A/N: Aubrey, Gabriel, Daryl, Jeshickah, and other members of old Midnight
and Maayhem, are Amy's, obviously, not mine. Half the time I wonder why
people bother to mention this... Does someone out there think that, even if
someone were to claim them other than Amy, that they'd be taken seriously?
That all those super-fans would see through their façade and destroy them?
Ha ha. What a thought.
The language you might not recognize is ha'Dasi- a language spoken in old days of Nyeusigrube, even further back than this, and still spoken by the shm'Ahnmik, falcon shapeshifters. If you were to translate it, chances are I'm horribly wrong at what I'm trying to say, but take it on faith.
Anyway, the characters you don't recognize, chances are they are my characters, though some might be Amy's. The events of this tale are post- Forests, pre-Demon. It is 1806- just after the destruction of the first Midnight; the slave trade has been brought down for the most part, and those who were involved in Jeshickah's empire are scattered.
Enjoy my little ones. Enjoy.
Until,
Ollie
"Tainted Caress"
Chapter One
The blood drizzled out of my mouth as I tried to speak to him. He kept close to me, whispering harsh words to keep me fighting to live. "Shut up, Barrett. She can't hear you anyway. It's no use."
I wanted to speak to him, my dear friend who had helped me through so much. It was the end of our great romance and we both could feel it. Brynn had known I was less than one month in the change. She had known that she could defeat me, despite the strength of the blood that flowed through my veins. She had caught us off guard when an old enemy distracted Aubrey to Leeds, which was two days away. We had half expected her to follow him from London across the countryside, where it would have been easy to hide a fight between vampires and to bury the body of the loser.
I had been lying in a near unconscious state on the only bed in our home for a day and a half before Aubrey returned from bringing death to the less worrisome foe. He tended to me swiftly and we exchanged a kiss through the blood on my lips as he read my thoughts. I told him how Brynn found me and how she vowed vengeance for the destruction of the place called Midnight and her career in the slave trade within it. The fight had lasted for hours, and I tried to remain focused, to deny her the retaliation she desired. But when the blows fell harder and my mind slowed that smallest amount below perfection, her dagger sought my flesh thrice. I bled from my neck and from my chest, and though I could feel myself healing, she did not wait for my recovery. She drew another dagger from its sheath on her belt. The glint of the moonlight on the blade shone with a copper hue though I knew the blade to be of a white gold: Brynn and those like her would only use white gold in their magic. My mind was quivering from the fear of the enchanted blade I had only heard rumor of her possessing, but my body would not hear the horror of the truth.
Aubrey guessed the rest as his black eyes focused upon the dark maroon stain on my white shirt. He parted the fabric gently and his face slackened in sadness as he saw the wound above my heart.
"Barrett…" he sighed as he sat up away from me. "There is nothing we can do now. The wound will never heal unless the one who caused it speaks the incantation imbedded in the blade over you."
A stinging flared behind my eyes and I saw the tears mudding my vision. "I don't want to die, Aubrey. If only I had gone with you to find Teraisa's minion."
"Don't speak of that now, friend." He smiled softly. If the pain weren't so unbearable when I moved, I'd have embraced him and told him how much he had meant to me those past few months since our first meeting.
He must have sensed my wishes, for the next moment Aubrey's strong arms were wrapped carefully around my body and he was holding me close. I thought that I had felt his body convulse in a choked back sob, but I knew it was only foolish hoping.
"I'm sorry I didn't kill her when I had the chance," I growled as I managed to bring one arm over his shoulder.
Aubrey looked deep into my eyes then. His expression was one of complete earnest. I watch him, my angel of the dark. It was he who had saved me from the grind of a worker's life and from my wife's treachery. He had brought me from the world of man into the world of blood, where he had longed for us to live eternally together, traveling and wreaking havoc every step we took.
A strand of hair as black as pitch settled in front of his eyes, distracting me from his gaze.
"Aubrey, I--" My words were cut short by a searing pain that shot from the wound in my chest.
Aubrey sat up swiftly. "Hold still," he said.
