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Lilith's Shadow

By: Navaura



Lilith's Shadow : 

Becoming a vampire has three phases: Moonighting phase, > The beginning, skin color looses it's rich healthiness, eye color changes, and hair and nails chage as well as fangs come in the last day of moon liighting-

Second phase is the Succubus phase> Generally it's when hormones for both the tuning and its changer become so strong that the art of seduction is really strong. The succubus is trying to birth itself in this face so that it may mate with the human male. The hardest part is trying to keep both the male and female apart from one another so that they don't mate, so that the changer doesn't loose his or her life, because the succubus ultimate goal is to destroy the creator.

The third phase> Lilith's demon > a succubus demon comes forth so that it may inhabit the body of the turned so that it prohibits her from becoming a vampire and instead a succubus. The only way to be rid of the demon is for the turned to use a weapon of choice that has been coated in blood and then dried with an enchanted prayer . 

Stefan:

I wasn't looking for a mate. I was just looking to go hang out and have a little fun, since my brothers and sister insisted that they needed a day off. The problem with Reina, Van and Lance was that they always s seemed to need a day off. They were the last ones to arrive and the first to leave when the time came. I know I was supposed to be having a good time and just enjoying the time I spent here in The Rave, but the truth was, my mind was on the kids that were scheduled to arrive at my intense training camp on Monday. 

See, I started a company called Open blades five years ago because the thought occurred to me that there are a lot of kids out there who don't know anything about hockey but do have the guts to try out or form a team because it seem like fun. I love going to hockey games and in particular, high school hockey games. Although you'd think there aren't many schools who do have hockey teams, there are many of them and there are quite a few schools reside in Wisconsin. 

I usually take players, both individual and teams, from all over the state. Currently I have ten hockey schools who attend my training sessions and then I have at-least one hundred and fifty individuals who want to learn to play hockey just for the experience. Unfortunately, the only only help that could come in the form of trust for me is my sister and brothers that I mentioned here and due to their lack of interest in Hockey, they show up late and leave early. I usually start practice around six thirty pm, having the parents drop off their children around that time and then arriving to pick them up at about nine p.m. I know that may not be acceptable for younger children, so I only take those who are in high school. Most of the kids take the bus home or have to wait for their parents to come and pick them up. 

Believe me, I am not one who enjoys these times so, I usually charge 25 dollars for a half an hour late fee and then anything after that is a dollar per minute. Fortunately, the majority of parents don't want their children out too late so have no issues arriving on time to pick them up. During the summer, my hours extend from nine to eleven for the students. I can honestly say that I don't really do this to generate any type of income.

Anyhow, I didn't come here just to think about my business and the issues associated with it. I came here to have a good time and be a designated driver. Back to my earlier thought about not wanting a mate. I had long since given up the idea of a mate, I guess the more accurate belief is that I really didn't want a mate due to the fact that I am fine being single and I love women in general. It doesn't matter what size, height, weight or nationality. I find them all beautiful. 

What makes them beautiful depends on the woman. For instance, there are many women in this club that are beautiful for one reason or another. One woman to my right is beautiful because she has the most beautiful shade of chocolate skin I have ever seen. And it's a bonus that she has a beautifully shaped ass. I saw it when were waiting to get into the club and only because she was standing in front of me. I considered approaching her, but she is clearly not interested in guys, as I just saw her kissing a girl in the corner where she's sitting. 

There was another woman I ran into on my way over to the bar who had an intoxicating scent that was more natural than the perfume she wore to disguise it. The problem with this is that I felt my fangs began to contract and I started to drool over what her blood would taste like. Considering I was in a public place, I didn't think it would be appropriate to follow my nose. 

As I sit at the bar and ask the bartender to hand me a drink, I notice that even she is beautifully made with her slim waist and huge breasts that seem to tease as they pop out of her shirt. I look down at them, raise a brow and then turn my attention back out onto the dance floor trying to locate my brothers and sister, when I notice this girl, she's about five ten, petite in stature and was laughing flirtatiously with some guy she was dancing with. 

I smile at the sound of her laugh because it sounded sweet and cute at the same time. My eyes take in nice strong teeth amidst a beautifully heart shaped mouth and a swan like neck. She had the kind of neck you'd definitely enjoy sinking your teeth into, as well as placing delicate kisses along the gentle curve of it. As my eyes traveled down ward, I could see that her bust size was no bigger than a thirty six A, but flattered by a halter top. Her stomach and waist line was covered with the shirt, which lead to a pair of shorts that enhanced strong thighs. As my gaze traveled further, I felt the deep stirrings of arousal awaken. I shook my head, knowing that this was the woman I wanted. There was no doubt she was the one. The way my heart pounded with excitement and the way saliva seemed to gather inside my mouth and the way my manhood immediately begin to throb as I thought of her laying underneath me. 

The bartender chose that time to bring my drink and take the money I'd placed on the counter. Taking a quick sip of my drink, I sat it down and then turned my gaze back to the woman, enjoying the erotic dance her body was doing against the man, who in a sense gave me the vague impression that he was not all that in to her. That was good because it would make my job easier to get to her. 

As if sensing me watching her, the woman turned and faced me. Her eyes widened in surprise and then back to their original state. She greeted me with a luscious and inviting smile. I smiled back at her, making sure my eyes spoke my interest. 

Odilia 

When I first arrived here at the club, I had my own intentions of being on the prowl. I use the word prowl because a girl like me knows how to use my assets to get what I want, when I wanted it and how I wanted it. You see, I'm not a shy girl at-least not when it comes to desire. I am the type of woman who knows how to use her body as well as her mind to get what she wants. Do I go around manipulating people? Hell no. I don't need too. I got the brains to back up the assets. 

So, as usual, when ever I went out on the hunt, I put on something that would accentuate the beauty that know I have. I'm not only tall, but I am also skinny, or petite, with a 34A rack, slender hips, smooth stomach and thighs that I have known to make many men lost in. I know, most girls aren't supposed to boast, but what else can I do? I am comfortable in my own skin, I am comfortable being me and part of me is my sexuality and if I didn't have that, my life would lead a meager existence. 

I work a nine to five, go to school and I have kids, who sometimes drive me hell of a crazy. I have a boy who is three and a girl who is five. My best friend, who understands my sudden urges to get away from my responsibilities agreed to keep them over night, while I did what I wanted for the weekend and she would bring them back on Monday. 

So, I was planning to find an unsuspecting victim and make him mine for one night only, as I said before, I got kids and don't have time to worry about the frivolities of a relationship, so I needed a man who understood that this was a one night deal. The guy I'm dancing with, I can't remember his name, but he seems like he is not looking for anything serious. He wasn't too bad of a dancer which meant that he wasn't going to be too bad in bed. 

However, I keep wagering back and forth between do it and not do it, because he didn't look like he was working with anything down there, so I didn't want to get him home and find out he just plain wasn't worth a damn. I hate it when a man can spit good game and make a woman all excited, only to be a disappointment in bed. So, I'm trying to decide if I should or shouldn't when I think that the only way to be sure of that, would be to have him grind up against me, so I turn around, intending to do just that, when I look up and feel my heart skip a beat. 

Sitting at the bar, looking as if he just may tower above me, dressed in a dark gray polo shirt, his dark gray eyes filled with a desire that promise to deliver, is a man with dark curly hair, that looked as if it had been neatly trimmed and an equally trimmed mustache that covered beautiful full lips, which in that instant made my nipples harden and my kitty cat burn with a very intense need, and his demeanor looking as if I was on his menu for tonight. I all but forgot about the guy I was dancing with and strutted my way over to the guy. 

As I got closer to the bar, I noticed that he was dressed in dark slacks, that fit him just as nicely as the rest of himself. I took a seat next to him, and turned toward the bar tender, "Give me a gin and cranberry, Marla." 

"Just put it on my tab, Marla." 

A voice stated, sending sweet chills down my spine. I had no doubt that it was my admirer or maybe I should be considered the admirer, because damn if this man wasn't the sexiest guy I'd ever seen. I smiled to myself thinking, yeah, he's definitely going to be on my menu. I waited for the bartender to bring me my drink. As I waited, the guy chose this moment to introduce himself, "Hi, I'm Stefan."

I turned in my seat and looked over at him, making sure my demeanor was open. "I'm Odilia, but call me DiDi for short." 

The guy held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Odilia. That's a beautiful name by the way." 

Although I was sure this was probably another pick up line, I ignored its corniness and grasped his hand in mine. Immediately, I felt the static in the air. There was no way I was going to go anywhere without this man tonight.

Stefan~

Again, my fangs wanted to come through, because there was something exquisite about this woman. I had no doubt I wouldn't be the only one to receive pleasure tonight and depending on how good she delivered I may just come back a second time. When the bartender turned her back to prepare the drink for the young woman, I chose this moment to introduce myself. She introduced herself as Odilia, and I thought, what a unique name, quickly that thought was swallowed as her hand grasped mine. As soon as it did, I felt a confirmation in my spirit that this girl was indeed mine. 

We both seemed to hold on to each other hand for a bit longer than necessary and I found myself caressing her fingers while they were in mine. As the bartender returned to the counter and sat her drink down, the woman pulled her hand out of mine and downed her drink as if she was a pro. 

I laughed at this and thought this was going to be interesting as she turned back to me and said, "We can sit here all night with the formalities or you can come back with me to my place, you choose." 

Her voice was smooth, rich and very assured. 

I swallowed my own drink and flickered my tongue over my lips, anticipating what was going to happen when we arrived at her place.

As she stood up and moved away from the bar, I followed her, relishing in the way her hips moved as she walked. 

Odilia

Ok, I said I was forward, but not necessarily that forward. I don't normally go up to guys and say take me home or go back to yours alone, but there was something about this guy that just said the bolder the better. 

When we got to the parking lot, we decided that I would go in my car and he would follow me. Again, normally, I don't do this, but hey, I really wanted the man and any other consequences would be just that, a consequence. My kids thought to creep up in my head at this moment and just as we were pulling out, I stopped and backed back next to his car. He rolled his window down and again, greeted me with a debonair smile. "You want to go to a motel instead?"

I smiled, "It looks like we are thinking along the same lines."

"Maybe," He stated in a teasing tone. 

I rolled my window up and made a left instead of the right that lead toward my place and happened upon the first hotel some three miles from the club. He went in to get the room while I waited. 

Stefan:

As soon as the door opened, Odilia pushed me into the room and closed the door and locked it. I felt my body hit the bed and again a laugh came up out of me I knew without a doubt I was coming back to this woman. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. I drooled as she threw it on the floor and then pulled her shorts down her beautiful legs. It was nice to see that her underwear and bra matched. I sat up on the edge of the bed and reached for her. 

All too willingly, she came to me. I ran a hand down her long arm, seeing the goose bumps that developed on her toffee colored skin. I continued my inspection and outlined the underside of her arms and went to her body. She leaned in and welcomed my hand as they went over her breasts. I ran my hands around her soft skin to the back of her bra to unclasp the hooks. She eagerly pushed the bra down her shoulders and I watched as her chest bare and naked seemed to harden their nipples even more. I could already taste them in my mouth as my throat began to moisten. Much to my surprise, she wiggled out of the bra and took a step forward, grasped my head and pulled it toward her chest. Again, a delightful little shiver ran through me as I took her nipple in my mouth. 

Odilia. 

You know the time you spend anticipating how good it could feel to have that one thing you desperately want but then you get it and it's even more intense than you imagined it would be? This is one of those moments, where I felt every area in my body stand at attention and the electrons do their work. I never knew having a man suck on your breast could feel this good. You'd think that if a woman had two kids then the man must know how to do something so simple as suck on a breast, but every man is not the same and as this man sucked, it felt as though he already knew that I wanted him to do it exactly the way he was doing it. 

Instead of me getting nervous about this, it only served to heighten my senses and make me gasp out loud. He played with my left breast until it too was tingling just like the rest of my body. When he took in its twin, the previously mentioned one felt its own neglect and I let out a little whimper. He showed that one love and then he worked his way over every inch of my body, kissing, stroking and touching until there was an inferno raging.

A half an hour later, clearly satisfied that he'd pleasured every area of the front of my body, he turned me over and pushed my hair to the side of my neck. When I felt his tongue slide in a sensual dance along my neck, I let out a loud moan and my eyes fluttered closed as he began to nip at that area. He made his way around to the back of my neck and placed a sweet gentle kiss there. I felt myself shudder as an orgasm ripped through my body, making me even more wet than I already was. 

I couldn't believe the self control he had. I was going crazy with my sex being as wet and hot as it was with wanting him to be inside of me. He finally worked his way along the backside of my body and continued lower until I was trembling so bad I was going to force him inside of me if he didn't hurry up and comply. I was very happy when he told me to get up on my knees so that he could access me. 

Stefan: 

When my hand touched her, I knew she could feel the tremble in them, because I wanted her so bad. Every place that I'd touched and kissed had yielded me inspector to her erogenous zones that were unique to her. Her lips, her neck, her nipples, her stomach, her vagina, which seemed to make my need even stronger and headier. By the time I was done accessing those areas, she was begging me to take her. I grabbed my penis and stroked her wetness with it. She pushed back into me more. This caused me to smirk, she was definitely ready. However, what I saw as humor only sufficed to irritate her and she swung her head back and I was offered a full view of her neck as she sank down on top of me, surprising me. I swore and ran my hands over her hips, to her stomach and around her breasts. She moaned and gasped as she took what she wanted. As I thought about her eagerness to have me, I felt my fangs bear themselves as I felt a need so strong to make her mine. She didn't notice as I lowered my face down to her neck. I could feel her walls clenching around my hardness as she moved. If only she knew how good this felt to me. I worked my hands up to her neck and grabbed it gently. She never even noticed as I ever so slightly turned her neck so that I could access it better and placed my lips over it. She gasped and I felt her climax for a third time that night. As she did, I bit softly, gently and felt her jerk as I tasted the pulsating warmth of liquid that poured out of her neck.

Lilith's Shadow Ch. 02



After being with him once, I felt an insatiable pull to stay with him. That's what part of me wanted. Another part of me wanted to go home. It was my priority to wake up the next morning in my own bed and in my own home since I felt the most comfortable there. I decided that I would wait till he went into the bathroom before I would try to make my get away. I got as far as getting my bra and underwear on before he came out of the bathroom.

My attention was lost on my current objective and went to him instead. He stood by the bathroom door crossing muscular arms over his body. He didn't seem embarrassed about the full display of his man hood and this made me smile. I loved it when a man could be comfortable enough not to hide himself.

I ran my eyes boldly over his body, starting with the dark curly hair that seemed to mold itself around his neck. The curls were wiry and went every where. His brown skin seemed to make the beautiful bone structure he had stand out even more with a strong chin and high cheekbones. He had large thick lashed gray eyes, with an amused, satisfied and playful look in them. 

I decided in that moment that he was non threatening and for the first time in my life, maybe I'd picked a winner. My eyes went over his beautiful mouth and I felt my heart sink in my chest, disappointed. It was just a shame that he exuded sex appeal. I'd thought in the club that he was a looker, but damn, with a body like that and the way he seemed to be very proud and self assured, I knew that if I didn't leave I would be convinced to go against my own plans and stay with this guy; which could develop into something more than what I wanted, so instead, to brush him off, I said, "You do understand that this cannot and will not happen again, right?" 

His eyes seemed to glow at that moment and I heard a voice whisper, "Too late" I put my eyes down to the ground and grabbed the clothes that I had worn, "I had fun. It was nice, but we can't do this again."

"You can't or you won't?" He inquired, his voice sounding closer to me. I looked up and sure enough, he was standing there staring at me. I felt my heart began to thump in my chest and this irritated me. "I won't."

"Why not?"

"Because it complicates things, I mean, I have..." I stopped right there. There was no need for me to explain myself to this man.

"How is that?" He inquired.

"Because it just does. You just need to go back to your world and I'm going to go back to mine." I thought of my school and work. I only had one more year to go toward my undergraduate degree in Medical Science. After this, I was planning to go into dermatology and prepare for my medical residency. Where to, I'm not sure. Anyhow, that's why he and I just couldn't go any further than what we have already gone because I don't want any distractions. I'd had enough distractions with my kids father.

"So then, I guess you are going to say good bye?"

I looked up into soft gray eyes and once again felt something tell me to give the guy a chance, but I pushed that voice to the back of my head. "I'm saying goodbye." I whispered, glad that I'd finally gotten my clothes on. I grabbed the sandals I'd kicked off on the other side of the bed. I stood up and was about to walk toward the table that held my purse on it, when he grabbed my face. Pulling it around to his, he placed a very deep yet sweet kiss on my lips. Again, I felt my body beg to stay with him at-least through the rest of the night. I tried to push the desire away when he confirmed what my body said by pulling me close to him, grinding my clothed body hard into his naked one. I moaned and kissed him back with as much passion as he did me. 

I didn't want that kiss to stop because it felt so good. As though he heard what my thoughts were, he moved from my lips to my neck. My fleeting conscience, whispered, "Go home. You're supposed to go home. As if hearing my thoughts, he looked up at me and stared into my eyes. "Stay." And before I could tell him no, he captured my mouth in his one more time. This time I felt his tongue stroke my mouth as it opened to him. That wasn't the only place that seemed to be stroked. He seemed to stroke my most intimate areas as well. 

I bit down on his bottom lip and was surprised to taste blood. He moaned very loudly and whispered, "You're mine." Doing the only thing I could do, I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist and whispered against that little voice in my head, "Yes." He then grabbed my rear and pushed it into him. I thought, one more time wouldn't hurt, then I'll go. My last thought as he lowered me down on the bed was a fleeting sense that my body was not my own any more. 

Stefan:

I understood what I was doing was wrong, but a vampire's seduction to one man is like art to the next man. Mainly to us vampires. Seduction is not just about getting sex. It's not just about will power and it's not just about bending someone to your will, but more so, it's about bending a person at times to their own will. I could hear everything Odilia was thinking in her head. She didn't know that I knew she had two kids. She didn't know that I knew she was looking forward to going to school for dermatology and she definitely didn't know that I knew the struggle that she put up just so that she could get home. 

I'm told that when a vampire finds his mate, she can either make or break him, depending on the guy. I was determined to make her throw all caution to the wind just so she would follow her heart to be with me. She was going to fall madly in love with me and want me just as much as I wanted her. She would definitely need me when I was done with her. 

I wondered if that sounded too cliche? Not many people can analyze their thoughts thoroughly and admit that they are a die hard romantic. Me, as part of my former life, I was a die hard romantic when I wanted the woman; and let me tell you, a vampire's desire is a hundred times that of a human. It's purely instinctual, where as humans have instinct as well as rationale, a vampire can only have so much rationale before his instinct takes over. At-least that's in my case. My instinct was telling me to make her mine and by the gods, I was going to do just that.



Odilia

There was a knock on the door. I murmured, "go away, Tavis and Olivia, let me sleep, ya'll."

"House keeping." A voice yelled. 

I quickly pulled my head up from the bed. Glancing over at the clock, I realized that it was two o'clock the next day. I sat up and glanced up. There was an outfit hanging in the closet, alongside a gray silk robe. I wrinkled my brow in confusion. There was another knock on the door, "House keeping?" 

I grabbed the robe from the closet and wrapped it around my body. Going to the door, I pulled it open, my eyes hurting after being in a dark room all night and the early morning. "Yes?" I put my hand above my eyes. 

"I'm sorry, I'll come back later." the lady stated, glancing up at me.

"Just give me forty five minutes and I will be out ok?"

"I'll come back in an hour." 

I gave her a half smile, "Thank you."

"No problem," She stated.

The lady moved her cleaning supplies and made her way to the next room. As she was about to knock, I closed the door. I turned around as my eyes adjusted to the room and noticed that my clothes were in the trash can. Feeling a bit of irritation at that, I growled frustrated. How could I enjoy myself so much that I forgot all about leaving? I was really angry at the fact that he'd gotten out of bed before I did and left without even waking me. What kind of man does that? I let out a squeal and walked over to the closet where new clothes hung. 

I can't believe that everything I'd had on was ripped. The button had been popped off my pants, my silk halter top had been ripped in half and don't get me started on my underwear. I blushed at that thought. I don't think I ever had a guy who refused to allow me to leave before and me allow it to happen. When he'd done away with my clothes, with me in them, I didn't do anything but open my legs to him. Most girls would get angry but no, instead I open my legs wide and say have a field day. 

I grabbed the clothing off the hangers and am surprised that he chose my size. Even the bra and underwear were right. I flickered my hand over the bra and appreciated that it was one of those silk ones without the under wire. The underwear were a nylon type, with no seams, bikini. I felt my nipples harden at that. I wondered how he guessed what type of undergarments I liked? Anything that was comfortable had my name written all over it. I looked at the blue jean shorts and a draped short sleeve yellow top. I went into the bathroom and discovered everything I needed to shower already in there and not hotel stuff either. This brought a smile to my face. Maybe I could forgive him just for leaving like that. 

Stefan:

I must have been sitting there drooling over the previous night for at-least twenty minutes before my sister Reina called me out of my reverie. 

