24 comments/ 99955 views/ 133 favorites Breathless Ch. 01 By: Evil Alpaca This story is a bit wordy and fairly long, so if you are looking for immediate gratification, you might want to look elsewhere. The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between these character and events and any real person or events is strictly coincidental . . . and pretty darn impressive seeing as it is a science fiction story. Do not reproduce or copy this story without the consent of the author. This story is based in an alternative universe, where history took a different course than the one we are used to. In this world, the creatures which we now believe to be legends have walked alongside man for the duration of our existence. Vampires, werewolves, wizards, witches, sorcerers, and a host of other beings share our world. The following story contains, in one chapter or another, lesbian and heterosexual activity in different proportions. -------------- --------------------- "Cheeseburgers in paradise, heaven on earth with an onion slice, not too particular . . . crap!" Sadie glanced down and noticed that her 1972 Dodge Ram pickup was really low on gas. It didn't help that she was lucky to get fifteen miles per gallon with strong tailwind while going downhill, but she would be damned before she gave up her truck. She'd put more money into maintaining it than she'd bought it for, but it was all worth it. "C'mon babe, just a litte further," she said, eyeballing the exit ramp that lead to the holiest of places for travelers: the Truckstop of North America station. Gas, nachos, and the sixty-four ounce mega-gulp of Mountain Dew were just a hundred meters away. Her stomach growled, but she wasn't sure if it was from anticipation or objection. She didn't care. The taste buds want what the taste buds want. The truck coasted up to the pumps and happily came to a stop, letting Sadie pop out and stretch her legs. It was the middle of the night, which always made for interesting quick-stop encounters. She saw a dozen motorcycles parked on the dirt across the access road, a couple dozen semis off to the side, and a smattering of cars in the lot and the pump area. The few people who were outside couldn't help but look her way. First, the truck itself had a vibe about it . . . an aura. Perfect pitch-black paint job and shiny silver trim, metalic-silver flat hard-cover on the back, and black-tinted windows. The coup de grace was the silver ram's head hood ornament that she loved so very much. Most people wouldn't realize it, but it was actual silver, and it had been magically adhered to the hood so that it would be easier to steal the whole truck rather than try and rip off the ornament. But if the truck was the left hand, then Sadie Hewitt was the right: she was a genuine knock out. Standing only five and a half feet tall, she had an impish face and crisp, light-blue eyes, full lips adorned lightly with peach colored lipstick, and it was all topped off with wild blond curls that reached down to her belt. He had a denim vest stretching to its limits to contain her more-than-ample bosom, also leaving her rock-hard abs exposed. Tight blue jeans encased those lightly curved hips, toned muscular legs, and firm butt. A lot of attractive women played coy and reeked of false humility. Not Sadie . . . she was hot and she knew it. She'd spent a long time working on that body, and she would be damned if she wasn't going to show it off every chance she got. She finished filling up and grabbed her receipt, glancing over to the storefront. Three bikers were hanging out front, and two of them seemed to be glancing her way an awful lot. She noticed their jackets read "El Diablo" . . . she knew of them. Not a bad group actually. They tended to get into a lot of bar fights, even for bikers, but she'd crossed paths with them several times and had enjoyed many a drink in their company. Those two started towards her and she finally got a good look at third, and she suppressed a grin. 'This is gonna be fun,' she thought. "Hey sweetness," the first one said. He was young, but already had a head start on his beer gut. Both he and his friend had that cocky swagger of people who'd just gotten the training wheels off their bikes and thought that made them hot shit. "Where you from and how looooooong --" the other one started, grabbing his crotch, "you planning on sticking around?" Sadie opened her eyes as wide as she could, let her "blondness" creep from her hair into her brain and made her voice as high as possible. "I . . . I just came to get filled up," she said, making herself look as nervous as possible and proud at setting them up the way she had. "I don't want no trouble." "We ain't looking to give you trouble," the first one said. "But we can help you get filled up," the other one said. The two bikers grinned at each other. 'Don't be too proud you morons,' Sadie thought. "I GAVE you that innuendo!' "I . . . I just need --" "I'll bet you do," biker number two replied. "But I think I've got all you need --" "Right there?" Sadie's eyes went from vacant to wanton. "It looks so big," she said, then thought, 'For a cocktail weiner.' "Much bigger than those assholes at the club had. How's a girl supposed to make a living grinding her ass against teeny tiny little dicks?" She let loose her best bimbo-giggle. "A stripper hunh?" "Exotic dancer!" she replied, putting her fists on her hips, trying to look indignant. "Sorry, sorry. Exotic dancer." Biker number one pulled out his wallet. "So, how much for a private dance?" She lowered her eyelashes and bit her bottom lip. "One or both of you?" The second bikers was looking like he'd just won the lottery. "Both!" She reached out both hands and touched them on the leg just below the crotch. "Hmm . . . a party like that would run about --" Her hands cupped their crotchs softly. "Yes?" both men groaned at once. Her grip tightened and she lifted both men a foot off the ground, holding them there as her fangs extended and she said, "-- about a billion dollars more than either of you will earn in your now very short lifetime!" "Oh God oh God oh God!" one of them screamed in significant pain and fear. "A damn vamp!" the other one screamed, trying desperately to push against her hand and make her release her vice-like grip. She released her grip, letting both men fall to the pavement where they curled up and clung to their private parts. The third biker had walked over to watch and was in the process of laughing his ass off. This guy was in his early forties and built like a bull. Any extra weight he carried was more than compensated by his massive chest, and he had legs and legs like telephone poles. "Frankenstein, how long were you planning on letting me play with the newbies before you did anything?" she said, chuckling herself. Frank "Frankenstein" Smith was one of the leaders of El Diablo, and her preferred drinking buddy whenever they crossed paths. Ten years earlier, they'd even had a brief fling before parting ways as friends. The big man was crouching down, struggling to find breath as he slapped the ground in a symbol of utter amusement. "You . . . (gasp) . . . you should have seen your face! Oh dear Lord, have you been practicing?" "I HATE being vapid for that long! And yes, I've practiced. I actually had to go undercover for a while in a strip joint down in Dallas. Girls there weren't hired for their brains, but damn they were good eye candy." She felt her blood stir a little. "Tell ya, I worked there a week after we'd caught our guy just 'cause of the way some of 'em relieved stress on their breaks." Frank stood up and clapped her on the shoulder before giving her a big hug. They took turns picking each other up off the ground. Frank was good people. "What the fifteen hells are you doing here?" she asked. "Leader of the local chapter got wrapped around a telephone pole, so I came up to help pick the new top rider. Better question is, what are YOU doing here? Last time I heard, you were still in Texas! And I'd heard something about an incident in Austin --" "We are NOT going to talk about Austin!" Sadie made a zipping motion across her lips when Frank tried to speak . . . then again and again until he finally threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay! We don't talk about Austin! But that doesn't answer what you're doing here?" "I finally got transferred to Midian! The West coast is now officially my turf!" "You transfered to Midian? On purpose?" She glared at him. "What's wrong with Midian? It's just caused there's more darkworlders there, isn't it?" When Europeans settled North America, the humans mainly settled the East coast while a smaller band of humans and a lot of the darkworld races kept going. When they found that magical land of forests, mountains and constantly overcast skies, they new they'd found a place to set up shop. Midian had the highest non-human population in North America. Unfortunately, that DID tend to lead to friction, and Midian was also home to the highest crime rates in the civilized world. Every manner of creature that could cause trouble seemed to migrate to the Northwestern American province and into the shadows of Midian. "Have you ever actually been there?" Frank shook his head, still smiling. He knew well enough that there wasn't a damn think on Earth that this vampire lady was afraid of. But it didn't stop him from kidding her. "A troublemaker like you in Midian? Damn, didn't your Boss in D.C. once tell you that sending you to Midian would be like sending a dragon to an oil field and then wondering why there was so much smoke? What changed his mind?" Sadie dug the toe of one of her tanker boots into the cracked pavement. "Austin. Which --" "We aren't talking about," Frank finished. "Fuck it Frank," one of the other bikers said as he regained his stance, still gingerly cupping his testicles. "Why --" "Boys, you gotta learn sometime to watch out for vamps. Didn't you see the window tints on the truck? Those suckers are high-grade UV shields that'll stop just about anything but visible light. Bed's designed to be totally light resistant, not that Sadie here minds much, but some of her quarry might. Hell, she's got a bumper sticker that says 'Bite Me' and the whole damn thing is black as hell. Muck with a driver of a rig like that and yer likely to get yourself hurt." Sadie took a little pity on the poor boys. Frank had encouraged them to hit on her knowing full well what would happen. She kissed each one on the cheek in rapid order. "Don't feel bad boys. I've been pulling that one on smarter folks than you since before either of you were born. And just to show there's no hard feelings, I will let you stare at THIS ass," she said, pointing towards her butt with both hands, "all the way into the store." And then she strutted her stuff over to the door with Frank right next to her. But before she could go in -- "Miss Sadie?" "Yes?" she replied, looking over her shoulder. "It was worth it!" Both bikers broke into smiles, accepting they had been had. She looked at Frank. "There's hope for them boys yet. Now YOU owe me some nachos for making me late." "Will do. Nice tan, by the way." "I like it." Vampires as a rule didn't like sunlight, but they could tolerate it for periods of time based on sensitivity. The highly allergic broke out into a mean rash after about ten minutes of exposure and could actually burst into flame after half an hour. Sadie had a high tolerance for daylight, meaning she could stay in it long enough to do what only a few vampires could do . . . tan. It helped confuse a lot of people into thinking she was just a human girl who couldn't be more than twenty years old. Little did they know. Sadie got her ridiculously unhealthy nachos and soda, but though she might want to get something a little more nutritional. She looked over at the cashier, who had been checking out her rack since she got there. "Hey, got any Plasma-ade?" "Thuh . . . third window next to the bathroom," he stammered 'Poor boy's probably going to have an erection just because I talked to him.' She grabbed some over her favorite flavor and headed to the counter. The other bikers had come in and were getting ribbed by Frank. Then one of them noticed that when Sadie pulled her walled out, a flap came down that had a shiny gold badge on it. "Damn Frank, she's a cop?!" Frankenstein tried to look innocent. "I'll explain later about how to watch out for Federal Arbiters. "Bitch is an Arbiter? No offense ma'am." "None taken." Arbiters were a different breed of cop. While they were assigned to districts and the control of local police forces, they had the authority to make arrests anywhere. An Arbiter's word was as good as gold in court too, so getting into their ranks took a hell of a lot of work. But all that authority tended to make people edgy. Frank walked her back to her truck and gave her a hug before she climbed in. "I've missed you. I take it you won't be hard to find?" "Nope, but give me the name of a local hangout I can reach you. Once I get settled in, I may need a good drink" "Let's see . . . a place you might like. Hmm. Oh yeah, there's the Cat Scratch Lounge. If you can't find something you like there, you ain't breathing. Figuratively, of course." He rolled his eyes. "Forgot you don't actually breathe." Sadie laughed as she closed her door, revved the engine and cranked up the Jimmy Buffet before tearing off down the road at seriously unsafe speeds. ----------- -------------------- An hour later . . . ----------- -------------------- She pulled into a "visitor" spot at the Midian Precinct Thirteen station house, figuring it might not hurt to check in with her new supervisor before getting a good day's sleep. The pavement of the parking lot had potholes big enough to require bridges, and there were steel plates where the windows used to be. It looked more like a fortress than a precinct. Sadie smiled. "I think I'm going to like it here." She walked inside, earning a few more stares and cat calls from local badges and criminals alike. The girl at the front desk was a total goth chick, complete with nose-ring, black clothes, lipstick and eye-liner, as well as a general sense of "oh-cruel-world" that permeated the surrounding area. 'But she's cute,' Sadie thought. She wondered how long it would take to establish a good booty-call list? Vampires were the only of the races who could not actually breed by sexual intercourse. They needed a blood-sharing with another humanoid race to make more vampires. Once reproductive success is removed as a factor in sex, then it becomes all about pleasure, regardless of who the partner is. The majority of vampires were bisexual, participating in sex just for the sensations and for the fun, and Sadie really liked to have fun. "Hey," the girl grunted. "Howdy . . . Melissa," Sadie said, beaming her brightest smile. "I'm here to talk to Captain Grom." "The Captain is very busy," Melissa responded in a monotone that would make a zombie proud. "If you would like to leave your name and a brief message," the girl added, pushing a yellow sticky note pad over the counter, "then I'm sure he'll get back to you soon." Sadie decided right then and there that she and Melissa were going to be friends. She didn't know why, but she didn't question the desire. This was a common thing for her. And if she knew ONE thing about goth chics -- "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't explain myself," she purred, leaning forward and letting the desk push her breasts up a little. "My name is Arbiter Sadie Hewitt, and the Captain is expecting me." The girl, much to her credit, remained relatively cool. Her eyes did go wider and Sadie could sense her blood pulsing a little faster. The girl's eyes were drawn upward, slowing as Sadie's beautiful cleavage came into view and then continuing on to her face. The girl was looking closely at Sadie's slightly-parted lips. The vampire extended her fangs just a bit, and she heard Melissa moan ever so softly under her breath. 'Yep,' Sadie thought. 'Goths dig vampires.' "I'll check to see if Captain Grom is available," she said calmly, with just the faintest hint of trembling in her voice. "I'd REALLY appreciate that," she murmured, licking her top teeth slowly but not making it to obvious. She took delight in watching Melissa swallow a breath and then hurrying into the maze of desks, heading towards the Captain's office. About then, she realized that about a dozen people had stopped to stare at the little encounter. "What?" she said, faking being angry. The crowd rapidly dispersed and left her to smile. 'This is gonna be fun!' Melissa returned to her desk and her previous stoic calm. "He's over there." She tipped her head. "Thanks Mel!" Sadie said, taking the girl's hand and kissing it. "You are a consummate professional, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She walked past, glancing out of the corner of her eye. The goth chick was just staring at her hand, wondering what the hell that was about. Finally, she wiped the hand off on her jeans. Sadie navigated the desk maze and stopped to try and wipe a smudge off of the brass nameplate that so succinctly said, "Captain Grom." "That's better." Captain Grom's office was, to put it nicely, tidy. Sadie normally would have gone with "anal," but she decided to give the man the benefit of the doubt. There was a wand rack on one side of the chair behind and a staff rack on the other. 'Wizard," Said thought. 'Could be worse.' There were three categories of magical practitioners, regardless of gender. Wizards focused directed energy into staffs and wands or other similar devices and used them like weapons. Witches needed casting circles, cauldrons and components, but could effect a wider variety of spells over a wider area. Sorcerers needed nothing but their own will, but the lack of foci to take the weight and the sting of spelling slinging off their shoulders, they didn't tend to throw anything too big. "Miss Hewitt," the Captain said, standing and offering her his hand. She ignored it and gave him a back-slapping hug. When she withdrew, she saw that he had closed his eyes and was counting to ten. 'Great,' she thought. 'He's got personal space issues.' "Please, don't do that," he said, settling back into his chair. Captain William Grom was in his early forties, but seemed to be holding up rather well. Salt-and-pepper neatly groomed hair over a square face and even squarer chin. Sadie pegged him as being former military . . . he just had a way about him. "Nothing personal," he continued. "I just prefer to maintain a certain sense of decorum. No one else does, but I do." "No sweat Grommie," she said, leaning back in one of the guest chairs and kicking her heels up on his desk. After being glared at for twenty seconds in absolute silence, she slowly lowered her feet back to the floor. "Sorry." He looked at her, then at the file on his desk. "I'm a little surprised to see you in. You must have made good time. How was your trip?" "Good. Rained like hell coming up the coast, but I guess I'd better get used to it." "I must admit that I'm surprised that the Feds would send and Arbiter, but I'd be lying if I said we didn't need it. We've got a lot of people out citywide, so having someone to help tow the line will be a blessing. And a vampire to boot. Of course, there are parts of Midian that really don't care for vampires, but many of them don't care for humans either." He flipped a couple of pages on her record. "Seems exemplary," he muttered. "So you've been an Arbiter for --" "About twenty years," she said. "Twenty years?" He looked at her through the tops of his eyes. "Impressive." Then his brow creased. "I see that you have a large number of . . . altercations, but they all seem to be in order." He stopped, staring at a color photograph. Breathless Ch. 01 Sadie poked her head up to see, then blushed a bit and sunk back in her chair. Vampires could blush, but it usually had to be very arousing or VERY embarrassing to make it happen involuntarily. The Captain scrutinized a number of images the same way, then stopped to read a memo. "What is this about Austin and --" "I don't want to talk about Austin," she grumbled. "Miss Hewitt, an entire tour bus and --" "I . . . do . . . not . . . want . . . to . . . talk . . . about . . . Austin! No charges were pressed so . . . so let's just write that off as an unfortunate occurence. Okay?" "Unfortunate occurrence?" he replied. "The eruption of Pompeii was apparently an 'unfortunate occurrence as well, at least by those standards." Captain Grom closed the file and sighed. "Very well. Have you got a place to stay yet?" "I'm crashing at a hotel today, and my house and the moving truck should be here tomorrow." "You brought a house with you?" "Mobile home . . . trailer really. I'm attached to it. Worked with a realtor and got some land to put it on. Got directions in the truck. Everything will get hooked up tomorrow. "Excellent. Well, I'll let you go get some rest and I will see you in a couple of days. We'll introduce you to your team and -- " "Team? I'm used to working solo." "Sorry, but it's city policy that field personnel work in teams. And even if they didn't I'd insist that no one goes into the Gravestones without backup." "The Gravestones?" "Your new beat, as it were. It's a . . . charming little area. Nothing you can't handle." Sadie was getting suspicious, but she chose not to let in bother her. She sprang to her feet, vigorously shook the Captain's hand and started to leave. "Oh, keep your moving and hotel receipts and give them to Melissa when you come in. She does the expense reports around here." The Captain was trying not to start counting again. 'She helps me get my money back? I really like her.' Sadie headed towards the door, watching as Melissa tried very hard not to look back. She slapped the girl on the butt and said, "See ya soon Mel." In her wake, she heard the grumbling of a very confused goth. ------------ ---------------- The next night . . . ------------ ---------------- Sadie was working out in her yard, digging post holes for where she wanted the deck supports to go. It'd be a while before she got around to building it, but she liked staying busy. The lot was as beautiful as her agent had told her it was, surrounded on all sides by evergreens except for a little path overlooking a tiny town. She'd have to find out the name of the town later. She guessed it must be a really small town, because she only saw a couple of lights flickering down there. Her trailer was actually on ten acres of land, and she was about a hundred hards from the otherwise empty road. The movers had put up the pre-fab steel building that she used as a garage and work area, and all the utilities were on and running. Moving was one of those times where Sadie dropped some extra cash to make her life so much easier. She heard tires on gravel and the peek of headlights coming down her brand new driveway. She really didn't want trouble, hoping it was just somone who had gotten lost. 'Just in case,' she thought, going to the garage and grabbing the double-barrel shotgun off the rack in the truck. It was loaded with silver shot, which meant she'd kill just about any big ugly that came her way. Even in the cloak of darkness, her eyes could pick out the little green Mini Cooper slowly winding its way down the drive. She'd seen that car parked outside the precinct when she'd dropped off her receipts shortly after sunset. The car came to a stop and someone got out. "Mel?" Sadie asked. "What the hell are you doing out here?" "I needed to get your signature on some things." Melissa stopped. "Uhm . . . do you have any light?" "And it couldn't wait until I got into work?" Sadie was actually a little disappointed. The girl was making it too easy. She ran up the stairs, opened the door to the trailer and flicked on the external light. Melissa was treated to an eyefull, and she seemed to be having difficulties keeping her face calm. Sadie was dressed in her "work around the house clothes," which consisted of a cut off pair of denim shorts, a sports bra, her working boots and . . . that was it. Her curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail, all nice and tied up with a red ribbon. To Melissa, she looked more like a trailer-park housewife than a vampire . . . a very, very gorgeous trailer-park housewife. "I was going to try and get everything submitted right away so you could get comped." Melissa looked at the trailer. "It's a giant silver twinkie." Sadie grinned. "Yes it is! Casa de Hewitt! Complete with everything a hot vampire needs!" "Which is?" "A bed, a fridge, and a place to sit and watch television after sex." Melissa raised one eyebrow. "Yeah. Right." Though the girl was trying to play it cool, Sadie wasn't buying it. The girl had driven all the way out here in tight leather pants, a silky white blouse and leather vest. She looked like a vampire television dinner: all wrapped up, and just waiting to be warmed up before being eaten. Anyone who'd been around vampire knew that they were a pretentious bunch of snobby aristocrat wannabes, and they loved the whole "tortured soul" crap. Vampires often developed "broods," or groups of followers, lackeys, and sexual toys, and there was not race or gender limit on who could join. As a rule, the older and more powerful the vampire, the bigger and more prominent the brood. It seems the older a vampire got, they greater presence they were able to exert on the world around them. Sadie decided to play it cool for a bit. As much as she'd like to have some fun with this lean little kitten, she didn't enjoy herself with someone who didn't know her rules. "So, where's that paperwork?" Melissa reached back into her car and grabbed a clipboard. Sadie noticed that she stretched and leaned in more than she needed to, showing off her slender legs and tight butt. And when her shirt rode up, Sadie saw the girl had extensive tattooing. 'I wonder how far up it goes?' she thought idly. She waited for the girl to bring her the clipboard. Sadie started leafing through the papers while Melissa descended to the next rung of the stairs. 'She's making sure her head is below mine. And she's cocking her head . . . I'll be damned.' Melissa was doing exactly what most people would do if trying to make themselves more appealing to a potential vampire master or mistress. 'Her neck does look good,' Sadie thought, admiring the girl's slim, pale neck. She could hear Melissa's blood running through her veins like a freight train, making her dedication to a stoic facade all the more admirable. "Well, that's about it. Thanks I guess," Sadie said, giving the girl no visible signs of interest. For a moment, Melissa looked . . . frustrated. Not angry or depressed, just frustrated. She turned around and walked back to the car. "No prob," Melissa said. That time, Sadie could hear strain in the voice. "Hey." Sadie decided to cut the girl a break. People who came to deal with a traditional vampire tended to have no idea what to do with Sadie Hewitt. "What's that town down there?" Melissa stopped and looked puzzled. "I dunno. You got a place out in the middle of nowhere . . . I'm not familiar with the --" The girl stopped, her brow furrowed. "What?" "Holy crap," was the reply, lacking the coolness expressed earlier. "I DO know where that is. It's New Plymouth. It was supposed to be the one of first towns settled when the darkworlders hit the west coast." "Hunh, cool. Thought a place like that would be busier. Tourists, hotels and the like." "Not New Plymouth. It's been a wraith town for over a hundred years." Sadie stomped her foot and growled, "Dammit! No wonder the property was so cheap! I'm gonna ring my agent's neck." Wraiths tended to give everyone the wiggins, even vampires. A wraith was the spirit of a creature who had died a horrible death or with tremendous rage in its heart. The soul was able to remain physically manifested in this world in the general shape of its owner, and it became a ghost of vengeance. They were physically incredibly powerful that immediately sought out those that had wronged them and enacted upon them the most unpleasent revenges imaginable. Sometimes that was enough to quell the spirit and they slipped away. Strong wraiths created by strong needs for revenge stayed corporeal. There own vengeance satisfied, they acted on the feelings of those around them. Wraiths were often sought out by those who had been wronged, and wraiths were drawn to act on those needs. Some came to enjoy such work, while others sought refuge in quiet places where the draw of the mob would not weigh on them. Besides being devilishly strong and having the ability to appear in both physical and ethereal forms, wraiths had the unique advantage of being nulls: they were untargetable by direct magics and undetectable by most darkworlder senses other than normal sight. This made most darkworlders incredibly uneasy. People tended to stay away from wraiths if they could help it, and it wasn't uncommon for a town to die out if a wraith moved in. "Sorry," Melissa said. "Hell, it's no big thing. May go down there in a couple of days and introduce myself . . . get to know the neighbor." "You're going to go talk to it? A wraith?" "They's usually a 'him' or a 'her,' not an 'it.' I ain't got no hate in my heart, so there won't be a problem." Melissa nodded and started to turn away. Before Sadie could say anything, she turned back. "You . . . you're not like any vampire I've ever met." "Does that bother you?" Sadie asked. "Melissa, why'd you really come out here tonight? Don't take me for a food girl. No one dresses like that to get someone to sign papers." Melissa actually cracked a tiny grin. "I guess not. You knew?" "Sweetheart, I was born in the dark, but it wasn't last night. Girl, you just met me and you don't even know me. You can't be more than twenty five, so it isn't like you've seen it all." Melissa turned back to her car. "Well, you're not interested, so I guess I won't --" She stopped because Sadie appeared between her an the door. 'Damn she's fast,' the girl thought. "I don't want a brood," Sadie said, leaning leisurely against the driver's side door. "Never have. Ain't got time to go wiping their asses for them or any of that. I don't need a bunch of people lickin' my boots to feel good about myself. Hell, if I wanna feel good about myself, I just look in the mirror." She was grinning big time now. "So you're saying it isn't me . . . it's you? I've heard THAT line before. Listen --" "Go ahead. What's on your mind?" "It's just frustrating. I know what I want," she said, her voice sounding normal now, like she wasn't putting up a front. This was one of Sadie's gifts . . . she let people open up to her. "I've been to the vamp clubs and done everything right. I've been propositioned." "So why didn't you say yes? If this is the life you want?" "Because I look up, see the vampire's face and think . . . what a poser!" Sadie guffawed, stomping her foot on the ground and gripping the car door for support. "Damn," she laughed, "that's about as good as I've ever heard it put. The bretheren are a might pompous, aren't they?" "And it's just so frustrating!" Melissa continued, showing real, unchecked personality. "I want someone to serve. Just want to find someone worth serving I guess." The girl blushed. "You must think I'm a total loser." Sadie shook her head, that pretty white smile lighting up the dark. "Nah. Known lots of folks that follow the path you're walking, and you've already learned the most important rule: know what you're looking for." She sat on the hood of the car. "As I said, I ain't looking for a brood. Don't mean I ain't looking for a bedmate or . . . twelve. But I'd rather start with a friend than a follower. Get me?" Melissa cocked her head again, tempting Sadie to lay more than just kisses on it. "You really are different." "Don't you forget it." Sadie slid forward until her feet were on the ground. "If you're ever looking for a night of no-commitment fun, then we can talk. In the meantime --" She stopped and offered her hand, Melissa took it and shook it, and the girl looked somewhat relieved. Sadie wondered if she ever talked to someone about how she felt. "You in a hurry?" "No. I'd actually freed up my otherwise busy social calender just in case --" Melissa blushed again. "Hell, it ain't too late," Sadie replied, brushing her body against Mel's as she walked by, feeling the girl's heart beating like a steel drum. "Or, you could grab a couple of lawn chairs from the garage, I'll grab some Guinness out of the fridge and then you can tell me exactly how much shit I've gotten myself into." -------- ----------------------- A few days later . . . -------- ----------------------- "Please turn . . . right . . . in twenty yards," Scarlett crooned. Sadie had gotten a call on her cell when she was in the shower telling her that a liquor store robbery had gone done and they'd cornered the suspects in some low-income housing projects, so she'd be meeting her team for the first time in the field. She had no idea where she was going, so she'd turned on her in-truck navigation system which she affectionately called Scarlett. Whoever had recorded directions had a sexy voice, so Sadie thought she sounded like a Scarlett. "You got it!" she shouted, happy to have something to do besides work on the house. She'd finally gotten everything unpacked, including her side-arm and extra ammo for her shotgun, also known as Hooters. She'd named it that after realizing that it had a couple mighty barrels that could knock a man on his ass. "Please . . . stop," the semi-mechanized voice said. "If I had a dime for every time I heard that," she said. "No, that would be if she said 'don't stop.' Okay, I need a date. I'm getting excited by my GPS system." She saw a blockade of squad cars and she pulled her truck up a safe distance behind them. "Ma'am," a young human man said, "I'm afraid you're going to have to move your --" "I can't move it until Scarlett tells me to," she said. The man looked confused. Sadie had put her badge on a lariat and pulled it out from under her Nike sports jacket. "I'm Arbiter Sadie Hewitt. Who's running the show?" The poor kid gulped. Sadie figured he couldn't be more than a few months out of the academy. He'd pressed his uniform for crying out loud. "You're the Arbiter?" He shook off his surprise. "That would be Officer Koloff. He's the one over by the gate." "Thanks hot stuff," she said, giving him a slap on the behind. 'Cute too. I'm liking this precinct so far!' "Officer Koloff!" she said, slinging her shotgun across her back and putting her pistol belt on. She pulled out her Smith and Wesson Model 500 S&W fifty caliber revolver and made sure there was a little piece of hell in every chamber. One of the great things about being an Arbiter was that just about every gun you could imagine was on the "acceptable side arm" list. "Yeah?" the man said. This was one big dude, standing a full foot taller than Sadie with dark hair, dark goatee and muscles in places where most people didn't have places. 'Now that,' she thought, 'is a whole lot of man. Yummy!' Sadie flashed her most winning smile and offered her hand. "Sadie Hewitt, here to help." The man looked annoyed and narrowed his eyes to slits. "YOU'RE the Arbiter?" "Why do people keep saying it like that? YES, I'm the Arbiter!" She took a deep whiff and realized she could have problems besides catching the criminals. This guy was a werewolf, and those furry fuckers were a might unpredictable. Officer Koloff crushed his coffee cup without even thinking about it. He was not happy about being replaced by anyone, he was not happy about an outsider coming into his beat, and was definitely not happy that is was a woman wearing hip-huggers. "Listen, we think we know where they are and since you don't know the area, how about you sit this one out --" "How about you sit and spin?" Sadie replied, her cheerful disposition still unblemished. "Give us a minute?" she asked sweetly to the two other officers. When they delayed, looking to Koloff for guidance, Sadie continued with, "Now! Are you waiting for him to pin a corsage on you? Get the heck out of here." The two officers left. "Okay, let's get this over with. I outrank you. We both know that. That being said, I have no desire to take over just for kicks. Like you said, this is your turf and you know the rules. I'm more than willing to take your lead on this for that very reason. But try and keep me from doing the job I was brought here to do, and you and I will have serious problems and I would HATE to embarrass you in front of your men by kicking your ass in front of them. Got it?" Koloff flushed as red as he could. "Technically," he gritted through his teeth, "they're your men. This is your team and I --" Koloff seemed like he was going to choke on his own tongue. "I am your Second." 'Great way to start a working relationship,' Sadie thought. "Who all do we have?" "You already met Officer Delvin. He's as green as algae. Officer Fitzpatrick is our spell slinger . . . he's . . . there he is." Koloff pointed to a slightly overweight gentlemen who was carrying a heavy oak staff with a crystal orb embedded in one end. "You've got a full S.W.A.T. unit at your disposal. Oh, and then there's Bart." "Bart?" "Short for Bartholomew. He's the demon standing over by the hydrant." Sadie froze. There was, as point of fact, a demon on the street corner. It seemed to be male, covered in yellow scales with glowing green eyes. He was thin, but that didn't fool Sadie. She knew how dangerous demons were. "Don't worry," Koloff muttered. He'd had the same reaction when he'd learned that he was getting saddled with a spawn of the Nether Realm. Demons were one of the only races on Earth that never actually originated there. Demons sometimes escaped the fifteen levels of their hell dimension and into Earth, where they tended to perform unspeakable acts of evil, as was their nature. Any demon worth its salt would kill you and rape the corpse as soon as look at you. "Don't worry," Koloff continued. "Bart was bound by the whole Northwestern Coven to obey the Midian police department and enforce the law as directed. He's in year three of a century sentence." That made Sadie feel a little better, though she still had no desire to work with the damn thing. Demons could get to you in more ways than just hurting you. They always told the truth, but rarely the whole truth. They could twist the concept of "honesty" around on you and make you so confused you didn't know which way was up. "Great . . . great." Sadie shook her head. She knew her boss at the Federal Arbiters Bureau had something to do with this. He must've been real pissed about Austin to "arrange" for her to have this crew. Just because the demon would physically do everything to keep those he or she was bound to safe didn't mean that he was always safe to be around. There were a lot of ways to hurt someone. She wondered what Bart had been caught doing that got him stuck in a gig that he had to find demeaning. Then she decided that she didn't want to know. "Think you can handle it?" Koloff asked, smirking just a bit. Sadie's pearly whites made a reappearance. "Darlin', I'll always pick a challenge over the same ol', same ol'!" She patted him on the arm. "Damn, do you work out? Nice!" She felt his bicep for a second. "Hey, what's your first name?" Breathless Ch. 01 "Vladimir, but how does that --" "Okay Vlad --" "It's Vladimir, not --" "Vlad, don't interrupt me. It's rude. Anyway, give me the skinny on the local layout and what you had in mind, and we'll catch us some meanies!" Officer Koloff turned away, and Sadie could hear him grinding his teeth. He waved to a couple of people as he approached a car that had a laptop sitting on it. Someone had Google Earth loaded up and it was zoomed in on the neighborhood. "Okay everyone," Koloff growled, this is Arbiter Hewitt, and she's . . . taking over this team for the foreseeable future. She's been gracious enough to let those of use who have been here for a while to run THIS particular operation --" "No sweat!" she added cheerfully, giving him a slap on the ass. Koloff cocked his neck in one direction until it made a cracking noise, then he did the other side. "As I was saying, we've got three perps in one of these three buildings." He used some kind of device to circle the buildings on the screen. "Cool! A Madden pen! Can I --" "No! It's my pen!" Koloff growled, then realized he sounded like a five-year-old screaming for his favorite toy. "All three perps are armed with low-grade semi-automatic assault rifles. We've cleared the area of civilians, and I'd like to handle this before the press gets here." He looked at Sadie. "Normally they'd be here already, but no one likes to come into the Gravestones. They're probably still drawing straws to see who gets stuck with the job." Sadie looked around, and noticed that the onlooking crowd of "civilians" had a very seedy atmosphere to them. "Got it. So how are we handling containment?" Koloff's visage softened for just a moment. 'Maybe the girl knows her business after all.' He should have expected that she would, being an Arbiter and all. They didn't let just anyone in to that particular club and he should know: he'd applied three times and been rejected. "Got snipers on the rooftops here, here, here, and here. Blocks off the area. We've got sniffer units with backup in the park and over at the Quick Stop if they break containment. I . . . we were planning on doing a sweep from here to here, driving them to the boulevard where they'll be out in the open." Sadie decided that she and Vlad were going to be friends. The man knew his business. "Sounds good," she said, nodding her approval. "Just to be safe, double up the snipers at that end of containment in case they outright bolt when they run out of places to hide. Who can see this manhole cover? I really don't want these guys going to ground on us. Gunfights in tunnels make my skin edgy." Koloff begrudgingly admitted to himself that it wasn't a bad addition to the plan. He got on his walkie-talkie. "I need to more sets of eyes on the northern and eastern positions. And get me some blue-suiters in the alley next to the pharmacy and tell them to keep their eyes on anyone trying to get into the sewers." "When do I get my walkie talkie?" Sadie asked, almost petulantly. She didn't have her own Madden pen, she didn't have a walkie talkie . . . It just wasn't fair. "You'll get your equipment when we get to the station," Koloff replied, rolling his eyes. 'I will not like her,' he thought. 'I will not, I will not, I will not!' "Fine. You seem to have things handled from the ground level. I'm going to go topside in case they go high. Don't ask me why, but for some reason these guys sometimes go up where they have nowhere to run just because they've seen bad guys do it in movies and it looked cool." She looked around. "Would one of you big strong men lend me your walkie talkie?" She'd used her best Marilyn Monroe voice, and it worked. Nearby officers fumbled all over themselves trying to get her to use their equipment. She picked one out of the crowd. "Thanks babe," she said, then hooked it onto her belt. Officer Koloff was gritting his teeth again. The girl was all over the place. "Don't you want a vest?" he asked. "They DO have guns. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it." "Oh Vlad, you worry too much. Besides, those things really don't flatter my figure." She beamed a smile at him. "So, let's get it started, ha! Let's get it started in here," she sang, dancing her way over to a gutter drainage pipe on the closest building. She was swaying her hips quite provocatively, making many officers completely forget why they were there. "She has a nice singing voice," Officer Devlin muttered. "Oh shut up," Koloff said. 'He's right though.' He watched as she grabbed the pipe and scurried up the side of the building, disappearing over the ledge with amazing speed. He'd actually almost forgotten that she was a vampire. *Little Bo Peep to Big Bad Wold. I'm in position. Over. (click) * Several officers snickered as Koloff just stared at his walkie talkie. *I said . . . Is this thing on? Little Bo Peep to Big Bad Wolf. Are you ready to roll? Over. (click)* Dead silence. *Vlad? What the hell frequency are people on? (tap tap tap) (click)* More silence. *Vladimir? (click)* "Yes?" Koloff asked smoothly. *Are we ready to get started? (click)* "We'll bust down the first door in sixty seconds. Please stand by." Sadie watched the assault team approach the door from a hidden location on the rooftop. The roof was littered with ledges, air conditioning units, fireplaces, piping, and miscellaneous odds and ends that people had brought up over the years rather than throw away. It was a mess which, in Sadie's mind, made it fun. 'I don't care how hard he tries to deny it,' she thought. 'he WILL like me!' As soon as the boots hit the door, she took off running across the rooftops, looking for points of egress. She located the top of the fire escape and the access door for maintenance, then found a good spot of cover to watch both of them from until she got the all-clear from the people down below. So she ran towards the second building, jumping across a ten-foot divide as easy as walking. The second building had multiple methods into the building, so she stood on top of one of them, pointing the shotgun at one and her pistol at the other. She hoped she didn't have to use the shotgun, since silver shot was expensive. *Nothing here, but we heard some doors slamming the next building over. All personnel except the snipers converge on building number three. (click)* Sadie would normally have recommended caution on the off chance that the quarry had hidden well and could sneak out after being passed over, but she chose not to. This was Koloff's gig, so she'd let him sink or swim. Besides, it was hard to hide from a werewolf's nose, even in human form. So she headed towards the third roof. The gap wasn't as far this time, so she decided to put on a show for the snipers. She stowed both guns again, then did a cartwheel into a back springboard complete with a half-pike roll, landing on the edge of building three with perfect grace. She saw the glint off of one of the sniper's scopes and blew him or her a kiss. Then her own guns came out and she got back to work. "I love my job!" she said to a fleeing rooftop pigeon who realized that a dangerous predator had just invaded its nesting area. Gunshots erupted from the building below her. "Someone talk to me!" she shouted into her walkie-talkie. *We're taking fire! (click)* "No shit!" *We got one pinned at the end of the hallway, and a second just shot out the back door. No idea where the third one is. (click)* *Sir,* came an unknown voice, *we caught the squirter who came out back. (click)* *Careful Arbiter Hewitt. Devlin heard footstep going upstairs!" Sadie hurried along the rooftop. She wasn't worrying about the fire-escapes yet. The guy would probably head up hear and then try to climb down. She spotted the access door about the time it opened, and the third gunmen came charging out. "Damn," she whispered. The young man in front of her couldn't be more than eighteen, and he had a look of panic in his young eyes. She wondered briefly how a kid like this could have got caught up in something so stupid and trivial as holding up a liquor store. 'He should be more concerned with getting a prom date,' she thought. But young or no, he had a gun and was terrified, making him very dangerous. *Arbiter, I have a shot. Please --* "No! He's just a kid. I'll take him. Stand down unless he kills me. Then you have my permission to kill him right back. Over." *Arbiter, let the shooter --* "Negative!" she said, diving behind a hulking rusted out air-conditioner as the startled young man squeezed the trigger, spreading lead all over the rooftop. Sadie had to think fast. "If I haven't subdued him in ten seconds, take the shot!" she shouted into her walkie-talkie. 'Well,' she thought, 'here goes nothing.' Her heart was pounding and she took a deep breath. I wasn't that she needed to breathe, but she found the act relaxing. One . . . Sadie stowed her rifle and pistol and whipped out her handcuffs. . . . two . . . She took off at breakneck speed, her eyes seeking out cover. . . . three . . . The young man swung his rifle to Sadie's new position, so Sadie did a diving roll forward, placing her behind a brick chimney. . . . four . . . The gunman fired, unloading bullet after bullet into Sadie's cover. Sadie, realizing that he would be watching the only two ways out, the left and the right, chose option three. She leaped through the air, clearing the chimney and landing just a few feet to her opponent's right-hand side. . . . five . . . Sadie caught the boy's wrist as he tried to turn the gun on her, slapping one end of her cuffs on it. . . . . six . . . She stepped around to her adversaries back while kicking backward with her heel, knocking the gun from his hand. . . . seven . . . The young man was panicking. He'd never seen anyone move like this. He swung his free arm, trying to elbow this woman in the face. . . . . eight . . . Sadie caught his free arm, twisting it behind his back and slapping the other half of the cuffs on him. . . . nine . . . She ducked down and did a spinning leg-sweep, knocking him to the ground with his arms pinned beneath him. . . . ten. "Got him!" she said happily. *We noticed! Nice work Arbiter! (click)* "Shuck! It was nothing! Call me Sadie." *Hey,* came Koloff's voice, sounding a little annoyed, *we caught one too! (click)* "Yes you did, you big strong wolf man!" she said, using the voice usually reserved for talking to pets and babies. At the other end, she heard silence. "Vlad? Vladie?" -------- ----------------------------- An hour before sunrise . . . -------- ----------------------------- Sadie was having a great time. She'd invited the entire team out for drinks when their shift ended. About a quarter of them showed, with the rest having to get home to their families or other obligations. She'd called Melissa to see if she wanted to go, but the girl had refused. 'Can't quite figure her out,' Sadie had thought. Also conspicuous by his absence was Vlad. She had asked if he ever hung out with his men or if it was just because it was Sadie who had asked, but she had only gotten some snickers in return. It had been Fitzpatrick who had shed some light on that subject. "See," the man had said in a semi-drunken slur, "he probably had to go home because his wife is a bitch." "You know that female werewolves HATE being called --" "Nah, she's not a werewolf. She's an elf. And she most definitely is a bitch. No idea why 'e married her. They go together like sex and nunneries." Sadie didn't have the heart to tell him that she had enjoyed many a night of passionate sex in nunneries, but chose not to. He was a good-old-boy kind of wizard and she would hate to burst his bubble by telling him the only thing that attempting to repress your sexual feelings did was make you really horny. "And what I don't get is he does anything she asks, and it ain't even the good stuff. He ain't no woose, which you can see fer yourself. He'd probably have a big pack here in Midian if he'd just lose her." "Maybe he loves her and --" Fitzpatrick spit out his drink. "Love 'er? He can't STAND her." Sadie had let their field wizard go off on a tangent while secretly trying to scope out her chest. She'd gotten a fair amount of notice from her team, which didn't bother her in the least. She'd have to be careful though. She didn't mind bedding colleagues, but she stayed away from people directly under her control. It led to bad feelings. It was a shame really, since she had some fine looking specimens, including young officer Trent Devlin. 'If I hadn't been saddled with them as a team, I could bang anyone I wanted.' That soured her mood a bit, but not for long. Sadie was almost incapable of staying depressed. "You got a ride home?" she asked Fitzpatrick, who was on the verge of falling asleep in his chair. "Yah. Devlin will get me home. He's a good kid." Fitzpatrick threw an arm around the rookie's shoulder. "You know that right? You are a good kid." "Yes Donnie. You've told me that several times." The young man was blushing, hating feeling like "the kid" in front of his knockout new boss. Sadie actually hadn't drunk that much and it took a lot to get her to where she knew she shouldn't drive, so she got up and headed out to her truck. 'Not a bad first night at all.' It didn't take her long to get home, and she had to resist the urge to drop by the Cat Scratch Club to look for Frankenstein or a little company. When her truck finally weaved its way down than narrow stretch of gravel leading to her trailer, she found not one but two visitors. Melissa was there, dressed in a similar outfit to the one she had first worn over. She was leaning against the trailer, keeping an eye on the other newcomer. Sadie didn't even need to guess who that guy was. He just screamed vampire-welcoming-committee. "Hey Mel!" Sadie said happily, waving at the young woman. "You should've come out out for drinks. It rocked the hiz-ouse!" Mel's face kept that stoic form she used with most people but Sadie. "Yeah. Sounded like fun." She was almost glaring at the vampire standing next to his black Porsche. Sadie wondered how he'd gotten something with such low clearance down her driveway. "Sadie Hewitt," the man said smoothly, taking off the obligatory sunglasses that so many vampires felt compelled to wear at night, "my name is Michael Dazza. I represent the Midian Council and was sent to welcome you do our little corner of the world," he finished with a deep bow. "I was asked to confirm a date for you to present yourself to the Council so that you might meet your brethren and --" "That would be never," Sadie said primly, having a seat on the hood next to Melissa. "How long has the suit been here?" she asked. "About an hour. He got here right after I did." "You shouldn't have waited, or at least called --" "Ahem!" Mr. Dazza said, looking irritated. Vampires hated being ignored. "What do you mean 'never'? It is your duty --" "Dazzy boy, I never really cared much for duty, or tradition or . . . well, anything that probably gets you all hard in your shorts." That got a snicker out of Melissa. "Listen, I don't pay dues . . . or attention for that matter. So go on back to your Council and tell 'em that I'm not here to cause problems but I just as soon they left me alone and stayed out of my business. Got it?" "This is highly improper!" Dazza growled. "Improper is what I plan on doing with this little lady as soon as you get going," Sadie replied, wrapping an arm around Melissa's shoulders. She didn't like the way this clown was eying her, and since Melissa didn't seem at all interested in him, "So why don't you get to getting?" The other vampire looked furious. The light of the full moon really didn't help his complexion one bit. "This is yours?" he said, his voice suddenly dripping with sugar. "She doesn't smell claimed." "Gimme a break! I just got here! I'm taking her for a test drive, seeing if I want to buy." Melissa nodded, offering her neck to Sadie in a submissive gesture. Even though they were just playing a game to piss this guy off, Sadie couldn't resist a lick and kiss to that beautiful skin. "I'd invite you to stay, but I don't think I'm going to like you." Sadie stared at him for a minute. "You're still here. Could you please correct that?" Dazza had no idea what to do. He'd probably never encountered this kind of reception in his life. He turned and got back into his car, heading at a snail's pace down the drive. Sadie took great delight in hearing that expensive car bottom out in at least two places. "So . . . why aren't you presenting yourself to the Council?" Mel asked. "Can't stand 'em. It's like the world's most boring wine and cheese party, except everyone walks around being mysterious. It's dull." "Will you get in trouble?" "No. I'll get bad-mouthed and probably can't expect much help from them, but I can live with that." Melissa smiled. "You really are a different beast." "You should smile more often. You've got a great smile. Why didn't you come out with us tonight?" The girl shrugged. "I really don't want most people at work to see me as . . . approachable. I'm not a people person." "I'm still trying to figure you out." "Join the club." Melissa was quiet for a moment. "I know you said that you don't do broods, but . . . but --" Sadie hopped off the car and stood in front of the young lady. "But what? You had a potential brood master standing in front of you and you didn't even blink." "I don't want just anyone," Melissa said, getting a little angry. "So what do you want?" Melissa sighed. "I'm not a hundred percent sure. I don't like or trust most vampires that I've met, but I can't shake this feeling, this . . . need." She blushed from head to toe. "I can't believe I'm even talking to you about this." "Sometimes it helps just to get things off your chest." Sadie lowered her eyelids halfway. The girl looked good, and she hadn't left yet. "What kind of relationships have you been it? How do you know that being a broodling is what you want, or are you just a goth submissive?" "And the award for making-me-really uncomfortable goes to . . . you!" Melissa replied, fighting to regain her stoic poise. "I'm not trying to embarrass you. I just think that you should know for sure what you want before you get into something dangerous. Being in a brood with a callous or particularly pompous vampire can be VERY dangerous. Same with having a bad dom in just a sexual relationship. I've seen people want in so badly that they give themselves to the wrong person, and sometimes they can't get themselves back." Melissa cocked that one eyebrow again. "You know, you're actually behaving all serious now. You're a lot more depressing when you're serious." "Hey, I'm ALWAYS willing to be playful," Sadie responded, letting her smile come back. She pushed forward, spreading Melissa's knees slightly with her hips. Melissa didn't move except to lower her head, but didn't break eye contact. 'Her first response when approached sexually is to submit.' The girl seemed excited, so much so that the pounding of her heart echoed in Sadie's ears. 'Now to test something else.' She placed one hand on the side of Melissa's head and the other on the girl's bare shoulder. Almost instantly, Mel began trembling. It was feint, but Sadie could pick up on it. The closer the vampire's mouth got to that luscious neck, the worse the trembling got. Sadie was very careful and particular about who she bit, but this girl's delicate neck was tempting her like few things could. But satisfying THAT particular craving was not what this was about, and she had to keep reminding herself of that. She let her fangs extend just enough to touch the skin but not break it. And as she had expected, the girl's skin went completely clammy and she heard a feint whimper. Slowly she pulled her head back away from Melissa's neck. When their eyes met again, the young goth chick was obviously confused. Breathless Ch. 01 "Sorry," Sadie said, her voice soft and serious again. "But I had to know. You don't belong in a brood." "What? Why? This was just a test?!" Melissa was becoming very agitated, and the unfamiliar sight of tears touched her eyes. "You're just playing --" "I'm not playing with you," Sadie said. "At least, not yet and not unless you want me to. Sweetheart, you're terrified of getting bitten. That doesn't mean you couldn't handle it, but you need someone who's only thought would be you. Someone who can work you through it while making sure your other needs are met. You join a brood, and you're just one of dozens, sometimes as many as a hundred. And you'll get a rush from the bite, but most vamps won't take the time to satisfy you sexually. And your sexual needs are probably not the same as most people. A quick wham-bam won't do. You need someone who will take their time with you, in every conceivable way." Melissa's eyes were searching but becoming clear. Sadie was right. And the vampire had seen things that Mel herself had not. She also saw that Sadie was smiling again. "Don't over think it," Sadie said. "I've been around along time, and you wouldn't be the first person I've seen go looking for some darklworlder loving for the wrong reason. That isn't to say that a vampire might not wind up being the person you're looking for, but it could be a human, werewolf or something else. You've already figured out part of it . . . just anyone won't do. Don't feel bad if it takes a while to find, because when you do it will make all the difference." Mel nodded. Actually, she suddenly felt better. There wasn't anything wrong with her. Instead, her instincts had simply help keep her from making a bad choice. She was only twenty-five, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad to wait a while longer. "And that 'someone' can't be you, can it?" Sadie shook her head. "I can be your friend," she said, "and I can be a lover. I can help you develop your skills . . . ain't like I haven't done that game before. But I don't want to settle for just one person right now. Monogamy just ain't in my nature. I like men and women, often at the same time. All this means that I couldn't give you that attention all the time that we were talking about. If you could live with that and not go falling all in love with me, as SO many people seem to wanna do," Sadie continued, her voice full of mirth, "then you are welcome in my bed. Regardless, I promise to help you find 'that special one.' Be careful though. All kidding aside, you strike me as the kind of person who when you fall for someone, you're going to fall hard." Melissa took a deep breath. She'd gotten more out of this outing than she'd expected, and she found it oddly comforting. She also realized that she didn't want it to end yet. "So you're saying that we COULD play a bit, as long as it was light and no strings attached?" "Exactly," Sadie purred, grabbing the girl's narrow hips and pulling her close. "And no biting. If you do think you might chose a vamp down the road, you should save that. It'll make it special for you AND them. Trust me on that." Melissa took a breath and then, "So please . . . teach me." Sadie nuzzled the side of Melissa's neck, exhaling a soft breath onto the girl's skin. She kissed the girl's jawbone, letting her tongue trail along her cheek until it almost touched her lips. Sadie pulled back just a bit as Mel's lips puckered longingly. 'Damn I'm good,' she thought. Then her lips met her friend's and her tongue wormed its way inside Melissa's mouth. Melissa had never thought herself a bad kisser, but realized after a moment that she could learn a lot from this blond devil-woman. Her lips were soft, her tongue was strog and nimble, and the warmth . . . oh that delicious, intoxicating warmth. And so far, those lips were the only thing that had touched her. Sadie grabbed Melissa's bottom lip in her teeth and pulled, drawing the girl forward until she almost fell off the hood of her car. And then that bottom lip was released. The vampire walked backwards, her hands sliding up her flat stomach to her round breasts. She unbuttoned the vest but did not remove it, letting the sides fall and revealing her tanned globes. Then she raised her hand and curled her finger, beckoning Melissa to come forward. The girl did as commanded. As she approached, Sadie spun around, pushing her shoulder's backward with her arms at her side. A quick glance was all that was required for Melissa to realize what she was supposed to do. She placed her fingers on those defined shoulders and slid the vest off, folding in neatly and draping it over her arm. When Sadie spun around again, it was hard to concentrate. 'No one should look that good,' she thought jealously. She soaked in the perfect ten in a figure eight before her. As Sadie walked past, she traced a finger along Melissa's jawline, then headed up the steps to her door with Melissa in tow. The only thing that could have surprised Melissa more than the position she had found herself in would be the interior of Sadie's trailer. Gone were the trappings and images of white trash that Sadie fostered outside. The interior of the trailer was a single long room with no barriers. At one end was the living room, decked out with comfortable looking leather furniture, an old-fashioned pot-bellied fireplace and some beautiful paintings. One of them was the best Van Gogh imitation paintings she'd ever seen. In the middle of the trailer was a clean kitchen with a white tile floor and brand new dark-steel appliances. The bedroom and bathroom were at the other end. The bed was a enormous four-poster with a king-sized mattress and a frame made of some dark hardwood that Melissa didn't recognize. There was one of those old-fashioned bathtubs next to the wall and a walk-in shower in the corner. "It's small, but I call it home," Sadie chuckled. The first thing she did was to take off her boots and put them in a box next to the door, nodding for Melissa to do the same. "I love this carpeting." She walked straight past the kitchen and to the tub. "Draw me a bath," she said, before lounging on the bed, her torso propped up on one elbow as she watched her "servant" do her work. She was impressed by the fluidity of Melissa's movements, kneeling with precision and grace as she turned the tap water on. The vampire was willing to bet that this wasn't at all what Melissa had in mind, but the girl needed to learn that being a submissive wasn't just about sex. Some doms insisted on taking it to the next level, so Sadie needed to see how far the girl was willing to go. The bath filled, so Sadie stood up and walked back to the tub, Melissa still on her knees. As an indicator, she undid the button on her jeans, after which Mel took over. It was fun watching the kneeling goth peel off those jeans and take a look at the tiniest g-string ever created. Melissa could tell that the vampire was clean shaven, because if there wasn't enough fabric there to cover anything. She reached for the sides, but Sadie stepped forward. That little piece of heaven was just inches from Melissa's face. "Continue," Sadie cooed. Melissa pulled the strings down, taking a deep whiff of the aroma. 