7 comments/  16068 views/  5 favorites

Cazi's Journey

By: Skidder



Cassandra's eyes snapped open, her hands reaching up to her neck, remembering the feel of her blood running down her neck. She could tell she was in her bedroom in her apartment on Thames Street. She began to convince herself that the memories of her bleeding and dying were nothing more than a bad dream as she looked around. There was little light but her eyes had no problem picking out every little detail in the dark room: the half-burned logs in the fireplace, the lace on the table, the empty chair at the table opposite the not-so-empty one. The man occupying the chair was the same man she had met at the pub the night before. His eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as he sat in the chair watching her.

Several things came to her at once. First was an incredible sense of thirst, or maybe hunger, pervaded her entire body. The next thing she noticed was the feel of the bedclothes against the skin of her back. She looked down and, with a gasp, noticed that she was naked atop her covers. She quickly crossed her arms over her ample bosom and sat up, raising one sleek thigh slightly to block any sight of her. "Who are you?" She spat out nervously. "What are you doing in my room?"

The man smiled. "You invited me here last night, Cassandra. As for who I am, I am Alfred. We met last night at the play you attended after the day's events at the Olympics." The man kept his smile in place, his lips not moving although she heard his voice clearly in her mind. "Remember, Cassandra. Remember it all."

Her eyes widened as a blur of memories surged into her mind as she heard his voice in her head. She wasn't able to pick any one thing out of the blurred rush of images but she did remember meeting him at the theater she had gone to in order to see a play she had been dying to see. She lunged out of her bed and ran to her dressing closet, her long coppery curls flowing behind her. She grabbed a thick robe from the closet and held it in front of her as she swung it around her, turning her back to the strange man in her room, apparently at her invitation.

"I... I remember." Now that she remembered the man in her room, she remembered other things: the feel of his cool hands sliding over her warm flesh, the hardness of his body against hers, the feel of his manhood driving deep into her again and again. She also remembered the feel of his teeth sliding into the skin of her inner thigh, breast and neck as they had sex. She shook her head, trying again to convince herself that those memories were just part of her dream.

"It was no dream, Cassandra." She turned to look at him in shock as he answered her thoughts aloud. He just smiled his smile and nodded. "It really happened. I fed from you and you fed from me. That is why you are feeling the thirst and hunger you are feeling." Alfred rose and smoothed down his coat.

"What did you do to me?" Cassandra said, her thoughts racing. "How did you know what I was thinking?" Her words came out in a rush as she stared at the man in shock.

Alfred smiled and held one pale hand out to her. "I made you eternally young and beautiful, my sweet Cazi. Soon I will go and bring you something to take care of your thirst." He kept his hand held out to her as she refused to move.

Horror swept through her as she heard his words, his voice again triggering memories in her mind so vivid that she didn't even register the name he had called her, a name she had not heard except from her family and their servants when she was a child in India. She staggered over to the bed and sat down hard, her mind carried away by the rush of memories of yesterday flowing through her mind.

The stands in the White City stadium were packed to overflowing with people watching for the arrival of the marathon runners. Cassandra Bevington waved her fan back and forth in front of her face to cool herself off as she looked around waiting for the runners to arrive. The race had started nearly three hours before and she knew that they should be arriving at any time. She had not expected the day's heat to get as bad as it had but she was glad that she had brought a fan with her to help keep her somewhat cool.

A thunderous cheer got her attention and she rose, looking in the direction of the entrance to the stadium. The Italian runner had just entered the stadium. She could see that the man was exhausted from the nearly twenty-six mile run in the heat. A small laugh escaped her as she saw the man turn the wrong way. The laugh was cut short by a gasp as the man fell to the ground. The crowd continued to cheer as the man struggled to get to his feet.

Fanning her face with her folding fan she looked on in shock as a pair of men ran out onto the track. Each one of them grabbed an arm and helped the runner to his feet. "Is that legal?" she asked the man next to her cheering loudly. He apparently did not hear her as he continued cheering without even acknowledging her question. As she watched the runner fell three more times, slipping from the helping grasp of the two men moving beside him. They half-carried him almost to the finish line. As they approached the line they let go of his arms, letting him cross the line under his own power.

As the fans packing the stadium went berserk cheering the finish the second place runner entered the stadium. The Italian runner, Dorando Pietri, was announced as the winner but she could not hear the name as the announcer with his cone spoke. It quickly made its way through the crowd as well as the name of the second place runner, American Johnny Hayes. She saw officials gathering around as the American crossed the finish line, securing the silver medal for himself and his country and wondered what the gathering was about.

When the announcement was made that Pietri had been disqualified for the assistance he had gotten from the two officials a roaring boo went up in place of the cheers that had drowned out the announcement that he had won. Immediately fights began to break out in the stadium between spectators. Cassandra watched in disgusted disbelief. Even in India people did not behave this way.

She gathered her things and began to slowly make her way out of the stands. The going was slow as more and more people joined in the brawling going on over the result of the race. She eventually got out of the stands and began to make her way through the streets. She took her time going through the streets of London, making her way back to her residence on Bond Street, where she had been living while attending the Olympics. The fighting in the stands had ruined any mood she had to watch the rest of the men finishing the marathon.

Passing a pub she had visited a few months before with one of her nocturnal companions she decided to salvage the rest of her night and take some company back to her apartment with her tonight. She made her way back to her Bond Street apartment and went to her bedroom. Quickly she changed clothes and sat down to have a bite to eat. She cut the rest of the pie she had bought the day before into pieces and ate slowly letting time pass before she emerged onto the streets.

At times she felt guilty about her frequent excursions into the city to find companionship for a night or two. Thoughts of her beloved Henry often brought about those feelings. Then she would think about the polite people, her husband's friends, who shunned her after she put off her mourning clothes after only around eight months. When she thought about them and the way they treated her, like she was ignorant just because she was born and raised in India, she would get furious and any feelings of guilt would go right out of the window as she sought and found solace and release from the behavioral strictures her 'station' imposed on her in public, if even for a night.

The sun had not quite set when she rose from the table and left the apartment behind. She did not expect to return to it tonight if everything went well. She would use her apartment on Thames Street for her night's dalliance. She smiled to herself as she turned up the street, fading into the pedestrians easily, once more to return to the anonymity of London's burgeoning middle class. Her dress was well-made in the latest fashion from Paris but was purchased from a shop catering to the less affluent side of London. Her long red hair hung in a mass of wavy curls down her back since she did not have her servant, Amina, to help her with putting it up.

She smiled at the thought of her childhood nanny's reaction if she ever found out what she did on her long excursions into the city. The Indian woman was only a few years older than she was, but they had grown up together, as much friends as mistress and servant. As such she let the Indian woman take liberties that she most probably shouldn't have allowed her. She frowned as she remembered the reactions of Henry's friends the first time Amina had corrected her in front of them. A combination of shock and outrage had led one of them to even raise his riding crop to, in his words, 'chastise this woman properly to remind her of her place'. Luckily Cassandra had recovered from her shock at their reactions and sent Amina back upstairs before the Indian woman had unleashed one of her verbal tirades, infamous in the Bevington household and responsible for much of the other servants' good behavior, on the unsuspecting, young Lord-to-be.

At times she wondered if she would ever understand the intricacies of British life. As a Colonial, born and raised in India, she was still subject to the Crown's Rule, but life was so different there, so much more simple. Her upbringing had given her an education in many things. She could ride a horse, speak several languages, including German and the dialect of Indian that her family's servants had spoken, oversee the running of a plantation providing tea for the Empire, sew her own clothes and shoot a pistol and rifle as well as many men. But try as she might she could never fit in with people who saw her as a 'jumped-up' Colonial who was only where she was because she had gotten lucky and married well.

Cassandra looked at Alfred. "What do you mean you made me eternally young and beautiful? What are you? What did you do to me?"

Alfred's smile slipped a bit as he lowered his hand. "I have given you what you wanted, Cassandra. In your heart you wanted to be as you are now forever. And you will be. It is a gift, though some call it a curse, that is given to a rare few. You," He said, his dark, luminescent eyes locked on hers, " are now a vampire."

Cassandra barked a short laugh before stopping herself. "A vampire? You mean like in the stories? Dracula and that other one, Carmilla? Those are just stories. Vampire's don't really exist." She looked at the man, fear and confusion evident on her face. "Do they?"

"Yes, Cassandra," He said. "They most certainly do exist. Dracula and Carmilla are just works of fiction, this is true. But the subject they tell of, vampires, is absolutely true."

"But how?" Cassandra interrupted him without a thought. "Surely someone would have seen them and told of their existence."

Alfred smiled and accepted the interruption. "Someone has. Vampire's are well known to exist in many parts of Europe. Their existence is an accepted fact of day to day life." He shrugged and chuckled. "True, the most 'accepting' of our existence are those who are the most backwards by today's standards. But that doesn't change the fact that we exist. Vampires have been around for thousands of years, possibly back all the way back to the Garden of Eden."

Cassandra, her disbelief still evident on her face, asked tentatively, "Are you... that old?"

Still smiling, Alfred shook his head. "Back to the Garden of Eden? No. Nowhere near that old. My original name was Aelfric. I was a nobleman in the Court of King Alfred the Great. As a human, I saw the conception of the Kingdom of England at Alfred's hands. I was one of the men that served him as he sought to unify the Saxon Kingdoms to fight the Vikings."

"How did you become a vampire?" Cassandra asked, confusion still evident on her face as she pressed her hands to her belly trying to ignore the thirst/hunger rampaging through her.

"I was riding home from a meeting one night when I was taken off of my horse by a woman with light red hair. I heard a voice in my head. It was in the language of the Danes, but somehow I could understand it. It said that the Saxon cause was lost and that I was going to feed the conquerers. I felt a pain in my neck as I struggled to get free, to grab my sword or my knife, to do something, anything to get free. I felt myself growing weaker and weaker. Finally she just let me drop to the ground and disappeared, like a ghost, leaving me to die in the woods."

Cassandra listened, his words enthralling her as he described his own death. "The next thing I knew, I was again struggling against someone's grip on me. This time it was someone holding something to my mouth. When I could see again I saw it was his arm. I was drinking his blood. When he decided that I had had enough, he pulled his arm away from my mouth and just watched me. Soon the pain hit me, both excruciating and exhilarating at the same time. When the pain had passed, I was as you see me now."

"Who was the woman? And who was the man?" Cassandra asked, unconsciously leaning forward to hear more.

"The woman I did not know and did not find out her identity until later. She is irrelevant. The man, he was from a race that preceded even the Romans in Britain. He called himself Cadeyrn. He was a prince of his tribe. He was turned into a vampire by someone he did not know and never saw again. He helped me to learn the powers that becoming a vampire gave me." He nodded to her, smiling. "As I will do for you if you allow it."

"Such a fantastic tale would be ideal for the stage, Aelfric." Cassandra said, her curiosity peaked by the story she had just heard though she tried not to show it.

"I know you do not believe me, Cassandra. But I can prove the truth..." Suddenly he moved, his figure almost blurring as he went from beside her bed to standing over by the window in but a second. "...of my words. This is just the beginning of my proof. Let me show you." With another blur of movement he was standing back beside her.

"How..." Cassandra managed to stammer out.

"All in due time, Cassandra. I will teach you that as well as many other things soon enough. For now you must feed." He took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly with lips just slightly too cool. "Remain here. I will return with your meal." He barely gave her a moment to acknowledge his words before disappearing out the door. Cassandra could not believe his speed. He had made it out of the door before her hand even lowered back to her leg.

She rose and walked over to her dressing closet. As she changed out of her robe into more suitable clothing, memories flooded her mind again.

As she and her escort walked through the streets of London, Cassandra noticed fewer people out than when she had come through on her way to the Adelphi Theatre. She had gone there to watch the theatrical version of 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'. She had read the book years ago and enjoyed it very much so she decided to see the play. Despite her desire to blend in with the other patrons of the show she had purchased a ticket in a box overlooking the stage.

There she had met Alfred, a man about her age though she couldn't tell his exact age by looking at him. He was dressed nicely in a charcoal-gray sack coat and trousers with a white waistcoat and shirt. In the theatre his homburg had been in his hand, though he wore it at an almost-jaunty angle on his head as they walked. He had asked her permission before taking the chair next to her. After a quick, subtle look she had smiled and given it. Contrary to the short style of the day, his brown hair was to his shoulders. His beard was neatly trimmed with a slight point, but his mustache, unlike the elaborate curl most gentlemen wore, was also trimmed short.

After he sat down they had introduced themselves. They had chatted amiably before the start of the show and enjoyed it immensely together. As the show and the night went on, she had decided that he was the one she would take back to Thames Street for the night. Shortly after she had made that decision, during a break between acts, he had asked if she would allow him the privilege of walking her home after the show. She had secretly been thrilled at the question though she appeared to give the matter the proper consideration such a request need be given. During the next intermission she had agreed to allow him to accompany her to her house. He had smiled and bowed his head a bit to her.

When they reached the door to her Thames Street apartment they stopped. As if it was a sudden thought she blurted out "Would you like to come upstairs with me?" She blushed appropriately at such forwardness.

He smiled and gave another short nod of his head. "I would like that very much, Miss Cassandra." She couldn't quite place his accent but, her face still crimson, she turned and unlocked the door. He reached out and held the door open for her and followed her up the stairs to her apartment. He waited as she unlocked the door and then opened it for her. "After you, Miss Cassandra." he said.

She smiled and gave a slight curtsy to him before preceding him into the modest apartment she kept for just such a need. He took off his homburg and followed her into the apartment, hanging it on a hook near the door. "Would you like something to drink, Alfred?" she asked, smiling charmingly at him.

"Not at the moment, Miss Cassandra." He said as he stepped closer to her, looking down at her from mere inches away.

The look in his eyes made her inexplicably nervous and she started to step back. She gasped as his arm slid around her waist, pulling her tight to his chest. As she opened her mouth to protest, she found his lips pressing tightly to hers. She struggled for a few seconds but, as his lips moved against hers, she found her odd reluctance melting away. She slid her arms around his neck and began to return his kisses eagerly. In the back of her mind she noticed the coolness of his lips, but her growing arousal overrode any thought of that, attributing it to the coolness of the night after the day's odd heat.

Soon she broke the kiss, looking up into his dark eyes, thinking it was a trick of the light that made them seem to glow as they did. She murmured "Let's go to my room" a bit breathlessly. He merely smiled that smile of his and nodded his agreement. She unwrapped her arms from around his neck and took his hand, turning to lead him into the small bedchamber just off of the main room.

As soon as they were both in the room Alfred turned and closed the door, keeping his other hand in hers. When he turned back to her he reached up and began to loosen his tie. She watched almost spellbound as he removed his tie and coat, laying them over the back of her dressing chair, and unbuttoned his waistcoat. She stared into his eyes as he stepped close to her once again and began to unbutton her dress. 

