Magestorm: The Embracing (3 page)

8

Lila woke up and rolled onto her side.  Charles was asleep and would be the rest of the day.  His penthouse apartment had special windows that could seal out the sunlight.  The spacious living room which opened into the dining room was well furnished with top of the line furniture and entertainment center.  The kitchen was also top notch.  But the bedroom was the best of all.

The bed was enormous.  It could sleep four or five people comfortably.  The silk sheets felt cool against her naked body and every movement made her nipples tingle wonderfully.  A flat screen television covered the far wall.  A second, small screen was attached to the ceiling.

Rarely did she sleep naked. 
Rarely
,
as in never.
  Charles requested it though, so she obliged him.  She slid out of bed and strolled around the room, looking over the few knickknacks he kept.  The silver daggers had their own special stand, carved with a royal seal that must belong to his family.

Out into the living room she ventured, admiring the handmade coffee table as she passed it.  The dining room area had a unique table, slimmer but longer than an average dining
table.  It was very solid despite the obvious aging.  The thing had to be a hundred years old, at least.

Lila ran her hand along the smooth wood as she continued past.  In the corner, barely noticeable behind a tapestry of the family crest, was a full size safe.  Most banks didn’t have one this nice.  She admired the shiny brass that looked brand new, and wondered what treasures might be hidden inside.

“What are you thinking, my dear?”

A naked Charles watched her from the bedroom doorway.  Leaned against the wall, he was clearly not worried that she could get into the safe.  He walked towards her casually as she ran her hands over the cold metal.

“Just wondering what you would store in a safe so big.”

“That’s easy.  It holds the family jewels.”

She laughed as he stepped up behind her and put his hand around her waist and onto her stomach.  A kiss to her neck sent chills through her.  His body pressed against hers and she could feel his excitement.

“Clearly your jewels aren’t in there.”

With a hand slipping behind her, his manhood was within grasp.  A growl displayed his approval and he kissed more around her neck and shoulder.  His hands separated, one moving up to her breasts, the other down to her pelvis.

“You should go back to the bedroom with me.”

“Why go all that way, when we have a nice, sturdy table right here?”

With a motion towards the table, she moved over and sat on the edge.  Charles smiled as he followed her over and kissed delicately.  Unsure if he should tell her about the table or
not, he decided it was better she knew before hand, instead of finding out later and being appalled.

“Do you know what the table was used for originally?”

Lila shook her head.  He laid her back and stretched her out on the table delicately as he spoke.  All the while, she was prepared for something more erotic or less interesting than what he told her.

“A great many years ago, my ancestors had a deal with the locals of the town they lived in.  Each month, they would deliver a sacrifice to feed upon.  In return, their town would not be a hunting ground, and would be protected from outsiders.”

“Sounds like a good deal, as long as you weren’t one of those sacrificed.  What does that have to do with the table?”

“They would tie down the sacrificed human on this very table, naked and sometimes even willing.  The family would gather around at the table and select a vein and they would dine upon them.”

“I see.  How long has it been since the last time that happened?”  Lila suddenly wasn’t sure if she should stay on the table.

“It’s been a hundred years, at least.”

That made her feel a little better, though she still was shaky as he ran his fingers over her displayed body.  She closed her eyes and put the thought out of her mind as he began kissing random spots on her body.  A thigh, a breast, a shoulder, her neck, her stomach, they each felt his lips against them.

Her breathing became heavy as he began to pleasure her with carefully placed fingers while his kisses continued to explore.

“I want you inside me,” she beckoned.

With a swiftness that caught her off guard, he was upon her, inside her.  A cry escaped her lips at the sudden invasion and she wrapped her arms and legs around him.

“You asked for it.”

A playful smile on his face, he fulfilled her desire until she was left exhausted on the table.  She didn’t even remember now what the table’s purpose was.  She could only lay there and enjoy the tingling throughout her body. 

“Please don’t make me move from this spot.  I don’t think I can stand.”

“You don’t need to.”

With a kiss, he climbed off the table and went to her side.  Picking her up with his arms, he gave her another kiss and carried her back to the bedroom.  Soon she was asleep and Charles returned to the living room.

Sitting on the couch, he turned on the television and typed in a sequence of numbers.  The picture changed from regular satellite TV to a security camera system.  A check verified she hadn’t even attempted to actually open the vault before he woke up.  He smiled.

A change of channels presented the vault, and what was held inside.  Among other miscellaneous things, a rather large naked man was strapped tightly to a table.  Scars on
both arms
and legs, the neck and several other places made the man unpleasant to look at.  A steady breathing and balanced heart rate on the cardiac monitor showed the man was calm and alive.  Charles smiled.

“Sleep well, Frank.  Your time is coming very soon.”