'Does she perfume down there? She smells so wonderful.' She helped the bronzed vampire goddess into the bath as was handed a washcloth. Her sleeve got wet, but she didn't complain. She scrubbed every inch of that beautiful body until Sadie took the washcloth away. "I feel sooooooo clean," Sadie said. "Now to feel a little dirty again." She grabbed Melissa's hand and placed it between her thighs. "Make sure you get everything." Then Sadie just leaned back in the tub. It was odd though, in Melissa's opinion, that when Sadie's head got close to the water, the woman froze up for a moment. Instead, she rested her head on the back of the tub and closed her eyes. As a point of fact, Melissa had never been with a woman before. She'd always been attracted and had often expected this to happen, but she was still nervous. Luckily, what she was doing now was akin to masturbation, and THAT she knew how to do. 'Her pussy is so smooth,' she thought, her fingers gliding over its surface under the water. She stroked both sides of that swelling mound, teasing the slot with her middle finger. Then she slid that finger inside, curling it forward and wondering if vampires had a g-spot. Though the vampire was trying to stay stoic, Melissa could tell that she was having some success from a low moan and faint smile that was turning up the corners of her mouth. "And I did say 'everything,'" the vampire said, her eyes staying shut. "Yes mistress," Melissa said. She pushed her hand deeper into the water, her index finger seeking out that tight little anal ring. When she found it, she pushed that finger in while inserting her thumb into the recently vacated pussy. "That's a good girl," Sadie said happily. "Now keep going until I tell you to stop." Melissa kept at it for at least ten minutes, and her wrist and shoulder were both tiring. But she would not quite and she would not complain. And when her mistress's body seized up a little bit, Melissa felt great pride. Her asshole tightened and her pussy grew even warmer. But she had been told not to stop until Sadie gave the word, so she kept going. "Excellent! You remembered," Said said. "Stop." When Melissa pulled her hand away, she stood up and stepped out of the tub. "Dry me." Melissa got way more out of toweling that body off than she should have. Running her hands over those large breasts and perfect ass with only a thin sheet of terrycloth between hands and Sadie's skin. She took especially good care when drying the pussy she had so recently pleasured. "Now stand up and let's have a look at you," Sadie commanded, sitting back on the bed with her legs crossed. "And do it slowly, keeping your eyes on mine the whole time." Melissa again did as she was told, starting with her leather pants. But taking pants off while maintaining eye contact was tricker than it looked. "Oh no," Sadie said disapprovingly. The girl was wearing some K-mart cotton panties, and they just didn't flatter the young woman. Melissa had some of the longest legs Sadie had ever seen, and the young woman needed something more flattering. She watched as Melissa undid her vest and removed that top. 'Pierced nipples?' the vampire thought. 'Oh I'm going to have fun with those!' And hovering just over that cute pussy was a little landing strip pointing straight toward her destination. 'That's cute' Melissa wasn't big on curves, but she had drool-worthy legs, a tight stomach and perky little breasts, with little silver barbells through each pink nipple. Sadie stood up and walked to her closet. She wasn't actually prepared for this, so she'd have to improvise. She returned with several scarves, and a small bag, but Melissa couldn't see what was in it. "Stand next to the bed, facing me. Good, now spread your legs as far as you can. That's something you'd better get used to hearing," the vampired added, reaching out and quickly fingering the girl's wet sex. She then tied one scarf to each ankle and stretched it to reach the nearest bedpost base. Then she had Melissa stretch her arms out, and her wrists were secured with more scarfs. "Now sweetling, we're going to start testing your limits. Find out if you're vanilla," Sadie said, caressing one breast, "or hardcore." With that, she grabbed the other nipple firmly, squeezing it down on the barbell and then tugging on it until Melissa gasped. "As soon as you want to stop," the vampire continued, pulling a little harder, "just say so. This will help us find out what kind of dom would be best for you. Understood?" "Yes," Mel said her voice wavering but still under control. Sadie saw something, so she had to pause the game. "You look afraid," she whispered, running her hands up and down the girl's ribs, comforting her. "You shouldn't be. If this ever scares you, and I mean REALLY scares you, you need to stop it. If you have good dom, he or she will let you. And whatever you do, don't let your fear try and make you prove something. If you really can't take it, let me or whoever know. You could get really hurt. Believe it or not, a good dom will NEVER take you past what you can handle." Melissa's breathing calmed a bit. "I just . . . I just never really got this far before. Some handcuffs, maybe a little spanking." Then she realized she was talking normally. "I'm sorry mistress --" "No, hold on for just a second more. This is what I need to know. What you've done and what you're prepared to do. Keep that in mind at all times, and I promise you I will make it as good for you as possible. Now, are you ready?" Melissa nodded. Sadie smiled, leaned in and kissed her captive. "Then let's see what you're made of." She lowered her lips to each exposed breast one at a time, taking the nipple between her teeth and tugging. Sadie was convinced that her young friend was coing to cum right then and there. 'Sensitive nipples . . . check!' She knelt lower, letting fingernails drag across Mel's stomach until they reached the promised land, She kissed the girl's clit, massaging the sides of Melissa's mound with her thumbs. Then she ran her tongue up the cleft, tasting the young woman as intimately as she could. "Mistress," Melissa moaned, "how is this 'testing' me?" "You?" Sadie said, standing up and pushing her body against her lover's. "That was for me, you self-centered little slut." She stood on her toes and licked the girls neck before teasing her with her teeth again. "And don't you forget it." She reached into the bag she'd brought and pulled out a handful of clothespins. "What?" she said, looking at Melissa's surprised and bemused expression, "can't a vampire do some laundry?" She attached one clothespin to each nipple, tugging on the wooden handles with great amusement. Then she left the breasts alone, taking a step back to play with herself and watch the girl's reactions. Melissa looked like she badly wanted to touch herself. Her mouth betrayed the exquisite pleasure that the numbing pain in her nipples was providing. Sadie went back to work, grabbing more pins and kneeling on the floor. She attached one pin to each labia, then another. She let them hang there, listening to Mel whimper. She had to see if it was a good "I'm about to cum" whimper or a "Damn that hurts" whimper. 'Not bad so far.' So she pressed her index finger deep into that beautiful sex and curled her finger, stroking the front vaginal wall, whipping the girl's clit with her tongue. 'Hmm, a pin on the clit might be a bit much,' she thought. 'And not nearly as much fun for me.' Unlike some people, Sadie got almost as much satisfaction out of pleasing her lovers as she did getting pleased herself. She would have preferred just to take Melissa to bed and have at it, but this was what Melissa wanted. And after just a few more strokes, she got a little reward. It was fun watching Melissa's body feel sexual rapture while basically unable to move. From the expression on the girl's face, this was an unexpected event. "You HAVE had an orgasm before, haven't you?" Sadie asked the girl who was biting her lip. "Yes," she gasped at last. "Just nothing like that. Uhm . . . the pins down there," Melissa continued meekly, "they're really beginning to hurt." She looked embarrassed to admit weakness. But she looked visibly relieve when Sadie removed them. "The ones on your tits?" "Leave them," Melissa almost growled, then remembered who she was supposed to be. "I'm sorry mistress, I forgot my place." "I should say you did," Sadie said, removing the pins from her lover's nipples. She sucked on one tortured nub, feeling the girl's muscles shudder. Then she suckled on the other for a minute before standing up. "Now promise me no more outbursts, or I won't put these back on." "I promise," Mel said so quickly the words almost knocked Sadie over. "I promise to behave." "Very well. I'll put them on, but first --" Sadie went and grabbed a wide belt from her closet, folding it in half and getting on the bed. Melissa couldn't see what was going on, but she could guess what was going to happen. After figuring out how best to do it, Sadie lightly swatted Mel's backside, which only had a few inches of clearance above the edge of the bed. Then another stroke fell, then another. "You handled that well," the vampire said over Mel's shoulder. She put down the belt and pick the clothespins off the bed again, reach around the girl's body and attaching them to the nipples again. Then she picked up the belt and returned to the spanking. After twenty strokes, the girl's ass had turned pink and Sadie picked up a soft sigh of pain, so she put the belt down. She sat on the edge of the bed, right behind Melissa, then wrapped her arms and legs around the girl's body. Her heels dug into the insides of Mel's thighs, one had removed the clothespins, and the other had started to masturbate the girl again. Once the pins dropped to the floor, her hand replaced them as the primary tormentor of that young breast flesh. Sadie also started to kiss the long muscles of the girl's back, savoring the sweat and aroma. Melissa came again, her juices dribbling out onto her inner thighs. She wasn't a gusher, but she was certainly wet. Sadie kept her hand moving, providing a gentle pleasure to bring the girl down from her sexual hight. The vampire got off the bed and began to untie Melissa. "We're . . . done?" Mel gasped, tired but still disappointed that they wouldn't be going on. "Oh no," Sadie chuckled. "There are other skills that you need to develop." She undid the knots in the scarves, but then promptly secured Melissa's hands behind her back with one of them. She pushed Melissa onto the bed, her arms pinned beneath her, then resecured the girls ankles to the bedposts. Strangely, Melissa's firs thought was, 'This is the most comfortable bed I've ever been on.' She didn't have much time to contemplate her situation, as Sadie climbed onto the bed and sat on the girl's face. "If I actually need to explain to you what to do, then you are hopeless," Sadie growled, but Melissa quickly showed she needed no further instruction by lashing out with her tongue. 'The girl is all over the place,' Sadie thought. 'She's got the enthusiasm, but no direction.' She grinned. 'Time for some training.' Her hands hovered over Melissa's breasts. Whenever the girl started to do something that the vampire liked, she squeezed those nipples. When that soft tongue went somewhere less pleasurable, she let go. Whenever those tortured nubs were released, the girls tongue action became frenzied, desperately seeking out some hidden pleasure center that would bring back the delicious stinging that she craved. When the girl sucked on Sadie's clit, the vampire squeezed extra hard. Attention to the anal region achieved similar rewards. Soon, she had the girl eating pussy like a champion. Sadie had to let go of her lover's breasts to pay some attention to her own. Her substantial bosom was already blessed with a light sheen of sweat, making it fun to slide her hands over them, gripping the flesh and letting it overflow her hands. She began humping Melissa's face, hungry for a dance with the little death. She came like a river in a rainstorm, overflowing its banks and soaking the surrounding terrain. She was pleased to feel that Melissa didn't stop, teasing Sadie's asshole with that educated tongue. "Good girl," Sadie said, her mind still in a dreamy state. She swung around, straddling Mel's hips and lowering her breasts into suckling position. Again, Mel knew just what to do, trying vainly to wrap her lips around those globes but having some success with the nipples themselves. "See, you're a quick learner." Breathless Ch. 01 "Thank you mistress," Mel replied. 'It's not fair,' she thought. 'If I had tits like these, I'd play with them all the time and never leave the house!' Sadie wasn't done. Leisurely she rolled off of the bed, her feet on her incredibly comfy carpeting as she went into her walk-in-closet. Mel heard rustling, then the sound of buckles being done. 'What's she doing in there? I've heard everything but power tools.' She got her answer when Sadie reappeared . . . with a sizable erection between her legs. Sadie may not have much by way of bondage gear, but that strap-on harness and dildo seemed to have come directly out of a leather-junkie magazine. "You HAVE seen one of these haven't you? The male sexual organ?" Melissa nodded. "A few mistress." Sadie was climbing onto the bed again, this time between Melissa's outstretched legs. She stroked her shaft, smearing the lube she'd applied in the closet all over the nine-inches of delight she was about to provide. She ran the fleshy rubber head around her lover's opening, taking extra time to tease the girl's clitoral hood. "There's something I want to hear," Sadie said soothingly. "I need to hear it before we go any further." "Please?" Mel said. She'd never been this horny in her life. There were parts of her body that were still stinging from the treatment she had received, but the rest of her wanted more. "Please what?" "Please put it in me," Mel gasped. She wasn't sure what the vampire wanted to hear, but it wasn't going to stop her from trying. "Please fuck me! I need --" "Oh hush silly girl. You had me at 'fuck me.' I swear, you're far too wordy." The two women shared a chuckle at that. At work, Melissa was known for using as few syllables as possible to communicate. Sadie pushed the head of the dildo inside, letting it slide further in at an excruciatingly slow pace. When she bottomed out, Sadie was in a push-up position and Melissa was in heaven. The vampire withdrew the device slowly, then plunged it in, forcing the air out Mel's body. After that, Sadie wasn't going for force. She was going to take her sweet, sweet time. She leaned forward until her breasts touched Melissa's, then let her hips start to move in slow, deliberate strokes. Again not what she was expecting, Melissa nonetheless found herself truly enjoying what was happening. She was still bound, and that made even the simple act of being penetrated. And Sadie was showing that she could be soft sometimes too. 'There's something to be said for soft,' Mel thought as the vampire's lips sought out Mel's mortal ones. And she felt a wonderful fullness in her nether regions, with the ridges of the dildo rubbing her secret places. Melissa's body felt warm against her, and those large breasts had a comfortable heaviness on her chest. Sadie took care to make sure that their nipples rubbed against to each other often. Mel knew she was going to be sore and have bruises in places she would rather not, but Sadie had made this a wonderful experience, just like she'd promised. And the kissing was certainly nice. Mel lost track of time for a while, but she kept careful count of how many climaxes she experienced under Sadie's gentle but methodical touch. The magic number was three, bringing her nightly total to more than she'd ever experienced in a previous relationship . . . period. She DID feel a great amount of relief when her hands and ankles were untied. "Damn," Sadie said, noticing the marks around the wrists and ankles. "Was it too tight?" "Honestly, I didn't notice," Mel replied, officially slipping out of submissive mode, "until now. Owh --" Sadie collapsed next to her, both of them staring at the ceiling. "Well, I think we made progress today." Melissa smiled. "Thanks for everything." "Oh don't thank me. You EARNED your keep." "So I wasn't too bad?" Sadie stroked the girl's face, rolling onto her side so she could look her over. "You were great. You're going to have to figure out what you're going to tell people at work though." "Tell them about what?" "The noises you make when I do this to you every time I walk by!" She reached over and squeezed one of Mel's tits. "You wouldn't?!" the girl groaned, caught between being indignant and highly excited. "You b--" -------------- ---------- A week later . . . -------------- ---------- Despite her bedroom bravado, Sadie had left Mel pretty much alone, except for her usual friendly enthusiasm. Melissa was just coming to grips with certain things, and the last thing she needed was a room full of testosterone laden men making fun of her for tumbling in the Arbiter's bed, even if they didn't know the full extent of it. Things were coming up roses. But there was a snake in the rose garden. It happened at the beginning of the evening during duty assignment. Captain Grom had decided to join them that time, and Vladimir was standing next to the area map. Sadie was sitting in front of the desk, her feet kicked up. Most of the crew were casually and not-so-casually checking her out. Her revealing denim was hardly standard dress for cops, but what could they do? While she took direction from the Captain, she outranked everyone in the precinct. "Okay folks, let's --" the Captain started. "-- get this party started!" Sadie interrupted, lifting her arms and "raising the roof." The crowd snickered. "Thank you for that musical accompanyment . . . sort of," the Captain said. He would've glared, but he couldn't do it. She was just too much fun. "Anyway, something's come up and I'd like to keep an eye on it. There's been an increase in interspecies conflicts as of late. It's only a small trend upward," he said, turning on the projector and popping in a slide. "Great," Sadie groaned. "These things were boring in college --" This time, Grom actually glared at her, so she pouted a bit and watched the presentation. "I've talked with some of the other precincts and they've noticed it too. And vamps seem to be involved a lot. Know anything about it?" he said, glancing at Sadie. "Why yes," Sadie grumbled, "I totally forgot about the call for civil-disobedience that I read in the most recent issue of the 'Things With Fangs' newsletter." "That would be no then? Okay." He clicked to the next slide, that had a series of addresses on it. "Vladimir, circle these on the board?" He watched as the season officer started putting up lots of little circles and brief descriptions of the incident on the clear plastic sheet over the map. "I've heard of this happening before sometimes in the month leading up to Halloween." "You mean October?" Sadie said with a sweet smile. "Captain's right, of course," she said, giving him a bow of the head. "You know how wacky most vamps get. Some time ago, they decided that it was the holiest day of the year and blah blah blah. Anyway, we tend to get full of ourselves in October. Pisses me off thought. It's like most of them don't remember the real reason for the holiday." Fitzpatrick raised his hand. "You mean gorging on candy and lots of costume parties?" Sadie aggressively pointed a finger at him and said, "Precisely! There's a man with the spirit. Give me a hallelujah!" "Hallelujah!" "Okay, enough!" Grom shook his head. The moment she walked in, Sadie took control of a room. He glanced over the desk, then hit an intercom. "Melissa, could you bring me the rest of the case slides? I think they're --" *On your desk next to the picture of your wife. I know. (click)* Mel sounded just as deadpan talking to the Captain as everyone else. After a few minutes, Mel walked into the room. The girl avoided smiling, but the glitter in her eyes made it clear she was glad to see Sadie. While they were just friends with benefits, Mel didn't have many friends in the first place. Certainly none like Sadie. But as she walked in, Sadie noticed something. Bart was standing at the back of the room, and he inhaled deeply when Melissa walked by. 'What's that about?' she wondered. Whatever it was couldn't be good. It wasn't. Bart waited until Melissa was at the front of the room, standing next to the desk. Then he spoke. "She's always quick to serve, isn't she Arbiter?" he half-hissed, half purred. "She's smelled more and more like you all week." Crom stood up, looking annoyed. Whenever Bart spoke, something bad happened. "Bart!" "Those nipples harden when you walk by, did you know that? Just glad to she rolled out the whole welcome wagon for you." Bart looked Melissa in the eye. "You ever wanna REALLY experience sex and pain, you give me a call." Then he smiled. "Out!" Crom shouted. Sadie was trembling in fury. She should've been paying more attention. Bart had probably been watching the newcomer all week, looking for a way to cause trouble. He couldn't go after Sadie directly, so he hurt the first friend she made. And since everyone knew that demons couldn't actually lie -- "I think that would be construed as inappropriate conversation," Vladimir growled. He wanted to pound Bart's head into the floor and had since he'd been sent here. Useful or not, he loathed the creature. "Which means it's time for another appointment with Doctor Issac." He saw some of Bart's glee disappear from that grin. Doctor Issac was a witch and a psychiatrist and quite possible the most boring person on the planet. Demons hate being bored, so going to see him always annoyed the demon. Bart turned and left the room. But the damage had been done. Melissa was standing there staring at the demon, mortified beyond speech. She was an intensely private person who had just been outed and humiliated in front of a bunch of cops. They might not say anything to her, but now they'd look at her like some cheap piece of meat . . . the new cop on the block's sexual toy. Her skin had turned to the color of ash and her hands were trembling as she put the slides down. She would not cry . . . not in front of them. Sadie was going to have words with that demon. Actually, she planned on beating him into mulch in a dark alley somewhere. It'd be worth a few days in jail. But for now, she needed to do damage control. A demon could use truth to hurt, but truth could also heal. And the truth laced with a fib could be even better. She popped up to her feet and grabbed Mel's arm. "Hold on," she said warmly. The look Melissa shot was wrought with fear and frustration, but there was also trust there. And Sadie would never betray that trust. "Listen, since the walking yellow-bellied trout said it, let's get this over with and out in the open. And no 'out' jokes,' since I've already thought of them." That got the crowd to laugh a little, breaking the tension. "Yes, the young Melissa and I have been spending time together away from work." She was using her best "compassion" voice, smooth and sweet and crystal clear. "She had questions about vampires, and I had some answers. We liked each others company, so the relationship moved forward. Happens to people and darkworlders all the time. Now the walking dragon scrotum twists the truth a bit just hurt someone. How many of you has he done it to?" The crowd's mood turned from thinking naughty thoughts about Melissa to unpleasant thoughts about Bart. "I thought so. And you know the worst thing to do with a demon is pay attention to what they say. So just let Melissa do her job and don't give that colon-based afterbirth the satisfaction. Okay?" Crom looked like he was in pain. "Where do you get those insults from?" He was still dwelling of the "afterbirth" line. "Every celebrate St. Patrick's day in Ireland with a tribe of leprechauns?" Fitzpatrick leaned back. "Enough said." Melissa walked slowly out, her face returning to the calm she did not feel. A few people looked after her, but most went back to looking at the front of the room. Captain Grom got the message . . . it was over. He dropped one of the new slides. "Okay, now let's talk about these incidents south of Jefferson Street --" -------------- ---------------- To be continued . . . Breathless Ch. 02 Sadie had a different frame of mind. She never thought the best way to get to know people was to stare at them through glass like they were animals at the zoo. You had to get in there and give them a scratch behind the ears sometimes. And she loved barbecue. Before going in, she took a look around. She wasn't expecting trouble, but that usually meant jack-shit in her line of work. Her eyes penetrated the darkness, seeing a small band of werewolves playing street hoops in a lot across the street. There were a couple of elves hanging out in front of a convenience store. One of them was harassing women that came in or out of the store while the other one just kind of stood there. 'Hunh,' Sadie thought, checking out the elf in the trenchcoat. 'He's kinda fat for an elf.' She shrugged, having seen weirder in her life. There were a few human kids looking at the court, waiting for their turn. Midian was a strange town. While the percentage of darklanders was higher than any other city in North America, they were still outnumbered by humans, who could breed like rabbits. But despite millennium of living together, humans still feared the things that went bump in the night. She was surprised to see humans up this late. She could tell that the werewolves weren't going to give up the court anytime soon. Maybe she'd encourage them to "play nice" after she'd eaten. The restaurant itself was everything that she'd hoped it would be. It was obviously a mom and pop type operation, probably run by the goblins working the kitchen and register. It was hard to tell if a goblin was male or female, even for Sadie. They were all squat, stout, blue-skinned people to her. There were no tablecloths, the menus were limited to selections that were unhealthy or VERY unhealthy, and everything smelled tangy. Devlin looked like he was going to be ill. Sadie ordered the ribs. The workers and established clientèle seemed edgy about newcomers barging into their routine existences, but Sadie wasn't the type to be put off easily. She got her food (Devlin had opted not to order anything) and after cleaning the first rib all the way down to the bone, she insisted on hugging the cook for "bringing culinary heaven into a drab world." The locals warmed to her pretty well after that. And she found out why the word "roll" was in the title's marquis after they brought out some hot, buttered dinner rolls the size of cantaloupes. Even Devlin wasn't able to resist the sweet smelling baked goods, The young human officer was picking fiercly at the roll, enjoying every bite individually, when he hit Sadie with a question out of the blue. "Hey, I hope this isn't a personal question he started, staring intently at his snack, "but . . . well, there aren't a lot of vampires who do public service." "S'okay. Most vampires are pretentious eurotrash wannabies. But that's their choice. Spit it out. What did you want to ask?" "Have . . . how many people have you Turned?" If Devlin had been very observant, he might have noticed a slight slowing of pace in how Sadie ate and moved. It didn't last long, but her eyes also went blank for a moment. "I don't Turn people," she said with a certain degree of finality. "Why? Aren't you entitled to at least one Turn --" "I just don't. There's plenty of other vamps out there who keep the species going, some of which have no business taking care of house plants much less a new Turn." Devlin wasn't always the fastest gun in the fight, but he wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. He'd touched a nerve, but he just couldn't help himself. "Is it that you've just never felt anyone worthy or that you --" "I just don't do it," she said, wanting to change the subject. Then it occurred to her, "You . . . you weren't wanting me to Turn YOU, were you?" It came out sounding arrogant and incredulous, and Devlin blushed in anger. "Sorry," she said. "I'm surprised is all. Why?" "Why WOULDN'T you want immortality?!" he whispered heatedly. "Both my parents died of cancer, so you know what that makes my risk factor, don't you?" He calmed down a bit, eating his biscuit. "I don't want to go out that way." Sadie understood that at least. There were two reasons why people were drawn to vampirism, and neither of them were all that good by her way of thinking. Some loved the mysteriousness, others the immortality. Most people didn't understand the price that was paid for these gifts, but Sadie understood it. "Okay," she said at last. "I think I get it. I'm sorry to hear about your parents. I realize that probably doesn't mean much right now, but I do. But being at high risk doesn't mean you WILL get cancer. So please, before you go asking for membership into the overly-expensive-black-suit-and-fangs club, please promise me that you'll think about this some more. I know you've thought about it already, but now consider this. Ever wonder why vampires tend to hang out with their own starting about ten or so years after being Turned?" Devlin looked confused. "I just figured its because that you bond with your own. They take you in, train you and teach you and --" "You do it because when you become undead, you become very aware of death." Sadie's eyes darkened and she knew she was scaring him a bit. This was the part of vampires that people didn't like to think about . . . the part about dying. "Then, the people around you that you cared about while alive start to die, and it hits you. Then you don't want to be around mortals much, or at least not get too close. For a while, you want to save them all, but the Greater Council and the mortal races put limits on how many new vampires can be made. You have to choose who you save and watch the others cry that it wasn't them." She sat back, not even talking to Devlin directly . . . she was just talking. "Being mortal is precious Devlin. It means the moments matter. That's why I like being around them, even when it hurts." She met his eyes, "Because they appreciate the time they have so much more." It was odd for her to express her feelings, normally preferring to keep things superficial and light, but she didn't want him to walk into what he was asking for blind. And she certainly wasn't going to accept responsibility for him. He looked troubled, but looked like he was going to let the conversation drop. "I need to use the bathroom," he said, quickly standing up and walking through the double-doors with the typical male/female caricatures on them. It made her angry that she'd dug that speech out of her soul, and angrier still at him for making her. She felt a hand on her shoulder about the same time that a bag smelling of confectionery paradise was put on the table. It was the goblin from the register. "These are for you hun," the goblin said, flashing a smile of jagged teeth. 'Okay, it's a female,' Sadie realized from the voice. "How much do I owe you?" she added, reached for her wallet. "First one's on us Arbiter," the squat woman said. "How did you know --" "Word travels fast, even as a place as big and diverse as the Gravestones. Lady like you tends to make an impression." Sadie returned the grin. "Okay, but I couldn't possibly take this --" The woman, whose name tag read the obligatory "Marge" that was required at all diner-type establishments, interrupted again. "First time for dinner, but you can stop by for rolls any time. And if you want to encourage some other cops to come down and support this fine establishment, so much the better." Sadie laughed. Goblins were good business-folk. Get the local cops interested in your place, and that alone will keep you in business for a long time. "I think I could do that." Marge touched Sadie's face in an oddly matronly way. "I heard what ya told the boy. Can't be easy looking into someone's eyes and tellin' 'em the truth when they want you to promise 'em the moon. You did what was right, and I admire that." Then the goblin walked (or waddled) away, leaving Sadie with her spirit brightened. 'And people like that is the reason I do what I do,' Sadie thought, standing up and walking outside to wait. She noticed that the werewolves were still hogging the court. 'Time to mix with the locals.' When Devlin walked out, he saw that Sadie was unhooking her gun belt and securing her pistol in the SUV. "What's going on?" "Just gonna go play some basketball," she said gleefully. Devlin was now completely baffled, but this he HAD to see. 'What the hell is she up to?' Sadie walked over to the humans, who looked like they were still in high school. "So," she purred, you boys wanna play?" They stared at her blankly. "Basketball?" One of the young men finally pulled his eyes off of her cleavage long enough to speak. "Yeah. We're just waiting for them to be done with the court. Which should be any day now." Sadie looked over her shoulder at the wolves. "Hey, you gonna be much longer?" "As long as we wanna be," one replied, bringing about that guffawing laughter common amongst young men. The vampire wandered over and the game stopped. She could tell they'd smelled she was a vampire by the time she got within ten feet. "What's a tasty lookin' blood sucker doin' this far in our town?" the lead one left. Closer up, Sadie thought these were all guys in their early to late twenties. They smelled of ammonia and bleach and stale garbage . . . these weren't troublesome kids, but just some blue-collar night howlers looking to unwind. "Just checking out the scene. Hey, you guys mind playin' half-court so we can get in some too?" "Sorry, but can't get a good sweat up just going half-way," another one said, eying her over. "You understand." Sadie smiled as sweetly as she could possibly muster. "You must be saving a ton of money on antiperspirant then, because I can't imagine anyone letting you go all the way." The werewolf's friends got a laugh out of that, covering their mouths as if their comrade wouldn't know they were having fun at his expense by hiding their teeth. Sadie knew she had to be careful. She wasn't worried about them trying to hurt her, but she didn't want to alienate them. "Tell you what . . . I'll play you for it." "Hey, court's ours lady," her target said, looking nervous. She was an unknown and, even as an overconfident as werewolf males tended to be, he wasn't willing to risk getting shown up by a woman, even if she was a vampire. He started to turn around and dribble the ball. Sadie put the finishing touch on the deal. "Are you sure? You can be shirts and I'll be skins." Nobody moved. The humans behind her had stopped breathing. The only sound penetrating the night was the basketball bouncing slowly across the blacktop, suddenly quite unattended. "Skins?" one of the werewolves said. "Well, as much skin as the law allows," she said evilly. "And since I'm the law," she said, flashing her badge, I'd say that's a lot of skin." "She's that fucking Arbiter that we've been hearing about!" "Damn, I heard she was hot --" "Dude, don't! She can arrest you if she loses!" "I can do no such thing," Sadie says. "Do it!" The challenged wolf looked at his friend. "Why?" "Because if you win, you beat an Arbiter!" "And if I lose?" "We get to see her naked!" And that settled the challenge. "What are you doing?!" Devlin whispered heatedly as Sadie sat down on the bleachers and took off her boots. "Just getting to know the locals," she said happily. She loved getting naked. Okay, she wasn't going to sleep with any of these guys, but might as well give 'em a thrill. It was fun! She stripped down to her bra and typically tiny g-string (the only type of underwear she actually owned), then put her boots back on. Devlin was caught somewhere between shock and drooling. "So boys, is this enough skin?" There was a lot of nodding. Sadie actually wasn't a particularly experienced basketball player, but she had a great deal of speed. More importantly, she didn't actually care about winning. The wolf she was playing, whose name turned out to be Todd, beat her by the skin of his teeth. And when she took the loss with sweat and a smile, all she got was some good natured ribbing. "How about some full court?" Todd said, warming up a bit. This girl was the hottest thing he'd ever seen, and he was in no big hurry for her to get covered up and leave. "Can my friends play?" she aske innocently, her arms at her sides lightly pressing against her breasts to emphasize her already pronounced cleavage? "No, not those friends," she said as the wolves all looked at her tits, "THOSE friends." She was glancing at the humans who, despite their earlier protestations, were having a great time just being spectators. Actually, a number of people had shown up to watch the hottie in lingerie playing basketball. "Anything you want baby," Todd said. "Call me baby again and I'll neuter you," she replied with a chuckle. "Okay, let's pick some teams." Within half an hour, Sadie had worked up a pretty good sweat, which is impressive for a vampire. She somehow always managed to get picked for the "skins" team, but she wasn't complaining. She saw Devlin had gone back to sit in the patrol car, refusing her invitation to participate. She rolled her eyes. 'That boy needs to lighten up.' She was getting ready to take the ball out again when a black convertible pulled up to the lot. There were three well dressed men and one fashionable woman in the car, and all of them were looking on the display with disdain. Sadie knew without even smelling them that anyone who dressed that nice to drive around while looking that snide had to be a vampire. "Look what the dogs dragged in," one said. He looked to have been in his forties when he had turned. "They got themselves a little human humping post," the girl chuckled, but Sadie found no mirth in it. It occurred to Sadie that between the sweat, the tan, the "improper dress" and the general aroma of human and werewolf sweat, these people probably had no idea who or what she was. She also noticed that the werewolves' mood had soured quickly. "If they need one, it's probably because you're all ready worn out," she replied, looking the female intruder up and down. "It was so nice of your friends to take these nice gentlemens' cast offs." She could actually feel the werewolves' ears pick up and heard some soft laughter. "See," the driver said, "this is why we have rules about Turning the lesser species. Otherwise, the great cities would be overrun with white-trash." Sadie casually sank a hook shot. "Who says white chicks can't play?" she muttered, then turned back to the vamps. "Cities are already overrun with trash," she replied, "but we let you stay anyway." Inwardly, she wasn't happy. 'That was a lame comeback,' she thought. "On your best day," the female vamp said, stepping up to the fence around the court, "you'd be lucky to be a second tier broodling, begging for her master's bite." Sadie smiled again, this time with fangs bared. "I'm not big on having a 'master,' thank you very much. And I'd rather run with wolves than sip tea with a bunch of poodles." The four vamps glanced amongst themselves. They weren't often surprised by one of their own. "What are you doing frolicking with these . . . things," the woman said, glancing at humans and werewolves alike. "Particularly dressed like a common whore!" "Hey!" Sadie said, genuinely offended. She pointed from her head and slowly down to her toes, "there is nothing 'common' about this body! If you'd like I might be able to give you some tips . . . help you get rid of that second chin." "How dare you?! Who do you think you are? When Lord Vallant hears about this --" "Lord who?" Sadie asked innocently. "Lord Vallant, Councilman for the Gravestones and our personal creator," she said smugly. Sadie checked that name away for future investigation. "So he would be close with the mayor then?" The intruders seemed so sure of themselves again. "Indeed," the driver said. "Good. I'm attending a fund raiser this weekend and most of the mayor's friends are going to be there, or so I'm told. I just want to know who to seek out to complain about the incredible rudeness of his toadies." "You? At one of the mayor's functions? Don't make me laugh." "Pants!" she shouted. Someone tossed her pants over to her and she pulled out her wallet. "Yes, as the new Arbiter in Midian, my presence was requested by the mayor and Lord Frost. Perhaps you've heard of him?" Sadie actually had little interest in being associated with Lord Frost, but she was enjoying making these people squirm. And boy were they ever squirming. "Now, I see that you're actually parked illegally. Just because I feel sympathetic for people who had to ride the short bus to school, I'm going to let you all off with a warning . . . this time. But I would consider moving that piece of shit before I lose my 'white-trash' temper and have it towed." She smiled sweetly. "Understand? Now get out of my sight." The vampires looked so furious that she was sure someone was going to pop a vein, but they got back in their car and pulled away. "Fucking vamps," one of the werewolves muttered. When Sadie turned to glower at him, he looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry ma'am. No offense towards you." "S'okay. Actually, I should probably get back to work." She waited until the moans of disappointment subsided, kicking off her boots so she could put her pants back on. "What was with that whole 'lesser species' and 'these things' crap?" she asked. "Dunno," Todd said. "We've been hearing that a lot this year. Normally they just get all mysterious and full of themselves around Halloween, but it's been worse this year. Hell, I used to have some friends who were vamps who'd come and play, but they're sticking with their own these days." "Really? Hunh." Sadie didn't like the sound of that. It might be nothing, but she'd keep her eyes open. One of the humans was nodding his head. "Most of 'em have moved to the edge of Gravestones, over by West End. My folks live over in Dodson, and she tells me thery're doing the same kinds of stuff there." Sadie pulled her vest on and tied it up, getting a cheap thrill of having all the onlookers. "Thanks. Hey, for those of you who didn't hear earlier, my name is Sadie Hewitt, and I'm an Arbiter stationed at the Gravestones precinct. If you guys get harassed by vamps or hear anything else odd like this, let me know okay?" "You think that something's up?" Todd asked. "Probably not. Theres' a bunch of reasons vamps act up. I just like to know what's going on." She high-fived all the players and headed back towards the SUV. But before she got there, Todd caught up with her. "Hey, you said you worked at the Gravestones precinct? Over on Harbor Street and 8th?" "Yeah." "You know Vladimir Koloff?" "Vlad? Yeah, I work with him." Todd grinned. Sadie liked a friendly werewolf grin. "He hates being called Vlad. Anyway --" Todd looked nervous. "He's my uncle." "No shit?!" "Yeah and . . . could you tell him that my mom is sorry and was wondering when he's coming by to visit? He'll know what it means." "Sure thing," she said, tapping fists with the young wolf. She watched him turn around and start up a new game, wolves and humans mixed together. Again she headed to the car. Devlin seemed to be on the horn complaining to Captain Grom about the Arbiter's "unprofessional behavior." Sadie jumped in the driver's side and grabbed the radio out of Devlin's hand. "Hey Grommie," she said. *Arbiter, were you really playing naked basketball with werewolves? (click)* "You say that like it's a bad thing. I wasn't completely naked . . . technically. Besides, you wanted me to mingle --" *Mingle! Not do public lap dances! (click)* Breathless Ch. 02 "Actually, that isn't a bad idea. I could raise money for the precinct that way and --" *You ARE going to the fund raiser! (click)* Grom was trying to sound authoritarian, but Sadie could tell he was holding his laughter just on the other side of his teeth. "So, no community outreach programs that have free massages and 'happy endings' then?" She heard silence on the other end of the line. "This keeps happening to me," Sadie said, staring at the device. "These things always stop working. Okay Grommie, I'll behave. But I think I should get a g-string budget for this job. Over and out." She turned off the device and then looked at Devlin, her expression becoming more serious. "Okay, I get it. You don't like the way I do things. But unless I'm actually breaking the law, you deal with me first before you go crying home to momma. That clear?" Devlin physically shrank in his seat. Sadie shook her head and pulled out of the parking lot. 'Even if I Turned people, it wouldn't be him. Too many ways that could go wrong.' ------------ ---------------------- Shortly before sunrise . . . ------------ ---------------------- Sadie hopped into the shower shortly before sunrise after hurrying home from the station. Word of her unusual mingling style had gotten around and she had found a basketball on her desk with "For a good time call" written on it. She'd gotten a laugh out of it and decided to take it home. Devlin didn't seem as amused, but she kept catching him staring at her. She was concerned about that relationship, but she'd deal with it another time. She'd given Vladimir the message from his nephew, which had been received with a monosyllabic grunt and a sigh, but no explanation. And Melissa had left her a note saying that she was supposed to meet her parents for breakfast and so wouldn't be able to rendezvous after all. She did, however, promise a rain check. "I smell like crud," she muttered as she wiped the stink of basketball and young male sweat away before changing into some sweat-pants and one of her few long-sleeved, non-cleavage-revealing shirts. She figured she might as well continue getting to know the community while she was on a roll. So she was heading down to New Plymouth. Population . . . one. New Plymouth was a wraith town. Sadie wasn't sure why she was more comfortable with wraiths than other people, but she was. It generally wasn't easy to find someone willing to go talk to a creature whose basic mission in the afterlife was exact revenge. Wraiths were the physical embodiments of creatures who had died in unpleasant ways and couldn't sleep without vengeance. Once their own vengeance was satisfied, they sought it out for others. Some relished the work, others moved away so as not to be tempted. This wraith seemed to be in the latter category. She jumped in her truck and started down a winding set of roads to get to New Plymouth. The wraith had apparently moved in sixty years earlier, and the town had been mostly dead by then anyway. So the roads out that way weren't maintained that well, but Sadie wasn't worried: her truck could take anything these woods threw at it. But even for an Arbiter and vampire, there was something about a wraith town that just set you in a state of unease. Whatever light came into it, whether directly from the sun or reflected from the moon, seemed cooler . . . taking on tinges of cyan as it made its presence known. And there were no cars on the street, no movement, no talking and certainly no laughing. Nobody had ever even bothered to board up the abandoned buildings in the small town square. No one would come to New Plymouth to vandalize anything. No one with sense would go there for any reason. She drove around for a few minutes, using the unusual chill in the air to provide some kind of guidance. Then she saw it . . . a faint light flickering in front of a large, double-story house just behind the courthouse. It was an eerie bluish-white light that clearly had no place in this world. Wraith put the pixie-flames out in front of the houses so that people who sought their service could find them. "Turn . . . left," her GPS system said unnecessarily. "Thanks Scarlett," she responded. She wondered if Scarlett's maps were even current for this town. She pulled her truck up to the curb, not sure if it constituted bad luck to park in a vengeance spirit's driveway. 'It's not like he or she is going to use it. Wraith's don't drive.' But she decided to play it safe. The house was surprisingly intact compared to those around it, making her wonder if there was something about the mystical energy of a wraith that helped preserve their surroundings. While she had dealt with wraiths before, she'd never actually been to the home of one. 'How does one knock?' she wondered. There was a pretty wrought iron fence surrounding the property that had been painted white, and just inside the fence all along the perimeter were beds of annual flowers. Sadie pushed open the gate and walked the small cobblestone trail leading to the front porch steps, and it was during this journey that she saw that the front door was open. No, not open . . . gone. There weren't even hinges for a door. All the windows were open as well, though through more conventional means. She had been expected the boards of the stairs and porch to creak when she walked on them, but they had that heavy and hearty "thump" to them of a solidly built structure. The wood actually seemed kind of new. She drug her eyes up from the floor and back to the door. She apparently didn't need to knock: the wraith knew she was there. Without noise or even enough motion to activate a vampire's peripheral vision, the wraith had appeared in the door. The wraith was a female, and a beautiful female at that. Not "erotic and sexy" beautiful like Sadie, but rather a noble and classical beauty. She was slim and had features that could only be describe as elegant. If it hadn't been for those eyes, this creature could have gotten a job on any modeling runway in the world. But those eyes . . . pure white. There were no eyeballs to speak of, just glowing white light. She stood easily six feet tall and was dressed in the flowing blue and black robes so typical of her kind. Except for the fact that she reflected visible light, Sadie could detect nothing about her. She had no smell, her clothes didn't rustle in the chilly northwestern breeze: a painting of person left more of a record on the senses than a wraith did. Those eyes could see things that no mortal or vampiric eyes ever could, and they were looking at Arbiter Sadie Hewitt. "Yes?" came a voice, clearly emanating from the wraith though her lips didn't actually move. 'That's so very creepy,' Sadie thought. "Hello," Sadie said, calling on all of her cheerfulness, "my name's Sadie Hewitt. I live up the hill from New Plymouth and just wanted to drop by and say hello. You're actually my closest neighbor I think." The wraith just stared. No one came by a wraith to "say hello." It was like dropping by a dragon's cave to borrow a cup of sugar: it just wasn't done. The wraith seemed to breathe in through her nose. "I do not smell the hunger on you," the wraith continued. "Why are you here?" Sadie smiled. "Again, just saying hello. By the way, I love your landscaping. Sorry, I just never figured wraiths for being into the hole 'home and garden' scene. You did all this yourself?" The wraith was confused, and that didn't happen to wraiths very often. Most people thought wraiths were simply apparitions who only appeared when called upon. This was not really correct. They existed in the world in some form or fashion at all times. "Yes," the wraith replied at last. No one sought out wraiths and yet this woman seemed only mildly concerned. "Cool. I'm pretty much going for the natural look up around the trailer. I probably couldn't keep a cactus alive. "These flowers are actually quite easy to maintain," the wraith said, almost as if she forgot that she was supposed to be intimidating. "There is sufficient rainfall so that --" She stopped. 'Why am I talking to her?' the entity thought. "I didn't catch your name by the way," Said said, offering the wraith a handshake. The wraith stared at that hand. No one was supposed to act this way, not even vampires. "Mary," she murmured softly, shaking the woman's hand. Sadie was surprised that she wasn't more creeped out than she was. A wraith's touch was always cool, regardless of the outside temperature, and there was just enough pressure to realize that you were being touched but not enough to guage her strength. The two stood on opposite sides of the door in complete silence. Sadie was just smiling, and the wraith was looking on blankly. If the woman didn't want vengeance, then -- "Would you . . . like to come in?" Mary asked. "Love to!" the intruder responded. Mary moved aside and waved the girl inside. Sadie entered a small hallway complete with coat closet leading back into a very tastefully decorated living room. It wasn't warm and flowery like living rooms so often were, but might better be described as "proper." The furniture was black leather and was actually nicer than Sadie's. The floor was well cared-for hardwood, and even the black curtains seem to have a soft elegance to them. There was, however, one thing more interesting than the fact that this wraith seemed to have exceptional taste in decoration, and that was the cats. There were so many felines wandering around the living area and kitchen that Sadie couldn't keep track. There was at least one on each windowsill and multiple on every piece of furniture. Yet none of the furniture looked like it had been clawed. "Pardon me," Mary said, gently picking up a short-haired tabby and placing it in another comfortable-looking location. The cat looked at its new surroundings, glanced up at the wraith as if to say "I find this acceptable" and then went back to sleep. Sadie took the offered chair. "Actually," Mary started, "I had heard of your coming, though never expected you to be gracing my doorstep." "You heard of me? Some kind of prophecy or --" Sadie stopped. Was it her imagination or had Mary almost cracked a smile. "No," the wraith replied, pointing to a corner of the room, "Internet." Sadie hadn't even seen the laptop over their in the shadows of the room. "Wraiths have internet? That seems awfully . . . mundane." Mary now looked vexed. It was strange watching her face move, almost as if it had simply not practiced making expressions in a while. "In some ways, it is our only outlet. It is the one place where all are equal." "I'd never thought of that." Sadie found herself with a cat in her lap. It was a small motley-colored thing that was looking for a warm place to nap. "Does this one have a name?" Mary looked over. "They all have names, but they have not bothered telling me what they are. They live with me because they choose to. And they help keep the mice population down." Sadie wondered why a wraith would worry about mice, but dismissed the question. She attempted to put the cat back on the ground, but it turned around and jumped back up, looking at Sadie as if to ask what she thought she was doing. "She has chosen you," Mary said, a bit of humor in her voice. "And once a cat has chosen you, you might as well get used to it. Sadie allowed the cat to make itself comfortable, turning around several times, clawing at her legs through the sweat-pants and then curling itself into a ball. Then it started to purr, and Sadie instantly felt more relaxed. "So you never named him?" "Her," Mary corrected. "That's a calico. A tortoise-shell calico, to be more specific. Calicoes are always female." Mary stood up suddenly. "Would you like some tea? Or coffee? I don't have any plasma. I'm sorry, but I wasn't expecting company . . . ever." "Coffee? You have electricity?" "Yes. And I've even discovered the wheel and fire as well," Mary said, the projection of her voice becoming slightly acidic. "Sorry," Sadie said, still smiling. "I just didn't see any power on in town, so I wasn't sure the lines still worked out here." "My apologies," Mary said, turning on a coffee pot. "I have solar panels on the roof, two windmills just up the valley, and a generator in case of emergencies. I keep forgetting that most people don't understand that for a wraith, life doesn't end when you die. At least not the first time." "You'd think I would understand that, being a vampire." Mary openly smiled. "I was a vampire once," she said. "Hunh. So you've died twice as much as the ordinary darkworlder. Trying to set a record?" "I think that I'm quite through with the process, thank you very much. Cream or sugar?" It wound up being a surreal afternoon, but Sadie would have been quite happy to continue the conversation except that she needed to get some sleep before going shopping with Melissa. Mary was an interesting character, that was for sure. Sadie believed that she had at one point been nobility or at least in the upper crust of society at some point. She sat properly, sipped tea with her finger extended, and just generally carried herself with grace and class. Mary never mentioned exactly who she had been or how she had come to be a wraith, and Sadie was polite enough not to ask. But Mary was also charming, quite intelligent and, apparently, had become an accomplished handyman. Getting anyone else to come out and work on the house was not going to happen, so she had done what needed to be done, rolling up her sleeves and working. One thing that Mary did let slip was that her family had money, and she was in fact living off of the family trust and the investments she had made. Sadie pegged her as having died within the last hundred and fifty years or so, but it was impolite to ask a girl's age. "Well, I really have to be going," Sadie said, noticing instantly that Mary's face fell a bit. Sadie was convince that wraiths didn't so much die as simply fade away sometimes, particularly the ones who intentionally distanced themselves from the other races. They didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable, but it appeared to make them desperately lonely. "Listen, I have to attend this event on Saturday, but was wondering if you'd like to come by for dinner afterward." Mary again was stunned. You didn't invite a vengeance spirit over for dinner . . . ever. "When?" "About six a.m.?" The wraith pondered it. "Yes, I would like that." "Great! It's that little trailer up on the hill. 1408 Forest Creek Lane. If you like, bring a salad." "Very well." Mary then wondered exactly how she was supposed to get a salad. Sadie put the calico on the floor and allowed Mary to escort her to the door. The little feline managed to wind her way between Sadie's feet on every step. "I told you," Mary said, leaning over to scratch the cat behind the ears, "she chose you." The vampire realized just how true this was when she opened the door to her truck. The cat jumped inside before she could stop it and curled up in a ball in the passenger side. Sadie looked up to complain to Mary, but the wraith had vanished. Sadie looked back at the cat. "You presumptuous little bitch!" The cat purred and gave Sadie a half-eyed stare. Sadie grinned. "Okay, I think we're going to get along just fine." ------------- -------------------- Saturday night . . . ------------- -------------------- Sadie took great delight in pulling her pickup truck around the drive of the mayor's house and parking it. She knew that there would be valet parking, but no one drove her truck but her. End of story. "I can't believe you actually named your GPS unit 'Scarlett'," Melissa said, climbing out of the passenger side of the truck. "Though she does sound like a Scarlett." "Told you. And have I told you that you look ravishing tonight?" she said, taking Mel's hand and spinning her around. Melissa had gone with simple and black, and it fit her well. It was a snug dress with sleeves that went from her neck all the way to her calves, hugging her lithe frame. She also wore a choker necklace, which was to let any vamps in the crowd know that she wasn't on the market. She hadn't quite figure out what she wanted, but she had eliminated being a broodling. "Like anyone would even notice me with you around," Mel replied. Even though she'd seen Sadie trying the dress on, it seemed to take her breath away. The vampire had gone with a glittery white gown with slits cut in the sides up to the mid thigh, a neckline that plunged below the breast line, exposing tanned flesh every inch of the way. The dress also dipped dangerously low in the back, stopping its descent just above the woman's ass. Sadie was certainly not wearing a bra, so the only thing between her chest and the eyes of the world were the soft wide straps coming down from her neck. On most attractive women, the dress would have looked good. On Sadie, it would make people's blood boil out of desire or jealousy. Mel fell into the former category. Sadie took Melissa's arm and they walked in the door, almost giving the doorman a heart attack. They were met by one of the mayor's cronies who informed them, much to Sadie's annoyance, that they had been placed at the mayor's table for dinner, along with Lord Frost, a few other councilmen as well as officer Koloff and his wife. Vladimir was already sitting at the table, but Sadie didn't see the infamous "bitch" that everyone seemed to hold in so little regard. The two women worked there way through the crowd, with most of the eyes of nearby revelers on the Arbiter. Her hair was up in some delightfully wild looking bun, leaving her neck exposed. She was a wet dream for almost everyone in the room. She sat down next to Vladimir with Mel on her other side. The werewolf looked about as happy as a patient in a dentist's waiting room. He already had a glass of something that reeked of vodka and was just staring off into space. When he heard Sadie sit, he turned to look at her. And even the grizzled police veteran couldn't help but take Sadie's image in without a hint of desire in his eye. Much to his credit, he was able to pull his eyes up to hers quickly. "Nice outfit," he grumbled. I didn't know there was going to be a basketball game." She grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "You are so funny!" she said. 'Damn, he actually smells good.' "You look as happy to be here as I am." He looked her over more puposefully this time. "I think that you're still better suited to this than I am." "So where's your wife?" she asked. He froze for a second, then relaxed. He pointed his goatee-laden chin towards a group of people standing next to the bar. "That's Teresa in the green." Sadie was impressed. The slight elfish woman was a legitimate looker with short blond hair and a build even slimmer than Melissa, and she looked perfectly at home chatting it up with the tux and tie crowd. The way she placed her hands on their arms, laughed at every joke, and sent coy looks at all the gentleman told the tale. "Score one for the wolfman," Sadie said. Melissa gripped the vampire's hand while Vladimir's face fell. "Sorry," she said, looking confused. Vladimir gave her a tired smile. "It's okay. I know what people say about her. I was just assuming the worst." Sadie badly wanted to know this story, but she decided right then and there who she wanted to hear it from. "Vladimir," she started, "I promise you this. I'll judge you for who you are and, if she and I talk, I'll judge her for who she is. I won't ask questions. I won't dislike her for for other peoples' sake, but I won't like her for yours. That's the best I can do. Okay?" Vladimir actually looked somewhat relieved, though he tried not to show it. He just nodded and returned to his drink. Breathless Ch. 02 "Listen, I'm going to go do some of this damn mingling that the Captain thinks is so important." She stood up, Melissa still on her arm. Vladimir looked up. "Thanks," he said, short and to the point. "No problem." Sadie looked around. She saw the mayor over talking with Lord Frost. She turned around intently planning on walking away. She made it about ten feet before running into Terrence McDermott, who was standing there smiling at her. He looked like perfectly proportioned underwear model in a perfectly cut tux. That was when Sadie heard Mel say -- "Yummy," the girl muttered. Sadie and Terrence both were grinning from ear to ear when they looked at the young woman, who was blushing as badly as Sadie had ever seen. "Please pretend you didn't hear that. Or kill me. Either one will work," Mel replied. "I LIKE your date!" Terrence said, taking Mel's hand and kissing it gently. "She has exquisite taste all around." "Well she IS here with me," Sadie replied. "And well she should be. Anyone would be lucky to do so." He kissed her hand as well. "You look incredible. You do realize that dress is already causing a bit of a scandal. I hope that some of the less well-proportioned ladies in attendance don't attempt to replicate the fashion anytime soon." "Indeed." Sadie sighed. "Would you do me a favor and point out who everyone is? The sooner I get to schmoozing, the sooner I can get out of here and out of this dress." "You're almost out of it already," Terrence replied appreciatively. He started pointing out the members of the city council, the vampire council, miscellaneous individuals of import, and assorted businessmen. "Got it," she said. "Interested in joining us for some mingling with society's finest?" Terrence only pretended to think it over. "I have a feeling that wherever you go will be the most interesting place to be, so very well." He offered her his arm. Sadie took it, but offered her other arm to Melissa. 