Blood Relations - Chapter 25

Friday March 13, 1998

Amber’s magically enhanced feeding habits filled her so completely that she could skip meals without adverse side effects. The day after her first feeding frenzy, Emil had been concerned when she skipped breakfast. He had become alarmed when she skipped dinner as well, but she was truly feeling no thirst, nor was her child burning a hole in her stomach.

Amber didn’t go back to the refrigerator to take a meal for a full week. She’d weathered her first feeding frenzy with an ease that was beyond a whelp of the same age. To beat the frenzy, she just ate four and a half people.

Mostly whole, and mostly at the same time.

Well over two months had passed since then, but Emil was still trying to wrap his head around how Amber could cram so many victims into her tiny frame. It was mind boggling, even if magic was involved.

Since her first hunt, Amber alternated between taking cold meals from the stock of pet supplies and venturing out to hunt for low-level criminals. Emil had gone on only one of those hunts to see her feeding spell for himself.

Once was enough, and though he didn’t like to admit it, Amber had unsettled him because of the ease with which she erased people, leaving behind only clothing.

While Emil sipped his breakfast from a bottle, he watched Amber make tea and thought of her casting the spell again.

An idea came to him which he gave voice to. “Your feeding spell is a variation of the shadow portal, isn’t it?”

“It’s got portal-like qualities, but the substance I summon is...selectively corrosive. But it also stores the excess material in stasis until I need it.”

“So that’s how Dimitri was trucking around with a few gallons of nightmare blood,” said Emil. He got up to take an armload of empty bottles from the kitchen table to the sink.

“I’m sure he took the whole horse, so to speak,” Amber said, though her thoughts were still not on the same page as Emil. “The really cool thing is, I can slap it down on a hundred people and only eat one or two victims in the crowd. No one would be the wiser if I timed it right in a club while strobe lights were flashing.”

Amber sipped her tea before she offered Emil a wicked grin. “Funny thing to think about during breakfast, huh?”

Vicky sighed, though it quickly became a laugh. “We’re not going to a club, and I don’t care how convincing you make your argu—” Vicky stiffened and shot out of her seat.

All of the vampires did the moment they smelled Dimitri in the foyer.

“Hello?” he called out warily. “Wyrm in the hooooouse.” He waited in the silence, then asked, “Was that proper vernacular, or am I speaking in pig Latin?”

No one heard footsteps, but Dimitri leaned into the kitchen a second later, his white face pulling into relief. “No one is leaping for weapons yet.”

“What good would weapons do?” Amber asked.

“Amber,” Emil warned.

“Well fuck, he’s going to toy with us either way, so why should I have to humor him?” Amber scowled at Dimitri as the wyrm strolled into the kitchen like he owned the place. “What brings you back to my master’s abode?”

“I’m here for you again, though that should be no surprise.” Dimitri folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “How are you liking the new gifts?”

“A couple are parlor tricks, but the feeding spell is mighty handy for dealing with—with feeding frenzies.” Amber’s scowl shifted to confusion. “Hey—”

“And the lights of recognition just flicked on,” Dimitri commented. “I apologize about the nightmare blood. I thought you could heal yourself.” He cringed as he read Amber’s mind. “And I’m sorry for leaving you in an apartment without a working phone. I swear, that wasn’t intentional.”

“I wonder,” Amber said.

“I’ve been on a quest for you in Lissand.”

Amber asked, “It took you three months?”

“No, it took me a few weeks, but there’s a layer of time dilation between here and Lissand.” Dimitri glanced around at the blank stares. “So, put more simply, I leave to Lissand for a day, and two to three weeks pass on Earth.”

Nobody reacted to his explanation, and he let it go. “In any case, I went on my quest to hunt down a certain creature, and if I feed you their blood, you’ll be truly immortal.”

“Unicorn blood?” Emil asked.

Dimitri nodded. “That’s it.”

“Fuck you,” Amber said.

Dimitri blinked at her, his face pulling into genuine confusion. “What?”

“You heard me just fine. I’m not taking anything else from you. Maybe you haven’t noticed this, but nobody here trusts you. You told me last time that you wanted to help me live forever, and you damn near killed me. So even if you’re telling the truth now, I’m sure there’s a downside you aren’t mentioning.”

“Well, there’s the matter of being eternally damned for feeding on the blood of the purest animal in creation, but hey, you’re already a cannibal.” Dimitri held up both his hands to simulate a scale, his arms wobbling up and down as he said, “Both are pretty much the same in God’s book.”

Amber shook her head. “I wasn’t worshipping him.”

“Helen doesn’t care for cannibals either, but you get my point,” Dimitri said.