"Stefan?" She inquired in her British accent.

I looked at her, confused for a minute, "What?"

"You didn't hear what I asked you?"

I shook my head, "No, what did you ask?" 

Reina walked up to me, inhaled sharply and said, "This one must be special to you."

"What?"

"The girl you stayed out all night for. She must be special, because even after you showered I can still smell her on you." 

I smiled at Reina. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

Reina laughed, "I'm your sister jerk, I should know these things."

My tone full of banter, I teased her, "Should you really?" 

"Yes." 

"Alright then, you should know that she's my mate." 

Reina clapped her hands joyfully and gave me a kiss on the cheek, "I'm happy for you."

"Are you really?"

"Yes, at- least now I won't be by my lonesome all the time, eh."

"Well, just because we were together doesn't mean that we are in the clear just yet."

"Why not?" 

I looked down at the floor. 

"Stefan Opheilus Grigore." She demanded in that mothering tone she got when either of us was holding something back from her. I sighed and said, "Technically she doesn't know we mated."

"What do you mean?" Now, Reina had her hand on her hip, her neck jutted out.

"Well, I kind of didn't tell her."

"Why not?"

"Well, because we never got around to that."

"You never got around to that? Stefan, you were out until the bloody sun came up, how can it be that you did not get around to it?"

"Reina, it's a lot more complicated than just that."

"So, what? You were so stricken by lust that you couldn't tell the girl that you mated with her?"

"No." I stated quietly.

Reina put a hand up to her face, "You didn't draw any blood from her right?"

"Just great Reina, rub it in for me." I stated and for some reason hating myself for my actions, now that it was dawning on me just how much Odilia had given up with out her knowing it.

"So, what do you think is going to happen when within a weak the girl is going to have trouble adjusting to the sun and she realize that she won't be able to go out during the day time any more? Oh yes and how are you going to explain her craving for blood? And how are you going to explain to her most of all that she has given up her life just to accommodate you?"

"Well, she said yes." My tone was feeble.

"Let me guess, you broke her down to say what you wanted and needed to hear for things to be as they are?"

"Now that you put it like that..." I started.

Reina interrupted me. "You better hope to hell that girl doesn't end up hating you for all the damn changes she's about to go through. I hate when vampires do that shit. I never suspected that you would do that."

I licked my lips, "You don't understand Reina, I wasn't going to do it, but the way she moved was incredible."

Reina frowned, "I don't want to hear your sexual experience Stefan, I just want to know why you didn't give her the opportunity to decide for herself if she wanted this life."

"I wanted her for myself, that's why. She wanted me as well."

"Stefan, you better pray that that girl doesn't come for blood when she completely turns because if she does, you are going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble. You better hope that girl doesn't end up hating your guts." 

I felt my heart drop into my stomach. Although it hadn't even been twenty four hours, I didn't want to think about loosing her. What we had shared had been so sweet.



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 03



Odilia

I couldn't explain the forlornness that I felt over the weekend when I didn't get a chance to be with Stefan again. Yes, contrary to one night stands, I remembered his name and contrary to what I said before I missed him. 

This is why On Sunday night, I found myself at Club fusion. This was the last day of the weekend, so I thought what better way to get over a man than to find another one. So, I was trying to scope out one, thinking surely the sex couldn't have been good enough to make me change what I originally sought. No strings attached was what I was looking for. I wanted a man that couldn't get me as rowdy as he could. I still found it unsettling that he'd gotten me out of everything not once but four times before I fell asleep. 

I ran my hands through my hair, feeling the effects of another straightener that had pulled my natural curly hair straight and down to my back. The outfit I had chosen to wear was a white and blue plaited skirt, with white ankle high boots that had a buckle on each side of them, and a white short sleeve shirt that had a slashed effect across the breasts. It was what I called a teaser shirt because if worn without a bra it teased the viewer because you could only see the top of the cleavage, while the bottom half rested snugly inside the shirt. I sat down at the bar and asked for a drink. The bartender handed me a cosmopolitan and I nearly gagged on it's taste. Normally cosmopolitans were my favorite. I just left it sitting there. 

I glanced around and spotted a guy starring at me from across the room. He was what most people would consider eye candy, and he wasn't that bad looking either. He was a little shorter than I was, a dark skinned brother with deep waves in his hair. He had a beautifully shaped mouth that was known to most of our descendants. 

Getting up from the bar, I felt a rush come over me at having found someone else so quick. I walked over to him and smiled. I was going to enjoy this night if it was the last thing I did. I went up to him and batting my eye lashes, I introduced myself, "Hi, I'm Odilia. What's your name?"

"Marcus." He answered with a smile. Perfect and straight, just like I like them. One point for Marcus. He lifted my hand up to his mouth and kissed it, "Why are you here tonight?"

"Looking for some fun, how about you?" I cooed.

He smiled even wider, "The same type of fun you are baby, how about be go somewhere, just the two of us?" I liked his directness. "Where would you like to go?"

"To my place."

"And where is that?" I inquired, my tone coy. 

"Just a little ways from here."

Not really caring about the bad possibilities of this situation, as long as I could get past Stefan, I smiled and replied, "Alright then, sugar, let's go." I smiled.

He moved up off the wall and together we walked out of the club. 

Stefan:

I felt my fangs divulge as I thought of how I just wanted to seriously tear into this guy's throat. I didn't want him anywhere near her. I sure as hell didn't want him to touch her. She was mine and it sickened me at the thought of him touching her. Not only that, but I had a feeling something wasn't right. This man was no ordinary man; this I am sure of. I had a foreboding sense of doom where he was concerned and I didn't understand why she couldn't feel it. She should be able to see that he isn't who he appear to be. If anything happened to her I would definitely kill this man. 

I followed them as they made their way outside. She had agreed to follow him in his car. It made me wonder, if this was the tactic she used with every man and suddenly I felt angry at this thought. Swallowing my saliva, I closed my eyes and imagined myself in her car in spirit form, so that she couldn't see me. It was then I felt her heart beat and I felt the longing in her heart. My eyes shot open and I put my hand over my chest. 

There was so much emotion there it was unbelievable. It was like she was the female equivalent of me. When she stopped at a red light, it was then that I realized I was in her back seat. I looked up and saw her look in her review mirror. She gasped and then quickly I visualized myself invisible. 

Odilia

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Stefan in the back seat, but just as I noticed, the light turned green and I turned my head back to the road for a split second. It was then I realized it was just my imagination. No one was back there. Besides, how could he get back there anyway? There was no such thing as magic. I stopped as the guy in front of me slowed down and turned on his left blinker. I did the exact same thing and turned left with him. We had been driving for a good ten minutes when the guy stopped his car and turned off his lights. I did the same thing. I got out of the car to meet him. 

"I'm glad I didn't loose you," He stated, glancing at me. 

"No, it was quite easy to follow you." I stated, a sweet smile on my face.

"I'm glad to hear that, now shall we?" He inquired, grasping my hand in his. I felt a little giddy knowing that within a few moments I would be able to prove that nothing life changing had happened with Stefan and that my desire for him was nothing more than a desire. I smiled at him as we reached the door and I waited for him to unlock it. 

"What's your name again, sugar?" I asked.

"Marcus, sweet thang."

"Oh. Well, thank you Marcus."

Once the door was open, I walked in behind Marcus as he turned the light on in the foyer. I looked around as he shut the door. The place was so opulent and beautiful, with antiques everywhere. I walked into the sitting room and didn't notice as he locked the door behind himself. The entire place was shrouded in darkness. 

The light switch was hit and I gasped so loud it made him laugh. The entire sitting room looked like something out of the fifties, there was a juke box in a corner of the room . There was also a living room set and a television with a few upgrades to it, to make it look more modern. The room itself was done in black, gray and white checker. 

I said, "This is cool." 

He put his hand on my back, "Glad you like it, shall we?" He nodded toward the upstairs where I presumed the bedroom was. 

"Sure, lets go." I said, remembering why I was here. I allowed him to lead me up the stairs and to his room. When the light came on it was to give the appearance of a soft glow. I was impressed with how modern his room look. "Wow. How nice is this."

He smiled, "You like it?"

"Yes." I stated. Glancing over at him, I said, 

"You have to be loaded to have all of this ." I gestured around the room.

He smiled, "I have a little bit." 

"This is more than a little bit." I stated, falling onto the bed, enjoying the feel of its softness. With a bed like this, I temporarily forgot about my issue, until he leaned in to kiss me. I kissed him back, thinking about what it felt like when I kissed Stefan for the first time. It was unbelievable. I compared his kiss to Stefan's, it felt kind of rushed and it made me feel a tiny bit queasy. 

I stopped him and said, "How about we do no kissing on the mouth for now?" He shrugged, "ok beautiful. Just allow me to undress you." 

I closed my eyes and felt his voice say no. My eyes flew open and I paused yet again to look around the room. He was no where near. I sighed and closed my eyes again. Marcus went back to undoing my shirt. Immediately I was bombarded with images of Stefan's mouth on my neck, kissing down my chest and I imagined him there making love to me. I imagined him kissing down my body as he had done Friday night. The way his mouth had devoured my body so tenderly, yet so strong, had me close to an orgasm already. I thought of his hands being inside of me, probing me, bringing forth all of my juices to claim as his own. I whispered, "Oh, Stefan." It was then I smelled his scent in my nostrils. 

Opening my eyes, I was shocked to see that he was there instead of Marcus. Pulling back, I wiped my hands over my eyes. Looking I saw that it wasn't him, but it was Marcus. Licking my lips, I looked down and saw that my shirt was up and my underwear had been taken off. I pulled my shirt down and scooted myself to the edge of the bed. 

"Are you alright?" Marcus inquired.

I felt a deep sinking feeling in my heart. I wiped my eyes, not sure why tears were falling. "I can't stay here, Marcus, I need to go home . I'm sorry." I felt as though I would rather pine over someone I couldn't have than to do this. I didn't know why but it felt wrong. 

Marcus looked at me and licked his lips, "So quickly? You just got here; and I thought you liked me. I thought we were bonding."

Raising a brow, I thought the bonding part sounded a little bit weird, but chose to ignore it. "I'm sorry Marcus, I just can't stay here right now. Maybe another night. Tonight is just not the right night." I felt in my heart that I would never see him again. Marcus's eyes took on a dark glow, the same kind that Stefan's eyes had held the other night, but his was full of rage. 

"What do you mean? I thought you were up for a good time?"

I backed away from him, "I thought I was too, but apparently I am not, so I think I'm just going to go home now." 

Marcus's eyes stormed even darker and I felt sheer terror like never before. Was he going to rape me? This is what I get for coming to a strange man's house. I didn't even know this guy and had willingly put myself in this situation. I figured, I may as well just go ahead and get it over with than allow him to rape me. At-least I would be able to pretend it was someone else. Inhaling sharply, I felt as though that suggestion just wasn't good enough. 

Apparently he didn't like my response because he came closer to me and said, "You have such a beautiful neck you know. I was looking forward to kissing it." I thought that was a strange comment, but didn't say anything.

"Can I just get one kiss, and then you can go?" 

I looked up at the ceiling and thought, Lord, please, help me out of this one. I glanced back at him, "One kiss and then I can go?" 

He nodded, his eyes somehow darker. I said, " Fine, but make it quick."

He was upon me in a second. He grasped my neck and tilted it up. I closed my eyes, hoping the kiss would be over soon. I felt him turn my neck over to the other side. It occurred to me that this was strange, but I still thought it was better than having sex with him. I realize now that he isn't the man I want, Stefan is. Feeling my heart call to him, I thought in my head, "I'm sorry, Stefan." I couldn't understand why I was sorry and why I felt guilty when he and I weren't married. I noticed that Marcus hadn't touched my neck. I opened my eyes and he was starring at me, fangs bared. My eyes opened wide and I pushed him away from me. He just looked at me and said, "You belong to another?"

I wrinkled my brow confused? "What?"

He smiled dangerously and his fangs seemed to get longer, "Intriguing." With that, Marcus pounced and out of instinct I landed a high kick to his groin. He stopped and grabbed himself. I looked down at my right leg, unsure of what I had just witnessed. It filled me with a new adrenaline. 

I got up to run out of the room and as I did, he grabbed me by my ankle, stopping me half way to the door. "You bitch," he snarled as he grabbed me by my waist and hauled me over to the bed. My body fell to the bed like a rag doll. 

"Look, I just want to go home." I stated. He sat down on my legs prohibiting them from moving and pulled my hands over my head with one hand. This amazed me because he was so damn skinny. I twisted, trying to wriggle free but he commanded, 

"Shut up and stay still. He growled, showing his fangs. I screamed until I was awarded with a smack over the mouth. I laid there shaking, praying that miraculously someone would show up.I wondered if Stefan would fight this guy on my behalf, but even as I thought this, I could only hope that he would. I didn't want this brute of a man with large fangs to bite me. Then it struck me, this guy was a vampire. He had to be. Only vampires had canines sharper than a dog's right? 

I didn't know much about vampires but they did have sharp canines and and...they couldn't go out in the day light. This filled me with dread. I knew I didn't want to become this man's food. I must have imagined every type of horrible dish that included me on the platter when I saw something wooden from the corner of my right eye. 

I watched as it went through the guy and came out the other end. He looked down at me, a surprised look on his face and then let go of me. He turned around. I turned my head in the same direction, saw Stefan, his eyes glowing hard and ruthless. His fangs bearing. "You saw that she was taken and you still tried to kill her. Hmm." 

Eyes wide with horror, I watched as his hand came up with a sword and he swung it to connect with the other man's head. The man's head rolled off his body and onto the floor. Thirty seconds later, his body became ashes.



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 04



Stefan:

When I saw him lead her upstairs and then proceed to kiss her, I really wanted to take his head off, but the worse part was that she let him. I've never felt betrayed by anyone in my life but in that moment I felt like she'd ripped my heart out and handed it back to me. Feeling the tears in my own heart, I disappeared from the house and began to walk away from where I knew they were. 

I didn't have the heart to watch him paw all over her and listen as she let him do it. I thought about just letting her go. It would hurt but I would be better off finding someone who had more of an inclination to stay faithful. I figured this woman would just rip my heart out and not think twice. I was trying to convince myself to do that when I heard her say my name. 

I was immediately hit with a longing that went deep to the depths of my soul. Turning around, I imagined myself back at the house. It was then I heard her telling him she didn't want to go through with it. My heart did a little happy dance,but that lasted only for a second because my head snorted, "She can't be faithful so don't get your hopes up." 

I walked around downstairs until I heard, "Just one kiss and then I can go?"

For some reason my brows shot up in alarm at this statement. There was silence and then I heard her say, "Fine, but make it quick." Again, I thought it was strange for him to ask for a kiss and her to agree to it was even stranger. It was then I heard her scream. My first thought was that I was going to kill him, and then my second thought was that I needed something with metal and a piece of wood. 

I heard the two tussling upstairs and it scared me even more to think of what could be going on. I heard him growl at her and then call her a bitch. This infuriated me. Grabbing one of the legs from off the bottom of a chair and then running toward the kitchen, I stopped when I saw an Agincourt sword hanging above the juke box and grabbed it. 

Once I had it, I went up the stairs and just as I heard her yell I want to go home, I heard him slap her and I froze, feeling every bone in my body freeze. This lasted only a second before I ran over to where he held her down on the bed and with all of my anger, pushed the wooden steak through his heart. I watched as blood squirted everywhere and then he got up. When he turned to face me, I yelled, so angry that he would even do that to someone I loved. Taking the hilt of the sword, I swung and watched as his head rolled off his body and onto the floor. Not long after, his body turned to ashes. 

I looked over at Odilia and saw the confusion, fright and irritation on her face. "What in the hell are you?" She asked. Looking at me, big brown eyes wide. My eyes resumed their natural color and my fangs slowly receded. 

"I'm your mate." I told her.

For some reason, this struck her as funny. "What?"

"We are married."

This struck her as funny again. I found it agitating that she would find this amusing. 

"What do you mean we are married? We don't even know each other."

"In my world you know each other by spirit."

She narrowed her eye brows and got up off the bed. "You sound crazy you know that? And to think I almost wanted to see you again." 

"I'm not crazy, it's the truth. There is something else you should know."

She glanced over at me, "What that you're a vampire? I think we got that covered already, I mean it's not everyday that you see human beings sporting long canine like fangs, and sharp ones at that."

"Well, at-least you're not in complete denial about that." I stated, following her to the door. For some reason, her energy began to make me sexually frustrated and I wanted to grab her right there.

She turned around to face me, shoving her feet into her boots, "How can I when you just freaking ran a steak through this guy's heart and decapitated him and not only that, but the bastard turned to ashes. That would be stupid to deny, wouldn't you think?"

I smiled at her and said, "I imagine so." 

Her gaze lingered on my mouth and I was once again filled with the desire to kiss her. She chose that moment to turn around and begin her decent down the stairs. I watched as her waist length hair moved along with the rest of her body as she continued talking, "So, what else do you have to tell me? Now that you and I are married, that should mean that I am a vampire too right?" I cleared my throat, not sure how she was going to take the next bit of information. "Well, actually, we are married because our spirits have joined. However, you are in what we would call the Moonlighting phase." 

She stopped at the stairs and turned around to face me. It was then with me being two stairs down from her, I noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra. Again, this ignited my desire for her and I really wanted to take that shirt off. I looked down at the rest of her outfit and was reminded that this is how she'd dressed when she was on the prowl, so therefore, it wasn't done for me, it was done because she'd wanted something. I felt the anger rekindle. 

Turning my eyes to her, I listened as she said, "You know, you are starting to sound like you are crazy. Vampire or not, it was just sex, that's all and I'm not married to you and I am not in any moon lighting phase."

Her chest heaved up and down as she spoke.

I leaned close to her face and said, "Odilia, I thought you were rational. You seemed like you had a good head on your shoulder after all, you are going to school for medical science, right?"As soon as I said that, I regretted it. 

"How did you know that?" She stepped back away from me. 

My tone was extremely quiet, as I said, "I can read your thoughts." 

She shook her head no, "Get away from me. Get away from me, now." 

"It's the truth." I stated. 

She started yelling then, "You are fucking crazy! get the hell away from me." 

She turned to run away from me and opened the door. 

I yelled, "Damn it Odilia, you can't be out there by yourself, it isn't safe." She didn't hear me, she just got in her car, started it up and took off.

Odilia

I was so damn angry! 

Furious is more like it. Either this guy was so damn crazy that he'd entered into another world, or...I wouldn't even allow myself to think down that road. I believed he was a vampire, but all that crap about me being his mate and about moonlighting and the mind reading thing? That was stupid. No other being could read someone else's mind, so how could he? 

I grabbed one of many lingerie sets out of my closet and trekked off to the bathroom. I willed myself to stop thinking of Stefan and vampires and moonlighting. what in the hell was moon lighting anyway? Going to the shower, I twisted the knob to the center and pulled out. I stripped down and hopped in the shower. When the cool water hit my skin and hair, immediately I felt better. My hair drew up into curls all around my head. 

Taking my hands and running them through my hair, I devided the hair into three pieces and braided them in plaits around my hair. As I was doing this, it occurred to me that if Stefan couldn't read minds then how did he know that I was in that house, after all, only Marcus and I had been at his house. At-least I think we were the only ones. I felt goose bumps go down my spine at the thought of Stefan being there through the whole ordeal. 

This saddened me but quickly I got over it as I grabbed the shampoo and squeezed a lot out over my hands. I grabbed the hair sectioned off and began squeezing it through my hair. What if what he said was true? I soaped up the rest of my hair and then rinsed it out. I put some conditioner on it and then just let the hair sit as I stepped away from the water to wash my body down. 



Stefan:

As soon as I returned home, I called my sister and brothers in for a meeting. The only one who was my brother by birth was Lance. Van and Reina were brother and sister by blood swapping. This ensured us that we were able to keep in contact with one another. Seeing as how they were up as usual, they all came to the library without any real problem. 

I was rummaging through different books as they came in. Van was the first to arrive. Van was a little taller than I was at six five with shoulder length blonde hair and iced over hazel eyes. His eyes looked as if they were shrouded in a forever cold glare, when in reality, he was the more serious of us all. He watched as I got several different books off the shelf. As I did this, he picked up a book. " Krav Maga, self defense Techniques."

Glancing up at me, he inquired, "What are you planning to do with all of this? I'm sure you can protect yourself just fine." 

I continued to look for one more book I had on Krav Maga. "It's the most practical way to defend yourself when you are being attacked. Israel have been using it for decades." I stated, continuing my search.

"Israel has been using what for decades?" Reina inquired.

"Krav Maga." Van replied.

"What are you doing? And what's the meeting for?" She wanted to know.

"She needs to learn self defense, and where is Lance? It shouldn't take him this long to get down here.

"I'm right here, little brother, what's going on?" 

Lance wanted to know as he strolled into the library, his curly hair wet and hanging in ringlets over his face from the shower he'd taken.

Reina groaned, "So, it's starting already? I thought it took three days before she would begin to start shadowing?"