'She looks like a princess,' he thought. 'But I don't think that she plans to act like one.' Terrence and Melissa were both surprised at how capable Sadie was at playing the high society game. She would sweep into a crowd, get just giggly enough to make them thing she was a total ditz, then show a startling competency on just about any subject that they brought up. She talked economics with the goblins, fashion with the elves, and crime rates with the humans. She was witty enough to draw attention away from her "assets," but playful enough to let their eyes drift back down from time to time. "M'lady," Terrence said, "would you care to join me on the balcony? I do believe that you've broken a sweat giving all those men something to sweat about." "Oh that?" Sadie replied, giving the unsuspecting room a dismissing flick of the wrist. "That's nothing. You should see what it's like trying to play peacemaker in the women's room at a strip club when a rich man shows up with his friends. Pure anarchy." "You spend a lot of time at such clubs." "Sometimes for work, sometime for recreation." She stretched her hands upward, giving him a good look at the muscles of her back as she moseyed away. "Come along Melissa. Don't dawdle." Melissa stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth, making Sadie snicker. 'The girl must be out of her mind with boredom by now.' The three of them stepped out onto a terrace with a beautiful view of the full-moon sky as well as the mayor's prized hedge maze. Then Sadie noticed that the terrace was not unoccupied. She looked at Terrence and asked, "You wouldn't mind entertaining Melissa for a moment would you?" Without waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and walked to a shadowy corner where only a singly fiery ember was visible. "Having fun?" she asked. Vladimir stepped forward, extinguishing his cigarette on the railing. "This is so not fun for me that it's almost funny. You I understand the Captain sending, but me?" "I saw your wife a couple of times," the vampire replied. "She seemed to be enjoying herself." Vlad's face became almost unreadable. "She enjoys this sort of thing. I guess I should be thankful . . . I really don't get to take her to things like this as often as she'd like." Sadie could almost feel the bitterness creeping out of her fellow officer's voice. She knew what people said about Vladimir's wife, and was trying to reconcile his apparent guilt that she didn't have it better with the total bitch-monster image that everyone else had seen. "Hey," she said, patting him on the arm, "if you wanna take off and maybe take her somewhere special, I can handle things here tonight. The only way I think I could guarantee more funds for the precinct would be if I let them tuck singles into my g-string. And the Captian has already nixed that idea," she added. Vladimir grinned. "So I heard. No, I'll stick it out. Teresa seems to be having a good time with her socialite friends." "Well, don't say I didn't offer." Sadie knew that he would stand by his woman regardless. He had an aura of honor about him. She glanced over her shoulder to see Terrence relentlessly flirting with Mel. "She's looking good," Vlad said, reading her mind. "I don't know what you said . . . or did," he added with a chuckle, "but she seems a lot more alive because of you." "She just needed someone with a little bit of patience is all. She's a great kid. And I'd better get back to her before they start doing something naughty . . . without me." She gave Vladimir a wicked grin and swayed back over to her companions. The werewolf just stared after his colleague, reminding himself that he was a married man. Terrence's hand was on Mel's hip and he was whispering something undoubtedly wicked into Mel's ear, but she didn't seem to mind. "Hey you two, did you miss me?" "Every moment that you were gone," Terrence said. Mel smiled slyly. "You know, I thought that vampires had to wait ten years at least until they were this smooth." Terrence saw that Sadie had cocked an eye at him. "I was just Turned five years ago." Sadie grinned and pinched his cheek. "You're just a baby!" "And how old are you exactly?" he teased back. Melissa wasn't sure if she imagined it or not, but the question actually seemed to take her friend by surprise. "It's not polite to ask a lady her age," the blond vampire responded coyly. "Why?" She leaned back against the railing, slowly thrusting her breasts forward. "Do I look old?" Terrence was openly licking his lips. "You know, we've got about twenty minutes before they call everyone to their seats for dinner, and you've already met everyone --" "Mr. Terrence McDermott," Sadie replied, "whatever are you suggesting?" "Have you had a chance to see the hedge maze?" he asked innocently. Sadie wrapped an arm around Mel's shoulders and pulled her closer. "Like mazes?" The goth chick replied with, "I do right now." "Well, I couldn't possibly let you wander around in there by yourself. It's awfully dark you know. I will of course help you, but two ladies like us --" Sadie paused. "Okay, enough games. We've only got nineteen minutes." The three of them walked quickly down the stairs and entered the hedge maze. "Follow me," Terrence said heatedly, leading them along a path he apparently knew quite well. It only took a minute to reach the center, which was a pleasant little clearing with four marble benches around a fountain. Sadie turned around planted a tongue-happy kiss on Terrence's mouth. 'Hmm,' she thought, 'a good kisser.' "Melissa, you gotta try this!" Melissa was more than happy to intervene. Her kiss was not as experienced as Sadie's, but she made up for a lot with sheer desire. She did get Terrence so caught up that he didn't notice that Sadie had deftly unzipped his pants and released his maleness into the chilly night air. She took his sizable length in her hand and began to stroke it. "Can I try that too?" Melissa purred hungrily. "Oh yeah," Sadie replied. She let Mel get her hand around Terrence's shaft as well, and they led him over to one of the benches. "Can't get these new dresses dirty, can we?" She hiked up her dress so that it would drag on the grass and then sat down. No sooner than her hips sat on something solid than her lips wrapped around something just as hard. "Oh, I love my job," Terrence groaned. Sadie opened up her mouth as wide as she could, engulfing as much as she could of that rigid shaft. He was uncut with a big, fleshy head that popped wonderfully between her lips and tickled her throat. She could feel the heat he was giving off all the way down into her chest. She pulled up and looked at Melissa. "Oh, this is the good stuff." She grabbed the back of her friend's head and shoved her mouth-first onto Terrence's cock. Mel liked to be controlled, so why not make this more fun for the girl? She used Mel's head like a hand to jerk Terrence off with. Melissa was gagging, unable to take more than half of that beautiful prick in her mouth. She felt the spittle leaking out of the corners of her mouth, accompanied by that "plopping" noise of cheeks getting sucked in when he pulled his cock all the way out. It was a nasty sound, but it was like music to her. Sadie positioned herself behind Mel, pushing her breasts into the back of the goth chick's head. She gave the girl a reach around as well, grabbing those sensitive dress through the all-too-soft fabric. Melissa groaned loudly into Terrence's cock flesh. "She really likes this," Sadie crooned. "Do it again!" Terrence requested. Sadie squeezed harder this time and got another pleasurable response. "My turn." She leaned over Melissa's shoulder and took that wonderful bit of flesh between her lips again, humming contentedly as it sunk further down her throat. Melissa scooted to the side so that Sadie could have first chair, so Sadie took advantage of the situation. She pulled apart the cloth that covered her breasts, then let Terrence's manhood out of her mouth so it could rest in the cradle of her bosom. She pushed her tits together around the shaft and started stroking it with them. And much to Mel's credit, she didn't need to be given the idea to suck on the cock-head when it emerged from Sadie's cleavage. "I need to get a job as a cop,' Terrence said. "I think all the girls that work there are freaks." "Including Mrs. Crookshank?" Mel asked between sucks. "She's like . . . eighty and --" "What's wrong with eighty?" Sadie asked primly. Mel smiled. "Not everyone can keep their figure like you can." "True." Sadie released Terrence's cock again and let her dress fall back into place. "We've only got fifteen minutes, and you have two women to satisfy buster." She lay back on the bench, her dress hiked up to her hips which were right on the edge. Mel climbed on top of her so that they were face to face. After the two women exchanged a heated kiss, she looked at Terrence. "I'm pretty sure you can figure out what to do." The male vampire knew exactly what to do. He pulled Melissa's dress up to her waist and pushed her panties aside, then put the tip of his member right at the entrence to her sex. Then he pushed in slowly, feeling her grip ever centimeter of his length as it slid in. Sadie loved watching Melissa's face. That normally stoic visage was radiating joyful lust, and it looked good on her. She locked lips with the young woman, slipping her tongue inside. Her hands sought out the girl's tight little ass, where one hand gripped butt cheek while the other hand spanked. "She's a freaky little chick isn't she?" "I'm teaching her everything I know," Sadie replied. Terrence pulled out, dipped at the knees and plunged into Sadie's waiting pussy. He drove all the way in and was rewarded with a grunt. Somehow she managed to wrap her legs around his hips and was spurring him on with her heels. She was every bit as snug in her sexual passage as Melissa's had been, and every bit as greedy. Mel freed Sadie's breasts again, locking her lips on a nipple as Terrence began swapping between the two women rapidly. Sadie had released her death grip on Mel's ass and had moved her hand around to the front, pinning it between their bodies as she rubbed the goth girl's clit. "Hurry!" Sadie growled. "Fuck her!" she ordered, then evilly upped the challenge. "Get her off or you'll never get this close again." Terrence had no intention of letting that happen. He sunk deep into Melissa's body, grabbing her hips and penetrating like his life depended on it. Melissa never had a chance, not that she wanted one. Terrence was filling her up with fantastic speed and power, Sadie was teasing her clit like a cat playing with a mouse, and Sadie's mouth could almost make Mel cum just by kissing her. With all the attention she was getting, Melissa was cumming within two minutes. Terrence, under the pretense of letting the girl rest, plunged his sword back into Sadie's pussy. He had already taken a fair amount of "punishment," so he found himself unloading his seed into his fellow vampire's womb. "No fair," Mel complained. "You didn't --" "It's okay," Sadie said happily. "I'll just have to have both of you make it up to me sometime." "How much time?" Mel asked Terrence. "Six minutes." Melissa bent at the waist and dove her face between Sadie's still open thighs and proceeded to launch an assault that rivaled the storming of the beaches of Normandy. The vampire could feel her lover eating Terrence's offering out of her pussy and then going back in for more. Terrence helped out, teasing Sadie's clitoris the way she had teased Melissa's earlier, and the two of them made her climax in less than a minute. "Okay, points for the effort," she chuckled happily. The three of them hurried to make themselves presentable as they ran back through the maze. They made it to the top of the terrace stairs and, after giving each other a brief once-over to make sure nothing was out of place, walked back inside. Before they started called for everyone to take their seats, Sadie was already in hers and basking in the afterglow of sexual release. Melissa was at her side and while her face was calm and collected, her breathing was still somewhat ragged. "Get a hold of yourself, or everyone will know you just got laid," Sadie teased. But then she heard Mel's breathing slow and her complexion evened out. 'The girl's got some good self-control, I'll give her that.' The table started to fill up, with Vladimir and his wife right next to Sadie. Vlad shot Sadie a shit-eating grin . . . he knew exactly what she'd been up to, but it didn't stop her from feigning total innocence. Soon the mayor, Lord Frost, and a number of other important people were seated and patiently awaiting dinner. A caterer came by and took drink orders. All the vampires ordered blood except Sadie, who asked for a rum and coke when she found out that they didn't have Guinness. "Ever the standout," Lord Frost said by way of smalltalk. Sadie rolled her eyes and took a swig of her drink. "You know what they say about those starving to be the center of attention?" Teresa Koloff said with an aristocratic through-the-nose laugh. "That they're elves?" "Sadie," Vladimir growled. "Polite?" "Oh she knows I'm only kidding," Sadie replied, her Marilyn Monroe voice coming to the surface in all it's helium- filled glory. "Don't ya toots?" "Indeed," Teresa said, looking down her nose before turning to talk to someone else. "You're not going to make this easy are you?" Mel whispered. "Easy as pie for me." Vladimir observed the proceeding with a careful eye. It was odd to see the Arbiter shut off after watching her be a social whirlwind the rest of the night. All of the councilmen attempted to engage her in conversation and she deflected their verbal offerings with flare and sarcastic delight. Only Mayor Jefferson and Lord Frost failed to engage her, and it didn't take a fool to figure out what they were doing: they were scoping her out. He knew that neither man, Frost in particular, was a fool. The Vampire Lord was popular in political circles both locally and nationally, and there were even rumors of ties to foreign nations. A connection to the Bureau of Arbiters would be a feather in his cap, as they were notoriously independent of other government agencies. They knew of legal proceedings that no one else did, as well as the locations of political refugees. The Arbiters could arrest, detain, and transport any person at their own discretion. The psych evaluation to get in was supposed to equivalent to psychological torture. But Sadie played the game well, making her werewolf colleague wonder if that was simply part of the training. Finally, Frost spoke. "Arbiter Hewitt, it just occurred to me that I still haven't received that birth certificate that you promised." "Really? I'm sure I mailed it to you." "I understand. The postal service can be notoriously unreliable. But still, I must insist. I would really hate to have to report the incident to your superious in Washington. Even the Bureau has some rules." "I would hate for someone as important as you to be inconvenienced with such a mundane thing. Particularly since the Bureau is so mired in the red tape and trying to get work done that any requests might be bogged down for months," Sadie replied looking over the rim of her glass as she met Frost's gaze, "or even years." "I see. Well perhaps I might find a path through the maze somehow. I get . . . lucky . . . that way sometimes." "I'll do EVERYTHING in my power to make sure you don't have to wait any longer than is absolutely necessary." "I'm sure you will." Vladimir didn't understand at all. The tension in the air between the two vampires was so thick you could cut it with a knife, but the conversation revolved around the triviality of a birth certificate. Mayor Jefferson raised his glass. "Please, no more talk of work tonight. Everyone, a toast to the prosperity of Midian and to the good health of its newest protector, Arbiter Hewitt." Sadie raised her glass along with everyone else, but Vladimir saw the tension in her hand. She was gripping her glass so tightly he was surprised it didn't shatter. The woman looked sultry and mischievous and not at all unhappy. But underneath, she was practically leaking contempt. About then, a band at one end of the dining hall started to play and within minutes, party-goers were taking the floor and dancing. Teresa flitted off with Lord Vallant, who had been the recipient of several barbs from Sadie over the course of the evening. She didn't know eactly what he had been saying to his underlings, but it reeked of arrogance and it made her want to gag. Melissa was actually dancing with Terrance, and he was whispering something in her ear that was making her blush. Sadie grinned. Her friend was becoming a lot more confident in what she wanted. She liked it when someone else took charge and "made her" do what they wanted, but she wasn't as into the masochistic tendencies as she thought she was supposed to be. She didn't think that Terrence was Mel's "solution," but he would certainly be fun in the meantime. The major and Lord Frost were whispering to each other and occasionally glancing in her direction. Sadie saw the Lord glance towards the musicians, then towards the dance-floor and finally back at Sadie, chatting to his co-conspirator all the while, a wholly unpleasant grin crossing his face. "Fuck," she grumbled. "What's up?" Vladimir asked. "Not enough people at the table to threaten?" "I'd threaten you, but you might get off on it," she said sweetly, but her face reflecting more good humor than she had shown to anyone else. "Listen, would you do me a favor?" she asked standing up. Breathless Ch. 02 "What's up?" "Just follow me." Sadie was looking conspiratorial, and he was aching to find out what was on her mind, so follow her he did. They'd made it onto the dance floor before he realized it was a trap. She swung around, placed one hand on his shoulder and another on his hip. "Dance with me," she said, that smile never leaving her face. "I don't --" he started to reply. "You do now," she said, almost growling through her pearly white teeth. "If he tries to touch me, I'll rip his arms off and then you'd have to arrest me. Do you have any idea the kind of paperwork that would be involved trying to arrest an Arbiter? Even if you could cuff me --" "Oh, I'm pretty sure I could cuff you," he replied, putting his hands in the proper positions and waltzing across the floor with her. Sadie's retort temporarily died on her lips. 'He's a pretty good dancer,' she thought, taking a minute to move with him across the floor. 'And damn, he's solid. She was actually marveling at the muscles of his chest and arms as she was pressed lightly against him. "Wanna bet?" she said at last, trying to distract herself. He smiled back at her. "I've always wanted to see if you Arbiters are as tough as everybody says. Okay, practice room tomorrow night. One set of cuffs each, one set of keys, first person to lock up their opponent wins. WHEN I win, you have to promise to try and show a little more decorum when you're in the field." "No more naked basketball?" "No more naked basketball." "Fine. But when I win, you have to buy drinks after work at the bar of my choosing." "Agreed." Sadie looked over at Lord Frost, who was visibly vexed at having been cut off from his quarry. She smiled at him and shrugged as if she had no idea how Vladimir had gotten to her first. "You enjoy torturing him don't you?" "What a horrible thing to say." "It's true." Vladimir was actually trying hard not to look straight down at her, since her breasts were swaying hypnotically under that dress of hers. "It's going to be fun humbling you, you know that? I should warn you, I used to be a marine." He didn't thing that would really phase her, but he was trying to get her a little riled up. She was more fun when riled up. "That's okay. I flew for the British in World War I and II, and then did medi-vac in Korea and Vietnam." Vladimir was stunned. "You're a flier?" "Used to be. Haven't kept my certification up in the last twenty years since joining the Arbiters. Just no time for it. I'd love to restore a Sopwith Camel sometime and do the certification. I'll tell you, there's nothing quite like doing nap-of-the-earth maneuvering in an open cockpit. It's just a rush." "Is there anything you haven't done?" She couldn't resist a tease. "A few things," she muttered sexily. "You offering to help fill in the holes?" She wish she hadn't said anything. His eyes went wild for split-second, making her think that he wouldn't mind at all. But then the animal side slipped away and there was a sad longing there. "I think he's lost interest," Vladimir said, noticing that Frost had gathered some of the City and vampiric Councils together. Terrence was over there, and Frost whispered something in his ear. "I'm going to find my wife." "Okay," Sadie said after him, gnawing on her bottom lip. She hadn't wanted to make him uncomfortable. She'd enjoyed those moments with him. "Hello," Terrence purred as he walked up. "You have my employer quite worked up. He's not used to there being something or someone he can't have." "Your employer had better get used to it," she said absently, watching Vladimir approach his wife. She saw the couple start to bicker quietly as only a married couple can. And it was Teresa who was doing most of the sneering, with Vladimir either taking it or trying to placate her. "Anyway, he was you to join him and the others on the terrace for coffee. They're going to discuss plans for this Halloween and --" "Tell him I would LOVE to . . . and make sure you tell him with just that amount of contempt . . . but I have later dinner plans." "Is young Melissa coming over for something to eat?" he whispered warmly into her ear. "No. Mary is coming over, and she's just a potential friend." "Who's Mary?" "The wraith from New Plymoth." Terrence stopped. "You're kidding, right? You're having dinner with a wraith?!" This last part came out a little louder than anticipated, and several couples in the area stopped and stared. "Of course," Sadie said. "Actually, I need to be leaving so I can get something fixed before she gets there. Do be a doll and pass on my SINCERE regret about leaving early, but I'm sure the Lord would be amiss if I neglected my social responsibility." Melissa had walked over, her eyes showing shock. "I think you have some explaining to do." "I'll tell you all about it on the ride to the house, assuming that you're up for it." Melissa looked confused, but it quickly transitioned to curiosity. If Sadie thought it was safe, then Melissa would trust her. Sadie had one last shot to take. She looked over at Frost, meeting him stare for stare. She blew him a kiss, then her hand drifted down and inconspicuously pointed to her perfect rear-end. She escorted Melissa to the truck, and began to laugh as soon as she got outside. "You know, we need to do this sort of thing more often." ------------ ---------------------- To be continued . . . Breathless Ch. 03 This story is a bit wordy and fairly long, so if you are looking for immediate gratification, you might want to look elsewhere. The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between these character and events and any real person or events is strictly coincidental . . . and pretty darn impressive seeing as it is a science fiction story. Do not reproduce or copy this story without the consent of the author. This story is based in an alternative universe, where history took a different course than the one we are used to. In this world, the creatures which we now believe to be legends have walked alongside man for the duration of our existence. Vampires, werewolves, wizards, witches, sorcerers, and a host of other beings share our world. The following story contains, in one chapter or another, lesbian and heterosexual activity in different proportions. -------------- ---------------- Melissa was sitting on Sadie's sofa on the verge of hyperventilating. She wasn't sick, and she wasn't in her general state of anticipation of learning some new sexual trick from her vampire mentor. No, she was on her last nerve awaiting . . . dinner. More specifically, Sadie's dinner guest. More specifically, a wraith. She had accepted that Sadie was not like most vampires, or like most law enforcers, or . . . or like anyone, but this was pushing even Melissa's credulity. No one had a wraith over for dinner, much less ask one to bring a salad. It wasn't that wraiths were evil or hideous, it's that they were barely "there" at all. You could touch one, thought the people touched by a wraith tended to do so while being ripped apart for some terrible wrong they had committed. You could hear them talk, but their lips didn't move. You could see them, but they didn't have that sense of solidity: they were in the world but not really a part of it. When they moved, they made no noise, and they gave off no scent. While not immune to magic, they could not be targeted with direct magic, and they were immune to magical influences on the mind. And heaven forbid you have a stray vengeful thought with a wraith around, because they would be likely to act on it for you if they got the chance. "She's not due for a few more minutes," Sadie said, taking a perverse glee in Mel's nervous behavior. "If you're THAT freaked out --" "I'm not freaked out!" Melissa's voice sounded like that of a teenage boy going through puberty. She reached down and scratched the ears of Sadie's new nameless cat as it wound its way absently between her legs. The feline purred, then slunk over to the bed and made herself at home. "Of course not. Then go get the tenderloin out of the oven." "We could have just eaten at the fund-raiser you know." "But then I wouldn't have had an excuse to leave early and have dinner with Mary!" "You . . . you're insane! You don't obey any kind of logic --" There was a knocking at the door. Sadie looked at Melissa and motioned to the door. Mel's eyes shot open and she shook her head. Sadie nodded vigorously. Mel shook her head. Sadie rolled her eyes and headed over to the door. Melissa stood up, not sure how one was supposed to greet the one species more undead than vampires. "Greetings," Mary said, holding a pre-packaged salad in her hands. She looked as if she didn't know why she was there or what she was supposed to do. "C'mon in!" Sadie said cheerfully. "Put that on the table. Mel, would you get the dressing out of the . . . Mel?" Melissa was staring at Mary, who was staring back. Mel blinked several times . . . Mary didn't. "I'm afraid that I'm making your friend nervous," Mary projected. "Is she just standing there motionless not making any real facial expressions?" Sadie asked from the kitchen. "Yes." "Don't worry, she's always like that." Melissa's trance broke long enough for her to shoot Sadie a dirty look. When she looked back at Mary, she saw the wraith actually crack a little smile. 'She's not that different than me,' Mel thought. 'She's actually scared.' It was more Melissa's intuition than anything that directed her down that thought path. "My name's Melissa," she said, her voice firming as she spoke. She extended her hand. It was the second time in a week that Mary had been offered direct physical contact with another being. It was the second time in a century that someone had done so without being on the receiving end of vengeance. She shook this lovely young creature's hand. "Mary." "May I take your . . . shawl?" Mel asked, trying to be polite but not sure what she should be asking for. Mary, pulled the bluish-black garment from her hand and gave it to Melissa, letting her waist-length silky-black hair fall freely. 'She's beautiful,' the goth chick thought. 'Not ming-blowing sexy like Sadie, but more elegant.' It was easy for her to see that the woman had once been a vampire. There was something about the way her lips were formed. She wondered if Mary still had fangs. For some reason, that thought made her neck tingle. She gently folded the garment and placed it on a hanger behind the door. Mary placed the salad on the table where it was rapidly picked, opened, and deposited in a bowl by Sadie. Melissa relaxed a little and approached the dining table. "I didn't know you cooked." "I can't," Sadie replied. "This is mostly just heat and forget stuff." "I was wondering. I thought you lived entirely on gas station food and blood . . . and Guinness." "Good point!" the vampire muttered, grabbing a black bottle of her favorite brew out of the fridge. "Mary, you drink?" "Alcohol? I've never consumed anything but wine, and it's been a long time since that." "No sweat." She glanced in the bottom of her refrigerator. "I've got a bottle of Bordeaux . . . 1945." Friend of mine gave it me and I never got around to drinking it." "That sounds exquisite," Mary said. "Great. You open and poor. Wine isn't my thing. Mel?" "I'd love to try the wine," she said. "Traitor." And just like that, any remaining tension eased away. It turned out that Mary was very intelligent, having had nothing much to do except wreck vengeance on the wicked, read, mess around on the world-wide web, and pet her cats for quite some time. She had completely renovated her house on her own, ordering supplies on line and having the delivery personnel leave it in a nearby abandoned warehouse. No one was willing to drop it directly off at her front door. "That reminds me," Sadie said. "I've got everything measured out and holes dug, so would you be willing to help put up my deck next weekend? I've got an eye on some great redwood --" "Redwood? Maybe you should consider an artificial wood. It would handle the weather here much better. What are you smiling at?" "You sounded like 'This Old House' for a second. And no fake woods! The redneck in me would never allow it." "Very well." The wraith still looked cautious, as if this was all some big joke, but she was willing to risk being the butt of it. Even the most casual of acquaintances was better than the life of solitude she had chosen. "Do you have sufficient tools?" "I dunno. I may not," Sadie thought. "If you could arrange transport, I have everything you might need." "Cool." "Can I help?" Melissa murmured. "You?" Sadie asked. "Physical labor?" "Hey, you got me in a dress," Melissa shot back. "How hard could it be to build a deck?" "Building things with your hands takes sweat and discipline," Mary said, feeling that her favorite hobby was being disrespected. "Oh, I don't think that sweat and discipline is a problem for our little Melissa," Sadie said. Mary missed the joked. Melissa did not. "You know who else is good with his hands?" Melissa asked, raising an eyebrow. Sadie looked at her. "Terrence? That pretty boy?" "He's an an ex Navy Seal you know," Melissa said. "He can probably handle a hammer. But that isn't who I was talking about." Sadie was baffled. "Then I say, 'hunh'?" "Officer Koloff," Mel said. "You two need to do some bonding anyway, and you looked quite comfortable with him at the fund raiser." Sadie laughed it off. "Cute. Vlad is quite married and besides, he and I are like oil and water." "Slick and wet?" Mel asked innocently. Like everyone else, she didn't much care for Vladimir's wife, and wouldn't mind seeing someone drive a wedge between them. Sadie could do it, and they had looked quite fetching together. "You are so getting yours later!" Mary watching the verbal sparring between the two friends and felt . . . warm. It was good to be amongst others again. ---------- ------------------ The next evening . . . ---------- ------------------ Sadie pulled her weary carcass into the precinct building only with the help of a strong pot of coffee and pure will. The coffee was Mel's idea. Every time that the goth chick slept over, Sadie didn't get much rest. But it was hard to even pretend to be too mad about it. They always drove their separate vehicles when they came into work however. They were friends with benefits. Sadie was Melissa's mentor, and that was it. Unfortunately for Sadie, she had forgotten about a little bet that she had made, one that Vladimir was happy to remind her of the moment she eased into her creaky wooden chair. "So, you ready to see who can cuff who?" "Crap," Sadie said, lifting her overly hot coffee to her lips and then yelping when it touched her tongue. "I'll take that as a 'no' then," Vladimir replied with a smirk. "Very well. I supposed I can take a rain check, unless you'd prefer just to concede now." Sadie's half-opened eyes narrowed to a squint. She could taking being teased, insulted, mocked . . . but challenged? "I just don't want to have to embarrass you even more by kicking your ass while I'm only half awake." "Tough talk for a chick still sitting in her chair." 'That's it,' she thought. 'No one challenges me AND calls me a chick and doesn't get his ego bruised.' She stood up, adrenalin providing her strength that her lack of sleep had taken away. "Who's sitting now? If you want, I'll let you go change into your panties before I spank you." Koloff grinned. He wasn't sure that pissing her off would make her easier or more difficult to spar with, but it sure was fun. She practically glowed when she got feisty. "Why wait? Let's dance in what we'd be wearing in the field." "I've seen you dance," Sadie replied. "You might want to stick with an analogy involving something you're good at." It was a cheap shot, and completely untrue. He'd been a fine dancer. Nice firm body and a kind of grace -- 'Stop that,' she thought. The two of them heading back to the precinct's exercise room, complete with spacious sparring mat. Somehow, word of the impending challenge had already spread, and every person not occupied with important official business got swept up in their wake. By the time the two of them reached the sparring mat, there was already a "fight, fight, fight" chant echoing through the halls. Sadie took her cuffs off her belt and opened up one of the storage lockers, putting the belt inside. Vladimir did the same, then closed the locker before returning to the mat. The vampire was really looking forward to this. Not a lot of people she faced could really test her, but she knew deep down that Vlad could. He had that werewolf strength, military training, and that intangible but very real confidence. She glanced around, noticing that her entire team was there, including Bart. That made her scowl, but he had mostly left her and Mel alone. Sadie had successfully taken the fun out of it for him. He was probably just there to relish in the violence, even if it was only practice. "Wait!" boomed a voice from the hall. Captain Grom looked annoyed as he strode down the hallway. "What do you two think you're doing?" "Captain --" Vladimir started. "We were just --" The Captain waved them off. "I know what you're doing he said, breaking a sly smile. "I was just upset that you were starting before I got here. You think I'm going to miss a chance to see this?" He looked from one contestant to the other. "Well? Lay on!" With the start given, the two combatants approached each other with their stances widened and their hand raised. Both were trying to identify what style the other was going to use, and both came to the same conclusion: neither opponent had an identifiable style. Both knew a hodge-podge mixture of techniques, so this would be a fight of adaptation rather than prediction. Sadie decided to try and utilize her speed and endurance, since she was damn sure not going to overpower her opponent, even in his human form. She wondered what it would be like to take him half-were'd out. 'Imagine the possibilities.' She was brought back to reality as he feinted a grab towards her right arm. She bit on the feint just enough to let him know what her reaction would be, and she had cursed herself for that. She decided not to kick him in the groin, partially because any male worth his salt knew to protect it and . . . well, it was just too mean. She ducked and spun, trying a sweep kick to take him off of his feet. He jumped it easily and tried jumping for her back. She actually did a reverse somersault to get out of his way, hoping he'd over-pursue and trip up. No such luck. He slowly and methodically backed her into a corner, a smile on his face. He was having as much fun with this as she was. Sadie ducked and made it look like she was going to charge his knees. He made a good defensive move, crouching down but keeping his shoulders square to help keep his balance. But when she charged, Sadie didn't go low but rather vaulted upward, placing one hand on the top of Vladimir's head and flipping over him to the open space beyond. He tried cuffing the hand on his head, but she was past him to quickly. "Tsk, tsk," Sadie said, dancing backward out of his reach. "I thought the old dog was going to teach me some new tricks." "Don't want to end it too quickly," he replied, a little red around the face. "Otherwise, you won't learn nothin'." He stepped up the pace after that, pushing her towards a corner and using his mass to his advantage. He kept his punches close in, getting extra power from his hips rather than swinging from the shoulder. Sadie played a range game, moving in quickly and using her legs a lot more. She wasn't going to match his upper-body strength, but she could kick like a government mule. This went on for many minutes, and the crowd was getting a clinic. Finally, Vladimir rushed her with his shoulder, looking to knock her on her ass and out of breath. She sidestepped most of the charge, but got spun by an extended elbow. She saw his other arm coming in with cuffs open and new she was going to be halfway to being beaten, but halfway wasn't all the way. Vladimir was grinning like the wolf he was when he secured her wrist, but his expression faded into surprise as Sadie secured the arm he had just extended. The two combatants eyes met, and they game stepped up a notch. Elbows and knees began flying, trying to create an opening. This wasn't where Sadie wanted to be, playing in close with a werewolf of Vladimir's ability. They almost formed a merry-go-round, gripping one end of their cuffs while the other end was attached to their opponent's wrist. Sadie made a bold move, crossing Vlad's body and ducking under his arm. But Vlad was quick and wrapped his arms around her. Sadie threw her free arm as much as she could around the werewolf's side. If he wanted to cuff that wrist, he was going to have to let go of something. "Your move," she whispered, feeling him tightening his grip. She was pressed tight against his hard body, and she could actually feel his manhood pressed against her bum. 'If that's him soft, I wonder what he'd look like hard. I can't believe I just thought that! Yes I can,' she admitted. He tightened his grip again, obviously trying to figure out the best way to get to that wrist. She knew she needed to try something and quick, so she opted for guile. In a choked sounding whisper, she said, "Can't . . . can't breathe." Out of instinct, Vlad loosened his grip just a little. He didn't want to hurt her. It wasn't until it was too late that he realized what she'd done. When his grip loosened, she dropped straight down and slid backwards between his legs. With his cuffed arm trapped between his legs, he frantically released his grip on his own cuffs to try and elbow the woman standing behind him. His elbow missed and he felt her hook the other end of her handcuffs to his wrist. The crowd went wild, and Sadie fell back on the mat completely exhausted. "You bitch!" he said, flushing from anger at losing but still mightily impressed by her performance. "'I can't breathe,'?" She laughed so hard that she rolled onto her back. "Didn't say that I NEEDED to," she replied. She got to her feet and got the keys. She unlocked on of Vlad's wrists and then handed him the keys. Finally, she turned to the crowd. "Okay, he's the moral of the story. Officer Koloff is as good a fighter as he is an officer. That was the best damn fight I've had in decades," she said, meaning every word of it. "Some people might think it's a dirty trick to take advantage of the fact that he's an honorable man, but that's what being an Arbiter . . . hell, that's what being a good cop should be. I knew something about him that gave me an advantage and I used it, and that's something everyone should keep in mind. I promise you," she said, giving Koloff a sweaty and admirable glance, "he won't make that mistake again. Neither will your quarry, so do it right the first time." "Yes Missus Arbiter," someone said in a whiny, school-kid voice. Everyone had a laugh. "Nothing to see here," Captain Grom said with a grin. "Everybody at least pretend to get back to work." Sadie looked over at her colleague who was rubbing his wrists where the cuffs and cinched in. He looked like he was playing the whole contest over again in his head. "Don't try," Sadie said warmly. "Every time is different and you know it." She met his gaze. "You're right though. It was a cheap shot. Don't worry about the drinks --" For the first time, Vladimir looked genuinely angry. "I made the bet, and you're completely right. Outsmarting someone is just as valid a way to win as being stronger or faster." He calmed down a bit and offered his hand in respect. "And you were right about one other thing." She shook his hand. "What was that?" He grinned. "Don't ever think I'll take it easy on you again." "Easy?" Sadie shoved him hard enough that he landed on his ass, laughing up a storm. She stormed off, trying hard to pout. "He called that easy --" ---------- --------------------- Several hours later . . . ---------- --------------------- Sadie sighed as she turned the cruiser into a residential district she'd never visited before. She'd been paired up with Devlin again, who alternated between oggling her assets and giving her the silent treatment. He'd tried a few times during the previous week to make her reconsider sponsoring him to be Turned. She had steadfastly refused, which made for an uncomfortable trip. He had refused to even come inside when she made her nightly stop at Roll The Bones for dinner. She watched as the squat, solid houses of the neighborhood entered and passed her view, broken occasionally by a nicer structure that rose up a couple of stories and might once have been nice places to live. These latter houses were all boarded up and abandoned, and she wondered why no one else had moved in. "Goblin town?" she muttered, wondering if Devlin would actually bother to respond. "How did you know?" the human asked, looking around and seeing no one on the streets. Breathless Ch. 03 "Goblins are the one ones who like houses like that. Vampires like 'em tall and grand, werewolves prefer stuff with more open spaces, and elves are like vampires except they want their houses further apart." "What about humans?" "Humans like trappings on the outside. They like porches and barbecues and things that let everyone else know how much stuff they have. A little bit egotistical, but kind of refreshing. The reasons for things like porches and barbecues is so that you can invite people over to share your bounty. They can be close minded sometimes, but humans are more likely than other races to cross social boundaries." Sadie glanced around. "These neighborhoods are so species-centric . . . has it always been like this?" Devlin shrugged. "Kind of. Well, maybe not quite like this. When the mayor started rezoning in his first term, the vampires started shifting to West End. Something about tax breaks." "Tax breaks that only vampires can take advantage of?" Devlin pursed his eyes. "Elves too. Some humans. It's one of the swankier areas in all of Midian now." "Shame," she replied. Then the radio started to squawk at them. *We've got a 10-103f with multiple perps at the corner of Londonderry and Sage, (click)*, the dispatcher said. *That would be the Bygone Cafe, (click)*. "How close are we?" Sadie asked. Devlin grabbed the radio. "Roger that. This is car 0105 and we're just a couple of minutes out." There was a pause. *Copy. We've got two other cars that'll just be a few minutes behind you. Be careful. (click)* Sadie floored the gas and hit the lights and siren. Devlin was quick to give directions and they arrived in hurry. Sadie hopped out of the SUV and grabbed her shotgun (known as Hooters) out of the rack. "You think that's necessary?" Devlin asked. "Probably not, but I'd rather have it with me and not need it than need to and have to come back for it." She was striding towards the front of the cafe when a goblin came stumbling out the door. Goblins weren't particularly good brawlers and tended to fight in groups, and this one was looking pretty battered. Devlin got on his radio and called for an ambulance, trying to get the goblin to get down on the ground at the same time. Sadie stood next to the window at the front and glanced in, and there was chaos. There was at least a dozen combatants inside. "Dispatch, what's the ETA on backup?" Sadie shouted. She didn't wait for an answer, since she heard multiple sirens approaching. "Never mind." Then she heard crashing from inside and a second form came flying out the window, spraying her with glass in the process. "Crap!" She glanced inside, able to get a better look without the glare from the glass. There were some larger humanoids towards the back and a shorter humanoids. The taller ones seemed to notice they had a visitor and took off through the kitchen. "In pursuit!" she shouted, jumping into the room. "Arbiter, wait! Wait for backup!" "They can catch up!" As she bolted through the building, she took note of the people who were down. Lot's of bruises, minor bleeding and maybe some broken bones, but no one was dying. The place reeked of blood and testosterone, so she couldn't make out the races of all involved. She tore through the kitchen where a frightened staff pointed towards the swinging back door, so Sadie made her way out onto the street. She heard their footsteps before seeing them as the fleeing combatants made their way out of the end of the alley. They had a good head start on her but to Arbiter Sadie Hewitt, the chase had just started. She vaulted any number of trash bags, cans or alley flotsam as she struggled to make up ground. Hitting the edge of the alley, she saw them weaving through traffic. "This is Arbiter Hewitt," she said into her radio as she hurtled a cute little VW Beetle, "and I'm in pursuit of suspects heading west on . . . Flair Ave.," she added, looking around for a street sign. "Vamps!" She shouted this after one of the chased turned to look at her. Even if she couldn't smell them, there was no way she would mistake the creature and the arrogance behind those eyes. "Stop!" she shouted, mostly out of a sense of obligation. She really didn't expect them to comply, which they didn't. She was gaining on them, and she wondered if they knew it. Sadie had spent twice as much time on obstacle courses as anyone else at the Arbiter Academy, just because she loved to practice. She weaved around and jumped over cars until she got to the sidewalk, quickly turning a corner. A ways down the street, she saw her quarry piling into a car. "What the fuck?!" She kept running, wondering what was going on. Had they parked all the way over here? It didn't make sense. And she hadn't seen any of them get into the driver's side door. She tried to get a good look at the plates as pulled her walkie-talkie up. "Suspects are getting into a black . . . Lincoln. License plate numbers . . . Damn it!" The car had a dark protective covering over the plate, making it impossible to read from that distance. She had no idea why those things were legal. The wheels on the getaway car spun out. "The car is heading north on Pleasant Street and . . . no, it's turning right on Concord." She turned and ran through the office building to her right, trying to find a way through to make up more ground. She wound up jumping through a secretary's window to land on the street next to some terrified passersby, but it was too late. The car had vanished. She looked up and saw a sign: "West End City Limits." They had escaped into vampire territory. She saw some Gravestones police cars go flying by, but she doubted they'd have better luck. A bunch of vampires had roughed up a bunch of goblins and they'd had help getting away. It didn't set well in her stomach . . . not at all. She turned and walked back the way she'd come, stopping to calm down the frightened secretary and leave her card so she could see about the damages. When she got back to the Bygone Cafe, she found that most of the Goblins were being treated or questioned. Vladimir was there and walked over to her. "It was dumb chasing after 'em on you own," he said, but he really didn't seem to be chastising her. It was more like he was saying what he was supposed to say. "You okay?" "Just my pride hurt. They had a getaway car, which took them to West End at the very least. Anyone hurt badly?" "Nah," Vladimir replied. He looked confused. "By all accounts, the vamps just came in the back and started wailing on people. No attempt at robbery or anything. Owner said that one of them shoved a flier in his mouth then knocked him through the dishrack." "Got the flier?" The two of them walked over to where the owner was giving a statement to Officer Devlin. The young human looked almost bored, and it made Sadie mad. "Hello sir," she said as she approached, ignoring Devlin completely, "I was wondering if you had the flier that you were assaulted with." She got down on a knee and looked the goblin in the eye: in their culture, it was a show of respect to meet them on their own terms. "It's back in there somewhere," he said. "It was one for 'Werewolf Wednesday.' It's a dumb name, I know, but I was trying to get the furry crowd back in." "What do you mean by 'back in'?" "We used to get a lot more diverse crowds. It's kinda fallen off this year, and it's a shame. Weres know how to party like no one else." "You've never seen ME party," Sadie said, patting the goblin on the shoulder. "Sorry I didn't catch them, but I promise you I'll get them some time or another." "You can't win them all," the Goblin said. "May have to close down after this though. It's hard to keep a place going when you have people making it clear you're not wanted." "Don't let them win," Vladimir said, following Sadie's lead and kneeling. "Don't let a bunch of bloodsuckers tell a goblin that they can't run a business." It was a good tactic, since goblins had worked longer and harder than other races to earn respect in the workforce, so they tended to be more proud of their accomplishments. "No offense," he added, glancing at Sadie. "None taken." "It's always the vampires' fault," Devlin muttered sarcastically. Sadie ignored him for the time being, taking a look around. She let Vladimir talk to the owner while she looked at the walls of the restaurant. There were a number of different fliers up with discounts for the different races. A young human female with a waitress outfit and a black eye walked over and stood next to Sadie. "We've heard a lot of grumblings about these recently," she said quietly. "Vamps that use to come in started talking shit to everyone else, and they'd sometimes hang outside on human night or werewolf night just to hurl insults at people. Everront," she said, looking towards the owner, "was trying so hard to get a mixed clientèle. Always thought it was better to keep more doors open than shut." It had been a long time, but she had been a young girl once. She knew what it looked like when you wanted to cry but were afraid to. She put an arm around the girl's shoulder. "It's okay," she whispered. The girl wept quietly into the Arbiter's should. Sadie didn't figure the girl could be more than eighteen years old, which was a tough age to be. It was old enough to vote and die for your country and think you're invincible, but not too young to find out the world wasn't always flowers and puppy dogs. "You're a vampire, right?" the girl asked. "I'd heard the new Arbiter was a vamp." "Yeah, I'm a vamp." "Why do you guys hate us so much? I mean . . . I didn't mean you --" "It's okay. We don't. Not all vampires are like that," she said, not sure how much she believed it. "You got someone coming to get you? I'll stay with you until they get here, okay?" It was a few minute until the girl's terrified parents showed up and took her away, swearing they'd never let their girl work out of human territories again. Sadie ground her teeth angrily, looking around for something to punch. Vladimir showed up, and she liked him a bit too much to unload on him. 'Where's Devlin?' she thought irritably. "You sensing a pattern here?" Koloff asked. "Yeah. And I got the feeling something's going on besides the regular Halloween jitters." She stomped her foot and walked towards her vehicle. "I can't believe I let them get away." "Hey, even you can't chase down a car. Hell, I couldn't do it fully wolfed out." He could tell that she wasn't in the mood to be reasonable. He realized that she really thought she was superwoman, or at least that she was supposed to be. "Let's get some statements, get an artist down here to do some renderings and then . . . then you get that drink." "That would be 'drinks' . . . the plural of 'drink.' Don't go getting cheap on me Vlad," she said, her smile returning. It was hard to keep Sadie down for long. "Okay," he replied, realizing that he had no chance in hell of breaking her of the habit of calling him "Vlad," "multiple drinks. You got anyplace in mind?" --------- ------------------------- At the end of the shift . . . --------- ------------------------- Vladimir was probably going to get a headache before he left but, if not, he was sure he'd get one when he got home. Teresa would be able to smell the cheap perfume and lingering aroma of beer and unfiltered Camels on him from across the room, and elves didn't even have a great sense of smell. "So where'd you hear about this place?" he asked, raising his Coors Light to his lips. Sadie looked at his choice of beverages with some disgust. "Frankenstein." "Pardon?" Sadie was kicked back in the comfy cloth chair, staring at some twenty-something year old girl strutting her stuff on stage in nothing but a bra and thong. "One of the leaders of El Diablo is a friend of mine, and he recommended it.." She had chosen the Cat Scratch Club as the "bar" to claim her bet winnings at. "There he is!" She stood up and waved wildly. She'd called him on the way over, but wasn't sure he was going to make it. She waited until the biker got over, gave him a big hug and introduced him to Vladimir. It was weird introducing a biker who wasn't exactly always lawful to a fellow cop, but once Vladimir saw the Semper Fi tattoo on Frank's arm, everything was good. Marines were marines. "Actually, can't stay long," Frank said, ordering a single beer. "Just wanted to say hi. Looks like we're going to be pulling out of town soon." "Why?" Sadie said. "Hold that thought." She pulled out her wallet, got a single and headed up to the stage, shoving it under some the boy-shorts of a pink-haired hard-bodied dancer who had just come up. "Thanks baby," the dancer said. "I'm Torrie." "Lap dance later?" The dancer looked off into a dark corner and then back at Sadie with a sultry smile. "Be over after my rotation. Just need to make sure my girlfriend approves." Sadie grinned. "I love open relationships." She went and sat back down. "So, where were we?" Frank shrugged. "Most cops have been getting really friendly in a bad way with my boys. Gravestones is the only place we can play. And the Nightwings rolled in a couple of days ago. My crew's a little young up here, and I don't want any of 'em getting froggy and starting something with vamp bikers." "Nightwings?" Sadie got comfortable and sipped her drink. "I've never heard of them riding out here." "Me either." Vladimir started to say something, but was then distracted by a top-heavy black woman who walked by and traced a finger across his strong shoulders. "Is there some kind of convention going on?" he asked. "I mean, there's a lot of vamps in town." "I haven't heard anything," she responded. "Doesn't surprise me," Vlad said. "You go out of your way to make sure they don't talk to you." "I try, but they keep talking." "You know, maybe you should try playing nice with them," Vladimir said. "I know you're less than thrilled about the idea, but it might let us know if something is really up or if it's just our imaginations." "Why don't you get Devlin?" Sadie muttered into her rum and coke. "He wants to be a vampire so bad --" "But he isn't," Vlad said, putting his drink down. "And he isn't an Arbiter either. Frost is obsessed with you for some reason, so maybe you should consider using that." Sadie put her drink down and she looked at him with as serious a face as she'd ever worn. "I won't be seen as some vamp Lord's broodling or suckup. Not even if it's for pretend. I'll find a way of looking into it, okay?" The werewolf looked over at Frankenstein, but the man nearly shrugged. He didn't know why Sadie avoided her own kind so vehemently. 'Except that Terrence guy,' Vlad thought. "Do you think that Frost's bodyguard might be able to give us some information? Nothing sensitive, 'cause I've got the feeling he's the loyal type . . . just if there's a party that we weren't invited to." Sadie seemed to be mulling it over. "Might work. I'll talk to him if he comes to help on the deck this weekend." "You're building your deck? Why didn't --" Vlad started. "Mary's going to be there. The wraith?" She knew he was going to ask why she hadn't asked for his big manly help, and there it was. Werewolves were more freaked out by wraiths than anyone, due to the lack of any olfactory footprint. "The more help the better, but I figured --" "I'll be there. Teresa hates it when I'm around on the weekends anyway." "Why . . . How did you two meet?" Sadie asked, going back into her non-confrontational mode, a bit perplexed that he'd be willing to joined a construction crew with a wraith foreman so quickly. She noticed an immediate souring of attitude. "I'm not trying to start a fight," she added carefully. "Just trying to get to know my partner is all. I can listen to you or to rumors." She watched him breathe in, then out . . . and finally he spoke. "Quid pro quo," he replied. "I talk about my life, you get to explain what happened in Austin that made your superiors 'let' you come up here to Midian." "I don't --" "Then no deal." Frankenstein was chuckling as he stood up. Not many people could back Sadie into a corner and get away unscathed. "I'll leave you two alone. I'm going to go get the boys and head south and see what kind of hell we can raise in San Francisco." Sadie jumped up and hugged her friend. "Be good. Don't make me come down there and have to arrest you." "Will do." Sadie sat back down and glared at Vlad, who looked monumentally unintimidated. "You tell no one?" She watched Vlad zip his lips shut. "Okay, it was really just a big accident," she muttered. "Things just got a little out of control." She took a deep breath and then launched into her explanation. She had actually just been responding to a disturbance call where someone had reported their neighbor was making too much noise. Sadie had been bored so, rather than just letting a regular flatfoot take care of it, she had decided to take a drive. Turned out that some moron decided to make a ruckus cleaning some of the equipment they used to make crystal meth . . . in their backyard in the middle of the night. They were so out of their brains by that point that it apparently just didn't occur to them that this wasn't the wisest thing to do. She showed up and they actually had the gall to hit on her before realizing that she was both a cop and a vampire. Then things had gotten chaotic. It had been four of them and one of her, so Sadie thought it would have been unfair of her to call for backup. She only had one pair of cuffs, so she had to improvise. She cuffed one to an exposed water pipe, hung another one from the back porch by his shoelaces and implanted a third in the fence. The fourth wound up being a fake-were, or a human who had been granted the ability to morph into a monstrous creature via a witch-spell. Highly illegal black-market spell, but potentially lethal. She had fought with the guy for a while before he realized that spell or no spell he was no match for Sadie, so he took off running. He was able to make it to his car because -- "My . . . uhm . . . pants got on the barbwire they lined their gate fence with," Sadie mumbled, taking another drink. Vlad tried not to grin. "Don't tell me --" "Yep," she replied, "I had to dump the pants and my shoes to give chase." "Not that you usually mind," Vladimir chuckled, "but please continue." Sadie rolled her eyes. She got to her patrol car and had pursued the escapee until they both got stuck in Austin traffic. He had gotten out of his vehicle, so she got out of hers intending to pursue on foot. Their dodging through busy streets caused a traffic back-up for a quarter mile in every direction. Then the perp car-jacked an ice-cream truck. "You're kidding?!" Vladimir was loving the hell out of this. "This is the dumbest chase in history!" The Arbiter glared at him, though it was pretty damn funny in retrospect. "Well, the only thing I could see that I could commandeer that was facing the correct directions was --" She paused, took a deep breath and then, "-- the tour bus for the Rolling Stones 'Last Time and We Mean It' tour. Hey, it made sense at the time!" "Had you ever driven a bus before?" "No," she said, blushing furiously. "I figured it couldn't be hard. Now, the only reason I know how many gears it had was because I stripped them all." "Okay, so the half-naked vampire Arbiter is chasing an ice-cream truck driven by a fake-were while in a tour bus stolen from a band who will never die." "Effectively." Sadie went on to explain that she tailed the guy to an abandoned warehouse district where he rushed inside. She managed to get a look inside by standing on the bus and looking through a vent. It was a drug cartel's entire local inventory, and there were a lot of armed men listening to her perp rapidly try and explain why he had led an Arbiter right to them. Breathless Ch. 03 "You didn't wait for backup, did you?" Vlad asked. "Let's see . . . no, no I didn't. I'd actually taken a whiff of the chemicals in the air back at the original crime scene, and with the cloud on the Rolling Stone tour bus --" "Say no more." Sadie had been feeling pretty invulnerable at that point. And hungry, but she could wait to satisfy the sudden Twinkie craving until after she had served out cold hard slabs of justice. So she rammed the warehouse with the bus. There was a most unusual cloud of something floating through the air and people were running around frantically. A fire had also broken out which was not only going to destroy millions and millions of dollars worth of product, but was creeping towards the chemicals used to create that product. She had heard sirens approaching, and the drug cartel went charging out into the streets to be arrested and saved from "that lunatic bitch!" She in turn had come charging out, still half naked, to get everyone out of the area before the warehouse blew up. Luckily, no one was seriously injured in the explosion that consumed the entire building and took firefighters the better part of two days to contain. Overall, she had cost the city millions, but she had felt perfectly justified since it had been for a good cause. She had promptly gorged herself on junk food, apologized to the Rolling Stones, and fended off a proposal for sex by at least two members. "A girl's got to have SOME standards," she said by way of her grand finale. Vlad was laughing so hard he almost could stay in his seat. While a bit embarassed, she was glad to see him laughing like that. She was getting ready to make fess up and explain his relationship with his wife when the dancer from earlier came over. "Would you like that dance now?" the pink-haired beauty purred. "Don't move," she said, pointing at Vlad but looking at the stripper. "Let's go to the VIP room," the girl added. "I think you'll like the privacy." The girl's voice was saturated with promise. "That okay with your girlfriend?" Sadie responded, glancing at the buxom brunette in the corner. "Actually she insisted. I've been a good girl recently, so she's giving me a reward." "Lucky me." "Not yet." She led Sadie to a hallway with booths on either side. Once the vampire had stepped inside, Torrie pulled the curtain closed. Sadie grinned. She knew the drill. "Been a while since I've been in one of these," she murmured. "Last time, I was in you shoes . . . or heels, as it were." "You a dancer?" "I was . . . undercover project." "You're a cop?" the girl asked, backing off a bit but not seeming too put off. "An Arbiter," Sadie said. She lounged back on the bench. "But I don't do 'indecency' citations. Hell, I get naked any chance I get." Torrie smiled. "Any?" Sadie nodded. She hoped she was reading the vibes from the girl right. Then the next song officially started, and Torrie began to move. Sadie knew she'd picked the right girl within seconds. This wasn't just a bump-and-grind girl, oh no. She certainly didn't mind contact, but she teased her victims first. And as the song went on, she encouraged Sadie's hands to roam. Sadie always made sure never to put her hands anywhere the dancer didn't want, but Torrie seemed to have no restrictions. "So, your girlfriend give you to strangers as a reward often?" Sadie asked as that hard body slid down over the vampire's cleavage. Torrie grinned. "She's also my mistress, and I do anything she asks." "You're a sub? I keep running into you people!" She moaned lightly as the girl raked the inside of Sadie's denim-clad legs with her fingernails. "Mmmh," Torrie moaned. "I'd kill for legs like these." She was no fool, and knew how far she could push a vamp before things got dangerous. So no biting. "So you like submissives?" she asked innocently. "I like attractive women, and men for that matter. A friend from work has submissive tendencies, and I'm trying to help her work them out. She's nervous about it all, and I'm really not that knowledgeable." The dancer stopped and nodded before reaching into the tiny purse and pulling out a business card. "My email and number are the second ones there. Tell your friend to call or write any time. My mistress and I are serious about making sure that anyone who wants to enter the lifestyle has plenty of intel." Sadie smiled and looked at the card as the girl started to dance again. "Dark Eden?" she said, looking at the business name. "I've heard of that. Fetish club in California isn't it?" "Yep," Torrie said, lightly rubbing her ass on one of Sadie's thighs. "Isabel . . . my mistress . . . started managing it a couple of years back, and has started a couple of clubs since. I do a lot of fetish art, including specialty equipment such as cages. I make stuff that's exotic and fun, but safe for the submissive. Cages have emergency exits, cuffs have secondary releases . . . stuff like that." Sadie wasn't surprised by people often, but this highly sensual woman was much smarter than the vamp had given her credit for. "So if you two are so successful, why strip?" Torrie straddled her client's lap, grabbing Sadie's hands and placing them directly on her exposed breasts. "For fun. You see, I like being seen as a sexual object, just like my mistress likes seeing me that way. After we get back to the hotel, she's going to spank me until I'm done telling her every sordid detail of what went on back here," the girl murmured, lowering her lips to Sadie's neck and blowing warm air onto her skin. "So if you don't mind, I'd like lots of sordid details to make the spanking take a while." Sadie grabbed the girl's ass and gripped it tightly, loving the gasp the girl made. "So you up here on business?" Torrie nodded, biting her bottom lip. 