Emil groaned, his skin flushing light blue while his cheeks bunched to pull his face into an irritated scowl. “Amber, drinking unicorn blood will curse you to be a blood drinker forever. That much is true. You’ll heal from wounds faster than we could, but you’ll always feel thirsty, even after you’ve just fed. You also can’t go out in the sunlight anymore, because even partial exposure can kill you.”

Amber snorted. “Damn, now that’s some deal. I’ll be stronger than the vampires, but with a weakness that can be exploited once every twelve hours.” She had another thought. “What effect would this have on my child?”

Dimitri’s hairless brow wrinkled while he brooded. “Amber, be reasonable. After you have the child, what will you do? You don’t want to go back to being a normal human, do you?”

“I never was a normal human.” Amber laughed at a thought, setting aside her teacup on the counter before she folded her arms to mimic Dimitri’s pose. “I just decided what I’ll do. When I deliver this kid, I’ll have Emil knock me up again. Or hey, maybe I’ll fuck Lucas and have his kid next. I’m young, so I’ve got plenty of time to be a modern day Lilith, making a new race of  hell-spawn to plague the humans with.”

Dimitri laughed enthusiastically and nodded. “Now see, that’s a plan I could get behind if you really meant it.” He shook his head, his expression bemused. “But the truth is, you’re willing to accept what comes to you and see what happens.”

Amber nodded. “Yep, it’s worked out for me so far.” Her smile dropped. “But I’m no fool, Dimitri. I know you’ll force me into taking your deal.”

“You’re sure you won’t try a little sip of unicorn blood?” Dimitri asked in a plaintive voice.

“Not even if you smeared my lips with it,” Amber said. “Whether I’m good or evil has nothing to do with my choice. I don’t trust you, and I never will.”

Dimitri nodded. “All right.” He lowered his arms, and then he slung his right hand up in a lazy underhanded toss.

A blue stone spotted with highlights of mottled grey rolled out of his fingers and arced up and over the vampires, heading straight for Amber’s face. She snapped her hand up to catch it, and bolts of electrical energy shot through her body, driving the air from her lungs in a yelp.

Doubling over, she dropped to one knee and stopped breathing. She couldn’t hear anything but rumbling, like thunder in the distance.

Emil spun to glare at Dimitri with unrestrained agitation. Despite the risk to his own health, he couldn’t stop himself from shouting, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Dimitri flinched, drawing his arms up in a mocking defensive gesture. “What?”

“Stop playing me for a fool!” Emil clenched his fists as tightly as his jaw, fighting to get his temper under control. “We’ve done nothing wrong, and you keep torturing us!”

“Torture?” Dimitri shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t think you do either.”

Emil slung his hand in a furious gesture, waving toward Amber, who still hadn’t moved. “Then what the hell was that?”

Dimitri said, “A thunderstone.”

“A—” Emil’s mouth fell open. He closed it and took a deep breath. “You killed a thunderbird?”

“Yep, and a unicorn. That’s why it took me so long to get back. It’s a pity about the unicorn. She was a real beauty. I guess I’ll have to drink her myself, since I’ve already got sunlight issues.”

Amber gasped, her muscles relaxing enough to allow her to suck in a breath. Raising her head to stare at Dimitri with resentment, she used the counter to pull herself back to her feet. “If you’ve done anything to—”

“Your child is fine, although he is also imbued with the same magic as you.” Dimitri paused, and no recognition came to Amber. “That would be the new magic blessing, which by its nature is similar to a deity’s protection?”

Amber smirked, though the sentiment never reached her eyes. They were still glassy, and burning a fire of cold, insane fury. “Really?”

She created a diversionary thought first, and behind it, she imagined setting up a string of UV lamps in the main hallway to fry Dimitri’s ass during his next visit.

Walking away from the counter to stand beside Vicky, she asked, “What number am I thinking?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Dimitri waited, and no one spoke. His shoulders slouched and he hung his head over. His display of regret was sincere, but no one believed him. Even if he could convince them, he couldn’t make them care.

Raising his head, he frowned with feeble agitation. “Amber, I’m only trying to help you and your friends. I’ve always been honest with you about my motivations, and I’m asking you to trust me.”

“Then you picked the wrong person to peddle your wares to.” Amber held up the stone. “You wasted one trinket on—”

Emil coughed to catch her attention. “It’s not a—never mind. Go ahead.”

Dimitri’s face pulled into an incredulous scowl. “I don’t believe this. You’re going to defer to her? She’s a baby, the youngest one out of all of you.”