Lance took the glasses he'd brought with him and placed them on the bridge of his nose, "What do you mean? She? Who's shadowing?"

Reina turned with a spark in her eye, "Our dear brother has found his mate, and from the looks of things, she's beginning to shadow."

"What the hell?" Van stated, his tone ever serious. "Stefan I thought you were happy being single, what happened to that?"

"I was until I saw her. I felt a strong urge to have her."

Lance saw this as comical, "Looks like your urges were too strong." 

I turned after finding the book for myself, I glared up at him, "Ha, ha, ha. At-least I won't be alone anymore."

"Yeah, the only thing you have to worry about is keeping her alive." Van replied sarcastically. He liked things the way they were. They didn't need mates. When ever they took a mate, it meant that should the mate die unexpectedly, so would the vampire. This, he didn't like. Not for him, not for Lance, not for Reina and sure as hell not for Stefan. He was the only one Van felt he could go to when he needed someone to talk to. Running his hands through his hair, Van asked, his tone tight, 

"So, now you want to break out all the self help books, right?"

I glanced over at him from the table, "She will need to read to understand the techniques of what I'm going to teach her. She needs to understand the art of self defense." 

Lance rolled his eyes at me, "Dear brother, it's nice that you plan ahead, but she only has one week to complete her transformation. There is no way she can learn what she needs from a book. She will need contact." He stated.

"He's right, Stefan, you can't teach her anything from a book. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

I felt Van's frustration over this. He glared at me, "Are you guys serious? Does anyone not see the big issue here? We went out for dancing, drinks and to have fun and our brother comes back telling us he's freaking mated. It makes me wonder if the poor girl was desperate herself or something, because that is a very serious commitment."

Reina laughed, "Yeah, right, that girl didn't even know what he was doing. All she saw was a quick fix and what did he do. He obliged a little too eagerly." 

I was angry that they were talking like this but more so at myself for the decision I made. It was bad enough that my actions were done purely out of lust, but to make matters worse, she wasn't the right kind of girl for me, this I knew now that she wasn't in front of me, making me drool over her. Clenching my jaw tightly, I said, "Ok, yes, I may have messed up some, but I told her the truth, ok?"

They all turned to look at me. "When?"

"Last night," 

"And, her response?" This came from Lance.

"She called me crazy, although she did believe the part about me being a vampire." I stated.

"Humans and their idiocy. How can she believe the vampire part but not the other?" Van questioned, his voice hard. 

I sighed and placed my hands over my face, "She went out last night and I followed her to a club." 

"And?" 

"Well, I sort of ended up shoving a stake through some guy's heart and beheading him."

Lance's eyes went wide, "Ouch. What did he do to deserve that?" 

"He attacked her."

Van was listening and found holes in his stories, "Wait a minute, I thought you said you followed her to a club?"

"I did."

"So then what happened at the club?"

"She picked up some guy and they headed back to his place."

Lance's loud laugh echoed through out the library.

"So, she's a club hopper? Oh, my god Stefan, did you link yourself to a street walker?" My sister shrieked.

I licked my lips, feeling sickened at that thought.

"She's not a whore, Reina, just a little open with her sexuality." 

I defended Odilia, but even as I said it, it sounded kind of dumb. As if knowing that, Lance broke out in another fit of laughter. 

"Shut up Lance," Van growled.

"Nicely done brother. First you screw her brains out and then you turn her, and now your life depends on whether she lives or not, how poetic. You take hers and now she has yours in the balance."

I inhaled sharply and said, "I just wanted to let you guys know that she'd be coming here." 

Van and Reina glared at me, because they knew it meant that they would have to fight too. 

"One week, that's all." I stated.

Van threw the book in his hand down on the table and walked out of the room without so much as a look in my direction. 

Lance stood up, stretched and said, "Well, let the games begin. Maybe I'll get to use that machete I bought five years ago." He looked at me with a grin and said, "You sure know how to pick em Stefan, maybe I will let you pick my mate." After saying this, he laughed again and shook his head, walking out. 

I was left alone with Reina. She didn't say anything, just exhaled sharply, grabbed me in her arms and ran her fingers over my hair. "You try too hard sometimes Stefan."

"I don't know why I didn't see the realization that she did this on a regular basis. I don't know what came over me. Everything just felt so intense, so right. The way she responded and everything was enough to make me know that she was who I wanted." I stated, still confused over my choice.

I heard Reina sigh behind me as she continued to stroke my forehead in a motherly fashion. "Dear brother, I'm sure there is more to her than meets the eye. Maybe you saw what she could be."

I groaned and pulled away from her, "No. I saw what I wanted, not what I needed." I took this time to take my leave.



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 05



Odilia.

After getting out of the shower, I left the braids that were in my hair hanging and wrapped them in a towel. I went to the vanity I had and lotioned my body. Looking at my eyes, I noticed that there was a dark ring around my irises. My normally beautiful healthy skin seemed a bit dull.

I grabbed some lotion and poured it in my hands, hoping my skin would get some of its color back; but it stayed the dull shade of caramel brown. It was then I noticed my stomach was growling. Going downstairs to the kitchen, I went into the fridge and pulled out a steak. I felt my nostrils flare at the scent and my pulse began to pound harder. 

Taking the meat, I placed it in a skillet on the burner. I cooked it on both sides for a good ten minutes and then pulled it off. Grabbing a fork and knife, I cut into it. Instead of the blood making me gag, it actually made my stomach rumble with more hunger. I cleared my throat and shoved the piece of meat into my mouth. Closing my eyes, I savored the taste of raw meat and it's juices as the blood ran down the inside of my throat. 

My eyes flew open as I realized what I was doing. This wasn't normal. Most people didn't eat blood and rare steaks. Setting the fork down, I felt dread fill me. Oh my God! Something was happening to me. I felt sudden despair at the thought.

"It's ok Odilia." A voice stated. My head flew up and I looked around the kitchen, seeing no one there. That's when it hit me that I hadn't even bothered to cut on the light. I could actually see in the dark. Putting my fork down on the table, I yelled, "Stefan what in the hell did you do to me?" My heart was pounding in my cheast and my head began to hurt and I felt as though I could just die right there. I knew that my life would never be the same after this. 

Stefan 

I was sitting there on the couch thinking for at-least thirty minutes after my sister left, when I heard a voice yell, "Stefan, what the hell did you do to me?" 

My eyes opened and again for the third time that night, I acted on instinct. I Imagined myself where ever she was and within a few minutes, I was there in her kitchen. I saw her laying against the east wall, her eyes closed. I went and felt for a pulse. It was faint. I wondered how long it had been since she had had anything to eat. Glancing over at the table, I noticed a steak laying on a plate. She'd been to weak to eat anything and had fallen out, I deduced. 

Picking her up, I carried her through the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. Laying her flat on the bed, I grabbed her head, lifted it and placed it on my lap. Taking a finger, I took my nail and dug deeply into my skin until blood spilled. She moaned when I did that. I took my arm and held it toward her. She grasped my arm and pulled it the rest of the way. 

Opening her mouth, she took it in her mouth and applied pressure to it. It hurt as she did this. She sucked really hard, her thirst evident in the huge gulps she took. Now I knew what it felt like to have another''s teeth stuck in my own skin and believe me, it it's not as peachy as they say it is in the movies. I waited for a good two minutes before I took my arm away from her, more like pried it out of her grasp, and then laid her head back on the pillow. 

She whispered, "Thank you Stefan." I looked around and saw the flimsy curtain she had hanging in her window. Come morning that curtain would do no good to protect her. 

Sighing, I got up and went to work, constructing a dark fortress for her. I also went to find any piece of wood I could because I knew without a shadow of a doubt, the day breakers would come. Those would be the vampires who were half human and could be out in the day time. She would be at her weakest during that time, and I wanted to make sure I could handle whom ever it was sent to do battle. I sent a message to my brothers and sister that they were needed. It was time to go to battle over a soul. 



When I opened my eyes, I thought for a minute that it must have been a horrible dream, that by some stroke of luck, I hadn't met the most sexy and sweetest man. You can usually tell what a man is like when he makes love, at-least I can. Just by the way he holds, touches and how thorough he is with your body is how dedicated and loving and tender his heart is. I smiled softly and glanced around me. Surely it was a dream. There's no way I had mated, as Stefan calls it, only to end up married and going through the turning of becoming a vampire. I mean, my skin would be the beautiful natural healthy glow it always had and my eyes would have that same shade of rich chocolate that they always held. 

I felt giddy just telling myself this. There was no way I could be a vampire because of the simple fact that they did not exist. I felt my body relax. 

Stefan:

Van sat there in his usual cold demeanor, which was now backed by a new hatred. When I'd called, he'd come and helped out begrudgingly. He'd then sat down in the darkened fortress, just staring out into the dark. He'd brought with him plenty of hunting knives. He liked to carve things, especially traitorous vampires. Some would be half human, others would be complete. He was absolutely brilliant in in Destreza because he was not only quick but he handled swords and knives like they were second nature. Either way, all vampires who sided with her had been given authority by Lilith during the shadowing to use any measures necessary to either kill or be killed during the first phase of Shadowing. Today was the last day of the first phase and I believe that the reason Odilia hadn't been attacked when she first arrived home is because it took a whole day for her body to begin the first phase. 

As soon as she began, she became bait and fortunately, the first and only vampire attack had been done by Marcus and he'd been quickly disposed of. 

My other brother Lance sat there gripping the Machete he held in his hands tightly. Lance and I looked alike in the hair and eyes. Where I was tall and thin, he was of medium height with a line backer's build. He was very solid. He always seemed to find humor in a situation but there were times like this when his nerves outdid his humor and he became focused and cautious. He was a great worrier. He had training in Kav Maga, which is an Israeli defense technique, and in Jiu Jitsu, a form of Brazilian martial arts. Although he'd been practicing for some twenty five years, he'd never gotten to use his skills and there for never really been able to put them to use. I only hoped that he proved to be a warrior. 

Inhaling sharply, my gaze went to Reina our sister. She had her brown hair in a bob and was shaped similarly to Odilia, except where Odilia was tall, she was a five foot three inches, however, no one would underestimate her stature for her ability. She'd been a vampire the longest out of all of us. Where Lance, Van and I were no longer than seventy years totally, she was one hundred and thirty years old. She was highly skilled in Destreza a spanish style fencing, Lethwei, which is known as kickboxing today, and magic. 

Me myself I chose to do Kav Maga and am an expert in that area. I'm also good at sword fighting. 

"She's awake." My sister whispered.

I nodded, "Yes, but she is still not ready to face the truth."

Van smirked, "Well, it's not like she has a choice now does she? Today is the last day of phase one, it's not like she can wish it away."

I got up to go upstairs where Odilia was. 

"Stefan, there is only one hour left till day light." Reina reminded me. Lance still didn't say anything to her words. He just continued to stare into space.

I took the stairs one at a time, trying to think of something, anything to explain what was going to happen to her and the process in between. Knocking on the door at the end of the hall, where her bed room was, I cleared my throat and waited for her to open the door. 

Odilia

As soon as I heard the knock, my reality was brought crashing down around me. Before he even spoke, I knew it was him. Starring in the mirror, I noticed then that it was dark and I should have seen sooner that I hadn't had a dream. Only animals and vampires can see in the dark. 

Going to the lamp by my bedside, I turned it on and then turned it down to a shade. Although I didn't need any light, I welcomed the simple normalcy of it. 

Going to the door, I opened it. Stefan stood looking at me, his face ashen just as mine was. I couldn't understand why I hadn't noticed it before. He inhaled, "Can we talk?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "May as well. What else is there left to do?"

He came in and took a seat on the chair that went to my computer desk. I sat down on the bed. He glanced at the door and it closed softly. Instead of being fearful I rolled my eyes, show off, my mind spoke. 

"It wasn't for show." He stated. 

I glanced over at him, "Don't do that. I don't like it."

"Anything else your majesty?" His tone was harsh and full of sarcasm.

I glared at him, "What in the hell are you mad at me for? You're the one who changed my life, not the other way around."

"For that you should be grateful. At least now you don't have to worry about catching a disease or something." 

I raised my tone of voice, "It's funny that you say that now, considering that wasn't even of concern three days ago, now was it? You had no issue fucking me then."

I watched as his eyes grew dark and cloudy. " I thought it was more than that."

"Really, is that why you had the sudden urge to do this to my neck?" I turned my head to the side and showed him the purple coloring that had developed around the bite mark. 

He inhaled sharply and stood up, too irritated to sit down. "Oh believe me, I wish I'd never done it. How am I supposed to make a life with a woman who has problems throwing herself at other men? If anything you should be my sex slave, surely not a wife." 

When I heard him say that, I jumped up from where I sat and ran at him. Pushing him to the wall, my fangs bare, I growled, "I am not a whore. Men can go out and mess around when they get the inclination too but for a woman to do so she is seen as a whore? How ironic is that? To top it all off, now that I know what you think about me, what's the point? Why not let the other guys have me. At-least then you wouldn't have to worry about me."

I watched his adam's apple bob up and down in his throat, "Unfortunately, I can't. If you die, I die." 

I laughed, "Serves you right, you jerk." I backed away. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I couldn't believe I was going to cry over someone like him. He wasn't even worth the little bit of consideration I gave him. I sank back down onto the bed. 

He came to me. "Look, Odilia, putting our differences aside, we have to keep you alive during the day until night fall and then we will go back to my place."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"You can't stay here. The house is not protected the way mine is."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you." I lashed out. It hurt to know that he thought of me as a whore. 

"Too bad because you're going. If you stay here you will die."

"Maybe that will be better than staying for ever with a man who will not grow to love me. Besides, what about my kids?" As soon as it slipped out, she put her hands in her head and groaned. She would never see her kids again.

"They can come stay with us. We can raise them."

"No! I don't want them around you. If you can't accept me, there's no telling how you will treat them. I will kill you over my babies." I stated, my throat raw. I was starting to get hungry again.

"Don't worry, he loves kids." I turned my head toward the door and saw a woman standing there. Her eyes were a light green color much like a cat's eyes. She held out her hand to me in a greeting, "I'm Reina, Stefan's sister, not biological but by blood swapping." 

I made a disgusted face. "Blood swapping."

"He did the same thing with you."

"He did?" I asked, turning my gaze at Stefan. 

He exhaled. "You were weak and you needed to feed."

I groaned again for the umpteenth time that night. 

"Usually Stefan's head rule over his heart but lately he's been doing some stupid things." His sister stated, her tone soft and also seeming to take away some of the tension that was in the room. I looked over at her with a delicate smile. She came over to me and asked, "What is your name?"

"Odilia." I replied.

"That's beautiful, and it's German, meaning praise God, fortunate and prosperous in battle. It means you were destined to be a warrior Odilia." 

Despite the situation, I gave a bright smile, 

"Really?"

"Yes, it's original derivative is Odela from the Hebrew language."

"I can't believe he called me a whore. I'm not a whore." I stated to her. Reina smiled at me, "I can tell Odilia. Women sometimes do dumb things as well. Is there a reason why you went out and did the exact same thing to another that you'd done to my brother?"

Odilia didn't understand the open and easiness she felt talking to Reina. It was like she made her spirit fill calm instead of so heavy, the way Stefan did. "I just didn't want to get into a relationship because of my kids and school. I feel like I'm too busy for a relationship at the moment."

Reina smiled and rubbed my back, "I can understand that, but you know what, the truth is you can't go back and undo anything now. You guys are linked together for life. You may as well make the most of it."

I shrugged, "I don't know Reina. I really liked him and..." Now I felt emotional, tears began to well up in my eyes. 

"It's ok, sister, I know. I understand. How about this..." Her tone was soothing, "Right now, you just concentrate on staying alive and getting through the battle. Worry about your relationship later." 

I wiped my eyes. She asked in caring manner, "Are you hungry?"

I nodded. She got up and walked out of the room. I looked up at Stefan who was standing there with a different expression on his face. He looked sympathetic.

"I don't need your sympathy," I stated, my gaze directed at the floor. Now I felt weird. I didn't feel as confident as my usual self. I wasn't so used to being vulnerable around people I didn't know. Suddenly I felt alone. I felt as though no one could help me with this mess. I started to think of ways that maybe would help. 

Turning to Stefan I asked, "So, how do I defend myself?" 

He stood up and said, "We'll start with the basics. Two things you really need to know. A steak to the heart slows the vampire down while a metal blade suffice to give a quick decapitation or explosion to the heart, should the heart be punctured." 

I nodded my head, "Ok, and then what?"

"Can you punch?" He asked me.

I've always done palates which makes me a little more flexible than some. I also took a couple of self defense classes, so I know how to block and punch, as well as kick to the stomach or groin. He held his arms out, palms facing me. "Punch."

I got in a stance and used my right hand to punch, turning my arm inward as I did it. He steadied himself as the punch connected with his palm. "That's a good one. How about a left punch. Can you do that?" I did. He came at me, I twisted to the side and lifted my left leg up to connect with his stomach and brought my elbow down on his back hard. He fell. He turned over and gave me a big warm smile, "You are going to do well when I train you."

I smiled back, "Thank you." 

He laid there on the ground staring up at me. This time a different look crossed his features. There was so much warmth and compassion in them, I felt it hit me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. He reached out, signaling for me to grab his hand. I did. He pulled me down to where he was effortlessly and then rolled over on top of me. 

"Second Odilia, don't ever help your enemy up. Don't fall for the I'm a nice guy routine, want to know why?" 

I bit down on my lip. "Why?" 

He pulled a piece of wood from off one of the end tables a lamp stood on, held it up high and brought it down. I flinched when it landed next to me. "Because if you do, you are dead." 

I was filled with dread. He leaned in close. "I would never hurt you."

I felt a tug of heart strings and gave a small smile, "Do you always forgive this easily?"

He smiled, "I understand now. It can be impossible to hold a grudge when you understand reasoning."

"What's the reasoning?"

"You are just a scared woman on the inside. You act brave, but you are very emotional and open. You often times fight yourself to do what you want and what you need." 

I licked my lips. He smiled, "But sometimes, what you want and what you need can come in one package if you allow it too."

I know it was meant to be words of encouragement but they only made me want to kiss him. His grin widened and I suspected he knew what I was thinking. He said, "So, do you forgive me?"

"I wasn't aware that you were apologizing."

"Odilia, I am sorry for what I said earlier. Will you forgive me?" 

I sighed, feeling my heart melt. "Sure, I will forgive you."

He leaned in and was about to give me that kiss, when we heard something on the roof. He immediately got up and pulled me up to. He handed me a substitute wooden stake. Cutting off the light, He grabbed two legs from the side tables and pulled. He handed me one and then pulled the other out. He left the bedroom with me behind him. He jumped from the top of the stairs to the bottom. I was going to jump but instead I paused. Could I really make it down there?

"Odilia, come on, we don't have much time." 

Just then a loud crash came through the ceiling and I turned around to face a female vampire. She unveiled her fangs, the light accentuating their sharpness. I stood there for a second wrapped in fear until she reached out to grab me and then I did what my instinct told me to do. I grabbed her and pulled with all my might, flipping her over the banister, but she didn't hit the floor like I thought she would, she landed on the floor, feet firmly planted. Just as she did, Reina pushed the stake into her chest, catching her off guard and took off her head with a sword. The woman was immediately turned to dust. 

I just stood there, not really doing much but in shock. 

"Fight Odilia, behind you." A voice whispered in my mind. Turning around, I met the guy coming toward me with a hard kick to his stomach. He stumbled but didn't fall. He came forward and I brought my knee up to his stomach and when he doubled over, I thrust the piece of wood I had into his back, on the side where I knew his heart was. He let out a howl and that's when I noticed a machete come down on his neck. 

I looked up at the guy. He gave a wide grin, "Man that felt good. I'm Lance, by the way." 

I nodded. He said, "Sweety, if you want to live you can't just stand there in shock, get over it and get to moving. You'll be seeing a lot more in the coming days." 

I turned around and made my way down the stairs. That's when I heard another contact with skin. I could tell by the sound that Lance had sliced another vampire. Probably decapitating. Something urged me to hurry up and get down the stairs, When I did, another guy came through the roof. Immediately, Lance did away with him. I grabbed the door and was about to pull it open when a hand stopped me. "You're going to kill all of us if you do that." I turned and standing in front of me was a guy taller than Stefan. His blue eyes hard looking. He was a really big dude and I noticed he had a lot of weapons on him. He pulled out two daggers. Handing them to me, he said, "this is where we fight." 

I grabbed a hold of the daggers. There was something engraved on them. 

"How are we going to get out of here if you guys can't go anywhere in the day light?" 




Lilith's Shadow Ch. 05



"Disappear." He stated.

I didn't know what he meant, but I turned around just as someone came in through the downstairs bathroom. Going to the door, I waited for them to open it and then stuck the blade into their chest. Immediately they turned to ashes.

I went away from the living room and down the hall toward the kitchen. I could hear Reina in there, struggling with a group of people. I threw the dagger and watched as it hit one of the vampires, turning her to rubble. Turning two vampires toward me. I looked at the one knife I had and figured, kill one and fight the other. I threw the dagger at the guy on the right, thinking the girl was my safest bet, and was rewarded when he too turned to ash. 

