Duet in Blood (3 page)

He was tall and comely, with dark auburn hair and dazzling blue eyes. He surveyed us with a defiant air, although his expression was curious as he stared at me, obviously wondering DUET IN BLOOD

J.P. Bowie

15

why I was bound to the bed. He hissed his hatred at my captors, and my eyes widened with fear, as I saw his incisors lengthen into fangs.

A vampire…

The Master chuckled. “So, Vampire, have we kept you long enough from your supper?

Have the days of your confinement whetted your appetite? Do you hunger? See? We have prepared for you a sumptuous feast.”

The vampire’s eyes of cobalt blue bored into mine, and in them, I saw his hunger for my blood. The wizards released him from his chains, and I struggled against my own bonds as he approached my bed. His handsome face clouded with sadness as he looked down at me.

“Poor mortal,” he whispered. “Why are they doing this to you?”

His compassion surprised and shocked me. “Help me, please,” I pleaded, but he shook his head, looking at the hard, ugly faces of those who stood around him.

“I am sorry…but I will be gentle,” he murmured, his lips close to my ear. “Close your eyes…” I felt his lips on my throat, his tongue gently licking the skin over my jugular vein.

His nearness sent a visceral thrill through my body. His scent intoxicated me. His touch caused me to grow hard with desire. When his teeth pierced my skin, and I felt him suck the blood from me, the overwhelming urge to break free of my bonds and crush him to me tore a great guttural cry of ecstasy from deep within my soul.

“Enough!”

They pulled him away from me. He snarled at them, then his eyes met mine, and he smiled, I think to give me courage. My bonds were loosened, and I was allowed to sit up.

Dazed and disoriented as I was, I reached for the young vampire and grasped his hand. He leaned over me, and I saw that a deep cut had been inflicted on his chest over his left nipple.

He sat astride my thighs, put his hand behind my head and pulled me towards him.

“Drink,” he said quietly. “Drink and live.”

I licked the blood that oozed from the cut, surprised by its richness and sweet taste.

Then my lips closed over the wound, and I sucked as he held my head close to his chest.

Once more, I was filled with an almost uncontrollable sexual desire. I pressed myself to him, thrilled to feel his erection throb against mine. His body shuddered, and I knew he had ejaculated just as I now did, sending streams of semen pumping up between our torsos.

DUET IN BLOOD

J.P. Bowie

16

Vaguely, I was aware of the grunts and cackles of satisfaction coming from the black shrouded monsters who stood around us, witnessing this entire scene with the utmost pleasure. The vampire was pulled off me and thrown to the ground. I sensed that my drinking his blood had weakened him, for he did not immediately jump to his feet but lay there, panting, trying to regain his strength. Two guards entered the room and dragged him away. I prayed they were not going to harm him.

“Now, Joseph…” The Master’s ugliness was increased as he smiled at me, showing

blackened stumps where teeth should have been. “Your indoctrination has begun. When it is over, you will be blessed by eternal life and beauty. That which you now possess will never fade. You will remain young forever. The vampire we chose to imbue you with his blood is blessed, or cursed, which ever you prefer, with an extremely powerful strain.”

“Am I then to be a vampire like him?”

“Not as long as you remain with us. Our magic will control the transition, giving you immortality, but without the unfortunate flaws vampires must endure.”

Then, not knowing very much about vampires, except that I had thought they were

beings to be deathly afraid of, I was unaware of what he meant. That knowledge would come later.

The following night they brought the vampire to me again, this time leaving us alone, with only the guards stationed outside to stop any escape attempt either of us might make.

He sat by my side and regarded me with some fondness in his eyes. He told me his name was Bernard.

“How did this happen to you?” he asked with a tenderness I would not have expected from the likes of him. He smiled as he read the thought. “We are not all rabid monsters, Joseph. Some of us follow a different mode of belief—that those who give us life have the right to live. The man who changed me, Marcus Verano, taught me that.”

I gripped his arm. “You know Marcus? Oh, tell me where he is, please.”

“Sadly, I do not know. Far from here, I’m afraid. Far beyond my powers to reach him with my thoughts. How do you know him?”

