The vampire snorted in contempt, a harsh ragged sound. "We don't have a relationship, Lucas," he ground out through clenched teeth. "You gave that up millennia ago when you chose the path you chose and dragged me into it with you." The Síochán sighed deeply and turned around to look at him. There really was no point going over ground they had travelled a million times before. Nathaniel would not forgive so it was pointless. Instead he continued with his goal for being there. "Summer's going up against a Mnak demon," he said quietly. "She's going to need some help and she's going to ask you for that help, Nathaniel." He studiously ignored the other man's deep growl. "Refuse her and some witches are going to die. She won't be able to save them all and she'll blame herself. If Summer starts doubting herself....you have no idea what the consequences of that will be." Nathaniel hissed, stalking away from the window and pacing over to the door again. He wanted to open it and start running, as far away from Lucas as he could. "Less of this cryptic nonsense," he finally growled. "Tell me straight what is going on. Why is she so important? What have you got planned for her in your warped little mind, Lucas?" The Síochán turned around and regarded him intently for a long moment, a pensive expression on his face. Then he sighed softly. "I've told you all I can. You have a choice. Nurse your wounds or save Summer. Your decision will make the difference." He vanished from the room an instant later. The Síochán Ch. 05 "Lucas!" Nathaniel roared furiously into the empty room. "You bastard! Come back here. Tell me what you mean by that!" But he didn't return and the vampire was left pacing endlessly up and down his little room, his flight instincts screaming at him to run and hide, his heart pounding with fear at just what the Síochán were using his Summer for. _____ Summer knew she would end up asking Nathaniel for help. A quick study of Mnak demons was enough to know that she'd be able to take him down but it would get really messy and people would get hurt in the process. She had gone back to tell Lucas that but was unable to find him when she went looking for him. So she went looking for Nathaniel. She cloaked her scent when she saw him once more in another little town, lounging in another bar, his beautiful face wearing a scowl that screamed at everyone to keep away. His head turned to the door the moment she walked in and they stared at each other for a long second before she walked slowly over to him at the back of the room. Her heart thumped hard in her chest as his eyes slowly ran the length of her body, heat flaring instantly in their smoky green depths. He was dressed completely in black as always, as was she, but somehow it looked more spectacular on him with his raven hair. Her blonde curls kind of ruined the dramatic look he managed to achieve. She had tied her hair back at the nape of her neck and she wished she hadn't. It was an excellent curtain to hide her face when she needed it. Nathaniel's body started aching the instant he scented her, long before he looked up to see her standing in the doorway of the bar. She had those damned leather boots on again, the ones that stirred his blood in so many different ways. Her angelic, innocent face was so at odds when compared to the sinful little body dressed in soft leather pants and loose black tunic. Innocence and lust all rolled into one, a heady combination. He was rock hard and struggling not to drool by the time she reached him. He managed to keep his expression completely neutral though. "Summer," he growled in greeting, signalling the barkeep to bring more drinks to the table. She slid onto the tatty leather seat across from him in the dark secluded booth. A small smile flitted across her face and a hint of humour danced in her eyes. "Impressive the way you can control your expression, Nathaniel," she said lightly. "But you forget you're inside my head. Thank you for the compliment." Her lips twitched further when he growled again and looked away from her to sweep his gaze around the bar. "If you could get inside the head of every man in this room right now, you'd find them all thinking the same thing," he countered gruffly, his eyes narrowing as he gave a pointed look at a few of the other men who were still looking much to closely at his Summer. Soft tinkling laughter sounded across from him and his eyes travelled back to her. She took his breath away. Her angelic face, her sexy body, the sound of her laughter. Every single thing that was Summer Melrose called to him completely and he was lost the moment she was close to him. The barkeep placed a couple of beers in front of them and then quickly retreated. "I told you not to come back, Summer." Nathaniel's tone held a weariness to it, as if he knew it was futile to warn her off. She gave him a mock pout before smiling again. "Hungry?" she countered watching an expression of shock cross his face for an instant before he masked it and gave her a level look. "I haven't felt the urge to feed since the last time we were together," he admitted quietly. He met her eyes. "That was two years ago," he added to give her an accurate time frame from his perspective. It was probably only days ago for her. Summer smiled widely, sipping at the bitter brew in front of her before she leaned back against the cushion of the booth. "I did some research. Apparently my blood is very potent. Another good reason for keeping our identity a secret. Otherworld beings such as yourself may get ideas about how useful capturing one of us could be." He snorted and sipped at his own drink. "You can't be captured," he countered, alluding to The Síochán as a group rather than her personally. "Why are you here, Summer?" She sighed softly and leaned forward, resting her arms on the table between them. "Why do you want me to be here, Nathaniel?" she asked breathily, her body thrumming with raw energy at being so close to him. All she had to do was reach out her hand and she would be touching his skin. It was hard to resist the impulse but she didn't want to push him into a corner so he felt the need to retreat from her. "Don't play with me, Summer," he growled loudly, a hint of anger crossing his beautiful face. She looked surprised by his accusation, sitting back again as a deep frown marred her expression. "Me, play with you?" she asked quietly, a derisive edge slipping into her voice. "Wasn't it the other way around, Nathaniel? When you came to my home that night? Didn't you come to play with me with no thought or care to what it would mean for me? You and then Frederick and finally 'them'? You accuse me of it and yet all of you have been playing with me for my entire life and now my death too." She stood up, staring down at him for a long moment before turning and walking out of the bar quickly. It had been the wrong move coming to see him again. She would just have to find a way to fight the demon on her own. He wasn't willing to let her in and she didn't have the strength to fight him along with all the other Síochán and everything else. Summer felt suddenly weary, tired of fighting so hard to get others to see things her way. Who was she to even think that her way was right anyhow? Maybe she was wrong and everyone else was right? "Don't go," Nathaniel breathed softly behind her, his arms sliding around her body, catching her in a tight embrace and pulling her back against his chest. He groaned softly as he fitted her curves against his aching body. His touch instantly set her body on fire and she bit her lip as she leaned back against him, allowing him to hold her, feeling the evidence of his pressing need for her against her back. His mouth lowered to graze her neck gently, his tongue tracing her throbbing pulse lightly. "You taste so good, Summer," he groaned softly. "You feel so good in my arms. I know I should let you go, stay away from you and yet, the moment you're close to me I lose all rational thought. You've cast a spell on me that I just can't break." He sounded almost angry about it even as his heart picked up a beat and he shifted his aching shaft against her, desperate for some release from the intense pressure he was feeling. She allowed herself the luxury of being in his arms, savoured the liquid fire which sped through her body at his touch. He thought she had cast a spell on him? She had no idea what he had done to her, how he could make her crave him so thoroughly that he was all she could think about from one moment to the next. She stood in his embrace a moment longer and then she pulled away and turned to look up at him. "Will you come demon hunting with me, Nathaniel?" she smiled, an impish expression crossing her face as she took in his sudden scowl and his muffled disapproval at her pulling away from him. He frowned, irritated that they couldn't just go back to his room. The last time they had been together had been fast and furious. He wanted to spend all night stroking her soft white skin, running his mouth slowly down her body until he reached her magic centre and sipped at her sweet honey until she shattered against his mouth. He wanted to feel her soft lips circling his aching cock, to watch as she feasted on his body the way he had feasted on hers. His lips quirked in a little rueful smile as he watched amusement dance across her perfect features and knew she was feeling his frustration inside her head. "What's my reward if I help you take out your demon?" he drawled smoothly, his eyes flashing with excitement when she laughed softly and shook her head at him. "You have a one track mind, Nathaniel," she sighed with a wide smile. "We can discuss 'rewards' after the demon is dead. If you still want one and haven't been beaten to a pulp. It is a Mnak demon we're going after." He stepped closer to her his hands coming to rest gently on her hips, still for a moment before he slowly began to stroke against her in a tantalising rhythm. "You forget I retain the knowledge and strength of the Síochán," he breathed softly. "But you're not immortal," she countered with a little frown as she stared up at him. "Sunlight can still burn you and losing your head can still end your life." His silence acknowledged her words as his fingers flexed on her hips tightly for a moment before they loosened and continued their gentle movements, moving ever closer to sliding more intimately against her. He watched Summer's eyes narrow, saw the glint of need in them and he smiled slowly as he ran his fingers against the molten heat hidden beneath the soft leather of her pants. She gasped out aloud, her hips automatically grinding against him causing his nostrils to flare as he scented her arousal and his body to scream to be inside hers, loving her until she cried his name in ecstasy. With a muffled groan Summer wrenched herself out of his grasp and smiled slowly, her breathing slightly ragged. "Tell you what. You take care of keeping your head firmly attached and I'll make sure I get you home before dawn, maybe leaving enough time to discuss this 'reward' you seem so intent on having?" Her light, teasing tone had him laughing softly even as he bent his head and brushed her lips in the lightest, most tentative of kisses. If he kissed her properly there would be no demon hunting going on and he knew she needed to do this. "So, are we walking to this demon of yours or are you going to spirit me away with your magical powers?" he teased with another soft laugh as he heard her suck in a deep breath against his lips and knew she was fighting furiously against her own need to have a little reward of her own. "Magic," she sighed softly, quickly surveying the area and taking a moment to ease the drunk human male, who was watching them intently from a corner close by, into a light, harmless sleep. Satisfied they were unobserved, she shielded them both in a cloak of invisibility and stepped back into Nathaniel's eager embrace. He stole another quick kiss as she whisked them both to the deep forest location which was home to the Mnak demon. Nathaniel cursed loudly when they appeared right in the heart of the demon's forest lair, just as the enormous black beast was about to impale a struggling witch with his body. Summer had released the cloak of invisibility. The woman screamed loudly as the demon spun around, dropping her to the hard dirt, instinctually sensing the danger behind him. Glowing red eyes whirled in fury at being interrupted, a guttural roar hissing out of the large snout with dripping fangs bared. Nathaniel automatically dived to the left as Summer dived to the right when the Mnak demon charged straight at them. "A little warning would have been nice," he ground out harshly, shooting the little blonde a withering glance. Summer swerved away from the demon's grasping claws, barely keeping out of his grasp as she tried to see around him to the witch lying on the ground. "Someone kept me distracted," she retorted loudly as the demon roared in frustration. "Mucked up my carefully planned timing. When you have a moment, Nathaniel?" She had to duck behind a tall pine tree to avoid the demon's next swipe. The vampire blurred so fast he appeared to disappear only to appear on the back of the demon, razor sharp talons piercing the beast's neck. Summer vanished, reappearing beside the witch, sighing with relief when she saw the woman was still alive, though unconscious. She slipped quickly into the other woman's mind, located her coven and transported her directly there. It took less than a second to get the witch to safety. That was all the time it took the demon to dislodge Nathaniel from his back and send him flying through the air crashing into the trees. A loud, frustrated hiss sounded from the vampire as he caught a branch to halt his flight and swung agilely back onto his feet. Summer was already intercepting the demon, who was enraged to the point of insanity as it followed Nathaniel. She managed to score a few good kicks to its torso before its spiked tail whipped around and took the legs out from underneath her. She went down on her back, the wind temporarily knocked from her lungs. "Witch!" the demon hissed with a guttural growl, his throbbing member pulsing obscenely from between his legs. Summer cursed loudly. She'd chosen to mask her Síochán scent with a witch scent again. The stupid demon thought he'd scored himself a new prize! A loud chuckle behind the demon distracted it for a moment. "She is that," Nathaniel laughed loudly. "But she's already spoken for." He was plunging his talons into the beast's back even as he was speaking, trying to wound it enough for Summer to regain her balance. The demon roared in agony and tried to turn around to get at his attacker. "If you're done having your rest?" Nathaniel grunted when the spiked tail connected with his side in a crushing blow. He struggled to keep his talons ripping into the demon's insides. The tail spiked him again and he