The girl then tried to pick up the dagger but it burned her hand. I thought that was weird. She growled and flew at me. I took a right jab and hit her in the face, slowing her down a bit. "A left round kick, Odila." I did so and knocked the girl down on her back. Moving quickly, I grabbed one of those daggers and plunged it into her chest. I saw her look of surprise as she too was made a layer of dust. As soon as I finished with her, Reina walked toward me. As she did, someone came up from behind her and before they had a chance to touch her, she grabbed an arm and flung them in front of her. Getting down on one knee, she picked up the second dagger nearest her and plunged it into the middle of their neck and pulled. I gagged as the severed head slid across the floor. Poof, this one went back to dust as well. I stood on alert waiting for someone else to come through, thinking that there would be more.

I went back into the living room and saw that all the guys were sitting down on the couch, "What took you so long Reina?"

Reina ignored Lance's teasing and said, "Guys, lets go. I don't want to stay here too long. All of them got up and stood in a circle. Reina who'd grabbed the dagger, looked at me and said, "Don't loose these. You're going to need them." I didn't' know where to put them. 

That's when I noticed I was still dressed in the lingerie set I'd worn to bed. I felt slightly embarrassed. Before I could get the thought out, Stefan sighed, "Don't worry about it, let's just go. I'm in dire need of something to eat." I went to their circle and grabbed onto Reina's and the tall guy I'd seen at the door earlier hands. Within two minutes, we stood in the middle of a huge living room.



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 06



Two days later:

A part of me felt intrigue at the possibilities, while another part of me kept dreading the outcome of it all. I know that vampires weren't supposed to feel anything, but damn it, feeling is what I do best. Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I lack emotion. I still have my soul in tact, so therefore I feel. All those of my clan have our souls in tact. I'm not sure if all vampires have their souls, but I look at things this way. How else could you explain the feeling of desire, need, determination and drive that we have a tendency to have? 

I think that realistically, people need to see that we breathe, eat, sleep and think just as they do, and although our diets vary from time to time, we have emotions damn it. As a matter of fact, I can't figure out why my mind is rationalizing my extreme emotional state at this time. I do, but then I don't. 

It's like every time Odilia is next to me my mind becomes confused. My body wants one thing, while my heart and mind wants to stay sharp. Is it possible to not divide the two halves of her and pocket them when I need them? Is it safe to be thinking all of the worse thoughts in the world; like what if they kill her? What if they kill me? What if she can't pass the Succubus phase? Damn it, what if I can't pass it? Then she becomes a vampire that sucks the life out of people by fulfilling their fantasies and that in itself is like entrapment of the soul. I didn't want that life for her. I wanted her to survive and make her time as a vampire count for something. 

Why did I have all of this on my heart now? I knew why, because I truly, deeply, care for her and care about what happens to her. I want to get the chance when all of this is over to get to know what she likes, what she doesn't like and all those stupid things humans do. Dating her would be very romantic. I smiled as I imagined us going to movies, going to concerts, some human, some vampire. Us doing a lot of things together that most couples do, regardless of whether human or vampire.

I imagined her and I being alone and making love. My body began to stir with the familiar pangs of lust. I know that had I been human my face would've flushed. The truth was, I couldn't get that night we shared out of my head and out of my heart. The taste of soft smooth flesh on my tongue and the smell of her body in my nostrils made me go absolutely crazy. It almost sounds animalistic in a way. 

I remembered the feel of her skin underneath mine. The warmth that came off. I remembered a lot and it was driving me crazy that I did. 

~                    ~



"I know what's happening to him," Reina stated after thumbing through the book she had. 

"Please do tell, dear sister, because he is about to drive me crazy with all the really weird looks and just the freakishly human nature that he's suddenly began to develop. He can't decide if he is coming or going and he's thinking more on an emotional side than with his brain and you know that's not normal." Van stated. 

Reina sighed, "It says here that he's going through what they call an emotional spasm. Because he is the guardian of her soul, he feels what ever she feels. His behavior becomes irrational and he starts doing things to a point where he becomes obsessed with her. That's how the Lilith is able to seduce the turner. She makes him believe that his sole objective is to be with the turned and make him believe that he is some how protecting her by claiming her all over again. 

It is during this period that the Lilith's shadow enter the body to complete the act and destroy his spirit and weaken hers and take over the body." 

"So, what does that mean?" 

Reina shook her head, wishing there was something more they could do..

"It means that in this phase the only people who can help them are each other. I think that he will be in the room with her when the Lilith makes her move. It says here that if the Lilith enters the mate, then it has to be destroyed, killing both the demon and the mate."

This caused Van's body to sag in exhaustion, "So that means the demon, the mate and the turner will be dead, which means that we will be doing all this shit for nothing."

Reina put the book down and without a response, left the room.



Odilia:

He would die because of me? I felt a pain stab through my heart like nothing before. Stefan would die because of me? I felt the pain swell in my heart as I wished there was another way to do this. I wished there was another way to do anything but pass beyond Lilith's shadow. I knew now that I loved Stefan. Don't ask me how or why considering this has to be the shortest time period I've ever taken to actually court a guy, but I can feel his pulse beating with mine. 

It's like we are two of the same people. For the first time in days, I felt so overwhelmed with anxiety that I had to release it somehow. 

Stefan:

I stood outside her room, contemplating whether or not I should go in and comfort her. I had every intention of doing so when I heard her crying and felt her pain, but then stopped when a question intruded on my thoughts; What if this was the beginning of the Succubus phase? What if this was the test? I had never done anything like this before and I hated it. 

I dreaded that she had to go through this because I had been so selfish. I wished I could go back and undo everything I had done, just to make everything easier for her. I stood out there with my ear to the door listening, when I heard her speak, "I hear you breathing Stefan, so you may as well come on in." 

The door opened. I don't know if she was conscientious of the fact that she seemed to be becoming more and more like a vampire with each passing day. She had turned on the light by her bedside but only to give the illusion of needing light as she still had not adjusted to the fact that she was indeed turning. 

Inhaling sharply, I walked in to where she was and sat down on the floor next to her. "Hi Stefan." Her voice was nervous.

"Hello, Odilia." I stated softly. There was no need to ask if she was alright because I already knew the truth.

"I'm scared." 

I nodded. "Me too." 

She smiled, "But you went through this, a long time ago, right?"

I shrugged, "I did, but honestly, I don't remember it happening."

"No? Is there anything you do remember happening?" Her hand reached out for mine. 

I grasped hers and sighed, "I remember being back in Spain with my mother and father and Lance."

"Do you?" 

"Yes. I remember when I was about twenty three years old and Lance had to have been about twenty six years old at the time. He was sent to the store for milk so that our Aunt Anjelica could bake a suprise cake for our momma's birthday, but he never came back."

Odilia sat and listened. "We looked for him for a long time. For weeks we put up search missions within a hundred kilometers of our home and he still didn't turn up. Finally, about six months after he went missing, I got hurt on the job. My injury was so bad that the doctors said it was irreparable. In my former life, I'd been an ax man who chopped wood to build log cabins out of; One day while my partner and I were moving a log, he dropped his end and the whole thing came rolling down hill where I was and continued til it crushed my spine, paralyzing me from the waist down.

"After finding out that nothing more could be done for my injury, Lance came into my room one night. I asked him where had he been and why hadn't he come back that night. He told me that he had been jumped on the way home from the store and had been left to die. He'd been pulled to safety by Van, who'd asked him if he wanted another chance at life. He told him he did and Van asked him what he was willing to do to get that new chance and Lance told him anything. He said that he wasn't expecting Lance to turn him, but it happened and although he'd suffered through quite a bit, Lance had pulled through. 

Lance then asked me if I wanted a second chance at life. I just looked at him and said if it meant I would not be able to walk, just let me die." Odilia's gaze focused on me. I knew she felt the heart ache in every word I spoke and because she understood it, I squeezed her hand to show my thanks. 

"He told me that I would indeed be able to walk because if I became as he was, my body would re-heal itself. I told him ok. I really didn't understand that he was a vampire, he hadn't really revealed that part to me. He just told me to close my eyes and think of a place that I could find soothing. I did. When I awoke, I was a vampire."

"So, you don't remember having to endure anything like me?"

"My mind was blocked the whole time. It was like having a dream about a wonderful place and waking up with fresh limbs, heart, blood, everything."

"Really?"

"Yes. From what I understand, it is different for you because you are a female who has not been pure. When a woman or man isn't pure, they have a higher chance of becoming a succubus at the end of the change because there is more of a connection with lust and sexual prowess."

"So, I'm doomed." She stated, already sounding defeated.

"No. It doesn't mean that you can't pass through Lilith's shadow, just that it will be harder for you to do so."

Odilia felt the breath leave out of her. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to loose her life no matter if it was vampire or human, she just wasn't ready to go yet there was so much she hadn't lived to do yet.

Exhaling sharply, she whispered, "So, can you tell me when this is supposed to happen?" 

"The very last night of your transition, on the sixth day, so that would be on Friday, two days from now."

Odilia stared at him, thinking of how sweet of a man he was and how much she sincerely wanted him. She stood up on her knees and moved close to him. Rubbing her hand over his fore head, she leaned in and placed a kiss on the spot she'd touched. He looked up at her, his heart in his eyes. She whispered, "I know love, but think of it this way. Tonight is not the last night, so the most that could happen is that we'd at-least have this one last chance to make love. We are not sure if we will ever get the chance to do so again, so the best we can do is enjoy ourselves, right?"

I stared at her, trying to figure out if this was a trick or not and see if there was a lie in her demeanor, but all I could see was genuine heartfelt commitment and love. I paused when thinking of the way I'd described her. There was a difference. It seemed as if she was willing to commit and this was something that I could have even though it may only be for a short time. I knew however, that my sister and brothers would want to intervene on both of our behalf, however, the book specifically stated that she wasn't completely changed over until that sixth night, so making love to her would be something I could cherish, could hold onto even in the midst of battle. 

Exhaling, I began a chant around the room, sealing out any noise that may be heard outside of it and giving the illusion of us being asleep. Grasping Odilia's hand, I pulled her up from the floor and against my body. Immediately, her head lifted to mine and our lips met. 



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 07



Odilia:

When Stefan's mouth touched mine, I felt a deep burn begin in my throat and work its way down my body. The thought of not being able to feel his lips on mine as they were now, brought up a sob which came forth in a gasp of pain. He whispered, "No. Don't cry, Odilia." 

I swallowed sharply and tried to hold back my tears of sorrow but couldn't. He wiped my eyes as they spilled forth their sorrow. "Don't think of it Odilia." 

As the tears continued to fall and he moved down to my neck, I gasped, releasing another gut wrenching sob. I wished I could tell him that I was sorry that I wouldn't be strong enough to hold off the succubus, because I knew how much I truly did want him, how much desire he stoked in me. It was a desire that burned and tingled everywhere in my body, one that I had never felt before in my life. It was one that was so much that I wouldn't be able to withstand that temptation. 

He glanced up at me and said, "I understand, love. Oh do I understand." There was a fire in his eyes as he spoke. The change in his vocal pitch told me that he felt the same way I did. He grabbed the bottom of my shirt, lifting it over my head, reminding me of that first night we were together. Reminding me of how I'd been so eager to devour him that I would have agreed to anything he wanted me to as long as I would have been able to taste and touch and be one with him. He kissed my shoulders and ran his hand down my arms. Looking up at me, he whispered, "I know. I wanted so badly to make you mine that I didn't think of the consequences and for that I am sorry."

He continued to kiss my body, placing delicate kisses along my clavicle and then over the top of my left breast. When his mouth took a hold of my nipple, I gasped, grabbing his head, holding it to that one, loving the fire he continued to build within me. I closed my eyes and knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing this. 

I wanted to spend the rest of my life being his mate. There was nothing that compared to being able to feel the love, devotion and utter adoration that he allowed me to feel radiating off of him. As a human, I could spend my whole life wishing and hoping and trying to find what he who was not human was offering. 

I observed as he went to my right breast and suckled on that one as a baby would, him seeming to draw life from the desire that was firing up in my belly. I could hear him whispering in my mind, telling me softly that I was the most beautiful woman that he'd ever seen and that his heart belonged to me. He told me that he loved the way it felt being able to caress his tongue over my nipple. 

He moved further down and placed kisses along my breast bone, to the top of my rib cage. He asked me to forgive him for being insensitive and not being keen to allowing me the choice. I spoke his name as he took nibbles off my stomach and continued downward, to my navel. He swore as he nibbled past there to the top of my woman hood. He told me that he felt drunk with the passion and desire that he felt just inhaling my scent. 

He told me that he wanted me so bad and then I cried out as I felt him latch on to my clitoris, drawing out the liquids that poured out just beneath. I opened my legs and heard myself scream, "I only want you. Oh, God, Stefan, I only want you." This seemed to drive him even more crazy, because he let go of my clitoris and moved his tongue fast over the inside of my vagina. 

I felt my body shake as an orgasm rippled through me. He seemed to enjoy it even more, his strokes becoming harder and faster, till I no longer controlled the sensations that went through me and I yielded to several more orgasms. I heard him proclaim boldly, "In aeternum mues es tu!" I don't know what he said, but it made my heart accelerate and I felt the adrenaline rush pump fiercely through my body as he kissed his way back up my body and he kept speaking those words. 

When his eyes finally met mine, my heart fell into my stomach and I whispered, "I love you, Stefan." As he pushed himself in between my legs, he captured my mouth in a kiss, filling me with his man hood. He whispered, "You are mine for ever. In aeternum mues es tu." 

I grabbed his body and pulled with more strength than I knew I possessed and wrapped my legs around him, "Yes. I am yours forever." I felt a new wave of shock overcome me as a fiery wind went from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, and then resting in my belly. He moved in and out of me, seeming to work that burning feeling as it devoured my whole body and continued to do so until I felt him burst, his seed hot and warm as it shot up and filled every area that it touched.

Reina was the first to feel it. She turned her attention to both Van and Lance, who'd been sitting in the library with her, trying to determine what alternatives they could offer. A fiery wind seem to go through the entire house. 

Following her instinct, she yelled, "Van Lance, under the table now." 

Just as they got under the table, the books on the shelves came flying out at harsh speeds, landing where ever they could. She felt a chill go through her as she though of Stefan and Odilia. They hadn't been heard since they'd both gone upstairs to their rooms. When the wind left, slamming the door shut with it, they all stood up. 

Going over to the door, Reina twisted the knob, thinking that it would open. The door didn't budge. She glanced over at Van. "I can't open it."

Van wrinkled his brow in confusion, "What?"

"It won't open." She stepped back and tried 

kicking it. It still wouldn't open. Van stepped up, moving her back, since he was the strongest and used all his strength to open the door. Nothing happened. It wouldn't open. 

He turned his blue eyes upon Reina and with fear lacing his tone, inquired, "I thought this wasn't supposed to happen till Friday?"

Reina closed her eyes and whispered, "So did I."

"You mean, Lilith's demon is here?" Lance asked, his tone shaky.

Van exhaled sharply, "That's exactly what we mean. Stefan's not strong enough to block us and neither is Odilia because she hasn't completely turned. I don't think she's developed all of her mental abilities yet."

Lance and Reina both groaned, for the first time having a feeling of hopelessness. There was nothing else they could do.

Stefan:

I felt an assurance in my spirit that although Odilia and I may not be together in body, we would definitely be together eternally in spirit. Where ever our souls went after this life, we would be together, and because of this, I didn't care anymore about the succubus, as long as it meant we could be together. 

I smiled at the thought of the Shakespearean type of love. I knew there was a possibility that it would fail. I ran my hands tentatively over her body, enjoying the sensations my touch seem to invoke in her. I ran them over every area I could possibly hold on to. 

I even cupped her woman hood in the palm of my hand and flickered my thumb over the sensitive bud that protruded outward, causing her to shiver with delight. 

I could tell she enjoyed the sensitivity that I handled her with because her eyes closed and she continued to moan the entire time. I wanted to have every part of her as my own. I stroked the inside of her folds, feeling the tightness in which she clenched at my fingers with. As I continued to stroke her rhythmically, she gasped and grabbed my hand, allowing her juices to run down my fingers. She gasped, "Oh, Stefan, baby."

I leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips. A minute later, she was turned over on her stomach and she whispered, "I love you, Stefan."

I whispered, "I love you too, Odilia." I could feel the satisfaction and love and trust coming from her heart. "In aeternum mues es tu!" I murmured.

She whispered, "I accept." 

Just as she did, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The light that was on flickered off and then on again. We both sat up in bed and put our clothes on. Together, we walked back out into the hallway. Everything was still and quiet. I wondered about my sister and brothers, whether or not they were ok. We hadn't seen nor talked to them in quite a while. 

Lance, Reina and Van were still sitting in the library where the fiery wind had come through. They'd actually managed to pick up the books in the two hours that the wind had come and gone and had been sitting there full of anxiety, hoping for the best when Stefan and Odilia walked into the library, holding one another hands. 

The siblings' first instinct was to get up and tear them apart but seeing them together like that stopped them. There was something different in their demeanor, something different in their eyes. Reina narrowed her eyes at her brother suspiciously. 

Was he under the Lilith's spell? She didn't know. All she knew was that he was looking too peaceful and so was Lilith, but then it occurred to her that if Lilith's spawn was inhabiting Odilia, neither of them would be alive. She inhaled sharply and stood up. "What's different?" She inquired.

Stefan:

"What's different?" Reina asked starring at me and Odilia, sort of admazed, confused and curious all at once. 

"She accepted me as her mate." I inquired happily, squeezing Odilia's hand in mine.

"What do you mean she accepted you?" Lance inquired.

"Guys," I stated, sitting Odilia down first, and then taking my place next to her. "Odilia is my wife. I love her and she loves me." I told them. 

If only they could feel the love and trust and honesty that had bonded itself between me and Odilia. I wanted her and she wanted me.

"What about Lilith's Demon? You guys do know that she is coming, right?"

I nodded, "Yes, I know. We have decided that we want to be together. If we die together, that is fine. Do you guys know how to defeat Lilith?"

Reina sighed, not really understandinging what she was hearing, but deciding that if Stefan wanted to give up his life for love then who was she to stop him? 

"Odilia has to kill the demon before it inhabit her body, with a special knife that has our family seal on it. The knife has to be soaked in blood and then protected with an enchanted prayer. That's the only way to kill the demon before she is completely turned."

"Then let's wait." I stated.

Thursday:

Odilia:

I feel hot. My entire body feels as though it is burning up in an inferno of fire. Just the tiniest bit of light makes me squirm in pain. Stefan has turned off all the lights and kept the doors closed. I told him no. I didn't want him to be in here with me while I was going through this. He said no. He was not going to leave me. I just sighed and told him I loved him. He grabbed my hand and told me he loved me as well. 

I stayed in bed all day, just burning and never finding solace in any of the attempts he used to get me to cool down with. Water, ice, cold towels, nothing cooled me down. I felt a different kind of pain crush my insides, causing me to scream out. There was so much pain that I thought maybe I had died and gone to hell. The pain got so intense that I begged him to kill me. He said no. 

When I asked him to do it, he had restraints attached to my bed in an attempt to hold me down but I broke them. He tried everything he could think of. The only thing that even soothed over what was happening was when he told me he loved me and that he needed me to complete the transition. 

He even spoke to me in Spanish sometimes, saying a lot of things. Night fall was when the pain wasn't that bad,the most torture was endured during the day time. He finally got the idea to turn the temperature even lower than the fifty degrees normally kept on and what do you know, it worked. The pain began to lessen and lessen until I no longer felt any pain at all.



Stefan: 

I never knew loving someone could be so scary. I knew that without her there was no me, so if she didn't survive there was no way I could. I just knew it in my soul that our attachment to each-other went beyond the normal soul attachment. I could see that if any part of our seam ripped it would affect her and it would affect me. Why? I don't know, but I suspect that it had something to do with the fact that we'd bonded so close to her completion date. 

I was very agitated at the idea that she could be lost to me forever. The whole time I said a prayer, asking for protection for me and Odilia. I heard her breathing even out around seven thirty that night,propelling her into a deep sleep that lasted all night Thursday and Friday and part of the day on Saturday. 

Odilia:

I awoke with a start. Everything around me was clear and in focus. I felt Stefan's arm around me. Sometime during the last phase of my turning, he'd crawled into bed with me and refused to let me go, until the moment I awoke. He asked me if I felt alright. I jumped over him and told him I felt fine. He gave me a kiss and told me that was good. 

He asked me if I remembered anything over the past two days. I told him no, that I couldn't. I didn't remember anything after his various attempts at cooling me down. He grabbed me, gave me a kiss and told me he loved me. I told him I loved him too. He asked if I was hungry. I told him I was starved, so we went down stairs to the fridge, where he asked what was I hungry for. I told him a medium rare steak. He cooked it for a good ten minutes then gave it to me. I asked him if he had something to drink, he said yes and gave me a cup of goats blood. I asked him if there was a difference in blood?

He said yes, it depended on where it came from. I told him, "Well, I guess I'll have to try them all." 