Time seemed to blur for her for a few minutes and, without her having been aware that he was doing it, he undressed her totally. She looked down at her dress and undergarments puddled around her feet, surprise on her face. As she looked back at him he stepped close to her again, once more pulling her to him. Her now nude form seemed to mold itself to his chest as her lips again met his for another lingering kiss. It was then that she realized that he was nude as well. She moaned against his lips as she felt the hardness of his manhood pressing against her smooth skin.


Cazi's Journey Ch. 02



Cazi woke slowly from dreams that she couldn't remember. She stretched languidly as she already felt the thirst within. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. There was still a faint light coming in through the closed shutters. She could see it on the wall around the curtains. The glow around the window was faint but bright as the sun itself to her eyes. Oddly enough she was not frightened by the glow and even though it hurt her eyes, dim as it was, she found it beautiful. A wistful sigh escaped her as she knew she would never again see the colors of a sunrise or sunset.

She rose from the bed and walked over to her dressing table, standing in front of it. She looked down into the empty mirror with another soft sigh. "Something else I will have to get used to." She closed her eyes and focused for a moment. When she opened them again, the mirror was no longer blank. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the fading sunlight as it always had. She ran her hand up her flat stomach, smiling as she looked into her eyes. They looked their normal shade of green instead of the glowing brightness they had before.

She turned away and began to dress. As the room darkened fully she realized the sun had set and she threw back the curtains and opened the shutters. She took a deep breath of fresh air before stepping back from the window. She walked to the door of her apartment and picked up the newspaper that had been delivered. She sat down in her chair and looked through the newspaper. She smiled to herself as she saw that Her Majesty, Queen Alexandra had awarded the Italian marathon runner a golden cup since his medal had been taken away from him. There was no mention of the dead Whitechapel woman in the newspaper, not that she expected there to be.

While she was looking at the theatre listings she opened her mind trying to hear nearby thoughts. She smiled as they began to filter into her head just as if she was standing on the street listening to people talking. That is what she was doing when she sensed... something. It was like a sound but she was almost positive that she did not hear it. She set the paper down and rose from her chair. The feeling had come from her bedroom. She walked as quietly as she could towards her room, being careful to take her time. As she stepped through the doorway she relaxed. Aelfric was smiling from his seat beside the window. "Hello, Cazi. I trust you slept well."

Walking over to the seat opposite him she settled down, smiling back at him. Yes, Aelfric, I slept quite well. And yourself? She was careful to keep her 'voice' down to a normal 'conversational' level. Aelfric smiled. "You are learning quickly, Cazi. What else have you been practicing?"

"I was just practicing opening my mind to hear other people's thoughts when I... heard... or sensed... something from this direction." She said, still not sure how to describe what she had felt. She remembered her experiment the night before and added excitedly. "Oh! And last night I moved the brush with my mind." She fought to keep her hand from going to her forehead as she remembered how her first attempt had turned out.

Aelfric laughed as she felt a light brushing against the back of her mind, the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up. "Hit yourself in the face did you?" His laughter broke off as he looked at her. "You heard me before I came up here? And you just sensed me reading your thoughts just now. That is amazing." He sat back stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Cazi felt the ghostly touch at the back of her mind fade and shook her head. "That was you? What was it that I... heard? And why is it amazing?" She asked as she leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, looking at Aelfric.

"It is amazing," he said. "Because it took me a decade or two before I had developed the ability to sense when a vampire was using its powers around me. It's just a feeling I get when one of our kind is using certain powers near me. And it only works with certain powers. If a vampire is reading someone else's mind, I cannot sense it. Only if they are reading mine. And with some vampires I cannot sense it even when they are reading mine. Some of our kind are very subtle with it." He smiled and shrugged. "I'm not very subtle."

"So someone might be able to read my thoughts and I would not even know it?" Cazi asked, incredulous.

Aelfric nodded. "Yes, especially as young as you are. As you get older you might be able to sense it more effectively. You will also be able to sense other powers being used."

"Like what? And how will I know?" Cazi interrupted.

"Like when a vampire moves something with its mind. That has a distinctive 'sound' to it." He smiled at her. "I heard your first 'practice' down the street. It was quite loud. Our ability to move faster than humans can see, that has another distinctive 'sound'. It is not a loud one but if you are nearby, you can pick it up."

Cazi frowned thinking about what all he had said. She wondered how many other vampires had heard her practicing. Aelfric's voice shook her out of her thoughts. "What was that, Aelfric?"

"I said, it is also surprising that you were able to move the brush so soon." Aelfric patiently repeated himself. "Can you do it again? I would like very much to see you do it."

Cazi smiled proudly, unconsciously sitting up straighter in her chair. When she heard him ask her to do it again she nodded. "Yes, I think I can." She half-turned towards her dressing table, holding her hand out towards the brush. She slowly built up her will, keeping her concentration on the brush even when she heard Aelfric's voice in her head. That should be enough Cazi. Too much and it will be loud. She concentrated on the brush and sent out her will, the brush rattling on the desk before sailing across the room into her hand.

"Very good, Cazi. Very good indeed." He said as she turned to him, holding the brush with a huge smile on her face. "A little bit more practice and you will be hardly making a whisper when you do it." He looked at her closely. "How do you feel, Cazi?"

She set the brush down on the table. "I feel fine. Thirsty, but fine."

"Then come. It is time to begin teaching you the fine art of feeding." He rose, holding his hand out to her.

She took it and rose as well. They exited the apartment and went down the stairs. She opened her mind and gasped as she caught the tail end of one of her neighbors thoughts. ... up in her apartment for the last two days doing God knows what, but I can imagine from the noise she was making the first night. She looked around trying to pinpoint where the thought came from as she lost it in her surprise and she saw Aelfric smiling. He looked over her head towards the woman sweeping her stoop. A quick glance showed that even though her apartment was in the next building over, it still jutted almost next to where her bedroom wall would be.

"Let it be, Cazi." She heard Aelfric whisper. "They don't know that I left your apartment through the window." She looked away from the woman sweeping with a polite nod of greeting that the woman returned. "So it is natural for them to think that I stayed with you the entire time. That is why I came out the front door this time." She looked back over at him as she heard him chuckle and continue. "And, truth be told, you were a little loud that first night."

Cazi gasped again, this time at him. She slapped him lightly on the arm. "That was not my fault and you bloody well know it." She smiled and squeezed his arm. "Some roguish fellow took control of my body and forced me to make all that noise."

Aelfric laughed loudly as they turned to walk down Thames Street. "As you say, Cazi." He tipped his homburg at a lady passing by with her child while his voice spoke in Cazi's mind. I might speak into your mind, Cazi, but I did not control your body. He looked over at her and smiled before looking back down the street as they walked but continued to speak into her mind. Controlling someone takes a lot of energy. It also takes a lot of concentration. I find that it is more trouble than it is worth. You can control someone's body, but unless you are very subtle about it they will know they are being controlled. You have to control their mind first.

Cazi's eyes widened in surprise but she quickly smoothed out her features. She nodded to a passing man respectfully, her eyes picking out amazing details in the light of the gas lamps along Thames Street. Do you mean that I will be able to control people's minds, Aelfric? How?

Aelfric looked at her, his eyebrow moving slightly upward in a quirk that she would learn over the years was an early warning sign of his growing irritated. In time, my sweet Cazi. One thing at a time. He gestured subtly towards a man and woman in dinner finery walking towards them. What are they thinking, Cazi. You have to know how to read and enter minds before you can even attempt to control them.

Cazi sighed softly and looked at the pair Aelfric had chosen. She opened her mind and focused on the two, listening for their thoughts. She smiled as she caught their thoughts. They are both thinking about the night they spent together and their courtship. A shocked look crossed her face as the thoughts continued to slide into her mind. Their courtship to other people! She looked from the cheating pair to Aelfric again as she looked deeper into their minds. They both cheated on their spouses to be... who are responsible for their meeting. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she sought the answers she wanted, mindless of Aelfric's amused look. Her fiancé is his brother and his is her sister. They felt an attraction to each other since they first met... but it was a purely physical attraction... Neither wants to break off their engagement so they can be together.

Aelfric nodded slightly. His approval was evident as he answered her. Very good, Cazi. And if it was just one of them cheating, I would say that they were a prime candidates for feeding. But since they are both cheating...

Cazi finished right where he left off. If they both disappeared it would cause too much notice. She smiled as Aelfric nodded, proud of herself. She pressed a hand to her stomach as she felt the hunger growing within her. I need to feed soon, Aelfric.

Aelfric nodded to her, chuckling. Yes,Cazi, I know you do. Although it would not be too hard to go to their families and spread the rumor that they had disappeared together... to America or something. Although that would take some work.

Cazi focused her attention on the woman, fuming. She had been utterly faithful to her beloved Henry. Since his death she had indulged in her dalliances, this was true. One of them had led her to this point. But when her dashing Captain Bevington had been alive she had never even considered an affair. Despite her focus her mind wandered to when she had first met her dearest Henry John.

"Father!" Cassandra almost yelled. "How could you? I thought you wanted me to stay and run the plantation after you." She sat down hard in the chair beside her, tears welling in her eyes.

Her father, an older gentleman dressed as always in waistcoat and tie despite the humid heat of India walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "My dearest Cassandra, you have to understand. The Captain is the son of Lord Bevington. The youngest son, yes, but it is still a good match for you. The young man is quite smitten with you already."

"Smitten?" Cassandra interjected. "How could he be smitten with me? He has only met me once. No, twice, once in the market and once at the Colonial Governor's gala ball." She didn't really know why she was objecting so vehemently. She had found herself quite smitten with the handsome Captain Henry John Bevington of the 13th Hussars as well. No, she was not smitten, she corrected herself. She was merely attracted to him, as were most of the young women who had attended the ball. "Father, we have hardly spoken. How will we know if we will get along?"

Her father smiled down at his eldest daughter. "Your mother and I didn't know if we would get along when our parents arranged our betrothal either. I was just a young man getting ready to inherit a struggling medium-sized plantation and she was the only child, the spoiled only child, in her own words, mind, of a wealthy family that wanted their daughter taken care of." He sat down beside her, taking her hands in his.

The mention of her mother, deceased ten years past giving birth to her youngest sister, sent the tears welling in Cassandra's eyes rolling down her face. She heard her father sigh as he squeezed her hands. "She told me many times that she had asked the same question of her father and mother. And they told her the same thing that I am going to tell you, Cassandra." She looked at her father, listening. "In time love comes to us all. You just have to give it time to grow. Even if you don't love him now, you will. You just give it a chance and you will see."

Cassandra sighed. "Yes, father." She said meekly.

Cazi smiled softly remembering the long ago argument with her father. She had indeed given it a chance and she did indeed grow to love Henry. It had not even taken until their wedding for it to happen. She had loved him through most of their long engagement. Lost in her remembrances she did not notice as Aelfric led her through the streets of London.

Cassandra barely heard the Minister say: "I now present to you Captain and Mrs. Henry John Bevington." Her eyes and her thoughts were all on her new husband. She felt Henry's hands squeeze hers before letting go to allow her father to step forward to kiss her. She accepted her father's kiss with a smile that threatened to tear her face in half. She whispered in his ear. "Thank you, father. You were right" as she kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.

She accepted the rest of the congratulatory kisses from her relatives before turning to take her husband's hand. His family had been unable to make the trip to India for the wedding. Unable or unwilling one. Henry said they were unable to, but his reaction after reading the letter from his father led her to believe it was more that they were unwilling to.

They returned to her father's house after the wedding at the head of a long line of carriages and horses. Theirs was drawn by the traditional four white horses and as they left the church their guests threw rice and grain, symbols of fertility, after them to bless their wedding. When they arrived at her father's house they were shown to the reception room. Cassandra and Henry stood in a decorated corner with him to her right. Her bridesmaids stood beside them with her maid of honor standing beside her. Her father came up and leaned down to kiss her cheek again, smiling proudly. "Well done, Cassandra. You look beautiful." He then turned to Henry. "Congratulations, Captain Bevington."

Henry smiled at his new father. "Please, sir, call me Henry. I do believe that you have earned that right."

Her father smiled. "Very well. Congratulations, Henry. May you and Cassandra be as happy as her mother and I were."

"Thank you, sir," Henry said. "I hope that we will be as happy as you and your wife were."

Cassandra just smiled at her father as the other guests began to file across the room towards them. She smiled and nodded her thanks to those who came to offer their congratulations, even though none directly congratulated her, only Henry, believing that, as she was now his wife, the congratulations were naturally conferred upon her as well.

Aelfric caught her arm and stopped her, pulling her back into a narrow alleyway. "There, Cazi." He said quietly but aloud as he pointed to a man making his way towards them. "Him." When he saw that she saw who he was referring to he lowered his arm.

Cazi looked at the man. He was shabbily dressed, though he fit in well with the people in this neighborhood, which she recognized as being between the Strand and Oxford Street. She took a moment longer to narrow it down further to being west of Charing Cross. She sent her mind out and smiled as she caught the man's intentions to find someone to rob tonight to pay for his ale.

"I doubt he would take me as a target, Cazi." Aelfric whispered in her ear. "But a woman walking alone, obviously with some means about her... I'm sure he would take that bait."

As Cazi stepped out of the alleyway, Aelfric spoke into her mind. She acted like she was lost as she listened to him instructing her on how to ensure the man's silence when she had lured him into the alley. She kept listening to his thoughts as she walked up the street. When she 'heard' him start thinking about robbing her. Abruptly she stopped and turned her back on him, partly to return to the alley and partly to hide the smile on her face at knowing she had him. She kept his thoughts picked out in her mind as she made her way back to the alley. Just before turning into the alley she caught his thoughts changing from just robbing her to robbing and raping her.

She turned down the alley, using her speed to get farther into the darkness as soon as she was out of sight. She saw Aelfric waiting a bit farther down the alley watching her and kept his instructions in the front of her mind as she watched for the man to step into the alley. As she saw him stop in the alley mouth looking for her she reached out and touched his mind with hers, almost whispering the thought into his mind. Come. Follow her in. She was rewarded when he slowly, almost reluctantly stepped into the alley. She could hear his thoughts, confusion prominent among them as he stepped forward. Exhilaration surged through her as he drew closer to where she stood in the shadows.

SILENCE. She thundered into his mind as the distance between them blurred and she suddenly found herself standing beside him. She wrapped one arm around him, trapping one of his arms as her other hand grabbed his hair, yanking his head to the side. She felt her fangs extending as she bit deeply into his neck. She held him tightly as he began to struggle against her strength.

As the man's blood flowed over her tongue and down her throat, she once again felt a surge of life into her body. She growled and sucked harder at the bleeding wounds as his struggles intensified. Be still, rapist. She ordered him directly into his mind, feeling him almost immediately go limp in her arms. As the life continued to flow from the robber's body into hers she felt Aelfric's surprise as she heard his voice in her mind. Bring him deeper into the alley, Cazi. Keeping her mouth tightly to the fountain of blood flowing more slowly now from the man's neck she dragged him deeper into the alley. She turned and held the man against the wall as she fed on his life.