hissed in pain. Summer pulled a ragged edged broadsword out of the air and plunged it deep into the demon's torso. Impaled both front and back, it shrieked in fury, lashing out frantically as it fell to its knees. She pulled a second broadsword from the air and tossed it to Nathaniel. He was closer to the beast than she was, the length of the sword keeping her further away from it. He caught it easily with his free hand and arced it through the air with deadly precision. They both moved as one, stepping back as the demon's head toppled cleanly from its body and it fell to the ground in a spray of black, acrid smelling blood. Summer danced back a little further to avoid the disgusting smelling stuff which was coming more in her direction as the demon toppled forward. Nathaniel sank to his knees, dropping the sword to the ground and clutching at his injured side even as he began wiping his hand against the loose grass around him. The demon's blood coated his hand and it smelt revolting. "Let me see," Summer said quietly, waving her hand in a graceful arc, removing the blood he seemed almost rabid to get off his skin. She sank down to her knees beside him and pushed up his tunic to look at his wounds. The skin on his side was red and angry but already healing. "I just need a moment more," he growled softly, shivering slightly as she gently ran her fingers along his side, tracing the rapidly healing scars. He tried to distract himself from what her fingers were doing to his body. "Where's the witch?" he asked. She laughed, turning amused green eyes on him. "According to you, right in front of you," she quipped lightly, running her hand higher up his body, feeling his hard muscles contract as she stroked his chest. His nostrils flared and he grabbed her hand and very gently removed it from his body before he was tempted to take her on the forest floor beside the rotting corpse of the demon. "She is," he growled, pressing a soft kiss to her captured hand. "But I was referring to the other one." His wounds were completely healed so he rose quickly, pulling her with him, keeping an arm loosely wrapped around her waist. "I sent her home to her coven," Summer answered looking around the lair slowly. She felt a huge feeling of relief deep inside her. She had managed to stop anyone being hurt by the demon and Nathaniel's wounds had healed quickly. Nathaniel kissed the side of her neck as he stared at the demon. "What are we going to do about him?" She sighed softly and leaned against him as she waved a hand and the lair and demon vanished along with the swords. "Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" Nathaniel grumbled slightly irritably. It would have spared them both the pain the demon had inflicted on them. She laughed softly. "Where is the fun in that, Nathaniel?" she asked lightly "Plus there was the witch to consider. Couldn't risk her seeing some Síochán antics, could I?" She didn't want to admit that she had been so distracted by his kisses that she had actually taken them too close and had been reacting instinctively rather than logically from that moment onwards. Or admit that if she had simply vanquished the demon with her Síochán powers then there would have been no need for him to come along with her. She gazed up into his face and saw his eyes narrow sharply. Nathaniel stared in her eyes and smothered down a sigh. He knew she hadn't really needed his help. He knew it when Lucas first mentioned it to him. As long as the demon was isolated from prying eyes there was no need for Summer not to use her powers to quickly bring it to heel. As always the Síochán manipulated and lied to him. He was surprised his usual anger didn't surface at the thought and then he did sigh. How could he feel anger towards them when he had known all along what they were up to? There had been the chance that the demon was in a public place which would have required his help. In truth, he would have come with Summer anyway, even knowing that the demon was in its own lair, because he had wanted to see her, to be with her again. "You truly are a witch," he growled quietly as he bent his head and captured her lips in a slow, drugging kiss. His heart pound loudly in his chest and his body harden instantly as she surrendered completely to him. "Reward time," he whispered against her lips, opening his mind to her so she could see exactly where he wanted her to take them. Summer smiled with pleasure as she got the dimensions of the room correct this time and brought them to stand beside his double bed in an instant. Nathaniel twisted immediately, toppling her laughing onto the bed, landing on top of her and keeping her pinned beneath his hard body. "You were looking way too smug there," he chuckled lightly, dipping his head to the side of her neck and inhaling deeply at her scent. He groaned softly and pressed his body hard against her. "How do you do this to me?" he asked huskily. Summer sighed with pleasure, pressing her body against his, wrapping her arms around his neck and threading her fingers into his long, silky hair so she could drag his mouth to hers. "How do you do this to me?" she whispered against his lips, her tongue coming out to lick slowly over his bottom lip, forcing a deep growl from his throat. His lips parted immediately and he was sucking her tongue inside , tangling it with his own as he took over the kiss. She tasted so good, so intoxicating. She really was a witch, his own personal little addiction which he was unable to fight against. He broke the kiss and raised himself up until he was kneeling between her parted thighs, his hands sliding slowly down the outside of her leather pants. He smiled wickedly as his fingers grazed the top of her boots, his body starting to throb painfully hard. His fingers trailed lower until he wrapped one large hand around the back of her left calf and raised her leg high in the air, until he draped it against his shoulder. He slowly stroked down the soft leather his eyes glinting darkly. "Now these, I most definitely like," he said huskily. "There is something so deliciously kinky about them which is so at odds with your angelic little face." "I can always keep them on," Summer laughed lightly, her eyes glowing with her arousal, her stomach doing tiny flips at the heated expression in his eyes. She'd wear anything he damned well wanted her to if only he kept looking at her like that. The Síochán Ch. 05 His wicked smile widened as he brought her other leg up to his shoulder and slowly stroked the soft leather of the boots before sliding his hands down the back of her pants to brush lightly against the soft swell of her ass. "Now that sounds like it could be fun," he growled softly. "Take everything else off." It was a command not a request. In an instant she was naked before him with the exception of the three inch stiletto heeled boots. His nostrils flared and a long, low rumble sounded from his chest as his gaze ran over her bare flesh. She was incredible, completely magnificent in her beauty. His heart turned over in his chest, his breath catching in his throat. For a moment he was frozen on the spot, the only part of his body which had any capacity to move being his heated gaze as he slowly ran it from the top of her beautiful head down the exquisite treasure between her taut thighs. Nathaniel growled again, leaning forward and allowing her calves to slide from his shoulders to fall on either side of his kneeling body. He reached out and caught the ribbon in her hair, pulling it free so he could slide her glorious blonde curls through his fingers slowly before he laid them gently over her delicate shoulders. The soft silky tresses covered her breasts and for a brief moment he was back in time to the night he had first met her, when she had stood before him in all her innocent beauty. She had been irresistible to him that night, just as she was now. He exhaled slowly as he traced her perfect features with one gentle finger before he brushed aside her hair and let his eyes savour the soft round globes of her full breasts with their dusky pink tips which were hard and begging for his touch. He scraped his thumbs slowly over the hardened peaks until she gave up her soft, sexy moans to him which were like music to his ears. Nathaniel exhaled slowly as he looked down at her. How he loved this, radiant, breathtaking little beauty. She invaded his very soul, his every waking thought and also his every dream. She was perfection. His exquisite, beautiful Summer. His touch remained gentle for a few moments longer as he slowly stroked the soft, porcelain white skin of her flat stomach. He stopped when he reached the delicate blonde curls between her thighs, his fingers itching to dive into her slick heat. He smiled again, his lust kicking into overdrive as he scented her wonderful spicy arousal. "Undress me, Summer," he commanded softly. "With your hands," he added with a wicked glint in his eyes. She shivered slightly and laughed huskily. "Make me," she countered softly. "Can you still do that, Nathaniel? Does your vampire compulsion work on me?" He rose from the bed, his eyes roaming over the delicious sight of her splayed body and those incredibly sexy boots she still had on. "Shall we test it?" he laughed softly, deliberately lowering his tone, letting his compulsion rise up and settle on her mind. "Do you remember our first night together, Summer? What you did with your delightfully wicked little mouth? Undress me!" It was a deep, loud growl which ushered from his lips, his expression more hopeful than expectant. Summer laughed again and rose to her knees on the bed, sliding forward on her hands to the very edge. "Doesn't work, Nathaniel," she chuckled lightly reaching out and pulling at the opening of his pants so she could free his aching body. "Luckily for you, I've been waiting over half a century to taste you again." Her hot, wet mouth plunged deep onto his throbbing shaft and he let out a loud groan, his hands automatically threading into her curls as she devoured him with relish. His hips bucked forward pressing more of his length into her teasing little mouth, a soft growl escaping his lips as he watched her begin to work her magic against his aching body. No other woman could bring him so quickly towards his release. He was throbbing painfully with each bold lick of her tongue along his length, each soft sucking motion against the tip of his cock. His thighs were trembling in no time, the delicious tension coiling in his stomach screaming for completion. "Summer," he groaned harshly, sliding himself as deeply into her hot mouth as he could, his moan turning to a strangled cry when she pushed her head down relentlessly and slid him into her soft throat. His knees buckled at the sheer intensity of feeling himself slide so fully inside her. The only thing that kept him falling was the fact he was so close to the side of the bed and his weak knees where now resting on it. With another strangled sound he withdrew from her mouth and gathered her curls back from her face. Then he pressed forward again, a febrile glitter in his eyes as he watched her take him deep down her throat once more. He knew he wouldn't last much longer. She looked way too sexy on her hands and knees in those ridiculous boots that set his blood boiling all on their own. The sensations running through his body as he fucked slowly and deeply into her mouth was more than he could endure. She was working her throat muscles so deliciously around him, knowing full well just how much she was pushing him over the edge. The tension finally broke and he let out a loud hiss, biting down hard on his bottom lip as his thighs trembled and he began to shoot thick ropes of hot cum deep into her mouth. He tried to contain the sounds he made but she worked his cock hard, forcing loud cries from his lips as he jerked into her over and over again. He could barely breathe by the time the delicious pleasure subsided and he looked back down at her as she slowly nuzzled against his cock with little licks and nibbles and a very satisfied expression on her beautiful face. He wondered just who had taken the most pleasure from the delightfully carnal act she had just performed. Nathaniel pulled her up until she was on her knees and he could bend his head and rub his lips against hers in a light, loving kiss. "I think someone enjoyed that," he laughed huskily as he pressed her back against the bed and came to lie over her once more. "What wasn't to enjoy?" Summer sighed, stretching her arms languidly over her head and arching her body against his, making his breath hiss out in pleasure as her breasts were displayed for his enjoyment. Bloodlust suddenly overwhelmed him out of the nowhere. His throat suddenly itched with the need to taste her blood. It was powerful, a crushing need which had his fangs elongating instantly and a low predatory growl escaping his lips. Summer met his gaze with a little smile tugging at her lips. He looked so feral, so completely out of control with his raven hair falling wildly around his face, his fangs wickedly sharp and lethal looking, his body still hard and pulsing wildly between his legs. He made her heart stop completely for an instant, sending waves of lust crashing through her body, as she watched his eyes glitter darkly as his bloodlust took control. She didn't know what it was about Nathaniel's feral side that called to her so much but just the sight of him so out of control was enough to bring her to her knees. She wanted him to bite her, to pull deeply at her soft skin and feed from her body. She wanted to be the only woman that satisfied his every need, be it sexually or with her life giving blood. Her body was dripping with the evidence of just how aroused she was, how much she needed him to be inside her, taking her hard and fast. With a wider smile crossing her face, Summer raised one leg slowly and placed a booted foot lightly on his chest, inciting another deep growl from him as his hand shot out to grip her ankle tightly. He was seconds away from losing all control, struggling to maintain a semblance of the more human side of his personality. She pushed him that last little step, pressing the heel of her boot into his skin just below his ribs. Nathaniel roared loudly, descending on her in an frenzy, his fangs sliding into the fragile skin of her left breast. She gasped as his teeth pierced her, holding his head to her body as he began to suckle hard at her breast, her body shaking with pleasure as his bite sent her instantly crashing into her first, mind blowing climax. He drank deeply as she shuddered beneath him, his mouth frantic against her flesh as his animal took what it needed with barely a thought for the woman in his arms. Summer cried out when he moved to her other breast and fed as voraciously from that one too. He seemed incapable of getting enough and again she wondered if he could drain her or if her Síochán powers