His siblings spent all day Saturday and Sunday observing me, making sure I was indeed Odilia. They remained that way for four weeks before they finally let their guards down. 

A year later:

I kissed Odilia on the mouth, rubbing her belly. She would be due any day now. We'd found out that we were having a boy. I felt so excited at the prospect of giving birth to a baby boy because it was extremely rare for a child to be born in our clan. I had explained to Odilia that the clan we belonged to were called the Milan clan. We were the gate keepers of the souls of turning vampires and therefore, we ensured that all souls who crossed over into the undead were protected. 

We did our best to protect the gates by putting enchantments around the premises and even fighting on behalf of other families. Only the best soldiers were sent to battle on behalf of those souls. We usually fought the first phase of the turning for those who chose to hire us and then once they were safe we taught them how to protect themselves, the only hard part that came with the job was that it permitted a lot of us from taking wives who were human. 

Only those who could really handle the battle would even think to do it. It is a really spiritual battle that involve forces beyond our control and just the fact that Odilia and I had beaten that battle left us happy.

Two weeks later:

I guess babies do get here faster in the vampire world than they do in the human world, because Stefan and I welcomed Stefan Jr. into our world and if I must say, he is a beautiful little boy with bronze colored skin, big black eyes like his father and thick curly hair. He is a beautiful little boy. As a matter of fact, many people have come by to see him. He was the first child born in fifty years. After a long and exhausting day, Stefan and I tucked our child safely in a corner of our room, where we'd be sure to hear him if he awakened and turned out the lights to go to sleep. 

I woke up the next morning with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and couldn't figure out why. Getting up and going over to the baby's crib, I looked in and he was gone. Stefan must have felt the drop in my heart because he jumped up and went to the crib and looked in. 

I gasped, "No, no, no." I couldn't believe my child was gone. I knew no one had taken him, at-least no vampire. I grabbed at my hair and pulled out of frustration. Letting out a blood curling scream, I yelled war.



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 08



Part Two:

Eight

Stefan: 

Two days after Stefan Jr. went missing, Odilia and I were in a meeting with the council figuring out what we would do to go get our child back. The council consisted of three men and three women who were the over seers of their clan. They wore white robes with gold stitching that told the story of our tribe on the seams of their robes. The councilmen and women all had hair that rested at the middle of their back which had turned white because of the chants and protective wards that had been placed over them. 

The councilmen and women were ordained at birth and served for one thousand years before their time expired and a new councilman was appointed. The appointment started with a single strand of white hair and then multiplied as the child grew. Most councilmen and women ac-celled They were there to ensure the well being, safety, and health of all vampires, including such matters as when to go to war. They were more like the congressmen and women of the world. 

Although I had introduced Odilia to them already, they had yet to see our son and as soon as I told them the events surrounding how Odilia and I had met, including up til we'd had Stefan Jr. The council sat there just listening already familiar with the ways that Lilith worked. After I finished Speaking, one of the members stood up and spoke. "Could you please clarify what it is that you are asking, Stefan?" 

I had to make sure my tone was loud and so I did.

"I wish to seek protection so that I may rescue my child before they get to Lilith's Cove."

"It is our understanding that the child is less than two weeks old?"

"Yes, ma'am, that's correct."

"And as we all know, it takes six weeks to reach the cove by boat, correct?" The council woman continued speaking.

"Yes, ma'am." Stefan stated.

"Have you prepared the team that you wish to dispatch on your behalf?" She inquired.

"Yes, ma'am."

"May we please have their names?"

"Lance Gregoire, Van Gregoire, Reina Gregoire, The shaman, The seer and the navigator." I stated.

I heard Odilia's voice in my head. "I want to go Stefan."

"You must stay, Odilia. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care, I want to go. He's just as much mine as he is yours."

"If you go, who will be able to take care of him should anything happen to me?"

"I want to go!" I heard her scream. I quickly thought of another reason for her not to go.

"What about Tavis and Olivia?" I inquired, knowing that she hadn't seen them in two weeks, and that she missed them.

"Please Stefan." She begged. I could feel the desire she had to go but I also could see that she wished to go just for revenge and I knew that the Lilith couldn't be killed because the power she held was greater than what even we had. I told her this.

"Have you mapped out your strategy and how you plan to get there?" Another council man inquired. 

I turned my attention back to them, "Not yet sir, we were waiting to seek your approval."

"You do understand that once you reach the underworld, there is no magic that we may use to protect you? And that you will be on your own?"

I nodded my head, "Yes sir." 

"Alright." The councilman turned to the others standing where he was. "Are we all in accordance?"

One by one, the councilman agreed until the last one at the far right, stared at Odilia, "What of her? Will she be going?" 

I shook my head, "No ma'am."

"And why not?" She inquired.

"There must be someone here in case I don't make it back." I stated to the woman. I could already feel the sinking feeling begin in my belly. Intuition told me that Odilia Petty was going.

"She is needed for the sake of the baby, if you haven't forgotten Stefan, this is a woman's war."

I closed my mouth tight lipped. The fact of the matter was, I didn't want her to go.

"Come here, Odilia." The woman spoke. 

Odilia stood there, scared for a reason she couldn't explain.

"It's alright dear. You will not be hurt. I just wish to speak to you."

Odilia slowly began to move forward. When she finally made it up to the council woman, she could feel the power radiating from all of them and it was so strong that it became overwhelming. 

She stood there shaking. The lady reached out to her and spoke, "Odilia Petty, mate of Stefan Gregoire and mother to Stefan Gregoire Jr. We accept you as part of this clan and from here on out, offer you our protection."

With that, she moved her hand over Odilia's head, crossed to her right arm and then to her left foot and then back up then back up to her right arm and then down to her right foot and then up to her left arm and then down to her stomach. 

She said a prayer in Latin and then continued from there up to her forehead, where she spoke another prayer and then crossed down to the area in between her legs. She spoke another prayer and then said, "Are the councilman all in one accord? Do you accept the list of prayers that were spoken?" 

One by one they all agreed. The council woman inhaled and stared into Odilia's eyes, "You Odilia Petty Gregoire are free to seek out your son and use any means necessary to retrieve him." 

With this, she told Odilia that she could come stand next to me. 

After the councilmen dismissed us, I waited til we were in the confines of our own home before I spoke. "Odilia, please..." 

She cut me off, "I'm going Stefan. You see she protected me and besides she said this is a woman's war."

"You can't kill her," I stated, my tone becoming indignant.

She glanced over at me, I could see that there was a silver ring around the irises. "I'm not trying to, I just want my son back." She stated her tone calm.

I followed her as she went into the bedroom, "It's one thing for me to..." She cut me off, staring at me from my end of the bed, "Stefan?" She inquired calmly. 

I just looked, not speaking.

"Did you carry Stefan Jr. for six months?" 

I sighed, "No."

"Did you birth him?" 

"No, but..."

"Did you..." Her tone got louder as she interrupted me, "Did you hold him up to your breast and feed him?" She inquired.

"Well, no but..."

"If you did not do any of that, how can it be that Stefan Jr. Is solely your responsibility? You will teach him to be a man, but it is I who ensures that he grows up to become that young boy that you turn into a man. Therefore, I have just as much, if not more of an obligation to see to his safety. 

"I'm not saying that he is my complete responsibility Odilia, it's just that I want at-least one of us to stay behind, that way he will have someone to care for him."

"And why should that someone be me, Stefan?"

I shook my head, already exasperated with this conversation but intent on finishing it. "Because Odilia Petty, I love you and want you safe. I am the man and it is my place to protect you and our child."

Odilia smiled softly at this. Getting into the bed and coming over to me, she placed a kiss on my lips, "And as your woman..." She paused and placed one on both cheeks, "It is my duty to stand by you." 

I smiled at this, appreciating her thoughtfulness. "And how about you stand by me by staying here." I commanded.

She kissed my neck and said, "Where you go. I go."

It was times like these that there was no doubt in my mind that I had indeed chosen the right woman. 

As her hands began to roam across my body, I felt that familiar ache transpire. When her hand reached my manhood and squeezed, I scooped her bottom up in my hands and pulled her to me. 

Immediately her legs hooked around my waist, perfectly crossing at the ankles. I laid her on her back and careened my face toward hers, "I can see there is no talking you out of this, is there?" I inquired, my tone husky and already laced with desire.

She licked her lips, "What kind of woman would I be if I allowed you to do that?"

My smiled brightened at her teasing. "Submissive."

She laughed, "Only in your dreams baby." 

Promptly, my lips seized hers. 

Odilia:

Line, sink and hooker. I know, most women vampires are submissive to their mates. Me, however, I'm a rare breed. I've always had problems with submission, even as a human I did. That's why most men I dealt with couldn't or wouldn't work with me. I'm the epitome of independent. 

I got Stefan's mind off me going with him to get our son by using my feminine whiles. I've always been good at that, seduction is an art, and can be yielded as a weapon when you knew how to use it. However, as far as Stefan was concerned, I'd beat any woman who tried to out do me physically and mentally. See, the thing is I love this man with every fiber in my body and I would gladly kill over him. He's mine and mine alone. Now, don't get it twisted, I'm not some psycho sister that tries to control every aspect of a man's life, but to set the record straight, the ferocity in which I have come to love him, has made me a little possessive because he is the kind of man a girl could only dream about. 

He's smart, sexy, compassionate, loyal, and handsome, a good husband and he is a great father to my kids and will be a great father to our son Stefan Jr. 

As Stefan captured my mouth in a kiss, I all but forgot my train of thought as he swept his tongue over the roof of my mouth. I guess seduction tactics work well on both sides because I actually forgot that he could read my mind and was reminded of that when he used his tongue to divert my attention. I turned my mind to him and heard him whisper in the recess of my mind. "You are so devious."

I laughed softly. He kissed me harder and then trailed kisses down my neck. When he reached that sensitive spot there, he whispered, "Now it's my turn."

Tavis and Olivia has stayed with my friend Jill since I went into labor with Stefan Jr. two weeks ago. I miss them terribly, but one thing I know for sure is that they are definitely too young for battle and I have no choice but to leave them with Jill.  

Jill is one of a hand full of people who know that Stefan and I are vampires. I was thinking of how I was going to explain to them that they would have to stay with "Aunt Jill", until mom and dad got back to town. My youngest, Tavis call Stefan dad, while Olivia calls him by his name. 

Stefan said that he's ok with that. He said he actually like Tavis calling him dad, it made his job seem more real. I guess I must have been deep in thought after our sexual encounter because Stefan asked me what I was thinking. I turned to him and said, "Do you really have to ask?" 

"No, but it's exhausting reading your mind all the time. I just put up my wall, so I can block it out."

I laughed, "Yeah, ok. I was thinking about Tavis and Olivia and how much I am going to miss them when we leave."

He inhaled sharply and asked, "Back to that huh?"

"Yes."

He was quiet for a minute. "Why don't you just stay with them? They can at-least have you while I go."

"Because I have a big issue when some damn shadow demon or what ever the hell it is comes in and still my baby while we are sleeping. That's messed up."

He laughed.

"It's not funny Stefan."

"You are speaking as if the shadow is human."

"Well, I may not be able to beat it down physically, but trust me, I plan to learn how to beat the breaks of that damn shadow demon magically."

He laughed again. "Beat the breaks off huh?"

"Yes. Just wait." 

He continued laughing. "Alright then, as you like to put it, do your thang."

I laughed when he said it. He asked, "What's so funny?"

I sighed, "You are so proper when you say it."

"I can't believe you're trying to teach me slang. Aren't you supposed to be the one learning a whole new world?"

I shrugged, "I am, but so are you. At-least then you can attempt to blend in." I turned over on my stomach and glanced up at him on his side of the bed. Watching his hair fall into his face and seeing those deeply intense serious eyes of his, I saw that no matter how hard I may try, he'd never really blend in. 

He was just too mystical. Too different. I wondered if I too would become like him. Would I be so serious and deep like that, that I would become mystical as well?

He grabbed my chin and ran a finger across my bottom lip, "I hope not because I love you just the way you are. You bring a different kind of fun to my life, with all your music and your ability to relax and be cool. We have enough seriousness twenty four seven with me Reina and Van. We need people like you and Lance to put a little spice in our lives, otherwise it would become dull."

I smiled, glad that he loved me just the way I am. He sighed and laid his head on his pillow."Good night Odilia."

"Good night, handsome." I could feel the smile that he had on his face as he drifted off to sleep. The last thing I thought about before going to sleep was Stefan Jr. I hoped and prayed that he was ok. 



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 09



"I'd like to get a room please." The black robed figure stated, carrying the baby in her arms. 

"Sure ma'am." The motel clerk leaned over the counter to get a look at the child that was inside the car seat. Smiling, she cooed, "What a beautiful baby. I bet he's just precious." He stated.

The woman who held the baby cleared her throat. The motel clerk looked at her, "I'm sorry Ma'am. Will that be cash or credit?"

"Cash."

"It's going to be fifty pounds a night."

"Alright." The lady set the child's car seat next to her and and dug into her purse. 

Pulling out a wad of bills, she placed them on the counter. The man grabbed the money and counted it before opening the cash register and placing the money inside. "Thank you." He stated, his french accent precise. He went to a set of keys hanging on a chain on the wall. Grabbing a pair, he handed them to the lady. "Room 52." The woman took the keys and went to her room.

~~

The morning that Odilia woke up, ready for battle, I tried to get her once more to see reason and stay behind with the children. Again, she reminded me that she'd been given blessings and permission by the Council to come along. She also reminded me that considering the fact that our child was kidnapped by a female demon, it would be appropriate to have her along, since sh as a female vampire was all to familiar with the feminine whiles they would all encounter. 

I sighed and asked her, "Do you know how far beyond this world we will have to travel to get to her world?"

She smiled, "No, but I'm all for it, anything to get my child back."

"I'm serious Odilia."

"So am I Stefan. It's one thing to take my soul but an entirely different matter for her to take my child. No one takes my child. Why did she do it anyway?"

I felt the anger and fear that came with her words. She was worried about whether or not Stefan Jr. was still alive. I sighed, "I don't know Odilia. I just know that he's there and not here. You know Lilith eats babies." As soon as I said this, I regretted it because Odilia turned eyes burning with hot fury upon me, "Come again?" She inquired, her tone becoming icy.

"Nothing, just forget I said it." I stated knowing that this would propel her into immediate action. 

"Forget you said it? Stefan that damn demon or what ever the hell she is has our child and you know she likes to eat babies and you want me to forget it? Have you gone and bumped your head or something?" 

Clearing my throat I said, "We will get him back Odilia."

I watched as she began to pace back and forth. When after two minutes of pacing, she glanced at me, her eyes were burning with so much wrath, even I became fearful. I guess a woman scorned had nothing on a woman who was determined to get her child back because when she whispered, "Oh yeah, we are going to get him back and may the gods help that demon when I get a-hold of her." 

"You can't kill her, Odilia. She may take your soul if you try."

The room suddenly dropped temperature as these words emptied from her mouth, "Then so be it." 

Odilia.

Two days later:

I wrapped my fingers around the full length licking stick and twirled it around in my hand until it spun so fast. Stopping the spinning, I lashed out at Raina with it and watched as her stick came up blocking, and throwing my stick back toward me. I grasped it tightly and stepped forward, thrusting the stick out. Again, raina blocked it, but as she did, she quickly moved her stick downward and hit me in the side. I growled in frustration. It seemed that Raina, as small as she was was very stealth and one heck of a warrior because I had yet to get her on the ground once since we'd been doing this for the last month.

I'd already trained some in Jiu Juitsu and Krav Manga, but now I added stick licking to the mix. Raina was my instructor. She seemed to be a better worrier than Stefan, Van and Lance combined. This was was made evident as I thrust my stick out, going for a hit to her chest and she pushed her stick up and blocked mine and then pushed my stick out of the way, throwing me off balance. 

She then moved her stick lower to hit my ankles. The pain that went through them was like fire as I was sent sprawling on my back onto the floor. She held the stick out over my chest, preventing me from moving, "Concentrate, Odilia, you must concentrate, or every time you are attacked you will lose and one of these days it could be your life."

"I am concentrating." I stated, knowing that I wasn't. My mind was on the fact that tomorrow was to be our day of departure to Lilith's cove. The thing about this was we weren't going by plane, because you couldn't reach lilith's cove through this world. If I understood Stefan correctly, it was one of many spiritual places for the undead. There was this place called Tuonela, which in Finnish mythology was a resting place for the dead. 

The day he'd spoken to me, we'd been alone in the library, and I told Stefan that this was ludicrous chasing after a Finnish mythology, he only looked at me and said, "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there, sweetness. You just have to look harder."

"If you think this Tuonela place exist, then I suppose you must think the greek God Hades exist as well."

Stefan exhaled, "Odilia..."

"What?" I inquired, irritated. I was so vexed at the idea that I wouldn't get to see tavis or Olivia for another two weeks because I had to go find my infant son. This was more stress and aggravation than I cared for at the moment. 

"Calm down, we will find Stefan Jr. and we will make it back to see Tavis and Olivia."

I felt the shaking begin in my body. "Are you sure of this Stefan?"

Stefan sighed and grabbed my hand and said, "I am one hundred percent sure that we will. "I'd die myself before I let anyone hurt you or our child."

"Odilia Petty Gregoire, I can not do anything with you if you are not in your right frame of mind!" Raina's anger brought me out of my reverie. "I can concentrate just fine."

"You've been laying like this for the past five minutes just starring into space, now just get up and go find your husband. Talk to him about what ever's got you distracted."

I sighed as Raina allowed me the chance to get up. When she did, I cleared my throat, in a soft voice I whispered, "I'm sorry Raina."

She shrugged her shoulders, "Let's just hope when the time comes for you to battle you will be able to focus. Now, go find your husband."

Stefan:

I was still in the library, going over last minute details with Aggie, a four hundred year old Navigator also known as a Tracker. Enapay was the Shaman/ Medicine man, and Tooli the seer. I had mapped out our entire route. We'd go from where we resided in Greenfield Wisconsin to Onatario Canada and then from there to Greenland. From there we'd hit northern Europe and go on to Finland where Enapay would then access the Tuni River. From there he would go through Tuonela. The only problem is that should Enapay be discovered in Tuonela he would remain in a trance like state. The whole idea of going to Tuonela is to find out about Lilith and how to get to Lilith's Cove. 

If he be discovered as an undead soul, he would become trapped into Tuonela and this is what we want to prevent. We were discussing what the finnish mythology stated about the Shaman's ability when the doors to the library opened and Odilia came in wearing her long hair braided back in a pony tail. There was a gold head band holding her hair back from her face. I suspected it was there more for decoration because no matter what Odilia wore, she always wanted to look femininely pretty. That's one of the things that drove me crazy about her. 

There was never a time when she wasn't beautiful. I stared at the out fit 

she wore and appreciated the beauty the sleek black outfit outlined. Her small breasts were taught and round inside the top. Her stomach had flattened back to it's normal state with the regular work out routine and her bottom had filled out a little bit more after her pregnancy. Sighing, I stared into dark chocolate brown eyes, that contrasted beautifully with her caramel colored skin. "Your lesson is over already?" 

I glanced down at my watch. She'd only left the library an hour earlier and her session was supposed to last three because of us leaving tomorrow. "I was kicked out." As soon as she said this, I picked up on the fear radiating from her. Looking over at my team, I asked, "Do you guys understand what we are supposed to do?"

"Yes." They all nodded in agreement.

"That will be all then. Just prepare for departure tomorrow at 0700 hours."

After everyone left, I turned toward my wife, "Yes, honey bunches of oates."

She laughed, a twinkle in her eye, "If that wasn't the corniest thing I've ever heard..." Her laughter continued as my arms went around her and I smiled at having tickled her funny bone. "What's wrong Odilia?" 

Finally her laughter died down and becoming serious, she put her hands at rest over my forearms. "I'm scared Stefan."

"Of what?" 

She took a long sigh, and the fear she felt was heard in the shakiness in her voice. "I don't want to not be able to see my children again. I don't want to not be able to see you again, or not see Stefan Jr. grow up."

I closed my eyes at the heartache her physical form radiated. "Odilia, if you want to back out, you can always do so now."

"That's the thing baby, I was so sure I wanted to do it and so unafraid of what would happen, until now. I know that I still want to do it because as I said before, I don't take too kindly to having my child taken away from me, but I'm afraid that we won't make it back to Tavis and Olivia. Jill is their guardian if anything happens to us, but how will she support two let alone three kids? I don't want to miss out on experiencing the growth of my kids. They mean the world to me and although they know what you and I are, I don't think they fully understand the context of it. How can they when Tavis is four 

and Olivia is Six?"

I listened as she went on about how part of her wished she would have thought about her decision before she made it and how she should have considered her kids before going out that night when she met me. I felt a brief tinge of anger at this statement but when she went from fearful to sad, I felt my own grief in my heart. 

Clearing my throat, I interrupted her as she began talking about how she would not be able to walk in the daylight again because of being a vampire. It was almost as if she was getting the thought that being a vampire was more trouble that it was worth. "Odilia Gregiore."