Remembering Aelfric's admonition she pulled her lips from his neck before his heart stopped. She looked over at Aelfric as she dropped the man to die in the filth of the alley, mindless of his body's jerkings as he died without ever having uttered a sound. She closed her eyes, looking to the sky, letting the blood of her first solo kill course through her body. The same tingling that had accompanied her feeding the night before followed the blood through her body. She had to stifle another moan as the tingling seemed to concentrate at the tips of her full breasts and the increasingly heated juncture between her thighs.

Well, Aelfric? How did I do? She asked without opening her eyes, still savoring the feeling surging through her. When he did not answer her she opened her eyes and looked at him. She was slightly discomfited to find that he was still standing where he had watched her feeding from, still watching her. "Aelfric... Did I do something wrong?"




Cazi's Journey Ch. 02.5



Cazi pushed herself up and looked at Aelfric. "What do you mean you have to leave tomorrow? Why? You cannot just... leave me." She slid from on top of him and sat beside him on the bed, looking over at him. Of itself her mind flashed back to the last time she said those words.

Cassandra stared at her husband and just sat down hard in the chair in their parlor. "What do you mean you have to leave? You cannot just leave me, Henry. I thought we were going to try to have another child."

Captain Bevington sighed and sat down next to her. "Cassandra, you know I do not have a choice. I am an officer in Her Majesty's Army. We are at war with the Boers of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The 13th is being mobilized. I have orders to report to Aldershot on the fifth of next month to catch the train to Liverpool." He took her hand and squeezed gently. "I had hoped to spend Christmas and greet the new century with my love. But I have my orders Cassandra. I have to go."

"Why does it have to be you, Henry? Is there not someone else that can go?" Cassandra asked, the tears starting to flow down her face. Even as she asked, she knew that he had to go, that he would go all the way to South Africa and leave her alone in England. "I need you here with me."

She felt her anger flare as Henry chuckled. "And I want to stay here with you, Cassandra. I am a Captain in the Hussars of our Queen's Army. I have been called to go with my regiment to war. I will return to you as soon as I can, Cassandra. I promise."

Her anger returned to tears and she pulled her hands from his, covering her face with a lace handkerchief as she sobbed. She did not want him to go. He could not leave her! She felt his arm slide around her shoulders comfortingly and jerked angrily away, still sobbing. As he so often did when she cried, Henry stood up and stepped away from her. She did not understand why he did that. She wanted him closer, not farther away. Her tears fell harder as she heard him moving away from her.

"I am sorry, Cassandra. But I have to do my duty to our Queen." She heard him sigh deeply but her face was hidden in the handkerchief. "I will send Amina in to you. I am going to take my new horse out for a ride to give you time to relax." As her sobs grew heavier into the handkerchief she heard him turn and leave her alone in the room.

Aelfric stretched languidly and smiled grimly as he pushed up onto one arm facing her. "My Sire has demanded my presence. And when Cadeyrn demands something, he gets it."

"Your... 'Sire'? The one who made you?" Cazi asked, turning to face Aelfric on the bed. When Aelfric nodded she asked. "What does he want? Do you know?"

"Yes, Cazi, I know." Aelfric said. "As soon as I turned you, he knew it. I do not know how he knew, but he did. He was not happy about it either, let me tell you."

Cazi's confusion was evident in her voice. "Why should he care if you turn somebody? Is he able to say yes or no to someone being turned?"

"Cazi," Aelfric said, sitting up, "he can do just that. Cadeyrn is the vampire equivalent to King Edward. The only difference is, King Edward will die eventually, as all humans do. Cadeyrn will live for a long time. He has already lived for centuries. And ruled Britain's vampire realm for that entire time."

"There is a King of Vampires?" Cazi asked. "You are his... son?"

Aelfric chuckled softly. "You could say that. There are numerous vampire 'Kingdoms' in the world. Cadeyrn's is but one. And a small one at that. Like the English monarchs, he has divided his Kingdom up into smaller 'Noble Houses'. His blood has graced each of the Houses, giving each some claim to his throne. As a matter of pride, I named my 'House' after the Kingdom of Alfred. I lead the House of Wessex."

"But why is he so interested in who you make into a vampire, Aelfric?" Cazi asked. She could not figure out why any of this mattered.

"When Cadeyrn turned me, he only had two of his original 'childer' left."

Aelfric stopped when Cazi blurted out, "Childer? What do you mean 'childer'?"

"I am a 'childer' of Cadeyrn." Aelfric shrugged. "It is just what they call those they turn into vampires. You are my childer, Cazi. I guess the elder vampires wanted some connection to their mortal lives. So the one that turns a vampire is called the 'sire'. The one that is turned is called a 'childer'.

"Anyway," Aelfric continued, "back to what I was saying. When I was turned, Cadeyrn only had two childer left. One of those was known to be disloyal and she was killed right after I was turned, and the other was thought to be disloyal as well. Decades later he was executed for treason against Cadeyrn."

He reached over and took Cazi's hand, squeezing gently. She squeezed back, listening. "I am the last direct link to the throne of what Cadeyrn calls the 'Kingdom of the Dark Isles'. The other Houses are two and three generations removed from the blood of Cadeyrn because of their disloyalty at various times."

"Two and three generations removed?" Cazi's confusion was growing with each sentence that she heard.

Aelfric just smiled. "I am the first generation. Cadeyrn turned me. You are the second generation. No other House has any direct link to Cadeyrn. Only one or two members remaining that Cadeyrn's childer turned directly. Some Houses do not even have that. That is the reason that Cadeyrn takes such an interest in who I turn."

Aelfric's smile again turned grim and Cazi watched him. "You are the only childer of mine remaining. The rest have met Cadeyrn and, once they had produced childer of their own, been killed because he did not approve of them."

Cazi's eyes widened at that. "Killed because he did not approve? Is he going to kill me?"

Cazi squeezed Aelfric's hand tighter as he gave hers a reassuring squeeze. "No. He will not kill you, Cazi. He has assured the continuation of my House by allowing my childer to sire childer of their own before he executed them. But none of the ones before had your fire. I think Cadeyrn will like you very much. But the fact remains that you are the heir to his heir. And so he will be coming to meet you. Most likely sometime after I go to answer his summons."

Cazi looked around. "Come to meet me? He knows where I live? How? 'Sometime' after you go? When?"

Aelfric laughed and leaned back on the bed again. "I do not know when. Cadeyrn does as Cadeyrn wishes and he does it at his pace. As for how he knows where you live; As soon as I go to him he will want to know everything about you Cazi. He will want to know and I will tell him. Because he is my King and that is my duty to him."

"But, he is unhappy that you turned me. He might have already decided to kill me." Cazi felt the cold grip of fear settle into her stomach.

"No, Cazi. Cadeyrn does not work that way. He is a King." Aelfric said. "He will meet you and decide your fate from that meeting. Just continue to practice your skills and remember what I showed you. You will do fine Cazi." He patted her hand gently as a jaw-cracking yawn escaped him. He lay back on the bed and murmured "Close the shutters and drapes, Cazi. The sun will be rising soon."

As he said that, Cazi felt her own tiredness slam into her after the roller coaster ride of the night. She rose and walked over to the windows, closing the shutters, mindless of her nudity. She ignored the call from a man down in the street and just pulled the shutters closed and closed the thick drapes to keep out the sunlight. When she turned around, she saw Aelfric's gaze on her. Suddenly self-conscious, she stopped. "What is it, Aelfric?"

He just shook his head. "Nothing, Cazi. I was just watching you. It might be some time before I see you again. I wanted to keep the memory of you fresh in my mind while I am gone."

Cazi blushed and walked back over to the bed after extinguishing the lamp, climbing into it and curling herself against Aelfric. She felt his breathing become slow and steady and knew he was asleep already. Her mind whirled with everything that Aelfric had said and she was much longer sleeping, but sleep she did.

Author's Note: This segment was originally intended to lead off Part 3, but after some thought, I decided that it would be better as a piece to itself. It just sort of sets up interactions later in the story. As you might have guessed, I intend to see this story through to -some- conclusion. What that conclusion might be is unknown right now, although there was a thought at first to introduce her into the Tre Lloyd Adventures series in some capacity. I am working to continue Cazi's Journey. Thank you for reading.



Cazi's Journey Ch. 02



As if her voice had awakened him he lunged towards her. She gasped as, like she had done with the man intent on robbing and raping her, his arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly. She groaned as she hit the wall behind her, Aelfric's body pressing her tightly against it, trapping her there. She looked up into his face but her attention was drawn to his eyes. They were glowing brightly. She opened her mouth to speak but found herself unable to as his lips pressed tightly against hers, pushing her head back against the wall. 

She felt him reach down with one hand as she wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his hungry kiss as she stared, almost spellbound, into his eyes. She moaned as he pushed harder against her, his hands sliding down and gathering the skirts of her dress up, bunching them in his strong fingers. The night air felt cool on her legs as her dress rode higher up them. She moaned against his lips softly "Here?" Suddenly she was uneasy about the possibility of being seen, despite the darkness of the alleyway. 

Aelfric answered her question with a sudden motion. Any uneasiness disappeared as her arms tightened around him. Her thighs, bare to the world now as he held her off of the ground still pinned against the wall by his chest against hers, wrapped around his waist. She felt his thickness rubbing against the juncture of her thighs, the caress of him only increasing the feeling of her body still tingling with the infusion of fresh blood. Her arms and legs tightened even more around him as he thrust his thick shaft deep into her in one sudden motion. Now heedless of who might hear, she cried out her pleasure.

"Oh, God, Henry!"

She held tightly to her new husband as she felt his thick shaft slide deep into her. Almost of their own volition her thighs came up and wrapped around his waist as he rocked out and drove back into her. Never before in their ten days of marriage had he been so aggressive in his desire. Her moans of pleasure were muffled as he pressed his lips to hers, their moans mingling as he thrust hard into her. His thick shaft almost pulled from her gripping tightness before driving back deep into her.

She looked at him as he pulled his lips from hers. His eyes were on her as well as he continued to power hard and fast into her, almost grunting with the exertion of his thrusts. She gasped and moaned as she felt her orgasm building already as his hands gripped her ass tightly, his fingers digging into her pale skin. His thick shaft drove relentlessly into her, each hard plunge into her gripping depths bringing another gasping moan from her to answer his grunting moans as he took her like he had never taken her previously.

Her body shook as her orgasm crashed through her in wave after wave of bliss. Seconds later she felt Henry's thick shaft buried deep within her, pulsing streams of his hot seed to splash against her inner walls as she cried out her pleasure again.

"Oh God, Aelfric! Don't stop now!"

Her body thrashed against his chest as best it could. Her arms and legs tightened around him as her orgasm ripped through her. She let her head fall back against the wall, still crying out her pleasure as she felt her fangs elongating. Aelfric continued to power his throbbing cock in and out of her, moaning as his hands held her up with a delightfully tight grip on her firm ass. With another loud cry she gave in to her pleasure again, another searing wave of orgasms threatening to rip her apart.

Suddenly Aelfric's thick shaft pulsed against her inner walls, jetting his sticky seed deep into her as his body stiffened against her thrashing one. She moaned deeply, still pinned against the wall by his chest, lowering her head to his shoulder as she squeezed him tightly with her legs and arms. As the pulsing of his thickness slowed he began to lower her. She put her feet down with a soft moan as he slipped from within her. She looked down at his spent cock and, with a grin, wrapped her fingers around it, lowering down to suck the rest of his pleasure from him.

She stopped, motionless, as she felt his hand curling in her hair. When she looked up at him curiously he smiled down at her, still breathing hard. "No, Cazi. Not with your fangs out, if you don't mind." 

She smiled back up at him and rose, closing her eyes and willing her fangs to recede. "I'm sorry about that, Aelfric. I had forgotten they had come out."

He chuckled and nodded as he put his spent shaft away, refastening his pants. "That happens sometimes. Just be careful that the wrong person does not see it." He straightened his waistcoat and jacket and held his arm out to her, still smiling. "We should be going, Cazi." As she started to take his arm he pulled it back. "Oh yes. Just a moment." He turned and walked over to the man Cazi had fed on, drawing a short bladed knife from his sleeve. With one quick motion he slit the man's throat, the motion of the cut eradicating the marks of her teeth.

He walked back over to her after wiping the blade on the man's coat and emptying his pockets of the few coins he had had. Aelfric held his arm out to her again and smiled. "Just another victim of the rampant crime in this neighborhood, I'm afraid." As she took his arm and they turned towards the mouth of the alley he spoke again. "If you are going to just leave the body like this, always give the police a good explanation for how it came to be that way." They walked slowly and turned back towards her apartment. She could see the glow in his eyes was gone now. "And always cover the marks of your feeding."

Cazi looked up at him as they walked. "Will I need a knife, Aelfric?"

"No, Cazi." Aelfric said. "There are many ways to hide the marks. A knife was just the most expedient at the time." He nodded to a passing policeman and looked back at her. "You can also just use your fingernails. As you need to feed less as well as less often, though, you can use your blood to close and hide the wounds."

Confused, Cazi stopped. Her hand on his arm stopped Aelfric too. "My blood? But won't that turn whoever I am feeding on into a vampire as well?"

Aelfric shook his head. "No, Cazi, it won't." She started walking slowly again and he turned to stay beside her. "You merely cut your tongue or your lip with your fang and, as the blood wells up in the wound, you lick the marks of your bite. Within seconds the wounds you leave will be old, faded. Mere blemishes that no one will take a second look at."

Cazi nodded, thoughtful. She felt the prickling of the hairs on the back of her neck and heard Aelfric's voice in her mind. You will not have to worry about that for a bit yet. You are young enough that when you feed you will kill. But using your blood is a handy trick even if you do kill. But you have to do it when the victim is still alive. Once they are dead it will not work. Our blood acts as a catalyst with living blood for healing somehow.

Cazi nodded as they continued up Charing Cross Road towards the Strand. Her thoughts were still whirling around what he had told her. When they reached the Strand he stopped her and they took the tram back to the corner of Thames and Blackfriars. When the tram reached their stop they rose and, with him holding her hand helping her down, they exited. They walked slowly along Thames Street, each seemingly lost to their own thoughts.

Cazi was stirred from her thoughts by Aelfric's voice in her mind. Do you wish a gentleman caller for the evening again? Or should I just go through the window?

Cazi smiled as she glanced at him before looking forward again. You presume much, sir. She knew her thoughts were carrying her amusement. What makes you think that I would like for you to come back to my apartment for the night?

Aelfric's own amusement was clear in his reply. Don't forget I can read your mind, Cazi. Your feelings are transmitted along with your thoughts. The pleasure of your feeding was just... pouring into my mind. She heard a soft chuckle in her mind. That is why I had such an overwhelming desire to have you in that alley. I just couldn't help myself.

Cazi smiled and looked at him coyly. "I do hope that you aren't through for the night." She was almost surprised at her own forwardness but she could not help it. Aelfric taking her in the alley the way that he had had sent a hunger through her that feeding could not placate. She wanted him and she wanted him badly. And from the amused look on his face, Aelfric knew it.