would make that an impossibility. She didn't feel weak. All she felt was amazing pleasure as he suckled against her. He finally closed her wound, raising his head slowly to look down into her face. He was back in control, his beast once more firmly locked away and more than a hint of displeasure on his beautiful face. "Don't you ever do that again," he ground out harshly, framing her face in his hands so she couldn't look away from him. "You can't hurt me, Nathaniel," she said softly reaching up to smooth back his hair and caress his hard face gently with her palm. His expression softened slightly but he was still clearly annoyed with her. "We don't know that for sure," he countered his voice hard. "There's never been this level of contact between a vampire and a Síochán before. No one knows what the limits are, Summer, and I have no wish to find out that there are some which could prove detrimental to you." "You worry too much," she laughed softly. She was feeling reckless, excited, aroused to the point of insanity. "Stop telling me off, Nathaniel. Wouldn't you rather be making love to me instead?" She laughed again when she saw the sharp, narrowing of his eyes, the flare of his nostrils as he scented just how much she needed him. "You need a bloody keeper," he growled softly, even as he bent his head and smothered her response with a hard kiss. When had she become so wild, so fuelled with adrenaline and irresponsibility? Was the Chaos which was her nature taking control? Was Summer losing herself and becoming more fully Síochán than he had thought she would? Or was it simply a reaction to their fight with the Mnak demon and the fact that despite everything they had been through this was only the third time they had been together like this? He soon found that he didn't particularly care as her soft curves pressed against his hard body and her lips moulded to his in a passionate kiss that left him breathless at the end of it. His hands and lips traced her beautiful body in rough caresses as he made his way down to her wet heat. He groaned as his tongue slid in to taste her sweetness, the rich, thick honey, which satisfied him almost as much as her blood did. He lapped at her body greedily drawing ragged cries from her sweet lips as he dipped his tongue inside to drink down more of her juices. She made his head spin with her sweet, exotic taste. Her wantonness sparked his lust higher as he brought his fingers to her, sliding two deeply inside her so he could concentrate on her throbbing clit which was begging for his attention. She cried out as he fucked her hard with his fingers, his mouth latching onto her little nub and suckling gently in counterpoint to his rougher hand. He flicked his tongue against her, alternating between suckling and licking as he worked her into a mindless frenzy. She cried out loudly and bucked against his hand and mouth as she shattered beneath him. Her juices soaked him as he continued to work her body hard, keeping her at the height of her pleasure for a few precious seconds longer. He growled his own pleasure as he removed his fingers and brought his tongue to her opening to savour the rewards of his hard work. She was truly addictive. He could never get enough of tasting her sweetness, of needing to hear her sweet cries as he pleasured her. Nathaniel rose and positioned his aching cock at her entrance, staring down into her flushed face for a long moment. Her chest was rising and falling sharply as she sucked in deep breaths, trying to come down from the heady heights she had just reached. Her green eyes slowly opened to look up at him and he surged forward in that instant, growling as he watched the pleasure dance across her face as he plunged ruthlessly into her body in one long, hard stroke. Summer cried out and arched against him, pulling his mouth down to hers as she wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him more deeply inside her. She vanished her boots. They had served their purpose, inciting the wildness within Nathaniel as she'd hoped they would. She needed to appeal to all sides of him. She knew that he loved her, that he desired her both for her body and also her blood, but she needed his beast to crave her above all others too. There had to be no part of Nathaniel's complex personality that didn't long to be with her. It was the only way to win him, to stop him pushing her away. The fact that this side of him was also very intoxicating helped. She loved the wildness in him when he lost control. She moaned softly and bucked her hips up to meet his downward thrusts as he set about taking her with long, hard strokes. He felt so delicious inside of her, his cock hard as steel and yet soft and flexible too. He pressed deep, touching every sensitive nerve ending deep within her, sending waves of pleasure racing through her body. Being with Nathaniel like this was heaven. She didn't know where she ended and he began, they were one, joined together in perfect bliss. Nathaniel was lost in her beautiful body. Nothing mattered except being with his beautiful little Summer, riding against her in hard, strong movements as her sexy moans filled the room like sweet music. She was inside his soul, buried deep in his mind, her pleasure screaming to him as he stroked into her body harder and faster. The blood link they shared was still strong, having lasted over two years for him, possibly only days for her. Still, he craved the contact with her, suddenly feeling afraid that he'd lose it if he didn't renew it right there, right then. He sliced his lip with his fangs, pulling her mouth to his and pressing the wound against her lips. He shuddered and groaned as her little tongue licked slowly, lapping gently at his blood sending waves of pleasure coursing through his body. His movements became more frantic within her as they kissed desperately and writhed sensuously together. She was quickly driving him towards his release. He didn't want it to end, didn't want to be apart from his precious little woman. With a muffled groan he pulled out of her, turning her onto her hands and knees and driving straight back into her molten heat. He clutched her tightly to his chest as he rocked into her velvety soft body, his hands cupping her swaying breasts to tease her nipples ruthlessly. He tongue swiped against her collarbone, laving her fragile skin gently before he raked his fangs hard against her throat. The tension was building inside his stomach, his completion moments away. With another muffled groan he sank his fangs into her neck, the powerful, magic imbued Síochán blood filling his mouth and sending waves of fire rushing through his body. His pleasure peaked, his hot cum rushing through his body to bathe her insides over and over again. He threw back his head and roared his ecstasy as Summer's sharp, hoarse cries filled the room as she shattered with him, her body straining as she clamped around his cock and milked him of everything he had to offer her. Nathaniel's heart pounded hard as he fought to regain his breath, unable to move away from her, clutching her tightly against him. He stayed sheathed inside her as she fought to regain her own breath. The scent of sex was heavy in the air, their bodies coated in a light sheen of sweat, ragged, panting breaths echoing around the room. "You're going to be the death of me," he finally growled, sliding slowly from her body and gathering her into his arms as he settled them down together side by side. He brushed her tumbled curls away from her face with a shaky hand, smiling at the completely stunned expression on her beautiful face. Summer was stunned. The intensity of their lovemaking had surpassed anything they had ever shared before. Nathaniel renewing the blood bond between them quite literally taking her breath away. She had accepted his offer eagerly at the time but now that the passion was beginning to cool a feeling of trepidation started to sink deep inside her. Why would he need the link renewed? It didn't bode well. He wasn't planning on returning with her, she knew it even as she tried to deny it to herself. She rolled away from him, lying on her back and staring up at the cracked ceiling. Lucas' words returned to her, about Nathaniel's need to atone for his actions. One quick glance around the room they were in bore that out. It really was little more than a hovel. "Come home with me," she said in a small voice, a plea clearly in it. "Summer," he groaned softly reaching for her but she moved away to sit up, her back to him so she couldn't see the rejection on his face. She really couldn't bear to look at him and have to admit to herself that this had just been a waste of time, no matter how pleasurable it had been. She could feel it through the bond, his hesitancy, his conflicted emotions. "I can't go back," Nathaniel sighed, sitting up and pressing his lips against her shoulder. "I know you can't understand why. I wish I could explain it to you but I can't. That isn't my life anymore, Summer." "And this is?" she asked angrily, waving a hand at the room, standing up and clothing her body in an instant. She turned to face Nathaniel, her expression carefully neutral, though her hurt must surely have bee resounding through his head. "This is what you envision for us, Nathaniel? Meeting up every now and then, fight a few demons, have sex and then back to our own separate lives? I want more than that. Damn it, I deserve more than that! I won't be treated like a convenient lay for when your needs get the better of you. I want it all or I will live with having nothing. The choice is yours." His expression darkened instantly and he rolled to the other side of the bed, locating his clothes and quickly dressing, his thoughts in utter turmoil. Did she really mean it? Would she really walk away from what they had if he didn't agree to return to the Síochán? She was trying hard to mask her feelings and actually managing to do quite a credible job of it. He felt fear and hurt that she would hide her true feelings from him that way and it angered him. She had no right to give him ultimatums, to use his feelings against him to achieve her own ends. It was so typically Síochán of her. A sense of betrayal washed over him. Not her too? Was there anyone he could trust not to use him, not to manipulate him for their own ends? "How very Síochán of you, Summer," he finally said in a cold hard voice, hardening his heart against the sharp lance of pain she couldn't quite conceal. "When one tactic fails you resort to another? Is there nothing you wouldn't be willing to do to achieve your ends? There's a word for what you've just done here, a very nasty, disgusting word. I would never have thought that of you but it appears you are more Síochán than I gave you credit for." His words cut deep, pain lancing sharply inside her as she struggled to keep her expression completely blank. Not that it really mattered because he could feel everything she was feeling through their bond. Summer stiffened as the pain rocked through her, watching him stiffen too as he felt it and slowly turned to face her. His expression was hard, distrustful, but there was also a hint of remorse in his eyes, a blazing echo of it scything through the bond telling her clearly that he wanted to take back what he had just said. She didn't give him the luxury of being sorry though. She was finished with everything, the Síochán, Nathaniel, the very existence she was currently living. The Síochán Ch. 05 Nathaniel went to speak and she stepped back from the bed turning away from him. "Don't say another word," she said quietly. "There is nothing you could possibly say that I would ever want to hear, Nathaniel. You had your chance and you chose not to take it. I will not be coming back again." "Summer, wait," he called a fraction of a second before she took herself home to her room, throwing herself down on her bed and letting the tears she had been struggling to hold in, fall silently. Nathaniel screamed his fury into the empty room. "Summer!" he ground out hoarsely. He called for her again, searching along their link trying to mentally communicate with her but only managing to convey emotions rather than words. Her own emotions were wretched, filling him with such pain as he tried to send his regret, his remorse to her but she was so wrapped up in her misery he didn't think she was even sensing what he was feeling. "Lucas!" he roared loudly spinning around in a circle, searching for the blond Síochán, trying to will him to appear. The room remained empty of both of them and Nathaniel sank down onto the side of his bed and buried his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Summer," he whispered softly. "Please forgive me." To be continued... The Síochán Ch. 06 This is the last chapter of The Siochan. I've had a love/hate relationship with this story but I tried my best to do it justice so you could at least have a conclusion to it. I hope you enjoy the final chapter. Once more my thanks to WorldHistoryBuff for her editing skills. ***** A wave of pain crashed over Nathaniel and he groaned and curled up into a ball, a tiny whimper of agony escaping his lips. Sweat broke out over his body and he shivered wildly as he tried to stop his body reacting to the pain. He couldn't. Another wave of pain came, stiffening his muscles as he moaned through cracked lips, his eyes wild as they flew around the dark, dingy room. His throat burned. It burned as if fire was licking at it, his need to feed so intense it was all that dominated his thoughts. He should have fed. He should have stopped waiting for Summer to return and answered the needs of his body. But he had been so sure she would come, that she didn't really mean it when she'd said she wouldn't come back. Three years! Three years since she had been in his arms, her sweet blood soothing the hunger deep within him. That was how long one drink of a Síochán's blood satisfied a vampire. When the gnawing hunger had come back he was sure Summer would too. He didn't want to feed from another woman, didn't want to be overcome with lust and lay with anyone other than his Summer. Now he was paying for it. His body was weak, his hunger so strong it was ripping him apart. He couldn't feed now even if he wanted to. He had no strength to leave the room, all he had was the crippling pain. He cried out and curled into himself. Was this it? Was he going to die? The blood link between himself and Summer was gone. She wouldn't feel his pain and he had no idea if she searched for him in the Scrying Fountain. Did she even know that he was in so much pain? Would she even care after what he had said to her? He scented a Síochán close, tried to move his head but he couldn't. He tried to call Summer's name but his voice didn't work. A cool, soft hand caressed his brow, smoothing his tangled hair back from his face. "What have you done?" Lucas breathed softly, a deep frown on his face as he knelt