"Yes?" She looked up at me with pain filled eyes. 

"Do I make you happy?"

"Yes."

"Are your kids missing out on any more love than they would have had had you not became a vampire?" I began rubbing her arms, working to sooth away her sadness.

"No. I love my kids regardless."

"Are they being cared for and in the best of health?"

"Yes."

"Do they lack for anything?"

"Well, no, but my point is Stefan, they are human. We are not. They can see in the daylight at best, while we can only be seen at night. That's no life for them. It shouldn't be fair that they have to sacrifice their time for us."

"Love," I stated, trying to fix her worries. "If it's that important to you, we can get them a daytime nanny and they can do all things humans do or we can turn them."

As soon as I spoke those words, she exhaled sharply, keeping her aggravation in check, 

"I don't want them to change unless they decide that, and it won't be for a while before I allow them to consider it because they are so young."

"The only difference between us and humans is that we age slower than they do."

"I thought vampires were immortal?"

"My kind aren't. As I said, we are protectors of the gates so our tribe are born with their souls in tact, however, we age very slowly, in such a way that it takes many, many years for us to reach old age and then die."

"So, I'm not immortal?" She inquired.

"No."

"So, does that mean I don't turn to dust like everyone else?"

"Unfortunately, that does happen if you are killed with a stake or sharp metal."

"Oh goody."She replied sarcastically.

I smiled at her, "I know. What a life to die for huh?"

"I don't get to live eternally? This suddenly makes no sense at all. Magic, super strength, everything that a normal vampire has except the immortality yay for us."

I laughed softly at her truthful but sarcastic words. "Odilia, beautifully, intelligent Odilia. Do you regret meeting me?" I inquired, already knowing the answer. 

"Of course not." She stated, her brown eyes full of love. "It just seems that everything is so much more difficult than what it was before. Finances are easier but life adjustment to vampirism is something else."

"Perhaps that's true, my love, but the thing to remember is that you have as much time as you need to do what you need to do. Not like Humans who have about seventy to eighty years max. You can do and be anything you want for as long as you have breath in your body. At the moment, your children life span is shorter than yours. Even when they are your age, you still will look as if you are a sister or brother to them, not a mother. So, our tribe has its curses and it's gifts, but that's the price our ancestors decided to pay a long time ago, before any of us ever came into being."

"You guys have fables too?"

"Not fables, Genealogy."

"Wow." By now, her fear and sadness had been replaced with wonder and I know she was thinking on the history of our tribe. Since I didn't think it was a good idea to focus on something as extensive as our tribe, I cleared my throat and recommended that we go see our children.

~ ~

"Mommy, Daddy..." Tavis called out to us as we came through the front door. Although it had only taken us a minute tops to get to Jill's house, we were greeted by Jill who was pruning her garden. She'd taken Tavis and Olivia into the house and put on a movie for them. Jill was absolutely in love with anything green. She had what most people described a green thumb. She'd planted a flower garden in her front yard and had tons of plants that littered her house. Several different types of house plants. She had a wall that had an empty space high on top. There were blue and pink Hydrangea plants on this wall. They were beautifully flowered plants. 

In four corners of the living room she had tropical plants placed symmetrical to one another. I welcomed the cool temperatures of the house as Olivia ran to me and threw her long thin arms around my neck while Tavis ran up to a smiling Stefan and threw his arms around him. I had to admit. 

Although Tavis and Stefan looked nothing alike, Tavis had taken a deep affection toward Stefan. At four years old, Tavis knew all of the things most kids didn't learn until they hit Kindergarten or further beyond their grade. Stefan had seen an early interest of learning in him when they'd met and had immediately begin to cultivate that learning. This he'd begin with Latin. Although I tried to talk him out of it, he'd insisted that the best time for a child to learn was at his age and that he would do very well learning languages at his age.

"Salve Tavis, Quam es vos?"

"Egos sum teres Papa."

"Papa es teres." I saw the light that lit up in Stefan's face as he spoke Latin to Tavis. You could see the pride he exuded at having taught Tavis some of his native language. Tavis laughed at the twinkle in his eyes and asked him how did he do. Stefan sighed and spoke to him some more in Latin and the way that he did it made Tavis's already bright face light up more at his approval. I smiled at this, my heart swelling with even more love as I watched Tavis and Stefan interact with one another. 

I was grateful for the relationship they had with one another. Tavis was a tall kid for his age with long lanky arms and a deep maple wood complexion. He had dark Afro kinky hair that was cut low and then brushed over every morning to give it a wavy look. He had dark black opal colored eyes and a beautiful bone structure that he'd gotten from his biological father. 

"Mommy!" I heard Olivia state. I turned my head to focus on mini me. That's right, Olivia, was a miniature version of her mother. She had two long curly pigtails that rested at her chin with knockers around the rubber-bands Jill had used to keep her hair in place. A long bang had been flattened against the side of her face, hiding one of two opal colored eyes. 

Her expression looked annoyed that she'd been telling me something I hadn't even paid attention to. I took this time to study her. Her ginger skin was smooth and scar free. She wasn't the type of child who went around crawling around on her hands and knees and climbing trees. She hated getting dirty, liked her clothes looking neat and accessorized; and she loved having her nails painted, all ten toes and fingers. Today, the outfit she wore commanded blue fingernail polish and she was asking me what I thought of the nail polish. "I think you look absolutely stunning."

"Do I look like you mommy?" 

I smiled, "You sure do, Liv."

My compliment was rewarded with a smile, "Thank you mommy."

I laughed and hugged her close to me. "You're welcome baby. So, I heard that you got a new doll house for Christmas."

"I did. I got a doll house, some clothes, a pair of shoes, a bike and a helmet and I even got new press on nails."

"Press on nails?" My gaze wondered to Jill. I knew that she was the only one who could have done that, since I didn't wear press ons. It was Jill who favored press ons. 

"Yeah. Do you want to see?" I was pulled upstairs toward the bedroom that Olivia shared with Tavis. 

The room was done in a mixture of leafy green and cream. It was perfect since those were neutral in color. I saw two made up oak bunks side by side with a closet on each side of the room. On one closet door was a full length mirror. I knew that this was Olivia's closet. She pulled the door open and began taking everything out at once. As she did so, I was impressed with everything she pulled out. There was stuff she hadn't mentioned like an easy bake oven, a tea set and her entire wardrobe was brand new. I got the feeling that this was more of Stefan's doing than Jill's. After listening and seeing all that she'd gotten for Christmas, we went back downstairs to where Tavis, Jill and Stefan were playing a memory game with flash cards. Putting Olivia down, I walked with her to the table and we both found us a seat. 

We stayed at Jill's until it was time for them to go to bed. Once they crawled into bed and each of us tucked in a child, Tavis stated as we sat there just looking at them, "I want to go home." 

I leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead, "You will."

"When?" Olivia inquired, joining in the conversation. 

"When we are able to come and get you we will." Stefan stated.

"When, we've been here a long time."

"When we are able to, we will come and get you, but we can't say when." I re enforced Stefan's words.

"I want to go home." Tavis stated, his eyes beginning to fill with sleep.

"We want you to come home but now isn't a good time."

"How come we didn't get to see the baby?"

I looked over at Stefan, at a loss for words. 

"Junior was sleeping, so we left him with the nanny."

"We have a nanny?" She inquired, her eyes bright.

Stefan cleared his throat, attempting to make this lie seem the truth, "Yes."

"What's her name?" She tested. 

"Well, um her name..." He stuttered to think of one.

"April." I supplied.

"April?"

"Yes." 

"Does this mean we can go out in the daylight and I can go back to school now?"

Stefan sighed, "Yes, if that's what you want just remember that mommy and daddy can't pick you up from school and so Mildred..."




Lilith's Shadow Ch. 09



"April. Stefan, the woman's name is April."

"That's what I meant. April will pick you up from school and bring you home."

"I know, Stefan." Olivia stated matter of factually, "You guys are vampires, and you only go out at night."

"Right...and remember you can't tell anyone."

"I remember."

"Alright. Mommy and I have to go on a business trip and we will be back as soon as we can, ok."

By now, Olivia's eyes were drifting close, "Alright, well hurry up and..." Her speech faded as she fell into a deep sleep. 

When we closed the door to their room, I turned to Stefan, "What did you do to her?"

"I suggested to her that she was tired, that's all."

"Tomorrow she's not going to know whether us visiting was a dream or reality."

"It got her to stop asking questions didn't it?"

I laughed, "Questions that you will have to make up for as soon as this is over. You'll have to hire someone named April to overlook our children while they go to school during the day now."

"You sure you don't want to do it?"

I reached out and grabbed his shirt by the collar, pulling him close to me I said, "You don't have to worry about that."

He simply smiled down at me, his gray eyes twinkling, "Why not?"

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Because I'm the only woman who'll ever have what you need."

I watched as his cheeks tinged a bit and he ran his hands down my back, drawing out tingles as he did. "Is that right?"

I nipped at his ear just once and answered, "Absolutely."

His hands went up my back and to the nape of my neck, squeezing gently. This caused a shiver to caress my spine. He exhaled, his breath warm on my neck, "That means you should consider yourself lucky."

I smiled, seemingly to have forgotten about not being in our own home. He leaned in and gently placed a kiss on the right side of my neck. I licked my lips, "I know."

"So, that means we should get back down stairs so that we don't end up making out in her house."

"Like hormonal sick teenagers."

"Right." 

I turned around and could feel his eyes roaming my body as I walked down the stairs. I smiled at the thoughts he allowed me to feel and see flowing through his mind. The one thing I absolutely loved was our ability to communicate telepathically with one another. The longer we were together the stronger our abilities became. 

It was almost as if we were merging into two parts of one being. I was tickled when he spoke softly, "Tu es amor meus."

"Ita Vero." My mind communicated back to him.

I could feel the warmth and appreciation flow through his mind at one simple word. 

Stefan:

Reciprocation is a beautiful thing when it's found; when you absolutely, one hundred percent want to be with the one person you are meant to be with. I found myself on the receiving end of this as I spoke to Odilia while she descended the stairs. There is nothing more prideful for a husband than for him to get a confirmation from the woman he loved. 

As we finally ended up in the living room where Jill was putting the cards away on a top shelf of the hallway closet, I grabbed our coats from the coat rack and made sure Odilia was in hers before I put on mine.

"How did it go?" Jill asked as she came into the living room where we stood.

"Alright." Odilia responded

"I know they asked about going home."

"Of course and we told them that we couldn't get them home but at this time because of a business trip."

"And what did you tell them about Junior?"

"He's at home with the nanny."

"The nanny?"

"That's Stefan's doing right there." Odilia replied, pointing a finger at me.

I raised my hands in a quandary. "What did you expect me to tell them that he was kidnapped by a shadow demon? Or would you rather I just started at the beginning of how mommy ended up turned?"

Jill nodded, "Yeah, they'd be having nightmares for days."

"Exactly and that's something we want to prevent." I stated honestly.

Jill sighed, accepting my decision. "You did the right thing Stefan. It's better to have them think that than it does to tell them what really happened."

I put my hand on my wife's back, "There is still some more preparation I need to do before leaving tomorrow night."

"Ok," She stated her tone soft. "Jill."

Jill glanced up at her, "Yes?"

"Thank you."

Jill smiled, "You're welcome."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my check book. Writing a check out to her for the amount we'd agreed upon for her to use on anything the kids needed or she needed, I handed the check to her. She tucked it into her left jean pocket. "Thank you. I will make sure they are well taken care of."

Odilia reached out and gave her a hug. I watched as Jill wrapped her in an equally tighter hug. According to Odilia, she and Jill had been best friends since high school. Jill had been there when she'd lost both parents right after graduating high school. They'd taken a flight to Hawaii and the plane had crashed due to the engines malfunctioning halfway through the flight. I appreciated Jill because I appreciated how much she did for Odilia and how loyal of a friend she was to her. 

I knew that Odilia thought of her as a sister and this spoke a lot. "I know they're in good hands. While you take care of them don't forget about yourself." Odilia stated as she let go of Jill. I cleared my throat, taking my wife's palm in my hand. "Thank you." I stated as we were about to take our leave.

"You're welcome and I love you guys." She stated, her gaze never leaving Odilia's.

Odilia smiled, "We love you too Jill. We'll be back before you know it."

It was then I saw the tear in Jill's eye as we vanished from her living room.



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 10



Hello Everyone, I'm not sure who's been waiting for chapter ten to post, but please believe, it's finally here and I enjoyed writing. 

I got stomped in figuring out what to write but thanks to Iread2relax,a friend of mine, that she gave me a few ideas and here's what I cultivated. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope it inspire you to write reviews and give feed back on what you think of my story so far. Also, bear with me, this is my first non human story and I'm sure it shows. however, any constructive criticism I welcome and thank you for your interest 

Navaura~ :)

*

Chapter Ten: 

The thing about Wisconsin is that it's a humid state that over looks lake Michigan. The surrounding areas of the north are field with trees, camping grounds, hunting grounds, rivers and all sorts of areas reserved for those who enjoy the wild and activities such as canoeing, bike riding and boating. The areas of Southern Wisconsin are mostly populated Urban cities like Madison, Milwaukee and Racine. 

Overall, the state of Wisconsin may not be a bad place to live if you know where to go to have fun. Being in the south makes you a lot closer to Illinois, so you are only an hour away from the festivities, if Wisconsin is too small for your liking. 

That morning as we left our home, the home that had been mine for a good year and a half, I looked around to make sure that everything was in place. What made me like the place was that it was old mixed with a bit of modern. 

The place itself was modern while the inside was built old fashioned. There was a foyer, that led into the living room from the door. From there adjacent to the living room was a library, which is where Stefan spent most of his time when not teaching hockey to teenage boys or sparring with his sister and brothers. Next to the Library was the Kitchen. The kitchen was a pastel blue and white color, which struck me as odd for these guys because they weren't your average guys and then after talking to Reina I found out she'd been the one who chose the color for the kitchen, because she said that it needed a woman's touch since neither of them ever set foot in it unless it was to eat. The kitchen was massive with all sorts of chef items in there. A table big enough to seat eight stood off away from the island. 

If you walked past the living room, where there was a tan colored leather sofa set with dark cotton draperies hanging in the window, you would step down into a sitting room, which is where the t.v. set was. Another set of furniture sat in there but this set was black leather. 

To the right of the room, matching the flooring in both the living room and sitting room, there was the stair case which led up to seven bedrooms. Olivia and Tavis had their own rooms. 

Stefan and I shared a room, with a joint bathroom linking our room to Tavis room. Our room had been redecorated on my insistence because who would want such a bland room of all white. It drove me nuts to even go in there so one of the first things I did was add a little milk chocolate, leaving the base white. 

The second thing I did was change the decorations of the room. I had the queen sized bed removed and put in a king sized bed with a four post black wrought iron bed and then I had the bedding switched out for a tapioca green with a chocolate colored bed spread mix. I know it's bizarre but I liked the color scheme so it's what I ordered. I also put up nice cotton draperies. 

For the kids rooms I'd done a simple blue for Tavis and a sunflower yellow for Olivia with a fresh beat band theme for her room. So everything in there refers to the fresh beat band. For Tavis, Little Bill because that was his favorite cartoon.

I know, the question you're thinking is what's the point of thinking about all of this? I was thinking about this because our ship had just docked on Lake Michigan and we were about to stock it with supplies for our journey to Ontario and seeing that I have nothing else to do but wait til they are ready to leave, I was going over in my mind how our place had looked when we left, since after all this would be the last time I saw it for who knew how long. 

Our voyage to Ontario would take a while. We'd already left Greenfield for Milwaukee and from Milwaukee, we went to Minnesota where we boarded the Lady Marine, a vessel owned by a friend of Vance. We sailed the Lake superior that would no doubt cross into the boundaries of Ontario. 

I can't really tell you how long it took to sail from Lake Superior to Ontario because my first night on the ship I got sea sick and locked myself in my cabin. 

I drifted in and out of consciousness, due to the fact that every time I awoke I was struck with a serious bout of nausea that made it hard for me to with stand the slight rocking back and forth of the boat by the great lake. Stefan would come into the room, check on me and try to get me to eat something, but no matter what he brought I couldn't sit up long enough to eat it. 

He would sit down with me during the day time in our dimly lit cabin and tell me that everything was going to be alright. After figuring out food wouldn't help, he began bringing me water. I sipped what I could of the cool liquid but it wasn't much on an upset stomach. Stefan set the cup down on the table. 

He sighed and inquired, "Why didn't you tell me you got sea sick?"

I shook my head first to the left, then right, "I didn't know. Never been on a boat before."

He raised his right brow. "What?"

I cleared my throat, "I wasn't born and raised here Stefan." My voice sounded weak even to my own ears. Softer than it's normal sturdy high pitch. 

"How come I didn't know that? We've been together over a year and I didn't think to ask you that question."

I laughed, the sound light. "Too focused on other things to court your own wife."

He smiled, "Well, I guess I should be a bit more attentive."

I cleared my throat, " You're attentive enough, it just never came up I guess."

"So if you are not from here, where did you grow up at?"

"I lived in Arizona. I actually came out here for school."

"Under grad?" He inquired, suddenly remembering the degree she still hadn't finished. He sighed, this year was her last year and instead of her enrolling for the semester, she'd taken off school to have their child. "Well, you must re enroll, after we get Junior back of course."

I shrugged, "I will when I'm ready Stefan, that degree isn't going anywhere. I may as well take my time seeing as how I really don't have anything to do the next life time."

He smiled at me. "Yeah, it's not like we're struggling anyhow. Between me, Reina and Van, we've accumulated more than enough to live off of." He stated. 

I laughed, finding this funny. Stefan had a way of boasting about his assets, without just coming outright and saying it. This, I found an endearing quality -that he'd found so much pride in being able to provide for me and our three children, even with the exception of the first two not being his, he made sure they were well taken care of. 

I got the idea that it was more than just a sense of duty but a sense of pride and joy, especially where Tavis was concerned. As far as he was concerned, Tavis may as well have been his at birth. I felt my heart grow tender at that thought. He shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "You're welcome, Odilia."

"So, how long will we be in Ontario?"

"A day at the most, just long enough to stay overnight before charting another boat..."

"Plane. Can we got to Europe by plane?" I suggested, my stomach queasy from the thought of another boat ride."

He smiled at me and nodded, "of course. I'll cancel the freight that was going to take us there and schedule a small flight."

I exhaled, feeling a bit fresher at the news. "Thank you." 

He nodded, you're welcome."

I sighed, tired again. He leaned in, kissed me on the cheek and whispered, "sleep well." As my eyes drifted close, I realized that he'd planted that suggestion in the corners of my mind. As I drifted off into unconsciousness, he whispered, "You're going to need all your strength." 

I was able to ask, "What about you?" 

Right as he answered, sleep over took me and the last thing I heard was, "I'm fine."

~~

Stefan 

I placed the blanket over odilia and stood up from the bed. After suggesting to her that rest was needed and seeing her through to it, I got up and made my way toward the entryway that led to the deck of the ship. 

After noticing the crew had tucked themselves in for the night, I went to where I knew the captain of the ship was commandeering. "ahoy, there." I stated as I walked up behind the captain. 

"Ahoy, Stefan, how's your wife?"

"Sleeping now." I stated as I stepped up beside him, taking a look out at the dark sea, so deep in darkness that I couldn't understand how the captain himself could possibly steer the ship in the right direction.

"Cruise control," he stated, answering the question before I could ask.

"I suppose, since it's impossible to see at night. However, I would like to know what brings you out here."

"My thoughts." He quickly answered.

"Is that so?" I glanced over at him. 

Captain George Marsh had been commandeering ships full of human cargo, supplies and anything else anyone may have wanted to haul over seas for a very long time. Although he was human, he and I had known each other since he was a six year old boy, who'd sailed with his father. 

Sworn to secrecy, George had never uttered a word to anyone, that I know of, that he'd frequented trips overseas for the undead. He also never pried, but stayed to himself, and because of this, he and I had developed a mutual trust with one another, one that extended to friendly conversation.

"When I was a boy, my father told me the story of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and how the freight was lost in a storm, right before they reached the drop off zone for the supplies they were carrying. Everything was lost. The ship, the materials and the crew all disappeared without a trace. Several searches of the wreck yielded no results."

"Really?"

"Yes. To this day, no one can say what happened to those men for sure, they can only make conclusions due to the fact that no bodies ever turned up."

"Sounds like a legend." I stated to the older man.

He just laughed, "If only it were that, Stefan, then we'd all be safe, but it happened a few miles before the docking of the ship. The freight was a lot closer to Ontario than imagined."

"So you are scared that we may not make it?"

"It's possible since this season is known for the worst storms off the lake, including freezing."

I inhaled sharply and gave the man a pat on the back, "How about we focus more on getting there than the possible delay?"

"Ey, ey, sir." The captain stated. 

Odilia:

That night I fell into a deep sleep and found myself submitted against my will to a horrifying nightmare of me chasing an unknown figure through a wooded area trying to reach the child the figure held in its hands. 