Unlocking the door, Cazi led Aelfric up the stairs to her apartment. She went inside and, as she turned to look at Aelfric when he entered, she 'heard' a faint sound and a more substantial rustling of cloth. When she looked at the doorway, Aelfric was not there. Confused, she walked back over to the door and looked down the small stairway. Not seeing him she pushed the door to her apartment closed and locked it behind her.

She closed her eyes and opened her mind, listening for his thoughts. She heard a faint chuckle in her mind and started towards the bedroom, following the 'direction' it had come from. In here Cazi. Come to me. She saw the lamp in her bedroom flare into life and shook her head. She stepped into her bedroom and stopped, her hands clasped in front of her. "You are the most presumptuous man that I have ever met."

Aelfric, quite nude, stretched as he lay back on the pillows of the bed. "Yes, I know that. But my presumptuous nature is why you hurried in here at my call."

Cazi arched an eyebrow slightly, but she could not help but let her eyes roam over his form. She didn't know whether to be angry at the man's presumptuousness or not. What she did know was that, looking at him laying on her bed, she felt the stirrings of desire coursing through her once more before coming to rest at the juncture of her thighs.

Aelfric leaned up on one arm, looking over at her, his dark eyes intent. "Join me, Cazi," he whispered.

Chuckling, Cazi whispered just as quietly "Easy for you to say. You're already undressed." She reached up and started removing her dress. Slowly, Cazi. I want to savor the sight before me. She smiled at him and slowed down. Glad that, here in this apartment, she didn't have any of the extensive dresses 'required' of her station, Cazi slowly removed the dress. She felt her excitement growing as, inch by inch, more of her pale skin was revealed to Aelfric's eyes. She could see his own excitement was growing as the thick truncheon of his sex stiffened, growing longer and thicker as she watched, the pale swells of her breasts almost glowing in the lamp's light as she revealed them teasingly to him.

Knowing that she had his undivided attention, Cazi decided to prolong the teasing. Her own arousal was rising to a fevered boil second by second as she smiled teasingly, her arms crossed over her chest to hold the dress in place. "You approve, sir?" She asked in a half-mocking tone, watching Aelfric closely. He didn't speak, merely nodded slowly, his dark eyes almost appearing to glow. She turned away from him slowly, letting the soft material slide down some, revealing more of her smooth back to his hungry gaze.

She heard a soft growl from behind her as another growl was heard in her mind, a sound of pure animal hunger that, at the same time sent a shiver down her spine and sent her arousal soaring, almost buckling her knees. Looking over her shoulder, a teasing smile on her face, she let the dress slip a bit more. The soft material snagged on her hard nipples, drawing a soft moan from her as she watched him. Lowering her arms, she kept her back to him as the dress slipped down her arms and torso.

The dress pooled at her feet, she slowly turned back towards him. As she turned, tauntingly slow, she raised one arm to cover her full breasts. She could almost feel the hunger in Aelfric's gaze as his eyes moved slowly over her. It was coming off of him in almost palpable waves. The 'feel' of his eyes moving over her exposed flesh was like hundreds of tiny fingers gliding over her skin. She fought the urge to shiver at the feeling and almost won. A small shiver ran through her despite her best efforts and a small moan escaped her lips.

Aelfric smiled hearing the moan and held one hand out to her. She started to move towards him, letting her arm drop from in front of her breast. As her hand slid down she accidentally flicked her sensitive nipple with her thumb, drawing another soft moan from her. She tried to keep her eyes locked with his as she slowly drew closer to the bed, but the sheer hunger emanating from him overwhelmed her. Each step closer increased the feeling of fingers caressing her. The feeling fanned the already blazing fire of her hunger into a rolling inferno of desire that threatened to consume her whole.

As she stopped at the edge of the bed Aelfric swung his legs over and turned to face her fully. She looked down into his dark eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. The hunger in his eyes almost buckled her knees. Aelfric tightened his arms around her, effortlessly lifting her from her feet even though he was seated on the bed. Cazi swung her legs up and around him as he held her poised. She kept looking into his eyes as she waited, held just above his hard length. She moaned softly as he lowered her down, one arm holding her against him as the other reached around her smooth thigh. She felt the thick head of his hard shaft rubbing against her glistening entrance and gasped as he eased himself into her just a little before his arm tightened around her again.

She looked down into his eyes, unashamed of the pleading look in her own. An instant of weightlessness followed as Aelfric relaxed his arm around her waist. As her hips landed on his lap she cried out as his hard shaft was driven deep into her. She held tight to him as she shifted her legs around, grinding her hips against his, relishing the feeling of his thickness within her as each motion moved him slightly within her.

As she got her legs situated, on her knees straddling him, Cazi started to rock her hips, her arms tight around his neck supporting her. She moaned softly as his hard shaft rubbed against her clit as she rocked in time with his bucking motions. She drove herself hard down onto his hard cock as he thrust up into her. He slid one hand down to grip her firm ass, looking up into her eyes as the other hand trailed softly along her side. She cried out with each driving stab into her gripping tightness.

Her arms tightened more around his neck as she felt his lips wrap around one hard nipple, sucking almost tenderly as if to compensate for the roughness his hard cock was subjecting her drenched pussy to. His tongue lashed around the stiff bud and she moaned as she felt the touch to her sensitive flesh. Her moan turned to a soft cry of pleasure as she felt his teeth dragging along the hard peak, her own motions tugging her nipple between his teeth as his free hand reached the soft swell of her breast, cupping and squeezing gently, his thumb flicking across her nipple.

Cazi felt her pleasure building as he teased her so deliciously, his mouth and fingers teasing her breasts as his stiff rod was driven into her almost savagely by the combination of his thrusts and her quick riding motions. His hips drove relentlessly against hers as he bucked up to meet her, his moans vibrating her hard nipple even as his lips and teeth tugged at the sensitive flesh, the pleasure surging through her causing her to drive her hips even harder down to meet his.

"Oh God, Aelfric!" She cried out as she felt the first waves of her orgasm begin to crash through her. He only moaned to answer her, again vibrating her hard nipple. As her orgasm crested and exploded through her, her body began to jerk and thrash, impaled on his thrusting rod. His moans grew louder as she cried out even louder as well, the thrashing of her body jerking her hard nipple from between his teeth. She arched her back as he continued to drive his throbbing length deep into her clenching tightness.

His fingers stroked and tugged at her hard nipple, her eyes closing as her head fell back, his thick cock driving hard and fast up into her. Her grip around his neck pulled her forward as he lay back on the bed. She relaxed her arms and pushed up, looking down into his eyes as she continued to rock forward only to drive herself down onto his thick cock. His eyes fairly glowed with his hunger as he powered up into her, matching her motions perfectly, driving his hard cock up into her as she slammed down to meet him. 

Cazi again cried out her pleasure as he raised up slightly, his teeth scraping against the soft flesh of her breast as it rocked with her rocking motions on top of him. As she drove back down onto his thick shaft the succulent flesh was pulled away from his mouth and she heard a deep growl from him. She cried out again as his fingers tightened on her other hard nipple, tugging it as he drove his thick shaft deep into her again and again. His other hand gripped her ass tightly as if to slow her pace. She ignored his grip, keeping her body slamming against his, her head falling back forward as she impaled herself again on his thick cock.

"Oh God, Cazi," Aelfric moaned, his hips driving hard up to meet hers again. Suddenly she felt a surge of Aelfric's pleasure shooting through her and almost screamed as she yielded to their combined pleasure, her body thrashing wildly as wave after wave crashed through her. She vaguely heard Aelfric moan as he drove hard up into her, filling her completely with his thick pulsing shaft, his hand still gripping her ass tightly.

Cazi cried out to the Almighty again as her sensitive nipple was torn from between his fingers as she jerked in the throes of one orgasm after another. She was unsure how much of the pleasure jolting through her was hers and how much was his. She also couldn't bring herself to care as she was wracked with a seemingly endless storm of orgasmic bliss as Aelfric gave off a deep sated groan and just melted bonelessly back onto the bed, his hands leaving her soft flesh to flop down at his sides as he joined her in the throes of their shared orgasm.

Cazi continued to rock herself on his thick shaft, moaning as her driving motions grew slower and slower, the waves of pleasure assaulting her mind and body ebbing slightly. She looked down into Aelfric's eyes, seeing the pleasure there as he moaned softly "Good God above Cazi." She smiled down at him as she stilled herself atop him, his spent shaft remaining deep within her still-clenching tunnel, moaning softly as her breasts heaved from her frantic attempts to catch her breath.

Aftershocks from Cazi's orgasms were still jolting through her, making her quiver as she almost collapsed on top of Aelfric. She idly kissed and caressed his torso as his fingertips trailed along her back, their light touch adding to the sensations as she moved subtly against him moaning softly. She was so content she almost missed what he said. "You what?" She asked, shifting to look up at him.

He smiled at her and repeated himself. "I said that I have to leave tomorrow, Cazi."



Cazi's Journey Ch. 03



Cazi stepped out of her Thames Street apartment and looked around. Her eyes had no trouble picking out the details of the people walking up and down the street. Her thirst was a nagging sensation, but not as bad as it had been when Aelfric had first turned her. She could skip a day now and then if she had to, but she would be famished the next day if she did not feed daily. Aelfric had told her it would ease as time passed. She sighed as she thought of her sire. Where are you, Aelfric? I miss you. She had delayed her returning to her house in Kensington, waiting for Aelfric's return. She had heard nothing from him in the three weeks since he had left her sleeping.

Cazi woke late, her hand reaching out for Aelfric. When she opened her eyes, though, he was gone. She sighed and looked around the room. The shutters were open and the lamp was burning, its flame turned down low, on the table. She saw a piece of paper laying beside it. She rose and walked over to the table and picked up the paper. The writing on it was in a bold hand that she guessed was Aelfric's.

Dearest Cazi,

I have already left to answer Cadeyrn's summons. I should have left last night but I wanted to see you again first. I will return as soon as I can. Until then, keep practicing what I have shown you. I hope to see you again in a day or two. I hope that you can forgive me for leaving without a proper goodbye.

It was signed 'Aelfric'. She sighed again and put the letter back down on the table. "Of course I forgive you, Aelfric," she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes as she felt the thirst stirring within her. She could hear the thoughts of the people passing by. She dressed as quickly as she could and left by the front door.

Cazi straightened her dress unnecessarily and, after a moment's thought, turned to make her way towards Whitechapel. As she walked she thought about her friend and servant Amina. She decided that once she fed she would leave Aelfric a note in her apartment telling him where she was and she would return to Kensington. With a small smile she thought that that would be fitting. He had left her with a note and she would do the same to him.

As Cazi walked she opened her mind to listen to the thoughts of the people walking by. She had been practicing every night and it was much easier now to pick out individual thoughts and trace them back to their source. She almost laughed out loud as she caught the traces of a couple's thoughts as they were getting ready to go to bed. She smiled and sent some encouraging thoughts to the woman's mind as she crossed the street and turned towards a theater that she had patronized a couple of times.

As she stepped up to the booth to buy her ticket the man inside spoke. "Local show tonight, miss. Only a thrup'nce for admission tonight."

Cazi smiled at him and reached into her purse for a three pence coin. She laid the silver coin down on the counter and took her ticket from the man. She followed his directions into the theater and, as she entered, saw that the show was going to be lightly attended. She took a seat at the front and waited for the performance to begin.

As she waited she reached out into the semi-lighted theater to find the thoughts of the people seated. She picked them out with increasing ease and smiled, proud of herself. The light dimming in the theater signaled the beginning of the show and she turned her attention to the stage. For a moment she had a feeling like someone was watching her but she shook it off as the curtain opened.





Cazi's Journey Ch. 03



Cassandra looked up at Henry, alarm on her face. "Henry, no, please."

Lord Bevington snorted and pointed at Cassandra. "You see. She does not want you to give up your money and leave her penniless."

At that Cassandra's head snapped towards her father. "I assure you, sir, that even if Henry did give up his money we would in no way be near penniless. I do not ask your son for any money. I have plenty of my own resources from my properties in India."

Henry shook his head at Cassandra and frowned. "Be quiet, Cassandra. My father has spoken and on his head it will be." He held his hand out to her and she took it, rising as he looked back at his father. "I wish you the best, Lord Bevington. I hope your other three sons can make you proud. I will not trouble you again."

Cassandra was in shock. Henry was giving up his family for her. She looked from Henry to his father and back looking for any sign of give in either man. She sighed as Henry turned her towards the door. She tried not to flinch as she heard him slam the door to Bevington Manor behind them.

"The one, your M... Lord Cadeyrn?" Cazi asked, forcing herself to stay motionless under the man's gaze.

"Yes, Cazi, the one." He stopped and looked at Amina, his head tilting curiously to one side for an instant before looking back at Cazi. "The one that caused my heir to disobey me yet again." He walked back around in front of Cazi and gestured to a chair. "Please, sit. There is no need for you to be uncomfortable while we talk." He lowered to a seat himself and glanced over at Amina. "I see you told her about us as Aelfric told you. That is good. Our kind can always use a trustworthy human."

Amina, ashen faced, dropped a slight curtsy as well. "Yes she told me about your kind, Lord Cadeyrn. But my loyalty is to Miss Cazi alone."

Cazi bit back a gasp at Amina's statement before turning to look at Cadeyrn. Again he cut her off with a raised hand. "You do not need to defend her, Cazi. Her loyalty to you is admirable." He again gestured to the seats Cazi and Amina had vacated. "Please, sit. I do not want to look up at you both as we talk."

They sat down slowly and, adjusting her skirts, Cazi blurted out, "Lord Cadeyrn, is Aelfric alive?"

Cadeyrn smiled his ghost of a smile and nodded. "Yes, Lady Cazi, my heir is quite alive, though by now he may be wishing he was not."

Cazi leaned forward in her chair, her alarm evident in her voice. "Why? What did you do to him?"

Cadeyrn plucked at a nonexistent string on his sleeve. "I was forced to punish him for violating my orders." As Cazi opened her mouth to ask how, he continued, "A punishment I heard about in Paris. He has been put into a box and sealed up in the mausoleum at my house, alone except for his thoughts and his hunger."

Cazi gasped at that, unknowingly leaning closer to Cadeyrn. "Walled up in a mausoleum? You mean he was buried? What kind of punishment is that, sir?"

"A very effective one." Cadeyrn said. "I can feel your concern for him. It does you and him both credit. But he will be fine when he is released from the box. Some do not hold up so well to it, but Aelfric should be used to it by now. This is not his first trip to the Box of Silence."

"What does it do, Lord Cadeyrn?" Amina asked quietly.

"For certain acts, a vampire is sentenced to the Box. He is then either buried or walled into a crypt. When I pass the sentence only two people ever know the duration of the punishment. That way there is always someone that knows when to release him." He smiled wistfully. "In Paris I met a vampire that had been in the box for over 25 years. He was sentenced to it just before the French Revolution. When the Revolution came about, the people who had put him there were all killed." Cazi shuddered at his words, listening. "Over time he was forgotten about completely. Then one day they went to put another vampire into their box and he was released. By that time, though, he was quite insane from the solitude and the hunger."