beside the bed. "Oh, Nathaniel. How could you be so reckless with your life?" Nathaniel groaned, a feeling of comfort coming over him as Lucas stroked his face gently. His breathed hissed out raggedly. "Summer," he murmured weakly. Lucas' frown deepened and he brought his wrist to Nathaniel's mouth. "She won't come, Nathaniel," he said regretfully. "Feed." The vampire scented the powerful blood flowing through the other man's veins and he bit down instinctively, a muffled groan escaping as the precious life fluid began pumping into his mouth. He sucked ravenously, swallowing as fast as he could to relieve the aching pain all over his body. He fed and his heart ached at Lucas' words. Summer wouldn't come. She wouldn't forgive him. "She doesn't look for you anymore," Lucas said quietly, stroking Nathaniel's hair soothingly as he tore into his wrist. "She simply goes on her assignments, attends any meetings called and spends time alone with her thoughts. Starving yourself will not bring her back, Nathaniel. She isn't even aware that you're doing so. Do not be so reckless again. Feed when you must." Nathaniel fed, his thoughts in turmoil. He was feeding from Lucas. He never thought he'd see the day when he would lower himself to do so, when he would feel so grateful to the other man for allowing him to. He had never thought he'd see the day when Lucas would offer his blood to him as he was doing now. He wondered what was in it for the Síochán and then stifled down a moan and suckled harder at his wonderful blood. Even when Lucas was performing an act of kindness, Nathaniel looked for a hidden meaning in it. He wondered if that was indicative of the kind of man Lucas was or the kind of man he was. It hurt to hear that Summer no longer looked for him, that she didn't care what he was doing anymore. Was that the truth though or something Lucas was making up to force him to move on? Was Lucas hoping that the more time Summer was apart from Nathaniel the more likely she would turn once more to him? With another groan, Nathaniel wrenched his fangs from Lucas' wrist and rolled away from him, turning his back on the Síochán and taking deep breaths as the healing blood surged through his body, strengthening him quickly. The pain had ebbed considerably. He would be strong enough to go out and hunt once the Síochán left. "Does this make your goal harder, Lucas?" he asked quietly. "You did seek to use Summer to bring me back. Does the fact she no longer cares about me hinder your plans?" He heard the Síochán give a long drawn out sigh but didn't turn around. "I didn't say she no longer cares, Nathaniel. I said she no longer looks for you." Lucas rose to his feet, looking around the dingy room with a sad expression on his face. Nothing changed for Nathaniel, not the hovels he lived in, the life he led, or the fact that he was so consumed with bitterness he only heard what he wanted to hear. "Was that sufficient blood for you?" "It was enough," Nathaniel ground out quietly. "If you leave now I will be able to take care of the rest myself." "First tell me why you left it so long," Lucas sighed. "Why you allowed yourself to become so starved you almost died." Nathaniel snorted, biting his lip hard. He didn't want to tell Lucas anything about his life or his reasons for doing what he had done. It was none of his damned business. The Síochán wouldn't go away until he answered him though and he really needed to hunt, to finish the repairs to his body that Lucas had started. "With the bloodlust comes sexual lust," Nathaniel said dully. "I didn't want to lay with anyone other than Summer. Satisfied?" He hated admitted it to the other man, hated saying it out aloud for someone other than Summer to hear. "You love her so much you would die rather than bed another?" Lucas asked incredulously. "You have changed so much, Nathaniel. Perhaps even too much." He paused as if making a decision, sitting down on the bed and reaching a hand out to touch his head. "Hold still," he commanded when Nathaniel tried to shrug him off. He removed his hand a moment later and stood up again. "You can feed with no concern that your other lust will require satisfying," he said quietly. "I have separated the two urges enough that you will be able to maintain control if you want to. Do not be this reckless again, Nathaniel." His words had Nathaniel turning to look at him, surprise on his face as well as confusion. "Why?" he asked. "You know why," Lucas sighed turning away from the scrutinizing gaze of the vampire. "You can deny whatever you wish to, Nathaniel, but it is the one thing that will always hold true. I will always come if you need me." The stark sincerity of his words pierced the vampire and he scowled darkly as he felt a little thawing within himself towards the other man. Was this another plot, another ploy in the endless game of tempting him home to the Síochán or was it simply what is was, Lucas feeling the pull of their previous relationship and being helpless against it? Nathaniel hated the uncertainty, the need to scrutinize every single word that came out of Lucas' mouth, a hidden deep longing within himself that the Síochán was being truthful with him and genuinely meant what he was saying. "Thank you," he finally managed to grind out. The small, spoken gratitude didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. "I would say it was my pleasure but you were very unkind with your fangs, Nathaniel," Lucas laughed softly, shaking his head in weary amusement as he looked down at the vampire. "Do not make it necessary for me to have to do this again. The need to abstain is now removed. I know you will find this difficult to believe but try trusting in me just a little." It was a lot for the Síochán to ask of him but Nathaniel had no choice. If he was to survive he needed to feed. He would have to take the risk that Lucas had really done as he said he had. "She really doesn't look for me anymore?" He hated how small and sad his voice sounded as he sought for confirmation from the Síochán. He looked away when he saw pity cross Lucas' face. He didn't want the other man's pity! Lucas sighed softly, his expression turning more guarded as the vampire withdrew into himself as he always did when he was hurting. Nothing really changed with Nathaniel. He was a creature of habit and was always one to shut everyone else out when he was feeling vulnerable about things. "Do you wish me to tell her about this?" he asked. He didn't need to confirm the vampire's question, Nathaniel had known the answer even as he asked it. Nathaniel shook his head and rose from the bed. He still felt a little shaky but strong enough to be able to do what he needed to do. His feeding from Lucas was only enough to bring him back from the brink of death, not the feeding he would have done if it were Summer who had come to him. "Let her live her life the way she wants to," he said quietly. "She's right. She deserves better than me. I can't give her what she needs so she should have the opportunity to find whatever happiness she can elsewhere." The words were hard to say; turning to look at Lucas and meet his eyes was even harder. Nathaniel knew he would never return to the Síochán, that not even Summer's love would be enough to take him back into that life. She cared about Lucas. Maybe she didn't love him quite the same way as she loved Nathaniel but if she could find happiness with the Síochán then who was he to stand in her way? A deep throbbing pain lanced through him at just the thought of it but he pushed it away. He couldn't give her what she needed. He had no right to expect that she should be alone for the rest of eternity because he was too weak, too selfish to love her enough to be able to give up everything for her. "You are the only thing that Summer will ever need, Nathaniel," Lucas breathed softly. "Stop fighting so hard against her. You are only hurting both of you. Summer is not meant to be mine. She never was and she never will be. She is yours completely but you lack the courage to reach out and take what belongs to you. She is right in that she deserves better. She deserves better than what you have given her so far, Nathaniel. Better than what any of us have given her so far." A look of pain crossed Nathaniel's face. He tried to hide it but he knew the other man had seen it, that he understood the level of anguish he felt over his decision. "I can't!" he hissed furiously. "That's what you've never understood, Lucas. You never gave me a choice! Not once! You made your decisions based on what YOU wanted, not what was best for me. Now I have a choice. One that's slowly tearing me apart but it is mine! You can't take that from me. No one can, not even Summer." Lucas' expression hardened, anger flaring in his eyes for an instant before he sadly shook his head. He couldn't really argue with Nathaniel because what he said was true. He was never given a choice when brought to this life. How could he be angry at the man before him because Summer was suffering so much? It was ultimately Lucas' actions which were responsible for her suffering, hers and Nathaniel's both. "Call me if you ever have need of me again, Nathaniel," he sighed softly before he took himself away from the tortured vampire, unable to bear to be in the same room with him a moment longer. _____ Summer found herself at the Scrying Fountain. She hadn't meant to look for Nathaniel but she found herself irresistibly drawn to him. It had been so long since she had last seen him, so many years of just existing with little joy in her world. A sad smile crossed her lips as she ran her fingers idly through the cold water, not using her abilities to look for him though she knew she would do so, that she was unable to stop herself. Her life as a Síochán had settled into a strange existence. The more time she spent with the various different personalities, the more she came to understand what really made them tick. Harlan was the easiest to figure out. He was the most easy going one of them, the one who was initially most receptive to her joining their all male group. Her first meeting with them, her comment about them not being gentlemen, seemed to have struck a deep chord with the dark skinned man and he went out of his way to be as 'gentlemanly' as possible around her. It was sweet and very endearing and she found herself coming to like him very quickly. He appeared to be quite fond of her too now. Kincaid was such an enigma. He thought he was so untouchable and yet she invariably went to him when she wanted a question answered. His facial expressions were most eloquent but he still answered her questions even if he gave off the impression that it was a complete chore to do so. He tried hard to keep his detachment firmly in place but more and more he was integrating into the group. Her smile widened as she remembered entering the meeting room and finding Kincaid trying to teach Harlan how to play chess. It had been one of the funniest things she could remember seeing and had actually brought some laughter from deep within her, one of her rare smiles coming to the fore. That was when they had started their weekly chess games, when Harlan had accused Kincaid of cheating when he moved a rook and she had explained the piece was allowed to move in that direction. The moment Kincaid had realised she knew how to play chess he had told Harlan to get lost and made her sit and play with him. They were pretty evenly matched in skill level so it had quickly become a battle of wills to see who would win. She actually looked forward to her weekly games with him now feeling a special bond with the cold, detached man. Maybe his solitary lifestyle reminded her of Nathaniel a bit? Marcus was trouble but in a truly endearing way. He could argue for hours on end and invariably did. He took his role of defiance to the extremes and yet, he seemed to enjoy their many heated debates. She was sure she had seen pride in his expression a few times as she had bested him on a particular point. He had taken to seeking her out, pulling her from her sanctuary when she retreated from the group for too long a period of time. He appeared to have made it his personal mission to ensure that she integrated fully with the Síochán. Summer's thoughts turned to Lucas and her smile faded. Something was very wrong with the blond Síochán. He was almost as withdrawn from the group as she was. He was there in body but very quiet in spirit. She had tried to talk to him about it a few times but he simply smiled and turned the subject adroitly to something else. She had seen some of the others looking at Lucas with a touch of concern on their faces too. His disquiet was not a figment of her imagination. She sighed softly and another small smile crossed her face. They each had their own strange little personality quirks but each of them had wormed their way into her heart to find a special little place there. She had a sneaking suspicion she had managed to secure a little spot in their hearts too whether any of them would admit to it or not. The only one of them she was unsure of was Anton. She had barely seen him over the last decade. He never turned up at meetings though he appeared to spend a bit of time with Lucas privately because the blond Síochán would pass on Anton's comments at any meetings. Anton's withdrawal from Summer was surprising. He had been so accommodating when she had first arrived, taking her to Nathaniel's personal space when she was upset. She couldn't help wondering just what it was she had done to make him withdraw from her. It was another enigma that was part of the world of the Síochán. Sighing again Summer cast her mind into the Fountain, searching for her heart as she felt the water start to solidify beneath her fingers. She rested them lightly on top until the ice formed completely as she gazed down to the image before her. She was surprised by what she saw, expecting another dingy hovel or seedy, dark bar. Instead she found him standing on a jagged rock, wind and rain lashing furiously around him, making his raven hair tumble wildly around his head. As always he was dressed completely in black and it was the dead of night. The wildness of the storm soaked his clothes, moulding them to his tall, hard physique as he stared into the darkness, searching the horizon and the crashing waves below him. The blood bond had been gone for years but she didn't need it to know that his mood was as dark and wild as the storm beating furiously against him. She hesitated for a moment before she pulled deep within herself and her fingers pierced the frozen image. In an instant she was standing behind him, the wind and rain immediately soaking her white dress, her blond curls flying wildly behind her. She saw him tense, his only acknowledgement that she was there. They stood so close but there was such a distance between them. It was as if they were polar opposites. He was dark and she was