9

Dhane was headed home with a gallon of milk, six pack of Pepsi, and a new key for his roommate.  After all the walking he had done recently, he swore he would buy a car first thing when he got back, yet here he was again.  At least he wasn’t walking to another town this time.

Rounding a corner, he caught the whiff of cooking steak.  A flashback from five months ago hit him…

Getting nowhere with local legends, Dhane was sure he had come to Hallow Falls for no reason.  The house Algernon grew up in was burned down, and every reference to him was stricken from town records.  They all just wanted to forget.

The steak he had just eaten was the best he ever had. 
That,
or he had been hungrier than he thought.  Either way, he was full now, and walking around the block near Algernon’s family home.  They never bothered to clean up after the fire, so it was a pile of rubbish left to serve as the lone reminder of what they let happen.

“Young man, why do you keep coming around here?”

The elderly lady was checking her mailbox as she called out to him.  He wasn’t sure what he should say, but he was clearly making his presence known despite his best efforts.  After thinking about his words carefully, he walked over and stopped a few feet from her.

“I’m just curious if that’s the fabled home of, well, you know.”

“Well yes, that was the home of Algernon’s family.  Such a nice young man, it’s a shame people don’t remember the good times as well as the bad.”

“You knew him?”

Clearly not afraid to say his name or speak of him, she may have more information about what happened, and perhaps even knew his mother.  He would have to tread carefully until he was sure it was safe to lay his cards on the table.

“Well of course, I’ve lived here for fifty years.  Why are you curious about him?  You aren’t writing some article to bring up the past, are you?  This town can’t take much more of that.  They’re not all as strong as I am.”

She winked and he had to laugh.  Now was the moment of truth, a little sooner than he planned.  If he didn’t share now, this window of opportunity may close on him.

“My name is Dhane, and Algernon was my father.”

“Oh, my,” she was surprised and looked around the street for prying eyes.  With a deep breath, she invited him in for tea.

Inside, the house was nothing different from what you would expect.  Ceramic knickknacks on shelves and furniture that looked like it belonged in another time filled the living room.  A love seat and a recliner were aligned with a coffee table.  The only thing that looked out of place was the flat screen television, which was over forty inches in size.

“You are admiring my TV?  It’s for my one vice.  I just can’t get enough of Matlock.  I have the whole series on DVD.  Terrible, I know.”

He smiled as he relaxed on the love seat and waited for her to return with tea.  Once she finally did, he graciously accepted the drink and tried not to look eager for the answers to his questions.

“Well now, you wanted to know about Algernon.  He was a quiet boy growing up, clearly feeling like he didn’t fit in with normal people.  But he was very nice, and would mow my lawn for me without even asking.”

Dhane smiled as he sipped his tea, all the while wondering what went wrong with his father.  The woman told him many stories of long
ago,
showing a very human person where the only thing remembered today was a monster.

The woman’s stories finally died down after over an hour.  Now there was a serious look on her face, and he couldn’t be sure if she was trying to remember, or deciding whether to tell the next part.

“There was a young lady that caught his fancy when he was about fifteen, I think it was.  She was a lovely girl, but older than him.  I think she used his naivety to her advantage, but I can’t say that for sure.”

“Did she live around here?”

“In town, yes, but on the other side.
  I’m not really sure how they even met.  The way random people meet, I suppose.”

Dhane finished his tea and stood up.  After dropping it off in the kitchen, he returned to find the woman staring out the window.

“So what happened to her?”

“She stayed when he left, but he returned often to see her.  The visits became less and less as time went on, and word of his actions spread.  She would visit him more often, though.  It seemed strange that she didn’t distance herself with all the rumors.  Perhaps she simply
didn’t believe them.  I had a hard time hearing those horrible things about him, but he refused to deny them when anyone asked.”

“Did she stay around here after everything?”

“No, I heard her entire family left town.  Their family house is still there, though.  It’s at the top of hill on Lavender Avenue.  Still fully furnished, they left in a hurry, and they owned it so nobody has touched it.”

He checked his watch and decided it was time to head out.  Demian would need to feed, and counted on him to find adequate feeding.  With a handshake, he quickly thanked the woman and she led him to the door.  Before he left, she stopped him.

“I think there may be more to the story than what anyone knows.  I hope you find what you seek, truth or simply inspiration.”

He nodded and smiled and parted ways with the woman.  It was good to hear some positive things about his father for a change.  Now he had to feed his friend and then he could hopefully find out if the young lady might be his mother.  He seemed to be getting somewhere after all.

10

Present day…

It was three in the morning and Dhane was staring at the ceiling.  Any noise made him think of Heather sneaking in the window again.  Each moment of silence left him to think of Amelia.  Finally he couldn’t take it anymore.

Up and dressed in a flash, he didn’t really know where he was headed to.  Maybe he would just go for a walk, but somehow those always ended up somewhere unexpected.  He left his room and went down through the hotel lobby, hoping something would catch his eye and give him direction.