"Insane!" Cazi said. "You would put your heir into a box where people have come out insane? That is ludicrous."

Cadeyrn smiled again. "I see now the spirit that Aelfric spoke of. I had seen it earlier tonight." Cazi looked at him curiously. "Why did you let the girl go when you had decided to feed on the next one to pass by you?"

"Because she was young." Cazi said, fuming. "She has the rest of her life ahead of her. So I chose someone else."

"Yes, her pimp of a father." Cadeyrn said. "I saw that as well. You did very well in pushing him out of the window to make it look like he fell. I doubt that anyone will suspect."

"You did not answer my question, Lord Cadeyrn. Why did you put Aelfric into a box knowing that people have gone insane from it?" Cazi could not keep the anger from her voice.

"I put him there because he disobeyed me, Cazi. His punishment is severe, but he has been through it before. He will come out of it just fine." He chuckled softly. "I do not intend to leave him in the Box for a quarter of a century. A month or two should get my point across. He has done a month before, several times, so he should have no problem this time. Having no one know the duration of the sentence is a part of the punishment."

"How is that part of your punishment?" Cazi almost jumped when she heard Amina ask the question that she had been thinking.

"Imagine it. You are in a box, a coffin. You are sealed inside of a space just big enough for the box, allowing no light or sound through. You do not know if your sentence is for a day, or for a week, or for a month or two, or even a year." Cadeyrn leaned back in his chair but Cazi could not force herself to look away. "You have no way to mark the passage of time and only your hunger to keep you company. A hunger that grows stronger and louder with each passing day."

"Barbaric."

Cazi did not even realize she had spoken aloud until Cadeyrn smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, it is quite barbaric. But very effective, and that is what matters. Generally the first words out of a vampire's mouth when they are released from the Box is 'how long'. Then they are allowed to feed and let go to do whatever. The only time anything else is done is when they are obviously insane."

"What do you do then?" Cazi asked, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"If they are insane, they are kept in a room and allowed to feed, sometimes several times a day. The feeding sometimes helps the insanity to pass, silencing the hunger for long periods. If it does not help," Cadeyrn shrugged. "They are turned out into the light of day to die."

Cadeyrn put his hands on his knees and made to stand up. "I must be going. Daylight will be here soon and I must get home to sleep." He stood and bowed to Cazi. "I will see you again, Lady Cazi." Cazi nodded respectfully to him and he smiled for a moment before looking at Amina. His eyes hardened slightly as he nodded, the look so fleeting that Cazi was not sure if she saw it or imagined it.

In the blink of an eye he was gone, as fast as he had appeared. Cazi shook her head and looked at Amina as the Indian woman whispered, "I do not like that man, Cazi. I cannot say what it is, but there is something about him that is just wrong. Did you see the way he looked at me?"

Cazi looked surprised. Maybe it was not her imagination after all. "Yes, Amina, I saw how he looked at you. But he is an important person." She smiled and gave a soft chuckle. "Not to mention he is a vampire that, according to Aelfric, has been alive since even before the Romans came to Britain."

Cazi could see that Amina was less than convinced when she sniffed disapprovingly. "Yes, you could be right. But something just seems wrong about him to me." She turned to look at Cazi, smiling. "Tell me everything, Cazi. Why were you made into a vampire? Did it hurt? Can you do like that Cadeyrn man did? Move fast I mean?"

Relaxing, Cazi shared the tale of her turning with Amina. She laughed quietly when Amina chastised her for taking Aelfric back to her apartment and having sex with him. "I know, Amina. It was horrible of me to do." She could not resist poking at her friend. "But it was oh so enjoyable. Being turned into a vampire did hurt. It hurt a lot at first." She shrugged and smiled. "But the pain passed quickly. Aelfric said that the pain was my body dying."

The room blurred around Cazi as she demonstrated her new speed, rushing across the room and turning to look back at Amina, who was looking around trying to find her. "Yes, I can move quickly like him."

"Thats amazing, Cazi. How did you do that?" Amina asked, spinning to look at her. 

Cazi shrugged. "I do not know really. I just thought about being here and I hurried." She grinned at Amina just like she used to when they were children. "I also can do other things." She held her hand out towards an empty candlestick. With barely a thought she brought the candlestick from the table across the room into her hand. She was kind of glad that she did not miss catching it this time.

Amina's mouth fell open. "You did that? How? You can do that because of being a vampire?"

Cazi nodded, still smiling as she sent the candlestick back over to where it had been and returned to her seat with the same blurring of motion. "Yes, Amina. I can do that because I am a vampire. I can read people's minds." She thought she sensed Amina tensing when she said that but she continued anyway, this time projecting her thoughts into Amina's mind. I can also speak to people without speaking. Speaking, she continued. "Do you remember when we used to pretend that we could speak to each other in our minds?"

Amina smiled, her hazel eyes sparkling. Yes, Cazi. I do remember. Cazi's eyes widened in surprise as she heard Amina's voice in her mind. "It was not pretend though. I have been able to read people's thoughts since we were children. It made you happy to pretend to speak to each other in our minds, so when I saw that you were 'concentrating' to talk to me, I would read your thoughts and answer them. You were the only person I felt comfortable doing that around."

Cazi's smile grew wider. That is wonderful. Now we do not have to pretend. Amina nodded. No, we do not. She was smiling, but Cazi could see that the smile was strained. "What is wrong Amina?"

"Nothing is wrong, Cazi. I am just sleepy. It is only an hour or so until dawn." She rose and hugged Cazi again. "I have to get some sleep. I will see you tomorrow, my little Cazi."

Cazi stood and hugged Amina back, whispering "I am glad to be home, Amina. I was so afraid that you would be frightened of me or want to leave me. I could not handle losing you too." Not after I lost my beloved Henry.

Amina hugged her even tighter. I am not going anywhere, Cazi. You do not frighten me anymore. Not since we were children. She clasped Cazi's shoulders and smiled, looking into her eyes. "This will just take some getting used to. Just like everything else."

Cazi hugged her again, kissing her cheek. "I missed you so much, Amina." She slipped her arm into Amina's and turned for the stairs. "Let's get some sleep. I would not want you to think I was a horrid person for keeping you awake so late." She relaxed as she heard Amina laugh and follow her upstairs. She walked with Cazi to her room before leaving her. Cazi went into her room and laid down on the bed. Sleep came for her more easily than it had for weeks.



Cazi's Journey Ch. 04



The next few weeks passed quickly for Cazi. She was back at her home with her lifelong friend. Gradually Amina relaxed completely around Cazi. Although she never mentioned it, she knew when Cazi had gone out to feed and Cazi could sense that she disapproved. Whenever she brought it up, Amina changed the subject as fast as she could. Cazi eventually stopped trying to talk to her about it. Amina slowly accustomed her sleeping habits to match Cazi's. They both went to bed with the dawn and awoke after the sun had set. At times Amina even slept in the same bed with Cazi despite Cazi's misgivings about the danger.

One night, Cazi and Amina were out walking in the garden when Cazi sensed something, a distant sound almost. She looked over at Amina. "Go back to the house and wait for me." When Amina opened her mouth to say something Cazi interrupted her. Go to the house. A vampire is coming. I do not want you to be mistaken for a meal.

Amina nodded, her lips set in a thin line. I will, Cazi. You be careful. Cazi assured her that she would and Amina headed back to the house.

Cazi closed her eyes, opening her mind to the night around her. Her control had grown over the months since she was first turned. She reached out further slowly, trying to pinpoint the sound. When she heard it again she focused her attention in that direction. She caught a faint sense of intense hunger and she felt her fangs extending as her own hunger responded to it.

Who are you? What are you doing here? There are no humans to feed on here, vampire. Go back to London. She sent the thoughts out, letting her anger seep into the words. This was her house and she would not have some vagrant vampire trying to feed near it. She did not even feed within miles of her house.

The sense of hunger grew. Cazi frowned. Apparently this vampire was going to be stubborn. Then she sensed... amusement along with the undercurrent of hunger. The whoosh sound grew louder she suddenly caught sight of the vampire rushing towards her. 

Aelfric! She cried out with her mind as the ground blurred around her. They met in the middle with an impact that knocked the breath from both of them. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, kissing him shamelessly as she felt his arms wrap around her. Up close the sense of hunger emanating from him was almost overwhelming. As they kissed she realized that hunger was not the only sensation she was getting from him.

Breathlessly she broke the kiss, murmuring "You have got to meet, Amina" as she looked at him, her fingers caressing his face. He was very pale and his face was gaunt. Concern surged within her and she was about to ask him about his time in the Box.

Later. He growled as his lips again found hers. Cazi kissed him back eagerly, her arms going around his neck to hold him tight, almost scared to let go. She gasped as he shredded her dress with an almost mindless jerk of his hand. As her dress dropped to the ground in tatters he reached around her and picked her up, his hands gripping her ass tightly.

Cazi felt her arousal explode within her as the hunger she was feeling from him was pushed to the back of her mind, replaced with sheer, unadulterated lust. He held her up with one hand on her ass, the other going down and unlacing his pants as his lips moved against hers hungrily. Without another word he lowered her just slightly and thrust his hard cock deep into her.

Cazi felt his thick cock powering up into her and just tightened her arms around his neck. She did not care that she was crying her pleasure out for anyone passing by to hear. All she cared about was that Aelfric had returned. Her body jarred against his as he drove into her, just ramming into her like an animal. "Yes! Oh God yes, Aelfric!" she cried out, her arms tightening even more around his neck, feeling herself perched on the edge of an abyss. 

Her body thrashed wildly as the pounding of his thick cock knocked her head over heels into the abyss, her pleasure crashing through her in wave after wave of bliss. While his cock powered into her savagely his hands tightened even more on her ass, holding her jerking body still as he powered his hard cock into her again and again. Hard on the tail of the first, another orgasm crashed through her.

She felt a tickle at the base of her neck and thought she heard a soft gasp in her mind, but the pleasure coursing through her gave her no leave to think as Aelfric gripped her tightly. She heard his growled "Bite, Cazi" muffled against her neck. As she felt his own teeth sink into her soft skin she cried out as yet another orgasm slammed drove through her like lightning. She sank her teeth into Aelfric's neck and as he powered hard into her, drinking her blood, she drank his.

As his blood flowed over her tongue she moaned, her entire body, already tingling from one orgasm after another, burst into life, yet another orgasm coursing through her, this one, though just as intense as the first, sliding slowly through her. She felt Aelfric reach the crest of his own pleasure and spill himself into her, his hands holding her tightly as they reveled in the feeling of their shared pleasure as they shared their blood.

She held to Aelfric, impaled on his thick shaft as they continued to feed from each other. She was not sure how long she was held off of the ground and no matter how much she tried she could not bring herself to care. She had her Aelfric back. Finally she heard Aelfric give a low rumbling moan as his teeth slid from her neck. She whimpered against his neck as she let her own fangs pull from it. She felt Aelfric lick her neck and smiled, flicking her own tongue against a fang before licking at the marks of her teeth.

"God Above, Cazi." Aelfric gasped as he set her back down on her shaky legs, keeping an arm around her to help support her despite looking none-too-steady himself. She looked up at him, her arms still tight around him. "I missed you so much, Cazi."

She reluctantly let her arms slide down from around his neck, smiling widely. "I missed you too, Aelfric. I was so worried when you did not return." As she caught her breath her legs felt more steady and she slowly realized that she was standing amidst the ruins of her clothes.

Aelfric saw her blush and swung his jacket off and put it over her shoulders. She held it closed with one hand and smiled her thanks at him. "I am sorry about your dress, Cazi." Aelfric said, his eyes still glowing in the semi-dark. "But as soon as I saw you I had to have you."

"That is all right, Aelfric." She replied, her eyes sparkling. "Just try to be more careful in the future. I am going to have to face Amina's wrath now for the shredded dress." She laughed softly. "I guess there is no way to hide what we did from her now."

She could not miss how Aelfric's eyes hardened. "You did not release her from your service? Does she know what you are? What I am?"

Cazi straightened up, nodding curtly, inexplicably hurt by the angry, accusatory tone in his voice. "Yes, she does, Aelfric." She turned away from him so that he would not see the pain in her eyes. "She knew before I ever said a word to her about it. She called me a... rakshasa or something."

She heard Aelfric sigh felt him step up behind her. He took her by the shoulders and turned her around. "I am sorry, Cazi. I just do not want to see you go through what I have gone through." He stopped talking and just hugged her.

"Amina will not leave me, Aelfric," Cazi said, hugging him back, almost losing his jacket as she did. If his arms had not been around her she probably would have. "We have been friends since childhood."

Aelfric still did not speak but he relaxed his arms around her. "Do I get to meet Amina now?" He laughed softly as Cazi grabbed the jacket, holding it around her, blushing.

"Of course, Aelfric. Come on. She will be wondering who was coming. I sent her to the house when I sensed someone coming." She turned and, with Aelfric by her side, made her way to the house. As they walked into the house, Amina met them at the doorway. Cazi smiled gratefully as Amina held out her dressing robe. She frowned at Aelfric as he laughed when Amina put herself and the robe between Cazi and himself.

Aelfric bowed deeply to Amina. "You must be Amina." As Cazi shrugged into the dressing robe and tied the belt around her waist Amina took Aelfric's jacket and turned around to face him. 

Her eyes looking him over appraisingly, she nodded her head and murmured "And you must be Aelfric." She held his jacket out to him and he took it, putting it on and smiling.

Cazi sensed something different about Amina and looked at her closely. With a start she realized what it was. Amina! You... heard. You read my thoughts while we were... She trailed off, flushing brightly as she realized what the sensation she was feeling from Amina was.

Amina blushed herself as she nodded ever so slightly. Yes, Cazi. I did. Cazi blushed harder as a rush of emotion swept through her from Amina. I could not believe it. As soon as my mind touched yours, I...

Cazi smiled as Amina trailed off. She was about to answer her when Amina shook her head slightly, her cheeks still flushed. Cazi took the hint and smiled at her, turning to Aelfric. "I suppose you know that Cadeyrn came here."

Aelfric nodded and smiled grimly. "Yes, I know that he did. He told me as soon as I was let out of that cursed Box. Three months indeed." He muttered to himself and looked at Cazi. "My sire is quite impressed with you, Cazi. Just as I told you that he would be." Cazi smiled and blushed. "He seems quite eager for me to bring you to a meeting of the Houses to be 'introduced' properly."

Cazi was about to ask Aelfric about the Box when Amina spoke up, beating her to it. "What is it like in that... what was it? The Box of Silence?"

Aelfric's smile slipped somewhat and Cazi could see the shudder run through him. "It is hell on earth. That is what it is like. Total blackness. No way to tell the passage of time. No way to move around at all. The Box is really nothing but a coffin that is just barely big enough for you to lay in without being twisted over. Nothing to occupy your time except your thoughts."