light. They complimented each other but were destined to be forever apart. Summer wanted to weep at the utter sadness that invaded her soul. Why couldn't they be together? Why couldn't one of them just bend a little, open their very soul to the other so this endless pain would be diminished? She didn't realise she was actually crying until he turned to face her, his expression so carefully neutral it was as if his face was carved in stone. He moved slowly, taking the three steps necessary to bring him right in front of her. Wordlessly his arms enclosed her and he pressed her head to his chest, his cheek resting on the top of her head as she shivered and her tears continued to fall silently. Nathaniel couldn't believe she was finally there, after all the long, lonely years when he had longed for her to return and she never had. When he had first scented her, he had thought it was his mind playing tricks on him but then he had turned and his beautiful little Summer had been there, her face so full of anguish it broke his heart. He hated himself for being the cause of that anguish, for knowing that he had the power to ease her suffering but not the courage to do so. "Forgive me," he whispered hoarsely, needing to atone for what he had said to her at their last meeting. Needing her forgiveness for the pain they were both suffering. She clung to him tightly as if afraid he would vanish any moment. Her fear was justified. He would leave her again as he had left her all the other times. He didn't know how to stop running, how to ever come to terms with who and what he was. He was broken and he didn't think he would ever be able to heal from the breaks that had shattered his faith in himself so completely. "I'm so sorry, Summer," he groaned softly. "For all the hurt and pain, for what I said that day. I don't deserve your love or your forgiveness but I crave them so much even knowing that I will only break your heart time and time again." His mouth searched for hers desperately, needing to taste her once more. He was a complete selfish bastard but he needed her like no other. She whimpered against his lips, kissing him with a hunger that surpassed even his, her fingers digging into his scalp hard as she attacked him almost ravenously. They kissed desperately as the wind and rain battered against them, both knowing this was just a brief moment which neither of them had the strength to deny themselves. Nothing would be resolved by this meeting. They were only hurting each other by giving in to their need to be together. High above them a cloaked, hooded figure stood watching, hope and despair warring equally within his soul as he stared down at his two greatest achievements. That they would part was a given but he hoped it would be for the last time. It had to be for the final time or he had failed once more. The Síochán Ch. 06 _____ "Lucas, you have to do something!" Kincaid ground out angrily, appearing in the meeting room with a dark scowl on his face. The blond Síochán looked up from the book he was reading and frowned. He knew immediately what the other man was referring to. He was just the last in a long line of other Síochán to accost him with practically the same words, all pertaining to the same thing. Summer. The level of depression radiating from the little blonde was enough to wrench at the hardest of hearts. It had been almost two decades since her last meeting with Nathaniel and nothing seemed to be able to pierce the carefully constructed shield she had placed around herself. Lucas had tried on many occasions only to be politely thanked for his concern and then ignored. He sighed and put his book down. "I've tried, Kincaid. Do you think I like seeing her like this anymore than the rest of you do? Frankly, I am sure that it's wounding me much more deeply than it's wounding any of you." The fact that it was wounding the other Síochán at all actually gave him some hope. If Summer could affect them when they were so used to being cold and immovable then maybe her pain and misery would not be for nothing. "You could visit Nathaniel, talk to him, beat the living crap out of him! Do something, anything to make him see sense!" Kincaid growled furiously throwing himself down into one of the chairs. "This isn't right, Lucas. Summer hasn't smiled properly in nearly a decade. She just does her assignments and then hides in her room. She doesn't interact with us on a personal level anymore!" Lucas couldn't help smiling as he regarded his friend. "You do know you're supposed to be Detachment," he observed with more than a hint of amusement in his tone. "I would have thought you would have been relieved that she didn't want to interact with you, especially as she's being very emotional at the moment." Kincaid snorted and looked away, his long brown hair partially covering his face for a moment. When he turned back he wore a troubled frown. "I don't understand why this matters to me, Lucas," he admitted. "I find myself missing our weekly chess games. Her grief is somehow managing to upset me. How is this possible?" "Because she's worked her way into your cold, icy heart?" Harlan laughed softly appearing at the side of his chair. "My, has even the mighty Kincaid fallen to our little angel's charms? I never thought I would see the day." "Harlan," Lucas sighed a hint of warning in his voice. He really didn't want Kincaid becoming any more aggravated than he already was. A perfect eyebrow arched in surprise when the brown haired Síochán appeared to nod his head in agreement at Harlan rather than react negatively. "Harlan, is right," Kincaid sighed. "I.....I care about Summer." It sounded as if it was the hardest thing he had ever had to admit to but he seemed almost relieved to have voiced the words even if he was still puzzled by his feelings. "It would appear we each have been drawn under her spell," Marcus agreed from the sofa beside Lucas. "The question is what are we going to do about the situation?" The room fell silent as they all looked at each other waiting for someone to speak first. "Perhaps we should make this official?" Harlan suggested moving to sit in the chair beside Kincaid. "Declare a meeting and 'limit' the participants? Where is Summer anyway?" Lucas frowned slightly, not liking the idea of having a secret meeting about the little blonde. "She's on assignment at the moment," he sighed, pursing his lips and wondering if he could talk them out of this 'discussion'. "Then this is the perfect time," Anton said quietly, appearing on one of the sofas, stretched out to his full length with his eyes closed. "I've closed off the meeting room in case Summer returns," he added. Lucas' frown deepened as he regarded Anton almost suspiciously. The others didn't seem to notice the look that passed between the two Síochán when Anton opened his eyes to meet Lucas' intense gaze. "It's time," Anton said cryptically and a flash of fear crossed Lucas' face and he swallowed hard. "What's time?" Marcus asked quietly, his eyes flickering between the two of them, sensing Lucas' sudden tension. "For decisions to be made," Anton answered with a small smile tugging at his lips. "I propose we remove Summer from the Síochán. She is clearly a liability and causing too much conflict within us." There was a stunned silence in the room for a second before everyone jumped up and started shouting over each other, everyone other than Lucas and Anton. "What the fuck do you mean by 'remove?'" Kincaid ground out harshly. Harlan's dark skin appeared to darken even further and his eyes flashed angrily. "Have you taken leave of your senses, Anton?" he demanded, his tone high pitched with outrage. "Don't even think about it!" Marcus hissed, his hands fisting into balls at his sides as he glared at the reclining Síochán with rage on his face. Lucas bit his lip and watched his friends' reaction to Anton's announcement, his own heart thumping heavily in his chest. He waited to see what Anton would do, his fear ratcheting up a notch. He knew he was powerless to stop this if it went to the extreme. He would have to take a side, and Anton knew that. He rose slowly and signalled the others to calm down. It took a few moments for the room to subside into silence. "We have already lost Nathaniel, Anton," he said calmly. "We cannot afford to lose Summer too. We need her, even you said so yourself." Anton sat up slowly, his expression carefully neutral as he looked around each of the Síochán before him, his eyes boring deeply into them as they swept past onto their next target. "Yes we needed Summer but I believe she has served her purpose now." The others looked between them, suddenly sensing something was not as it should be. Despite the lack of hierarchy within the Síochán ranks, they had all looked to Lucas as the final say in matters because he was Justice, because he was the first of them and had the first Scrying Fountain. Now it appeared that Lucas was looking at Anton as if the power rested with the other man. "Surely this is something which can be discussed further," Lucas answered quietly, his gaze never leaving Anton's, his big body tense. Anton sighed and rose from the sofa, coming to stand in front of the blond Síochán and placing a hand lightly on his chest. "The time for discussion is over, Lucas. There is only the decision of what to do about Summer left now. You have always trusted me, my friend. I ask that you trust me this one last time." "What the fuck is going on?" Kincaid hissed furiously, his eyes intent on the two men as he realised there was a subtle shifting of power going on within the room, that Anton was something more than any of them had previously realised. "Just who or what the fuck are you, Anton?" The question hung heavy on the air as Lucas slowly relaxed and turned to face the others at the brief nod he received from the man before him. "You all believe that I am the first of the Síochán," he began quietly, a rueful expression on his face. "I dare say that technically I am. Before me there was no Síochán." That brought startled looks from the others. How could there be no Síochán? How had balance been maintained if there was no Síochán to do so?" Lucas sighed deeply and moved back to the sofa, sitting down and waiting for everyone else to take their seats. He had to trust in Anton. He had been doing it his entire existence in this life and he hadn't let him down yet. "I was a young when I 'died' of a lung disease," he explained softly. "I didn't want to die and knew that I was. I had a wife, a young son whom I adored to distraction. I didn't want to leave them but it was inevitable. After I died, I woke up here, in a blinding white room. I'm sure you all remember the feeling of first waking in this realm. I was confused, angry, disorientated. Anton was here to meet me, to explain what had happened, to welcome me to the new world of the Síochán." Startled gasps filled the room and all eyes turned to Anton. "But you have the third Scrying Fountain," Harlan stammered out, his confusion clearly showing on his face. Anton shrugged. "I don't use it, Harlan," he sighed with a little smile tugging at his lips. "I only made the Fountains for you because you needed them to help you perform your tasks." "What are you?" Kincaid asked again, his voice hard with suspicion. "I don't have a name as such, Kincaid," the other man answered. "I am just Anton. For millennia I have watched over humanity, searching for a sign that there is something worthy within the tortured souls and being greatly disappointed that their need to kill each other, to hurt and maim each other, seemed to be the driving force of their existence. After a while I grew weary of it and considered leaving them to their own devices to allow them to destroy themselves. Then one day I saw Lucas and I felt something deep within me, almost a tiny spark of hope. I could see that he would leave the world below much too soon so when the time came I brought him here to my realm." Anton paused and smiled at Lucas before he turned his eyes back to the group. "Are you God?" Harlan asked almost reverently, stunned by what he was hearing but fascinated by it too. Anton laughed softly and shook his head. "He's on a completely different realm, my friend," he chuckled softly. "I am not The God, no, though I suppose if you must give me a title then I suppose demigod would be most fitting though not entirely accurate. It's the best I can come up with to satisfy your needs." "So, when you brought Lucas here, you didn't really need him to help you in anyway?" Marcus queried a thoughtful expression on his face. "You are more than capable of keeping the balance on your own." "Precisely," Anton smiled, his face beaming with pleasure as if he were a proud parent, exulting in his child's intelligent questions. "I brought Lucas to me because I wanted a reason to care, to keep working hard to shape humanity into what it could be. I had become disillusioned, ready to move on to some other task to wile away my time." He turned to smile sadly at Lucas. "I didn't count on how strong his grief would be though. He missed his family so much, spent endless hours at the Scrying Fountain I made him, watching their lives move on without him. I actually found myself weeping for his pain, he touched me so greatly. It gave me hope too. If such love and devotion could exist in one pure soul then maybe my work wasn't all in vain." Lucas swallowed hard and looked straight ahead, the memories of his first few years with Anton pressing down on him, the feeling of grief rising strong within him, echoing what he knew Summer must be currently feeling. He had to swallow hard a second time to contain his emotions. "It was at this point that I decided maybe I was the wrong person to be making the decisions for humanity," Anton continued. "Forgive me, Lucas, for what I now do," he added as a little aside to his dearest friend. "When Lucas came to me, distraught that he had witnessed the imminent death of his now grown son, an idea occurred to me that maybe a group of humans ascended to become the Síochán would be better guardians for humanity. I offered Lucas the chance to have his heart's desire. He accepted immediately. Nathaniel joined our ranks that very day." Complete utter silence filled the room as Anton's words slowly penetrated stunned minds. "Sweet Jesus!" Marcus hissed, all eyes turning to look at the blond Síochán. "Nathaniel is your son?" A pained expression crossed Lucas' face before he nodded slowly. "Nathaniel is my son," he said dully. "I never stopped to think of the consequences of my agreement when Anton made his offer. He was my world and always had been. As a child there was no father who could have loved his son more. When I was taken from him and his mother, they were all I could think of. Seeing that his life was to be cut short too was more than I could bear. I came to Anton because I wanted to plead with him to allow Nathaniel to ascend. I knew it