The figure wore a dark cloak, and ran faster than what I was able to do. It seemed the harder I tried to catch up with it the further it got away from me. 

Finally, we crossed a patch of grass and the figure stopped. It was then I heard the crashing of waves beneath me. The ocean! we were by the ocean. As I came to a stop, I realized that the figure was upon a cliff and the child it carried was dangling over the cliff from it hands. 

Immediately dread filled my heart and I watched as the baby was let go, to fall below the cliff. Letting out a long wail of a no, I ran forward and leaped over the cliff after the child...

"No!!!!" I screamed so loud and hard... bolting upright in my bed. As I sat up, I heard the door open and although I couldn't see his face, I knew Stefan was there. He rushed over to me, "Odilia, baby, you alright?" He inquired as he reached me, my shoulders shaking as I put a hand over my heart, trying to relieve some of the pain that had risen up there. "No, Stefan..." I whispered. Tears had pooled at the corners of my eyes and were now falling down my face, "We have to hurry. We have to get Junior back. We have to!" I gasped, tears flowing freely down my face. Stefan had sat on the bed and was now pulling me into his arms. "We will, Odilia. We will."

I shook my head adamantly, "We..we don't have that much time. If...the shadow demon takes the baby beyond Lilith's cove, we...we can loose him forever."

"Don't think like that, Odilia. We will get him back." 

"But what if we don't?" I inquired, my tone soft, my crying ceasing. 

"We will."

"But...what if we don't?" I wanted to know. 

He shook his head at me fiercely, "That's not an option" He stated. "We will get our child back and that's all there is to it."

~~

Tooli couldn't help but be disturbed by the scream that had come from the cabin next to his. He'd intended to wait until docking in Ontario before he would explain to Odilia what he'd dreamed a day ago, but in her urgency to get to her child, he felt there was somethings that she needed to understand, and although he'd wanted to wait to tell her, the matter was of the utmost importance. 

He'd gathered his wine colored robe and the tassels that had been twisted at the bottom of the robe and pulled it up. Making his way to Stefan and Odilia's Cabin, he knocked softly. After a minute, the door opened and Stefan glanced up at him, "Hello, Tooli, is there something you wish to discuss?" 

Tooli nodded, "Yes, sir, there is, however, it concerns both you and your wife."

Stefan was about to decide against it, but saw with the robe that he wore, that it was of urgent matter. Most see-ers didn't wear them unless they were about to speak something profound. 

Immediately, Stefan stepped away from the door. Tooli entered the room and stood adjacent to the bed, so that he could face both of them while speaking. The door closed and Stefan came and sat down next to his wife, who cracked a small smile at Tooli, "Hello, Tooli."

"Ma'am." He stated. His gaze on her, he could see the spiritual protection she had around her. It shown to him in a ray of blue light. He understood that she would be the only one who was protected well enough to get the baby back should it enter through the surface of the cave. 

Stefan's protection was bright red which meant he would not venture beyond the earth's surface. Inhaling sharply, he said, "I was going to wait til we docked to Canada before I revealed this to you, however, I now know this message is urgently needed."

Stefan was running his hands along his wife's arms to keep her calm. "Yes?"

"The first thing I will start with is explaining to you and your wife, how far each of you may descend to Lilith's cove."

"What do you mean each of us?" Odilia inquired, her tone already shaky."

"I thought she and I were supposed to be together to get our child?" Stefan inquired, his tone abrasive. 

Tooli shook his head, "No, Stefan, you can only go to the surface, it is Odilia who may go to beyond the surface."

"Why did the counsel say only to the surface?" Stefan inquired, becoming erratic.

Tooli exhaled, "Because they want you to retrieve the baby before he goes below the surface, because should he go below there, it will be harder to access him, however, not unobtainable."

"Why am I the one who goes below the surface?" Odilia still hadn't wrapped her head around the idea yet.

Tooli removed his hood and his eyes connected to hers. Odilia was brought into violet colored eyes, and allowed to see what he saw. She saw herself kneeling before mounds of dirt, with a book open and in her right hand, one of the daggers she carried in her bag was slicing her left hand. A few drops of blood spilled to the ground. Tooli closed his eyes, shutting her off from the rest of the vision.

"My blood? Why my blood?" She inquired.

Stefan cleared his throat, "Excuse me?" He was trying his best to stay calm now.

"You must slice through the palm of your hand because you are what put this whole turn of events into motion."

"What do you mean?" She inquired.

It then dawned on Stefan that the shadow demon had never come to claim Odilia. He glanced over at Odilia. "She never claimed you. Nor had she tried. Why?" 

Odilia was immediately brought back to the time period she'd gone through while turning.

"Because when you sealed your bond with one another, she couldn't lay a finger on you, however, once you had Stefan Jr. Everything changed."

"She decided to see him as supper?" Stefan inquired trying to lighten the mood.

"That's not funny." Odilia stated, a scowl on her face.

"The child is special." Tooli stated. " He is to be a counsel member."

"So she wants to eat him before he can become one?" Odilia stated, trying to get the gist of what he was saying.

Tooli smiled, finding their remarks humerus. "First of all, Lilith only eats human babies and it's at a special time it's done. She wants to use him to break the codes that holds your tribe together, so that it may be dispersed and leave things open for those in transitioning, so that she may take on human form herself."

"Her in human form has nothing to do with my people, how can she take human form if she is a demon?"

"Long ago, she was human, but after copulating with demons she became trapped in their Lair. She is seeking a way out through your tribe because you are the ones that keep her from coming above. Your incantations and prayers has had her trapped in that Lair for centuries. The only time she's able to come above, is when she feeds and even still she is limited to what she may do."

"Why not find another child instead of ours?" Odilia inquired.

"Because, a counsel man or woman is born every hundred years. They spend their entire youth learning and training in magic and the things of our tribe and it's history." Stefan answered for her.

"That's right, Stefan."

"If they have to be trained, how can she possibly get the information she wants now?" Odilia wondered.

"As an infant she can attach an oracle to him, and should that happen, she will see what he see and learn what he learns. Should this happen, your entire tribe will be wiped out."

~~

What a way to put even more pressure on someone, I thought as I mulled over what Tooli had spoken to both Odilia and I about our child.

Although Odilia didn't quite understand the importance of a counsel man or woman in our tribe, I did, because through out the years any time there's been any type of question about a birth, transitioning, magic, weaponry or even disputes in our land, the counsel men and women have been the people gone to to determine the ways in which everything was settled. 

They were the dignitary of our land. What they said, did and allowed was our entire way of life. So, I knew that for our son to be destined as a counsel member, really meant a lot. I also thought about the possibility of our tribe being wiped out and was assured that this would not be a good thing.

~~



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 11



A/N : You guys it would be great to get some feed back on what you think of the story so far. As I said in the beginning, this is my first vampire novel and although I may not have been knowledgeable about the theories or what ever but I did do a little research and allowed my story to build from that as well as my imagination, which is pretty firtile. I hope you guys have enjoyed this story and the conclusion will be displayed in the next chapter so you are a lot closer than you think. It was nice having my ideas develop the way they did.

I will let you guys know that I'm going to make a second story about this family and it will focus more on the individual people than this fantasy area I've created. The next story will be more up my alley, since I am better equipped to write drama than fantasy. Anyhow, I hope you've enjoyed this one and look for the story that will be more indepth about the Gregoire's than this one. 

Thank you,

Navaura





Chapter Eleven:

Pearl. That was her human name. Just Pearl because her skin was the same shade as that of a pearl. It was smooth flesh with a cold touch and had a Finnish of pink so that it looked polished on a constant basis. 

Often times Pearl wore her cloak to cover her thin frame. Her skin was very sensitive to sunlight. When ever she went above ground, the rays from the sun would send her into a slow bake so she'd grown accustomed to wearing a cloak woven by members of her sect just to shield out the disastrous rays. Her flesh was naturally cold to the touch and would be compared to that of the dead to anyone not of the same being as she was. 

Her eyes were the color of purple violet that had the propensity to snare anyone into submission. All were dominated through her gaze, from vampire, to werewolf, to human. They all, no matter what being had the ability to be dictated through her gaze. Of these sects the human was the weakest, easiest to entrance. They were what other beings fought over for either dominance or to join their fold, because it was through them that creatures such as herself could exist. They were able to blend in and become a part of the physical world through the human. Whomever controlled this being, controlled the world. Pearl snuffed as she thought back to what her father had told her. 

The humans were supposed to be the final act of creation. They were the beings that were given dominion of the beast and the land. Why? She couldn't understand since all they did was squabble among themselves and create multiple wars among their own people. They didn't deserve to be in control of such a vast expanse. 

They didn't know how to reign. They focused on petty things, things that didn't really matter such as the shade of one's skin, sexual orientation, land ownership, monetary gains and religion, when in truth the only thing that could suffice to save their doomed fate was a unity among all of their people; regardless of the land they live on, the religion, the monetary gain and sexual orientation. These were the reasons why they made such easy prey. Why they were the weakest of all beings. This was the reason they were the most hated. They'd been elevated to such a high status yet allowed such pettiness to dominate their creed. 

Pearl glanced down at the baby in her care. This young one was special. He was in essence what would free her being from the world beneath, so that they could take their rightful place in the world. They would be able to find ways to co exist with the planet and it's natural climate. They would be able to reek havoc and destroy the already dying race, just to make it happen faster. The chaos they experience now would be nothing compared to what The Shadows would do. 

The Shadows, as they were called in this realm, were terror to most but more so to Vampires since they had to enter into a phase of death in order to achieve life. No vampire wanted to loose their chance at freedom by being bound to A shadow creature that dictated their physical being. 

They were even more subjected to the being when their souls were released from their bodies because there was no essence to fight with the shadow. However, the being in which the child was from proposed an even bigger threat since they were the gate keepers of the world between the humans and the shadow world. There was no other form of vampire hated more than the soulful ones. Their passion was stronger, their love stronger, their bond fortified, because of the simple fact that they still possessed their human souls. 

This allowed them to physically, spiritually and emotionally transcend above the humans in their way of thinking, physical skills, such as fighting and yet be as regular vampires who were dependent upon the life force that blood provided. Although they weren't physically as strong as most vampires, they did obtain a mental strength that could outwit and destroy The shadow world all together should they figure that out. They were more of a sect of familial bonds than individual bonds. The blood ties that these had integrated into family unity. They fought together instead of separate. They were strongest in pacts than individuals. They preferred to be that way. 

They were not individually separate as most vampires were. This is what Shadows loved most about them. Kill one and kill groups of them. It was a domino effect. However, the task was severely difficult. They kept their elders on their lands. Everyone of importance they kept on their lands protected and heavily guarded. The clan itself was an army that was undefeated in all of the centuries they'd been on earth. Their legion was the most difficult to break. 

Only partial families had been destroyed and even still those were few. Another glance at the baby made Pearl smile. This child possessed the ability to help them defeat the Wilheim Clan, as their human name was, but they were Porta Custodis, in the shadow world. Gateway Keepers. Pearl smiled at the now sleeping child, anxious to know that this child would change that. 

Even now, the child showed Telekinetic Ability. The ability to move things with his mind. All he had to do was look at something and what ever his gaze found, he lifted to bring toward him. The baby also could duplicate any sound he heard even if he had no previous knowledge of what that sound was to make it seem so. 

On one occasion Pearl had to summon the baby to sleep because all she could hear was the flow of water, when at one time he'd managed to manipulate the sound of water flowing after she'd washed her skin in water. The child also had a ravenous appetite and she found herself feeding him the life force of small animals. 

He still had a couple more weeks to go before his first teeth began popping in, so he was bottle fed. He also could mimic sounds humans made. The child demanded to be fed every hour on the hour and it was mentally exhausting. Exhaling sharply, Pearl wondered what else could this child do. 

~~

Stefan:

We've been in Ontario for two hours and all she do is sit by the window and stare out of it. No tears, No pacing, no screaming and yelling, just brooding silence. I knew what she was going through because I myself could hear the doubts going around in her head. 

I could feel the anguish she felt and the struggling within to keep her doubts to a minimal. I could hear the encouragement she tried to offer herself through this ordeal and it left me emotionally and mentally drained to a point where 

I couldn't offer her encouragement any longer. I went over to the bed and laid down, closing my eyes and relaxing. I tried to imagine something good, something wholesome that I could remember from a life long ago.

~

Odilia

I couldn't stop thinking of Jr. I missed him and my heart ache to hold him, be around him. I wasn't the type to start screaming and loosing control. I kept all of my thoughts in my head and amongst those thoughts were my most feared ideas. 

I'd been thinking of the dream I had, of Junior being thrown from a cliff, and me not being able to reach him, when my source of thoughts changed and I was in a house. There was laughter in the home. I could hear it from the area where I sat. I glanced around and saw G.I. Joe figurines on one side of the room, littered against the floor. Glancing down at the bed, I took in a G.I. Joe comforter. 

I stood up and walked out of the room, into a huge living room. There was a floral colored couch nestled against a pristine white wall, with photographs of children tacked to the wall in frames. I looked to my left and there sat a small love seat and on this love seat was a little boy. Immediately I knew who he was. Smiling at him, I said, "Stefan?" He glanced up at me with a shocked expression on his face. At once everything faded and I was brought back into our world. 

I glanced over at Stefan who immediately set up in bed. He glanced over at me with a suspicious gaze in his eyes, "Did you just see what I saw?" I shrugged, "What did you see?" 

He described to me what it was and I let a smile come to my face. "We can do that?" 

He shrugged, "I'm not sure. That's never happened to me before."

I got up and went over to where he sat on the bed. "Do you know how you did it?"

He sighed, "No. I just wanted a happy memory to inspire positive thinking, but you were brought into my thoughts."

"Is it possible that you drew me in somehow?"

Stefan shrugged, "It is, but I cannot tell you how."

I glanced at him and said, "How long have you been a vampire?"

Stefan's answer was dubious and filled with irritation as he spoke. " I don't know everything, Odilia. I'm still trying to get the hang of this myself." 

"Alright, fine. I'll drop the subject all together, if that's what you want." I stated. I removed myself from the bed and went back to the window. 

It wasn't long before I felt his presence behind me. "I don't mean to be irksome toward your question, but I'm getting frustrated with knowing how you feel and seeing that I don't have the ability to relieve it. I know that you're fearful, doubtful and struggling to remain encouraged, but I really don't have a way of countering that stress for you, at-least I can't think of a way. I'm not sure why we were locked in the same vision or even how I imparted my own thoughts to your mind. I just know that it happened."

I turned to my husband and glanced up at him. "Just you being here does help ease the fear a little."

"Does it?" 

I smiled into beautiful charcoal gray eyes, "Of course it does. I would be even worse if you weren't." My smile turned into a frown,"I just wish this wasn't happening and I feel as though all of this is my fault because if it wasn't for me none of this would be happening." 

He shook his head no. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he stated, "Trust me, I'm the one who's fault this is. My brothers and sister and I vowed that we would never mate because of the stories that we'd heard of many of our people loosing their lives at the expense of their mate. In some cases, these families were bonded so well together that their children if any were born were destroyed in the process. We never wanted that to happen to any of us, because as far as we understood, should one of us go, it would mean our mate as well. Lance and I are blood brothers so either of us loosing our life would mean that we both would. We thought if we brought anyone else into the fold it would include them as well."

"What about Reina and Van?" I inquired. 

"Reina and Van as well. Reina brought Van in some sixty five years ago, and ten years after that he brought in my brother and well you know when I was brought in."

I nodded, "yeah, but I still feel as if I messed up your lives with just that one night." I whispered, my throat constricting with tears. Stefan smiled at me and wiped the tears from my eyes, "You cry too much Odilia."

I wiped my eyes, "I know. I always thought once you were a vampire you were void of all emotion." 

He smiled at me, "What kind of books have you been reading?"

"Movies." I whispered.

"That stuff's rubbish. We feel, we breathe, we do everything human's do except sunlight."

I smiled, "Yeah, I suppose."

He ran his fingers over my bottom lip. "Want me to prove it?" 

I swallowed sharply, feeling the blood rush to my heart. "This is not the right time for that Stefan." I stated, knowing what was on his mind. It was amazing how much you could feel just by reading this man's thoughts. Feeling the waves of pleasure that rippled through all of your senses at merely a suggestion. "Prove it." He stated, his gaze hot and challenging.

Immediately I bit down on my bottom lip, blood flowing to specific regions of my body, causing those areas to throb with anticipation already. I tried to think but my mind was clouded with images of us both and the sheer intensity that seemed to engulf us whenever we were intimate with one another. "I'm waiting Odilia." His words were soft, smooth and left a deep caress over my body when he spoke. I dared my eyes to find his in response. What I did see in them had me panting. As his lips found mine, my mouth eagerly opened to his. He flickered his tongue over the top inside of my lip, dabbling there a bit and then swept it into my mouth. I pushed my body up against his, feeling the sweet hardness of an erection.

Stefan:

What's the best thing for when you can't seem to get your mind off of the trouble that lies ahead? Sex. sometimes rough, sometimes gentle, sometimes both; and the amount of time depends on the degree and level of stress. 

When I came to stand up behind Odilia, sex wasn't on my mind. Explaining to her how I felt was, however, during the course of our conversation that changed and I found myself aroused. There was something about her emotions that left me aroused. It didn't matter if she was happy, sad, angry, or confused. I always found myself wanting to disable those emotions when ever they became overwhelming to her. It was almost as if I could taste her, smell her, and feel her whenever she became extremely emotional and that never failed to turn me on. 

Her scent would fill my nostrils and I'd immediately want to rip off all of her clothing and make love to her until she couldn't breath. Even now as I kissed her mouth, I wanted to just delve into her. I could easily disassemble her clothing without using my hands, but for me, the more contact my skin had with hers, the more satiated my hunger became. 

I moved my mouth to her cheek bones, kissing those, then to her ear as she turned her head to accommodate my roaming mouth. I nipped at her ear, which brought a moan from her and a slight movement of her head, just enough for me to roam lower to the pulse in her neck that made my brain go hazy with the lust for her blood. There was such blood flow there that I found myself sliding my tongue over it and then nipping at the area. She gasped harder and I was rewarded as she jumped into my hands. 

A low sensual growl came from my throat as I pulled her bottom into my hips. She shivered. I moved her over to the bed and swiftly removed her shirt, tossing it to the side of the bed. She whispered my name. 

I went to her bra and undid that and then ran my hands from her neck, to her chest and listened as she moaned and her nipples seemed to get thicker beneath my fingertips as I teased them. They were extremely sensitive. I watched as her body twitched again and I knew she was in the middle of her first orgasm. 

I took my other hand and ran it over her belly. Immediately her hips rose up to meet my touch. I licked my lips as I undid her pants, wanting so bad to feel her moist flesh beneath my fingers, knowing how feverish it would be. Leaning into her I tugged her green slacks down her hips and off her legs within seconds. Immediately my hands pulled her underwear to the left side, revealing a throbbing cave of wetness. 

I could see and feel the blood that flowed there and her scent was heavy in my nostrils as I plucked both fingers into her vaginal canal, both becoming drenched with her arousal. As they stroked her, I watched in fascination as her body squirmed and her hips thrust up to meet my fingers. As soon as I watched my desired target fully bloom, I knelt down and latched onto it immediately, using my lips to pull it into my mouth. 

Odilia. 

As soon as I felt Stefan's mouth suck in my clitoris, immediately I felt a burst of wetness and my mind was so far away from everything, that the only thing I could do was feel. Feel his touch, his eagerness as he took what he wanted. I gave out a cry as he began flicking his tongue back and forth over the sensitive bud as more and more blood seemed to rush to that area and I was left clenching my insides together in anticipation. 

There was no doubt that I now wanted him inside of me as he continued on with his assault. By the time he finished there my nipples were so hard they were painful as my ache for him to fill me grew. He'd gotten me to succumb to several moments of excitement and my body had gone into ultra sensitive mode. 

I watched in delightful anguish as he removed his clothing, allowing me to see the pent up arousal he'd been induced with. I swallowed, anxiously waiting for him to bring his beautiful masculine form over to where I was. I sat up on the bed as he joined me. My nostrils flared, my body aching in various places and my need to have him so strong that I was tempted to push him down on his back and take over from where he'd left off. My eyes never ceased their amazement at such a well sculpted form. 

His bronze colored skin was so beautiful that I couldn't do anything but drool. The sharp angles of his face were beautiful and strong. I reached out and ran my hand over his facial features, my eyes blinking back tears. My need to have him was taking it's toil on me, to a point where I wasn't able to speak the tenderness that had wrapped in my heart, the fire that ravaged my body. 

I allowed my eyes to do their usual visual down his body and licked my lips when they found a very solid, fully erected male genitalia standing at attention and peaking when it reached a beautifully rounded shaped head. One thing I loved about this man was his ability to stretch every inch of me. While he didn't lack in length, it was his width that impressed me and made me shriek out every time. I felt my vaginal walls constrict with their yearning of expectancy. 

I snaked trembling hands down his body, my breath short as I did so and grasped him in my hand. I stroked it slowly and watched as he stiffened even more. By now my blood was pumping fiercely in my veins, my breathing was quickened and the furious pumping in my ears was loud. 