He looked at Cazi, the smile returning. "I had plenty of thoughts to occupy myself with. That helped to offset the hunger that gnawed at me daily. Though by the end, I was unable to think about anything but feeding."

He shrugged and sighed. "But apparently my duty to my King is not done yet."

"What do you mean Aelfric?" Cazi said, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had just gotten him back. She would not lose him again!

"Cadeyrn has decreed that, as a condition of my punishment, I must go to America." He held a hand up to stop Cazi's outburst as she opened her mouth. "It is my duty as the Heir to the Throne. I have to go and speak to King Niccolo Cesare, the vampire King of North America, and visit the various eastern dominions there." He sighed and shook his head. "Chances are I will spend most of my time meeting with his daughter, Maria. She does more of the running of his kingdom than he does."

"You do not want to go?" Cazi asked, stepping closer to Aelfric although she did not realize that she had.

It was Aelfric's turn to blush though he hid it well. "Cazi, I have never been outside of the British Isles except for a trip to Normandy that I took not long after I was turned. That was also the reason for my first trip to the Box." Seeing Cazi's curious look he grinned boyishly. "Shortly after the Norman Invasion I went to Normandy to try and kill the Duke William of Normandy. Cadeyrn found out about it though and caught me outside of William's castle. He knocked me out and brought me back to England." He chuckled. "I woke up already in the Box. Apparently Cadeyrn had decided not to give me a trial that time."

Cazi nodded, frowning. "When do you have to leave, Aelfric?"

"Not for a few months, Cazi," Aelfric said, taking her hand and squeezing gently. Cazi squeezed his hand back tightly. "Cadeyrn wanted to be sure I had recovered from my time in the Box before sending me to America." He saw the look on Cazi's face and laughed. "No I do not know how long I will be there, Cazi. I will send you messages when I find out where I will be."

Cazi could not believe it. She just could not believe it. Aelfric had just returned to her and already he was going to be leaving again. She fought back the tears threatening to escape her eyes and resolved to make the most of the time she had with him. She took his arm and Amina accompanied them to the back parlor overlooking the garden.

The next several hours passed by in a blur for Cazi. The combination of joy that Aelfric was back mixed with anger that he was going to be taken from her again was a heady mix indeed. The conversation was purposely kept to menial things. She replied when spoken to, but otherwise stayed lost in her thoughts. Aelfric and Amina, realizing that she was preoccupied and guessing the reason why, left her alone with her preoccupation.

Snapping out of her reverie, Cazi realized that Aelfric was standing and bowing to Amina. "It was a pleasure to meet you Amina. I had heard a lot about you from Cazi." Amina smiled and gave a bit of a curtsy to him. Aelfric turned to Cazi as she stood. "Dawn is coming. I have to get back to my apartment in London." He smiled and stepped closer, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips to lightly brush her knuckles. "I will see you tomorrow night Cazi."

Cazi shook her head and tightened her hand around his. "No, Aelfric. You can sleep here. You do not have to go back to London." Do not leave me, Aelfric. Please stay with me. Cazi ignored Amina's disapproving sniff. Her attention was all on Aelfric.

Aelfric caught Amina's disapproval and laughed softly. "It seems that Amina does not like that idea, Cazi. I do not want to cause any problems between you. I will go back to London and return tomorrow night. With your permission that is."

Cazi's heart leaped into her throat. He was going to leave! She opened her mouth to ask him to stay again when Amina spoke, her Indian accent exotic still despite her years in England. "No, Aelfric. Please. The Lady of the house has asked you to stay. I am in no position to say you yea or nay. I was merely doing my job of looking after my mistress in trying to keep her publicly 'proper'."

Cazi flushed as Amina looked at her with one delicate brow arched slightly. "Not that Cazi has ever really cared what other people thought about her." Amina gave a soft chuckle. "That is what she keeps me around for."

Mourning? Cazi heard Amina's voice in her head as she opened her mouth to protest that she did not keep Amina around for that reason. She felt Amina's amusement as memories rushed through her mind at that one simple word.

Cassandra looked into the mirror and sighed. She had never thought that she could grow to hate black so much. In the months since her beloved Henry had died, her entire wardrobe had become nothing but black. Just the thought of her deceased husband was enough to send pain searing through her anew. I am so sorry, Henry. Tears began to run down her face as her pain and guilt crashed through her.

She turned away from the door as she heard it open. "Miss Cazi, I ordered the dresses like you asked." When she heard Amina's voice she turned back around. Amina saw the wetness of her tears on her cheeks and closed the door, hurrying over to her. "Oh, Cazi," she said, speaking quietly, "I wish you would change your mind about this." She hugged Cassandra tightly, not caring about how it looked since the door was closed and they were alone. Cassandra relished her maid's ability to go from proper servant to lifelong friend in the blink of an eye, always knowing just when to do it. It made her love Amina all the more.

"Amina, I will always mourn my Henry." Cassandra said, wiping her face with her hands. "But it is a new century coming up. The year 1900, Amina! I think Henry would understand. This is the only century that you or I will see in. I am going to put off the mourning clothes for the New Year party." She raised her chin stubbornly without even being aware that she did it.

Amina sighed, recognizing the signs that Cassandra was through listening. Despite that she plowed on ahead. "But, Cazi, what will people think? It has only been a couple of month's since the funeral. The Queen is still wearing black after thirty-eight years!"

Cassandra felt her face burning as her anger exploded within her. "I do not care what people think, Amina! Not a one of those people that you are concerned about me offending care about me at all. They are..." She stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. "They were Henry's friends. If it was not for him few of them would never have even spoken to me." She sighed and stepped back from Amina. "And I am not Queen Victoria, Amina! I do not have the eyes of an entire world watching me and everything that I do."

As Amina opened her mouth to continue the argument Cassandra spun on her heel and walked over to the window in her bedroom and looked out at the grounds her house stood on. "No, Amina. It is decided. For the most part these people think that I am beneath them. I will not be bound by what they feel is proper or not. This is my life, Amina. I will live it the way that I want to live it."

Amina, seeing that she was going to get nowhere by continuing to argue with her friend, merely bowed her head. "As you wish, Cazi." Cassandra almost relented as she heard the soft sigh escape Amina's lips. "I was just doing my best to look out for you like I am supposed to do."

Cassandra's eyes widened and she spun back around to face Amina. "I am not a child, Amina. I do not need 'looking out for'. I am a woman grown and I can make decisions for myself."

Amina merely nodded and said "Yes, Cazi" quietly. Cassandra felt her heart pull at the sadness in her friend's voice.

Taking another deep breath, Cassandra said, "I will wait until after the New Year's Eve Dinner that Lord Bevington is throwing to come out of my period of mourning." She walked over to Amina and took her hands. "Will that be 'proper' enough, Amina?"

Amina looked at her and smiled softly. "It most likely will not be, Cazi. But I think that it will have to do. I can tell you are going to be stubborn about it." Her smile grew wider as her eyes sparkled.

Cassandra smiled at her friend as she kissed her cheek softly. "Thank you for trying to look out for my best interests, Amina. I truthfully do appreciate it. But this is something that I have to do."

Amina nodded. "I know that you do. Shall we get you dressed for Lord Bevington's party?" She smiled at Cassandra and hugged her gently again. At Cassandra's nod she began to help her dress for the party.

Lord Bevington's party was a typically snobbish affair. People clustered together talking and moving about the room as if propelled by a current. Amina accompanied Cassandra to the party so that she would have someone to talk with. Cassandra was glad that she had insisted on it. Since Henry's death the number of people who had called themselves her friends had dwindled down to a bare handful. She was snubbed repeatedly at the party.

Cassandra could sense Amina's growing unease and wished that the new year would hurry and arrive so that she could go home. When the new year finally came around, Lord Bevington had spoken to his widowed daughter a grand total of twice. By Cassandra's reckoning that was twice too often. After the traditional new year's toast by Lord Bevington, she had taken Amina and left Bevington Manor, hoping that she would never have to set foot on its grounds again.




Cazi's Journey Ch. 04



Cazi smiled at the last thought. It seemed that her New Year's Wish that night had come true. She had never received another invitation to a party at Bevington Manor after she had put off her mourning black. On the contrary, Lord Bevington had seemed to take that as a personal affront to his dignity. Soon she had been 'blacklisted' and only a few of her friends had continued to talk to her, unconcerned with any potential insult to the influential Lord Bevington.

She came back to the present with a chuckle. She realized that Aelfric was looking at her curiously and just smiled at him. "I was just thinking." She wrapped her arm around his and rested her hand on his forearm. "So you are going to stay Aelfric?" She looked up at him with a smile.

"Yes, Cazi," Aelfric said, "I will stay." He smiled down at her and rested his hand on top of hers.

"I will prepare you a room to sleep in." Amina said. "It will be ready in a few minutes."

Cazi sensed her friend's amusement and looked over at her curiously. "I do not think that a separate room will be necessary, Amina."

She chuckled at Amina's disapproving sniff and slightly arched brow. "As you wish, Cazi." She flushed bright crimson as she heard Amina's voice in her head. Do try to keep it down some please, Cazi. I will need to sleep sometime tonight.

Aelfric looked at her curiously but she just shook her head. She looked back at Amina and smiled sweetly. I am not the only one to get loud at times like that, Amina. Do remember that.

Amina smiled softly and nodded her head. No, you are not. But you are the only one to get that loud out in the open where just anyone can hear you.

Cazi flushed and looked away. She stayed close to Aelfric as Amina led them upstairs to her room. Amina left them with another mental admonition to Cazi to keep it down somewhat and a nod to Aelfric before turning for her own room to sleep. Cazi led Aelfric into her room and closed the door behind them.

As soon as it closed she felt Aelfric's hand on her arm. He turned her around and pulled her tight against him. He kissed her lips, softly at first but, as his fingers gently curled in her hair to hold them to his, more insistently as their lips lingered together.

Cazi slipped her arms around Aelfric's neck and held herself tight to him. She sighed against his lips as his hand untie the belt of her robe before slipping inside to caress the smooth flesh of her stomach. His fingertips trailed lightly over her skin, sliding upward, the back of his hand brushing the undercurve of her breast. Aelfric flipped the robe back and, as she lowered her arms, brushed it off of her. As the robe fell to the floor behind her she stepped forward. 

She locked her eyes on Aelfric's as he began to undress himself. She helped him, almost tearing at his clothes in her hurry to get him undressed. As his clothes slid to the floor, joining hers, their arms once more slipped around each other, their lips pressing tightly. Cazi kept her lips moving against his as they slowly made their way towards the bed.

As Aelfric's legs hit the bed he fell backwards. His arms tightened around Cazi. She tightened her arms around him and gave a playful squeal as they fell onto the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. She scrambled up onto the bed with him, straddling him to stay on top of him as he pushed himself back up onto the bed. She wrapped her arms around him as he straightened out on the bed, her lips pressing back to his.

She moaned softly as she felt his arms wrap around her. He shifted slightly, easing his stiffening shaft against her already slick entrance. She felt the engorged head sliding against her and moaned "Oh, God" softly. She moved softly against him as his arm slid back around her, her body seemingly moving of its own accord, trying to slide him into her. She felt his thick length slide deep into her and moaned deeply.

Cazi gasped as Aelfric swapped their positions, putting her to her back beneath him. He pushed up slowly, his back arching and Cazi moaned deeply, his thickness sliding easily into her slick tight sheath. Aelfric's hands drew another soft moan from her as they slid up her sides to cup her breasts, caressing softly as he slowly rocked himself back and forth above her, his chest barely brushing her hard nipples as his rigid member pushed deep again and again.

Cazi wrapped her legs around his waist and held tightly as she felt him slide in and out of her, his hard shaft pushing against her gripping inner walls again and again, her moans soft as Aelfric's lips moved against hers. She clutched at his shoulders as he thrust into her again and again, pulling almost out, the top of his cock rubbing her clit as he did, before pushing deep into her again. His hips rocked forward suddenly at the end of each thrust, his hard cock driven hard the last couple of inches into her heated core.

The combination of the long, slow motions rubbing against her clit and the sudden snap of Aelfric thrusting his cock into her had Cazi gasping, her body already climbing the peak towards her orgasm. Her nails began to dig deeper into his back as he continued to tease her hard nipples, caressing and gently tugging the sensitive peaks as he thrust himself in and out of her. "Oh God, Aelfric" she moaned as his fingers tweaked the stiff buds of her nipples, feeling her body reacting to his gentle teasing.

As her body gave in to its pleasure, bucking and thrashing beneath him, Cazi dug her nails into his back, holding on for dear life. As her inner walls clamped down tightly around him she cried out as he continued to thrust his hard cock deep into her. Aelfric teasingly slowed his thrusts as her tightness gripped and relaxed around him as her pleasure ran rampant through her. She almost growled as he kept his thick member sliding deep into her still but moving almost tortuously slow except for the sudden snap of his hips at the end of his thrusts, each one making her cry out as she was kept perched on the edge of her pleasure without being pushed over.

Cazi did growl as Aelfric slowed his thrusts even more, stopping with his hardness buried deep within her. "Oh God, no, Aelfric. Do not stop. Keep going. Please!" She cried out "Oh, God, Yes!" as he drove hard into her, her nails digging into his back as she was driven over the edge. She felt her nails once more scoring marks in Aelfric's back as he lowered his weight down, holding her pinned to the bed by his chest against hers as he rocked back slowly only to drive hard back into her.

Cazi felt her body clenching and gripping Aelfric's hard shaft as he drove relentlessly into her, his lips pressing tight to hers as her cries once again began to grow in volume as her pleasure grew in intensity. Aelfric pressed his lips tight to hers as he thrust faster into her. Cazi felt the pleasure within him building and once more rode the tide of her orgasm as it crashed through her. Aelfric moaned deeply against her lips as he thrust his thick cock deep into her.

Cazi cried out again as she felt his seed jet deep into her as her slick pussy milked the pleasure from his thick shaft as he drove it in and out of her. With a deep groan Aelfric thrust hard into her, holding tight to her as his body jerked, the last of his pleasure emptying within her clenching tightness. Cazi clung tightly to him as he almost collapsed on top of her, his body pinning her to the bed beneath him. Slowly she withdrew her nails from his back, her arms keeping him held tight to her.

Cazi murmured "I missed you so, Aelfric" as sleep snatched them both away, his arms sliding under her as hers held tight to him, keeping them snug together, his spent shaft still within her clenching tightness as the aftershocks of her pleasure kept her toes curling even in her sleep. His weight was a reassurance of his presence even in her dreams.



Cazi's Journey



She moved with him as he slowly walked her backwards towards the bed. He kept his lips pressed tight against hers as one hand slid up into her hair. She moaned again as his fingers twined themselves in her mass of curls. Her arousal seemed to grow by the second with this man and somehow he seemed to know it. Pulling her head back a bit he simply said one word as he looked into her eyes. "Suck."