'Such power in those hands,' she thought. "Yeah, we were thinking of opening up a new club in Midian, but we decided against it." "Why?" Sadie asked, feeling the girl fumbling with the buttons of her pants. "Vamps are a big part of our clientèle usually. They really dig the scene, but the vamps up here . . . no offense . . . are just really abusive it seems. The ones we talked to were too domineering in a bad way. There's no way Isabel would let them near her clients." Sadie, for one of the few times in her life, was distracted from sex with an attractive person by thoughts of work. Normally, it was the other way around. She needed to talk this over with Vlad, and make sure it wasn't just her natural biases coming to the foreground. "I apologize," Torrie said, lowering her eyes in a manner similar but more elegant that the way Melissa did it. This girl was a practiced submissive. "I have been using time that should be dedicating to your pleasure," she purred, "for something as mundane as business." She slid across Sadie's lap, elevating her ass just a little bit. "I deserve punishment." Sadie grinned. "I like a professional," she said, running her hand across those taut cheeks. "And how much of a punishment do you deserve?" She shrugged. "I'm really not that good at this whole thing," she admitted. Torrie smiled back. "Basically, this is where I usually get spanked until I cum on your leg." Sadie's eyebrows shot up. "You can do that? Just from getting spanked?!" "My mistress trained me well," came the hungry reply. "We had to practice for a long time." She flexed her ass cheeks. "Don't worry, the booths of this club have all been magically soundproofed." Sadie raised her hand and lowered it sharply, lighting up the woman's flesh but not so hard as to hurt. She knew the limits of her strength. The reaction was immediate and obviously pleasurable, as Torrie moaned with a great deal of heat. She responded to the next thwack the same way, and the third . . . the fourth . . . the twentieth. Sadie would've stopped, but it was pretty clear that Torrie far from minded this treatment. She had spread her legs slightly, allowing her to put pressure on her mound while rubbing against Sadie's leg. Sadie reached between the girl's cheeks for a moment and slid her fingers pass those soaked panties and into the girl's sex. She finger her for a moment, then wiped Torrie's moist expenditures on her ass before spanking her again. True to her word, the pink-haired stripper began to climax by the time they got to thirty. Her body shook as the little death overtook her, and she sighed with pure contentment. "Good grief woman," Sadie started, genuinely impressed, "what else have you been trained to do?" Torrie could have been the devil, based on the mischevous glee that toyed with her features. "So many things," she murmured, sliding to the floor and propping herself up on her knees. "Amongst others, I've been trained to provide oral pleasure using ONLY my mouth and tongue, with both hands tied behind my back." Sadie's handcuffs magically appeared. This was a huge violation of protocol, but she didn't give a rat's ass. She reached around the girl's body and secured her hands. "Just say the word and they come off," she promised. Torrie's grin returned. She liked this woman and was happy that her mistress had "chosen" her for the evening. She was obviously no stranger to lust, but never without compassion. She wouldn't hurt Torrie, at least not in an unpleasant way. The fact that this vampire Arbiter was sexy beyond all reason didn't hurt matters. Watching the woman push jeans and panties down to her boots and then lowered her legs on either side of Torrie's head. "Prove it," Sadie growled. "As you command," Torrie said slyly, pressing her face forward and lashing at the vampire's exposed sex with sensual aggression. She placed the tip of her tongue near the base of Sadie's pussy and slowly traced it in a clockwise direction. She stopped at the top and teased the clit, giving her mistress of the moment a small glimpse of the pleasure in store for her. Then she continued her circle until she reached the bottom again before finally going straight up the midde. She planted a gentle kiss on the clitoral hood . . . then another. Sadie's hand reached under her vest and started vigorously playing with her breasts, giving them something to do as pink tongue penetrated her pink cleft and got her normally still heart racing. She sent blood surging to all the places it needed to be to make the pleasure more potent, and it was working. Torrie sucked on those swelling inner labia. She hadn't been with many vamps, and none as hot as Sadie. She would have to do something extra nice to her mistress for letting her have this. She tugged on on those inner lips, making a low growling noise. She let it loose and then moved to the other one. "You're as good as you said," Sadie chuckled, then moaned again. "I've had a lot of practice," Torrie replied demurely. She spread her tongue and pushed it slowly upward from bottom to top, then dragging it back down. She did this several times in short order, then wrapped her soft lips around that hard clit and sucked gently. It was only a few minutes before she had Sadie writing in pure bliss. She lavished affection all over her lover's mound, and even performed a few quick darts at that perfect little anus. Sadie grabbed two handfuls of Torrie's pink hair and held her in place when she climaxed, not letting go until the girl's mouth was coated with a sweet, sexy sheen: evidence of Sadie's pleasure. "I've never pleasured an Arbiter before," the girl said happily. "It could be addictive. If I weren't utterly devoted to my mistress --" "It's okay sugar," Sadie replied, releasing her legs death-grip on Torrie's head. "I ain't the settling-down kind, and you folk need more . . . consistency? Yeah, consistency. Besides, sounds like you and your mistress have a good thing going." She gave the young submissive a kiss, more friendly than passionate, but warm nonetheless. They both got dressed, or as dressed as they were going to get and cleaned up. The booths had a convenient box of tissues set aside, and the girls made great use of them. "Hey, here's my card as well," Sadie said, "just in case you hear of any other weird behavior or need help." She smiled and grabbed Torrie's tight ass. "Or if you AND your mistress want another taste." Torrie bowed her head in subservience, but that gleam didn't leave her eye. "I will happily . . . very happily . . . extend your invitation." She waved off the money that Sadie tried to offer for the "dance." "Oh no," she said, "this one was on the house." The exited the VIP area and Torrie vanished into the corner of the club where her mistress eagerly awaited news of her slave's debauchery. Sadie sat down contendedly next to Vlad. "Oh sweet hell," the wolf said, rolling his eyes, "you reek of sex, you know that?" "That would be because I had sex," Sadie responded primly. "I need to visit that club of theirs next time I'm in California." She looked at Vlad, seriousness taking over. She told him about the mistress's concern about the growing arrogance of vampires in the fetish scene. "I didn't even start it," she said at last. "But I need to make sure someone else thinks something's wrong. I'm not crazy --" "I know, and no one thinks so. But the vamps have contacts, ears, and eyes everywhere, and they have tons of connections. Not everyone is so willing to stoke their fires as you are." "Think I should back off? Let someone else look into this?" "You're biased, headstrong, and far too cocky," Vladimir said. Then he grinned, "There's no chance in hell of you letting someone else go chasing these shadows and you know it." She nodded, waving down the waitress for another beer. This was turning into a particularly dangerous game, and it was time she took it more seriously. But that would have to wait for another sunset. "Your turn," she said, turning towards her comrade. "Fess up. How did you and the little missus meet?" Vladimir's mirth vanished. He hadn't really expected for Sadie to come clean about Austin, but she had and so it was time to pay up. "Really not much to tell. I actually served with her brother in the first Gulf War. Never thought I'd see an elf in the Marines, but he surprised me. Good man . . . good man. Always had my back. I'd met Teresa and she'd seemed a little snooty, but Lavelle was convinced that was just a front. Their parents died about ten years ago, so Lavelle thought it was his job to keep an eye on her, even though she didn't much seem to want him to. Well, one night, we were clearing out a bar in Baghdad . . . and by that I mean --" "Yeah, I can guess what you mean," Sadie replied, shaking her head. Leathernecks were all the same. "Well, he had this look about him. You know how some people seem to know that their time has come due? Elves especially?" The Arbiter nodded. Each race had their own varieties of the notion of an afterlife. Humans had a number of religions, none of which could agree on much of anything. Vampires, not including Sadie herself, tended to think they would be reincarnated, as if the possibility of living forever the first time wasn't enough. Elves also believed in reincarnation, but as some kind of spirit associated with the earth, and werewolves . . . they believed that they would join the great Pack behind Lupus the Hunter and run amongst the stars for eternity. Sadie liked that version best, and almost wished she could believe it. "Well he got to talking in that weird kind of way. You know, questioning the purpose of everything and why we were there. Said he didn't want Teresa to be left alone. He'd promised his father that he'd look after her always. He said he felt the Earth Spirit whispering to him . . . I just thought he'd taken one too many shots to the head. But he was serious, and he made me promise that if anything happened to him, I'd look after his sister." Sadie grimaced. "Something happened to him, didn't it?" "We were ambushed," Vlad said, so softly that she could barely hear his voice over the pseudo-erotic thumping of the DJ's music. "He took a bullet for me." The vampire leaned back and drained half her beer. She needed to let him collect himself. Sadie didn't even need to hear the rest of the story, but she had a feeling he still needed to tell it. Some things needed to be aired out now and again, even memories. Otherwise, they festered in the dark places of your mind until all the therapy or alcohol in the world can't wash the rotting smell away. "We were waiting for the docs, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize he wasn't going to make it. He reminded me of my promise . . . then asked to be given his final inspection. Said he was leaving the military a little sooner than expected, so he thought he'd earned it . . . didn't even want his last rites." Sadie nodded. She always wondered who'd written those verses. Silently she spoke the last lines to herself, seeing that Vlad was doing the same. "Step forward now, you soldier, you've borne your burdens well. Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets, you've done your time in hell." Their gazes met. "I'm sorry for your friend." "I was allowed to be his escort back to the States, and Teresa met me at the airport. We buried him . . . we got along back then. I looked her up when my tour was over. She was still kind of lost, and had taken up with the wrong crowd. I courted her constantly until she consented." "Doesn't sound particularly romantic," Sadie said. "Consented is an ugly word when it comes to marriage." "How would you know?" Vlad replied angrily. "You don't seem to have much interest in love or commitment, just lust. How many lovers have you had since getting to Midian? Hell, since getting to this bar?!" "Vlad, calm down!" she said, flushed with anger and . . . and something else. Resentment. She doubted he knew how deeply he had cut her, even by accident. "Yes, I'm fairly free with certain things, but don't think for a moment that I don't understand love!" She stood up, her feet and mouth on autopilot. "And I know that love shouldn't hurt. Do you really think that you're fulfilling a promise to a friend by being miserable with someone for the rest of your life?!" She stormed out the door. She wasn't sure why she was the one storming out, but the conversation had taken a turn that she wasn't prepared to deal with. And to think that she'd just told HIM to calm down. He followed her out to the parking lot and grabbed her arm. "Marriage is work and sacrifice, not something to be just abandoned whenever convenient!" "From what I hear, you've NEVER been happy with her! She treats you like shit because you aren't high born. I've seen the way she sucks up to the elite." She ripped her arm away. She hadn't meant to be confrontational, but he'd touched a nerve. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her eyes. This was more than human sexual submissive play for her, because she knew how it would be interpreted by a were. She was trying to back down from challenging him. "It's just you didn't really seem happy with her and I wanted to find out what was going on. I didn't mean to question your integrity or honor." Vladimir knew she what she had meant to do. He hated her for bringing it up, but she'd been the only one to challenge him on the issue to his face. He'd admire her more if he wasn't so furious. "I don't know any other way to protect her," he growled. Sadie looked up and realized how close he was to her. "Are you protecting her or your honor?" Sadie asked, looking directly into his eyes. They were sad, and they shouldn't be. He was primal . . . he was a predator. There should always be hunger behind those eyes, not regret. "Does she even want your protection?" He knew that he needed to step back. He had adrenalin pumping through his veins, and the face looking up at him was as beautiful as it was challenging. Despite her brief attempt to appear meek, Sadie Hewitt could never truly bow to anyone. 'Maybe that's why she doesn't like the other vampires,' he thought. 'She simply will never kneel before any Lord.' There was a time that he would've done anything for a woman like this. Breathless Ch. 03 "I need to go," he said, but didn't turn away. "Me too," she murmured. Then she grabbed the back of his head and kissed him like she hadn't kissed anyone in a long time. His lips met hers with equal passion, and he lifted her off the ground. With her, he could hear the howl of his four-footed brethren far off in the woods. She could feel his heart pumping blood through every corner of his body. He dropped her and she stumbled backward. "No," he whispered. "I can't --" He turned and walked away. Sadie couldn't watch him leave, so she turned and got into her truck. She bashed her head against the steering-wheel so hard that she split the skin on her forehead and blood trickled down into her eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to get this close, and she hadn't realized how close she'd gotten until that moment. She desired Vladimir in a way she couldn't fathom, and now she'd have to find some way to fix things. She started up the truck and headed home. When she got there, Mel's little Mini was sitting next to the house. The girl had been given a key, so she was probably inside. Sure enough, she met Sadie at the door in a sexy little bit of lingerie, but all thoughts of a decadent morning tryst faded away when she saw the walking wounded ascend the stairs. "What the hell happened?!" "I don't want to talk about it," Sadie muttered, pushing her way inside. "Listen, I don't think I'm really in the mood to play tonight, so if you'd rather --" Sadie felt Mel's hands on her arms shortly before being unceremoniously spun around fast enough to make her dizzy. "If you don't want sex, then I'm fine with that. We're friends with benefits . . . I know that. But that starts with being friends, and FRIENDS like explanations when someone they care about looks like their puppy just died and walk in with blood on their faces." Mel had looked annoyed, but her face softened a bit. She couldn't imagine what could rattle Sadie Hewitt. "I'm okay," Sadie said. "I just fucked up tonight is all. I'm tired, I'm cranky and --" She stopped. Mel was a friend, and probably the best friend she'd had in a while. 'When did that happen?' she thought. "And what? Sadie, you can talk to me. I promise, nothing gets repeated outside these walls unless you want it. I know what it's like to try and make it without anyone to talk to. That was my life until you came along, and it sucks ass." Sadie nodded. "You know, I really think I could use someone to talk to," she whispered. She sat down on the bed while Melissa fetched a washcloth and some hydrogen peroxide. Sadie unloaded everything that happened, uncomfortable at how emotionally exposed she was feeling. She did remember to give the stripper's card to Mel, and insisted she call the woman. They could help her through some of her issues better than Sadie could. Mel just listened to the Arbiter and wondered how often this happened . . . someone with this much power but no one to turn to that could help with HER problems. "Vlad's a good guy," Melissa said at last. "He's just trying to do what he thinks is right. You're not going to guilt him into changing his mind. Just be his friend, and maybe you'll convince him." "If he ever talks to me again. I can't believe I kissed him," Sadie said, flopping back on her bed. "Get some sleep," Melissa said. "You'll figure it out in the evening." She went to grab her purse. "Wait," Sadie said abruptly. "I . . . okay, this is going to sound stupid, but even if we don't have sex, I'd really like you to stay. Even as just a friend." Melissa smiled and put her purse down, crawling onto the bed and cuddling up with her friend. "Poor, poor Arbiter. Whatever are we going to do with you?" ------------ ------------------- The next night . . . ------------ ------------------- Sadie had bounced back a bit by the time she pulled into the parking lot at the precinct. She was sure she could smooth things over with Vlad. He'd been drinking, she'd been drinking, she'd just gotten laid . . . overall, not an unusual set of events to lead to her kissing someone. Mel's Mini pulled in next to her and the goth chick got out. "I guess your socializing helped," she remarked, looking at the lot. Sadie hadn't even noticed, but someone had finally filled in the potholes in the lot. And the metal plating over the windows was gone, with shiny new glass behind it. She was willing to bet it was heavily spelled and bullet proof. 'I guess there's something to be said for playing the game.' She walked in, giving her friend a hug before heading to her desk. Vlad wasn't in his chair, so she stared for a moment in silence as she tried to figure out exactly what she was going to say. A few minutes later, Devlin walked over. "Officer Koloff called in sick, so we'll be riding together." He looked confused, but turned to walk towards the door. "What's up?" she asked, standing up. She didn't believe for a second that Vlad was sick, and Devlin was about to confirm it. "I dunno. He's never been sick once since I've worked here. He showed up the day after getting shot for Christ's sake." Sadie clenched her fists and rolled her eyes. He wasn't going to make this easy on her. Twenty minutes later, they were cruising along Thirteenth Street, which was the official dividing line between Gravestones and West End, and the differences were as clear as night and day. There was even a row of abandoned buildings just on the east side of the street, as if West End was afraid of being infected by proximity. Sadie could see the longing in Devlin's eyes when he looked across the way into the world of wrought iron gates, Greek fountains, and perfectly manicured lawns. "I put myself in the registry," he said at last, not even looking at her. She sighed and leaned back in her seat, trying to avoid the Cadillac Escalade that had just cut her off. The registry was a list of those wanting to be Turned who didn't have a sponsor, sort of like the undead lottery. If there was a vamp out there looking to expand his or her brood and couldn't find anyone to their taste locally, they could check the registry. The competition was high, and Devlin's chances were slim. He was a beat cop in the part of Midian that most vampires wouldn't be caught (metaphorically) dead in. 'Stop trying to live his life for him,' she thought. 'You don't have to like his decision.' She pulled into a gas station to grab a beverage. "Mind filling 'er up?" she asked, followed with, "Want a drink?" "No. No thank you," he said. He'd half expected her to go off on him again. And she saw that in his eyes. "I know what you want," she said, trying to smile, "but I'm just as determined to stand by what I think is right as you are to get Turned. But just because I won't sponsor you doesn't mean I don't like you. Yeah, you're infuriating, but I guess I can be too." He gave her the first real grin she'd seen since she met him. "Yeah, I suppose you can be." "Hey, takin' the high road here! A little humility on your part wouldn't hurt." She jumped out of the SUV, feeling a little bit better about herself. She ran in and grabbed a huge tankard of her delicious Mountain Dew and a bag of Fritos. She got out and Devlin was leaning back against the car. "Hey," she said, "if you're going to try and go through with the whole Turning thing, do me a favor? I've got a friend by the name of Terrence McDermott, and he works for Lord Frost." The last part she almost had to spit out, but she reminded herself that she was trying to play nice. "Terrence just got his undead walking papers like five years ago. Let me give you his number --" "You think he'll be able to talk me out of it?" Devlin replied, growing suspicious. "Oh put a sock in it. He knows what you're likely to go through. Most of the older vamps forgot what making the transition from living to undead was like. It's not as easy as waking up one morning and trying on a new suit. Something I learned a long time ago was always walk into a new situation with your eyes open. Fewer nasty surprises that way." "Was it hard for you?" Devlin asked. He wasn't sure she'd answer, since she never seemed to talk about her past before becoming an Arbiter. He'd heard through the grapevine that she was created by a rogue, but that was it. Luckily, Sadie was already walking around the vehicle when she heard that question. Her eyes glassed over and she felt . . . ill. She stopped so that she could answer without him seeing her face. "I wasn't given a choice," she said, barely loud enough to be heard. "So yeah, it was hard." Devlin knew it was time to stop pushing. If he was going to get back on her good side, then he should probably avoid pouring salt on still-open wounds. "I'm sorry." She got into the driver's seat and wiped a tear from her eye. Time didn't heal all wounds but sometimes just let you become accustomed to the ache. But by the time Devlin topped off the tank and got inside, you'd never know that anything had been wrong. She was smiling again. -------------- ---------------------- Back at the station . . . -------------- ---------------------- Captain Grom poked his head out of his office. "Melissa, could you come in here for a second?" She rolled here eyes, sighed, and strode back into the office. "Forget where your stapler is again?" she asked casually. He smiled at her. Grom knew she had a heart of gold and that a lot of what people saw was just a front, so he let her attitude slide. Besides, she was good at her job. "No, not this time. Listen, I just got a call from Mayor Jefferson's office. Did you know that Arbiter Hewitt never registered as a vamp?" Mel shrugged. Of course she knew, but she wasn't going to sell out her best friend. "Of course not," the Captain replied. He should have known better than to even ask. "Jefferson, and by 'Jefferson' I mean 'Lord Frost,' seems to think that our whole police force should be on the 'up and up' . . . yes, I believe those were his words. Anyway, he says that the bare minimum they've requested --" "And by 'they' you mean 'Lord Frost'," Mel piped in. "Precisely. Anyway, even if she was Turned by a rogue, she needs to register with at least a birth certificate. From the way he made it sound, they've already requested it directly from her but just don't seem to have received it." "Perish the thought." Grom looked over his spectacles at her. "Mel, having an Arbiter here is a blessing, and Sadie's managed to do more in a month as far a improving the precinct's stock in the Gravestones than the rest of the force in the last couple of years. I know she doesn't seem threatened, but trust me," Grom's voice said, dropping to a whisper as he glanced around, "Frost isn't just some aristocratic wannabe. He's got strings on more puppets than you can imagine, and I don't want him to do anything that might cost us the luckiest break we've gotten in a while." He rolled his shoulders, knowing what he was going to suggest wouldn't set well with Melissa. "Her superiors in Washington have authorized us to provide whatever information the mayor requests in order to keep Arbiter Hewitt within the minimum requirements of the law. In other words --" "Give him the birth certificate. I don't know what the big deal is," she said. Grom sat back in his chair. "For vampires, age is key. Age determines hierarchy and pecking order. And here comes a veritable unknown, throwing their nice little order out of whack. They want to find some way of bringing her under control, and that starts with knowing how old she is. Listen, Sadie doesn't play by the rules, so just knowing her age isn't going to get them what they want. But it WILL let us keep her here. And you're better at cutting through the red tape than anyone else around here, so I'd like you to get what the mayor has asked for and pass it on." "Captain --" "I know, I know. She's your friend, and you don't want to sneak around behind her back. But do you think you or anyone is going to convince her to stop antagonizing Frost? Do you think she's actually going to mail a copy of the certificate to be entered into the Book of Names? She brought this on herself. When she finds out, I'll tell her it was all my doing." Melissa sighed, snarled and then walked away. She hated this, but she wasn't going to refuse the Captain's order or risk losing Sadie. She put a sign on her desk saying she'd be in the research lab, and went about poking into Sadie's past. Several hours and many cups of tar-black coffee later, she finally found something. Sadie apparently didn't leave much of a paper trail for the early part of her youth. Sadie found her service records, piloting records, certification records . . . but none of them had a birth date attached. That section seemed to be smudged on every form Melissa looked at. After a while, she'd remembered the name of the rogue vamp that Sadie said had bit her when she'd been complaining about a visit from Frost. 'Something Hogan . . . Clark Hogan?' she thought. That sounded right. She started looking for his obituary and, when she found it, checked the surrounding counties for some sign of Sadie Hewitt. "He really did get decapitated," she mutted. "Doesn't actually give a cause of death for him." Then she saw an artist's rendering. "Must've been one pissed off werewolf." "Werewolves are inevitably pissed off," hissed a voice behind her. "It's why they're at the bottom of the food chain . . . well, still above humans." Melissa knew she must be as white as a sheet. She wasn't afraid of much, but she was afraid of demons. She was especially afraid of Bartholomew since he took an interest in her. "Must really piss you off to be a servant of us lower beings, don't it?" she asked. She cursed herself for playing into his game. She knew he was smarter than her, stronger than her, and while he wouldn't actually physically harm her, he'd already shown he could get to her in other ways. "Spying on the bloodsucker I see," the yellow-scaled creature continued. "I'm sure she's going to be thrilled to hear about this." 'Fuck!' Melissa thought. 'So much from Grom taking the fall. He'll tell her, just to make her not trust me, and there's no point in asking him to keep his mouth shut.' She knew he was standing close behind her, and she minimized the windows on her screen. "Awh, let me watch," Bart crooned. "I'm sure you like being watched. Your slutty friend does. You know, I might be willing to keep my mouth shut if you'd be willing to open yours open," he said. His lips were now just inches from her ear. "I'm looking at sensitive databases," she said calmly. "I've been given permission to look at them . . . you haven't." "I suppose," he said. "I notice though that you didn't say anything about my offer of letting my trouser snake kiss the back of your throat. Intersted in trying some demonic hot sauce?" Melissa's skin was crawling. She wished Sadie were here, because she always had a comeback. But Mel's normal defense was just to make herself as unapproachable as possible. That didn't work with Bart anymore. "Bart, I'm working. Get out of here and let me get back to business. I might even overlook the sexual harassment and not send you to see the shrink again." "Okay, I'll go," Bart said with a humorless chuckle. "But the minute you want to experience the kind of heaven that only a denizen of hell can bring you --" He had stopped and she could feel his brimstone breath on the back of her neck. "-- give me a call." Melissa waited until she heard his footstep disappear before she even turned around. She was alone in the room. She jumped to her feet, closing and locking the door. She fighting back tears as she went back to work. It was another hour before she finally found what she was looking for. Someone in Harris county had scanned all the old records into image files, making it easier to scan. After a well crafted search -- "Sadie Hewitt, born to John and Pam Hewitt in Webster, Texas . . . January 2nd, 1897." Melissa's eyebrows went up. "Hunh. That would maker her a hundred and fourteen years old. She looks damn good for her age." I wonder what else I can find about her," she muttered. She kept up her search, wanting to find out more about her friend. Then something caught her eye . . . a scan of an old, old newspaper article. Mel did a 'find on page' command and looked for 'Sadie.' It only took a second for that little green highlighted area to pop up. "That can't be right," she said, settling back as a chill overtook her. "That just can't be right." --------------- --------------------------- To be continued . . . Breathless Ch. 04 *Yes ma'am. It's owned by the Farley Company . . . Nothing in it yet. Just bought it last week and put out adds for employees in the paper. They . . . ah, they're one of those companies that sell cheap furniture . . . kinda like Ikea. (click)* There was a pause. *Looks like a diverse company. Human owned, but they're looking to hire a werewolf security company and goblin distributers. (click)* 'Could be a lot of jobs for the community,' Sadie thought. 'Why would anyone break into a warehouse with nothing it it? Ah, probably just druggies or winos looking for a place to shack up. Hate to kick 'em out,' she thought. 'Getting cold out at night.' She jumped up on a dumpster and looked in a window after wiping the frost away. 'Big damn building.' She hopped back onto the ground and went around to the back. She found a wall of loading doors, and the one at the far corner seemed to have been lifted with a car jack. "Dispatch, I've found a possible point of entry. It's probably nothing, but send some backup if we've got anyone in the area." She approached the door. 'Wait,' she thought. 'Why would a junkie have a car jack?' She peeked underneath the door. It smelled of stale air and dust, but there was something else . . . gasoline? And there was sweat and shoe leather, and she heared some scuffling. Sadie knew she should wait for someone else. This wasn't just a simple breaking and entering. But she heard someone whimpering . . . someone was afraid. Sadie rolled under the door. Indoor darkness was much different than outdoor darkness. Outdoor darkness had starlight and moonlight and a score of other things that a vampire could use to find his or her way. Indoor darkness was the darkness of the grave, with nothing on the other side. Some lamplight shone in the high windows, and she saw flashlights in the middle of the wide open space. She crept closer, listening. Four . . . no, five voices. The fifth voice was weak, and it had to be the one that had been whining. It belonged to someone was hurting. Sadie smelled blood amongst the gasoline, and the air was so thick with fear that Sadie almost choked on it. She took another whiff. 'Elves . . . one vamp . . . one witch. What the fuck are they --' "Stop your whining," a voice shouted, followed by the sound of a book hitting a ribcage. "Lowlife human." "Stop playing with the pond scum and finish the circle," someone else said. Sadie recognized that voice, but she was having problems placing it. "Circle's finished," a third voice replied. "Just need to bleed the pig a bit, and that'll give the fire enough mojo that it'll burn all the way through this fucking burb." Sadie's eyes were finally able to adjust enough to see outlines in the center of the room. One seemed to be dressed in robes, undoubtedly a witch. The two svelte ones were the elves, and the fourth standing figure carried himself with an arrogance that could only mean vampire. "So bleed him," the vamp said. 'That sounds like . . . like Dazza,' she thought. Dazza was one of Lord Frost flunkies and was a emissary of the Vampire Council of the Northwest. Sadie didn't have time to verify that she was right, because one of the elves, reached towards a prone figure on the ground, and he was holding a knife. Sadie pulled her flashlight off her belt and grabbed her fifty caliber. She activated her walkie-talkie and left it on as she shouted, "Freeze! Nobody --" She should've known better than to try and say "Nobody move," since the first thing it did was make everyone try to move. The second thing they tended to do is shoot at you. That's what these guys did. "Fuck!" she shouted, diving forward in a roll. "Drop your damn weapons! I'm a Federal Arbiter and I can kill you without anyone asking any damn questions!" One of the elves seemed to be pointing a gun at her. She pointed her flashlight in that direction. 'Yep,' she thought. 'Gun.' He squeezed off a round, but she had sprung six feet straight up in the air. She found that people didn't really expect that. Most people equated dodging with being a two-dimensional activity. Sadie liked to think outside the box or, more specifically, above the box. One shot from her handgun removed a large chunk of that guy's arm. The other elf slashed quickly at the figure on the ground, who in turn began screaming. This elf was smart enough to make defensive maneuvers as Sadie ran forward to defend whoever was on the ground. Her would-be rescue victim reeked of blood and bourbon, something Sadie normally wouldn't mind. But the guy hadn't washed in days. 'Great,' she thought. 'They were sacraficing a homeless guy to --' She dodged as the elf and the vampire she thought was Dazza opened fired. "Light the circle!" Dazza shouted. The last thing Sadie wanted was to be caught in a magical circle with a bleeding body, so she picked up the sacrificial lamb and started to pull away. She saw Dazza aiming his weapon, and she knew he wouldn't miss. So she spun around, putting herself between the vampire and the bleeding human. His shot caught her in the shoulder, sending her gun spinning off into the darkness. It hurt like a mother-fucker, but he wasn't using as high a caliber weapon as she was. It had fucked up her shoulder badly enough though, and she and the man she was trying to rescue went crashing to the ground. Over the pain echoing in her ears, she heard a witch chanting, and a powerful circle appeared around them, flames erupting along its edge. Sadie could feel the walls of the circle, and knew there was enough force there to keep anyone from breaking out, at least not in time. And the flames were getting hotter. These people were serious . . . they meant to leave scorched earth throughout the Gravestones. This circle would grow hotter and hotter, feeding on the air around it until it exploded, probably catching the entire warehouse district. "Let's get out of here!" someone shouted, and she heard feet running for the exit. Sadie was bleeding badly, and the heat was making it hard to think. The man's blood splashed on the floor, and she could smell it sizzle. She had to bite back her hunger . . . he wasn't a meal. However much blood she might lose, she would never feed on an unwilling victim, and this man was in no condition to consent, even if he had any to spare. She put the man down and pulled her shotgun from her back. With her one good arm, she popped it open and removed one of the shells. 'These sons of bitches are about to find out who they're messing with,' she thought. She let some of her blood drip into the silver shot, then fumbled as she reloaded the gun. If these people thought that no one could break an intact and activated magical circle, they had never met Sadie Hewitt. Blood and silver were powerful in the magical world, and her blood was more potent than most. She pointed her gun at the ground, trying to see the line in the concrete through the creeping flames. "By his blood be cast," she muttered, looking at the man on the ground, "but by my blood be undone!" This last was shouted as she fired the shotgun at the floor. The silver turned molten almost instantly, and the blood cooked on the concrete. The circle that the flames emanated from pulses rapidly, then started to glow. "Please work please work please work," she said rapidly. Finally, the circle flared, then evaporated. The flames had already burned through the gasoline and had been fed entirely by magic shortly after the casting. Now, there was just a smoldering circle of smoke on the ground. Sadie looked towards the open door, and she could see the outline of one of the arsonists through the haze. She hauled her gun up and fired. She missed by a mile, but certainly got his attention, making him take off like a rabbit. "Good," she said to herself, half in a daze due to pain and blood loss. "I don't think I could reload." She tossed the shotgun towards the door, needing her good arm to lift the homeless man and carry him over the floor. It was still so hot that it started to melt the bottoms of Sadie's shoes. By the time she got the man to the opening, the attackers were nowhere to be seen. She lay the man down gently on the loading dock. He'd been cut deep in the arm and was suffering from smoke inhilation. "Officer . . . officer hit," she gasped into her radio, the pain in her shoulder becoming more noticeable. "One civilian wounded . . . slash wounds and smoke inhalation. Need medical assistance," she said, though dispatch had probably figured that out ont their own. She looked down . . . the guy couldn't be more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and he looked like he'd been a transient for a while. And he was dieing. "Where's my fucking ambulance?!" she screamed, but the only response she got was an echo. She looked across the floor of the warehouse and luckily saw the glint of both her shotgun and her pistol. She hurried over to get both, then returned to the injured man. "Hang in there," she said tiredly. "Help's on the way." She hoped they got there soon. When her own blood levels dropped enough, she would feed, and she would lose conscious control as her instincts strove to insure her survival. She looked around . . . still no one. 'I have to save him,' she thought. 'I don't matter.' Her shoulder was still leaking blood, so she opened the mans' mouth and poured some into his throat. In order to Turn a mortal into a vampire, you had to suck their blood, let it sift through your veins, then you passed a mutated version back to the donor. This strain linked you to your creator to some degree. Having the blood of a vampire who hadn't bitten you and drawn your blood acted more as a temporary high, and that was it. But Sadie was not ordinary, and neither was her blood. "Heal," she whispered before sitting back. Almost instantly, the man began coughing less, and the wounds began to clot. He wouldn't heal completely . . . she hadn't given him enough. But he would live. And now she needed to get away . . . she needed to run before she did something she would regret. Already, she was seeing the veins in his neck pumping a delicious rhythm, and his played an erotic tune. She started to stumble towards the SUV and the first-aid pack inside. About the time she got there, ambulance and police cars came screaming up. First out was Fitzpatrick. "Victim is over there. I think he's stable, but get the EMTs down there stat!" She liked the Irish cop. He didn't waste time, but jumped to help the injured man. The rounding the corner of the vehicle was Vlad and Devlin. "Help Fitzpatrick!" Vladimir yelled, his eyes looking on Sadie with great pain. She looked like hell. "Arbiter--" She snarled at him and pushed him aside. 'Damn he looks good,' she thought. It was an erotic aftereffect of the bloodlust that was creeping up on her. She wanted to jump his bones, drink him of blood and ride him into the ground while doing it. "Sadie --" "Out of my way!" Every police unit had an emergency blood pack refrigerated for just such an emergency. She managed to get the doors open on her own, growling at anyone who tried to assist her. She grabbed the case, yanked it open and sank her teeth into the cool blood. It was good, but it was far from enough to replace what she'd lost. Still drinking from the bag, she headed around to the driver side door. She opened it up and depressed the cigarette lighter. "What the hell are you doing?" Vlad said, wondering if he should try to tackle her so that the frightened medics could do their jobs. She wasn't in her right mind, so she just kind of ignored him. After a second, she grabbed the lighter and shoved the hot metal against the wound in her shoulder. She screamed so loudly that she made everyone in the area jump at the sound. Her flesh cooked, but the blood stopped flowing. "She's nuts!" she heard one of the EMTs gasp. "Four . . . four assailants," she said, her voice strained. "Two elves, one witch . . . one vamp. Started a magic circle . . . trying to burn down the whole damn district. Blood magic," she added. Blood magic was nasty and incredibly dangerous, and those who practiced it tended to meet very painful ends. "You did good," Vlad said, worried more than he could express. Sadie looked like hell, and she was getting worse. "Now let's get you to a hospital so you can get some --" "No hospitals," she said. "No chance in hell. Just gimme some Plasma-Ade and --" "That shit won't give you nearly what you need!" he snapped. "It's just a stop-gap fix!" "It's enough," she replied. Devlin came running over, his face pale. "Arbiter, you look like shit." "Fuck you!" she growled, crawling into the SUV. "You cannot seriously be thinking of driving!" Vladimir said. He'd shoot the tires out before letting her drive anywhere. "I'm thinking that I'll think whatever I wanna . . . wanna think," she babbled. "What's wrong with her?" Vlad shook his head. "Some kind of delirium. I don't know what's supposed to happen now." Sadie needed to get away. Looking at Vlad, she saw a pool of blood and sin that she wanted to roll around in. She knew she was far too close to the edge. Vlad got on his radio. "Hey, Sadie's hurt bad, and she's getting crazy. What the hell does that mean?" He heard a bunch of random noise on the other end, then he heard Mel's voice. She had been listening in, and she sounded concerned, but she had also turned on the calm. And she was the closest thing to a vampire expert they had. *How much blood is she down? (click)* "Too much. And she isn't letting the medics near her." One of the medics grimaced. "We normally just stop the bleeding," he said. "We don't have any more bags." "Get that?" Vlad asked to the radio. *Vlad, if she gets too low, she'll go into a blood lust or a feeding frenzy. She won't be able to resist it and, if she gets that far, she'll probably kill whoever she's feeding from. (click)* 'That's probably why she's trying to get away,' Vlad thought. 'She'll protect those around her even if it kills her.' "I can't believe she's doing this for THAT guy," Devlin muttered, looking back at the transient. Sadie heard that and roared. She was acting on instinct, and she wanted to bash this human into oblivion for his callousness. That man had as much right to live as anyone. Luckily for Devlin, she was too weak to do much but snarl at him. But if she was still there when the bloodlust kicked in -- *Vlad, I'm patching you through to Mary -- (click)* "Mary?! The wraith?!" *Yes, but she's Sadie's friend too, and she used to be a vampire. I called her for advice and she's got some for you. (click)* "Okay," he said nervously. Even over the radio, wraiths were scary. *Officer Koloff,* that cool voice said, *how dilated are her pupils? (click)* "Very. I can barely even see whites anymore." *She's close to the edge. (click)* "Crap!" he shouted. Sadie was trying to start up the vehicle so, smart or not, he grabbed her out of it and wrestled her against the side. She may have been faster normally, but she was weak now. Weak, but pissed, and she was snarling at him. Then her face blanked a bit. "I'm sorry Vlad," she whispered. "I shouldn't have . . . I should've respected your wishes and your wife . . . I didn't want to drive you away." The woman was beginning to babble. "I need some help here!" he shouted. *Vlad, she needs a blood source,* Mary's voice said. *She needs fresh blood, and she needs it now. Whoever it is needs to be big enough to donate the blood, strong enough to fight her off, and hopefully someone who doesn't hate her. When a vampire feeds, they react to the emotion of their 'victim.' (click)* "No," Sadie said, shaking her head. "I won't . . . won't --" Her face was so pale. "She says she won't bite!" Vlad said. "I'll do it, but how do you make her feed? She's such a stubborn bitch!" He put the radio to his ear. Mary gave him an unusual set of instructions. *And if you can, take her somewhere private to feed. She will probably feel guilty and vulnerable after feeding, and privacy will help her pride. (click)* 'What . . . wuh she say?" Sadie said, looking at him suspiciously. She was trying to edge along the wall to escape, but he picked her up. "Devlin," he said calmly but firmly, "I want you to go help Fitzpatrick. I'm taking the Arbiter over . . . there," he said, pointing with his chin to a small grove of trees between the parking lot and a state highway. It was easily dense enough to hide from prying eyes. "And you say nothing about this to anyone. Clear?" Devlin nodded. He respected the Captain, and he didn't want Sadie to die. Vladimir carried the weakening woman over. Mary had told him that if she reached the frenzy stage, it meant that her body had diverted all remaining blood to her muscles and away from her brain. She would become easily strong enough to kill somone if it got that far. Once out of sight, he leaned her against a tree. He yanked his shirt off his shoulder. "Feed!" "No," she whispered. "I can't . . . I'll hurt you . . . I already hurt you, and I didn't mean to." "You won't feed?" He waited until she shook her head. Then he slapped her hard across the face. She looked away, then her gaze met his again, and she looked confused. He wered his hand just enough to get claws on the end of his fingers, and he used them to create a thin trail of blood along the meat of his shoulder. Then he slapped her again. This time, her face whipped forward. Her teeth were extended and her eyes wild, and she was staring at the trail of his blood. "No," she said, one more time. *Smack!* His hand struck her again. Mary had told him to do this to evoke her animal instincts, preferably while her mind still had some grip on reality however. It worked. Sadie lunged forward, wrapping her arms around him in a demonic embrace and sunk her fangs into his shoulder. Vladimir Koloff had never been bitten by a vampire, but he was pretty sure what was happening was abnormal. Normally, there was supposed to be a slight sexual rush when being bitten. This was like a tidal wave of pure sensual pleasure. As she drew blood from him, his manhood jumped to full attention faster than he could've imagined possible. Her body was like fire against his, and it took every bit of willpower that he had not to rip off her clothes and drill her like an oil well as she consumed his blood. He could barely even remember his wife's name at the moment, much less care what the bitch thought of him. This creature before him was wild . . . she was passion incarnate. He gasped as he climaxed in his pants due to nothing but the feeling of the bloodletting and the pressure of her body against him. To make matters worse, his member wasn't even able to shrink, but rather was ready to go again. He was on the verge of breaking down and giving in to the temptation he'd felt so strong that night at the bar, but then he heard something that made him stop. Sadie Hewitt was crying. Even as her body pulsed with lust and her teeth drew him inside of her, her soul began to ache and her eyes leaked tears. 'She feels weak,' he thought, ashamed at the notion that he'd almost taken advantage of her. 'She completely lost control of her mind, and she's ashamed of herself.' He could actually feel, at a very subtle level, what she was feeling. Mary had been right. Sadie felt vulnerable. Vlad was feeling a little woozy, so he knew it was about time to stop. As soon as Vladimir began to calm down, it seemed that Sadie did as well. Her fierce bite had become a gentle nursing, and the tears came down harder. Finally she pulled away, closing her eyes and curling up into a ball on the ground. Vlad knelt beside her, coming down from the sexual rush of being bitten and trying to comfort a vampire who had been laid low by savage instinct. Breathless Ch. 04 "Go," she whispered. "Sadie --" "You . . . need . . . fluids," the vampire replied, her eyes meeting his. They weren't quite angry, but rather projected a profound sense of disappointment in herself. "The EMTs will actually have what you need." She slowly made her way to her feet, refusing her fellow officer's offer of assistance. "Please?" Vlad knew she probably shouldn't be alone, but she was a proud woman who needed to collect herself. Looking her over, the bleeding had stopped and she looked physically much better than when they'd caught up with her. "Give me your keys," he said. When she looked at him like he was crazy, he just stuck his hand out and wiggled his fingers. "So you don't go driving off before we get a chance to talk. Hand 'em over, or I'll shoot the tires." Sadie wondered if he really knew her that well, or if he'd just guessed lucky. She wanted to leave. She wanted to go hole up in her trailer, crack open a blood pack and a Guinness (not necessarily in that order) and let her pride heal. She tossed him the keys, watching him grab them deftly out of the air before walking back to the crime scene. She placed her back against a tree and just listened to the sound of crickets, trying to phase out the din of human voices, sirens, and general bustle of investigation. She wondered if Vlad knew just how badly she'd wanted to devour him whole. She thought over the evening's events. 'The fire will have destroyed my blood evidence,' she thought. 'The survivor will be written off as lucky. My blood will have done its job and run its course before they get him to a hospital. I'm safe . . . I know I'm safe.' That comforted her somewhat, but not completely. Now she had to figure out what a representative of the Council was doing started magical fires in abandoned warehouses. After several minutes, she composed herself. If she waited too long, they'd think her even weaker than they probably already did. 'I'm not weak,' she told herself. 'I'm not.' She walked out of the grove and towards the assembled masses. She saw Vlad sitting casually on the back bumper of an ambulance with an IV in his arm, looking somewhat absent. She wondered what he was thinking of, then she blushed. 'That's twice I've forced myself on him.' "Arbiter," one of the medics said, glancing at her nervously. "We're really supposed to check you out before you do any more . . . whatever." She rolled her eyes and sat down, making sure to stay away from Vladimir. He had probably had quite enough of Sadie to last a while. She let the EMTs look her over, checking her eyes and cuts. It wasn't like they could check her vitals, since she didn't actually have any. Once they were convinced that she was not in danger anymore, they got out of her way. About then, Devlin wandered over. "Are you alright?" he asked, twitching a bit. Sadie vaguely remembered the cavalier way that he had blown off the worth of the homeless man earlier, so she just shot him an unforgiving glare. "I'm sorry about earlier," he said, and she melted a little. "I didn't mean that you shouldn't have done it. I guess I'm not used to seeing anyone do what you do." She could tell he was trying to apologize, albeit badly, so she cut him some slack. "How is he?" "Actually, he's doing pretty good," Devlin said, actually looking a bit perplexed. "Considering, I'd say he got lucky. The slashes weren't too deep, and he seemed less burned than you were." He was looking at the cigarette burn on her shoulder, as well as the dried blood. "Would you like a towel?" "Please," she said, wanting to get rid of him. A couple of other officers came over and started asking her questions. She answered everything she could, cleaning herself off a bit when Devlin returned. She didn't mention Dazza by name or what she had done with her blood, but the rest was safe. She could probably arrest the vampire, but it would still be up to the courts to decide his fate. 'Dazza's a small fish,' she thought. 'Let's see who the shark behind the scenes is. And I'll be damned if his name doesn't wind up being Lord Frost.' She saw them wheeling the man she had saved towards one of the ambulances, so she hopped down and walked through the crowd to get to him. She doubted he'd even recognize her. She was wrong. "You," he sputtered, pulling his oxygen mask away. The man's eyes were very clear and he looked on her with awe. "My angel! Whatever it is you did, thank you!" One of the medics replaced the mask and they wheeled him into the back of the ambulance. The other EMT stopped beside her. "Strangest thing," the man muttered. "What?" "We've been working this beat for years, and we've picked up Tommy a bunch of times. Exposure, overdosing on some damn thing or another . . . the guy's one of the regulars." "So what's strange?" "He's a schizophrenic, and full blown. Voices, illusions, the whole works. Stark raving loonie. We've tried getting him into public care, but he keeps wandering out, and no one much cares to go looking. But when I was checking him over --" "Yes?" "He was clear as day. Understood everything we asked, answered coherently . . . like he was never sick." 'Oh hell,' Sadie thought. "Probably backlash from a screwed up spell," she said hastily. "Break a circle in mid-casting, and who knows what the magic is going to do. Looks like he cut a break," she finished. The EMT bought it. "I've heard of stranger things," he said. "We may have a shaman look him over, but I doubt the hospital will spring for one. Seems he's damn lucky you came along Arbiter." "Yeah," she muttered. "Lucky." She turned around to find Vlad standing there, staring at her. For the un-life of her, she couldn't figure out what he was thinking. But she could most definitely remember how sweet his blood had been in her mouth, and how hard his body had been when she was wrapped around it. "I think I should go home," she said. "I'll drive," he replied. He waved off her forthcoming objection and yelled over to another officer, making sure that things were well in hand. CSI had boots on the ground now, so there wasn't much else to do. Sadie pouted all the way to the police station, trying to assure her comrade that she was fine and could take care of herself. That didn't stop him from following her back to her place. When she got back, she found she had yet more visitors. "Shouldn't you be at work?" Sadie asked haughtily when Melissa got up off the half-finished deck. She and Mary were both looking anxious. She had never found out why Mel was angry at her, and at the moment she didn't care. "I took the rest of the night off," Mel said, blanching under Sadie's stare. She didn't feel that she was in the wrong, but Sadie DID deserve to know why she'd been acting that way. "I'm here because based on our brief association, I can assume that you have no intention of taking proper care of yourself. Therefore, I will as necessary," Mary said sternly. "Says who?" Sadie said, a little uncomfortable at Mary's matter-of-factness. "I'm going to get a beer, some blood and then --" Mary was shaking her head. "You will have blood, then a shower, then rest. I've experienced the kind of blood lust you went through tonight, and I know that you must have used a great deal of energy to feed and to heal." She looked at Vladimir, was was more than a bit skittish around the wraith. "You look well. You did as I asked, and it may very well have saved someone's life. Besides some weakness, are you otherwise intact? Sadie wasn't too . . . forward, was she?" "Mary?!" Sadie blurted. She was humiliated enough as it was, she didn't need the wraith reminding Vlad of how she'd dry humped him while out of her mind with hunger. "No, I'm alright," he said. "I didn't know that . . . that IT would be that strong," he said, actually cracking a small grin as he looked at the Arbiter. She in turn blushed like hell. He didn't know that vampires could blush involuntarily. "I tried pulling it!" she objected. Normally, she didn't mind being viewed as wanton, but here -- "That was pulled?!" Vlad asked, his eyes opening wide. Sadie went from blushing to pale, turning on her heel and going inside. "Melissa," Mary said, "please accompany her and make sure she gets cleaned up." Mel nodded obediently and followed the Arbiter inside. "What about the beer?" Vlad asked. Mary shrugged. "Young Melissa has a key to the residence. All things non-nutritional have been hidden and will be returned by nightfall." "Where's my Guinness?!" came a shout from inside. Vlad's apprehension almost evaporated when he saw Mary smile. She was a beautiful woman, and it was good to see her acting normally. "She's going to be pissed." "She will get over it. She's the first friend I've had that I could meet face to face in over a century, and I refuse to let her kill herself out of pride." Mary nodded at the werewolf. "What you did tonight took courage and compassion. She's lucky to have you for a friend. I talked with her about the incident at the bar." Mary's eyes lit up a bit. "She greatly regrets any discomfort that she may have caused or damage to your friendship that may have resulted from her actions. She is ruled by her heart it seems, and her head only sometimes gets a vote." Vlad nodded. "I think I should be getting home," he said. "I'm assuming she'll want to come into work tomorrow, so tell her I'll talk to her then." "I will do that." Mary went inside as Vlad left, a prisoner of his own thoughts. Mary found Melissa shoving Sadie's blood soaked clothes into the washing machine. Mary patted the girl on the shoulder. She'd even thought to pre-treat the fabric. Sadie was in the shower, rinsing the remaining caked blood off her body. The shoulder still looked to be causing her pain. Mary looked it over and saw the exit wound around the back. That was a good thing, since the bone wouldn't heal if the bullet was still in there. Sadie wouldn't be doing much gun-slinging with that arm for several weeks, but she'd be fine. "Melissa, see if you can find find a scarf to improvise a sling with." "Yes ma'am," Mel said. Mary was very drawn to the young woman. Very few people seemed to have any manners these days, and Melissa appeared incredibly well behaved around the wraith. And she was certainly nice to look at. Mary shook the thoughts from her head and went to check on Sadie. "I can shower myself, you know," the vampire grumbled. "Yes, but I'm making sure that you go directly from getting dried off to bed. I'll bring you a blood pack, and you can consume it while we create a sling for your arm." "I don't --" "You WILL promise to wear the sling until your shoulder is better, or I will materialize in your home every day and continue to steal all your alcohol until you comply. Understood?" Sadie was just staring at Mary, her eyes wide. "What the hell did I ever do to you to deserve this?" she groaned. "You befriended me," Mary replied with a smile. "Get used to it." She doubted that she'd get much more trouble out of the vampire that night, as it looked like the woman's body was beginning to crash. "Promise me that you'll make at least a minimum amount of effort to look after yourself for a while, and I'll return your alcohol and those deplorable chocolate snack items this evening." "You took my Hostess Cupcakes?!" Sadie replied loudly. "You're a monster!" Mary grinned. She'd actually eaten the rest while waiting for Sadie to arrive, so she needed to buy time in order to procure more. She got a blood pack out of the fridge and handed it to Sadie, who began muttering like a small child as she headed to bed. Melissa approached and whispered into Mary's ear, "Could I have a few moments alone with her? There's something I need to talk to her about, and I'm afraid I'll lose my nerve if I wait." "Very well," Mary said. "She misses your conversation, so I hope that whatever your grievances are with her can be resolved." As the wraith vanished into thin air, Melissa steeled her shoulders. "Before you even ask, I have no idea where she put your beer." "Damn!" Sadie growled, then her face softened. "So --" Melissa sat down at the edge of the bed and looked questioningly at her friend. "Who are you?" she asked quietly. "And don't say Sadie Hewitt, since we both know that isn't true." Sadie's heart began to beat against her will. It probably wasn't wise to be straining that particular organ at the moment, but she couldn't really help it. The goth chick blundered on before her courage failed her. "Lord Frost managed to bring pressure on the Bureau, and your supervisors told Grom to cooperate. Apparently they didn't realize that you weren't registered either. So the Captain told me to find a copy of your birth certificate and forward it." She decided not to tell Sadie about Bart at the moment. She had enough on her mind without plotting to kill the demon. "After I found it, I . . . I did some more looking. I just wanted to see if I could find out more about you. It wasn't for anyone else . . . just me." Sadie had drained the blood back, so she placed it in the trash next to the bed, then closed her eyes. 