In the lobby, he spotted a vaguely familiar sight.  Charles was slipping down a hallway on the first floor and Dhane decided to follow.  As usual, his path was laid out unintentionally before him.

Down the hallway, Charles entered a room Dhane wasn’t familiar with.  He followed the vampire and found the new library the council had set up.  Quietly strolling along one end of the rows, he searched but found no signs him.

At one end, he found a bathroom and checked inside.  It was empty.  The prince, or whatever he was, had evaded Dhane, presumably without even knowing it.  Suddenly a door opened and closed and he hurried towards the sound. 

Charles exited the records room and strolled back to the door leading to the hallway.  Now he was really curious what was so interesting as to bring out his highness at this time.  Inside, everything looked normal.  All the file cabinets were closed, so it was anyone’s guess who he was researching.  Perhaps he was looking for more information on Lila. 

Doubtful.

After checking each cabinet for signs of use, he headed for the exit and wondered if he could catch up to Charles and follow him further.  Dhane reached the door and swung it open to see his opponent standing before him.

“Greetings, mage.
  Is there something I can do for you?”

“Sure, you can tell me what you were doing in this library.  This is supposed to be for council members only, and you’re not a member.”

“Yet.
  I will be soon enough.  Besides, I got permission from your council head to visit the library.  Think of it as a full disclosure kind of thing.”

“Yeah, right.
  And you have the same sort of permission to be in the records room?”

“I have free reign as a potential council member, I may move about as I like.  Is there something you’re trying to get at?”

Charles stepped forward until his face was only a few inches from Dhane’s face.  The intimidation attempt wasn’t going to work, though.  Instead, the would-be wizard smiled at the vampire as he stared cold and hard.

“You’re up to something; that much is obvious.  The others may not see through you, but I can, and I barely know you.  I suggest you watch your step, because I’ll be watching you.”

“You better concentrate on watching your own back.”

The two men were ready to come to blows, each of them sizing up the other as they clenched their fists.  They were concentrating so hard that they were oblivious to the approaching footsteps.  Just when Dhane thought the fight was about to start, a vaguely familiar voice spoke up.

“Is everything okay here?”

Terrance kept a keen eye on the vampire as he reached them.  The distrust was clear in his gaze, and he wasn’t trying to hide it in the least.  For the remaining werewolves, the long standing feud between them was still alive and well.

“Perfect,” Charles responded without looking away.

After another moment, the vampire strolled off.  Dhane took a deep breath and wondered if he really could have won a physical contest.  Not that he was scrawny or anything, but clearly there was fighting in the blood-suckers DNA. 

“You good, Dhane?”

“Yeah, thanks.  I don’t trust that guy.”

“I don’t trust any of them.”

Dhane smiled and glanced over his shoulder again at the library while Terrance walked back towards the lobby.  He had to find out what the hell Charles was looking for.  The answer wouldn’t come here,
though,
he had to get into his home.  The penthouse had to hold the key.  But first he needed to keep the library from prying eyes.

After hanging out in the library for three hours, reading aimlessly, it was finally late enough to wake up Cassandra.  With a steadfast focus, he left the library, hurried up the stairs, and reached the council head’s quarters.  Taking a deep breath, he knocked firmly and loudly on the door.  Nobody answered.  He tried again but the results were the same.

Maybe she is in Amber’s room?

Back down the stairs he hurried and reached his own door.  Inside, he knocked on Amber’s door and waited.  She answered the door naked and glistening, having just finished a shower.  Dhane cleared his throat and made a concerted effort to focus on her eyes.

“Good morning sire.  How may I assist you?”

“Is Cassandra here?  She’s not answering her door.”

“No, I believe she is out.  She should be back tomorrow.”

“Damn it.”

His mind raced for what to do next.  It would be unwise to attempt his break-in during the day, since the vampire would have to stay home.  Come nightfall, how could he keep the library safe while he wasn’t around?

“Is there something I could do to help you?”  Amber asked innocently. 

“I have this problem.  I need someone to guard the library, make an excuse or whatever to keep people out of it, especially the vampires, at least until I figure out what they’re interested in.”

“Very well, sire.  I would gladly guard the library for you.  Nobody shall enter until you instruct otherwise.”

She started towards the front door and Dhane cleared his throat again.

“Think you might want to be dressed first?”

“If that would make you more comfortable.
  I presumed to be in werewolf form most of the time, so I didn’t think it would matter.”

He laughed as she returned to her room and started to dress.

“Even so, you may want clothes nearby.  This isn’t a nudist colony.”

“A what?”

“Never mind.
  Anyway, I’ll keep watch during the day, if you would come down about six tonight, that would be perfect.  And if you see Cassandra before then, will you send her my way?  I’ve got important things to discuss with her.”