As soon as he said it her mind filled with images of her on her knees doing exactly what he said to do. Keeping her eyes on his she lowered slowly to her knees. She felt as if she was not in control of her body as one hand came up to wrap around the girth of his stiff rod. As if hypnotized she began to slowly stroke his thick shaft. A tightening of his hand in her hair brought her lips closer to it and, with a soft moan seeing he intended for her to suck him sooner rather than later, she closed her lips around his hard cock.

His moan was only a touch louder than hers as her tongue flicked across his engorged cock. His hand slowly began to move her head back and forth as he started to thrust his thick shaft between her lips. Images continued to run through her mind: Thoughts of her sucking him, tasting him. As her head bobbed back and forth along his hardness the images in her mind turned to him taking her in a manner of varied positions, to him tasting her, much as she was tasting him. Other images popped into her mind as she sucked hard on his stiff shaft. Suddenly she saw him above her, his mouth on her body, feeling his teeth sink into her skin, tasting her blood as it flowed.

Despite herself she moaned as she almost felt his teeth sinking into her flesh. His hand tightened even more in her hair as he pumped his thick hardness between her lips faster. Her own thoughts turned back to what she was doing. She sucked harder on the rigid flesh between her lips, wanting to taste his pleasure. Almost instantly her mind flooded with thoughts of his hardness pumping against her lips and tongue, stream after thick sticky stream of his hot seed spraying between her lips as she gulped it down voraciously. His grip in her hair slowed her down as she started to move her mouth faster along his thick shaft. As his grip stopped her lips near the head of his cock she looked up at him. His eyes seemed to burn as he looked down at her. "Do you want me to feed you, my sweet Cassandra?"

Unable to move her head even the slight distance required to pull his cock from her mouth she just nodded. He moaned as the motion moved her tongue against his cock's sensitive head. As the thoughts of his seed filling her mouth, feeding her his pleasure continued to flit through her mind he relaxed his grip and moaned softly "Then feed away, Cassandra." Without needing any further prompting she plunged her lips deep around his thick shaft, sucking and licking the rigid flesh between them as a starving animal in the zoo would attack a leg of lamb thrown to it. He matched her motion for motion, thrusting his throbbing shaft between her lips faster and faster as his release drew ever closer with each sucking plunge between her lips.

Within minutes she was rewarded for her efforts with a deep moan from him. His hand tightened once again in her hair as his thick cock pulsed against her lips. With a hungry moan mostly muffled by the jerking shaft between her lips, Cassandra started sucking hard on Alfred's cock, gulping down stream after stream of his hot seed. Her moan against his cock drew another moan from him as his body jerked in the throes of his pleasure, his eyes still locked on hers watching as she fed from his hard cock.

She heard his voice in her head as her lips slowed their frantic motions along his now-spent cock. Soon we will both feed, sweet Cassandra. Her eyes widened as they stayed locked with his. She couldn't figure out if his voice in her mind was her overly aroused imagination playing tricks on her or not. She decided that hearing his voice in her head had to be a by-product of her extreme arousal. He smiled at her as he slowly eased his cock from between her lips with a soft 'pop' as the engorged head slipped free of her gently suckling mouth.

Cassandra paused in shock as she did the fastenings on her dress. Aelfric had demonstrated that he could read her thoughts as well as speak to her in them. Maybe it had not been her imagination and he really had spoken to her in her mind. She once again let her mind wander back to the previous night as she finished dressing.

Cassandra cried out her pleasure, mindless of what anyone hearing her might think. Her hand gripped the back of Alfred's head, holding it between her thighs as his tongue danced against her clit, tortuously prolonging her third orgasm with its light touch as her inner walls alternately gripped and relaxed around the two fingers he was stroking the core of her womanhood with. Her thighs locked over his shoulders, helping to keep his mouth on her as each touch of his tongue sent electricity shooting through her body causing her to jerk and thrash about at his attentions to her sensitive flesh.

She almost flopped back onto the bed as his tongue left her clit. Her breasts heaved as she struggled to catch her breath. He slid his other hand up and cupped the softness of her breast. She could see the smile in his eyes as his tongue teased her clit with light licks as he spoke softly. "I told you that I would feed on you as well did I not?" Without waiting for her answer he stroked his fingers against her inner tightness. His thumb worked lightly against her clit as he once more lowered his head to her flesh. As she felt herself beginning to slowly climb towards another orgasm, he hurried the process along with an almost gentle pinch of her hard nipple.

She cried out as her pleasure surged, his thumb pressing tighter to her clit as he slowly kissed along her inner thigh. His eyes stayed locked with hers as she drew closer with each caress to yielding to her pleasure once again. His thumb's caresses grew faster, pressing tighter against her clit as his fingers wiggled against her inner walls, stroking her hot tunnel faster. "Oh... Oh... OHHHHHHH" she cried out as she felt him bite her inner thigh. Once again her inner walls clenched around his fingers, gripping them tightly as her body jerked beneath him. His finger and thumb tightened on her hard nipple, causing her to cry out again as each motion of her body pulled and tugged at the hard bud gripped between his fingers.

With a start Cassandra pulled the skirt of her dress up, turning her leg towards the light so that she could see. There! She reached down and lightly brushed the two small marks on her inner thigh where she remembered Aelfric biting her. They looked old, like they had been there for years instead of one night. I will have to ask him about that when he gets back. She thought to herself as she started to run her brush through her long curly hair. As the brush slid through the locks of molten copper, her thoughts slid back to the night before, trying to remember where else she was bitten.

Crying out her pleasure seemed to be the majority of what she had been doing since ending up in bed with Alfred hours before. That wasn't all that she had been doing. Catching her breath when he gave her a chance between orgasms, another thing she had been doing often, was seemingly the rest of it. As he powered his thick cock deep into her slick tightness she wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly, almost hanging on for dear life as he pounded into her again and again.

Every touch to her sensitive clit was a delicious torture, a torture he indulged in with each rocking motion on top of her. The top of his cock rubbed against her hooded nub each time he pulled his thick length almost fully from her gripping sheath with delightful slowness, prolonging the contact with her sensitive flesh before powering hard back into her. Each meeting of his hips and hers drew a gasping cry from her as his rough powering thrusts into her forced her once again up the pinnacle of pleasure that he seemed to delight in keeping her thrashing at the top of.

She felt him moving on top of her, his lips moving down her neck slowly as he continued to power deep into her again and again. He gathered one breast in his hand as he half-raised on his arms. His fingers gripped the soft mound tightly as he flicked his thumb across the hard bud tipping it, drawing another moan from her as he teased her stiff nipple just as his hips slammed against hers. He slid his other arm under her and gave a roll, pulling her over on top of him as he pressed his hips tight to hers. She whimpered softly and shifted on top of him, moving her legs out from under him, straddling him with his thick length deep within her

She looked down at him, her hands resting on his chest, her own breasts heaving as she tried to catch her breath at being so close to yet another orgasm and being denied as he changed positions from on top of her to underneath her. He smiled at her as he held himself still, a knowing smile as if he knew what she was thinking as he looked into her eyes, moaning softly. "oh God, Cassandra. I almost waited too long." She smiled as he sounded as breathless as she felt. She knew her green eyes were the color of misted jade now with the sheer lust and pleasure still coursing through her as she felt him moving under her. 

She felt his thighs moving against her bottom and shifted her own weight. She leaned forward on her hands, his thighs giving her firm bottom a stop as she started to slowly rock on top of him, his thick cock deep within her. She moaned softly as she buried his throbbing hardness deep in her tight tunnel, her hips grinding against his before rocking back up. She began to move faster as her pleasure began to build once again, more slowly this time. A smile crossed her face as she noticed his eyes, still appearing to glow in the half-lit room, following the swaying movements of her lush breasts. She leaned down a bit letting her hard nipple swing just out of the reach of his lips as she slid herself back down onto his hard rod once again. She closed her eyes, moaning in pleasure as she started to slide back down him.

Suddenly, he thrust himself hard back up to meet her. As his hips met hers, her, her eyes snapped open as a loud cry escaped her lips. As her body jarred forward he lunged up, his hips holding tight to hers as one hand gripped her ass, the other sliding up to trap her soft breast. His lips closed around it and she moaned even louder "Oh God, Alfred... Just... just like that." She closed her eyes again, moaning "Oh God yes! Please! Just like that, please!" He smiled and shifted his feet again, giving himself the leverage to slam his hips against hers and to drive his hard cock deep into her again and again as she rode him just as hard and fast. Her pleasure grew quickly as did her moans as his lips tugged the stiff bud between them, his tongue lashing the sensitive peak.

She arched her back, offering him more of her soft breasts as she rocked her body back to meet his again and again. He accepted what she offered, sucking hard on her stiff bud as she rocked faster on top of him, grinding her hips against his before he pulled back, again rubbing his cock against her clit before powering into her hard and fast. She felt her body tensing like a spring and knew she was about to have another orgasm. She curled her fingers in his hair as he wrapped his arm around her, holding her tight as his other hand went behind him to support them. "Oh God! Oh... oh yes... oh yes..." She cried out again as she felt his teeth once more pierce her flesh "ohhhhhhhh God yessssss!" She nearly screamed with pleasure as her body thrashed on top of him in the grip of her orgasm. Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly, holding his mouth to her breast as her body jerked and spasmed, impaled on his hard shaft as his teeth pulled at her smooth, warm flesh.

She cried out again as his body bucked beneath hers, pulling even more at her soft flesh with his teeth. His moan was muffled by her warm skin as jet after jet of his hot seed sprayed from his pulsing shaft into her milking tightness. She kept him held tight to her as he emptied himself into her body once more. As he held her just as tightly as she was clinging to him, they fell back onto the bed together. She moaned softly as his tongue flicked out against the undercurve of her breast lightly. As he pressed his lips to hers she tasted a slight metallic taste on his lips as he pushed his tongue between her lips, their arms twined around each other breathing heavily.

Cassandra reached up, cupping her breast. She turned around to the mirror on her dressing table as she unfastened her dress and pulled her breast from it, lifting it to see if there were any marks on it. She gasped and stared into the mirror in shock. She could see her dress. ALL of her dress. She reached out towards the mirror, gasping as her fingertips touched it. She could not see her hand touching the mirror, or her breast still hanging out of her dress. She could not even see the look of shock on her face at the revelation that she could not see herself in the mirror.

A blur of motion in the mirror caught her attention. With a gasp she turned around, pulling her dress back over to cover her breast again. Aelfric stood there, a body held limp in his arms. The movement of his clothes and the body in the mirror was what she had seen. He put the body down on the floor and stood back up. "I see you have noticed that we do not normally have a reflection in mirrors. That is why most of our kind avoid them."

"Normally? Is it possible to have a reflection?" Cassandra stood up and walked towards Aelfric. She drew up with another gasp as the room suddenly blurred around her and suddenly she was standing in front of him, the body between them.

Aelfric put a hand out to steady her, smiling. "Careful, Cassandra. When you think about moving quickly your body will respond. You have to get used to it first." When he saw she was steady again he let go of her arm. "To answer your question, yes it is possible for a vampire to have a reflection. It just takes practice and concentration." He looked down at the form laying on the floor. "She will wait a bit longer." He stepped around sight of the mirror. Cassandra saw his clothes in the mirror but couldn't see his reflection. Suddenly he turned around to face her and his reflection became visible. "You see? Practice and concentration are all it takes to have a reflection. It is the same with all of the powers you will have."

Cassandra nodded, smiling. Aelfric's reflection disappeared from the mirror and he stepped back over towards Cassandra. "Aelfric, is it true that vampires do not have reflections because they are damned and have no souls?" She asked him.

Aelfric laughed so long at that question that Cassandra started to get offended. Between laughs he answered her, shaking his head. "No, Cassandra, that is not true. I myself regularly attend church ever since Alfred insisted his nobles convert to Christianity. I know several others who do the same. There are even a few priests among our number. Just because you are now a vampire does not mean that you are automatically damned for the rest of your eternal existence."

"But don't we have to kill to survive?" She asked, looking down at the unconscious form of the young woman Aelfric had brought back.

"At first you will find the hunger overpowering when you start to feed." Aelfric said, walking back over to Cassandra. "With the hunger demanding more and more as you feed, at first you will likely kill everyone you feed from. And at first, the thirst will cause you to feed almost daily. You must be careful not to feed too close to your home or the body count will start alerting the authorities." He gestured down at the unconscious body. "I found Tara here in Whitechapel. She has no family, few friends. She won't be missed for few weeks."

"Will I always have to... feed daily?" Cassandra asked. She put her hand to her stomach as the thirst surged in her at the thought of feeding.

"No, Cassandra. The time between feedings will grow as time goes on." Aelfric squatted down and pulled the unconscious Tara's hair away from her neck. "I can go two or three weeks before I have to feed. But if I do that, the hunger takes over and whoever I am feeding from dies from it. I have chosen to feed more often, once a week generally, and just take less from each feeding. That way the person doesn't die and I still get fed."

That thought eased Cassandra's mind greatly. She looked hungrily at Tara. Aelfric's chuckle caused her to look at him questioningly. "The look on your face, Cassandra. Do this: Close your eyes and focus on being seen. Keep focusing on it as you look into the mirror." A thin smile crossed his face. "It will likely be the last time you want to do it."

Cassandra did as he said, closing her eyes and turning to look at the mirror. She opened her eyes and gasped. There she was in the mirror! "My eyes." she said, looking at herself in the mirror. Her skin was as pale as she had always been, maybe a little more so. But her eyes! Her eyes were... glowing. She stared at herself in the mirror, unable to look away from her own glowing green eyes.

Aelfric chuckled and that broke the semi-trance she was in. She turned to look at him and he said, "Yes, Cassandra, your eyes look like they are glowing. When you are about to feed, the color of them intensifies from the normal color to what you saw. Many of us can stand to see our faces and bodies. But many cannot stand the sight of our eyes when the hunger is strong." He shrugged and looked from the mirror to Cassandra. "Even I, with almost a thousand years of age, cannot bear to look into the eyes of my hunger."

Aelfric just nodded when she asked "Is that why you turned your back on the mirror before?" She saw his reluctance to talk about it further and dropped the subject. She looked over at the Whitechapel woman and without thinking about it she moved closer to Tara. Aelfric saw the look on her face and moved over to lift the sleeping woman's upper body. "Here, Cassandra." He said, pointing to a spot on her neck. "Here is one of the best places to feed from. The inner thigh is another good spot. You can feed from anywhere, but these are the best."

He straightened the woman up, her head still lolling over on his shoulder, holding her upright as he leaned in, opening his mouth to reveal his elongated canines. His lips closed on the woman's neck and she moaned in her sleep. Cassandra watched, spellbound.

Cassandra cried out again as Alfred drove hard into her from behind. His thick cock powered deep into her again and again. She moaned her pleasure with each jarring meeting of his hips and her upraised ass. She had not expected him to stir again so soon after his second orgasm but when he had told her to get up on her hands and knees she hadn't hesitated as images of being taken on all fours like an animal had flashed through her mind. Alfred's thick cock slid easily in and out of her slick tightness as his hands gripped her ass tightly.