I told him of our brief meeting, and how Marcus had left me with a desperate need to see him again.

DUET IN BLOOD

J.P. Bowie

17

“Yes…” Bernard smiled at me. “Marcus has that effect on many people.” He touched my cheek gently. “If our paths cross again, I will be sure to tell him of your plight. These monsters are our enemies, bent on our destruction. What is it they intend to do with you?”

“They want to give me immortality, so that I will not age. They said your blood would assure that.”

“Yes, it will, but it will also cause you to become like me. Have they told you that?”

“They say not. They claim their magic can control the change.”

“Hmm…that’s interesting. The wizards may have powers we do not yet know of.”

“They are vile,” I said, with vehemence. “You cannot know what they do to me.”

“I can guess.” His eyes reflected a sadness that made me ask what pained him so.

“When I was but a babe,” he said, “I was taken in by monks who raised me to manhood.”

“But from the sound of your voice it was not a happy time,” I remarked.

“No, it was not. You say I cannot know what these men do to you, but Joseph, I do know, for that was what I was subjected to until the eighteenth year of my life—until Marcus came and freed me from their abuse.” He smiled sadly. “If there was a window in this cell, I would fly you out of here.”

“Could you make me stronger than they want you to?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Yes, I can do that. In my veins runs one of the most powerful strains of vampire blood, gifted to me by Marcus. But remember, because of its potency, it may be beyond their magic to prevent you from becoming a vampire.”

“That is a risk I am glad to take,” I said, pulling him into my arms. “Take my blood, now…”

His bite stung my neck, but again, I felt an incredible sexual rush as he sucked from me.

I tore at his clothing until we were both naked. My hot skin pressed tightly against his cool flesh, our cocks throbbing as our bodies writhed together in our rapturous embrace. He pulled back from my throat, his eyes glazed with a different kind of lust, the kind that I would eventually come to know and experience for myself—the bloodlust. With enormous control, he turned from me, and with his fangs still exposed, bit deeply into his wrist then held it to my lips.

“Drink now, Joseph. Drink deeply and become stronger than your enemies.”

DUET IN BLOOD

J.P. Bowie

18

I grabbed his hand and fastened my mouth on the streaming wound. I gulped at the blood, almost choking on its richness, feeling its heat infiltrate every cell of my body, bringing with it the promise of eternal life.

Thoroughly sated, I fell back on the bed, Bernard’s body covering mine. Our lips met in a kiss born of hunger, of need and of a deep abiding passion for one another. I opened myself to him, and his hard cock pushed its way inside me, filling me completely. Bound together by his pulsing flesh, wrapped in each other’s arms, he raised me to the heights of ecstasy.

Sensations I had not known since the time I had lain with Marcus now overwhelmed me with their intensity. I cried out and sobbed with joy and wonder as I felt myself transported by the sheer power of our passion.

No words could adequately express the intense rapture that enveloped me as our

bodies cleaved together in a union that seemed to me both spiritual as well as physical. The power of the desire he instilled in me was overwhelming. I felt as if I was drowning in his flesh, that he was in possession not only of my body, but also of my soul. Every part of me yearned for his touch even though it was almost too much to bear. Every fibre in my being was aflame with lust and desire.

A long wrenching cry, stifled by his mouth on mine, was torn from me as I climaxed, my orgasm gushing from me, dizzying me with its power. A moment later, Bernard’s body stiffened, his arms tightened around me and he let out a soft, shuddering moan as he filled me with his semen.

How I longed for him to stay with me there in my cell, to hold him in my arms, to know every part of him and keep him by my side forever. But, it was not to be. As he pulled on his clothes, he gave me a sweet, but sad, smile.

“They must not know what we have done,” he said, his voice low so as not to be

overhead. “Else they will not allow me to return to you. In the meantime, I will try to devise some means of escape for us both.”

He kissed me tenderly just before the door was pushed open, and again, he was taken from my sight.

But it seemed that the wizards knew we had exchanged more than we should, for the following night Bernard did not come to my cell at the allotted time. Instead, Tito the one they had assigned to my care came with the sad tidings.