was a selfish request but I just couldn't stand the thought of never seeing him again. Anton understood my need, my dilemma, and he graciously granted me some absolution by offering to ascend Nathaniel before I asked for it. But I would have asked anyway and we both knew it." The others were staring at Lucas in complete shock. How could they never have known this after all the time they had spent together? How could Lucas and Nathaniel have kept their relationship secret in all of that time? "That is why Anton was the one to pronounce judgement on Nathaniel," Harlan finally breathed softly. Anton smiled. "You skip ahead slightly in the tale, Harlan, but you are correct in that aspect. I would never have allowed Lucas to perform such a distasteful act against his own child." He smiled at Lucas and then sighed softly "The idea for the Síochán continued to grow inside of me and one by one you all came to join us here. I felt such hope for humanity as you all worked so tirelessly to achieve your goals. Then one day everything changed for the worse. You all stopped trying to find reasonable solutions on how to handle the over balance of good. It felt as if you all turned to stone at the very same moment. One day you looked for options and the next you decided killing the good people was the most effective way to deal with the problem." Anton pierced them with a sad gaze, sorrow lining his handsome face. "I knew then that I had failed. Raising you up worked only as long as you remembered your humanity. The moment you forgot that, you became cold, detached killers. Look at what you did to Summer. You all professed outrage at my words earlier but look at what you did to her." The Síochán looked at each other and then quickly looked away. It was clear they all felt uncomfortable, as if Anton's words were forcing them to look deep within themselves and they didn't like anything they were seeing. "You know what would have happened if she had lived," Kincaid finally said frowning deeply, not liking the way Anton was shaking his head almost wearily at him. "If Summer had lived the only thing that would have happened was she would have fallen in love with a man who adored her, gotten married, had a long and happy life with four beautiful children." Anton countered softly. "But those children would have had children and so on until her descendant was born," Marcus argued angrily. "You know what would have happened then. We searched the timeline. Going back as far as Summer was the quickest, least harmful way of resolving the issue." A touch of anger crossed Anton's face and he glared at Marcus hard as he tried to justify his actions. "One wave of your hand and she would have been barren," he said very quietly. "Not an entirely pleasant solution but one which would have allowed her to live. If that was too simple for any of you to think of then why deny Nathaniel her? If you had gone to him, told him to take her with him that night he would have sired her into the life of a vampire. No meeting of her prospective husband, no children, a completely different future but one where she would have been blissfully happy. Not one of you even considered that, did you?" The silence after his words said it all. He worked hard to dampen down his anger because he wasn't really angry with them. He was more angry with himself for failing again. "You could have stepped in at any time, Anton," Lucas said angrily. "I did," Anton sighed wearily. "Why do you think I spent so much time with Nathaniel, Lucas? I wanted to believe that even the most hardened of the Síochán could remember what it was to love. Nathaniel was my last attempt at teaching the Síochán that their humanity was still inside of them, that YOU had the capacity to change, to realise that you had travelled down the wrong path. If the Síochán could learn that then so could humanity and I would not be wasting my time working so hard for something that was unattainable. So I took Zeal and I whispered in his ear and he unbent slowly. He fell instantly in love with Summer and my hope was renewed once more." Lucas frowned slowly and looked down at the floor. "Until we stepped in once more," he said quietly. "Instead of learning from Nathaniel's new found humanity we fought against it." "Precisely," Anton frowned. "You didn't listen to him, not one of you. Oh, your reaction was slightly different, Lucas, because you loved him so much but you still didn't listen to him. You saw his wanting to leave as a betrayal. You'd quite literally moved a form of Heaven to give him this life and he was throwing it away in your eyes. He was rejecting the Síochán, my friend. He wasn't rejecting you. He loved you, admired you, looked up to you and you never saw it. You just saw what you wanted to." "Stop," Lucas choked out burying his head in his hands as Anton's words struck home and seared his heart. He didn't need his friend to point out where he had failed his son. He was acutely aware of every wrong decision he had made with regards to Nathaniel. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Lucas," Anton said soothingly, coming to sit beside him and placing a hand on his hunched shoulder. "Even when you erred in your judgement your love for Nathaniel still held strong. I knew you wouldn't be able to see his life end. I chose to place him so far from Summer's timeline to see what you would do. You didn't disappoint me. You gave him the will to seek out a way to live. What you placed inside his head that day was not done out of malice as the others believed. You gave Nathaniel the impetus to find a way to survive. He chose the route of becoming a vampire and you allowed him to retain as much of his Síochán abilities as you could. It didn't make him immortal but it made him stronger than most other beings to walk the world below. It gave him the longevity to meet his Summer, to know her and love her." He smiled again and patted Lucas' shoulder. "You gave me hope too in that one kindness you did for your son. If you had remained unbent towards him then I think I truly would have given up completely. Yes, you made mistakes but you made them because your humanity was reasserting itself. Unfortunately it was the wrong kind of emotions rearing their ugly head but it was start in the right direction." Lucas straightened, once more in control of his emotions. He appreciated Anton's attempt to alleviate some of his guilt but he knew his decisions were not so easily forgiven by Nathaniel. He didn't expect them to be. "So now we are full circle," he said wearily. "What is your decision about Summer?" He didn't look at Anton, afraid to see what may be in this demigod's face. He didn't think he had the strength right now to fight anymore. He was raw and exposed and so very tired of everything. "Summer has served her purpose," Anton said once more with a small sigh. "She has taught each and every one of you to love again, in many different ways. You all still need a lot of work though," he said slightly ruefully. "You all naturally assumed that I meant some harm to our little blonde beauty when I first arrived. I'm rather disappointed in that but being a teacher is such a hard task at times. It is not I who will make the decision about Summer. It is the Síochán. Her fate is in your hands. I have faith that you will choose wisely." Anton vanished from the room leaving the Síochán reeling from all that had been revealed. A long uncomfortable silence followed as they each tried not to look at anyone too closely. "Well, I suppose it's not every day you find out you're surplus to requirements," Marcus finally said with a little laugh. The others looked at him and he shrugged. "Anton doesn't really need us," he explained. The Síochán Ch. 06 "I disagree," Kincaid remarked thoughtfully. "He is clearly lonely but very dedicated to the task he set out to achieve. If he didn't need us then he wouldn't have fought so hard for us. He has always taken a back seat, only commenting when he really needed to. He has allowed us a free hand in the hopes that we would learn from our mistakes. I suggest it is time that we do so otherwise he may very well give up on humanity completely and none of us want that. Whether or not we went about things in the wrong way, our goal has always been ingrained in us, to protect humanity, to keep the balance." Harlan snorted softly and ran a hand over his bald head. "I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact Nathaniel is Lucas' son and we never knew about it. Or about the fact that Anton was a demigod." "I don't want to talk about it," Lucas growled softly piercing Harlan with a steely gaze, his expression hard. "Maybe that's where we've all been going wrong," Marcus mused quietly. "We've never really spoken to each other. Not about anything important like our lives before we came here, how we feel about what we do. Maybe if we had then things would not have deteriorated to this point?" Another long silence greeted Marcus' words as they all silently thought over the implications of the day. "First we need to discuss what to do about Summer," Lucas broke the silence. "We can evaluate just what our goals are going to be after that." "She's one of us," Harlan said quietly. "Her place is here with us. The issue isn't Summer, it's Nathaniel." He kept a wary eye on Lucas as he spoke. The truth of the relationship between the two Síochán changed everything. Lucas met his gaze and frowned slightly as he correctly interpreted the expression on the dark skinned Síochán's face. This had been the reason they had never revealed their family connection. It would have hampered the work of the Síochán if the others had known, made them less free with their arguments and opinions if they conflicted with either Lucas or Nathaniel's. He stifled down a deep sigh. Now the truth was out, there was no way Nathaniel could return to the Síochán, even if he wanted to. That really left only one decision to be made. He looked at each other them individually, saw understanding blossom in their eyes as they silently acknowledged to themselves that Nathaniel could no longer return to them. "It's going to become boring around here again," Marcus finally said quietly, a slight frown on his face. "I was enjoying having our little bundle of chaos stirring things up." Silence greeted his words for a long time. "Then the decision has been made?" Lucas answered, waiting for everyone to agree quietly. His heart felt heavy at the prospect of losing Summer and yet knowing that Nathaniel would no longer be wandering alone, that they would no longer be suffering from their separation made up for his own loss. "She shouldn't have to remember this," he sighed deeply. "It is my judgement we return to the beginning and right the wrong that was done not only to Summer but to Nathaniel too." There was no disagreement when he finished speaking. _____ The night was still dark, though the first signs of dawn were slowly starting to break through the star filled sky. They didn't have a lot of time. The four beautiful men stood behind shields of invisibility, staring silently at the house before them. Each one smiled as they thought of the occupant of the house, of how her eyes shone with such laughter or flared with such anger depending on her mood. How she'd invaded their hearts and turned their lives upside down forever. Sometimes Chaos was the most wonderful thing, even if it hurt to let it go. "Harlan, the lodger," Lucas said quietly, his expression pensive. His companion nodded without a word, taking off into the night away from the house. Lucas took a step forward but Kincaid halted him with a hand to his arm. "I'll do it," he said quietly. "This is too much to ask of you. You have suffered enough even if you will never truly believe that." Lucas hesitated. It was his place to do this, his actions which had set all of this in motion all those millennia ago. "Listen to him," Marcus growled. "Nathaniel will not stop to listen to either Kincaid or myself. He will stop for you. We are all responsible, Lucas. We all need to atone for our roles in this." Lucas nodded slowly, feeling weak for being relieved that he wouldn't be the one responsible for what was to happen. He didn't think he could do it. Not to Summer. He peeled away and disappeared to the right, vanishing into the darkness. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Marcus asked quietly. He knew that despite his aloofness, Kincaid was probably the one who felt the most for the pretty little blonde inside, after Nathaniel and Lucas. "You can monitor the family and I can do it." The tall brown haired Síochán shook his head. "No, I will do this for her," he answered quietly. "It is the least I can do." He walked forward towards the house, his step heavy with dread even though he knew what he was about to do was the right thing. The sound of the front door opening surprised Summer and she turned with a thumping heart wondering if Nathaniel had returned. She stared mutely at the beautiful man who came to stand in the doorway to the parlour. He was breathtaking to look at. He reminded her of Nathaniel in a way only his eyes seemed to be full of a deep sadness. "Who are you?" she managed to get out, her hand clutching at the neck of her nightgown as she gazed at her second visitor for the night. She had not known this one was coming, unlike Nathaniel whose visit had been a certainty. "Kincaid," he breathed softly stepping into the room and slowly walking towards her. She felt fear begin to build inside her and she stepped away from him. "What do you want?" her voice shook as she spoke and she was perplexed by the sad expression on his beautiful face. "To apologise," he whispered, suddenly standing right before her without seeming to have moved at all. She let out a startled squeak as a hand circled the nape of her neck and tilted her head up to look at him. "For what?" she heard herself asking, her voice barely above a whisper. "For this, sweet Summer," he groaned softly an instant before she felt a deep stabbing pain in her abdomen. She screamed as waves of agony engulfed her body and her knees buckled. He caught her easily, a tear sliding down his cheek as he carried her over to the sofa and laid her down gently. "Forgive me," he whispered placing a gentle kiss on her brow before he turned and left. Summer clutched at her stomach, feeling the stickiness of her blood seeping out of the gaping wound in her body. The pain was an agony that brought tears to her eyes. She was dying and she knew it. Why had he done this? Who was he and how did he know her name? Why had a beautiful angel come down from the Heavens and ended her life? _____ Nathaniel slipped out of the house casting a last look behind him. He was overcome with the urge to return to her, to gather her into his arms and steal her away into the night. He had never felt such a deep, utter need for a woman before but something about the ethereal little