'This can't be happening,' she though. 'For a hundred years, this has worked.' She heard Melissa rummaging through her purse. Sadie opened up her eyes to see a scanned page of an old newspaper. Melissa's eyes were questioning. "Sadie Hewitt died when she was three years old. She was killed by the same rogue vampire who killed her mother. They weren't Turned . . . they knew the difference, even back then. You can tell by the description of the bodies --" She stopped. It had almost broken her heart to think of what the rogue vampire had done to the woman and her little girl. "I just want to know who you are, and why you lied to me. Why you lied to everyone about it." Sadie fell back all the way into her pillows, wishing she could open her eyes and have this moment . . . hell, this whole night wind up being just a bad dream. "I'm still here," she heard Mel's voice say. "And I'd like an answer." She saw Sadie's eyes open and the blue had expanded to cover the white. Melissa had never seen anything like it before. "I AM Sadie Hewitt," the vampire started. "Clark Hogan may not have Turned me vamp, but he sure as hell made me her. She was just a kid," Sadie continued, in her own little world for a moment. "I thought if I took her name, it might let her live a little longer, ya know. At least through me." "Clark Hogan was the rogue vampire, right? He didn't die because of some werewolf did he?" Mel made this last part sound more like a statement than a question. "Oh no." Sadie's voice had become bitter. "I'd been traveling through Texas at the time when I heard about the killings. I couldn't let it stand, and none of the Local Lords seemed all that concerned with a poor widow and her brat. So I found Hogan and showed him what it was like to be in the power of someone stronger than himself. People assumed that just because his head got ripped off that it had to be something as powerful as a were --" The vampire stopped when she saw Melissa go pale. 'Maybe I shouldn't be quite so graphic,' she thought. "Who were you before?" Mel asked. "Why change your name at all?" "There are bad people in the world, and there are some folks that would be very unhappy if they caught up with me, particularly since I'm no longer supposed to be amongst the still-kind-of living." Sadie bit her bottom lip for second. It would be so nice just to come clean with someone, but she had her secrets for a reason. "I won't tell you who or why," she continued, "but believe me there's a reason. What you don't know, you can't tell. And knowing would put you in danger. Melissa, I am exactly who I've shown you to be. I care about you and don't want you to get hurt. I'm a little wild when it comes to sexual favors. I don't like snobs or beings who think they're better than everyone else." "So being an army pilot and all that --" "It's all true. Everything that I've claimed to have done since becoming 'Sadie Hewitt the vampire' has been true. I figured I had about twenty more years of being Sadie Hewitt, then I'd move on, assuming that I'm still alive. But I like being Sadie . . . it just seems to fit somehow." 'Now for the million dollar question,' Melissa thought. "How many names have you had?" Sadie smiled. "Not too many. Tracking specific identities has only become easier in the last couple of centuries. Before that, it wasn't such a big deal. Melissa's eyes widened a bit. "So you're a bit older than a hundred and twenty then?" "A bit," Sadie replied with a nod. "And no, I'm not going to tell you. Just . . . just trust me that I don't mean you any harm. I love my job and I love helping people." She cocked her head. "Are you going to tell anyone? You're legally obligated to you know. I lied on my Arbiter application --" "No," Melissa said, breathing a little easier. She wasn't surprised that Sadie wound up being more than she appeared. Hell, it made sense. She sat closer to Sadie. "I believe you. And I hope someday you'll tell me the whole story. But if you still want me as a friend --" "I do," Sadie said, grasping Melissa's hand. "Believe me I do." "Do you . . . want company tonight?" the girl asked, bring her submissive shyness to the front. "Even as just a friend?" "Normally I would say yes," Sadie said, "but Mary would tan my hide. I might wake up with hunger pangs due to my recovery, and if a tempting young morsel was closer than my refrigerator --" "I get the idea," Mel said, almost subconsciously covering up her neck with her hand. "I think I could handle getting bitten, but I'd rather not be an appetizer." The vampire grinned, and it seemed to bring some light back to the room. Things were good when Sadie was smiling. "Could you drop by and tell Mary that I'll behave myself, but I want my damn Guinness back! And my cupcakes." "I'll go tell her." Sadie thought it over. "Tell her everything," she said. Melissa looked surprised. "Are you sure?" "She deserves to know. She told me her story, and it was a hell of a lot worse than what I told you. I would just rather not go over it again." "Okay, I'll do it." Melissa leaned over and kissed Sadie twice, once on the forehead and once on the lips. Sadie's cat, still nameless, jumped up on the bed and wormed her way between Mel and her new person, giving Mel a look as if to challenge her for dominance of cuddling rights. Mel chuckled, scratched the creature's hears and was promptly forgiven. Then she turned and left, letting Sadie get the rest she badly needed. -------------- ---------------- Across town . . . -------------- ---------------- Dazza was pacing a trench in the incredibly expensive oriental rug, hoping his Lord didn't hold it against him. "Stop that," Frost said from behind his desk, not ever bothering to look up. "You're sure she didn't see you?" "Even I had problems seeing in that place. It's why I stayed home as long as I did. If she knew it was me, she would've arrested me by now." "And you didn't want to bring them directly here," Frost said. Dazza might be a toadie, but he was a smart toadie. "I was rather hoping we could have turned her thinking by now and made her more of a team player. That may be my fault," he admitted. "How so?" "She's rebellious by nature, it would seem. If I'd spent more time observing before approaching her, I would have avoided being so directly confrontational. She is like a mongrel," he continued, obviously annoyed. "Rather than baiting her with something tempting, I backed her into a corner until she growled. It is no matter. We WILL have the Arbiter on our side. Can you imagine? An Arbiter of her cunning and ability at our disposal? And to think you almost killed her," Frost added. Breathless Ch. 04 "I didn't think she would take a bullet for that useless wretch," Dazza replied by way of apology. "Now the warehouses still stand, and another company is moving in that will promote harmony amongst the lower species. She is dangerous," he continued. "I cannot explain it, but she's more of a threat than we imagined. Your obsession with her could prove costly my lord," Dazza said, knowing that he was pushing his luck by challenging Frost even in this slightest of ways. "Are you sure it might not be better to --" "You have behaved intelligently so far this evening." Frost's voice was neutral. "I would make sure that any future suggestions do not spoil your batting average." "Yes sir." "She's only a threat if she is an enemy. If she chooses to remain an enemy . . . well, even Arbiters sometimes meet with accidents." He leaned back, an idea occurring to him. "She will protect those around her I think, even if it means making a bargain. Maybe this predator just needs a new kind of bait." Outside in the hallway, Terrence McDermott listened in with great interest. Normally, he had stayed out of his employer's business and just collected a paycheck, but things had gotten out of hand. Lines were being drawn, and he wanted to know what the heck people were fighting about. ------------------- ----------------------- In New Plymouth . . . ------------------- ----------------------- Melissa was sitting quietly in Mary's living room, sipping Earl Grey tea. She wasn't normally a tea drinker, but the wraith had just handed it to her when she showed up and started to talk. She was just as impressed by the home that Mary kept as Sadie had been. She had just gotten done explaining Sadie's story and her reluctant acceptance of Mary's "terms." "You don't seem surprised," Melissa said. Mary was just staring at her, and it was making her a little nervous. Mary broke eye contact reluctantly. "I'm not. She has a sense of power to her . . . too much for a century old darkworlder." "None of the other vampires think she's that old." "If she is in hiding, she may be hiding her presence. It is difficult, but can be done if you have proper training." Mary smiled. "But her actions speak true to me, so it is those that I shall trust, whatever name she may use when enacting them." "She said that you told her your story as well. Was it hard? I won't ask you to repeat it --" "It was difficult," Mary interrupted, but necessary. "I would tell you, but I don't wish to upset you more than you are." "I'm not upset." "You're gripping my teacup as if it were a lifeline." Melissa released her grip and placed the cup on a coaster on the coffee table. She'd missed the coaster earlier, and had gotten a shriveling look for it. "I'm just never quite sure if what I'm saying to you is appropriate or whatever." Mary nodded. "Except for the occasional call or thirst for vengeance, I am the same person that I was in life. And undeath. I have the same emotions and needs --" Mary actually stopped herself, picking up one of her many cats and fussing over it. The goth chick was curious. "You . . . you mean physical needs? Sexual needs?" The wraith stood up, depositing the cat back onto the floor and took both cups to the kitchen. "I'm sorry," Melissa said, following the other woman. "See, this is what I meant!" Mary turned around. She had to compose herself, as she didn't want this young lady to realize she'd actually been embarrassed by the questions. Those were exactly the needs she had meant. "It is all right. It is still hard for me to talk about things." "Me too." Melissa leaned her butt against the counter. "I had a lot of issues I was working through, and I didn't have anyone to talk to about them that I really trusted until Sadie came along. Now, she's got me talking to some people in California that own this club because they know more about . . . things . . . than Sadie does." Mary brushed a stray hair away from the young woman's eyes. "What things? Unless you don't want to say . . . I would understand." 'You want her to trust you enough to tell you the truth,' Melissa thought, 'then maybe give her the truth.' So she did. She talked about her sexual identity, how Sadie helped narrow down what she was comfortable with, and how she needed to be willing to admit when something surpassed her limits. "This submissive from the Dark Eden club really knows her shit too. She's told me a lot about her relationship with her mistress." Melissa was smiling. "It's nice to know that despite the sexual part of it that they have a very normal, romantic relationship." "I've spoken with the owner of that club," Mary admitted. "Apparently, he is a psychiatrist as well as a businessman, and one of the few who will work with wraiths, albeit mostly on-line. He tried talking me into coming in, convinced that he could find someone there who would be --" "What?" Melissa was smiling. Mary seemed so approachable now. "He was sure that there might be someone who would be willing to submit themselves to my appetite." "Did you go?" "No," Mary replied. "I . . . It is hard for me to be rejected. It is something I became accustomed to when I first descended into the mid-realm . . . the world that wraiths use to navigate. To go somewhere with a 'captive audience' and be looked upon with disdain . . . it would have been too much for me." Melissa felt horrible for the isolation that Mary and her fellow wraiths must endure. And it seemed so needless now. "So, the club's owner thought you might like it there? Does that mean that your interests lie along that line?" Mary actually covered her face as if she were blushing. "I come from nobility, as I told Sadie. Minor nobility, but still . . . I liked having servants, and not because they did their chores. When I became a vampire, certain urges became even more natural and hard to resist." Then the wraith paused, and her expression indicated the presence of a memory far less pleasant. "You can tell me," Melissa said. "Sadie can keep her secrets, but you shouldn't have to as well. Trust me." Within twenty minutes, Melissa was crying so hard that she wanted to throw up. Mary thought it might be easier to tell her story the second time in twenty-four hours. She was wrong. Her throat actually felt constricted, mostly as a reflex reaction. Melissa's brain was full and was beginning to ache. Her best friend turned out to not be who she claimed to be because she was being hunted by someone, and her new friend had apparently been tortured beyond Mel's ability to comprehend. Suddenly, her dull life didn't seem so bad. What did you say after that? So she just wrapped her arms around the undead woman and held her. The wraith allowed the conact, partially because she didn't know how else to respond and partially because she craved it. She needed contact just the same as any other creature walking the earth and this, even if given only in comfort, was a welcome change from her isolation. "I survived," Mary said at last. "And I shall continue to. I simply no longer wish to survive alone." Melissa felt Mary's cool frame grow warmer. 'Is this all she wants?' she thought. 'Comfort and companionship? Would I refuse her that? Would I WANT to refuse her that? She's suffered so much.' She pressed her body even more tightly against Mary's. She could feel Mary's powerful arms ensnaring her. A normal person would have screamed at that point, but Melissa wasn't afraid. Mary wouldn't harm her. Actually, harming her seemed to be the furthest thing from the wraith's mind. "I do not wish pity," Mary said, reluctantly pulling away. But Melissa didn't let go. "I can't help what I feel. Yes, I feel sorry for what happened to you. But even before I knew, I still came here. I still wanted to know you, and now I know all of you." She sighed. "I'm not saying this right. It's more than feeling sick about what happened. I'm proud of you. They killed you but didn't break you. That bitch tried to beat you and you spit in her face. You're sitll here and she's rotting in her grave --" "There was no grave," Mary said smugly. "They never found all of the body." Melissa should have been further disturbed, but she found herself excited. Mary was powerful, elegant, and mysterious . . . everything Melissa had ever wanted. And if giving herself to the wraith might make some kind of amends . . . might help Mary . . . 'Oh who am I kidding?' she thought. 'This is as much for me as for her.' The side of her face was touching the side of the wraith's, so she shifted around until they were eye to eye. Mary's eyes had gone dark and blue, and Melissa could actually see her own reflection in them. "Do you want me to go?" "By the darkness of the midrealm, no," whispered the wraith's voice. "Don't leave me." "As you wish," Melissa said, trying to make her voice calm and subdued. A smile touched Mary's lips. She had never expected to find something or someone like this in her existence, and now Melissa had come to the wraith of her own free will. "What I wish is for you to look at me," she said, summoning that ancient aristocracy that had once flowed through her veins. "Are you sure you want this? I was quite . . . demanding . . . of my servants." Melissa couldn't help a joke to help elevate the mood. "I do everything, including windows." "I was hoping to start your chores somewhere else . . . say, the bedroom?" The goth girl's heart was beating like an African drum as Mary led her towards the staircase and up to the luxurious master bedroom. 'What is it about being immortal that makes you like having a huge bed?' she wondered. She had seen this room when Mary had given the tour earlier, but she couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams that she would be spending this kind of time there. It was a four-poster bed with heavy black drapes, something like she had expected from Sadie's home. Mary pressed Melissa face first against one of the posts. When she spoke, her voice was wracked with nerves. "I have not done this in a very long time," came the Wraith's voice. "I'll help you through it." In conversations with Torrie, Melissa had learned that a proper relationship, the submissive had the real power. It was time for her to find out if that was true. "Both of us need to find our limits." "Don't move," Mary whispered. "Wait," Melissa blurted. "Uhm . . . what happens if you bite . . . someone?" Mary kissed Melissa's neck and actually chuckled. "It is good that you are wise enough to ask. Wraiths do not Turn as vampires do, even if a wraith used to be a vampire. I am told that a vampire-turned-wraith still has a kiss that provides sexual stimulation, but that is all. You have nothing to fear from my fangs that you do not allow." Melissa let loose her held breath, feeling safe once again. She knew she was alone in the room again, as Mary had gone looking for something and could appear and disappear at will, as long as she wasn't carrying anything. Then Melissa heard some rustling come up the stairs, but no footsteps. "Undress," Mary's voice commanded, trying to find that comfortable authority with which she had commanded the household staff once upon a memory. "Slowly. Then fold your clothes and place them at the foot of the bed." The human girl stepped back and did as she was told, slowly peeling off her jeans and tee-shirt before shedding her undergarments. Out of the corner of her eyes, she looked for her mistress-to-be, but saw nothing. 'She's invisible? I didn't even know wraiths could do that. I wonder what else she can do.' "Turn around," the wraith's voice commanded. It was now a voice use to getting its way. "Kneel on the floor with your back against the post." The invisible Mary waited until the girl obeyed. She picked up a shawl off the bed, grinning as she saw Melissa's reaction to the free-floating object. She knew by Melissa's own admission and conversations with Sadie that the girl craved being controlled. Mary's display of power let her know that under the wraith's control was exactly where she was. Mary tied the shawl around Melissa's eyes. "Can you see?" "No," came a husky reply. Then she felt her hair being grabbed roughly. "No what?" "No . . . mistress." "That's better." Melissa had no idea what was in store for her, but she thought she had seen a coil of rope in the corner of the room that hadn't been there when she'd first arrived. Sure enough, she felt a smooth rope looping one of her ankles, then the rope sliding under the bed frame and securing the other. Already, Melissa was trapped. Mary could do whatever she wanted and the human girl would not be able to escape. She could hardly wait. Over the course of twenty minutes, the length of rope seemed to loop every which way but loose. Melissa couldn't figure out what was going on, but her excitement was growing by the minute. Finally, her wrists were raised above her head, stretching out her torso while being tied to post. Then she heard the sound of something rolling before the shawl was removed. In front of her was a an ornate full length mirror that had positioned just right so that she could see herself in her entirety. For one of the few times in her life, Melissa looked into a mirror and saw something beautiful. The binding of the rope and the patterns it mad on her body with more than just bonds . . . they were art. Her shins were secured to her thighs by intricately arranged threads, and her torso was criss-crossed with each loop going around the bed-post. Somehow Mary had split the rope so that each arm could be entwined like a snake on the way up and then knotted together at the wrists. No rope was so tight as to cause more than the mildest of discomforts, but she was completely unable to move. "This is what I demand of you, to be a canvas for my art. I expect obedience from you, and will tolerate nothing less. But your heart . . . that I will never ask for. Should you someday choose to give it, I will accept. Your heart is yours, but your body is mine. Do you accept my conditions?" "Yes mistress," Melissa replied, still captivated by the bound figure in the mirror. 'Do I look that aroused?' she thought, grinning at herself. 'Yes, I think I do. I think I am.' She felt something . . . flesh . . . press against her lips for a moment. It was Mary's mouth, and it was so soft. The wraith kissed her harder, grabbing a hold of Melissa's hair again. In the mirror beyond, Melissa saw her hair being pulled but not the object exerting its will. She saw the flesh of her lips move as she was kissed, but not the initiator of that passion. It was an incredible sight. Then her hair settled and the kiss ended, leaving Melissa to fight for breath that she hadn't even realized she needed. A hand squeezed her breast hard, providing that exquisite pain that Melissa experienced when her nipples were played with. "You must be careful to pay attention to such things as breathing, else I consume you. I have not breathed for centuries, and have forgotten how long you can stand to be without it." Mary squeezed harder, watching the girl's face. Sadie had told her about Melissa's love of breast play, and she was glad to see that there was far more pleasure than pain on that delightful face. She released that soft flesh. "Yes mistress," Mel gasped. She was so close to cumming already that it amazed her, and she hadn't even been touched down there. Melissa felt something against her mouth again, and again it was a pair of lips. But this time, it was the lips of her mistress's sex. It was odd, feeling her tongue enveloped by warmth and tasting the wetness, but not seeing that beautiful opening. Sex with a wraith was going to take some getting used to. After a few licks, she heard a moan and she saw a shimmering shape in the form of Mary, but it quickly vanished again. 'Hmm,' she thought happily, 'Please her and get a light show?' She started ravishing that sweet pussy, which was every bit as warm and inviting as Sadie's had been. It must've been a long, long time since her mistress had enjoyed more decadent pleasures, because Melissa hadn't even gotten to her A-game and the wraith was imitating the Northern Lights. She tried to latch onto the woman's clit, but her mistress pulled away and slapped her lightly on the face. It made her skin redden, but didn't really hurt. "Certain things will not be rushed," Mary said calmly. In truth, she was so afraid that Melissa would change her mind after a night and leave that she truly wanted to make the moment last. "Now start again." She pressed her mound against the girl's eager lips, letting that sweet tongue slide in her like a serpent. Melissa was desperate to please Mary, but she couldn't afford to lose control. That would not set well with Mary. So she softly nibbled on everything else, teasing the inner labia with her teeth and lavishing the outer mound with her tongue. Even though she couldn't see her lover, she could now navigate that part of Mary's body by memory. Mary couldn't take it anymore. She wanted release . . . she wanted that most delightful of pleasures that she had not experienced at anyone's hand but her own in so very long. "Now," she commanded, and instantly Melissa's lips found the clitoris, sucking back the hood and then touching it with her tongue. The wraith phased in and out of visibility as she felt the muscles in her abdomen clench and tremble before finally -- "Oh . . . oh . . . oh!" Mary had wanted to be cooler and more aloof and climax silently, but her body had other ideas. It liked what Melissa had done to it, and it was letting the girl know. Mary had climaxed, and apparently vampires were not the only undead that could produce sexual juices when satisfied. She pressed her abdomen against Melissa's face, holding her head as her mind and body came to grips with what had just happened. She was so happy that she was on the verge of crying. 'How do repay her for this?' she thought, her body still trembling slightly. Then she had an idea. It was one that she had never had an opportunity to attempt, but one that might provide an experience unlike anything Melissa had ever had. Her abilities as a wraith tended to be most useful when inflicting pain and death but, like any true power, could be diverted to more productive avenues. Mary got on her knees, gripping her servant's nipples lightly as their eyes met. Melissa looked proud for what she had done, and it made her all the more beautiful. "This kind of relationship requires trust," the wraith said. "What I am about to do may feel uncomfortable at first but it will not hurt you. It is also easier for me if you open yourself. Normally my . . . victim . . . would struggle. I would advise not doing that. Are you ready?" She looked past Melissa's eyes to the feelings behind them, trying to find traces of doubt or fear that might interfere, but she found none. A little nervousness and some confusion perhaps, but both were outweighed by hunger and anticipation. Melissa had no idea what was about to happen, but she didn't care. Her mistress was beautiful and powerful and seemed quite intent on making this fledgling relationship work for both of them. She watched her mistress lean in and kiss her. That was when things got . . . well, a little weird. Mary's body shimmered and started morphing into a cool mist: the kind that seeped into your lungs and woke you up when standing by the lakeside in winter. It was invigorating and . . . and it was slipping down Melissa's nose and throat. For a moment, Melissa started to panic before realizing that she could still breath and that it was actually refreshing. Her mind was crisp and clear. Soon, Mary was gone and the mist had vanished from sight. 'She's inside me,' Melissa thought, then felt a brief moment where her own mind affirmed that notion. 'She's possessing me!' Most people would have probably blown a vein about then, but this was the ultimate for the young submissive. Her mistress and lover was in complete control. She waited patiently for Mary to do whatever -- Breathless Ch. 04 "Oh!" she squealed. She had felt something pulse inside her womb, like a little bomb going off. A pressure was building, pressing against her vaginal walls, opening, and her elusive G-spot. It was like she was being taken by a custom-sized sex-toy, built with her in mind. 'She's fucking me from the inside?!' In the mirror, she could see her pussy lips spread as if something were working its way outward . . . it was the mist. A small bit of mist had freed itself and seemed to be forming the shape of a finger. That finger tickled her clit as the force inside of her deepest sex pulsed like a living thing. It stretched just to the point it almost became too much, then retracted. And that G-spot seemed to be getting teased constantly. But Mary's bag of tricks hadn't been fully poured out. Melissa felt a tingling under the soft-skin of her breasts, then that tingling increased to an brief electric shock in her pierced nipples. Melissa came almost instantly. Her nipples were so sensitive to begin with and she had been so turned on just by getting tied up . . . this was too much. She saw her body reacting when she stared in the mirror. She saw her cum squirt out onto the floor and down her legs. She'd never had an orgasm like that before in her life. Her body ached for another. Mary did not stop what she was doing. Everything that could be done to her body from the outside was being done from the inside. Even if her arms had been freed, Melissa could have done nothing to stop it. That thought aroused her even more . . . the idea of crawling on the floor as her body was helplessly ravaged by the forces of a seductive wraith. Melissa knew that Mary approved of the idea, and they shared a mental image of the human girl writhing on the floor in delicious torment. Mel wasn't sure how the little zaps of electricity were being produced and she didn't care. They were lighting up her mind, her skin, and every pleasure sensor in her body. She felt the tingling on the backs of her knees, a sweet spot that no one including Sadie had yet discovered. And all the while, she was effectively getting fisted from inside her own body. She was groaning and straining against the ropes, but more to enjoy the sensation of being bound than out of any real desire to get free. The wraith was relentless, bringing Melissa to orgasm time and time again. The goth chick's makeup was running due to the sweat, her pussy felt like it was going to explode, her breasts had turned pink from the attention Mary had "inflicted" upon them. After a while, she was no longer straining against the ropes, but rather was hanging limply against the bedpost as exposed to a sexual high she couldn't have even imagined before. But Mary had one more surprise for her. The mist that was Mary crept out of Melissa nose and mouth until it reformed into the flesh-and-blood beautiful woman who was now Melissa's mistress. "I have one more gift for you," the wraith said. "Listen closely and do not fear, for though some of what I will tell you will frighten you, there is a reason I tell you. What I just did . . . the possession of a body . . . is an old ability of my race. When seeking revenge, we sometimes enter the body of our victim and hurt them from the inside, taking some of their essence and then leaving them an empty shell." She could see Melissa was getting scared, so she knew she had to hurry. "But as you just felt, it does not have to be about hurting and pain. Inside of you, I can make you feel anything." "Yes mistress," Mel replied, already missing the wraith's presence inside of her. "While I showed you my power, I also fed off you. Now, I will return what I took and make you whole. And I daresay think that you will enjoy the experience. It will, however, involve something that Sadie teased you with that made you uncomfortable." She extended her fangs. "I told you that my deepest kiss still had special properties. This is one of them. Do not fear, for you will feel no pain," she added hungrily, her mouth inching closer to the side of Melissa's neck. She could see the girl trembling. "Do not fear me," she whispered. "I will always look out for you." The trembling stopped, and she sank her fangs into that inviting flesh. Melissa didn't know why she'd made such a big deal out of being bitten, as she barely even felt the fangs enter. She felt a heightened arousal, but that was commonplace for being bit by a vamp. But what happened next was not ordinary at all. There was a brief pause, like that moment in a movie right before the tidal wave hits the ship. Then the wave arrived, coursing down into Melissa's blood like a tidal current. It was pleasure . . . it was everything that Mary had absorbed from her servant over the last twenty minutes. Every groan, every climax, every moment of happiness that the two had shared reverberated through her body. The young human woman had one more orgasm, and this was one so powerful that she actually blacked out. When she awoke, she found herself in Mary's bed, untied and cleaned. "How . . . how long was I out?" she muttered, looking around. She knew Mary wouldn't be far away. Mary was indeed not far away, coming out of the bathroom while toweling off her hair. "Long enough to prepare you for a day's sleep. You will stay here of course." When Melissa heard that last statement, it almost sounded like a question. 'She's scared that I'll leave,' Mel realized. "Yes mistress," she said firmly, "I will stay." She turned over and her body roared in objection. "Owh!" "Your body, I think, was not quite prepared for what was done to it. We shall go slower next time, but I wanted . . . no, I NEEDED you to see what I offer you in exhange for your servitude," Mary said. "Mistress --" "Call me Mary, for now," the wraith said. "I will sometimes . . . nay, often need you as much for a friend as a companion. I would like to spend the daylight hours as such." She slid under the covers and pulled Melissa's body to her, spooning the younger woman. There would be little talking, as Melissa was on the verge of returning to the dream realm as it was. "Mary," Melissa began, "thank you." "You are welcome," the wraith said. Just then, a horde of cats came into the room and began making themselves comfortable just about anywhere they felt like it. "Sorry," Mary said, sound a bit embarrassed. "They know when it's bed time." "I didn't think wraiths needed sleep." "Technically we don't NEED sleep. We have downtime where we recover but do not lose consciousness. I sleep because I enjoyed the sensation of waking. It makes me feel . . . new. And not waking alone --" Melissa realized in that moment how much this meant to the wraith. That normally somber and smooth voice was filled to the brim with warmth and hope, and it was this thought that brought the most pleasant of dreams as the sandman took claim of her senses. ------------- -------------------- That evening . . . ------------- -------------------- Sadie found it hard to dress herself, or even to roll out of bed. It didn't help that the cat had fallen asleep on her chest. Her shoulder was aching like a mother fucker, so she popped another blood bag and drank it down. It wouldn't kill the pain, but it would help with the healing process. Still completely naked, she opened the door and took a glimpse at the setting sun. It felt good against her skin, and she wished she had enough time to sunbathe. She walked back inside, the door still open. Suddenly, having nothing but tight fitting clothes didn't seem like such a bright idea. She managed to get her g-string on pretty easily, but was struggling with her pants when she heard someone knocking on her door frame. Mel peeked her head in. "You're supposed to be wearing the sling," she said, glancing at the afore mentioned accessory that was draped over the back of the lounger. "Can't bloody well put the rest of my clothes on if I'm already wearing it," Sadie said, looking away. Her head was clear, and she remembered how disappointed Mel had looked when she'd found out that Sadie had been lying. Was the offer of continued friendship for real? "Need some help?" Sadie's lip twitched and she was almost pouting when she said, "Yes." Melissa knew the inside of Sadie's home like the back of her hand and went fishing for clothes. "Do you have any practical underwear, or just this silky stuff?" "I got sports bras for working out," Sadie defended herself. She winced as she raised her arm so that Melissa could hook her in. She turned around and saw something very interesting that hadn't been there that morning. "You've been bitten!" she almost shouted, angrier than she'd she should be. "Who was it? Frost? I'm going to . . . What's so funny?" Melissa was grinning. "No vampire bit me." "Don't bullshit me, those are fang --" Sadie paused. "Mary? Mary bit you?" She sniffed the girl's skin, and finally she was grinning. It was a shit-eating, ear-to-ear smile. "From the smell of you, she did more than bite!" "How do you do that?!" Mary's eyes were wide and she blushed. "I was going to tell you --" "Tell me now!" Sadie said, her earlier discomfort completely forgotten. It was time for girl talk. And talk they did, with Melissa spilling the beans about everything as she helped her friend into her clothes. Sadie was obviously uncomfortable by the concept of possession, but she relaxed when Melissa showed no fear of it. She believed Mary's claim that she wouldn't hurt Melissa. "I've never even MET someone who had sex with a wraith! Is that why you're walking so funny?" Melissa's nether regions were suffering a dull ache, but she relished it, just like she savored the tender tingling she still felt on her neck. "You are completely smitten!" Sadie felt something . . . a pang of jealousy. "You must have had one amazing morning." Melissa wrapped the vampire up in a hug, careful not to press against her shoulder. "You took me in and helped me realize what I wanted. You befriended Mary when no one else would live in the same town as her. Whatever it is you've done or whatever you're running from . . . I owe you so much." "Don't go getting sappy on me," Sadie said. "And let go of the shoulder. Give me that damn sling before this new woman of yours --" She stopped and ran to the refrigerator. "Hey, she said --" "She'll return the Guinness and the cupcakes when I call her to verify that you're behaving yourself," Melissa chuckled. "And I'm to drive you --" "Oh no! I draw the line at being at being chauffeured around! And I wouldn't been seen dead in that toy car of yours," she added, slipping the sling onto her arm and alleviating the weight from her shoulder. "Mary thought you might say that. She suggested then that you let me drive your truck." A few minutes later, they were in Melissa's Mini and cruising to work. No one drove Sadie's truck but Sadie. ------------- ------------------- Elsewhere . . . ------------- ------------------- Officer Matt Devlin was looking forward to his night off. After taking the trashcan to the curb, he was going to meet a couple of his old high-school buddies at Hooters for a drink and a stare. But his plans changed when he got the can close to the street. There was a limousine parked outside his little half of the duplex. The door opened and a familiar looking individual stepped out. "Lord Frost!" Devlin said, wishing that he wasn't wearing his "You'd look better on me than this shirt" tee shirt. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" "Oh no young sir," Frost replied, a magnanimous grin gracing his mouth. "Quite the contrary, things are very, very right for you this evening." "Sir? I don't understand." "You have recently entered your name in the Registry, correct?" "Yes. Just this last week." "Then the gods of fortune have smiled on you. In just a few weeks, there will be a Halloween feast at my estate and you --" Frost put his hands on Devlin's shoulder's, "were chosen to be allowed to ascend." Devlin's heart jumped. "Me? But I just . . . I mean thank you but --" "Don't thank me. We looked at the most qualified candidates, put them in a pool and chose a select few. Vampires should be at the forefront of all aspects of society, from business to politics to religion to law enforcement. Lady Hewitt is nice as a national figure, but we need someone local here in Midian. Vampires are sadly underrepresented in the law, yet who better than us to enforce it? Once part of our great family, we can help advance your career." Frost saw the young man flinch a bit. "Your records show that you are more than qualified," he crooned, thinking that Devlin might take offense if he felt that he was being "given" a promotion. There would be time to squash that pointless idealism later and replace it with a higher nobility. "Who . . . who would Turn me?" Frost's grin became wider . . . almost demonic. "You will be granted a privilege almost unheard of amongst our people. The mayor will talk to your Captain and get you time off. I want you to come stay as my guest until the ceremony." Devlin's head was swimming and his pulse was pounding. He'd just won the lottery! "But who --" "Oh yes, the 'who' of it." Frost looked the man in the eyes. "And the 'who' will be the greatest honor of all." ------------- --------------------- To be continued . . . Breathless Ch. 05 This story is a bit wordy and fairly long, so if you are looking for immediate gratification, you might want to look elsewhere. The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between these character and events and any real person or events is strictly coincidental . . . and pretty darn impressive seeing as it is a science fiction story. Do not reproduce or copy this story without the consent of the author. This story is based in an alternative universe, where history took a different course than the one we are used to. In this world, the creatures which we now believe to be legends have walked alongside man for the duration of our existence. Vampires, werewolves, wizards, witches, sorcerers, and a host of other beings share our world. The following story contains, in one chapter or another, lesbian and heterosexual activity in different proportions. -------------- ---------------- "And there you have it," Sadie Hewitt said to the assembled officers. "Someone was using blood magic to burn the warehouse district down and who knows what else along with it." She wanted to point out that none of the "higher" races or classes were in any danger, but she was biting her tongue. Cops could be funny if they thought something wrong was happening. Innocent people could get harassed or worse. Vladimir stood up, looking as strong as ever. Sadie almost couldn't stand to look at him, considering the spectacle she'd made of herself during the previous day's escapade. She wanted his respect for reasons she couldn't even fathom, and she had sucked his blood while trying to jump his bones when all he was doing was trying to look after her. If she'd lost much more blood, she would've frenzied and then someone might very well have died. And to make matters worse, she could still taste the faintest traces of his blood in her mouth, and she wanted more. "Let's keep an eye out," he said. "Less than two weeks to Halloween and things are dicey out there, so take the time to get out of your cars or just get out in the streets and talk to people. Arbiter Hewitt has been doing just that, and the street folk have been responding." "But I don't look that good in a thong," Fitzpatrick said solemnly. "I wouldn't say that," Sadie replied demurely, looking at him through half-open eyes. "You could borrow one of mine." Captain Grom shuddered. "Okay, I just got all sorts of mental images that I did NOT need." The room laughed, and a few people made noises of disgust as their imaginations caught up to the conversation. "But Vladimir is right. Gravestones is a hotspot for discontent right now." The group broke up and Sadie headed to her desk. She hadn't seen Devlin, and she wanted to apologize for shoving him around in her delusional state. Not seeing him, she went up to the front desk to talk to Mel. "It's his night off," she said. "If you want, I can give you his home number --" "Nah, I'd rather just talk to him in person." "Something's up by the way," Mel continued, noticing that Vladimir had joined them. "Mayor's office just called to speak to the Captain about a 'staffing issue.'" "Hunh. Well, I'm sure the Captain will tell us what he wants us to here. Too bad we can't listen in to the call," Sadie said innocently. "That would be a violation of policy," Melissa said. "Can't have that," Vladimir added with a grin. He wasn't above bending a few rules. Melissa glanced down at her terminal, and the two officers saw what looked like DVR controls floated on the desktop. 'She's rerouting the call through her PC,' Vlad realized, 'and she's recording it.' "I'll talk to you later," Mel said calmly, going back to her work, trying not to smirk. "We're patrolling together," Vladimir said to Sadie. "Meet you out in the lot." He then turned and walked out the door. "Crap!" Sadie muttered. "It's okay," Mel said. "He's your friend and he's a cop, so you're going to have to deal with him. He's probably freaked out by everything too. So just go out, patrol, and sit in the car with him in awkward silence. It'll be fun." "I hate you," the vamp growled, then kissed Mel on the cheek. The girl blushed. "No PDAs!" she hissed as Sadie started to walk away. "I'm spoken for now!" "I don't think Mary would begrudge me a friendly kiss now and again." She hit the outside just in time for a light drizzle to start. "Great." She saw Vlad out front in a regular patrol car. "But --" "No SUV. You seem to think you're invincible when you're in something that big." He saw that she was going to object. "I was given specific instructions by Melissa on behalf of --" "That damn wraith!" Sadie was tempted to take of the sling just for spite, but her shoulder really did hurt. "That's the last time I ever make nice with an outcast." The look Vladimir gave her was slightly amused and thoughtful. "I doubt that. You can't help it, can you?" "Help what?" She reluctantly got into the passenger side of the car. "Wanting to save everyone . . . even from themselves." He pulled out onto the road and headed into the Gravestones. A few minutes later, Sadie was already ancy. "You drive like Devlin," she growled. "Gun it! Oh, we could've made that light!" "I will let you out so you can walk," he said, holding the steering wheel casually. Then she saw those strong arms tense. "I'm sorry for what happened," he muttered. "Yesterday." Sadie nodded. "It wasn't your fault. If I'd just let someone help me or hadn't gone off on my own --" "No one else would've survived," he interrupted. "Except for me. And I was too busy avoiding dealing with you to be there for a partner . . . and a friend . . . when she needed me." Sadie looked at the droplets of water cascading horizontally on the window. "I never know when to stop pushing. I never know when just to mind my own business." "And I hope you never do." Vladimir was smiling again, particularly when he saw the look of surprise on her face. "Sadie, things have been more interesting in the month that you've been here than in the last several years combined. The squad believes in you. The people on the streets love you. Melissa's a whole new woman because of you, and it's a good change for her. You almost got yourself killed for someone that most people wouldn't have even noticed had died. You've put have young males of the Gravestones through puberty for crying out loud. My nephew hasn't stopped talking about you for weeks apparently. Speaking of which, I thought we'd meet him for lunch." "Roll the Bones?" she asked hungrily. "I thought you people just lived on blood." "Nah. We need blood, but food helps. And I love eating." She paused. "I can't promise I won't push you again . . . about Teresa I mean. But I'll try. I respect you, and . . . and I just wish she did too." He nodded. It was as much of a truce as they were going to reach, so he let it lie. Just then, Sadie's phone rang. She pulled it out, but didn't recognize the number. "Hello?" *Sadie?* "Yeah. Terrence? That you? You get a new phone number?" *Sort of. Throw away phone.* Arbiter Hewitt got a strange feeling in her bones. "What's up?" *You alone?* "No, I'm in the car with Vladimir Koloff." *That works. Can you meet me in . . . oh say, the next fifteen minutes? Over at Rider Park . . . take the walking trail around to the creek.* Sadie knew the sound of disguised urgency, and Terrence's voice was practically dripping with it. "Sure. We'll see you in a few." Then she hung up. "What's up?" "Terrence McDermott. He's Lord Frost's bodyguard. He REALLY wants to talk about something." "Any idea what?" "No, but I've got the feeling it's something I need to hear. Rider Park, and drive inconspicuously." They were only ten minutes away, so they found themselves pulling into the mostly empty parking lot. With the weather the way it was and Rider Park's reputation for being a haven for junkies, not even the darkworlders went there on a night like this. Vladimir and Sadie weren't exactly worried about getting mugged, unless the person was really, really out of their mind. Finding Terrence wasn't hard, as he was standing on a bridge tossing some breadcrumbs to a family of ducks that had found there way to the area. "You shouldn't encourage them," Sadie said. "There are people in this park that would eat them if they got the chance." "Everyone's gotta eat," Terrence grinned. "And have you ever actually tried to catch a duck? They're sneaky little bastards." Sadie noticed that Vladimir was actually eying the ducks more than he should, and his presence made the ducks nervous. He was a predator, and their instincts knew it. "Heel boy. If you eat duck, then it'll spoil your appetite for Roll the Bones." "I wouldn't know about that," he replied with a grin. "I've got a big appetite." Sadie slowly turned away. 'No sexual innuendos . . . bad Sadie! You're just getting things straightened out . . . you'd like to get HIM straightened out.' She rolled her eyes. 'You are a vampire with a one-track mind.' "So what's so important that you drug us all the way out here?" Terrence looked around. He was careful, and he knew how to do recon. "Dazza was involved in the arson attempt," he said carefully. "I know," Sadie replied. "What? You did?!" Vladimir was as angry as he was surprised. "Calm down," Sadie told him. "I was going to tell you tonight. I recognized his voice, but that wouldn't be enough for a conviction, not even coming from me." "Frost knew . . . I think he was behind it." "I knew it!" she said, stomping her foot and scaring the ducks off completely. "Why would Frost do this? I knew he was a psychopath, but this?" Vlad rubbed his eyes, trying to sort this out. "I heard them talking. They didn't like the fact that this company might have helped bring the community together. It's not even like it was for profit or because he wanted the neighborhood. It was just . . . petty." Terrence had seen a lot of reasons for killing, burning, raping, and pillaging, and none of them were good. But at least some of them made sense. "So I started snooping around. Frost was in his sensory deprivation tank, so I snooped around his office." He pulled a folded stack of papers out of the back of his pants. "Frost hates computers, so he puts everything down with on paper. I found a back up planner in one of his desk drawers. I made copies of all the pages and then put it back. I can't make heads or tails of it, but I figured it had to be important." "Why?" Vladimir asked. Sadie was staring at the pages. Even in black and white, the writing looked odd . . . smeared in some places. Terrence saw in her eyes that she had realized what he knew to be true. "It was written in blood." Arbiter Hewitt looked over the pages. It looked in many ways like an ordinary planner in that items were laid out in order on specific dates. But the entries made little sense. Two letters followed by an arrow pointing to another set of two or three letters. It all started on Halloween at midnight, and there were more and more entries leading up to New Year's Eve. "Lord Frost and the mayor are putting one hell of a schindig on Halloween this year. He's bought a big tract of land on the outskirts of West End and he's already got a big pavilion put on it. I figured it was just more investment property, but now I'm not so sure." "Got an address for me?" "You've probably already gotten it," Terrence said. "I mailed YOUR invitation to the event personally. You know, if you would just be boring, he probably wouldn't be so interested in you." "I doubt that could happen," Vlad muttered, looking over the documents some more. "On either case." Sadie stuck her tongue out at him. "Why are you doing this? You could be in deep shit if you get caught." "I figure I'll probably quit after the ceremony," Terrence said. "As good as the money is, I didn't put my ass on the line for my country to come back and sell out its principles to him. He used to just be cocky, but I draw the line when innocent people start getting hurt." "You could testify," Vlad said. "It would be my word against Frost and Dazza. Between Sadie and I, we've got a whole lotta here-say, and that means squat with someone who can buy and sell judges on a whim." "If you hear anything else, let us know. Okay?" Terrence grabbed Sadie's hand and kissed it gently on the top. "Your wish," he said with outrageous flamboyancy, "is ever my command." She made a show of wiping her hand on Vlad's shirt while he looked at her with amused disgust. "Thanks," she said. "We need all the friends we can get." "And that's why I like you more than other vamps," Terrence replied. "Why?" "Most vamps would've used 'allies' instead of 'friends.'" He turned and headed out the opposite way that they had come in. "You haven't heard anything about this ceremony?" Vladimir asked as they headed back to the car. "I've been a little busy," she replied. "So no." She stuck the folded up papers into Vlad's jacket pocket. "We'll get those back and see if Mel might be able to decipher them." "You do realize that Melissa isn't actually a cop?" "Can't ask anyone else to do it, and she's wicked smart. Hopefully she'll uncover something. We can look at it in the car too." They hit the streets and cruised for hours. Sadie hit the overhead light and tried to make heads or tails out of the bizarre code on the photocopied paper. 'It seems so simple,' she thought, 'like something's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't get it.' Vladimir chuckled. He should be taking this more seriously, but it was fun to watch Sadie try and solve the puzzle. She had the perplexed look of a child trying to do quantum physics. It was so cute the way her eyes scrunched up and her lips pouted slightly . . . and the way that sling arced down drawing attention to her glorious cleavage and -- 'Stop that!' he thought. 'We just got things settled down between us!' Luckily, he was distracted by a friendly sight when they pulled into the parking lot of Roll the Bones. Sadie followed his eyes to the group of youths playing basketball across the street and easily noticed that Vladimir's nephew Todd was amongst them. She was happy to see that there were a number of humans playing there as well. It seemed that young men were able to bond over seeing a hot mostly-naked woman playing sports. The two officers headed across the street and were quickly noticed by the players. Unlike last time, there was no suspicion at their approach. Vladimir shook Todd's hand, followed by a manly hug complete with back-pounding. More than one pair of eyes drifted over to Sadie herself, and several of the young men were grinning. They remembered the last time Sadie had been on their court. "Hey Uncle Vladimir," Todd was saying. "Wa'as up? Never see you down here no more." "I'm doing desk-jockey crap most of the time. But since our illustrious Arbiter here just had to go and get herself shot up in the line of duty, I figured I'd be her chaperon for the day. You know, to keep her from taking her clothes off and injuring that shoulder of hers." "So she's NOT going to get down to her unmentionables?" one of the human boys said, obviously glum about the notion. "Not today," Sadie said, feigning a pout of her own. Then she grinned. "I'll just have to make it up to you boys somehow once I get better and old Mr. Fuddy Duddy here stops keeping me down." Vladimir was getting some unkind stares from the young male crowd, but he seemed unphased. "Hey, Mary's the one keeping you in line right now, not me." "Who's Mary?" one of the guys asked. "You really don't want to know," Sadie said. She was going to have a serious talk with the wraith about this. Melissa might want someone to take control, but Sadie just wanted to get wild. "Got time for a quick game old man?" Todd asked with a toothy smile. "I'll give a few points head start." He looked over to Sadie and then back to his uncle. "And you can even keep your clothes on." "Oh, you didn't just say that," Vladimir replied, rolling up his sleeves. "Remember the LAST time you called this old man out?" He handed his gunbelt to Sadie, who was pouting a bit. "I wanna play!" "Remember Mary." Sadie grumbled by way of response, though she got over her sulking quickly. Vladimir played basketball just like he fought . . . balls to the wall and physical as all hell. Todd tried to give as good as he got, but he was still a young wolf and simply wasn't able to match strength or speed with his uncle. And Sadie liked seeing Vladimir in action. Masculine . . . sweaty -- "Damn!" Todd gasped when Vladimir pushed through him to score the final basket. "You are so alpha!" "Don't start with that," Vladimir replied. "C'mon, you know you are. Besides, you're coming to the dinner on Saturday right? You KNOW that Mom and Ivan are gonna bring it up then anyway." Vladimir's smile had slightly withdrawn. "Try and run damage control for me ahead of time, okay kid?" Todd rolled his eyes. "Will do. I take it that Teresa," he continued, almost sneering, "won't be joining us?" He blanched a little under his Uncle's glare, so he found something more pleasant to look at. "Arbiter! Why don't you show up? It'd be a great time to meet the whole pack leadership for the Northwest Territory." "I'm sure that Sadie has something better to do than hang out with a bunch of mongrels all morning," Vlad growled. "No I don't. We should have the deck finished early enough, depending on when it starts." To Sadie, it actually made a lot of sense, since she'd been meaning to make more headway into meeting the other primary powers in the area. "Cool. Mom's the organizer for the meeting, so I'll let her know we'll have a guest." Vladimir threw up his hands and headed back to the car, grumbling about how no one listened to him anymore. "He's cranky," Sadie said with a grin. She was looking forward to finding out everything there was to know about her fellow officer, particularly the embarrassing stuff. A pack meeting was just the place to do it. "He gets like that around meetings. The bigger the meeting, the more annoyed he gets, since he knows that Ivan will push him to take control again." "Ivan Petrov?" She knew the pack-leaders name, but didn't realize that he and Vladimir were acquainted. "I didn't know that pack leaders ever wanted to give up their place." "He never wanted it," Todd was saying as the rest of the guys went back to play. "Vladimir was in the Gulf when old Boris died, otherwise the job was his. No one in the Territory was going to challenge him for it. Hell, Boris had already blessed the transfer of power." "I met Boris back in his hayday. I liked him . . . good man." "Keep forgetting you're older than you look. You act like a teenager," Todd grinned. "But we needed a leader and Ivan was a good choice. He figured that Vladimir would come back, challenge him, he'd back down and that would be that. But when Vladimir came back, he married that . . . elf, and he kind of backed out of pack politics. It's made a lot of people uneasy. Ivan's a good man and would be a good pack leader if there wasn't someone more alpha around, but --" Todd stopped and shrugged. Sadie understood. The head of the pack was supposed to be the biggest bad-ass that the pack had to offer. Having a beta in charge, however talented, flew in the face of nature. "Vlad's THAT alpha?" "He could have all the clout and all the bitches he wants," Todd replied. "He just --" "I know, I know. The elf." She loved the fact that werewolves could say "bitches" and have it not mean anything derogatory. Of course if SHE said it about Teresa, it might not be so innocent. "Hey, shoot me an email with directions and times and I'll be there." She ran over to the car, then she and Vladimir went inside Roll the Bones for a well-deserved meal. Breathless Ch. 05 ---------------- ---------------------- An hour before sunrise . . . ---------------- ---------------------- "Hey Mel," Sadie said as she bounced over to the desk while Vlad parked the car. She'd had a good evening overall, and was somewhat back to her perky self. "Got a sec?" Mel looked up at her from the stack of expense vouchers and tried to look passive. At work, the goth chick was trying desperately to cling to the aloof and deadpan image that she had cultivated for years before Sadie had shown up, but it wasn't easy for her. "For what?" "Got a puzzle I need your help with," Sadie said, much more quietly this time. Melissa was intrigued. "Private?" "Private." The two of them sauntered over to the computer lab and shut the door behind them. Sadie pulled the folded papers out and handed them to her. "Got a tip from Terrence," she said, her voice calm and serious. "Listen, I heard a voice at the warehouse the other night and I was pretty sure it was Dazza. Terrence heard Dazza and Frost talking and it pretty much confirmed that they were both involved." "Why?" Mel asked worriedly, looking over the papers. "What would Frost have to gain?" "I don't know. From the sound of it, they did it just because they wanted to. Right now, we'd have Terrence's word and mine against Frost's and Dazza's. That would be enough for me to arrest him, but I want a conviction." She looked puzzled. "This stuff was hidden in Frost's desk. There's a bunch of stuff planned from Halloween to New Years, and we need to figure out what it is. And I need to find out what he's doing with that land in West End." "Graveyard," Melissa muttered, shuffling through the notes she'd been handed. "What?" "I read in the paper that he's going to make it into a graveyard." "Then why is he having a big celebration there on Halloween? Never mind. Vampires are weird." "You ARE a vampire," Mel grinned. "See? My point exactly." Mel's eyes shot up. "Shit, I forgot to tell you. Devlin's been assigned to some special detail for the mayor. That's what that call was about." "Detail for the mayor? What is it?" "Don't know, but he's going to be there for the next two weeks." "You mean --" The two girls' eyes met. "Until Halloween?" Sadie's good mood was quickly evaporating. "I think I may need to have a talk with the mayor and Lord Frost. We can't have them pulling street cops for personal crap without a damn good reason. Meantime, think you can try and figure out what all this crap is for?" "Do my best. I'll work on it from home. Most of my good hacking software is there. It'll take some time to enter it into a spreadsheet then find the right algorithm, but I think I can come up with some guesses for you. It's not complicated looking." "You going to Mary's today?" Sadie asked, trying to get happy again. "Not tonight. She wanted me to take a couple of days and think about her offer, so --" "What offer?" Mel blushed. "She said that she prefers 'live in' help." Sadie's eyes blasted open. "She wants you to move in?! After one day?!" "It was a very, very, very good day." Melissa was practically beaming with glee, though she tried not to show it. Sadie smiled and hugged her friend. "I'm so happy for you. Just be careful. You're moving pretty fast." "Says the girl who jumped my bones the first chance she got," Mel replied. "I know, I know. It's a little rushed. But I'm not immortal, so I gotta take my chances while I can. I feel good about this though. I really do." "Then for what it's worth, I support you. Now get that cute ass of yours in gear, and I'll talk to you this evening." The two of them left, giggling and enjoying each other's friendship. Neither of them saw the demon standing in the shadows down the hall from the computer lab. Neither of them heard Bart when he muttered, "Interesting." He had heard almost the entire conversation. The question was, what to do with that information. ------------- ------------------ Several nights later . . . ------------- ------------------ Terrence was sitting on Sadie's partially completed porch when she got home from work. She'd convinced Mary that she was quite capable of driving her truck, so she didn't have to worry about Mel chauffeuring her around. "Wa'as up handsome?" she said. "Not much. Just wanted to see if you'd made any headway in figuring out what those papers meant." "Not yet. I've got a friend working on them. Heard anything else?" "Not especially. Frost has been spending a lot of time with officer Devlin, but I'm still not sure why he's even there. All I know is that Saturday is a week from Halloween and Frost is going to be making an announcement at a party over at the mayor's house. He's going to try and get you there." "Tough shit. I'm meeting with the pack of the Northwestern Territory on Saturday. I've already met all the vampires around here, so guess which invitation I'm going to accept?" Terrence shook his head. "You just live to annoy him don't you?" "Actually, it's more of a hobby. Believe it or not, I'd rather just do my job. Frost just seems to want to keep distracting me from it." She sat down next to him. "Need to get this deck finished. You wanna help?" "Sorry. I know you say Mary's cool and all, but wraiths just make me freak." "She's a good person and she deserves a chance," Sadie said, irritation seeping up into her words. "Woah," Terrence said, throwing his hands up. "Not disparaging her character in any way." Sadie stood up angrily. She knew she shouldn't get mad at Terrence, since darkworlder distrust of wraiths was almost instinctual, but she couldn't think about how lonely Mary had been all those years. Terrence got to his feet and put a hand on her good shoulder. "Listen, once we get Halloween behind us and I'm able to find a new job, I'll make an effort to meet her. Okay? I've just got a lot of stuff to think about as it is." The Arbiter walked over to the part of her railing that was complete and leaned against it. The wind had a good, distinct chill in it that snapped across her skin and into her nostrils. She loved cold air . . . it made her feel so awake and aware of everything. "Sorry," she said at last. She turned around. "Promise me you won't end up like them." "Like who?" "Like the rest of the vampires and the elves and the high-level witches and wizards and sorcerers. Don't turn into a self-righteous jerk with delusions of grandeur." "Hey hey hey!" Terrence said. "I know a lot of really cool people from all those groups, you included. Whatever Frost and his crew are up to, I don't think you should condemn the entire race." 