DUET IN BLOOD

J.P. Bowie

19

“Poor, poor vampire boy,” he snickered, handing me a goblet filled to the brim. “That’s the last of
his
blood you will receive, I’m afraid. You’d best drink it, if you want to survive the next few hours.”

“What happened to him?” I asked, gazing into the dark, thick liquid.

“He threatened the Master and demanded that he release you from our bondage. Silly boy. After we bled him, we threw him outside, just as the sun was rising. He ran off, screaming at the top of his lungs. He’s probably a little scorched lump by this time.” He cackled nastily as he looked at me, still holding the goblet in my hands. “Better drink it.

There’s no more where that came from.”

Bernard
, I thought,
forgive me for what I now do. I pray that you survived your ordeal, and that
we might meet again one day.

And then, I drank his blood.

DUET IN BLOOD

J.P. Bowie

20

Los Angeles: Present Day

Micah

Saturday night and I was home alone again. With a heavy sigh, I tossed the book I’d been reading to one side and rolled off the couch I’d been lying on for the past three hours. I gave a mighty stretch then headed for the kitchen. Pulling a beer from the refrigerator, I popped the cap and chugged about half the bottle’s contents in one go, before exhaling a long breath of satisfaction.

“Damn good,” I muttered then gulped back the rest of the beer. After tossing the bottle into the trash can, I ambled back into the living room and threw myself back down on the couch.

I was bored and pissed that another lonely evening loomed ahead of me, one of the many I’d endured since my ex, Robert, had left. I wasn’t going to give in to wondering what had gone wrong—again. I’d turned that particular subject over and over in my mind countless times, until even I was tired of it. And every time, I came up with the same answer—I had most probably just bored Robert to death.

It had all seemed so great at the start. We both had so much in common. We liked the same kind of music, enjoyed Italian food, hiking, tennis, movies—and the sex had been so damned great…for me, anyway. In my mind’s eye, I could see Robert’s sleek, smooth body, lightly tanned, firmly muscled. He wasn’t exactly a gym bunny, but he exercised there enough to keep that delectable physique tight and taut. He’d felt so good in my hands…so warm and sensual. Now someone else was caressing that body, kissing those plump lips—

Jesus Christ! I was doing it again.

“Let it go!” I yelled, jumping to my feet, tears of frustration springing to my eyes. “Let him go. He’s not coming back.”

“I’m not coming back.” Those were the last words Robert had said, just before stalking to the door of this very room and slamming it behind him. I could still hear the resounding DUET IN BLOOD

J.P. Bowie

21

crash of finality as the door had been banged into its frame with such force, the walls had shuddered, and I’d heard the angry voices of the neighbours yelling, “Cut it out!”

I’d stood in the centre of this room, stunned into disbelief that he had really left me. Left me for someone he’d met at the gym, someone who shared his interests. Someone who wasn’t content just to stay home every night, but who knew how to enjoy life.
Someone like
me, before I met you, Robert
, I’d thought.

Funny thing was that I had known it was going to happen. I don’t know how or why, but I’ve always had this innate knowledge of when something life-changing was going to happen to me. Several times throughout my life, I’ve had premonitions of events that have later taken place. Like when my father died so suddenly…

“Shit,” I muttered, wiping my eyes. “I’ve got to get outta here.”

Maybe Rhonda who lived in the apartment above me would like to take in a movie.

Rhonda had been so terrific to me when Robert left, spending hours just talking to me, telling me Robert was the loser, and it wouldn’t be long before I’d realise that and start dating again.

Even though I hadn’t believed a word of it, I valued the encouragement and the friendship.

But who was I kidding? It was Saturday night, and Rhonda would be out painting the town all shades of red.

Walking quickly into the bathroom, I turned on the hot shower spray. Maybe if I

spruced up a little and went out for a drink, I might run into a friendly face—maybe even someone I knew. There had to be one or two friends left somewhere. That’s the trouble with committed relationships, people you used to hang with suddenly disappeared—especially the single ones.