Emil shrugged. “This doesn’t have anything to do with us. You’ve been courting with Amber, treating us like our loyalty is a forgone conclusion. You can force us to do your bidding, and you know that. You can scare us into working for you. But you’ll never have our trust the way we trust her.”

“Why?” Dimitri asked.

Emil said, “Because she respects us.”

Dimitri glanced around, and every vampire met his gaze and nodded their agreement. His angry scowl deepened, and he stepped away from the wall, raising his hand to point an accusing finger at Amber. “I won’t forget this slight.”

“If all you want is slaves, feel free to look us up.” Amber shook her head. “But if you wanted allies, you fucked up, but good.”

Dimitri’s scowl melted. So did the rest of his head.

His body dissolved into a puddle of shadow that slid out of the kitchen, and seconds later, his scent was fading away.

Devin gurgled and broke the silence. Claudia glanced down at her son, letting go of her breath. The sound was shaky and full of fear, sounding so obvious that even the baby picked up on it and frowned.

“Is it over yet?” asked Claudia.

“It is for now, I think,” said Emil.

Amber asked, “Hey, Emil?”

“Hmm?” Emil noticed her waving the stone. “Oh, right. That ‘trinket’ he threw imbued you with the life-force of a thunderbird. As he said, it carries a charge like a deity’s blessing, and you can tap into that power to augment your spells. You’re carrying around the power of a demigod, in simple terms.”

“Okay, but there’s a curse of some sort attached,” Amber said.

“It depends on how you look at it. Technically you’re cursed with immortality. About the only thing that could kill you is decapitation...and dismemberment...probably fire would work too. Drowning could—”

Amber raised her hands, cutting him off. “Okay, there are loopholes.” Amber dropped her arms to her sides, her expression becoming uncertain. “Do you think I should have accepted his offer to be allies?”

Emil smiled. “You don’t have to defer to me like this.”

“Yes I do. This is your coven, isn’t it?” Amber returned his smile. “So?”

“No, I don’t think you should have. I don’t trust him, but I’m surprised you turned down his offer. I thought you wanted to be one of us.”

“His offer wouldn’t make me into one of you. It would burden me with a curse, and a major weakness. What’s more, I’m sure it would also transfer over to my child, and I’m not saddling him with a curse like that.” Amber sighed. “But true to form, Dimitri didn’t offer me much choice.”

***

Amber settled into bed beside Vicky, draping her leg over her partner’s hips. “You’ve been quiet all night.”

“I’m still trying to figure out what Dimitri hoped to gain in recruiting you.”

“You mean recruiting us,” Amber said.

“No, I think Emil had it right, and this was never about us. We’re not mystical creatures, and even if Dimitri is a blood drinker, he’s not an ally of our people. He can’t possibly hope to raise an army of vampires, because there aren’t that many of us. We have little tactical value to him.”

“But I’m different?” Amber asked.

“You are now, and maybe that was the point,” Vicky said. “Maybe he hoped to hone you into a stronger mage, but one working with dark magic instead of...instead of the light magic you’d just lost.”

“Then he was giving me something I’d just recently lost, even if I wasn’t aware of it yet.” Amber frowned. “I hadn’t thought to try casting the locator spell since we left Arizona, but of course he’s right. The moment I drank human blood, I lost my connection with Helen.”

“Which brings us to the possibility that we’ve scorned someone who was genuinely trying to offer his help.”

“Yeah, maybe so,” Amber said. “But he could have given a better presentation if he wanted to make a good first impression.”

Vicky nodded, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She rubbed Amber’s arm and listened to her breathing.

She thought that Amber had fallen asleep until Amber said, “Tell me about Ellen.”

Vicky sighed. “I think maybe we would have gotten together, but then you came along, and Ellen got out of town for a few months. After that, we never really had a chance to connect with each other again.”

Amber stared at her with a sad expression. “Do you ever have regrets?”

Vicky wanted to say no without hesitation. The lie would please Amber, but it would eat at her forever, and she had enough weight on her conscience already. “Yeah, I have some regrets, but they’re what if questions that don’t mean anything. What if I had accepted Ellen’s other offers and didn’t shy away from her?”

“You did that with her too?” Amber raised her arm to lay her hand on Vicky’s cheek. “Why is it so hard for you to let anyone in?”

Vicky debated with herself before she started talking about William. The sun had fully risen by the time she was done. Amber listened quietly, remaining silent long after Vicky finished.

Vicky couldn’t sleep. She didn’t feel tired. After almost two years of trying to break down her shell, Amber had finally got Vicky to bare her secrets. Amber understood everything then, and Vicky could only wait to see how she would react.

Amber smiled. “So, you’ve always had a fixation on halflings. Is that why you didn’t mention anything to me about my heritage until after Ellen brought it up?”