'I already did,' she thought morosely. 'Damn, I need to get my mind off of Frost and all this political crap.' She glanced over Terrence from top to toes, and she though she knew just the way to do it. "Uhm, why are you looking at me like a prime rib?" Terrence said. He could see a growing hunger in her eyes . . . hell, he could practically feel it. It was like someone just flipped a switch inside of her. "Let's see," she said demurely, walking towards him with an almost ominous sway to her hips, "I've been shot, burnt, been spoken down to, and had all of my Guiness and cupcakes stolen. I think it's time that I got something I actually wanted, and you happen to be in the right place at the right time." "How romantic." Terrence actually felt a little slighted. He used to think that might wind up being more than just a convenient booty call, but that didn't seem to be the case. Not that he really minded being a booty call, seeing as Sadie was still the hottest thing this side of hell. "Aren't you a little injured to play that kind of game?" She reached up and ripped his shirt off with her good arm. "THAT . . . was a stupid question," she growled. "Got any more?" "Nothing comes to mind." "Good." She got the door open and then drug Terrence inside by the front of his pants, having every intention of getting into them as quickly as possible. But she struggled a bit getting her own vest off due to the discomfort of her shoulder. Terrence moved to her assistance, taking no small delight in loosening Sadie's vest enough that she was able to slide it off one shoulder. She had to remove her sling in order to get completely undressed, though she put it back on afterward. Terrence stood behind her, kissing her on the side of her face and down to her neck, but made no move to extend his fangs. He would never do that without an invitation, which Sadie didn't seem ready to give. "No biting," she confirmed with a moan, "but the kissing . . . that can stay." He pressed his hardness against her, feeling her butt cheeks clench in through his slacks. He'd been with a number of vampires, but Sadie was the first who had showed no interest in getting bitten to heighten the experiences to come. 'She really is different,' he thought, letting his mouth caress her uninjured shoulder. She was fumbling with his zipper as her reached a hand around to cup one of those wonderful breasts, feeling the weight of it in his hand. Finally, Sadie got the zipper down and reached her hand through the opening of his boxers to find his manhood inside. "That is just what I want right now," she purred. It wasn't really EXACTLY what she wanted, she realized. She thought back to a moment of shame and yet also a moment of intense desire. She thought back to when her teeth had been buried in Vladimir's neck and she could feel him flowing through her and pressed against her. Just thinking about it made her even more amorous, and Terrence was going to be the beneficiary of her lust. She stroked his significant length in his pants, letting the head rub against the fabric. Terrence had good blood flow going on through that organ. She let her fingertips run over the veins on the shaft up to the hooded head, pulling it out through his fly until the whole shaft became nestled her the crack of her ass. She pulled away and let him to the bed, gripping his cock all the way. She turned around, spreading her legs slightly and pushing his member between them but not inside. The top of his dick made contact with her heavenly gates, picking up residual moisture as it slid beneath those lips and poked out the other side. Terrence was trembling in anticipation. Last time, he hadn't gotten to spend nearly as much time as he would've liked with this glorious creature, so he was going to make the most of it. He continued sliding his cock under his pussy, one hand grabbing her ass while the other fondled a breast. He pulled back until the head of the shaft was directly underneath the entrance to paradise, then he bent at the knees and followed it with an upward thrust. Buried inside of her, he grabbed her ass with both hands to help keep her off of the ground. Sadie wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed his shoulder with her healthy arm, feeling him thrust deep inside her . . . filling her up. Convinced that he could hold her up on his own, she released his shoulder so she could unbutton his trousers. She was impressed that he was able to let them slide down and step out of them without losing his rhythm, but somehow he managed. She spurred his ass with her heels and was rewarded with an increased tempo. If she were wearing a cowboy hat, she probably would've raised it over her head and treated him like a mechanical bull, except she had every intention of riding him for more than eight seconds. The sound of flesh slapping flesh echoed through the trailer, making her smile. She'd had the place designed and rigged for surround sound, but this hadn't been the kind of sound she had in mind. Not that it bothered her . . . quite the contrary, it turned her on. She raked her fingers across his smooth chest and down to his abdomen. The guy was ripped, so much so that she wanted to eat dinner off his six-pack. "On bed . . . now," she grunted. Terrence turned and lay her on the bed. Her legs still ensnared him as she arched her back, pushing up with her shoulders while he grabbed her hips and drove her into the bed. Each thrust kept her feeling filled and alive, and she just wished he would go faster. Her shoulder didn't hurt so much that she couldn't take it. She placed her feet on the edge of the bed, giving her lover of the moment even better access. "You can do better than that," she purred, giving him a grin. Indeed he could. Terrence pulled all the way out until nothing but the little slit in the end of his dick was still encompassed by her warmth, then he drove back in. The half-open mouth forming a gasping grin was all the indication he needed as to what she was really looking for, so he started to drill her so had he though his hips might give out. He was nervous at first when he saw her slung arm bouncing around, but she wasn't complaining and so he didn't stop. She was so warm and so tight that he never wanted to stop. 'He's a good lover,' Sadie thought happily, but then her thoughts became somewhat absent. She was having fun, but there was something missing. Not that she was going to turn away as handsome of a fellow as Terrence, but she wished she could just let loose with him. At least she was still having enough fun to get off, which she did with a gentle stretch of her back and gripping him with her vaginal muscles. "Stay in!" she said. She liked cumming on a nice hard cock, and his was just the thing. Slight trembles, a sigh of blissful contentment, and then she fell back to the bed, the captive member sliding out of her body. "Now let me clean that off for you." Terrence got on the bed, kneeling next to her while she used one hand to guide his fleshy staff between her lips and into her covetous mouth. She took half of it on her first swing, letting it rest in the entrance to her throat while her lips pressed down on the shaft. It was so hot in her mouth, and she loved tickling that spongy area on the underside with her tongue. Slowly, she pulled her head away, dragging lips and tongue as she went. Then she bobbed her head forward and took back all the ground that she'd lost. "Sweet mother of everything holy," Terrence said as Sadie's mouth did it's best impression of a Hoover. She was cupping his testacles now, rolling them across her palm as she took more and more of his manhood into her. 'Please don't have a gag reflex,' he prayed, 'Please don't have a gag reflex!' Another inch of cock disappeared down her throat, making about two-thirds of it absent from view. Sadie released his testacles so she could stroke his cock as she sucked him. It was the one-two combo that quickly proved fatal, and he released his seed in the back of her mouth. Like a pro, she didn't spill a drop and continued to nurse his member until she felt that it had nothing else to provide for the moment. Sadie pulled her lips along that now highly sensitive skin until releasing the head, then swallowed his load with warm satisfaction. Terrence lay next to her, stroking her body, cupping her breasts, and tracing those smiling lips. He made a slight move forward to kiss her, but noticed her head turning away slightly, indicating to leave it alone. He'd kissed her before and she didn't seem to mind sex with him, so he was pretty sure she wasn't repulsed. 'Maybe it's just a kind of intimacy she isn't ready for right now,' he thought. 'It wouldn't surprise me, considering how she lost it when she got hurt and had to feed off of -- 'Vladimir.' For a moment, he was angry . . . jealous . . . sullen. Then he sighed. It wasn't like he'd entered into friendship with Sadie expecting to be her one true love, but being officially relegated to second on her hitlist . . . or third, if you included Melissa. 'He looks a mile away all of a sudden,' Sadie thought. "What's up?" "Just wondering if I'm the one you really want to be here with." He knew better than to try and lie to her. "Of course you are," she replied, looking confused. "You may like being here with me, but am I really who you want?" Sadie lay on her back, pulling Terrence's arm over her body. "I do want to be with you," she said honestly. "Just not as much as --" "Don't say it," she growled. "Whoever it is you're thinking, just don't." She knew who he was thinking of, and he would've been right. "Right now, I want to be with you. Just . . . just let that be enough." Terrence accepted the resolution. "Being with you, even for a moment, is more than most could dream for." Sadie just stared at him, then started to laugh. "Do lines like that actually work for you?" "Are you still wanting sex with me this evening?" "Yeah." "Then they work." Sadie grinned, touching his half-sized member, coaxing it back to life. Vampire males had incredibly short refractory periods, so he was ready to roll in no time. Sadie rolled him onto his back and mounted him, letting him slide deep into her body as she leaned forward and nibbled on his nipples. She wanted to bite into him and drink his heart's blood, but she knew it would be impolite to ask for something that she herself was unable to give. She righted herself again, riding his manhood and his hips with slow, leisurely bounces. She sometimes let him slide all the way in, then just rotated her hips a bit while she stimulated her own clit. As seemed often the cast, his hands sought out her breasts, squeezing them and pinching the nipples. Sometimes he'd grasp her ass, but he certainly seemed to lean towards being a breast man. She would lower her breasts to his eager lips and he showed just how he could treat his favorite protrusions and make Sadie enjoy it. There was no real burning need to accomplish anything, so Sadie took her time, letting herself feel filled and happy all the while. It wasn't long before he came inside her, making her feel a content warmth. She dismounted him, not needing anything else for herself. She let him hold her for a while, not feeling any burning need for conversation. He kissed her forehead, then slid out of bed and started to get dressed. Sadie thought she should ask him to stay, but realized that she wanted some time alone now. And he would know that the offer was only for the sake of pleasantries. Before he left, she sat up and he came over, allowing them to share a brief embrace. Then he left. ----------------- ------------------ Saturday afternoon . . . ----------------- ------------------ Sadie turned the keys in her truck, listening to that beautiful hum before trundling down her gravel drive. She had a long evening and night ahead of her, but she had felt restless and unable to sleep. So she got up and decided to go for a drive. Thanks to her accelerated healing, she was able to operate almost completely normally, her shoulder only providing her mild discomfort. She wasn't thinking about where she was going at first, then she found herself in West End, the "nice" area of Midian. 'Man, they must hate being this close to Gravestones and all those not-disgustingly-wealthy people.' She drove to the location of Frost's ceremony. True to Terrence's word, she had gotten her invitation to the West End Parade of the Dark, giving her the exact address. There was a high covered fence and a couple of security guards strolling around. She drove the perimeter, realizing just how big of an area this was. She parked nearby, but somewhere that couldn't be picked up by the area surveillance cameras. The guards probably wouldn't recognize her truck, but she didn't want to take chances. Evading the rent-a-cops was easy, making her glad she was able to move about during the day. West End's police force had a lot of vamps and elves, and they were harder to avoid. She timed the cameras and then jumped the ten foot fence like it was a speed bump. The moment she landed, a chill shot up her legs, through her spine before finally reaching her brain. Her mind was playing catch-up, because the view ahead was just plain chill-inducing. Breathless Ch. 05 Graves. Lots and lots of graves, each equipped with the proper equipment for raising and lowering coffins already in place. "That shouldn't be happening," she muttered. "Even if this is supposed to be a legitimate business, you don't gear this stuff up in advance. It's like they're planning for a massacre or --" Sadie stepped up to the edge of nearest grave. It was far more shallow than it should have been. "This isn't a final resting place," she said to the dark hole in the ground. "This is a Turning grave." Her head shot up. The graves were laid out on a grid, so it was easy to calculate how many there were, one hundred in all. Then she saw a mound close to a covered dais. "A hundred and one?" She walked over and took a look. That grave, while shallow, seemed to be slightly better constructed. "What's different about you?" she asked. Looking around, she pulled her cell phone and punched Mel's number. 'Must still be asleep' Sadie thought when the voicemail picked up. 'Or maybe she's tied up.' Sadie grinned. She was happy for her friends: finding someone you connected with at that level was rare. "Mel, I think I've got an idea about that list. I think it could be a list of potential Turnings. I know, it's weird." It seemed especially weird since there were more than a hundred and one names on that list. "Those letters may be initials. Check 'em against known vamps and against anyone in the Turning registry. Get back to me if you find anything." She hung up and jumped back over the wall, heading toward her truck. 'This is bad,' she thought. 'What can he be thinking? There can't be that many openings for Turning, can there? And all at once? Maybe I'd better attend that event after all.' On her way out, she saw a sign reading "Vallant Fencing." "So Frost isn't the only one involved in this." Councilman Vallant was one of Frost's flunkies, albeit an old and powerful flunky, and one that might warrant a little investigation. ---------------- -------------- Across town . . . ---------------- -------------- Lord Frost hated being awoken, but when he saw the look on Dazza's face, he figured that it was probably for a good reason. "Explain, and quickly," Frost growled. "We have an important night coming up and --" Dazza just handed him a piece of paper that he had already read. "This was in the mailbox, with no envelope or postage. It seems to be from someone in the Gravestones Police Department, but not one of your men." "A strange policemen leaving me notes? How droll." But Frost's amusement declined noticeably when he glanced over the letter. Arbiter Hewitt had gotten a hold of the schedule somehow, and her dinner companion from a few weeks earlier was trying to decode it. Apparently, they had gotten it from Terrence McDermott. Frost looked up at Dazza. "It appears that we need to clean house," he said, as cold as his name implied. "I assume that Arbiter Hewitt has not yet figured out what it means, otherwise I suspect that she would have paid me a visit. No matter. Come Halloween, she will not be able to resist us any longer. But this human woman must be dealt with. Make it look like an accident." "And McDermott?" "I have been betrayed by one of my children," Frost said evenly. "I shall mete out the punishment myself." Dazza left while Frost rose. He could not walk in the sun as easily as the Arbiter could, but being active in daylight was well within his capability. Being thousands of years old had its advantages. He dressed for business, for with Frost, everything was about business. He went to his office, sat behind his desk and waited. For an hour, he sat in place, waiting for Terrence to arrive. Terrence walked in right on schedule. Frost had perfected masking his emotions over the millennium, but he felt a dark rage. He remembered the first time he'd seen this young man, perfect in so many respects. Terrence was a warrior and a patriot, so Frost had made the mistake of thinking he would be loyal to his new lord and his new race. Frost had been proven wrong, and the vampire lord loathed being wrong. "You wanted to see me sir?" Frost stood up and walked around his desk. "We have a problem with the ceremony, and I thought you might be able to help." Terrence said. "What do you need me to do?" Frost placed a hand on McDermott's back and led him toward the door. Then, faster that anyone could blink, he grabbed the younger vampire's chin and broke his neck. Terrence dropped to the floor with a thud. Frost looked down at his former bodyguard. "You just did it." Frost walked back to his desk and called a clean-up crew. -------------- ------------------ Meanwhile . . . -------------- ------------------ Sadie was sitting in her truck under the shade, staring at the gate of Councilman Vallant's palatial estate, wondering what his part in this all was. She wasn't expecting to actually see anything, but was just trying to get a feel for those who were most assuredly her enemies. But see something she did. The front door opened and, with her keen eyesight, she saw two people standing in the door. She couldn't make out the details due to the shadows except that they were definitely close in an intimate way. "Get a room," she murmured as she got ready to start up the truck again. The sun was almost down, so it was time to go to the pack meeting. But something held her eyes for just a little while longer . . . something about the shape of one. It was something familiar. She backed the truck up a bit, getting a good view of the gate. A woman got into a car that a human valet had pulled up to the curve and was pulling away as the door closed. When that car pulled around, Sadie's jaw almost hit the seat. "Teresa?!" What the hell was Vlad's wife doing . . . 'You know perfectly damn well what she was doing!' She gunned the truck, fighting the urge to run the woman down and wrap her vampiric hands around the bitch's neck, restrained only by the knowledge that Vlad might take it personally. 'How do I tell him? DO I tell him?' she questioned as she drove over to Vlad's sister's house. It was the longest drive of her life, with her inner turmoil bubbling in her stomach and making her want to vomit. She didn't understand how anyone could fail so utterly to appreciate what they had. Finding the local pack's stomping grounds was pretty damn easy. Every pack tended to have one member with a large amount of land for such gatherings, and everyone else chipped in to help maintain it and pay taxes on it. This particular den was way out on the undeveloped edges of Gravestones and stretched out as far as the eye could see, with no neighbors nearby to complain. Cars filled the driveway and were parked on the sides of the road leading through the area. Sadie grinned in spite of herself as she found a spot, seeing a rusted old ford parked right next to a sporty little BMW. For werewolves, the pack surpassed all other boundaries. She jumped out of her truck and strode down the driveway, black tanker boot leaving slight imprints in the dirt beneath them. She had apparently been spotted, as Todd bounded down the steps to meet her. He wasn't fooling her in the least. She knew that his friends were watching and he'd gain some prestige by being "tight" with the hottie. She didn't care, and gave him a big hug anyway. "Glad you could make it," he said. "Mom's been itching to meet you." "She's got fleas?" A couple of people chuckled. "Oh, this is gonna be fun," Todd grinned back at her. "Where's your uncle?" she asked as she wiped her feet on the "Beware of Inhabitants" floor mat. "Ivan and some of the other big dogs cornered him the second he showed up and are talking politics. Seems some of the western packs are grumbling about how the vampires have gotten to full of themselves around here and they're putting pressure on Ivan to stand up to them. But Ivan is so wrapped up trying to get Vladimir to take over that he hasn't even noticed. Can you talk to him?" Todd asked, looking concerned. "Uncle Vladimir seems to put a lot of stock in you." Sadie stretched her neck in both directions like she was getting ready to exercise. "I don't know Todd. I spend enough time trying to stay out of vamp politics that I'm not sure I'm qualified to participate in were's." She saw his face fall. "Listen, if he asks my opinion, I'll give it to him. But I make no promises that --" "There you are boy," a voice came, interrupting Sadie. The woman behind it was tall and lean, reminding Sadie a great deal of a coursing hound. She flicked Todd's ear before continuing, "I thought I told you to put another couple bags of ice in each of the coolers." "Mom, I'm twenty-five years old. The ear flicking thing has got to . . . Owh!" He covered his ears after his mother tweaked them a second time. "You're never to old for me to take you out to the wood shed and teach you to mind your elders," the mother growled, but she really couldn't hide her affection. "You can talk to your girlfriend later and . . . what's so funny?" Sadie was chuckling. "Girlfriend? For this young pup?" "I'm not that young!" Todd practically shouted. He regained his composure. "Mom, this is Arbiter Sadie Hewitt. Sadie, this is my mom Anya." Anya raised one eyebrow. "This is the Arbiter? No wonder half the pack in the Gravestones walks around with milk-boners half the time." "Mom!" Todd was blushed furiously. "I . . . I'm going to go get the ice." He glanced at Sadie. "We actually DO have a wood shed, so I'd better hurry." "You raised him well," Sadie beamed. "How so?" "He's terrified of you." Anya gave a toothy grin of her own. "It's one of the simple joys of motherhood." She offered her hand. "My brother's told us a lot about you. Have you met his wife?" Sadie wasn't surprised that Vlad hadn't brought up their argument with his family. "Yep." "What do you think." Sadie made sure Vlad wasn't in listening range. "Bitch. Bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch beeeeeeee-atch." Anya wrapped a strong arm around Sadie's shoulders and drug her through the house to the backyard. "I think I like you." They emerged onto a massive deck overlooking a sizable chunk of forestland, winding up next to some massive barbecue pits. "How do you like your steak?" "Show it what the fire looks like, then offer it up as an Azetc sacrifice." Anya just stared at her for a moment, grinning from ear to ear. "Joseph!" she shouted towards one of the cooks, "One medium-rare with an emphasis on the 'rare' for our guest the Arbiter." No sooner than the word 'Arbiter' had escaped her Anya's lips, Sadie found herself surrounded by throngs of werewolves asking questions. They weren't rude, but were rather just enthusiastic. "Is it true you like to play basketball naked?" "How long have you been an Arbiter? "What brought you to Gravestones?" "Do you prefer Star Wars or Star Trek?" It was like an overly enthusiastic and musky press conference. She was fielding questions left and right until someone thrust a Guinness into her hand. It was Todd. "Uncle Vladimir says that it's your favorite." "You and your uncle are gods among men," she muttered, biting the bottlecap off to get to her sweet nectar of life. "Isn't that bad for your fangs?" "I've practiced." Soon, she was reminded why she loved hanging out with werewolves so much. When they had "meetings," it was more like a party. They didn't stand on ceremony or stuffiness like vampires did. The only thing that they were missing was a couple of monster trucks . . . otherwise, it was the biggest redneck convention she'd ever seen. Even the werewolves in the three-piece suits would just kick back on a lawn chair, scratch themselves publicly and suck down cold beer and hot dogs. They lived out in the open rather than the closed spaces of her own darkworlder brethren. She had often wished that she'd been born a were. They were just picking teams for an impromptu game of full-contact football when she heard her name echoing over the din. She saw Vladimir next to a distinguished looking though slightly vexed gentlemen. 'That's gotta be Ivan,' she thought. 'I'm guessing he didn't get his way.' She made her way over, grabbing another beer and a bag of Fritos on the way. "Hey Vlad!" Ivan smirked. "Vlad?" "Don't encourage her," Vladimir growled. "Sadie, this is Ivan Petrov, pack leader for the Northwestern United States. She saw Ivan roll his eyes. He definitely felt formidable to Sadie, but didn't have the same presence that Vladimir did. Being around all these weres made it easier to discern how alpha each was in comparison to each other, and Vlad was radiating it. She began thinking about how she'd really like to see his wild side, then shook her head to clear the thought. That was when she remembered that she should tell him about seeing Teresa. "Nice to meet you Arbiter," Ivan said, trying to offer a hand but getting caught in a big hug, letting Sadie wrap and arm around him so she could drink some beer over his shoulder before letting him go. "Told you," Vlad said. "Okay, she's as friendly as you said she was. I'm just not used to vamps being anything but --" He stopped, not wanted to offend. That secured his place as a beta . . . an alpha wouldn't much care about hurting an outsider's feelings. Ivan was probably a good political liaison, but not as natural of a leader. "Rude? Uptight? Full of shit?" Sadie just kept filling in the blanks until both weres were laughing. "Todd told be that the other packs have been making noise about the local vamps?" Ivan nodded, wiping tears from his eyes while trying to compose himself. "Yeah. They've gotten a little cockier everywhere this Halloween season, but it's been really bad up here. They've been pushy in both the human and darkworlder political arenas. They're really upset about Turning restrictions, even though they're close to quota right now." Sadie wondered how they would legally pull off all the Turns she thought that they were planning if they were really that close to their maximum limits. "Vamps have been bitching about that for a long time." "Not like this," Ivan replied. "The elves are securely in their camp too, and they've convinced some of the larger covens that this is all just human prejudice against the 'higher' darkworlders." "You going to their little pre-ritual ritual?" Vlad asked, rolling his eyes. "I wasn't planning on it. If I let the Captain or anyone else bully me into giving up my free time every time the bloodsuckers have a ceremony, I'd never have time to myself." "I've never heard a vamp so blunt with their own kind," Ivan said. "Good reasons, I assure you. Hey, I've been trying to figure out what all this attitude is about, so I'll let you know if I hear anything, okay? Or Vlad will --" "It's Vladimir!" "Sure thing Vladilicious." "Sadie, I'm going to --" "Vladaroonie." Ivan was laughing again and Vlad was barely containing it. But playtime was over. "Hey Ivan, could I talk to Vladimir alone for a sec?" "Sure thing. I want to get in on the game before they start." He rushed over like a kid, waiting his turn to get picked. "I've never seen football games with thirty or forty people per side," she said, looking at the throng. "Sometimes we have two quarterbacks per team, or we've played with three teams in a triangle. We keep thinking that we need to propose werewolf football as a sport to the television companies, but no one ever bothers to write down the rules." He looked at her more seriously. She'd called him "Vladimir," which probably meant something was up. "Have you heard from Mel?" "No, but it sounds like she's got a lot on her plate. She moved in with Mary today." "Wasn't that a bit . . . sudden?" Sadie shrugged. "Far be it for me to discourage impetuous carnal actions, but it might have been. But since neither you or I are living HER life, let's just be happy for her. But I gave her something to go on . . . I think those may be Turnings that are scheduled." "Turnings?! No possible way!" Vladimir had to struggle to get his voice under control. With that many weres around, he was already pumped up and ready to growl. "That many turns would put the vamps way over their quota." "I know, but I went to the site of tonight's ceremony, and there are hundreds of shallow graves Vlad . . . Turning graves. It's a stretch --" "Have you asked Terrence?" "I tried calling on the way over but he wasn't picking up." She paused. She needed to say what she was going to say. "Vladimir, does your wife work for Councilman Vallant?" Vlad stopped and stared. "Vallant? No, she's a sales rep. Why?" "I saw that he was providing the fencing and security for the ceremonial site and . . . I went to his house and saw Teresa in the front door with . . . someone." How do you tell a man that you're on thin ice with already that his wife is -- Vladimir tensed up like he was going to go ballistic and then . . . nothing. Sadie watched his shoulders and face fall, and a look of sad familiarity flickered in his eyes. That was when she knew that he knew. To make matters worse, she doubted this was the first time. "You just can't stay out of other people's business can you?" he whispered. "How many times?" Sadie asked. "You don't cheat on werewolves, because they can smell it. Good grief, do you have any balls at all?" That was when Sadie realized that she was mad at him. Vlad was growling . "Watch yourself --" "Or you'll what? Snivel at me? For the love of darkness, you're just going to stand there and take it! She's cheating on you Vladimir, and you're going to let her treat you like YOU'RE the bitch?!" Vladimir shoved her, sending her tumbling backwards, but she had more than enough agility to roll with it and pop back up to her feet. Luckily they were far enough away from the others and their activities that no one had noticed. "Damn it, you'll strike out at someone who actually gives a shit about you but you let her treat you like a hairy door mat?" Sadie grabbed him and rammed him into a tree. 'Maybe I can knock some sense into him!' She growled, "You really think this is what your friend wanted for you? What her brother --" She actually flinched a bit when her reared an arm back as if he were going to separate her head from her shoulders, but the blow was held in uneasy tension. She let her voice soften. "He wanted you to look after her, and you've done everything you could. But she's chosen her life and her side . . . maybe you should rethink yours. Some people can't be saved. Some people don't want to be." She stepped in front of him, watching the wolf struggle with the man just underneath the skin. "You should be alpha. You should be happy and wild and free. Do you really want the rest of your life to be like this?" Her phone started to ring, but before she answered it, she had one more thing to say. "When you finally figure it out, I'll be waiting." She wondered if he understood what that meant. In her mind, Vladimir Koloff had become more than a friend. "Hello? Mary? Calm down! What . . . what happened?" Despite the tension, Vladimir wasn't thinking about the argument anymore. There was something about Sadie's voice and tone that chilled his blood. "When?" Sadie had gone deathly pale. "Did you call the ambu-- . . . Okay, I'll be there." She hung up and looked at Vlad, her face lit up with fear. Vlad had never seen her afraid. "What happened?" "Mel's been in a car wreck," she said, hurrying towards the house, Vlad close at her heels. "Someone rammed her car when she was heading to Mary's, then fled the scene. And the ambulances won't fucking go to New Plymouth because they're afraid wraiths or they think it's a fucking prank." She cursed under her breath at the sheer stupidity of some people. Breathless Ch. 05 "You don't think it was an accident do you?' She shook her head wildly. Vlad glanced over at his sister who was fast approaching, easily able to discern that something was wrong. "Where are you going?" "A friend's hurt," he explained. "We don't know how bad." "Fleet of foot," Anya said, reciting an ancient werewolf blessing of safe travel. "Call us if you need anything." Sadie wondered what would happen if Vlad really called on his people. If this wasn't an accident and he got mad enough, she was convince that there would be a war in the Gravestones before sunrise. They both jumped in Sadie's truck, their quarrel forgotten as she peeled out, throwing her siren on the roof and pumping it up. She broke speeding laws, as well as the laws of physics it seemed in her efforts to get to her friend. When they pulled into New Plymouth, Sadie's throat swelled when she saw that cute little Mini crumpled in the ditch next to the road. She could see Mary hovering over Mel's body next to the road, and the wraith was glowing with rage. She wanted someone to strike out at . . . wanted Melissa to call out for vengeance so she could do what wraiths were created to do, but Mel was unconscious. Sadie knelt by her friend as the wraith screamed in anguish. Mary had been alone so long, and now a friend and lover was slipping out of her hands. "Mel," the Arbiter whispered, "Can you hear me?" The goth chick's vital signs were so weak, and there was blood all over the seat. It looked like Mary had ripped the door off to get her lover out. "Mary, what happened?" "I don't know!" the wraith shrieked. "I heard a crash, but I can't teleport unless vengeance calls. By the time I got here, the other car was gone." "Melissa, who hit you?" Vlad asked, compassion overflowing in his voice. Mel's eyes crept open, but only barely, and she gasped in pain. "Duh . . . Dazza," she whispered. "I'm going to kill him," Vlad said. "I'll get 911 here." "It's too late," Mary whispered, now hovering closer to Mel. "I see her life force fading . . . she's dying." Then a look of pure desperation crept over that pale visage. "Sadie, you can save her!" "I'm not a medic!" Sadie replied, looking confused. "I can't --" She stopped. She knew what Mary wanted. "Mary, I can't --" "Yes you can!" The wraith grabbed the vampire by the neck and shoved her against the ground. "You can save her! You can keep her with me! Damn you, you can't let her leave! She doesn't deserved to die for YOUR war!" Sadie was tired of being smashed around, but she was too terrified to do much about it. She wasn't terrified of Mary, but rather was scared to death of what the wraith was asking. Mary didn't understand . . . couldn't understand. She didn't know what Sadie really was. "Please?!" Mary's whisper was so heated and hungry that Sadie couldn't face her. The Arbiter felt a chill in her own heart as she watched her friend bleeding on the ground. "I don't care about the law or the rules," the wraith continued. "I just can't be alone again. I can't lose her. She's so beautiful --" "What's going on?" Vlad asked, his phone still in his hand. Sadie looked at Mary first. The wraith, in the matter of a week, had fallen in love with a twenty-something computer geek. It was a star-crossed romance . . . one in a million shot that they would ever meet. Sadie had given them to each other, and now she was being asked to seal the deal in blood. 'But I've only ever done it once,' she thought. 'And my blood . . . it's tainted.' She was different than any other vampire walking the earth. "Please?" Mary asked again, her voice almost a whisper. She was fading, and Sadie was left wondering if the wraith had bonded with Mel in someway. She wondered if Mary would survive without the first love she had felt in centuries. Sadie knelt beside Mel and lifted her head. Time was running short, so she would have to move quickly. "Melissa Neron, meet my eyes." She did something she almost never did, certainly not in the presence of other people. She let her guard down a bit and let loose some of her presence, letting it wash over the dying girl's body. Vladimir shuddered as a deep, chilling power seeped into the area. 'What the hell is . . . she's not going to--' "Melissa, I need you to look at me." Sadie waited until somehow Melissa was able to comply. "Look upon me, for I am Death. Do you fear me?" Melissa shook her head. She knew of these words, for they had been spoken by the vampires at moments like these for thousands upon thousands of years. "Look upon me, for I am Death. Do you accept me?" Sadie waited a moment, and this time Mel nodded. "Then let life end with death, and death begin with new life." The vampire was crying. She was scared out of her mind, and she couldn't even tell anyone why. She would tell Melissa . . . when she got the chance, she would tell her friend the whole truth. But that was for later. Sadie leaned in, gently lifting Mel's bloody and broken body closer. She pushed Mel's head slightly to the side, exposing that slender, perfect neck. She saw where Mary had marked the girl, and set her fangs down just beside it. It had to be a clean puncture. Without further adieu, her fangs penetrated the surface of the skin and drank of the blood below. Even on the verge of death, Melissa's body reacted as if she were experienced great pleasure. The draw of the vampire was powerful, and Sadie . . . Sadie was special. She took more and more of her friend's blood into herself, letting it mingle with Sadie's own. She released her hold on Melissa's neck for just a moment. "Now let the circle begin anew . . . take from me life, sleep, and be prepared to be born again." Then she bit down again, injected the mixed blood into Mel's bloodstream and let that mystical concoction take effect. Soon, Melissa would die, but it didn't mean that her story was over. Sadie held her friend who was also now, in the realm of the vampires, Sadie's daughter, waiting for the last of the girl's life to leave her. She had done it just in time. If the sharing of blood didn't occur before death, then the Turning wouldn't take. And at last, Melissa Neron rested in a temporary peace. Sadie looked at Vlad. "I need a grave," she whispered. "Help Mary find a place. Put it in her yard. We'll need a sheet big enough for both of us to lie in --" "Both of you?" Mary asked. She'd never heard of a fledgling vampire's master lying with them during First Day. "Don't argue with me or question me," Sadie replied, fear still in her voice. "Not this time." She knew she would have to answer to the law for this, but she would risk it. Mary had been right when she said that Melissa shouldn't die because of Sadie's personal feud. She looked at Vlad again. "Make sure the grave is in the shade, but we'll need more shade still. Then, I want Dazza arrested and put in jail. I don't care where he is or who he's with. And I will take full responsibility for what has happened here," she added. Vlad was mentally playing catch up, but that last statement hit like a brick. This was a rogue Turning, which meant that Sadie had put herself under the thumb of local authorities and the vampire council. And who knew what it would mean for her status as an Arbiter. She had risked everything to save Mel. 'She doesn't do anything with half a heart does she?' he thought as he followed Mary back to her home. He would dig a grave and then he had work of his own to do. Ever so gently, Sadie picked up Melissa's body and carried it to Mary's house, where the wraith and werewolf were frantically tearing up earth in a backyard flower garden, trying to create a daytime resting place for the newly dead. When a vampire was Turned, he or she had to spend the first day of undeath under the earth, and Sadie intended to stay that day with her. She didn't understand why vampire masters and mistresses never did that anymore. To her, it was no different than leaving a day's lover before evening fell . . . it took away the magic of the thing. The thought of being buried, even partially, filled her with dread that most vampires couldn't even imagine. The very notion brought back memories she had fought to suppress: blood and decaying fleshing filling her nostrils and throat. She was possibly the only vampire walking the earth who suffered from severe claustrophobia, and for good reason. Mary and Vlad had dug a grave in record time, six feet long and only about three feet deep. Vlad had actually taken his shirt off while digging, and Sadie's eyes caressed the lightly furred muscles of his chest and abdomen. She was appreciative, but past the point of lustful thoughts. "A thin layer of dirt on top of the sheet," Sadie said, her voice quivering, "That's all we need. Then throw a tarp over to keep out any direct sun . . . I don't know how resistant to sun she'll be." "Could she inherit your immunity?" Mary asked. "It doesn't work like that and you know it," Sadie practically snapped. By the dark that hid behind all things, she was afraid. "Sorry." She saw Vlad laying a blanket down in the grave, apparently hoping to make the experience a little more comfortable. She appreciated his efforts, though she knew they would be mostly in vain. Humans had romanticized this process to make themselves feel better. Sadie had seen it done many times, but it was only the second time she had ever Turned anyone. And this time was much different than the last. She looked at Mary. "Each vampire is unique." Sadie jumped down into the grave, then met her friends' faces with tears in her eyes. "She'll be different," she said. "She'll be different than other new vamps." Sadie locked eyes with Mary. "She'll be stronger. Will you still want her then?" "Of course! She is a servant in name only. I would dedicate my existence to her happiness," Mary replied. A small, sick part of her was happy about this. Now, Melissa would not grow old and die. Mary would never have to be alone again. She hated thinking such things, but could not deny the power of the idea. "Why will she be different?" Vlad asked. He had seen a few Turnings, but there was something different here . . . some kind of underlying force that he had never experienced before. "Because of me." Sadie left it at that, motioning for Melissa's still form. Mary lifted her lover, staring at that face that would now be young forever. She kissed Melissa's cool lips then handed her to Sadie, and the vampire and vampire-to-be lay low in the grave. "I want Dazza," Sadie directed to Vlad. "I want his head on a pike for what he did, and I want Frost. You know that Dazza wouldn't have done this alone. Somehow he found out that we had the papers." A look of panic crossed her face, but before she could speak -- "I'll find Terrance and warn him," Vlad said. "If this is the way they want to play now, then that's the way we'll play it." Looking at him, Sadie didn't see the weak and spineless wolf she'd accused him of being earlier. He was alpha. He was a warrior, and the moon blessed him with its light. She smiled at him, the lay to rest next to Melissa, her mouth near the girl's neck. By providing blood over the course of the day, she could give the girl a jump-start on her new life. Mary lay a blanket over their bodies before Vlad covered them up with about six inches of soil. Neither of them saw Sadie skin jumping under the blanket as shovelfuls of dirt landed on the two women. After a few minutes, the women were secured in their resting place. "I will stay with them," Mary whispered. "The sun has no effect on me. When they wake, Melissa may call for vengeance," the wraith replied, her whisper escalated into a growl, "and for once, I will be happy to answer it." Vlad pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "There's going to be trouble," he said. "Turning a vamp without authorization could mean death for both the old and new vamp if the authorities find out. If we can't trace this back to Frost, he'll be the one to make the decision. But I'll buy us some time," he said, flipping the phone open and turning it on. "Anya? Yeah, things are bad. Find Ivan and put him on. I need the pack's help with something." --------------- -------------- Close to sundown . . . --------------- -------------- Sadie had gotten very little actual rest. When she was afraid, her heart began beating as an involuntary reflex, and the sound of it had kept her awake. She wanted out of the ground and to feel clean air against her skin. She could feel the draw of darkness approaching, and that comforted her somewhat. Over the last ten hours, she had periodically given Melissa injections of blood while drawing out some of the woman's decaying mortal blood. Melissa would not have the time to come into her powers the way most vampires did. She would already have enemies. Melissa's body shifted and the girl groaned lightly. The sun was setting, and she was being born anew from the earth. "It's okay," she whispered, her voice filling the tiny amount of air they had available to them. "It's all right. Don't panic. You're one of us now," she continued to croon, willing her voice to be calm and exerting her presence, feeling the girl's body relax next to her. "You're my child and my friend, and you are safe we me for now." "I . . . remember," Melissa gasped, the last of the oxygen in her lungs escaping. She would never need it there again. "I remember what happened." She could feel Sadie's body against hers. "You Turned me. I didn't think . . . why?" "I couldn't let you go," Sadie replied. "Mary wouldn't survive. I could never forgive myself for letting them --" "Dazza!" Melissa shouted. "He hit me!" The previous night's events came rushing back to her. "I was on my way to the were meeting. You were right," she whispered heatedly. "It was a Turning schedule and . . . and the list of people they're planning on Turning --" She stopped when she heard Sadie chuckle. "What?" "You're a tenacious bitch, you know that?" Sadie replied. "You just died, and you're still doing math in your head." Then she remembered that she needed to tell Melissa the truth. She felt the earth shift above them. Someone was coming. "Melissa, I need you to listen and I'm begging you, do as I ask." The desperation in her voice almost choked her. "What?" Mel was actually surprised that she was clear headed. New vampires were supposed to be disoriented, and she wondered if it was Sadie's presence that had made the difference. "You know how you've been wanting to hear my whole story? Well I'm going to tell you, but not right now. There's not enough time." Mel was more than a little scared now. "What does that have to do --" "You're not going to be like other new vamps. You'll be stronger than some vampires much older than you. Don't let anyone but me drink your blood. Don't even let Mary bite you until I've explained everything. I'm serious Melissa. You don't know what's running through your veins." "Are you . . . some kind of experiment? Some vampire grown in a lab or --" "Just trust me," Sadie replied. The cover was being lifted above them. "For now . . . welcome to the darkworld." The two women looked up, the night-sky draped overhead where just moments earlier, dirt had been. "It's beautiful," Melissa murmured, her irises expanding to take in more light than she ever could have before. Sadie had been told that a new vamps first look at the stars was like glimpsing heaven. For her, it had been something else entirely. For her, it had been hell. But let Melissa have her moment where her blood sang in a non-beating heart and where the sky itself held unparalleled promise. Melissa was now immortal. Then Sadie noticed that, along with Mary and Vlad, there were several unfamiliar faces looking down. She thought she recognized a few of them from the were gathering. She stood up, and saw a dozen or so werewolves nearby. They all looked unnerved at being so close to a wraith, but yet here they were. They were briefly distracted as Mary descended on Melissa, embracing her dark lover like a dream that she thought had been lost. Sadie's gaze drifted back to Vlad. He was standing there in tactical riot gear, and even Sadie would've been afraid to tangle with him. He was so alpha that it filled her senses, and she could only imagine what it must feel like to the other weres. "You took control of the pack, didn't you?" she whispered. Vlad nodded. "I fought Ivan, but it was mostly ceremonial. He bowed out and now he's my second." His face was unreadable to Sadie. "Why --" "Because I'm tired of the vamps around here thinking they can get away with anything," Vlad growled. "Are you here as a pack leader or a cop?" she asked. "Both. We crashed the vamp party and arrested Dazza. There was some big brass there, Sadie," he said, looking angry. "I saw both our senators, at least one congressman. Judges --" "That's what I was going to tell you!" Mel said. "Almost everyone that's going to be Turned on Halloween is big time, including Senator Trefauld!" Sadie's eyes shot open. Senator Trefauld was the chair of the Senate's Darkworlder Oversight Committee. He was instrumental in controlling the allowable Turn rates in the United States. Normally this position wasn't allowed to be held by a non-human. "He just got re-elected didn't he? He's got five and a half years." Vlad growled. "There's a bunch of ways to get rid of him, but not until he'd done a lot of damage." Melissa finally released her embrace on Mary, but the two women kept their hands clasped. "Like increasing the number of vampires that you're allowed to create or . . . Sadie, you . . . Are you going to be in trouble? For Turning me?" Sadie felt cold. "I don't know. Technically, I should've been allowed a bunch of Turns by now by vampire law, but you're always supposed to petition the council. If the council felt that I made an unwise decision, you could be killed and I could be killed or imprisoned. And if Frost was behind Dazza's attack, you can guess how that vote is going to go." She looked from Mary to Melissa. "I'd advise planning to get out of the country. The rules down in Mexico aren't nearly as strict." She looked at Vlad. "Unless the law stops you." Vlad shook his head. "Justice should be hard and swift, but not blind. I just called in my boys to keep everyone away until you were back up and on your feet. But what about you? As an Arbiter --" "As an Arbiter, I'll stand by my actions." "But that means that even if Frost shows 'mercy,' that the Bureau could still put you in jail for a long damn time." "It's not fair!" Melissa said. "No, it isn't. But I'll do whatever I need to in order to keep you safe." Vlad looked grim. He hated this. He'd exert whatever influence he could with the pack and the police department, but the Arbiter Bureau was way over his paygrade. "Sadie, New Plymouth is surrounded by cops from other districts and there's a rep from the mayor's office. In other words, from Frost. We got nothing to pin him on, and Dazza isn't talking. He's all lawyered up. They know about Melissa. I have no frickin' idea how, but they know. And Frost is furious about us screwing up his announcement ceremony." "Breaks my heart," Sadie said. Her life was fucked up beyond all recognition right now, so she wasn't too concerned about Frost's feelings. "Arbiter," came a quite voice from behind her. She spun and looked. "Devlin?" She hadn't seen Devlin since his special assignment to the mayor. "What are you doing here? Aren't you the mayor's rep?" The young officer nodded. His gazed became transfixed on Melissa, who seemed to glow with her newfound power. She glared at him, using her normal stoic gaze as a weapon until he looked away. "They thought I would be the only one you might actually talk to. Lord Frost is mad, just like Officer Koloff said." He looked down. "You really think that Frost was behind this?" Breathless Ch. 05 "Dazza doesn't take a dump without permission from Frost, so yeah." Sadie was angry. She glanced at Vlad when his radio screeched and he had to step away to take a call. "Think about that," she said coolly. "Melissa is your friend, or at least she was. And Frost would have her killed just because he didn't want us to find out who all he was Turning." Devlin looked angry. "I never would've had anything to do with this if I thought he'd hurt anyone. All I want . . . all I want is what she has," he said, pointing at Mel. "What you wouldn't give me." Vlad walked over, his face even darker than before. "Sadie, they just found Terrence McDermott. He's dead. His body washed up down river about three miles." Sadie screamed in deep, rich anger. She jumped to Devlin and lifted him up by his shirt with just one hand. "Imagine that! The guy who clued us into Frost's plans is suddenly dead. A fucking coincidence?" She dumped Devlin into the open grave. Devlin looked shocked. "No, that's not possible," he muttered. "He was my friend. He was so cool to me." Sadie was fighting back tears. A friend had been murdered, and another friend had almost met the same fate. The law she had represented would soon close in around her neck, and she would be unable to stop whatever scheme Frost had cooked up. "Why is he doing this?" she asked to the cool night wind. Devlin stood up and looked around him. Being in the grave humbled him beyond anything he could comprehend. "I'm sorry Sadie. I'm so sorry." "Sadie, there's one other thing," Melissa said, looking at Devlin. "The second row of initials were the people being Turned, but the first row were the vamps doing the Turning. My computer kept spitting back the same name for the person chosen to Turn Devlin." The girl's eyes were wide open. Sadie felt an unnatural chill in her skin and bones. "Who?" "Solomon, the Blood Saint." Sadie stepped back, every nerve ending in her body going dead. She fell to her knees. Solomon was the most revered vampire in the world, and had walked the Earth for seven thousand years. And to Sadie, everything began to make sense. She knew what was happening. "No," she whispered, fear and hatred seeping into every part of her body. "Not again." Then she lifted her voice to an uncaring heaven and screamed . . . and screamed . . . and screamed. ------------- ----------------------- To be continued . . . Breathless Ch. 06 This story is a bit wordy and fairly long, so if you are looking for immediate gratification, you might want to look elsewhere. The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between these character and events and any real person or events is strictly coincidental . . . and pretty darn impressive seeing as it is a science fiction story. Do not reproduce or copy this story without the consent of the author. This story is based in an alternative universe, where history took a different course than the one we are used to. In this world, the creatures which we now believe to be legends have walked alongside man for the duration of our existence. Vampires, werewolves, wizards, witches, sorcerers, and a host of other beings share our world. The following story contains, in one chapter or another, lesbian and heterosexual activity in different proportions. -------------- ---------------- "What's going on?" Officer Vladimir Koloff of the Gravestones Police Department asked as Melissa exited the long silver, windowless trailer that Arbiter Sadie Hewitt called home. It had been a bizarre twenty four hours for all those present. Just twelve hours earlier, Melissa had died. Overall, she was handling it rather well. Before her last breath had been drawn, her frantic lover Mary had gotten a hold of Sadie and convinced her to save Melissa by Turning her. Sadie had laid with her new daughter below the earth until the sun had risen and set. No one knew what happened in that grave except for Sadie and Mel, and neither of them were talking about it, but Melissa had emerged far more confident and capable than a newborn vampire should. Things had gone to hell in a hand basket quickly. Vlad had taken over control of the Northwestern werewolf pack in a bloodless coup and brought a number of them to Mary's house to guard the resting vamps. Then they found out that a friend and ally, Terrence McDermott, had been killed for the same reason that Melissa had . . . they had crossed Lord Frost. There would be no second chance for Terrence . . . his second chance had already expired. But in some ways, Frost had failed. Melissa had survived, in a fashion, and now everyone knew what Frost was doing. The vampire lord was arranging a Turning of epic proportions that would put the vampire race at the top of the political food chain in the western world. But it was the news that Solomon the Blood Saint would be coming to Turn Officer Matt Devlin that had pushed Sadie over the edge, and no one knew why. They only knew that Sadie had come unhinged and had fled back the sanctuary of her own trailer and wouldn't let anyone near her but Melissa. "She's just muttering to herself," Mel said, sitting on the porch and looking pale. Mary quickly appeared at her side, wrapping her hand in her lover's. Mel's gaze was drawn to an insect darting around a tree only to be eaten by some species of nocturnal bird. She was seeing things as she had never seen them before. She had gone from an analog picture to high-definition, and the difference was amazing . . . as different as night and day. "I don't even think that she saw me," she whispered. "Somehow I know that I need her, but she's cut off from me." Mel shook her head and tried to bring herself back to the matters at hand. She had to be careful about what she said. Sadie had begged her not to discuss what she saw or felt because according to Sadie, Melissa wasn't exactly a normal Turn. This meant that Sadie wasn't a normal vampire, and Melissa was dying to know what made her so different. Mary hovered nearby, still glowing with scarcely contained rage. Her lover had been attacked and brought to death's doorstep, and her first friend in a century had apparently lost her mind. To make matters worse, no one was calling for vengeance. She was sure that such vengeance would be righteous, but she could not act unless called upon to act. "Would you like for me to try again?" the wraith whispered. Melissa grimaced. "She doesn't want you in there," the girl said sadly. "She's afraid of you right now, but I'm not sure why." She put her head in her hands. "I'm not sure of anything." Mary put her hand on her lover's shoulder. "Be sure of me," she said. "My feelings for you have not changed. And be sure of Sadie. I could sense how much it pained her . . . this breaking of her vow against Turning. Like you, I wish I understood why --" "We've got company," Vlad muttered angrily. Sure enough, a low rumbling of vehicles emanated from the driveway and the gravel driveway crackled underneath a great many tires. Five SUVs and a Gravestones patrol car came trundling into the parking area around Sadie's residence. It was Frost's entourage to be sure. Vampires, including Lord Frost, came pouring out of the larger vehicles and Captain Grom stepped out of the patrol car. "Captain," Vlad said. "You in a squad car? I'm pretty sure that I just lost the precinct betting pool." The Captain wanted to smile, but things were too serious. His eyes found Melissa and he had a look of relief. "You're looking . . . pale." She smiled at him, just a hint fang showing. "I've always been pale. I doubt I'll be trying to tan anytime soon." She glared at Frost as he walked up and stood beside Grom. "Captain Grom, I must insist that we get down to business. There was an unauthorized Turning and --" "I am well aware of the law," Grom said. "Don't forget that while you're the Vampire Council representative, you're still a civilian." The captain looked back to Vlad. "Things moved fast Vlad. As soon as Dazza was arrested for what he did to Melissa --" "What he was accused of doing," Frost tried to correct. "Shut . . . up." Grom shot a glare. More cop cars were arriving, and things were getting awfully crowded. "But he's right Vlad. Word spread quickly. I got called at home by the Arbiter Bureau, who informed me that until this gets all sorted out, Sadie's status has been revoked. She's on unpaid leave pending investigation." "She saved Mel!" Vlad growled. "And they're going to punish her?" "Mortals die," Grom replied. "They don't all get a second chance. It's ugly, but it's part of the rules they made to keep vampire numbers in check and to keep war from breaking out between the mortals and immortals It's worked for thousands of years Vlad. The law is the law. You're a cop, so you know I'm right." "It's my night off," Vladimir replied coldly. In his own mind, he knew what Grom said was the truth and he bore no ill will towards his boss. But to emphasize his point, a number of his pack mates made their presence quite conspicuous, standing between the intruders and the trailer. Melissa stood up, her fangs extending slightly, but this time it was on purpose. "I won't let you hurt her." Frost laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "A babe in the woods," he chuckled, but then he collected himself. Melissa wasn't backing down, nor was she apparently overly cowed by his presence. "You have adjusted to the darkworld well, haven't you my kitten?" "I'm not 'your' anything," she said. Mary floated to Melissa's side. "I would be very careful how you address my love." Frost didn't know how to respond to that. No one in their right mind screwed with a wraith, and most wraiths just kept to themselves. This one was an anomaly. "There has been no call for vengeance against me, has there?" Melissa hated Frost, but he wasn't the one who had plowed into her car. Rather, it had been . . . "Dazza," Mel