She felt herself climbing once again towards the pinnacle as Alfred's hard shaft slid against her clit as he powered hard and fast into her. She moaned deep as she felt his hands on her firm flesh, pushing and pulling her onto his throbbing shaft. With each driving thrust into her slick tunnel she grew closer and closer to her orgasm. She pushed back to meet his thrusts as he drove forward into her, rocking forward as her ass met his hips. As she started moving herself along with his rough thrusts, she felt his hands slide from her ass along her sides. She gasped as she felt his fingertips pinch her hard nipples just as he thrust his throbbing length hard into her. Her body bucked as he continued to drive into her, pulling her back to meet him by her soft breasts and the hard buds tipping them as he continued to take her at a savage pace.




Cazi's Journey



She gasped as, all in one hungry motion, he drove hard into her and pulled her up from all fours before him to put her smooth spine against his chest. She cried out, held tightly against him as her body convulsed in the paired grips of her pleasure and his hands tight on her soft breasts. He continued to drive his throbbing cock into her at a savage pace, his hips slamming against her firm ass even as her inner walls clenched tightly around him. His fingers squeezed her hard nipples tightly as he held her smooth spine tight to his chest. His moans in her ear drove her even further over the edge, each movement of her body tugging at the sensitive buds trapped between his fingers.

"Oh God!" she cried out as she felt his bearded chin brush her copper curls away from her neck. Her hands gripped his wrists as his fingers squeezed and tugged at her hard nipples. His hips continued to slam against her firm ass with each thrust into her milking depths. Her inner walls clenched even tighter as she felt the stick of his teeth in her smooth skin. His arms tightened around her, holding her tightly against him as his hard cock pounded into her milking tightness. She felt another orgasm crash through her trapped body as he sucked on the side of her neck.

Again and again she yielded to her pleasure, her cries growing even louder as he drove his hips hard against her firm ass. She felt herself growing weaker, her body exhausted after hours of sheer bliss at the hands (and lips and tongue and teeth) of this man. He moaned in her ear softly, the words almost unheard with her cries though she understood it after a few seconds. "Do you want this, sweet Cassandra? Eternity?"

"Yes!" she moaned, unsure really what he meant by 'eternity', but the pleasure coursing through her caused her to cry out her answer as another orgasm exploded lights behind her eyes. He pulled his hand from her soft breast, tugging at her hard bud before bringing his wrist up to his mouth. When he moved his wrist from his lips, his wrist was cut.

He pushed his wrist to her lips, moaning "drink, Cassandra" in her ear as his hips drove hard against her firm bottom, holding tight to her as he emptied himself within her tight tunnel. She hesitated a moment, scared at what he was wanting her to do. She felt his thick shaft pulsing his pleasure into her tightness and sucked hard on his wrist, moaning deep in her throat as she again tasted the metallic taste on her lips. She realized that the taste when they kissed earlier was blood. She sucked hard on his wrist, drinking deeply from the blood welling from his slashed wrist as his lips moved back to her neck, sucking just as hard on her neck.

Electricity seemed to surge through her tasting Alfred's blood. Her body jerked against his grip as she drank more and more of his blood, realizing that he was doing the same to her lifeblood. She felt her racing heartbeat slowing as the room grew darker as his hardness emptied into her slick tightness. She let go of his wrist and fell to her belly in the bed.

Vaguely she felt the last of his hot seed drip onto her firm cheeks as she cried out again, this time in pain. She felt him fall to the bed behind her as pain shot through her in wave after excruciating wave, her body jerking again, now in the throes of her pain. She screamed again, her insides feeling as if they were on fire. She thrashed about on the bed, her body feeling as if it was burning, until the room went quiet and all faded into darkness.

Leaning forward, Cassandra felt her canines elongating, the thirst was consuming her but one thing nagged at her mind. She paused just before her lips reached the sleeping woman's neck, looking up at Aelfric. "Will she feel what I felt when I died?"

Aelfric shook his head, smiling. "No, Cassandra. What you felt when you died was your body's physical death. The vampire blood beginning to do away with what your 'new' body doesn't need. It is all still there, just dormant and, over time, it will all just waste away to nothing." He tilted Tara's head to the side. "Time enough for questions later. Eat, before you waste it all."

Smiling, Cassandra ran her tongue slowly up Tara's neck licking the blood that had coursed from the twin punctures from Aelfric's fangs. Her tongue tingled as she lapped at the warm blood. The tingle spread as she swallowed the blood she had licked up. She looked at Aelfric who nodded as he held the woman's neck exposed for her. With a soft growl that she didn't know where it came from she lunged forward, closing her lips over the wells of blood, her canines sinking into the woman's skin as she sucked at the quartet of small wounds.

As the blood slid over her tongue, the tingling was replaced with a surge of... life... was the closest word that Cassandra could think of to describe the feeling. Colors sprang into exquisite vividness. She could hear things that the hunger had drowned out before. As the hot blood of the other woman's life slid down her throat she could feel every inch of her body tingling, almost like the feeling she got after an intense orgasm. She stifled a moan as she drank, her arms sliding around the woman, holding her tight against her, her hands going into her hair to hold her neck exposed.

After a time that seemed like only seconds and like forever at the same time, she heard Aelfric's voice in her head. That is enough. You are too young to take her death into you, Cassandra. She lingered another second that seemed an eternity on Tara's neck before pulling her lips back, her lips peeled back from her fangs as she looked at Aelfric. "Cassandra is dead. Call me Cazi."

Aelfric smiled and nodded a bow. "Of course, Cazi." He took Tara's body, limp and even more pale now than she was before, and lowered her to the floor carefully. "For a while you must remember not to be drinking when the heart stops. Too many young vampires forget that and all too soon the hunger turns to madness with them."

Cazi licked her lips and looked at Aelfric. "Why? What happens when the heart stops that makes it dangerous and maddening?"

"I don't know." Aelfric said. "I only know what I have seen, what I have felt. Like so many others, I thought my sire was being too cautious. I have taken a victim's death into me. Twice I did drink too long. Twice! Even then I felt the madness beginning. I fought back the maddening hunger. Even with only two times taking death into me, it took months, -months-, before the madness subsided. Two feedings, only two days. And it took me many months to pull free. Don't make that mistake, Cazi. Please."

Cazi nodded, smiling to her sire. "I will remember, Aelfric. I promise." She sat back on her heels, looking at Aelfric. "You said something earlier about all of the powers I will have. What powers will I have?"

Aelfric shrugged. "I am not sure right now. Most likely you will have the power to read people's minds and to speak to them mentally."

"Like you did to me." Cazi interrupted.

Nodding, Aelfric smiled. "Yes, Cazi. Like I did to you. You will have the ability to move faster than the human eye can see. Even now, if they see you at all you will be but a blur to them. You will heal from injuries in a mere portion of the time it would take a human." He reached out towards her dressing table and suddenly her brush flew across the room into her hand. "And most likely you will eventually have the ability to move people and things with your mind."

"That... That's amazing!" Cazi exclaimed. "How did you do that? I will be able to do it too?"

"Most likely, yes." Aelfric said, smiling. "You are almost the direct recipient of the blood of Cadeyrn. That means you will probably receive many of the same powers that I have."

Cazi looked confused. "The blood of Cadeyrn? What do you mean? I have never met him."

"No, Cazi, you haven't. But I met with my sire earlier in the night when I made you. As he often does, he shared his blood with his heir. After that is when I met you." He looked at his wrist. Not even a scar remained to mar its smooth pale flesh. "When I fed you, you took my blood, and his, from me. You are my creation, but his blood now flows in your veins as well. So it is likely you will gain many of the same powers that I have. And maybe some that I don't. Only time will tell."

"How do I do it? How do I use my powers." Cazi asked, unknowingly raising up in her kneel in her excitement.

"Simply concentrate, Cazi." Aelfric said, returning the brush to the table without moving. "That is how you will do everything that we can do." He stood up, brushing the knees of his pants off. "Some of the powers will take more out of you than others. So when you use them you will grow hungrier. If you have been too long without feeding you will not be able to use them at all. The thirst will make the necessary concentration near impossible."

A sudden thought struck Cazi. "Oh no! Amina. What will I tell her?"

For the first time, Aelfric frowned. "You must tell her -nothing-!" He turned and walked to look out of the window. "She must never know what you have become, Cazi. If she finds out and tells anyone, it could be the end of you. The end of -all- of us."

"How can I keep this from her, Aelfric?" Cazi asked as she rose and walked over to stand beside him, her hand on his shoulder. "We grew up together. We are friends. She will certainly notice the changes in me. She will likely notice them as soon as she sees me."

"Then release her from your service, Cazi." Aelfric said as he looked over his shoulder at her.

Cazi was shocked. "I cannot do that! We are -friends-!" She shook her head, her copper curls brushing back and forth across her back. "I cannot just dismiss her."

Aelfric sighed and turned to face her. "Do you trust this Amina?" When Cazi nodded he continued. "Then tell her. But do not be surprised or hurt by her reaction. You are not human anymore. You said it yourself. Cassandra is dead. You are Cazi now."

Cassandra smiled at him. "Yes, I am. And when I was a child, it was Amina who gave me the name 'Cazi'. My parents called me 'Cassie', but for some reason when Amina said it, it sounded like 'Cazi'. And soon it stuck and, to my family and Amina, I was 'Cazi' more often than I was 'Cassandra'."

Aelfric nodded and smiled. "Very well. If you feel you can trust her, then do what you have to do. For now, come, Cazi. We will go out into the streets to work on your abilities."

Cazi smiled and turned towards the door to her room. In a blur she was standing in the doorway. She grabbed the door and the frame to support herself and smiled. "That will take some getting used to."

Suddenly Aelfric was standing beside her. "Yes, I know it does. But it will come in time." He took her arm and entwined it with his. "Come, we must be back before dawn."

Cazi looked back. "What about Tara's body? Shouldn't we dispose of it?"

Aelfric looked back and smiled. "Get your hat and everything and meet me downstairs. I will dispose of it." He disentangled her arm from his and in a blur was standing beside Tara's body. He lifted it and moved to the window. It slid open and he disappeared in another blur. Cazi went downstairs and, as she was adjusting her hat to cover her mass of curls, a soft knock sounded at the door. When she opened it, Aelfric was standing there. "Are you ready, Cazi? London awaits." He again held his arm out to her, smiling.

With a small curtsy she closed and locked the door behind them and took the offered arm. Her body still thrummed with the blood she had fed on as they walked through the streets. As they turned onto Cadenhall Street from Fenchurch, Aelfric pointed subtly to a group of men staggering along the street. The man in the middle. What is he thinking? Cazi looked at the man in the center of the group and focused as they walked, hearing Aelfric's voice softly in her mind as she did. Concentrate. Open your mind to hear everything. Then focus. Listen only for their thoughts. You will be able to tell one from the other as you do. Then take the thoughts of the one in the center. What is he thinking?

Cazi did as he instructed, her pace unknowingly slowing as she did, her eyes going distant as she opened her mind, reaching out as he was showing her in her mind. Suddenly a cascade of thoughts rushed into her mind. Her mouth opened in shock at the noise of the thoughts crashing into her mind. As Aelfric had said she could pick out who was thinking which thoughts. Just like speech, the more distant thoughts were faint and those closer were louder. Now focus, Cazi. Focus on the three drunks walking down the street. Then pick out the thoughts of only the man in the center. Cazi concentrated on the three drunks staggering along. Their thoughts were easy to pick out. She kept walking slowly as she slowly figured out which thoughts were which man's. Suddenly the man in the center tripped and fell. The rush of thoughts changed slightly and she smiled as she figured out for sure which was his.

Aelfric smiled and nodded as she looked up at him. Yes, Cazi. Very good. I saw you had almost figured out which was which and I helped matters along with a bit of a trip of the man. Now those two down the street. The dandy and the prostitute. 

Aelfric looked around at the night sky as she focused on the two people down the street. This time she skipped straight to focusing her attention on the two. Almost instantly their thoughts began to flow into her mind. He was thinking about his fight with his wife and she was thinking about whether to find another customer after him or go back to the house she shared with two other prostitutes and sleep some.

Cazi looked up at Aelfric, focusing and sending her thoughts to him. I DID IT!

Aelfric almost reeled as her thoughts thundered in his mind. He reached one hand up to his temple with a grimace. There is no need to yell, Cazi. All you have to do is focus and think... normally. The thoughts will be heard.

Cazi blushed almost unseen in the light of the street lamps. I'm sorry, Aelfric. I did not know. Is this better?

Yes, Cazi. Much better. You catch on quickly. That is good. Aelfric looked around at the sky again. I should be getting you back to your home. Dawn will be here soon and I must get back to my own home before the sun rises.

Cazi felt a pang of sadness. You won't be staying with me? She turned with him down an alley that would come out on Thames Street.

I cannot, Cazi. Not tonight. Aelfric smiled as he looked over at her keeping his pace matched with hers. But I will be there when you awaken tomorrow night. We will work on your luring and your and your ability to move things with your mind. Of all your powers, that one will be the hardest for you to master as it takes so much energy. He patted her hand softly, a quiet chuckle sounding in her mind. But I do not foresee you having too much difficulty with it, sweet Cazi.

She smiled softly at that as they turned towards her house on Thames Street. They stopped at the door and he took her hand and bowed over it, kissing her knuckles lightly. "Until tomorrow, sweet Cazi. Rest well."

She smiled at him and gave another small curtsy. "And you, Aelfric. Until tomorrow." With a blur he was gone and she turned, unlocking the door and going inside. When she was back in her apartment she took off her dress and threw it over the back of the chair at her dressing table. Before laying down on the bed she went to each of the windows and pulled the shutters closed tightly and drew the curtains to make sure the light was kept out.

She sat up in the bed, holding her hand out towards her dressing table as she had seen Aelfric do. She concentrated on the brush, imagining it flying across the room into her hand. Nothing happened at first and she focused her will even more. She thrust her hand out imperiously towards the brush as she sent her will out to bring the brush to her hand. Her head snapped back as the brush flew past her hand and impacted against her forehead with enough force to knock her back into the bed before clattering to the floor across the room. "Damn!" she cursed as she sat back up, rubbing her head. She shook her head and held her hand out to where the brush was. She took a deep breath and focused on the brush again. Carefully she sent her will out again, keeping her eyes on the brush. It shook a little, rattling on the floor. She sent a careful surge of her will out and the brush leaped from the floor, flying up and into her hand.

Excitement surged through Cazi as she held the brush, looking at it triumphantly. "I did it! Aelfric will be surprised when I show him tonight." She surprised herself with a jaw-cracking yawn. The buzz, the tingling, she had felt earlier after feeding was fading, almost gone. She focused on the brush again, carefully sending it back across the room, bringing it to rest on the table gently. Closing her eyes she felt for the buzz inside of her. The thirst grew noticeably as she noticed the buzz fading even more.

Rubbing her head again she laid back in the bed on top of the covers. She closed her eyes and let sleep come for her.