beauty he was walking away from called to his very soul. Dawn would be here soon. He had to get home safely before the sunlight broke. He moved swiftly, hurrying through the darkness. The scent of a Síochán suddenly assaulted his nostrils and he stopped instantly, his pressing need quickly forgotten. "Nathaniel," Lucas said from the darkness and he whirled around to stare into the eyes of the man he hadn't seen in a millennia and hoped never to have seen again. "You have to go back, Nathaniel," Lucas urged softly. "Summer needs you." The sound of Summer's name on the Síochán's lips seemed to break down some invisible block in his mind and Nathaniel howled in pain and dropped to his knees with his head in his hands. Memories long buried surfaced, Summer, his love for her, his inability to end her life, the Síochán's punishment of him for not doing so. "What have you done!" he hissed furiously glaring up at Lucas through a haze of pain. "Have you done it? Have you hurt her? Please, God, tell me you haven't hurt her!" "She needs you, Nathaniel," Lucas urged hauling him up from the ground. "She has little time left but if you go fast enough you can save her." "The dawn!" Nathaniel groaned his tortured gaze turning to the heavens which were already much too light for his comfort. There would be little point in saving Summer if the dawn came. Lucas gripped his head between his hands and brought his gaze level with his. His eyes shone with all the love he felt for his son. "Trust me, Nathaniel," he whispered. "Just once, that's all I ask. Trust that despite everything I would never let you die." They stared mutely at each other for a brief moment and then Nathaniel broke free turning around and blurring back towards the house, to his Summer who needed him. He was through the door and beside the sofa in an instant, rage flaring through him at the blood soaking her nightgown, her pale, pain filled face. "Nathaniel," she whispered weakly. "I hurt." Her voice trailed off into tortured sobs as the agony consumed her and she felt herself begin to weaken more. It would not be long now before so much blood had left her body there would be nothing left for her heart to pump around. Then it would stop beating. Nathaniel growled softly, pushing up her nightgown, searching for the wound which was slowly killing her. So much blood had been lost but she still retained enough. He had never done this before but he knew the theory of it. It was the only way to save her. He buried his mouth against her wound, licking at her blood as he coated her liberally with his saliva. The wound was blessedly small enough that it closed quickly, sealing it what little blood she still retained. She didn't have enough to keep her alive. He knew it and the only available option open to her. He cradled her gently in his arms, giving her a little shake to open her eyes. "Summer," he breathed softly. "Stay with me. Please. I don't think I could bear walking this world without you in it. Stay with me forever. Just say the words and we can be together for eternity." He didn't want to take the decision away from her. Choice had been taken away from him long ago and he wouldn't do that to Summer. It was her choice to make. Her green eyes clouded with pain as she looked up at him. "Forever?" she breathed softly. Forever with this beautiful man who had stolen her chastity and then her heart in the space of a handful of hours? A chance for a life lived by his side for eternity? She would be like him, a vampire. She knew it because she knew she was past the point of surviving as a human. "Yes," she whispered, her eyes fluttering closed. Nathaniel expelled the breath he was holding so tightly. He sliced into the side of his neck and brought her mouth to the wound. He didn't need to drain any of her blood, she had lost enough from the knife wound in her abdomen. "Drink, Summer," he groaned softly, forcing his blood down her throat until she began to suckle softly and then more firmly. It took only moments for the transfer of blood to be achieved, for her heart to suddenly start pounding more strongly and her body to begin the change to her new vampire state as she slipped slowly into unconsciousness as her body sought to heal itself. Nathaniel breathed a sigh of relief that he had been in time but it was short lived as he saw the lightness of the sky. With a muffled curse he stripped off his cloak and wrapped Summer securely in it as he turned to head out into the approaching dawn. He wasn't afraid that his life was about to end but he was afraid for Summer. She deserved so much better than this. He prayed his Síochán strength would hold strong enough to allow him to get her safely back to his dark room. If he succumbed to the burns then that was a price he was willing to pay to ensure her safety. Lucas was waiting just outside the house, Marcus, Kincaid and Harlan standing a slight distance away. "Wait, Nathaniel," Lucas said, stepping forward and placing one hand on his head and the other on Summer's. He held his hands briefly against them and then smiled slowly as he peeled back the cloak to look down at Summer. "The sunlight!" Nathaniel hissed furiously. "Will not harm her," Lucas said gently, stroking an errant curl from the unconscious woman's face. "She was never meant to walk in darkness, Nathaniel. She is Summer by name and summer by nature. She should never be denied the light." The sun was breaking the horizon, casting the first rays on all of them. Nathaniel stared in amazement as his skin didn't begin to blister, as Summer's beautiful face remained unblemished as the light hit her. "What did you do?" he asked, his voice full of awe as he greeted his first dawn in over a thousand years. "I told you to trust me," Lucas sighed softly. "I know that's not always an easy thing between us but you will always be my son, Nathaniel. I will never let you die if it is in my power to stop it." Nathaniel stared at Lucas his thoughts in turmoil. He knew this was Síochán doing, that something had occurred in the future which had caused all of the Síochán to come back into his past to change it. What it was he had no idea but it appeared to be something crucial. "Do you want to know?" Lucas asked quietly correctly guessing his son's thoughts. Nathaniel nodded slowly, tensing when the Síochán's hands once more touched him, a wealth of images flooding his mind. What might have been rocked him to his very core, the revelations about Anton stunning him completely, the tentative beginnings of the Síochán to question their actions the most surprising thing of all. All because of his Summer. He gave Lucas a level look, raising an eyebrow at the one part of the story he was most definitely not impressed with. "You think you are the only one who could love her?" Lucas asked with a sad smile. "She reminds me so much of your mother at times. She has her same joy of life and fiery temper when riled. Being with her will be one of my most treasured memories even if it is something you never forgive me for, Nathaniel." Nathaniel considered how he felt about it, staring into Summer's beautiful face as he did so. All of the Síochán had come to love his woman in their own way. If Lucas' love was the same as his then it was only natural that he would want to be with her. Nathaniel couldn't imagine anyone denying him loving Summer when he felt so strongly about her. He weighed up what was taken from him and what had been given back to him. The Síochán were trying to atone, they were making the first steps towards becoming what they were truly meant to be. As long as he had Summer at his side it was something he could come to terms with in time. "Thank you, Father," he said softly, a small smile tugging at his lips as he saw the brief flash of joy that crossed Lucas' face. He was still angry with the other man but he offered the first tentative olive branch to him. He was sure that Summer wouldn't allow him to continue to hold his grudge against the Síochán. A sudden thought struck him. "Will she remember?" Technically none of it had happened for Summer yet and never would now the timeline had been changed. "No, son, though I have left her with the same abilities as you. She will instinctually remember her training so she will be able to take care of herself. But she will not remember anything of us." Nathaniel frowned and pursed his lips, his thoughts racing. She had lived that life, known the joy and the pain of it. She had been instrumental in so much. It seemed wrong that she wouldn't remember it. "She deserves to know, Lucas," he said. Lucas regarded him intently for a long moment and then nodded slowly. Nathaniel was right. Summer did deserve to know. "I can moderate what she remembers," he answered quietly but Nathaniel was shaking his head instantly. "She deserves to know everything, Lucas," he said firmly. "She loved you, a part of her may always love you. I will not deny her anything even if it isn't to my liking." It was probably one of the hardest decisions he had ever had to make but he knew it was the right decision. For a brief moment he almost understood what Lucas must have felt like when he had made all the hard decisions in his life. Another icy block thawed from his heart as he looked at his father. Perhaps all hope was not lost for them given a little more time. "You shame me, Nathaniel," Lucas whispered quietly before he laid his hands on Summer's face and gave her the memories of the life she had almost been forced to live forever. He stepped back and smiled. "The Síochán will no longer invade your lives, Nathaniel. But if either of you should ever need us then all you have to do is call one of our names. It will flag a red warning in the Scrying Fountains and one of us will be with you in an instant." Nathaniel looked over at the Síochán pinning Kincaid with a hard glare, his eyes letting the other man know that he knew whose hand had placed the knife in Summer's body. Kincaid merely smiled and nodded his head in acknowledgement. They had never been friends but Nathaniel knew that despite that, the Síochán had not acted in malice. He had merely been doing what he was tasked to do. "Remember, just call if you should need us," Lucas said, his voice bringing Nathaniel's gaze back to his father. "And tell Summer...well tell her that we all hope in time she will forgive us and think kindly of us once again." Nathaniel smiled softly as he looked down at his precious woman. "I don't think you'll have to worry about her forgiveness, Lucas. She has a generous soul." He nodded to the Síochán and then turned away, staring up at the sun as if fascinated by its very existence. It had been so long since he had seen it. It was almost as breathtaking as Summer. He turned to look back and found the street empty, the Síochán once more the elusive body known now to two people walking the mortal world. _____ Summer sighed softly and cuddled into the warm, hard body pressed against her. Nathaniel's musky scent tickled her nostrils and she snuggled a little closer to him, her arms gripping him tightly. Her eyes suddenly shot open and she tilted her head back in shock. Memories flooded through her startled mind, both old and new ones crashing together in a confusing kaleidoscope of different timelines and staggering revelations. She was a vampire? Lucas was Nathaniel's father? Anton a demigod? Was any of it possible or was it all a dream? Nathaniel was definitely real. He was lying sleeping beside her with his arms wrapped protectively around her body as if afraid she would vanish if he let go. Summer tried to filter all the information but it was so staggering. If she was understanding everything correctly she had never lived the life of a Síochán because they were technically back at the time when she had first met Nathaniel. But she felt as if she had lived that life. Despite all the misery and heartache she wanted to retain her memories of that life. It had shaped her and made her stronger. Nathaniel was a part of those memories, their chaotic relationship growing tentatively in that timeline. She needed to have lived that with him. She didn't ever want to give up one precious second with her beautiful vampire. She felt Nathaniel wake, his body tensing for an instant as he realised she was awake. His eyes slowly opened to stare down intently into hers. "Summer?" he breathed tentatively, trepidation crossing his beautiful face as he waited to see what her reaction to everything was going to be. The Síochán Ch. 06 She gave him a level look before she rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "No more secrets!" she said firmly, poking him in the chest to emphasise her words. She pushed against his body until he was lying flat on his back and she was straddling his lean hips. For a moment she could only stare down at him, her heart thumping loudly as she saw the look of uncertainty in his eyes. Was he worried because he had turned her into a vampire? It was a shock, she had to admit that but it had been necessary to keep the Síochán happy and to ensure she could be with him. "It's okay," she said softly, leaning down and brushing her lips gently across his. "You asked me and I agreed. I knew what you were asking even though I didn't have my Síochán memories at the time." "You forgive me?" he whispered, not really knowing what part of his foolish actions he was asking her forgiveness for. He just knew he had caused her such pain when he could have ended their torment so much quicker by agreeing to return to the Síochán. "I can't believe you kept your relationship with Lucas a secret from me, Nathaniel," she said almost wearily as she looked down at him. "No wonder you were so angry and full of pain. If you'd told me I could have done something about it, made it better for both of you. We could have avoided all those years, Nathaniel." It was slightly disconcerting having a conversation about something she technically hadn't experienced but she felt the emotions as if they were real. He scowled slightly and looked away. Her words stung him because he knew he should have told her. If he had then maybe she would have understood why he could never return to the Síochán. Maybe he wouldn't have hurt her so much if he'd taken the risk and trusted fully in her. "And that has to stop too," she said with her own deep scowl on her face, a tense edge to her tone. "You will stop shutting me out, Nathaniel. Enough of this melancholic, tortured vampire routine. It's full of self pity and very unattractive." Her lips twitched slightly as she spoke. "Though you can keep wearing all black," she conceded with a little laugh. "You look as sexy as sin itself when you do." His eyes shot back to hers, a slow smile crossing his lips at her outrageous words. This morning he thought he was getting his shy little demure Summer but it appeared she retained the full, feisty personality from her memories of being a Síochán. He found himself immensely pleased