muttered. "Dazza," Mary whispered, vengeance flowing into her like wine so sweet she could feel it on her lips. "I feel your need," the wraith said, slowly vanishing into the midrealm. "It will be done." Frost looked alarmed, but not half so-much as Melissa. "No!" she shouted. "That's not the way things work in this world!" The last thing any of them heard before Mary was gone was, "But that's the way it works in mine." Frost turned to Captain Grom. "You have to protect him! He has not been convicted --" "Convictions and human law means squat to the wraiths and you know it," Grom said, sounding not-at-all apologetic. "Vengeance was called for, even indirectly, and the fates determined that such vengeance is justified. But wraiths can't crossed emplaced magic or spells, and luckily our holding cells are properly protected --" "He's not in your holding cells you idiot!" Frost snapped. "He made bail an hour ago!" Frost stopped. Captain Grom knew that Dazza had been set free. Grom shrugged. "Not my fault he got bailed, now is it? I'd suggest you get him somewhere safe, but we both know that it's probably a bit late. You should've let him stay in jail." Frost let all of the barriers he used to control his presence fall, and his magnetism and power spilled out into the surrounding air. "I have had enough of this," Frost said, realizing that his favorite henchman was probably dying a horrible second death as they spoke. He saw the werewolves rankle their hair or fur as his presence spilled over them. The humans all took a step away, and even the other vampires looked nervous. Only two people did not step back when his presence was freed: Officer Vladimir Koloff and Melissa. Koloff was an alpha wolf, so he had power against the vampire lords, but the girl? "Why do you not tremble?" he asked her. "Because I've seen scarier things than you," Melissa said, so calm that she even surprised herself. "My lover and mistress is a thing beyond your power and . . . my mother," she whispered, deciding she liked the sound of it, "is a vampire that you've never been able to control." She stood up, her body feeling lean and powerful. For the first time, she was realizing what Sadie has meant when she told Mel that she would be different. "Dazza almost took everything from me. I won't let him or you take anything else." "Let me?!" Frost's laugh was more genuine but still not pleasant this time. "The wraith you're fucking won't stand in my way --" "I will," came an empty voice from the trailer. All eyes looked up as Sadie appeared in the doorway. Melissa couldn't be sure if it was the shadows cast by moonlight or her unkempt hair, but Sadie's eyes were hidden from view. Sadie across her deck to the ground. She was unarmed, but was carrying her badge. She approached where Frost and Captain Grom stood, offering the badge to the police officer. "I know the law," she whispered. "I will accept the consequences of my actions." "Sadie," Vlad said, stepping forward, "you were just --" "What I did was illegal," Sadie interrupted. "I do not regret my decision, but will accept responsibility for it." She looked at Frost, her eyes suddenly visible and as cold as an Alaskan winter. "And I do know the law," she continued. "I am more than entitled to a Turn." "You did so without prior authorization," Frost crooned happily. He was enjoying having the upper hand. "Yes, but that can only be held against me and NOT Melissa. Besides, since when did secret Turnings bother you? Considering what you have planned for Halloween?" Frost had known this was coming. "Yes, we have several Turnings planned for Halloween. All of which have been approved with the proper authorities. The actual Turning dates and names do not need to be made public until after the event." "And what would people do if they knew who you planned on Turning?" "Miss Hewitt," Frost said smugly, enjoying that he didn't need to say "Arbiter" for the time being, "how would YOU know? That list has not been made public to anyone. The only way you could know who is going to be Turned would be if you or someone else had broken into my home and looked through my personal files, which would be highly illegal." "I'm aware of that," Sadie said, yielding ground slightly. "But I can guess, can't I?" "Guess away, but be very careful. If your guesses were too correct, I might be forced to wonder how." "Women's intuition?" "Don't insult my intelligence." "Then don't insult mine," Sadie replied. "You wouldn't have come all the way out here just to watch Captain Grom do his job. You know that I'm not going to get hauled away in chains, and you KNOW that I won't let you try to punish Melissa. So why are you here?" Frost's smile reached from ear to ear, almost touching his eyes. "You have been denied what you really are since you arrived here. You've denied your vampire heritage since you were created, I suspect. It is time for you to be reminded . . . it is time for you to be humbled. I have great influence with the Vampire Council, Miss Hewitt. When we recommend a course of action to the authorities for your behavior, we could make things very hard for you, or we could make them much easier." Sadie shook her head. "You aren't a man of compassion Frost. Why would you help me?" "I am quite capable of compassion and understanding," Frost replied. Sadie locked his gaze. "I'd ask Terrence about that, but he's not talking much these days, is he?" For the first time, Frost lost his cool. His teeth extended and his and his pupils went black. But the episode only lasted a moment, and then he was composed again. "Mr. McDermott's death was quite unfortunate. He was one of my children." "I'm sure you're really broken up about it," Melissa muttered. "Keep your child in line," Frost warned Sadie, glancing at Mel, "or I will." "Touch the daughter of my blood, and I'll see yours spilled before anyone here can even pull a trigger." There was something in Sadie's voice that even Frost found unnerving. There was none of the warm mocking or dry wit with which Sadie normally acted. She had just made a promise, and everyone present would swear on their lives that she would keep it. Just then, Mary reappeared, oozing through the pores of the mid-realm to stand beside Melissa. "Justice," she whispered with unnatural yet sultry heat, "is served." With that, she raised her blood covered hands. Frost actually paled. He most definitely wanted to leave. It didn't help when the wraith's lover licked some of Dazza's blood of those long, deadly fingers. "Your former aid tastes foul," Melissa said, flashing Frost a deadly smile. "I wonder if it was something about his cage or his keeper?" Frost would not be so easily shown up by a fledgling. He looked at Sadie. "I have come to offer you one last chance. You will attend the Halloween feast, and you will through yourself on the mercy of the Vampire Council. You will face Solomon the Blood Saint and repent for your sins against our race. You will accept your place in our hierarchy. If you do these things and Solomon the Blood Saint feels that you can be a loyal member of our race, then the Council will suggest leniency for you to your superiors in Washington. If not --" He left it hanging. They both knew that the Bureau of Arbiters was especially harsh with its agents who broke the law. "Sadie? Bow?" Vladimir actually chuckled. "You don't seriously think --" Sadie's voice was empty as she interrupted with, "I will attend the Feast. I will offer penance for my actions and sins, and I will accept my place in the vampire hierarchy." She actually had tears in those beautiful eyes when she looked at Frost now. Her will had broken. "To these things I swear my last drop of blood." Even Frost was shocked. He had expected her to cave eventually, but she had just made a blood oath in front of witnesses. If she failed to live up to any of the things that she had sworn, then it was open season on her for the entire vampire race, and there was nothing that mortal law could do about it. "It's about time you saw reason," Frost said delightedly. "Once you have --" "Now get off my property," Sadie said, her voice tired but firm. "I am tired of this feud as much as you. It must end. But I have a week until Halloween, and until then I owe you nothing. And my promise stands. Hurt Melissa because of me, and there is no place in heaven or hell, sunlight or darkness that you'll be safe from me. To this I also swear." Frost nodded. There was no reason to go after the young vampire anymore, since she had done as much damage as she would be able to do. Besides, when Sadie came on board, then Melissa would have to follow. It was easy to see that Sadie's bond with her vampire daughter was strong. "Very well," he said. "We will be off. Officer Devlin, if you might ride with me, I would like to --" "No," the young human replied with a strength he didn't know he had. Frost stopped just as he was preparing to climb into his vehicle. "No?" "I'm sorry Lord Frost, but I must respectfully withdraw my petition to become a vampire at this time." Everyone was staring at the young man now, no one sure where this was going. "Officer Devlin, I know this is a trying time for you, but think about what you're saying. Remember why you wanted to join our ranks." "I haven't forgotten. I still fear death, and I still want the darkworld gift. But not like this." "Like what?" Devlin looked at his shoes. "I will not make direct accusations sir," he said, looking up again, "but I no longer feel that I can trust you. People are dying or close to," he added, glancing at Mel, "and you don't seem to care. Terrence McDermott was my friend, yet you don't seem to be shedding any real tears for him. Your faithful aid was just slaughtered, yet you can't seem to take your mind of Sadie and making her 'remember her place.' I don't agree with Miss Hewitt on a lot of things, but she's been nothing but a boost to this community since she got here, and you just want to see her broken. I did too once. I was mad at her for not wanting to Turn me. Hell, I still am. But I won't be indebted to you, Lord Frost. I've seen what happens to those that are." Frost sneered. "I was mistaken to think that you had the backbone or will to be one of us. Very well, consider any chance you had of becoming one of us summarily squashed." He looked at Sadie. "I will still hold onto some hope," he said, "of finding a Lord . . . or Lady . . . that I would be proud to call my creator. But not you, Lord Frost. Not even the Blood Saint himself is worth it." Sadie actually cracked her first smile of the night. She'd been as wrong about Matt Devlin as Frost had been, and she couldn't be happier about it. "This is still my land," she directed at Frost. "And until I say otherwise, you're trespassing." "Captain Grom," the vampire lord pleaded, "I am completely within my rights here!" "You're within your rights to influence judgement on her," Grom replied, "but you're not a cop. I'd suggest you leave now." "While she walks free?" Frost snarled. "Miss Hewitt will be taken down to the station shortly so charges can be filed. But I'd just as soon see you gone before that happens." Frost was going to growl, but he looked over and saw a dejected Sadie, which in turn made him grin. "Very well," he said. "I'll see you soon, Miss Hewitt." He and his vampire brethren got back in their vehicles, sharing a good laugh at the fallen Arbiter. Sadie extended her hands. "I'm ready to go," she said softly, waiting for the cuffs to be put on. Grom looked at her. "Just get in the car Sadie. I'm not worried about you trying to escape. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." "You're a good man," she replied. "And you're a good cop. I'd never ask you to be anything else." She looked over at Mary. "Could you look after the cat? She hasn't been fed yet." Her voice was hollow, but she seemed satisfied when she saw the wraith nod. Grom opened the back of the patrol car and Sadie got it. It made Vladimir sick to watch. She had wanted to see him free like the beast that he was, but now she was the one in a cage. Someone like Sadie should never be locked up. She'd served in the military as a pilot because she loved to serve and she loved to fly . . . she loved feeling that free. When she rested her head on the plastic divider, he thought he saw her grimace in emotional pain. Breathless Ch. 06 "Melissa --" he started. "I'll go," she replied before he could even finish. She kissed Mary's bloodied but eerily compassionate face and then got in the passenger side of the car. She had an excuse ready that she shouldn't be separated from her creator, but Grom didn't even ask. No one wanted Sadie to feel alone. The car-ride was a unnerving experience for Mel, as she watched the fire behind Sadie's eyes flicker and almost extinguish. She looked like she wanted to cry but had almost forgotten how. And she kept looking out the window and up to the sky. She wanted to be that free again, soaring amongst the angels. ----------- ---------------- The next night . . . ----------- ---------------- When Sadie got out of the patrol car after it pulled back into her driveway, she ran from it like it was a snake. She didn't mind cars, but didn't like being trapped in one. She didn't like not having a choice. She had been forced to spend the day in jail while a very confused group of law enforcement personnel, lawyers, and reps from the Arbiter's Bureau tried to figure out what to do. The Arbiter representatives were firm in their belief that Sadie would be punished, but it turned out that saving a girl's life, however illegally, cut her some slack. There had been no one injured as a result of her actions, and there had been no planning or malice. Bail was set, and it was paid before anyone could even blink. A consortium of townsfolk from Gravestones, led by the werewolves, had hurried to her aid. She had thanked them so much that her jaws ached, and she promised them that she wouldn't skip out on them. It was Vladimir's sister Anya who had said something that made her heart feel a little less heavy. "Girl, we KNOW you wouldn't skip out on us. That's why we're here." Melissa had never left Sadie's side, sleeping in a cot next to the vampire's cell. Sadie knew that Melissa wasn't the one that needed comforting. She was stronger than most people realized. She was just there because Sadie needed comforting. Mel said that Mary wanted to come visit, but they both knew how bad of and idea that was. Bringing a wraith into a jail, even a city lock-up, was a monumentally bad idea. Vladimir and Mary were waiting by the trailer when Sadie and Melissa got back. The rest of the pack had to get back to their lives, and the police were out on the streets in force. It turned out that Sadie wasn't the only one worried about the newly-discovered mass Turning, and a lot of folk were eying their fanged neighbors with hostility. Battle-lines were being drawn in the streets, and their was enough tension in the air to stop traffic. "Hey," Sadie said, not really meeting anyone's gaze. She was back on her own soil, and she needed a moment to collect herself. Mary floated over, touching a finger to Sadie's chin with one hand while grasping Mel's hand with the other. "I'm sorry this has happened, and I am sorry for the loss of your friend Terrence." "Did Dazza scream?" Sadie's voice came from behind the straggles of hair covering her face. Mary looked dazed for a moment, like she was remembering what it was like to be drunk on rich red wine. "Oh yes," she whispered, touching one of her now clean fingers to her mouth, "he screamed." Melissa trembled. However inadvertently, she had caused that man's death by willing vengeance upon him. She'd never had anyone's blood on her hands and soul before. Suddenly, Sadie was next to her, eyes fixed and burning with a kind of anger that Melissa couldn't comprehend. "Do . . . not . . . mourn him," she hissed. "He brought this on himself." "How did you know what I was thinking?" "I'm . . . slightly sensitive to you right now. It will pass. I think it will." "You think?!" Mel was a little freaked out. "You can get in my head like that and you THINK it will pass?" "What? Mary's good enough but I'm not?" Sadie still sounded angry, but it was more of a general anger. Mary got in her face. "She's scared," the wraith said coldly. "She's had a lot to deal with, and you're the one who needs to help her through it. I remember what being a vampire is like, but I'm not one anymore." Sadie sighed. She just needed a target, and Mel had been it for a moment. "Melissa, it won't be a problem. It shouldn't last too long, and if you concentrate on it, you can shield me from your thoughts in the meantime." "What do you mean 'shouldn't last'?" Mel said, a little panicked still. "I've only ever Turned one person before!" Sadie said, her throat choking on the excuse. "And it was a long fucking time ago!" Vlad stepped in, not wanting things to get uglier between the two friends. "How long?" Sadie stopped. Mary and Mel knew some of the truth, but they hadn't told Vlad. He deserved to know. "Longer than you think," she whispered. "Vlad, before you risk your neck for me, you should know that --" She paused, unable to force the words out into the cold night air. "Know what?" Mel stepped forward. "She isn't exactly who you think she is." She stood beside her vampiric mother. "When Captain Grom told me to find her birth certificate for Frost to get him off her back, I found something else." She looked at her friend. Sadie had to take the next step. "Sadie Hewitt . . . isn't my real name. Sadie Hewitt died a hundred and twenty years ago. I took out the rogue that killed her and took her name." Vlad cocked his head. This was NOT something that he'd been expecting. "And your real name is --" "Better not said out loud," she replied. "There are reasons I hid, Vlad. Frost isn't the first vampire in this world that wanted me out of it." Vladimir gritted his teeth. "So this has all been a lie?" "No," she said firmly this time. "This person . . . Sadie Hewit . . . it's me now. I say what I think and what I feel, and that hasn't changed. Not about anything or anyone." The werewolf simply didn't know how to react. "How old are you? What are you running from?" That was a question that scared him. Sadie didn't strike him as someone who'd be afraid of much. She looked at him, then and Melissa and finally Mary. "Come to the Halloween festival," she said. "Next week, I stop hiding." Everyone around her heard exactly what was veiled in her speech: a threat. 'She's not afraid,' Vlad thought, countering his earlier beliefs. 'She's angry.' "Melissa, it might be better if you stayed the day with Mary. You are strong enough to survive --" It was Mary shaking her head. "I do not fear losing her heart, even though it no longer beats. Melissa my love, proximity to your parent will make you whole. But as always, the choice is up to you." Sadie watched the two lovers discuss the issue without saying a word, with the dancing of their eyes their only form of communication. She looked to Vlad. "I'm sorry," she said. "After all the crap I've given you about needing to be yourself . . . it's almost ironic. You're a good man, and I hope you find happiness." Vlad sensed that she was genuinely sorry about lying, but he was equally as convinced that she hadn't lied about everything. She was as genuine of a person as she had ever been. There was just more to her story than he'd guessed. He stepped forward, grabbed the sides of her face and kissed her. Sadie was in too much shock to do anything initially. His strong hands kept her face pointed directly at him and his lips were firm and demanding. She melted into her own lips and desire rising to meet him like a beach welcoming the waves. She couldn't remember the last time she'd given herself so utterly to something as seemingly innocent as a kiss, but she felt herself being swept into it until her mind could no longer get its feet underneath her. Vlad let her go. He wasn't normally a Casanova, but he was no slouch either. He'd been out of practice though. "Stop talking as if you aren't going to be around anymore. You're the most interesting woman I've ever met. I may not know you completely, but I want to." His voice was low and husky, and it held warm promise. "But you're married --" "I had a little discussion with Teresa right before I took over the pack. I really think that relationship . . . isn't good for either of us anymore." Saying it out loud should have pained him, but it didn't. "But your word to your friend . . . her brother --" "I did everything I could. I denied everything that I was and wanted to be what I thought he expected of me. I hope his spirit forgives me when the day comes and we chase the stars across the sky . . . I think he will forgive me. Teresa didn't deserve a brother who cared for her so much, and she doesn't deserve me." Sadie's skin was growing very warm. "So, are we expecting a messy divorce?" "No. I told her I knew about the affair and that I'd take everything if she decided to keep being a bitch." He smiled. "That's right, I get to call her a bitch now. Anyway, I'll make sure she gets enough to get started. Most of my important possessions are tied up with the pack, hence untouchable by human law." "So," she said, shy for the first time in a long time. "you're going to be single? Soon?" "Very much so," he said, liking the way her body fit against his. Sadie felt sadness and joy wrapped tightly around her heart. Joy because Vlad was free to hunt and be wild again, and sadness because she knew it unlikely now that she could ever experience him the way that she wanted. If he even wanted to be near her in a week . . . if she was even still alive. She had to tear away, because she didn't want to now give him hope when none was warranted. She wouldn't hurt him like Teresa had. "Happy hunting," she murmured, pushing away from him, obviously unhappy about it. Vlad growled. He didn't understand this at all. He knew how she felt, and he damn sure understood his own feelings and desires. Then he felt Melissa grab his arm as Sadie retreated to her sanctuary. "Don't give up the hunt," the newly-made vampire said, glancing at the doorway, "because no other catch will be as rewarding. She's messed up in the head right now. Is this even how you would really want her?" Melissa had suspected that Vlad had stronger feelings for Sadie than he had been letting on, but nothing compared to what she saw in his eyes now. She had freed the wolf, and it was powerful and it was hungry in more ways than one. His shoulders trembled, but he nodded. "The wolves will patrol the area to make sure she is not harassed in the next week. Cops too, though technically they're unbiased." "Gravestones cops?" "Yep." Melissa smiled. There wasn't a cop she knew of that would move against Vlad and Sadie. They loved their wacky Arbiter because she loved them. Then she got an idea. "That biker friend of hers . . . Frankenstein?" "Frank? What about him?" "Call him. Sounds like he and his boys are a bit fond of Sadie and they don't take kindly to authority --" "Authority like Frost?" "Like Frost." Vlad actually hugged Melissa. She didn't remember him ever being that friendly with her in the past. He'd always been very respectful, but not huggie. "You're a smart girl. Nice to know we won't be losing you too. You coming into work this week?" She nodded. I think that would be good. I want to find out how Frost knew what we were up to, though I've got a pretty damn good guess." Vlad looked at her and then snarled, "Bart?" She nodded again. The demon had been bound to serve the police force for some "unspecified" crime and wasn't able to physically hurt anyone, but there were many other ways to cause harm. If she could connect him back to Frost somehow and then showed that his actions, even indirectly, caused the death of Terrence, they could have his sentence revoked and simply banish him straight back to hell. And she had heard fearful whisperings about what happened to wayward demons who were finally brought back home. "He's been stalking me on and off since my first time with Sadie. And it sounds like something he would do." "If so, he won't make it to trial." Vlad was positively glowing with rage. "Let him, and do it with a smile. The forces of hell are much more creative than we are, and they aren't bound by any laws but their own." And THAT made Vlad smile. He went back to his car and Melissa gave Mary a long, deep kiss before following Sadie inside. Her mother needed her more than her lover that night. --------------- ---------------------- A week later . . . --------------- ---------------------- 'An hour to go,' Sadie thought, her thoughts as cold as her blood. She had put an her "dress" for the evening, and had one more accessory before festivities began. She grabbed her bed and shoved it to one side, barely hearing it collide with the wall of her trailer. Directly underneath where the bed had been was a safe, complete with fingerprint ID scanner, retinal scan, and ten digit combination. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail so the retinal scan would go more smoothly, then placed her hand on the pad. So far, so good. She struggled to remember the combination, since she didn't open the safe hardly at all. She did have her dark moments where she gazed into that tiny vault and remembered . . . oh the things she remembered. An unflattering smiled played across her heavenly face, and she wondered what Frost's face would look like when he finally realized what he had wrought. She punched the last digit and heard the bars retract. She pulled the door open and lifted a small sack from the dark recesses. It felt . . . wrong . . . in her hands, and that was just the feeling she got muffled through the harsh fabric. "Well Dad, it's time to finish this." --------------- -------------------------- At the Halloween Festival . . . --------------- -------------------------- Melissa was getting more than a little bit nervous. The ceremony was supposed to begin in just a few minutes and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Sadie. Apparently, new vampires were expected to be "presented" to the Court by their creators, something Melissa hadn't known until she had arrived. Of course, she hadn't gotten an official invitation until the day before, since a lot of vampires were unsure what to do about her. Over the course of the week, she had become more comfortable living under the stars, though she seemed to have inherited some of Sadie's immunity to the sun after all. She could go about for several hours during broad daylight with no ill effects, but she couldn't stay out indefinitely. It was fun, not needing help to open pickle jars or needing to catch a breath while jogging. Being undead had its perks. She was in hostile territory, that much she knew for sure. The elite of Midian society was in attendance, as well as some honored guests, including senators, mayors (including the mayor of Midian), and many heads of business. There was a smattering of private security, but the West End Police Department was out in force. They were the best financed and most spoiled department in Midian, and they were definitely in the literal and proverbial pocket of Frost and the council. Melissa had drawn the eye of several attendees, and she felt like a single fish in a school of sharks. It was generally accepted that if a new vampire lost his or her creator, then they were taken under the wing of someone more experienced. Apparently, there were several people getting ahead of themselves and checking out the merchandise. 'Screw them,' she thought. 'They want me, they can go through Mary to get me.' She grinned. She doubted any of them were willing to tangle with the wraith for ownership. Without even seeing her, Melissa felt Sadie's presence, then felt a hand slip into her own. "Thank goodness that --" Mel stopped. She stopped. Sadie was dressed in some simple, bizarre dress that looked like it had been pulled out of a history text, made of plain cloth with a belt made of old rope. A hood completely encompassed the older vampire's head and she was keeping her face pointed towards the ground. And she had a sack of some kind tucked into the crook of her arm. "What's going --" "Don't say anything," Sadie whispered. Her voice sounded like pure pressure, hissing at the edges and looking for release. "Just keep looking forward. Don't blink. Don't show fear." Melissa had just gotten ahold of her fear, but now it was Sadie scaring her. But her mother had demanded silence, and she realized it wasn't the time to question her. Frost took his place at the podium. "Welcome friends, family, and honored guests. Welcome to those who embrace the night and a better way of life for its denizens. This is going to be a memorable night for us, and for the world." He paused for a round of applause. "Over the last several years, the number of vampires who walk under the night sky has diminished due to unfortunate accidents, as well as our continued persecution by the . . . other . . . races." Sadie clenched her hand. She knew what Frost had wanted to say instead of "other." He'd wanted to say "lesser." "Tonight, we bring our numbers back up to what the were meant to be. We have found a crop of enlightened, educated, and talented entities that have shown sufficient merit to walk amongst us. One hundred new souls will belong to the vampire world tonight. One hundred people will be reborn." His look soured. "We had one hundred-and-one planned, but we caught a defective model late in the design cycle," he said, earning a chuckled from the crowd. "But first," Frost continued, his voice low and bordering on humble, "I feel it my honor, my duty, and my privilege to introduce our guest of honor for tonight. He has walked the earth for seven thousand years, has outlasted civilizations, defied time and nature, and survived the Betrayer. He has bled for all of us . . . his children . . . since human 'civilization' was in its infancy, and when the wolves still cowered in the woods and chased rabbits." He stood, looking at a darkened pavililion that stood nearby. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to . . . Solomon, the Blood Saint!" There was a feeling on manic awe that swept over the crowd as an enterouge emerged from the dark recesses of the canopy. There were a full circle of witches, all of whom glowed with power. These were Solomon's Blood Rampart, and their job was to prevent Solomon from being targeted by magic. There were thirteen young men and women dressed in red robes, and those were the Well of the Saint, and the were there to provide a supply of blood for Solomon. Then there were six vampires of massive size and power. Just looking at them, Melissa had a feeling than non of them were less than fifteen-hundred years old. All of them were dressed in identical sets of riot armor, and all had cleanly shaven heads. You could never tell one from another, as their identities had been stripped away. They were the Blood Brood, and there entire reason to exist was to guard the body of Solomon, and they would defend him until the death. But nothing could have prepared Melissa for the sight of Solomon himself. The Blood Saint was, well, the most beautiful man that she had ever seen. Men shouldn't be beautiful. They should be strong, muscular, handsome, but he was so much more than any of those things. His rich brown hair flowed down past his shoulders until it reached his knees. His face was a picture of symmetry, and his skin was pale and perfect. His eyes were such a dark blue that they were almost purple, and his lips were pale but full. Everything was balanced exactly right, except . . . over his right eyebrow was a cut about an inch long that was oozing blood, leaving a crimson stream running over his eyebrow and down the side of his face. One of the members of the Well was constantly attending him, making sure that no drop of blood ever fell on his pristine white robes. Breathless Ch. 06 He stood on the platform, a well-placed bank of black lights shining up to make his robe glow while a golden yellow back lit his head. He didn't need such trickeries though. He was Solomon, and he was power. Most vampires had presence, old ones had enough presence to influence those around him. Melissa actually saw some younger vampires fall to their knees in his presence, and the older ones were clasping their hands in an almost sexual joy. Melissa was confused. She was just a week out of the ground, so she should have felt more affected by him. So why didn't she? She could feel his power, but was not enslaved to it. "Greetings," the Blood Saint began in heavily accented English, his voice as sooth as a mountain brook, "and thank you all for you attendance this glorious night." He let his gaze drift over the crowd, seeming to look in each creature's eyes in turn. Melissa wondered about those eyes, which seemed to burn red even from this distance. But her eyes were drawn to the hand grasped by Sadie. Her friend was trembling. 'She must be terrified,' she thought at first. Then she realized that Sadie wasn't terrified. Her ties to her creator were strong enough that she could pick up feelings, leaking out of that carefully crafted shell like molten rock. Sadie was angry. 'No, anger isn't a strong enough word. This is hatred.' Melissa wanted to pull away. There was so much hatred in Sadie's mind that it hurt to be this close. Solomon continued his address. "For over seven thousand years, I have watched our race grow strong. With our noble allies the elves and the noble magicians, we have come back from oblivion. Now, we are poised to take the next step. We are no longer content to live in the shadows of mortality when they should be standing in ours. We have been bound by mortal law, and we vowed never to break the law." Solomon's full lips crept upward, but didn't make it as far up his face as they should. That wasn't a happy smile. "But there is nothing to say that we can't change the laws." He looked at Frost. "We have long been stymied by human law, but here, in the New World, we have a chance to change that. We now have all the pieces in place to make 'democracy' work for us." Frost smiled. It was a handsome smile, but Mel didn't think it compared to Solomon's. Nothing did. "And what makes this so delightful is that it is completely within the boundaries of the current law." Solomon nodded. "One vote on the Darkworlder Oversight Committee is all we need to tip the balance to open up our ranks in the United States, and Senator Trefauld, who will be joining us this very night, will be able to provide that. We have the judges needed to validate the new rules, and will be gaining enough members of both houses shortly to keep the new rules from being overturned. We will soon have sufficient clout in the business and financial sectors to keep the President himself in line. And when the United States opens its arms, it will influence the rest of the world and embolden our people overseas. And it starts here . . . in Midian." "Friends," Frost picked up, "Midian is to be the genesis of our rebirth. The largest population of vampires in the world is here. The most powerful vampires in the world are here." It was time for Solomon's finale. "It is here in Midian where our new Paradise begins. What was thwarted so long will be given a second chance." The applause was like thunder and it shook the ground beneath them. "But," Frost began, "first we have some business to conduct. Before the Turning of the new candidates, we would like to introduce those who have Turned in the last month, as well as their creators." Melissa watched as each pair was escorted to the front, and both the Turned and the creator kissed the hand of Solomon. It wasn't uncommon at all for the newly undead to stumble or even faint in the presence of the Blood Saint. Melissa had had a feeling they were saving her and Sadie for last. She was right. "Finally," Frost said, his voice raising to a gloat, "we have our last couple of the night before the Turnings can begin. A recent tragedy involved my own personal assistant and a young woman named Melissa Neron left that very woman in a state near death. Even though it breached protocol and tradition and law, Sadie Hewitt, formerly of the Arbiter's Bureau, took it upon herself to bring Miss Neron over rather than losing her to the eternal night. While I understand the compunction to save the life of a friend and concubine --" Mel almost growled herself at that comment. She belonged to Mary, and that was by her choice. "--, nevertheless, we have laws of our own. But Lady Hewitt has agreed to throw herself on the mercy of her fellow vampires and the Blood Saint. She will humble herself before this court and beg its forgiveness. The, if it pleases Solomon, we as a body may decide to speak on her behalf to the authorities and return her to the role which could prove quite useful to her brethren. Would Sadie Hewitt and Melissa Neron please approach the front." "Show time," Melissa whispered. Even though the time was almost upon them, she still couldn't believe that Sadie had caved. What was it about Solomon being here that made things so different? Why had that finally made the vampire shut down inside? She was tempted to spit in Frost's face, but she didn't want to get her friend in more trouble than she was already in. Solomon stood up, staring at the woman in the simple peasant dress that approached. There was something not right. Melissa could see it in his eyes that he was concerned, but even he couldn't tell why. Then Melissa and Solomon met stares, and Melissa was shocked to her core. She didn't know why or how, but she knew Solomon, as if they had a connection. It was obvious from his face that he sensed it to. "Sadie," Melissa started to say, "what's going on?" Frost looked at Solomon. "My leige, whatever is the matter?" He looked at Sadie, growling. "Show your face to your God!" he shouted. "Take your place at his feet!" "His feet?" came Sadie's voice from beneath the hood. Then the laugh started, low and and maniacal. "Oh no, I think not. There was a time I worshiped Solomon all right, but those days are long in the past." She raised her face and pulled the hood back. "Aren't they?" Everyone in the clearing stopped and stood silent as they gazed upon what was unfolding. Solomon's face had frozen for a moment, then shifted into disbelief and finally . . . finally terror. "No," he whispered, "it's not possible." He looked from Sadie to Mel and then back to Sadie. "It can't be you!" "Don't go making a scene," Sadie hissed. "I thought you might want to meet your sister." Murmuring broke out everywhere. The former Arbiter had apparently gone stark raving mad. Frost was glowering at Sadie, though he seemed shocked at Solomon's reaction. The Blood Saint was the most powerful vampire alive. Why would he be nervous about these younglings? "Sadie Hewitt, you will --" "I know what I said I would do," Sadie said, staring down Solomon. His guards, both physical and magical, had no idea what to do. "I will take responsibility for my actions and accept my place within the hierarchy. And I intend to do just that. I've made mistakes in the past," she said, glaring a hole in Solomon's head, "and I intend to correct one of them tonight." Frost and the entire congregation saw Solomon take a step back. "No," he said shaking his head, his mouth breaking into an evil sneer. "You can't be her! I killed her!" "You tried," Sadie replied, her eyes beginning to roll back in her head. Melissa was terrified. "Are you okay?" "You know her?" Frost asked, looking at Solomon. The Blood Saint never left his fortress retreat except under the most rare and blessed of circumstances, and he had never previously been to the United States. "Tell him my name!" Sadie shouted, and her voice carried over the throng with power that even made Solomon tremble. "You can't be --" "TELL HIM MY NAME!" Sadie's voice almost seem to glow as it emanated from her mouth. "I will not --" "SPEAK MY NAME!" "Eve!" Solomon shouted, his voice cracking like a twig. "Betrayer!" And just like that, silence returned. No one was staring at Frost or Melissa or even Solomon. Everyone was looking at Sadie . . . the woman Solomon claimed was Eve the Betrayer. By their legend, Eve was one of the three original vampires born of Lillith, and she had made war out of jealousy against her brothers Adam and Solomon. She was supposed to have died in that war along with Adam, and Solomon had barely survived. "That's not possible," Frost said. Sadie smiled, but the smile was cold and empty. "Do not claim to know what is possible or impossible," she said. Her eyes were rolling back and her body began to tremble. To Melissa, it almost seemed like . . . like she was going to orgasm. Then Sadie's body seized up, and a rush of power rolled over the ground and through the air. Sadie . . . Eve . . . had achieved release, but not in the way Melissa thought. But somehow, Melissa understood. Eve . . . Sadie . . . no, definitely Eve, had been hiding her presence and her power. She had kept it bottled up for . . . millennium. But why? If Solomon's power had been river, then Sadie's was a tidal wave. Those vampires excluding Melissa and Solomon were forced to their knees before it's onslaught as it freed itself from Sadie's barriers. It was so deep and so rich, and it filled Melissa up from her toes to the ends of her hair. It was so glorious to her that she actually had an orgasm right there on the spot. It was like bathing it the purest, cleanest, warmest sunlight. While all others trembled, Melissa simply drank in her creator until her cup overflowed. "I . . . am . . . Eve," Sadie said, her voice coming out like the roll of thunder. Melissa gulped, but discovered the show wasn't over. The peasant dress was cut low in back, and she watched as Eve's smooth and beautiful back seemed to split open in two places. Eve was screaming as two great and leathery wings emerged from nowhere, leaving Eve's back bleeding but otherwise apparently unharmed. And Eve sighed in great pleasure as she spread her wings for the first time in thousands upon thousands of years. For a moment, Eve looked into Melissa's eyes, and Melissa saw regret. But there was no room for softness or weakness now. "This," the ancient vampire said, "is me." "Begone!" Frost shouted, his voice squeaking around the edges like a mouse yelling at a lion. "You have no place here! Do not suffer the wrath of Solomon again!" Frost almost immediately realized that he had made a horrible mistake. "The wrath of Solomon?!" Eve cackled. "Should I fear your wrath?" she said stepping forward, her wings shooting outward and making her seem even bigger and more terrifying. "I'm facing you this time Solomon! I won't offer you my back again!" She took a step forward and the entire Blood Brood moved to intercept her. "NO!" Solomon shouted. There were tears in the Blood Saints eyes and dribbling down his cheek. There were drops of blood on his previously white robe because his human followers were too terrified to clean him up. "Eve, we don't have to do this," he said, his voice becoming low and soothing, like warm chocolate on a winter's night. "Please?" Eve's face softened. "There was a time . . . a time when I would have given you the world if I could," she whispered, her wings pulling in as if to cocoon her . . . to protect her. "Just to listen to the sound of your voice. Just to feel you." "We can be that way again," he whispered. Everyone in the area could feel the power in his voice, and the promise that it carried across the winds and earth to reach Eve. Women swooned, and even the most manly of males felt a stirring in their loins. That was the kind of power that Solomon possessed. You wanted him, even if you feared him. "We can go back to the way things were," he continued, stepping forward. He seemed emboldened by Eve's silence. "Just you and me." Melissa's brain was going a mile a minute as he watched these two creature's who had walked the earth when the pyramids were a distant dream. 'You and me?' she thought. 'That's a little too "all in the family" for me.' Because there was no doubt in her or anyone else's mind what Solomon meant. The Blood Saint was standing straight now and took another step. "You are still the most beautiful woman to grace the darkworld since time's beginning. It pains me to think of what happened between us. I have felt it dragging on my spirit for all these years, and now I have a chance to make it right." He glanced as his throng who was standing there in rapt attention. For a moment, the arrogance returned when he said, "I can forgive you." Sadie's face hardened again. "And there it is again," she said, stepping forward while Solomon retreated. Her wings flared out again. "Forgive me? I gave you everything," she growled. "Everything I had, and you took it from me! You and Adam . . . what you did --" Her voice gave out for a second. "You may have convinced the rest of our race of your Lie, but you and I know the truth. Have you told them all of what you really plan to do?" she asked waving at the ceremonial area. "Do they know what 'Paradise' means to you Solomon? Because I do. Your Paradise is to make the world Hell for the mortal races, and I won't let you. I stopped you once," she continued, her tone dipping into freezing temperatures, "and now I will finish you." With that, she pulled something out of the sack she was carrying. In her hand, Eve wielded a long dagger which seemed to be made of bone. It was a foot long and with a slight curve to it, and it reminded Melissa more of a tooth . . . the fang of some great serpent. The only thing she knew for sure that if Eve had scared Solomon before, he might very well be wetting himself now. "The Thorn?! Blood Rampart, take us from this accursed place! Build your shields and hurry!" Two of Solomon's Blood Brood strode forward to intercept Eve. "No you fools!" Solomon shouted, hiding behind his witches. "You can't stop her!" Melissa looked at the hulking and ancient vampires and wondered why Solomon was so worried about them. She soon found out. Eve took a step forward and plunged the strange dagger into the chest of one assailant before anyone could even blink. Without so much as a thought, she had pushed a dagger of bone through the most high-tech body armor available on the market. She used her free hand to maneuver her victim between her and the other guard. Using the vampire in her hands, she batterd the other one to the ground, then ripped her captive's throat open with her teeth. Melissa wanted to vomit so badly it almost hurt. 'I didn't just see that,' she thought. 'Sadie . . . . Eve . . . she couldn't --' Eve threw a vampire twice her size twenty feet through the air to crash into the pavilion. Solomon's remaining guards surrounded him while his witches prepared his escape. Frost stood with them, but his eyes were transfixed on the woman he once thought he could break. He had once thought that nothing could touch Solomon, but he had realized his error. If Eve reached the Blood Saint, then she would kill him. And that terrified him. Eve dove on top of the other guard, who had probably never been on the defensive in his life. And the entire crowd got to watch as Eve tore him to pieces, his last blood decorating her simple peasant dress. The face that then turned towards Frost and Solomon was more animal than vampire. It was more animal than anything Frost had ever seen. Melissa saw a regular security guard pull a gun and take aim at Eve's back. Without thinking, she moved towards him, and at that point her own powers kicked in. It was like she was moving faster . . . no, that everyone else was moving slower. She was next to the guard before he could turn his head, and she ripped the gun from his hand as easily as if he were a child. Then she back-handed him, sending him flying into a row of folding chairs. She hoped she didn't kill him, despite what he'd been trying to do. If Eve had seen him first, he would be dead indeed. The Betrayer charged forward, but Solomon's Blood Rampart had erected a set shield of enormous power. Sadie wailed on it anyway, causing little cracks to appear almost as fast as the Rampart could fix them. "You won't escape me!" she shrieked at the trembling Blood Saint. "My Father waits for you! He will know what you did, and he will torture you for eternity! There are no words ever spoken that can describe the hell your life will become!" A blue light appeared next to her, and Mary stepped through, slipping out of the midrealm. And she looked . . . drunk. "Mary?" Melissa said. The wraith shook her head, swaying gently in a non-existant breeze. "No . . . no, tonight is not for you my love," the wraith said. She sounded on the verge of orgasm. "I feel it. I feel her calling to me." Another blue glow appeared nearby, and then another. More wraiths had arrived, and each seemed just as stricken as Mary did. 'Three wraiths?' Melissa wondered worriedly. 'No, there's another, and there's another!' More and more wraiths were arriving by the second. It was like a sea of jellyfish in the ocean of night, each one adding to the ethereal glow. They all gathered around Sadie, who was still pounding on the magical wall. They were staring at her, waiting. "Call for it," Mary whispered heatedly. "Why do you try and bottle it up again? We felt it! All around the world, my kind felt the call of vengeance! Never has it felt so sweet and so rich! It consumes us," she said, almost begging now. "Please, free it! Call your vengeance --" "No! I want him!" Sadie screamed, almost unaware that she was surround by a gathering that was the stuff of nightmares. Never before had so many wraiths been drawn to one place. "I want his blood! I want to rip his heart out like he did mine!" For a moment, Melissa saw genuine pain on Solomon's face. 'What did you do?' she wondered as she stood back from the gathering of glowing vengeance. 'What did you do that could call this?' A flash of light appeared, and the Blood Saint and his enterouge vanished in a flash of light, transported to a secure location. Eve screamed as stumbled through where the wall had just been. She destroyed the podium and anything else within reach. Even the wraiths stood back, though they stll looked at her with sadistic eagerness. All the other vampires were still on their knees, crushed by the wait of the Betrayer's power. Eve looked at the wraiths. She wasn't going to let him get away. "Find him!" she shouted. "Bring me him, his blood or his heart, but bring him!" "Vengeance," Mary shouted, her voice rising he a devilish cackle. "Vengeance is called!" All the wraiths began chanting that same word, over and over again. "Vengeance." Then they disappeared back into the midrealm, the order for the hunt having been given. Eve turned back to the crowd, most of whom were frozen in place. They couldn't really be blamed, seeing as they had come face to face with the vampiric answer to the Lucifer. The funny thing was that despite their fear, they felt inclined to worship. Vampire culture was based to an enormous amount on age, for age equated to wisdom and power. Eve may have been each of their nightmares, but she was as old as Solomon, so she could command their respect. Her years on this earth made them stop, but it was her power that made them tremble. They should tremble, because she wanted blood. She had killed the two members of the Blood Brood out of wrath, but now she was hungry. Her eyes fell on the neck of Senator Trefauld, who had been left behind by those he would have betrayed humanity for. Breathless Ch. 06 "You sought power," she crooned maliciously, "like a dog chasing a car. Ever figure out what you were going to do if the car stopped?" Melissa moved between Eve and her prey. She was as confused as hell as to what had transpired that night, but there was one thing for certain: kill a United States Senator who technically hadn't violated the law in any way, and you were going to jail or worse. "Sadie!" she shouted, trying to overcome her own terror. The woman she had known as Sadie was giving off vibes that were crashing against her fragile shores. "Please stop! You're hurting me!" "Get out of my way," Eve hissed. "I will not allow Solomon to tear the world apart again. I can stop it by drinking him dry." Her eyes were burning white now, and it looked like she could eat him alive with that gaze. "Don't do it," Mel said. Eve screeched to the sky . "He wants to know what being a vampire is like? He has no idea --" Eve stepped forward but Melissa didn't budge. Much to her chagrin, she had wet herself with fear. She had never done that before, even as a little girl. But when she was a little girl, her parents had convinced her that the monsters weren't real. As an adult, she realized that her parents had lied. Her face was even whiter than usual and her skin was shivering. She wasn't sure there was anything left of Sadie in there. But Eve stopped short, her bloody dress just inches away from from Melissa. "Look at me," Eve said, running her hands just centimeters off of Mel's clothes, tracing the contours of her body until she reached her face, where she caressed that delicate chin with one blood-encrusted finger. Melissa knew that this woman . . . this creature . . . could snap her neck with those delicate steel fingers. "I would never hurt you," the ancient vampire said, her voice now laced with sorrow. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. Now, you know what I am. Who I am." "No, I don't," Mel whimpered. She was still scared, and more than a little bit humiliated. "Sadie would never have made me do this." She glanced downward, seeing the stain on her pants. "You killed those men. You just ripped them apart." "They would have done the same to me. Solomon will try to kill me if he cannot have me, and he knows now that I will never again want his touch." "His touch? He's your brother!" Melissa stopped. "He isn't your brother is he? You spoke about him like he was --" "A lover?" Eve replied, that sorrow in her voice growing. "He was. He was my first." The vampire actually seemed choked up when she said it. Senator Trefauld, who was lying on the ground behind Melissa, finally found his voice. "But the Provenance says --" "The Provenance is a Lie," she replied, looking down at her would-be victim with more pity than anger now. "Solomon is not my brother. In the ways of my race, he is my son. He was the first human ever Turned, and that made him powerful. You have made a deal with a great evil Senator. Your constituents may forgive you if you can convince them that you fell for Solomon's illusion. I promise you, it was an illusion, for that is Solomon's power. It was his power before he entered the darkworld, and it simply grew after that. He makes promises, but you never know what you will truly be getting." She looked around the cowering mob. "All of you, go home. There will be no Turnings this night. Any who try will suffer my wrath." With that, she looked at the remains of the Blood Brood that she had torn asunder. "You do not want my wrath, I promise you." Her eyes fell on the Senator again. "She stopped me from killing you," she said, glancing at Melissa. "Someday, you might want to thank her for that. Now go back to Washington and undo the damage you were planning. Or do I need to tell you what will happen if you don't?" The Senator stared at the mangled vampire guard nearby. "No, I don't think you do." The police grew braver the longer Eve went without killing anyone. A few of them came forward with guns drawn. One of them said, "You, drop the weapon and step away from the woman and the Senator." Melissa spun around. She needed to yell at someone, if for no other reason that to help her retrieve some of her dignity. "This was a vampiric contest of dominance between Eve and the Blood Saint. By vampire law, those two men that attacked her broke the rules of the contest and could be punishable by death. This is beyond human law." The officer's look unconvinced, but none of them wanted to fuck with Eve. No one wanted to come near her. "We still can't let her kill the Senator," another one replied. Eve spoke. "The Senator will not be harmed this night, at least not by me." She wrapped her ams around Melissa's waist and chest from behind. "Now I have some explaining to do to my daughter." With that, her wings flapped and Eve carried Mel into the night sky. Mel was scared again, but this was much more reasonable and mundane kind of fear. She was hurtling through the darkness with the buffeting of those wide, leathery wings. They shot up over the houses of West End and towards the forest on the edge of Gravestones. Eve was going home . . . Sadie's home. After a few minutes, some of Mel's fear began to melt away. She could remember Solomon and Frost and what Eve had done to the Blood Brood, but it seemed not so important for now. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Eve's face. 