I no longer remembered that my husband and I were on a mission. The only thing that mattered was that within a minute at most he would be lounged deep inside me, so deep that my juices would be milking his cock. I gasped in ecstasy as the little crevice in his glans head leaked some. My eyes locked on his and I about lost my mind as he said, "Come on baby." 

I let go of his cock and rushed over on my hands and knees to him. I stood up and sank my body down onto his hardness and let out a sharp breath as I did. He groaned as my insides welcomed his member, drenched, clenching, and soaking his manhood as they did. I moaned satisfaction as his fullness was completely engulfed into my folds, making room for him as they did. I tucked my feet on either side of him and thrust my hips forward. He gasped as I did, sinking him further into me with this action. 

Stefan:

My body was a combustion of explosions, emotions and teetering as I would come to the brink of an orgasm, only to be pushed back. My sweet sweet Odilia was riding me so good, I was grasping onto her hips, propelling her into me over and over again, until I got so excited I started to cry out her name as she was calling mine. I pushed her down onto her back, never disconnecting our joined members as she opened her legs up to me. 




Lilith's Shadow Ch. 11



I loved the way our bodies just seemed to fit into the curve of one another's as if we were made to be together. The way her body responded to mine had me so hard, I was sure I would spill my seed into her at any given moment because her loving was just that good. As I pounded in and out of her, she moaned, loving the feel of my pressure against her as I delved into her wetness over and over again, til she washed me with an orgasm. The way she clamped down around my penis, soaking it in a silky smooth wetness over and over again had me panting. I felt the thresh hold of the erection once again as it began to build and build and build, driving me into her one last time so hard that she let out a squeal and her body locked at the same time as mine did. 

Right before I submitted my release, she milked my cock so hard that there was a gushing of wetness felt on the top of my glans. As I ground my hips into her, I to was allowed my own release; Hard and Heavy as it shot up into her. As I came down from my orgasm, I realized she was still releasing tiny spasms against me and I was still hard. She pushed her hips against me hard and fast, pumping me into another solid stance. It didn't take long to release the second one after she grabbed my backside and pulled me deep into her. 

~~

Enapay lit the candles in his room, all forming a circle. Within this circle he sat with a pipe and an herb to render him conscious of the spirit world. The herb that he selected was cannabis, one that would render the body immobile and allow him to contact the spirit world. He only inhaled a small amount before setting the pipe down on the floor next to him. 

Exhaling slowly, he thought of all of the places he'd come to know as a child. The animals that floated in and out of his conscience until his breathing was deep and quiet. His mind journey back as far as possible until he was no longer a part of the physical world and was brought into another. He stood at a river bank, water cascading over his feet. The water and sky was so dark that if it wasn't for the lanterns lighting the shoreline he wouldn't have seen a thing. 

He continued to walk til he came to a pier. On this pier stood a man inside a boat, glancing straight ahead. He went to the pier and glanced over at the man, who was garbed in old brown rags, his slightly muscular form pale. The man spoke to him in an old language. Enapay spoke back. The man inquired what he had to give him. Enapay opened his mouth and offered the man a coin of ancient called Viaticum. It was a copper colored coin that could be similar to that of a Penny in the land where he was from. He allowed the fairy man to journey him across the river to the land of the dead. 

When Enapay had completed his journey across the river, he went up to the city, made of white marble stone. As he went up to the structure, he entered into the building and passed many spirits that looked as if they were resting. He continued on for what seemed like hours until he came across a spirit standing upright beside a door. "How may I help you?" The man inquired. Enapay stared at the man, unsure of whether he was talking to him or not. Enapay didn't want to be discovered because if he did, he would not be able to leave this city, so it was best that he tended to his business and then venture back into the physical realm so that he would be able to inhabit his body. 

He wished to ask the question he wanted to ask and then be given a provision to pass back into his world. "Hello, how may I help you?" The man inquired again. Enapay stared up at the man. "I wish to know of the spirit that seeks to destroy one so young." The man's frame was of pure blue like that of ice with the only resilience existing in his pupil less eyes. He was what one would call a spirit guide of the city.

"She is of old. Never aging. For the young that you seek has been near you all this time. Go to your city of dwelling and you shall see her." 

"How shall I find her?" 

"A forest of green trees shall be her dwelling place. You must get to her before she goes through a space of time and shall she succeed, the young that you seek shall no longer be delayed on his quest. The journey is but a fortnight and you will have no more time than that to retrieve your young." 

"What shall happen to the young, should he not be obtained?" Enapay inquired.

"Your world shall experience turmoil unrivaled. The days shall succeed into night." 

Enapay inquired once more of the guide.

"I wish to be granted passage back to my world."

"As for provision?" The guide inquired.

Enapay pulled from behind his back a weapon. "Shall this do?" 

The guide glanced down at the Scythe he held. Reaching for it, he grasped the item in his hand and brought it up to his face. Intricate Carvings were on the handles. Markings of Latin and Greek words. He nodded and stood aside as the door opened. "You may sir." 

~~

Odilia:

I lay wrapped in Stefan's arms, a smile on my face, relief as temporary as it may be cascading over my features. He and I have our hands entangled in one another's and we are talking about what just happened. "That was strange Stefan and on some level, seemed as though it happened at the wrong time. We're supposed to be trying to find our son, not copulating." 

Stefan scratched the hair at his temple, "And we will, but there was too much pent up energy with you. If that hadn't happened, you'd have lost your head."

"True."

"So go ahead and admit that it was very much needed, no matter how much guilt you may feel."

I rolled my eyes. I still have yet to get used to the fact that he feels what I feel and is able to hear what I think. And with what happened earlier, possibly able to see what I see. "I don't need to since you already know."

As he was getting ready to respond, a knock sounded at the door. 



Lilith's Shadow Ch. 12



Chapter Twelve: Lilith's cove

After they'd stumbled around to get dressed, they both noticed the change in atmosphere. There was more of a relaxed state instead of the tension filled one they'd shared a few hours ago. Going over to the door, Stefan was the first to open it. 

"Hello, Enapay." He stated to the Shaman from the other end.

"Hello, Mr. Gregoire." 

"Please call me Stefan." He corrected the older shaman.

"I need to ask you and your wife to gather your things together. We must go quickly. Quicker than what we assumed earlier."

Stefan furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"I fear that the infant may be nearby, closer than what we presumed."

At this, odilia came and stood next to him. "Excuse me?" 

"While meditating, it was revealed to me that the infant is nearby." He stated.

Immediately Odilia ran and gathered their things together. She pulled the suitcase to the door where the men stood and politely requested that Stefan move out of the way. He said, "Odilia, wait."

"What's there to wait on? I want my baby back." She stated, her tone once again going to an agitated stated. Stefan could feel the stirrings of anticipation and hope she felt now. 

"Was there more stated to you during your meditation?"

~~

Odilia:

I felt geeked. That's one of those words they used when I was a teenager,when someone was excited about something. I was finally going to get my baby back. I didn't care where we had to go, how far we had to go nor how deep into the earth we'd have to go. I was going to get my child back and spare no expense of a grade a Ass whipping on the thing that took him. I'd decided a day ago that I was going to be the last female Vampire that would ever have her child stolen by this particular shadow demon. 

I knew I was going to kill her but I was getting my child back first. My mind went back to my dream about the forest and how I was running through a grove of trees, chasing after a figure who threw my child over a cliff. It wasn't long before I heard Enapay say, "The individual is of old and she dwells nearby in the forest somewhere."

I focused my attention back to him. "Can you repeat that last part?" 

He glanced down at me. "The demon resides nearby in a forest."

"That's interesting." "I stated.

"Why's that?" He inquired. Staring at me with sharp brown eyes. Enapay had a band tied around his forehead and his long hair, which was native to his tribe was braided into two pigtails that rested just below his shoulders and tied at the end with a green and blue ribbon. He wore a ceremonial outfit of his distinction within the Clan. His outfit was brown buffalo suede from top to bottom with the sleeves and pants shredded at the wrists and ankles. I could only imagine the type of incantations he used to go into a deep meditation. 

"It's similar to a dream I had. I was running through the forest or an area like it, chasing a figure cloaked and carrying my child. The closer I tried to get, the farther away I seemed until the lady stopped and that's when I noticed I was hearing water crashing nearby. As I came in front of her, she pulled Jr. away from her and threw him over the cliff. I went diving after him." 

Stefan narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Why would this woman throw him over a cliff if she has to get him to Lilith's Cove?" 

Enapay shook his head, immediately understanding the meaning of her dream. "Because there was a portal over the fall. She would not harm the child because it would be futile, so there had to be a gate near the fall, Otherwise she wouldn't have done it. The closest fall to here is Niagara!" He and Stefan shouted Niagara together.

"So this means we can access the Cove through portals."

"Which also means we are even closer to that time than what we originally thought." I stated, pulling the bags over my shoulder and running out of the room down the hall. It was time to get our child back without further delay.

~~

Pearl stared into the child's eyes and willed him to sleep. The next thing she had to do was find a place to open the gate she needed entrance through. She'd decided on the woods she'd entered through that first night Lilith sent her to collect the child, because the forestry provided her lots of protection. She could hear water in the distance. So she knew she was close to the falls and thus, it could be an area to create a portal. 

She walked into the woods a bit further to offer herself a deposit of protection. The child was now asleep, wrapped up in a warm blanket. She had waited til dusk was on the horizon before she'd ventured out, so that she would be able to work undisturbed. She didn't need a fire to keep warm since she already had a higher temperature native to her sect and she didn't need light because she could already see in the dark. Pulling open the cloak she wore, she withdrew several long instruments, special ones unknown to most people in this realm. The reef was like a magical flute. It made a distinct noise when blown. This would announce her arrival into the Shadow Realm. A bow was used with an arrow to shoot her target, so that she would be able to open the portal and the third instrument she used was her voice. She had to speak the right words in order to create the portal. The words were in her native language sacred to those in the shadow realm. 

~~

"How much longer til we get there?" Odilia inquired, feeling anxious. I glanced at her from the review mirror. "We are about a couple of minutes away."

"Please hurry," She whispered. "We don't have much time." 

Enapay drove until we reached a sign that stated Niagara Falls was one mile away from where we were now. Once we arrived to Niagara falls, we followed a trail from the parking lot that led into the woods. We continued following that trail until we heard a loud shrill noise. Around this time, the atmosphere around us changed and it became noticeably colder. 

Odilia: 

We went further up the trail and that's when we heard a loud shrill sound. This is when my heartbeat picked up and I felt a nervousness unlike anything before. I continued running as fast as my legs could carry me, when I heard the faintest stirrings of a cry. Immediately I stopped. My blood pumping furiously through my veins, eyes darting around the Forrest, I listened for where the sound came from. It was then I noticed that I could hear the sound of water in the distance. I followed the sounds of the cry, making a left turn. Continuing on, I walked until the crying got nearer. 

I grabbed the hilt of one of my daggers and removed it from a Velcro attachment from my pants. I discovered a while back that I prefer jumpsuits, to other material when there was a chance I would fight. Something sleek, designed to fit my figure. I wasn't into long coats. In my opinion, the less I carried other than my weapons, the better off I was. Inhaling sharply, I slowed to a walk as I knew that I was coming upon the water falls. I could now smell the water, feel the coolness in the air. I stopped a hundred feet from my intended target, watching as she held my child, rocking it back and forth, standing there waiting. I felt my heart jump into my throat as I saw my nightmare living, breathing,and walking, non the less wearing the cloak from my dream. I still couldn't see her face. I lay hidden behind a large pine tree. I watched as she leaned down to my child and whispered in it's ear. "We are almost home, little one. You will make mother so proud." 

I felt my anger boil at these words. I was going to make sure that my child stayed right here with me. No questions asked. Squeezing the dagger in my hand, I was about to move forward when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see that it was Stefan shaking his head no. 

"She's there, I want my baby!" I whispered loudly. 

"Wait." He stated. I listened as a twig was snapped and I heard a voice yell, "Who's there?" 

Turning my attention away from Stefan, I looked at the tall figure who'd inquired into the darkness. I watched as she spat out words in an unknown language and stepped toward the edge of the waterfall. I rushed out from behind the tree I stood and yelled, "Noooo," to the top of my lungs. 

The figure looked back at me, let out a laugh and then ran for the edge of the water fall. Out of desperation, I flung my dagger at the figure and watched as she jumped off the cliff. I let out another cry and it wasn't long before I found myself propelled off the edge and following her and my child into the unknown. 

~~

"Di..did you see that?!" I studdered, my half cry, half scream directed at Enapay who came up right behind me as Odilia and the figure with our child ran over the cliff. I couldn't believe how she'd went diving off the cliff after the figure in the cloak. 

"I saw and now we must go before the portal closes" Enapay stated before I could decide on an action he grabbed me and pulled me along with him toward the edge of the cliff. I tried to get him to reason but not hearing that, I watched as we both went flying over the edge of the cliff and into the unknown ourselves.

~ 

Falling so hard, so fast sent me rolling once I finally found ground. I rolled until coming to a complete stop in the middle of a red clay desert area. Although there was no moon, nor stars, nor anything familiar to my world, everything was illuminated with a dusky red look. I narrowed my brows and glanced over at the vast emptiness that seemed to settle upon this land. There was no people. No creatures of the dark, not even shadows. I turned from side to side as I tried to figure out where my assailant was. I finally spotted her further ahead, holding my child in her arms, limping to her destination. I ran to catch up with her. I only had one dagger left now and I was going to put it to great use or die trying. 

~~

Footsteps were behind her. Pearl continued walking, making sure to reach her destination. Only when she heard a voice yell, "Hey Bitch!" Did she stop. She could tell this was not going to end well. All she wanted to do was get this baby delivered to Lilith. Now it seemed as if she had someone else to take care of. She wondered when people would learn that once she set out for a mission, it was always going to be accomplished. Being sure to put the baby in the boundaries for Lilith's Cove, she took a nail and ran it across the child's forehead. The baby did not cry as it was marked. This was to ensure they understood that this was the child set aside for Lilith and not someone lost from traveling through a portal. Inhaling sharply, she turned to the lady that was still walking toward her. She met her half way.

As soon as she met up with her, Pearl could smell the rage and feel it coming from her. "I want my baby back."

Pearl smiled and in a raspy tone, stated, "The baby's Lilith's." Pearl watched as the lady became angry and she seemed to change. It was then Pearl noticed the aura around her. She was protected. Interesting that they'd use magic to retrieve a child that wasn't going back. Pearl took a step back, bracing herself. She knew that this was going to be a fight to the death.

~~ 

I was angry. So angry that I couldn't think straight. My mind was a bright haze. 

"I will give you an open shot to be fair." The lady stated. She pulled her cloak off and I found myself repulsed at the sight of skin that glowed white in the expanse of redness.Her eyes were a creepy color I couldn't make out and the thin slit for a mouth had me cringing inside. 

I ran at her and was quickly shoved over her head. I felt it as my body hit the hard ground. "This is easier than I thought," the figure stated to me as she came over to where I was. I quickly jumped to my feet and met her with a left kick to the shin. She bent down in pain and this was when I took my foot and extended it upward, my foot connected with her chin, sending her stumbling back. Going over to her again, I brought my right arm over and watched as my fist connected with her again and then had my left repeat with this motion. 

Bit by bit, I slowly felt the anger drain from me as I balled my right hand into the tightest fist and with all my might punched her so hard in her chin, she flew back and hit the ground hard. Taking out my second dagger, I quickly jumped over her and attempted to plunge it into her chest. 

However, the lady grabbed my wrists and with more strength than I thought she'd possessed. She pulled them forward and pushed her head into mine and I was sent sprawling backward. I yelled, "You fucking bitch!" I now couldn't see much as her butt to the forehead had blinded me. 

Everything was blurry. I heard a faint whisper in the recess of my brain say, "focus Odilia!" I attempted to do just that. I got up and with dagger in hand, I waited for the charge I knew that was to come. Sure enough, I heard a growl and in every sense felt her come charging at me. I assumed that she'd turned to her shadow form and was now preparing for the kill. Although my vision was no use, I felt the wind in the air pick up and closing my eyes, I felt her presence without having seen it. Taking the knife I had, I plunged it into her, not sure where my blow landed and whether or not it was a fatal wound. 

For extra measure I twisted it and heard it as the twitching began in her body and then felt a cold liquid come out on my skin and listened as her form fell to the ground. Glancing down, I watched as her figure came into full view and fluids of green color pulsated from underneath her body. Blood had already begun falling from her mouth and pooling around the back of her neck. 

Exhaling sharply, my body sagged with relief as I got down on both my knees and pulled my weapon out of her stomach. I had killed her and now it was time to get my child. I grabbed a cloth from my belt and wiped the dagger clean of her blood. I then looked down and sure enough, sticking out of her left calf was my other dagger. I pulled that one out and watched as her blood poured out from the wound. 

I wiped it off and sheathed the weapon back into it's place on the low right side on the side pocket. I strapped it in and then took the other dagger and did the same, sheathing it back into the Velcro pocket on the side of my left calf. I felt a smile form. I was finally able to get my child back. Turning around, I walked until I came to a view of two forms hunched over my child, getting ready to pick it up. I let out a growl low in my throat. Oh hell no, this was not going to happen again, unless I was dead. 

~~

Enapay and I had gone through the space rip and came tumbling down a hill. When we were able to take in our surroundings, we stood up to notice that we were in a land of red and vast emptiness. The atmosphere was hazy and although it was thick and cooler than our climate, we still were able to adjust to the cool temperatures, which actually suited us better than the temperature on earth. As vampires the sun often left hideous scars on our skin and in heat exhaustive occasions such as the summer times, we even burned to death. 

The best times for us to move around was in the fall and the winter, when the days were cooler and the nights were chillingly cold. I would actually go out during twilight hours when dusk would settle on the land and darkness was soon to come because although it may seem unlikely, I actually enjoyed the landscape of our lands in Wisconsin, very vegetative and green and with the lake along some towns, it was a beautiful area to live. 

However, comparatively, this climate was extremely cold at-least thirty degrees on a consistent basis. I glanced up and noticed that there was no moon, stars, nor sun to govern it's actions and I couldn't help but find myself wondering just how this space in the earth could be this way. It was a strange place. Enapay and I continued to walk because despite the thick atmosphere we could still see, and we knew we needed to find the child and Odilia. I could feel in my heart that she was near. However, I wasn't sure how near. I let out a long sigh and continued walking till we heard the sounds of an infant crying. 

I knew without doubt that it was Junior. Running over to the sound, we knelt down in front of the baby and was about to pick him up when we heard a voice, "You're not taking my baby without killing me first." She spoke. Knowing that she couldn't make out who it was, I spoke to her with my mind, letting her know it was me and Enapay. 

I could feel the rush of relief in her own form as she made her way to us. Once we were all together, Odilia grabbed Junior out of my hands and held him close to her, devouring him with kisses. The child quieted down when she held him to her chest and he heard her heart beat. Almost as if sensing that she was his mother. She caressed his back and whispered in his ear. Enapay and I stood back observing, and me my heart filled with joy and relief over having found our child. 

~~

It felt so good to hold Stefan Junior in my arms that I began to cry. Nothing compared to the love and relief that flooded my heart at being able to hold my youngest. All of the dreaming, stressing, confusion, and fighting seemed worth it now that we were together. 

I caressed the top of his head which was sprinkled with hair as dark as Stefan's and whispered in his ear how much I loved him and how we would never be apart again and how, no matter what I had to do, I would always be there to protect him. I placed kisses everywhere on his face, any place that I could access. 

When I finally pulled back because Enapay had said we needed to go before the portal closed for good, since we knew that on earth, the portal opening only lasted twenty for hours. Stefan wrapped his arm around me and kissed the temple of my forehead. "I love you Odilia." 

I sighed and whispered, "I love you too, Stefan."

"It's obvious you won the fight between you and the thing in the cloak."

"Yeah." I stated, my gaze still on Stefan Jr. I no longer cared about the shadow demon because I had beaten it. 

A smile came to my face at the realization that although I had only been a warrior vampire for a year, I'd beaten my first creature of darkness. I'd triumphed over evil for the very first time and if I must say so myself, it felt good. As I counted all ten toes and ten fingers of Stefan Jr. I couldn't help but be amazed that they were all there, that he was all here in one piece. 

*

Hello Everyone, Navaura here. I hope you guys enjoyed my first Vampire story. I know I didn't get everything right the first time and it was a struggle to come up with ideas and a plot and attempt to do a little character development. I usually spend more time on characters, however, this one was a spark that just flourished as I continued to write. I had fun writing about Stefan and Odilia, this genre was a challenge for me because I'm used to writing a novels that have drama in them. This was a genere I'd never even attempted to venture into and it feels good knowing that I was able to complete this work of art. I see why people get caught up writing about vampires and that sort, they are truly the sort you can be creative and as wild as you wish. It's loads of fun. Anyhow, I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I know I did and I am looking forward to the new year. Happy holidays to everyone!!!! 

Navaura~