at that thought, his body starting to react to her soft curves fitting so snugly against him. "Any more demands?" he asked dryly, his green eyes glinting with amusement. She appeared to ponder for a moment and then smiled widely at him. "No more hovels!" she remarked firmly, letting her eyes travel around the dark room with a slight wrinkling of her perfect little nose. "I'm not living in squalor even if you think it's the best way to live. I want a proper home with no one else in it but us. None of this nomadic wandering either. I don't mind travelling now and then but I'm not spending my entire life doing so." She paused for breath and trapped his gaze with hers as she watched him try not to laugh at her. She truly was amazing, his sweet little Summer. If only he'd known what he was letting himself in for when he fell in love with the little spitfire. She was mapping his whole life out for him in a handful of sentences and he was amazed to find that he didn't care in the least. As long as he had her in his life he was willing to live how she wanted them to. He had a feeling she wasn't quite finished yet so held his tongue but shot her a quizzical look. Summer took a deep breath, amazed he wasn't arguing with her. So far. This next demand might be more that he could take. "No more wasting of this wonderful gift you've been given, Nathaniel," she said softly, feeling him tense beneath her. She cupped his cheeks gently and leaned down to brush her lips softly against his. "It is a gift, love," she whispered softly. "You have the power to make things right in this world. We both do. If we get in the way of anything we shouldn't I'm sure 'they' will let us know. But that doesn't mean we can't use the powers given to us to do some good down here." Her lips continued to brush against his as he tried to fight against her, feeling himself losing the battle of wills with his beloved little woman. He didn't want to be involved in anything that smacked even remotely of being a Síochán. He had known she would press him to let go of his animosity towards them but he had never thought she would want him to actively participate in situations down here in the mortal world. "Summer," he growled loudly, pushing her away and sitting up as he did so. She stared up at him, a stubborn expression on her angelic little face which didn't quite hide the hint of a plea in her eyes. He bit down a curse and looked away from her. He could do most of what she asked of him but this last thing? He turned to her again and opened his mouth to deny her but nothing came out. He groaned loudly and leaned over her, kissing her soundly, his body humming with pleasure at her sweet taste. "Are you finished now?" he sighed wearily when he raised his head and rolled his eyes, silently acknowledging her last demand. He couldn't deny her this. Not after everything they had been through. Summer had an inbuilt need to save the world and he would be right by her side every step of the way. "Lucas?" she said with a hopeful note in her voice. Nathaniel stiffened and groaned harshly, burying his head in the side of her neck. "You want my soul too?" he ground out through clenched teeth. "Summer, you have no idea what you're asking of me here." He felt her soft fingers trail through his hair and some of the tension left his body though he was still struggling to contain his emotions. "I think I do, love," she breathed softly. "Forgiveness is one of the hardest things a person ever has to do, Nathaniel. Only when you can truly forgive, can you start to move on and find complete happiness. If you hold onto any of the hate in your heart you will never fully be happy. We will never be fully happy." She suddenly laughed softly, rubbing against his body lightly. "And I thought I already had your soul," she laughed. "I must have slipped up somewhere." He raised his head and stared down into her impish little face and started to laugh. "I love you so much," he breathed, a note of reverence entering his tone. "I don't deserve you but I'll never let you go now, Summer Melrose. You've had my soul since the very first moment I laid eyes on you all those centuries ago." His laughter eased and he stared raptly into her exquisite face, his eyes tracing each perfect feature, seeing the love shining out of her eyes. Hope for the future was lying in his arms. He was being offered everything. All he had to do was accept her love and allow her generous soul to heal him and the life before him was full of such wonderful possibilities. "I will try, Summer," he promised softly. "It won't be easy but maybe it won't be as impossible as I once thought it would be." It was the best he could give her but it was more than he had ever thought he would be capable of. "That's all I ask, Nathaniel," she sighed softly. "That you be willing to try. I have faith in you, love and we have all the time in the world." Her face suddenly broke into a wide smile and her leg rubbed against the back of his. "Do I need these?" she asked impishly. Nathaniel threw his head back and roared with laughter as he felt the soft leather of those damned boots running against his skin. She was completely outrageous! And she was his forever. His eyes glinted with need as he pressed his throbbing cock against her soft body. "No, you don't need them but feel free to keep them on if you want to," he laughed huskily as his mouth lowered to devour hers in a deep drugging kiss. The scent of her arousal was strong and he pressed between her legs impatiently. They'd take their time the next time. For now he wanted to be buried in the hot, welcoming sheath of her body. He thrust into her, growling his pleasure as she wrapped around him so perfectly, her silken walls caressing his hard shaft so deliciously. She muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like something to do with foreplay. He answered her with another hard lunge into her very core which pulled a loud moan from her lips. "Do you want me to stop?" he growled softly. "So you can have some of that foreplay you're complaining about?" Another muffled moan escaped her as her hips bucked up to meet his next thrust. "Stop and I'll kill you," she growled back at him, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist to keep him firmly pinned to her body. He laughed softly and rode into her body in hard, fast thrusts. Finesse was for later, for now he needed to stamp his possession on her, to let her know in no uncertain terms that they belonged together and he would never let her go again. Their coming together was fast and furious and so incredibly delicious Nathaniel thought he could forgive anything now his Summer belonged so completely to him. She shattered beneath him and he followed her instantly, bathing her beautiful body with his hot cum, his breathing harsh and ragged as he emptied himself inside her. Being with Summer was complete perfection. Loving her soothed his soul as nothing else could. He cradled her close as they came down from their first rapid joining. He couldn't believe he had forever to be with her like this. The sun no longer could hurt them, the power of Síochán blood still ran through their veins so they would never need to feed from anyone other than each other. The only thing that could truly hurt them would be losing their heads but they were two of the most powerful beings to walk the mortal world so that would be highly unlikely. They had eternity together if they were smart about it. Summer sighed contentedly and cuddled into Nathaniel. There was so much life to live stretching out before them, so much loving and good to be done in the world. She was optimistic that Nathaniel was well on the road to healing even if he maybe didn't really believe it himself yet. She had plenty of time to teach him. She smiled slowly as she ran a hand lightly between them, her delight evident that her Síochán skills of being able to clean up instantly were still in place. The fact she could magic her boots on had given her the hint that she retained all of her Síochán abilities with the exception of being able to return to the realm above. A sudden thought struck her and her eyes narrowed as she turned her face up to look at her vampire. "I think you have some explaining to do," she remarked drolly, quirking an eyebrow at him. She sat up and tested her skills, clothing herself fully and then leaving herself naked again. Nathaniel grinned sheepishly. "Ah, I forgot about that," he said with a little laugh. "Why did you hide the fact you retained all of your Síochán skills? You had me doing all the work, zipping us around the place, getting us naked," she smiled slightly at the naked part. That had been a lot of fun. Then she scowled darkly at him again. He smiled up at her. "To be honest, it had been such a long time since I'd used my full abilities I'd almost forgotten I had them," he admitted. "I didn't want to be a Síochán. The only ability I really used was the invisibility shield. An odd occasion I would mask my scent. I didn't not tell you because I wanted to keep it a secret. I was just more used to relying on my vampiric abilities." Summer shook her head slowly. "You've been living in denial for such a long time, Nathaniel," she said with a slightly sad expression crossing her face for a moment. He smiled softly, reaching up to pull her down to him. "I've a feeling you've no intention of allowing me to continue to do so," he murmured against her lips before he gave in to the temptation to explore her mouth in a deep, lusty kiss. Summer relaxed into the kiss, melting into his arms. He really had some odd notions sometimes but she would cure him of those given time. His kiss ignited her passion instantly and she quickly forgot about Síochán abilities and who had what. Her breath started to quicken as she felt her need for him spark to life. "Now about that foreplay..........?" she laughed lightly, her laughter turning to a squeal of delight as Nathaniel quickly buried his head between her thighs and slowly began to run his wet tongue against the heated flesh of her pussy. Her back arched and she shuddered in pleasure as he slowly stroked his tongue lovingly along her slit and then teased the little bundle of nerves that was begging for his touch. She let him play with her for a few seconds more before she twisted agilely in his grasp until he was beneath her and she was lovingly taking his throbbing cock deep into her mouth. He groaned loudly and buried his mouth back against her throbbing pussy as she sucked his cock with relish. This position was so wicked, giving him complete access to her body while she thoroughly enjoyed his. The more he teased her pussy with his wicked mouth the harder she suckled at his cock as they fuelled each others lust with their individual actions. Summer was cumming hard before she knew it, desperate to taste Nathaniel in her mouth but he had more control than she did. She finally conceded defeat as she rested her head against his thigh as he licked up all her juices as her body continued to quake with little aftershocks of pleasure. Nathaniel feasted on her beautiful body, smiling against her heated flesh when he won the contest between them. It had been difficult to hold back his own pleasure but he wanted Summer to completely enjoy hers with no interruptions. He scooped her up in his arms as he sat up and pressed her forward until she was on her hands and knees. He growled at the sexy sight before him, managing to get himself out from under her body as he leaned forward to kiss the soft curves of her ass. He treated himself to a taste of her delectable body, his tongue finding her little rosebud and dipping inside to lick slowly before he kissed his way up her spine. He was impaling her on his throbbing cock as he reached her collarbone, sinking deep and hard into her. She was so addictive his Summer. The moment he finished having her he wanted her instantly again. He stroked into her tightness, groaning loudly to match her deep moans. "I can't get enough of you," he growled hoarsely, his cock plunging deep only to withdraw and sink back into her scalding heat. She groaned and pressed back against him, her inner walls pulsing with pleasure as his rigid cock grazed her body hard with each deep stroke. She was as addicted to him as he was to her, her love for him transcending everything. She cried out loudly as she felt the tension coil in her stomach and knew she was seconds away from another mind blowing climax. She shattered, her body exploding with ecstasy as Nathaniel rocked hard and fast into her, his cock expanding a second before he began to pulse deep within her once more. He growled his pleasure loudly, his breathing harsh and frantic as he ground his cock as deep inside her body as he could. Hearts hammering loudly they collapsed to the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. "You seriously are going to be the death of me," Nathaniel groaned through tortured breaths. "What a way to go," Summer laughed through her own ragged breathing. "I could do this all day long but if you don't have the stamina..?" She squealed with laughter as he smothered her mouth with his, a large hand connecting with her backside in a light slap. "You'll pay for that remark," he laughed against her lips as she wriggled against him making his breath catch in his throat. "Summer!" he groaned in exasperation as she tried to tempt him again with her luscious little body. "There is more to life than sex! You did just give me a list of all the things you wanted. Like a house, which will need decorated and furnished and all those silly little things. Then there's the question of which part of the world you actually want to live in. I suppose we need to discuss that before we buy a house. Oh, and how are we going to buy a house? We don't exactly have any money. Or are you just intending to use magic to achieve all that?" Summer started to laugh and found she couldn't stop. She giggled until tears ran down her face, Nathaniel's quizzical expression just making her laugh harder. She had created a monster! Her beautiful vampire had no idea just how endearing he was as he started trying to plan their life together, his thoughts turning to such mundane, practical things like houses and furnishings. "Oh God, how I love you, Nathaniel," she finally managed to choke out through the tears and laughter. His expression was still completely perplexed but he smiled, his eyes lighting up with joy as he stared down at her. "And I love you, Summer," he whispered softly, folding her into his warm embrace and kissing her with a slow, loving joining of their lips. Summer sighed and nestled against his chest, safe within his arms and the warmth of his love. They could discuss where they lived later. The future would take care of itself. For now she was where she was meant to be, where she would always be from this moment onwards. Safe in the arms of her beautiful vampire. The End.