'No,' she thought, 'that looks more like Sadie's face again.' There was an odd joy bordering on relief playing across those features. "I haven't flown free in so long," Sadie said, her voice sounded more like what Mel was used to. "This is why you flew for the Army isn't it?" Melissa nodded, her eyes brimming with tears of joy. "Ever since I saw the Wright brothers that first time it Kitty Hawk, I knew I could fly again and not have to hide it." "Why couldn't you fly? With your wings I mean?" "Because they would know I was still alive," she whispered. "I won't give this up again." She swooped and dove, and soon Melissa saw it more of a ride than something to inspire terror. Her vampire mother was coated in blood and Mel had pissed herself earlier in fear, but it was all forgotten in those few moments where even the wind envied them. She approached the open area next to her house, noticing a large number of motorcycles and cars littered the area around her house. And she saw police lights shining up at her like fireflies. When her feet touched soil, she saw her old friend Frankenstein and his biker gang kicking back on her redwood deck. She saw Devlin and Fitzpatrick and Captain Grom and Vlad, and Vlad had brought all the available werewolves again. It was like she had an army there, and she wasn't sure who's side they were on. Everyone just stared at her, and Eve had never felt more like a freak. She couldn't imagine what they were thinking . . . how betrayed they must feel. She had lied to all of them. "Good God," Frankie muttered. "You . . . those are . . . when they hell did you get wings?" Eve looked at the ground. "Over seven thousand years ago." Vlad was shaking his head. "It's true then. After you left . . . hell, apparently almost before you left the ceremony, there were people talking to cops and news crews, with everyone saying that the devil herself walks the earth. Is that true? Who the hell are you?" Eve shook, but now with sorrow rather than rage. There were many ways she had wanted Vladimir Koloff to look at her, but not like this. Melissa made a choice. Her friend had not told her the whole truth, but she had otherwise never lied. She had saved Mel and introduced her to Mary. She would stand by her now. Melissa slipped an arm around Eve's waist, letting her mother pull those wings around them both. At that moment, Mary appeared in a blue halo of light, her face still echoing a feeling of almost drunken bliss. She looked at Melissa and Mary and expressed no jealousy. She had been a vampire once, and even after her second death she could feel that old blood calling to her. "Are you all right my sweet?" she asked, that initial "s" drawing out like a serpent's sigh. "I cannot stay long, and am only hear because there are so many of us to feed and only so many seats at the table. Even for a bounty such as this." "That's true too?" Devlin asked, his eyes wide. When Eve nodded, he continued with, "That doesn't make sense. If the Provenance was true, then the wraiths should be allied with Solomon." Everyone looked at him. No one had stopped to think about that. Grom looked over Eve. "So do we call you Eve or Sadie or what?" She shook her head. "I don't know. Eve is who I am, but I like Sadie. I like her more than anyone I've been for a long time." Melissa smiled. "I like Sadie better." Vladimir still looked serious. "Girl, you've got the whole frickin' planet in an uproar. A vamp that's as old as Solomon? There are a lot of vamps who don't know whether to launch a holy crusade against you or grovel at your feet. There's an emergency session of both houses of Congress getting called as we speak. The National Guard has been called to Midian to keep the peace." Melissa stepped away from Sadie and the comfort being close to her creator brought. "You promised me you'd tell me. Tell us all the truth Sadie, because right now I really need to believe in you." "I would never have wished this chaos on you Melissa. Not for anything." "Start with the Provenance," Devlin said. "The beginning. It's been a long time since I've been there." Sadie sat on the rail of her porch, looking out into her yard as if it were a concert. Everyone was paying rapt attention. "Some of it is just stories I heard when I was a child. While I have always been a vampire, the first vampires were in fact mortal. When I was a child, my mother Lillith was not a good mother. It didn't take much to figure that out. She did the bare minimum, but we loved her. She was our mother after all. We lived away from other people. My mother was human, but she didn't want us to associate with other humans. She said we were too good for them. My brother believed her. Adam was an arrogant prick from birth," she added, sounding not at all happy about it. "I got away from them whenever I could, playing in the forest. Sometimes I ran into human children. They'd been told to stay away from me just I'd been told to stay away from them." "Let me guess," Vlad said. "That didn't happen?" He was actually pleased that Sadie had shocked the world. He had thought that she was going to submit to Frost that night, and the idea unnerved him. "No. I played with them and we became friends. Lillith would beat me if she caught me, but that just made me more determined. Eventually, some of the adults in the nearby villages began to treat me nice, especially when they found out what my mother was doing. When I was old enough to understand, they explained that Lillith had been anything but 'immaculate.' She had in fact spread her legs for anyone or anything that would have her. She developed a reputation for depravity that eventually frightened any would-be suitors away. Well, almost all." "Almost?" Melissa asked. Pain was etched in Sadie's face when she continued the story. "Yes. Almost. But before I go more into that, I have to introduce another character into this little history. When I was just truly . . . well, I guess you might call it 'growing into womanhood,' I encountered a young man who had moved into the closest village, looking for work. I didn't know that he had been kicked out of his own village for being lazy when it came to work and too persistent in pursuit of any female he could see. None of it would have mattered to me anyway. He was the most perfect man I had ever seen, and he found me interesting. So I did what any young woman would have done in my shoes. I fell in love." "Solomon." This was Devlin's statement, rather than a question. "Oh yes, Solomon." Despite everything, Sadie's voice seemed somewhat wistful. She had truly loved him once. It was what made the rest of the story so horrible for her to speak of. "He was fascinated by me. He was older than I and a male, but I was stronger and faster than he, and of course I had the wings. Keep in mind that this is when Adam and I were both mortal." "Mortal?" Vlad asked. "I thought you lived forever?" "We do now. But there was a time when we aged just like everyone else. Solomon told me that he wanted me because I was beautiful and special, and I believed him. So much so that I gave my maidenhood to him. In the act of intercourse, I bit him. I think it was more instinct than anything, but I drank of his blood and pumped my own back into him. I had created the first new living vampire. Since I was still mortal, so was he when got Turned. He gained strength and speed, but didn't need to sleep under the earth like an newly Turned undead vamp. I didn't understand what I had done, so I told my mother. The fact that I Turned Solomon and spread my legs for him was the first thing . . . the only thing that ever made her proud of me." Sadie stood up and began to pace the length of her deck, with humans and werewolves and vampires looking on. Mary was still in vengeance intoxication, so she was only half paying attention. "Adam was obsessed with the idea when he found out. He turned an entire village into living vampires, and they followed him like a god. About then, we both reached the age that our father felt was necessary to make his presence known. One night, the King of Blood sent his spectral body to inform his children of their heritage." Not a sound could be heard throughout the clearing, as even the crickets seemed shocked into disbelief. "The . . . King of Blood?" Captain Grom asked. Those with magical knowledge were forced to understand the complicated demon realms as one of their first lessons, because demons fucked with all the other rules. Dante had fallen a little short in his guess, as it turned out there were thirteen layers of the demon realm, each more dangerous than the one before. The thirteenth layer was ruled by The Nameless One, and He was beginning and end of evil as any race understood it. His primary general, the ruler of the twelfth layer of the demon realm, was the King of Blood. His world was literally a lake of the spilled life-force of every evil-doer that had ever been denied access to that place considered "heaven" by the races of Earth. The King of Blood was the boogeyman, plain and simple. "I told you my mother's wantonness attracted many to her bed. Apparently, even the kings of hell were impressed. He had come to her one night and . . . done things," she whispered, not ever wanting to think about those things her demonic father had admitted to. "He had broken her in some way so that only he could provide the pleasure and pain she needed just to exist. He told Adam and I that it was his demand for his children to rule the world, and subjugate those favored by their enemies above. He told us that we would receive our birthright upon our death. It didn't make any sense to me, but Adam embraced his destiny. I didn't, but 'no' isn't the sort of thing you casually say to the King of Blood. He beat me until a mere thought from him would kill me, but he stopped short. Two of his fangs fell to the ground in the form of daggers, and he said one was for each of us. He gave the first to Adam and called it 'The Spike.' The second he called 'The Thorn,' and told me I could have it when I learned to behave. In the meantime, he would help my brother into his powers, and I was tasked to look after him. Then with one blow, he killed my brother and gave him his first death. He buried Adam in a shallow grave, looked at me and said, 'When he rises, you will understand what you can become.' Then he grabbed Lillith and took her back down to the Twelfth Realm." "He just left you there?" Sadie nodded. She had felt so helpless, lying on the ground like a discarded doll waiting for only hell knew what. She couldn't even raise her arms to get water. "I was recovering faster than a human, but still not fast enough. When Adam rose . . . I knew something was wrong. He was half human and half demon, and his powers as the first ever undead were so --" She actually stopped and shuddered. The energy in the air when Adam emerged from the Earth had beaten her down so much that if she hadn't healed some during the day, it probably would have ended her. "Adam rose and knew what he was. He understood his power . . . glowed with it. He wanted to show me what power meant to him, and I was too weak to resist him." "Too weak to . . . resist?" Vlad asked. He didn't want to ask the next part, but something in her wouldn't let it go. "Resist what?" Melissa was on the verge of crying. She could feel her creator's pain across thousands and thousands of years. Some wounds never healed. "He raped you, didn't he?" Sadie looked towards the ground, ashamed despite the fact that there was nothing she could have done. "Rape is about power. He had it, and I didn't. That was the kind of creature that Adam was. Then he left me there to find his followers. He was going to deliver the first death to all of them. He promised that if I didn't swear loyalty to him when he returned that he would give me to his followers as a present, and that I would remain a slave until I died of old age. He was going to raise an army and conquer the human race, just like our father wanted. If the forces of hell couldn't conquer heaven, they would conquer earth through us. "But his plans were interrupted when daylight came. He didn't know that it weakened him, and he had to hide. It gave me enough time to recover, grab the Thorn, and go to the nearest villages for help. I told them what was happening and what Adam had planned. I tried to explain what he was, but it was hard since I didn't really know. Solomon seemed to understand though. Somehow, he knew exactly what we would be capable of in our undeath. That should have scared me, but I trusted him so much." She paused, since she was fighting not to say that she had loved him so much. Love, even when betrayed, never dies. Sometimes it festers and stews and morphs into a hate so passionate that it eats away at you, but it doesn't actually die. "All the humans capable of fighting gathered what tools and weapons they could and began to search. Solomon and I headed up the party, and I thought he was so brave. We got back to my home shortly after nightfall, but Adam and his forces had already arrived. That was when I found out what Solomon's real intent was. He wasn't being brave, but rather wanted to join Adam. After everything my brother had done, Solomon cared more about sharing my brother's power than anything I could offer him. So he pulled a stone knife and stabbed me in the back. I spun and slashed him across the forehead with the Thorn, but it was almost out of instinct. Part of me couldn't believe he'd betrayed me." "Son of a bitch!" Devlin growled. He felt dirty in the deep places of he soul when he thought that he'd almost let the Blood Saint Turn him. He had been obsessed with the power and magic of being a vampire, just like Solomon had. "That's how he got the wound that never heals?" Sadie nodded and actually smiled a little. She saw Devlin's anger and her opinion of him grew. It was a hard way to learn a lesson, but he now realized there was a cost to everything, and he was now wondering if he'd be willing to pay it. "Solomon's blow didn't kill me, but it took me out of the early part of the fight. Some of the villagers I had befriended pulled me out of the way before hell broke loose. We had them outnumbered, but they were powerful. But even with their abilities, they were all new. Not even Adam completely grasped his own his own capabilities, but he was still so vicious. I knew that if we didn't stop him that the undead would win." Breathless Ch. 06 There was a moment of quiet in the clearing. This listeners, almost as if part of a group mind, together realized that this moment had been one of the most important in history. If Sadie's . . . Eve's meager army had lost, then vampires would have ruled the world. And it was a secret that this one woman had carried alone for so long. Sadie continued. "Adam had grabbed a young man and hauled him into the air. I saw that the human was terrified. I couldn't let him die . . . not like that. The wound in my back hurt so much, but I had to stop Adam. I launched into the air and grabbed the young man away from him. I protected him as much as I could while getting him to the ground, but Adam was in a rage. He tried to slash up my back, but I managed to evade. We fought in the sky as the battle went on below, and I knew that I was losing. He was so much stronger than I was. But he was distracted when he saw that the vampires had been backed up to the cliff. While I had distracted him, the humans had rallied. With his attention drawn elsewhere, I plunged the Thorn into his heart, then drove both of us into Solomon. I knocked Solomon down, but Adam and I went over the edge. Adam was dead and I was close to it. With Adam gone, Solomon fled the battle, and the rest of the vampires were killed and pushed over the cliff. That was how I finally died, bleeding to death under the corpses of my enemies." She could still taste their dead blood running into her mouth as she was unable to move, and the suffocating feeling of corpses piled up on top of her. The humans she had wanted to save thought she was dead, so she was left there. "The bodies on top of me acting as my earth, and even as they charred and turned to ash above me, they apparently counted as protection. When night fell I . . . I got myself out of the pile of bodies." Again it was Melissa who heard the part that had been left unspoken, but it was something that didn't need to be shared with the mob. She could taste dead flesh and feel it under her own nails as assuredly as if she had been there with Eve when it happened. Mel's creator had litterally clawed and chewed her way to freedom. Sadie stared up at the night sky. "I was mad by the time I was freed, as in 'stark raving mad'. Everything that had happened . . . just too much. I fled into the wilderness, surviving as best I could off the blood of animals." Animal blood could do in a pinch, but it isn't healthy for a vamp to try and stay on it too long. It had probably kept her mind unstable for as long as it did. "I think I was lost for decades before I encountered a nomadic tribe. I found a young girl alone by a river and I saw her as prey, so I jumped on her and fed. But her blood helped bring my mind back, and I stopped before I killed her or Turned her. I released her and apologized profusely, but she didn't understand a word that I said. But she was unhurt and was curious about me despite what I had done and the very sexual reaction she had to it. I let her look me over while I tried to figure out some way of making amends for taking her blood. She took me back to her tribe, and there was someone there who spoke my language. They heard about what had happened and saw that I was powerful. They said that if that I served them for three years as a protector during the night, and they would protect me during the day. I was mostly immune to the sun by then, but I still needed to rest sometime." "So you stayed with them?" Vlad asked. "Yes. I think that's where my love of traveling started. I saw so much of that tiny world and was fascinated by all of it. Once the tribesmen and women realized that my bite had very pleasant side-effects, finding donors was not a problem. Everyone got a chance to donate before I would repeat anyone. I figured out that if I didn't immediately mix my blood with someone else's that it had magical properties all its own. It could be used to heal, but I had to be careful not to use it on someone whose blood I had recently shared. After seeing what had happened with Solomon and Adam, I swore that I wouldn't create any more like me." She looked at Mel and touched the girl's face. "I kept that promise for seven thousand years, but don't think I regret saving you. I hope you don't hate me for what I did." "Why would I hate you?" Sadie's eyes misted over. "I made you part demon. Except for myself, you and Solomon are closer to the source of our power than any other vampire." Captain Grom looked perplexed and awed. "So with Lilith gone, your brother gone, and Solomon being one of your 'children,' then that means . . . good God, you're the mother of every vampire alive today in some way or another." The crowd was hushed again. The rules of the world, both vampire and otherwise, had just changed irrevocably. Vlad's face was almost unreadable when he asked, "Why didn't you go after Solomon? Why not take him out before now?" Sadie's face fell. "Communication wasn't the same back then. You could live just five miles away from someone for your entire life and never know they existed. Solomon had fled far north before suffering his first death, after which he had run even further. I later found out that he was terrified that he'd be discovered. I never formed a bond with him like I did with Melissa, so he and I didn't even know the other was still alive. It was a thousand years before I had ever heard of him again, and almost five hundred more years until I discovered that he was holed up in Russia somewhere. The people up there were suspicious of him, so he wasn't able to amass an army like Adam had tried to do. He had created some vampires and had them Turn others, then he killed his immediate children." "Why?" Fitzpatrick asked. Grom understood the basics here. "Let me guess . . . the closer to the original source of vampire power, the more powerful you are. He probably did it to make sure that none of his underlings could ever challenge him." Sadie agreed. "That would be my guess. And fifteen hundred years was a long time to continuously hold a grudge. It would have taken a much bigger war to drag him out of his hideout, and the vampires those days were neither as fanatically obedient nor as violent as Adam's had been. Solomon was more obsessed with personal glory than conquering the world, so I decided it was best to let the vampire race make its own way. If Solomon had known I still lived, then there would have been another fight, and the known world would have had no choice but to take sides. So for the sake of everyone, I decided to disappear forever. I found a village shaman in Africa who helped me control my animal side, allowing me to hide my wings and keep my presence under wraps. I became just another vampire, including taking a new name." She looked at Melissa and gave her daughter a shy smile. "I've had about twenty. I started changing more often once the Book of Names was created." She looked back to the crowd. "I stayed away from my own kind as much as I could, staying off of the radar of anyone who might report back to Solomon. Finally, 'Eve' was nothing more than a distant memory in the mythology that Solomon had created, and I was fine with that. I didn't want to be Eve ever again." She laughed a dark laugh and said, "Fat lot of good that did." "There's no running this time, is there?" Vlad asked. "No. I could never just vanish again. I don't want to. I like being Sadie Hewitt. I like being here. And now that I know that Solomon wishes to follow in Adam's footsteps, I can't let him go." Grom looked abashed when he said, "He may be an evil son of a bitch, but he hasn't actually broken any laws yet. How are you going to stop him?" "Can you use vampire law?" Devlin asked. Sadie pursed her eyes. "What do you mean?" "By vampire law, a child who turns against his or her creator or otherwise acts in a way that endangers vampires in their associations with the mortal races can be punished by their creator in whatever way he/she sees fit." Sadie smiled. "You really WERE doing your homework weren't you.?" Devlin blushed. "I had free time on my hands." Sadie stood before the assembled crowd that had been hanging on her every word. She felt a profound sense of relief. She had born that cross of memories for a long time, and it was nice to finally be able to share some of the load. "The question is, do any of you believe me?" There was an awkward silence that was finally broken by an unknown voice. A human male stepped forward and it took Sadie a moment to recognize him as the man she had saved in the warehouse. "I do," he said softly but firmly. "And you are --" Grom started. "My name is Thomas Jervin." Thomas's . . . or Tommy's . . . eyes never left Sadie, and it was a look of admiration and a deep, soul-searching kind of love. "She saved my in that warehouse fire. I've been working up the courage to come here, but when I heard about tonight . . . You can't be a thing of evil. I had lost my mind as was on the verge of losing my life, and you saved both. Nothing evil would have done that. My thoughts are my own for the first time in years. You know what that means, don't you? When you recovered from your own madness, what was it like?" She sighed. "Like life was beginning again." "Yes, that's it exactly." Vlad looked from Sadie to Tommy and back. "You used your blood? It wasn't a backlash of the spell at all, was it? You could've been discovered --" "I couldn't let him die," she whispered, her eyes on the man in front of her. Vlad walked up the stairs and stood next to her, drawing her eyes to him. He could see how badly she wanted to cry and break. "Tell the world, he said. "Let them know what Solomon is going to do. Don't the vampires have to follow you now?" "If they believed me, then maybe. I'm the oldest of us, but changing a mindset that is this old isn't easy." Vlad looked out to the crowd this time, drawing himself up as an alpha wolf and saying, "Who here believes her? Who believes what this woman has said?" Almost every hand went up. Vlad nodded. "Remember what Devlin said . . . the wraiths do not aid those with selfish motives." The rest of the hands went up. Vlad smiled and once more directed his attention to the beautiful creature on the deck with him. "Let everyone spread the word that the true Mother of all Vampires has returned to correct the Lie of Solomon. Tell every vampire that their 'Blood Saint' has decieved them for his own ends, and tell every mortal what Solomon intends to do." "That'll start riots in the street Vlad," Grom replied. "No," Sadie said, "I won't allow that." She looked at Grom. "Solomon will be holed up with Lord Frost. Send him a message. I demand punishment of my offspring for creating a rift between vampires and the mortal races. Where would be a good place to meet?" she asked. It was the human Tommy who was first to respond. "How about Downlands Park? There's a large field there, and it's not in West End." "That sounds good," she said. He smiled. "I'll talk to the media. My story should help win you support amongst the human population at the very least." Vlad nodded. "And you've already got the support of the wolves. We've taken enough crap from Solomon's vampires that we're more than willing to stand with you." This was the Vladimir Koloff that Sadie had longed to see. This Vlad had a power that was as potent and wild as an avalanche, and it was ready to be unloaded on those who opposed Sadie Hewitt. Vlad wasn't done. "Todd, go home so that you and my sister can start a calling spree. I want every pack leader you can find to know about this and I want them keeping an eye on the vampires. I don't want them doing anything, but I don't want the vamps coming to Solomon's aid either." Mary seemed calmer now. "We will make sure that Solomon doesn't flee," she said, her voice filled with ghostly promise. "Can your wraiths control your hunt for long?" Sadie asked. "Yes. Your need for vengeance is so personal that we can bury our hunger for a time being, but we will see that justice is served. Solomon will face you because if he doesn't, the wraiths will hound him for now until the end of time and from the gates of Heaven to the lowest of Hell's realms." Vlad looked at Grom. "Captain, I advise a police presence at the entrance to Ms. Hewitt's property for a while." He turned to Frankie. "You think that you and your boys can patrol the area and discourage any unwelcome visitors. Frankenstein grinned. "I think the boys might just have fun with that." "Then everybody get moving." As the crowd began to clear out, Sadie jumped down and caught up with Devlin. "Thank you," she said. "The things you said . . . the things you did --" "I was a fool before," the young officer replied. "And you were right. I need to think about this a lot more now." She looked him in his big brown eyes and said, "When you are done searching your soul and if you decide you still want it, I would be proud to bring you over." Devlin blushed. "Letting you nibble on my neck? I'm not sure I'd survive." Sadie smiled. "I hear its not so bad once the mind-numbing orgasm starts." She patted him on the cheek, then turned back to the porch only to find Tommy in her way. The handsome man looked at her with eyes as clear as a desert morning after a long rain. He hugged her and she let him. There were no more words to express what she had given him, and no need to tell him that she would do it all again. Soon, all that was left was Sadie, Melissa, Mary, and Vlad. Everyone else faded into the woodwork to accomplish the tasks that the alpha wolf had laid out for them. "I've made such a mess of this," Sadie said, her eyes looking towards the moon and the darkness that surrounded it. "This isn't your fault," Melissa replied. "You can't --" "I should've hunted that bastard down," Sadie interrupted. "Hell, we both should' have died on that cliff. The children of the Throne of Blood should never have walked the mortal world." She ripped one of the boards off her deck railing and hurled it across the yard. It was a pointless gesture, but it gave her something to do. "I'm cursed, and my curse has spread." She looked at Mel. "If not for me, you're living a nice, normal life. No one is trying to kill you." "I don't want a nice normal life," Mel said, wringing her hands. "I don't think I lived a day of my life until you showed up." Mary's eyes cleared for a moment as she controlled her deadly thirst. "I would be alone." She looked at Melissa with such hope-filled eyes that it pulled at Sadie's heart to watch. Maybe something good would come out of all of this, assuming they lived. "I'd be stuck in a dead end marriage," Vlad added. "I wouldn't be who I needed to be." "You couldn't be anyone else," Sadie replied. "You don't have to be doing this." Vlad actually looked miffed. "Doing what? Guarding your ass? Actually, yeah I do." "Why?" He rolled his eyes. Melissa looked at Mary. "This might be a good time for me to go check on the cats." Mary smiled. "I'll go see how the rest of the wraiths are doing. Solomon has some impressive set spells protecting him right now, so all we are doing is holding him." She kissed Melissa and then vanished. Melissa hugged Sadie, drank in her mother's presence and then vanished into the woods. Sadie looked back to Vlad, who was staring at her and tapping his foot. "Let's start," Vlad began, "with the fact that you're defending all the mortal races, not just humans. That means the weres, which makes it my business. Let's not forget that because of you, I'm free. You finally made me see that Teresa was an albatross that I kept around my own neck. YOU, in you own insanely frustrating and highly confusing manner, have made life more interesting than it has been . . . ever!" At this point, Vlad was waving his arms wildly. "Interesting? Vlad, I lied to everyone! I'm in the process of screwing an entire race's self image straight to hell, and I'm probably going to be put in jail afterward for lying to the Arbiter Bureau!" Vlad raised one eyebrow. "See? Interesting." She threw her hands up in frustration. "I just wanted a place to hole up for forty years or so before moving on. I didn't want this." Vlad stepped forward. "Want what? You think that if you weren't here that Solomon wouldn't have tried this? You being here is the only reason we may have headed off a vampire take over." "If I'd been a responsible parent, I would've taken charge of my children a long time ago. I never should've let it come to this." "You already said why you let it go, and I can't say I would've made any different of a call. If you remember, I wasn't exactly willing to take control of my charges either, and I didn't have nearly as good a reason." "You're pack had a good leader, just not as alpha as he should have been. The guy leading my race is a psychopath. And now, one of us has to die." "Can't you just force him to admit what really happened? Make him back down?" Sadie laughed a humorless laugh. "We are a proud people and Solomon knows this. If you just found out that the person providing moral and spiritual guidance to you for thousands of years was a liar and a crook, they won't just let you walk away. He has to kill me to keep the Lie going, and even then he'll have a small revolution on his hands. If I win, then people will be forced to accept my version of things. Besides, as long as I'm alive, the wraiths will keep after him. I've floating in a pool of vengeance for seven thousand plus years, and now they've all come to drink. I can't call for if I'm dead. Right now, I just have to figure out how he's coming for me. He won't wait for a fair fight or challenge. It's just not in his nature." Vlad stepped up behind her and put hands on his shoulders. "Which is one of many reasons that he never deserved you." She smiled a little. "A romantic sentiment from someone whose marriage I ruined." She felt his strong hands on her shoulders, spinning her around so fast she almost slapped him the face with her wings. "Teresa ruined my marriage, not you. You just finally gave me enough to see that I couldn't ignore it anymore. Now, I feel more free and alive than I have in ten years." Sadie couldn't deny how "alive" Vlad felt. This close to her, his scent was heavy and warm in her nostrils, and he practically glowed with his own power. Potent muscles rippling in his hands, his arms, and in that broad chest covered in a thin layer of flannel. She remembered what it had been like when she had fed off of him and how that entire body had been pressed against her. She had many a pleasant if somewhat embarrassing dream about that night. Vlad hadn't forgotten that night either. "Now," he muttered in a deep, darkly-handsome voice, "I have something worth fighting for." Sadie willed her heart to beat, though it didn't take much coaxing. If there was a chance that she might not live another night, then there was something she very badly wanted before this one was over. "So, are you just a fighter?" she asked, running her hands over that wonderful chest. Vlad had resisted temptation for so long. Everything about Sadie Hewitt was perfect . . . not just physically, but for Vlad himself. She was wild, passionate, and wholly wonderful. Teresa had scoffed at his animal nature, while Sadie soaked it in and took comfort in it. Now, for the first time, there was no reason whatsoever to resist that temptation. He lifted her off her feet and kissed her like he'd wanted to for so long. He drove both of their bodies back into her trailer with a resounding thud, but Sadie hardly seemed put off. Rather, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, kissing him back with a fever that he never would have imagined possible. Maybe for any woman less than Sadie, such heat wasn't possible. Breathless Ch. 06 He cupped her ass while pressing her against the cool steel frame of her home, pushing his tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers. Sadie accepted the invasion, teasing Vlad's tongue and sucking on it, then pressed her lips harder against his. Against her groin, she felt his manhood rising and she remembered clearer than ever just how massive he was. The alpha male needed to feel more of her flesh, ripping Sadie's peasant dress off with just a few powerful tears. Her perfect breasts were immediately exposed, letting him grope one of them hard while he supported her and kissed her. Sadie hardly thought it fair that she was the only one naked at that point, so she began shredding Vlad's shirt. "Pants," she gasped. She put her feet down and spun him around, shoving him against the trailer. In a flash, she was down on her knees and taking his pants with him. "Good grief," she muttered. Vladimir wasn't even all the way hard, but he was already intimidating in size. It was just as well, since this state was a bit easier to manipulate. She took the head into her mouth and began to work her way down the firm length. Even partially soft, she was unable to take all of it, but she was enjoying giving it the old college try. Vladimir removed the remains of his shirt as Sadie's mouth devoured his cock. It didn't take long to realize that being with a woman with over seven millennium of practice at fellatio had its advantages. She had raised her body temperature and was drawing air in, making her mouth and throat a hot and humid treat. His manhood didn't stay in its softened state long. She cupped his heavy testicles while she drew her mouth back to concentrate on the fleshy head of his penis, teasing the pee-hole with her tongue. Vlad's soon-to-be-ex wife had rarely been willing to provide oral pleasure, and usually had sent him on a guilt trip afterward. She had made sex with him seem like a burden, whereas Sadie appeared quite ready to devour him alive. Almost literally. The mother of all vampires was unable to wrap one hand all the way around that tool, so she stroked him with both hands while she sucked on the head and the first few inches of the shaft. Sadie wasn't normally much of a size queen, but there was just something so right about Vlad being hung so generously. He was so perfectly alpha . . . alpha males should have impressive equipment. Once fully erect, Vlad grabbed Sadie's head and began pushing his way deeper into her mouth. He remembered when she'd tricked him during the sparring session . . . she didn't need to breath. He grinned and shoved a little deeper. Her body still has some physical limitations and he didn't want to injure her, but he wanted to find where her limits were. After all, she was more than capable of stopping him whenever she wanted. Apparently, she didn't really want to. Sadie had more of her lover's shaft down her throat than she had any right to, but the added pressure was more than a bit of a turn on. This wasn't the neutered puppy that Teresa had tried to make him. This was Vlad taking what he wanted. Luckily for him, what Vlad wanted overlapped nicely with what Sadie wanted, which was hot, rough, primal sex. She dug her fingernails deep into his pounding hips, drawing just the faintest about of blood as she swallowed almost half of his fleshy monster. "Oh sweet moonlight," he groaned as he felt that tingling of pain where he was being gripped. He smiled down at her, letting her know that he was plenty game for getting as rough as she wanted. Her eyes met his and she pulled away, standing several feet from him. Her gaze carried a desire strong enough to scorch stone and her lips called out to him. "Hunt me," she whispered. Then she took off for the woods. She heard his footsteps following after her as she entered the protection of the forest, but she didn't look back. She wanted to challenge him . . . to make him earn her favors. For a second, the sound of his feet vanished and she realized that he had jumped. She dodged to one side, but she was unused to running with her wings, so his hand grasped her shoulder and they went tumbling to the ground. Vlad turned her on to her back and shoved both her shoulders into the forest floor. He didn't know how much damage her wings could take, but she didn't seem to concerned. To tell the truth, she looked enormously pleased to have been caught. He pushed his way between her thighs and slide his cock into her delicious sex. He felt that if he were to die the next day, then that one night where he could experience the delight that was her body would have made it a life worth living. He drove what air she had in her body out and her stared at him with immense hunger as he pounded into her, savoring the tightness of her tunnel. Her face was the quintessential display of ecstasy, and she spurred his ass on with her feet. But when he released his shoulder to grab her hips, she placed her feet on his chest instead and shoved him away. She grinned and took off again. "This bitch is crazy," Vlad said to the darkness around him, but he was smiling as he did. This was wild . . . this was free. He took off after her, relying more on his sense of smell than his eyes. He got to a point where her scent seemed to vanish. 'No,' he thought. 'She didn't go away, so she must have gone --' Vlad didn't have time to react before Sadie swooped out of the sky and knocked him on his back. She pounced on him and again took his manhood into her mouth. But she didn't stay there long. A few strokes while sucking on the head, a few licks along the fleshy underside and then she mounted it in a reverse cowgirl position, riding him for all she was worth. Vlad had never experienced anyone like Sadie. She had the passion of a mortal woman, but the experience of an immortal. She splayed her wings outward and, under the light of the moon filtering through the trees, she closer resembled an angel than her demonic heritage. Sadie rotated her hips, letting some of him slip out of her before sliding back in. After several circles, she bounced up and down on him, feeling him stretch her. He was large enough that she was still adjusting to him, but she was quite capable of taking a little pain with her pleasure. After a few minutes, she decided it was time to continue the chase. She stood up, buffeted her wings and rose off the ground. But Vlad was ready this time, quickly gaining his feet and grabbing onto her ankles, pulling her downward. He was able to get a solid grip on her waist and pulled her down, thrusting her onto his cock. Then he pressed her against a tree, trapping her with his weight as he jackhammered her like a man possessed. Bark and twigs were digging into Sadie's back in a way that most people would have found uncomfortable. For her, they were just more points of sensation to titillate her already heightened awareness. Sex was her drug of choice, and this was her ultimate high. She dug her fingers into his muscular shoulders, drawing blood yet again. It dripped and flowed in small creeks around his muscles and lightly furred chest. She licked some off his chest as he continued fucking her straight into the tree. Her head started to buzz and her blood started to boil as she consumed even the minutest traces of his life's blood. She felt a warm tightness down in the deepest part of her body, and it was growing to ravish her just as Vlad was. Small tremors became cascading shockwaves and she screamed into the comforting veil of night. It was a moment of such exquisite pleasure that she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt that way. 'Sometime during Egypt's third dyansty,' she thought. And that had taken getting banged on top of a pyramid by a group of workers. And quite frankly, that had fallen short of what Vladimir was doing to her. Vlad stopped long enough for her vaginal walls to unclench, reveling in the tightness of her. He felt her tongue dancing over the crimson pools adorning his upper body, and it made him feel harder. "More," Sadie growled hungrily in his ear before nibbling on it. "But you know where I want it?" she murmured. She had narrowly resisted one of her favorite carnal indulgences over the past month or so, and she would deny it no longer. He was suitably coated in her juices -- "Sweetheart, even you can't handle --" "Awh," she whispered, grabbing a couple of branches and raising up until he slid out of her pussy and then let the head of his member brush up against the entrance to her ass. It would be like trying to drive a freight train up a logging trail, but she had no intention of backing down. "Don't tell me I caught myself a were-chicken, did I?" "I seem to recall," he started, pushing her slowly down onto him, trying not to lose it the second that his cock-head penetrated her rectum, "that I was the one that caught . . . (grunt) . . . you." Sadie was capable of withstanding a great deal of punishment, but even she was on the verge of passing out as her back door was gently and methodically violated. Deeper and deeper it went, and Sadie's grip on her lover's shoulders tightened. The woodland crickets seronaded as she gasped, waiting for that one incredible moment when her ass would relax and she would accept all of him into her, or at least all that she could. And she wanted to . . . by the dark of night, she desperately wanted to. The moment came, and several more inches of him slid into her. This would not be as forceful as more traditional entry, but it would be amazing just the same. Short strokes started them off, gradually increasing in both length and tempo. Sadie responded to each penetration with a grunt or a groan, all of which vanished into the shadows to be swallowed by the wild around them. Vlad's hands began mauling Sadie's breasts, squeezing them forcefully as her ass consumed his manhood. This is something else his wife would never have allowed, much less enjoyed for passionately. So many people had warned him, but only Sadie had given him something more worthwhile to pursue. He was halfway inside her bottom when he was simply unable to control himself anymore. He thrust in as far as Sadie could comfortably accept him, pressing himself against her body as he unloaded into her dark recesses. He had to be leaking out somewhat, because his seed kept coming in wave after wave, and he wondered if blood was the only life-giving fluid that Sadie could feed on. Indeed, he felt himself more than a little bit drained as his cock quivered its last. "Oh God," he grumbled, leaning all of his weight against her as she wrapped herself around him. "Goddess, actually," she said, almost giggling. "It doesn't have to stop now," she promised. "I'm . . . I'm completely spent," he replied. "I couldn't possibly --" Then he remembered what her fangs had done to him once before . . . he remembered because she was nibbling on his neck. "Do it!" She needed no further encouragement, sinking her fangs into his thick neck. She didn't withdraw any blood, but pumped him full of the chemicals that lit his whole body ablaze with lust. She normally wouldn't give someone this much, but Vladimir was a sturdy guy, and she had work for him to do. She felt him growing hard inside her ass again, but that wasn't what she wanted now. She shoved him away, watching his eyes as he prepared to give chase. But she didn't want to get away . . . not this time. She quickly got on the ground, spreading her wings so that she could look over her shoulder, crawling across the forest floor on all fours. "Call your beast," she growled. "Show me the best of you!" He did. All lycanthropes walked a world between humanity and pure animal, and that was what emerged from beneath Vladimir's skin. His human body became more furred, his chest and limbs more muscular and -- 'Oh my,' she thought in a lust-crazed haze, glancing at the fence-post that was thrusting up between Vlad's thighs. 'That's bigger too!' The shaggy wolf head that adorned those shoulders may have represented his animal nature in this half-form, but the desire behind those eyes was clearly Vlad . . . clearly for her and for her alone. His put his clawed hands on the ground and sniffed at her exposed pussy. During mating, the alpha female decides when mating occcurs, not the male. He might be in charge the rest of the time, but not at this moment. His lupine tongue caressed her sweetness and he gave her a love bite on the firm flesh of her ass. Not enough to draw blood, but certainly enough to get her attention. She glanced over her shoulder again and chuckled, thrusting her hips backward on that long tongue. That was an option to be explored at a later date, but she wanted him to mount her. So she met his eyes and then lowered her head, a sign of willing submission to his desire. Vladimir quickly moved down her body, entering his even more potent manhood into her sex as he did so. He reached around her body and pressed his hands down on top of hers, letting her vaginal walls clamp down on his massive cock. He had her locked in placed. She was his, but he was no fool. She was his for now because she had had wanted him as badly as he wanted her. Sadie had been caught by choice, and it made his heart and pride swell that she had chosen him. As when he had fucked her ass, he started slowly, but it took all the patience he could muster to keep it that way. She pushed back against him, taking as much as she could, but even her talented pussy couldn't handle all of him in this form. So he thrust in until her discomfort became obvious, then he withdrew. A few more penetrations to make sure he had his distance, and then he gave her exactly what she wanted: everything that he had. His hips thrust into hers with power and speed like nothing Sadie had ever experienced before. She was so stretched and so full and so on edge that she couldn't imagine settling for less ever again. His cock raged inside her, stronger and harder than anything before. His hands gripped hers so hard she knew he could crush them, but was just as sure that he wouldn't. His furred chest pressed against her back between her wings, pressing down heavily upon her. He surrounded her and penetrated her and gave her everything she had ever wanted in a carnal act. He was primal and powerful and perfect for her. Sadie realized that she loved him. No one matched her like he did. His character made up for her flaws, his body was built to satisfy her needs, and he power called to hers. She had not been in love in a very long time, at least not love with a capital "L." She had cared deeply for many, but not like this. The last time she had fallen so hard, she had been utterly betrayed. She did not fear that from Vlad. She didn't fear anything from him except potentially his absence. Vlad saw Sadie's face look back at him. Again, he thought of the differences between this magnificent creature and Teresa. Even when things had been better between them, the elf woman had never looked at him with such passion or . . . love? 'Yes,' he realized, almost the same time that Sadie herself did. 'She loves me.' The sentiment swelled in his own heart to match hers. She had given him back to himself, and he loved her for that. That, and for so many other reasons. He remembered that biting your lover during coitus rather than just feeding was a sign of great affection in vampire culture, and for it to be allowed was a sign of trust and respect. She had bitten him, and now turn about was fair play. Sadie felt those powerful jaws pressing down on her skin, prickling both sides of her neck. She froze, but not from fear. She wondered if he truly had any idea how that felt to her. It was like lightning bolts of ecstasy jabbing into her in a dozen different places. "Yes," she crooned heatedly. "Oh yes!" With that, Vlad exerted more pressure. He broke skin lightly in a few places, but nothing dangerous. The effect was instantaneous and amazing. Sadie started to climax the moment that those little deadly tips crossed the barrier of her skin and let her blood flow. And the orgasm seemed to have no endpoint, wracking her body as he continued his machine-like thrusting. She was like a snake being electrocuted, her body writhing underneath him as pleasure rampaged through every nerve ending. Vlad was getting a taste of Sadie's blood, and it was sweet, powerful elixir. The blood of a powerful demon flowed through her veins, but he didn't fear it. Sadie had shown that her blood could heal, and he saw no evil in that. Rather, just a taste of it invigorated him, healing the bite wounds and claw marks she had given him and giving him energy. He used that energy to redouble his efforts. What the pain of anal intercourse had not accomplished, the pure bliss of what Vlad was doing to her almost pulled off . . . Sadie almost passed out. She was in the throes of a powerful series of orgasms that seemed to go on forever. Her sexual juices flowed from between her thighs and covered both of them, as well as making Vlad's job that much easier. After what seemed like forever, he released his jaws from her neck, thrusting all the way into her body and raising his face to the moon. He let out a howl that sent prey animals scurrying as far as they could, while the wild wolves of the northwest had no choice but to answer. The night filled with their primal howls. Sadie simply screamed her pleasure, joining her wild counterpart. Once again, Vladimir's sperm flowed into her and once again she accepted it. Her mind and soul glowed with a delicate sense of peace and contentment. She sank to the earth and a bed of leaves, but it felt comfortable. Vlad came with her, his warmth making her feel safe, something she didn't even know that she needed or wanted. He was still firm and strong inside her, keeping them joined. She didn't want to be separated from him now that she'd found him. She did feel him shift back to his full human form, and his lips kissed the neck that he had gripped with his animal teeth just moments earlier. He had taken her like an animal, but now he loved her like a man. Between the two, he had become everything to her, so she rolled over and kissed him back. ----------------------- ---------- The next night . . . . ----------------------- ---------- Melissa had been grinning up a storm when she arrived at Sadie's trailer. Vlad was sitting in a lawn chair on the deck looking like he just ate the canary. One of Frankenstein's bikers had been able to lend him a set of clothes, and the Gravestones police officer looked damn good in leather pants and a denim shirt. Sadie looked more than a little satisfied herself. She was back wearing her skin-tight blue-jeans, tanker boots, and a vest that she had altered to let her wings stay free. She was showing quite a bit of cleavage, which didn't seem to bother her, Vlad, or anyone else standing nearby. Melissa had been staying at Mary's house since she'd left the previous evening, and she'd heard the two of them "cementing their relationship" from a mile away. There probably wasn't a creature in the surrounding area who hadn't heard it. She poked her head in the door of the trailer on a whim, and found that just about every piece of furniture had been busted or overturned except the bed, which was made of sterner stuff. The cat came out and looked around. The poor thing had been terrified. Apparently, the sex-fest had continued inside well after they'd had their fill of the great outdoors. "Tell me you at least fed the cat," Mel said with a smile, hugging her creator firmly. Due to their close psychic connection, she had a pretty good idea just how much Sadie had enjoyed Vlad's company. There was a glow about her that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than love, even though Mel had never seen it before. Of course, she hadn't spent a night with Mary since she'd Turned, but she hoped to see that glow in her own mistress some night. Breathless Ch. 06 "I think I put a bowl in the closet at some point," she pondered lazily, her eyes traipsing Vlad's taut form, while his lingering on the vampire's tantalizing breasts. There were bikers, werewolves, a number of police officers, and the human that Sadie had saved at the warehouse present, but Sadie and Vlad only had eyes for each other. Mel rolled her eyes. She stood near Sadie and snapped her fingers in front of the vampire's face. "Hello? Anyone in there? Potentially apocalyptic fight with Solomon coming up? Any of this ring a bell?" Sadie's face fell a bit. "Spoilsport." With one last glance at Vlad, she brought her attention back to where it needed to be. "But you're right. He won't play this fair. Hell, he won't even play by the rules he wrote. He's only a quarter demon, and he's had the Blood Brood defending him for most of recorded history." "Don't discount him," Vlad said, his mind back in the game. "He's backed into a corner. And there are those who have a lot to lose if the vampires wind up following you instead of the Blood Saint." "Frost you mean?" Sadie asked. Devlin raised a fist and started to count on his fingers. "Frost, the Blood Brood and the rest of Solomon's entourage, the elves and the witches who have been sucking up to them --" "I get it, I get it. He's got a lot of friends," Sadie said, rubbing her temples. "Don't underestimate your own support," Vlad said, standing up and rubbing her temples and shoulders for her. He just didn't want to go long without touching her. "The vampires have stepped on a lot of toes, so most of the mortal races don't trust them. You KNOW the wolves are behind you, and probably the goblins and humans as well." "True dat," Frankenstein said, popping open one of Sadie's last bottles of Guinness. "So he comes for me, but when? He's not going to attack me here," Sadie pondered. "It would be suicide to attack a vampire on her own ground, particularly when she's got support." "We could go on the offensive," Todd said. Sadie was convince that Vlad's nephew had a future in wolf politics, because he was interested and involved at a relatively young age. "Nope," Sadie said. "I've got to play by the rules. Remember, my own children call me the Betrayer. If I want to convince them otherwise, I have to take the high road." She growled. "I can't turn this into another war," she said. "The last one almost ended my species. While sometimes I think that might not have been a bad thing, I've found there's some hope for us yet." This last was directed at Melissa, who blushed just a little bit. "Heard from Mary yet?" "Yeah, she appeared for a bit this evening. The wraiths still have Frost's mansion surrounded, but the Blood Rampart has it pretty secure. They're probably planning just like we are." She glared at Vlad, who's hands were drifting a little low to be giving a "shoulder rub." "Get a room," she chuckled. Sadie looked towards the trailer. "We kind of trashed it," she said happily. Then she reluctantly pushed his hands away, just as a patrol car pulled up the drive with Captain Grom inside. "Hey Cap'n" Vladimir said, leaning against the wall of the trailer. Grom met the officer's eyes. "So this is why you called in sick? Again?" Vlad shrugged. "Something came up." Sadie was grinning from ear to ear. "Several times as a matter of fact." "Good grief." Mel rolled her eyes again. "What's the word Captain?" "You know you've got a ring of camera crews around your property? They're all wanting to talk to you and figure out if you're going to accept his challenge." "Challenge?" "Yes. He is challenging you to meet him at Downlands Park, where, and I quote, 'She will beg for my mercy or her own life.' The fact that YOU challenged him first hasn't quite registered yet. He's claiming that you are demon-tainted alright, and that it was you and not your 'mutual' mother that lay down with them. He's saying that the reason you seem so powerful is a deal you made with the Lords of Hell, and NOT that you are superior to him in any way." Sadie's face changed to stone. "He wouldn't challenge me to a fair fight," she uttered. "Even if he were so sure of his own power, mine would be a mystery to him. Solomon is a coward above all else." "He's a coward with nowhere left to run," Vlad reminded her. "He's more dangerous than ever." "I have to face him though," the mother of all vampires reminded him. "I try to play it safe or wait him out, then his words gain strength. When did he want to meet?" "Midnight," Grom said. "High noon for darkworlders." Sadie walked to the edge of her deck, staring up at the risen moon and letting it softly caress her face, realizing it could be her last night on earth. She didn't want anyone else to know how much the notion of death scared her now. Never mind that she had a vampiric child that she cared about, or a lover than made her dead blood sing. She had walked the earth for seven thousand years, and she was used to the world. What lay beyond was . . . well, beyond her. "Once more into the breach, dear friends," she whispered. "Let's mount up." She looked at her friends, the daughter of her blood, then the holder of her heart. Then with a powerful stroke of her wings, she took to the sky. Mel felt Sadie's fear. Her connection to the vampire mother was powerful. "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," the goth vampire replied softly, then headed for her car. ------------ ----------------- Midnight . . . ------------ ----------------- The area around the park was around Downlands Park was a sea of movement, consisting of both mortal and immortal races, cars, camera-crews, and cops. It was so thick that movement was almost impossible, except for two roads leading up to the par that were kept clear by the national guard. One road for Solomon, and the other road was for Sadie's forces . . . Eve's forces. Not that she much cared, as she flew the whole way in. There was a large stone circle in the middle of the park, and it was encased in a set magical sphere. Solomon's Blood Rampart were part of its power supply, but so was the Northwestern Coven. It seems like lines had been drawn in the sand while the primary players had slept. There was a pavilion set up on one side of the circle, and Sadie could feel Solomon's presence emanating from inside. She landing on the other side of the circle, where she was joined by her entourage. She looked around and saw Vlad, Mel, Devlin, Tommy, Frankenstein and his riders, a smattering of werewolves that this time included Todd, Ivan, and Anya. And Bart? She walked up to the captive demon, anger and pain on her mind. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't --" Her thoughts of vengeance stopped when Bart got down on his knees, bowing before her. "I beg your forgiveness your majesty," the yellow-skinned demon said. There was no sarcasm or disdain in his voice this time. "Had I known, I would have shown you the respect you so richly deserve." Some people nearby took pictures of the demon groveling at Sadie's feet. She didn't know if this would help or hurt her cause, but if she didn't defeat Solomon then it really wouldn't matter. "Your majesty?" "You are the daughter of the King of Blood," he whispered, pressing his forehead to the ground. "You are the heir to one of the Thrones of Hell." Sadie shook her head in disbelief. "Bullshit. I hate my Father, and I have no intention of claiming anything of his." Bart met her gaze now, and it looked hungry. He knew who she was, and serving her would put him in good graces with the King of Blood. "Hate is a good thing in Hell," he replied. "And you are his heir whether you intend to inherit or not. Even should you choose not to rule on Earth, you will serve at his right hand when you find your way to the next world." She turned and walked away. This was not a conversation that she wanted to have with Bart. Hell, there wasn't any conversation that she wanted to have with him. Melissa was glaring at Bart as Sadie walked away. She knew what he had done as surely as she knew the sun would rise that morning. Terrence was dead because the demon had been playing games. Melissa had been left crumpled and bloody in the ruins of her car because of Bart, and Sadie had been forced to make the decision that had led to this war. Melissa had never been a hateful person in her life, but she wanted Bart gone from this plane of existence, and for the first time she could see herself being responsible for it. "What did he want?" she growled. "To worship me, apparently." She was quickly surrounded by her crew, all of whom looked all business. Cameras were flashing and a ton of reporters were trying to get close, only to be held at bay by the majority of the Northwestern wolf pack, along with bikers and a number of . . . goblins? "Where'd the goblins come from?" Sadie asked. The squat creatures weren't known for being organized fighters, thought they could be really nasty when backed into a corner. "We called some folk," came a voice near the circle. It was Marge, the goblin waitress/co-owner of "Roll the Bones." "What the heck are you doing here?" Sadie asked, grinning in spite of the situation. She liked the sass-mouthed waitress. "Lady, you've been paying attention to the little people since you got here, makin' sure they's taken care of. Time for us little people to watch your back." "You didn't have to do this," Sadie said, looking at the goblins interspersed amongst her impromptu guard. "Goblins never HAVE to do anything that they don't want to," Marge said, then held up a little brown bag. "Made ya some fresh rolls. Shouldn't face the apocalypse on an empty stomach." 'How can a woman seven thousand years younger than me act like a mother?' Sadie thought, taking the bag and kissing the goblin on the head. Vlad was at her side instantly. She smiled and handed him a bit of baked heaven while she scarfed down another. "Mmmh," she moaned happily. Mel came over, but she wasn't interested in food. "Sadie, they've been holed up in there for an hour. Solomon's got most of the Rampart on the shields, but not all of them, and what's left of his Blood Brood is inside too." "They can't accept the challenge for him," Sadie said. "They can't enter the circle once the challenge has begun. I know he's up to something, but I'll be damned if I can say what it is." Mel kissed her creator's forehead, then a brief but warm kiss on the lips. Mary would forgive her this one indiscretion. "You're smarter than anyone I know, and you're a survivor. You'll figure out how to win this. I know you will." Lord Frost had walked out to the center of the circle, looking like he was preparing to make an announcement. "Arrogant bastard," Sadie said. "He isn't the master of ceremonies here." "Ladies and gentlemen," Frost's voice boomed out, hushing the enormous crowd to silence, "tonight, the Devil incarnate has returned from the grave to challenge the Blood Saint of the vampires --" "Blah blah blah," Vlad growled. "He's just trying the crowd against you again." "The energy of the crowd can be a weapon," Sadie replied. "Many a king were toppled by an angry mob." "Then you need to get your message out there." She nodded, turning to Melissa. "So what do you think? Want to be my spokesperson?" "Me?!" Mel yipped. "I'm a horrible public speaker and --" "You are perfect," Sadie said, taking her daughter's hands. "You believe in me, and that means something. Don't be intimidated by Frost. He may be older than you, but you are of MY blood, and don't forget that. You can be just as powerful as him, maybe moreso. I need whoever speaks for me to speak from the heart, even if that heart is dead." Sadie returned the kiss from earlier. "Mary chose you not because you were weak but because you were strong enough to withstand anything. I believe in your strength too." Mel turned back to Frost, who was just finishing up his speech, reciting the great Lie . . . the story of Eve's betrayal of Adam and Solomon. It raise the hair on her necks to think of the pain and scorn that her friend had endured in silence for so long. Without looking back, she walked towards the center, the magical shield allowing her to slip by. She was terrified, but she wasn't going to let Sadie down. On the outskirts of the circles, she saw many blue glows. The wraiths wanted to get closer . . . to kill Solomon, but they were being held at bay by hordes of witches. One wraith seemed less animalistic than the rest, and her eyes followed every step Melissa made. Mary even raised her hand to her heart then her lips, finally pointing at Mel. "You're in way over your head little girl," Frost snarled under his breath, pushing down on her with his presence. He looked somewhat shocked when all she did was smile in response. "Don't try parlor tricks on me old man. My mother is the mother of us all, and I look forward to her punishing you for you insolence." Then she turned her back on him. "To all those in attendance here and those watching from afar, I have a far different story to tell." Her voice carried like music through the air, surprising even herself. She could do this. She WOULD do this. "Since many great civilizations now long gone were nothing but a dream of the future, a great Lie has been told by Solomon and by people like Lord Frost." She launched into the truth that Sadie had described to her, leaving nothing out. Some would be embarrassing to Sadie and some would be graphic, but she wanted the mob to know the real woman . . . the beautiful creature who had suffered for the mortal world and suffered still. When Frost had finished his speech, the crowd had seemed suspicious of Sadie . . . of Eve. Now, a balance had been formed. Frost and Melissa, having spoken their respective pieces, headed towards the edge of the circle again. "You'll pay dearly for this," Frost muttered. "When Solomon is gone, you'll be the one left at the table holding the check," Melissa replied. "I'm going to enjoy putting you in your place," Frost said. "At my feet, begging my forgiveness." "I'd just as soon rip your heart out through your asshole." Melissa wanted to hurt him, Bart may have started her problems, but Frost was the one who ordered Dazza to do it. She didn't know if Frost had done it himself, but she was sure he was responsible for Terrence's death. "But I think I'll let HER do it," she added, glancing over her shoulder at Sadie who was taking the field, "after she's done ripping Solomon apart." Frost smiled, and it made Melissa more nervous than she could say. "I wouldn't be betting on that if I were you." 'Damn it,' she thought as she stepped out of the circle, 'What are they up to?' Vlad gave Sadie a quick but well formed kiss before she passed completely over into the challenge area. Again, it probably wasn't the wisest thing to be displaying affection in front of the cameras, but she wanted to know the taste of him before the fight. A reminder of what she would win. Then she put him behind her and walked on alone. It didn't take long before Solomon emerged from the canvas cave where she had sensed him. He dressed this time in black robes and was smiling from ear to ear. Sadie had never heard of him wearing anything but red or white, but she didn't know the significance of the change. Around them, the magical dome seemed to shift, taking on the consistency of glass. No one else could come in now. It was as it had begun . . . Eve and Solomon. "So my love, what name shall I call you?" Solomon crooned, using that voice of his. Sadie wasn't sure if he was actually trying to affect her or he couldn't help himself. It wasn't working regardless . . . mostly. She remembered the first time that voice had whispered in her ear after losing her virginity all that time ago. It had been so magical, to her at least. "As long as you don't call me your 'love,' it doesn't really matter does it?" "You've had many names I suspect, but I shall call you Eve. Though if you want, I can call you MINE again. We don't have to do this." "Oh I think we do," Eve said calmly. "You can fool the rest of them, but we both know what happened on the ground of your 'paradise.' We know what Adam did to me . . . what YOU did to me. We know who made who here, and we know that you're just a pretender." Solomon's face glowed with a pure kind of anger. "You were as much a fool then as you are now. All the power that you could have had and still could, yet you live in . . . in some metal tube and cavort with the lowest of all life forms. You take some desk clerk and make her one of us?" "Your sister will make a better vampire than you ever could," Eve replied. "And as for the lower life forms, they have more life and heart and passion than you could imagine. Unlike you, they deserve the love I offer them. Unlike you, they accept it. I would've given you the world once," she whispered, but more out of nostalgia than weakness. "Now, I will take it from you, and salt the earth so that you will never come back. You should have made sure I had died my second death on that beach." "I should have done many things," Solomon said, cracking his neck in one direction and then the other. For a moment, he almost sounded . . . regretful? "But it is too late to change the past. It is too late to stop me Eve. You have no chance here." She shook her head. "You never did respect my power," she said. "That will change now." She raised her head and shoulders high. "Solomon, you have betrayed me, your creator and mother of our race. You have lied to those you have Turned, and you have lied to the mortal races. What you seek is blasphemous in my eyes, and now it must stop. I challenge you to a dual to the death. The eternal embrace of darkness is all that is left to you." "Not quite all," he said, his grin now genuinely evil. With that, he struck her . . . hard. She went flying thirty feet through the air, striking the side of the dome. "What the fuck?!" Vlad shouted. 'There's no way he should be able to have done that!' That was the same thought that was shooting through Sadie's pain-wracked mind. That had been too fast, and he hit harder than she had ever imagined. Where did he find that kind of power? She didn't have time to dwell on it, as Solomon was charging forward, his elbow coming for her neck. She launched upward, her wings carrying her over his head as she kicked him in the bloody cut over his eye, then another kick in the back of his head as she landed on the other side. Whatever his power level was doing, she was still a better fighter. She had served in more militaries and on more police forces than Solomon could imagine. "Clever," Solomon said, turning around. He didn't seemed to be to badly effected, and those had been some hard kicks. "Clever won't save you. Submit now, and I will be merciful. You will have to be punished of course and renounce your side of the story --" Eve did a spinning back kick, but Solomon caught her foot and shoved her away. She was able to catch her balance using her wings, but her opponent was right behind her. He punched her once in the lower back, and she was afraid he might have ruptured something. True, she didn't really need her kidneys anymore, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. She collapsed onto the ground and heard Solomon approaching from behind. She braced herself on her forearms and mule-kicked him in the stomach with both feet. That made him stagger backward while she regained her footing, but then he just kept coming. 'That's not possible,' she thought. 'He's not even bothered.' As he took another step, she noticed that his robe has slipped a little, and there were marks on his chest . . . marks that appeared to be drawn in blood. She snarled.