Vicky gaped at Amber while her mind whirled. The question was so out of left field that she wasn’t sure what to say.

Amber’s smile grew, and then Vicky laughed. “I gave my best effort at trying to scare you off, but nothing I did worked. Like every other halfling I’ve met, it drew you in faster.”

Amber nodded. “You reeled me in, and now you’re stuck with me. Possibly for forever. Can you live with that?”

“I think so. We just have to sort out how sex works between the two of us.”

Amber lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug. “It can’t be that hard to figure out. I don’t know why you can’t just experiment and see what happens.” Amber raised her head, her face pulling into a thoughtful expression. “Or is that the problem? Am I supposed to be the driver?”

Yes, Vicky thought. Surprise registered as a blush on her cheeks, and her widening eyes and tensing mouth gave Amber an answer without Vicky saying a word.

If her expression didn’t, her heart did. Amber had her hand resting on Vicky’s chest, and the slow thumping beat surged to near-human speeds under her palm.

Amber moved to lay over Vicky, her mouth bowing up in a knowing smile. “All this time, I thought I was waiting on you to seduce me. But that isn’t what you want.”

Vicky didn’t need to answer. Still, she shook her head and whispered, “No.”

Amber lowered her head, brushing her lips against Vicky’s throat. Vicky panted, leaning her head away to bare her neck to Amber.

Amber’s breathy laughter spilled cool air over her skin. “Even if you are a vampire, you’re still a woman. You still want to be pursued.”

Vicky nodded, excited even more by the husky sound of Amber’s whispering voice.

“Yes,” she said, and then she moaned when Amber ran a fang over her pulsing jugular vein.

Amber mimicked Emil, teasing Vicky into a state of heightened sensitivity. Her mouth trailed down to Vicky’s collarbone, and by then Vicky was writhing underneath her, whimpering her name in a pleading voice.

Amber’s fangs pierced Vicky’s skin, and the vampire’s hands rose, her nails raking a trail of bright pink furrows from the base of Amber’s neck to the small of her back.

Amber responded with a pleased moan, and her hands fumbled to pull off Vicky’s top, tearing the fabric instead.

She released her bite and they separated to undress while they smiled lewdly at each other. “One of us should have a strap-on,” Amber teased.

Vicky laughed, surprised at how soft and girlish the sound was. “Maybe next time.”

Amber settled back on the bed, lowering her body to offer herself to Vicky. Her hand slipped under her partner’s neck to encourage her.

Vicky hesitated, curling her lips around her aching fangs.

“It’s okay to let go,” Amber whispered. “No matter what happens, it won’t make me leave you.”

Going into a bloodlust then was all too easy, and Vicky allowed herself to slip under. She bit into Amber’s shoulder, drawing back on the wound. The feeling of hot blood splashing her throat was glorious, and Vicky’s voice rose in an enraptured growl.

Vicky swallowed, another growl rising from her chest when Amber clawed her side. She almost let go of the wound, and then Amber whispered, “Take one more, lover.”

Vicky did, her hair standing on end when Amber moaned  in response.

She’d longed to share everything with Amber, to make the two of them partners in every way. But an exchange of blood, the most intimate act taken between vampires, was something she’d denied herself for fear of pushing Amber away.

Amber grabbed a handful of her hair to yank her head back, tearing Vicky’s teeth away from her skin. The wound was already knitting back together, and Amber barely flinched from the pain.

She pulled Vicky’s head up to kiss her, and their blood mingled on their tongues, cementing the union between them. Vicky was bound to Amber, freeing her from the last vestiges of guilt that she’d held for not fighting to save William.

Amber’s lips kissed away the years of loneliness. Her hands explored Vicky’s body, scratching, petting and kneading away the last of Vicky’s resistance. Even Emil couldn’t push Vicky’s senses to such a peak, and not since William had she felt so alive, loved and wanted.

Vicky drew in a deep breath and moaned her partners’ name, her voice tense and warbling as she teetered on the peak of pleasure. Then her body convulsed with her climax, and the volume of her moans stunned her.

She had lost control of herself, giving everything to Amber.

When Vicky stilled and her voice dropped to a whimper, Amber pecked bloody kisses on her lips. Vicky closed her arms around Amber, her tired eyes staring up at her partner with a dazed look of awe.

She drew a shallow breath, hoping it would be enough to say three little words.

Their power reduced Vicky’s voice to a whisper. “I love you.”

Amber smiled and kissed her again. “I love you.”

Nothing else needed to be said, and they lay together, gazing into each other’s eyes until sleep pulled them down together.