"No," I grasped his arm. "I'm dying, Aubrey. Don't leave me…"
He began to rise away from the bedside.
"Aubrey!" I called to him, my arms outstretched. "Please!"
He looked to the door, anger lit across his chiseled features, and then glanced back to me. He knelt beside me and pressed his lips to mine. My shared our last kiss, our tongues dancing together, though mine with decidedly less energy than his.
He pulled back from me, saying, "I'm not going to watch you die, Barrett. Goodbye."
I shut my eyes, not wanting to see as he walked away. My ears betrayed me with the sounds of his boots headed across the wooden floor of our home. The door latched and I heard the familiar sounds of Aubrey's boots rushing across the cobblestones.
He was gone. He hadn't even the decency to wait for me to die, to make certain that the flies and the rats did not consume my flesh before the earth did.
I clenched my teeth tightly together and arched my back as the pain rode through me once more. "Aubrey!" I shouted with all my strength. "Aubrey, I'm afraid!"
"He cannot hear you, Barrett Gelder," a voice whispered from the dark recesses of the room. "He does not wish to hear you, either."
She shut the window and walked to me. Brynn stood above me, smiling wide.
"Devil! Sorceress!" I spat at her. "Are you not satisfied that you have to be here as my witness?"
A laughter stirred within her and she flung her head back. Her red hair danced around her face like tiny fiery whips and her fangs were drawn. She brought her face close to me. "You think I come to watch you die, dear Barrett?" She giggled. "What a foolish lad you are."
She drew back and held her hands above me. She spoke, her voice low and dark, "Fm'varl'nesera-hena'tasa'Brysh-ra. Que'ka'rre-tasa'Ahnleh. Nese!"
A copper light shot from her hands and into my body. I convulsed as the light filled me and began to seep onto the floor. A moment later, the blinding light had filled the room.
She stepped back, breathing heavily, but smiling still. "Welcome back Barrett. You are mine to teach now…"
The language you might not recognize is ha'Dasi- a language spoken in old days of Nyeusigrube, even further back than this, and still spoken by the shm'Ahnmik, falcon shapeshifters. If you were to translate it, chances are I'm horribly wrong at what I'm trying to say, but take it on faith.
Anyway, the characters you don't recognize, chances are they are my characters, though some might be Amy's. The events of this tale are post- Forests, pre-Demon. It is 1806- just after the destruction of the first Midnight; the slave trade has been brought down for the most part, and those who were involved in Jeshickah's empire are scattered.
Enjoy my little ones. Enjoy.
Until,
Ollie
"Tainted Caress"
Chapter One
The blood drizzled out of my mouth as I tried to speak to him. He kept close to me, whispering harsh words to keep me fighting to live. "Shut up, Barrett. She can't hear you anyway. It's no use."
I wanted to speak to him, my dear friend who had helped me through so much. It was the end of our great romance and we both could feel it. Brynn had known I was less than one month in the change. She had known that she could defeat me, despite the strength of the blood that flowed through my veins. She had caught us off guard when an old enemy distracted Aubrey to Leeds, which was two days away. We had half expected her to follow him from London across the countryside, where it would have been easy to hide a fight between vampires and to bury the body of the loser.
I had been lying in a near unconscious state on the only bed in our home for a day and a half before Aubrey returned from bringing death to the less worrisome foe. He tended to me swiftly and we exchanged a kiss through the blood on my lips as he read my thoughts. I told him how Brynn found me and how she vowed vengeance for the destruction of the place called Midnight and her career in the slave trade within it. The fight had lasted for hours, and I tried to remain focused, to deny her the retaliation she desired. But when the blows fell harder and my mind slowed that smallest amount below perfection, her dagger sought my flesh thrice. I bled from my neck and from my chest, and though I could feel myself healing, she did not wait for my recovery. She drew another dagger from its sheath on her belt. The glint of the moonlight on the blade shone with a copper hue though I knew the blade to be of a white gold: Brynn and those like her would only use white gold in their magic. My mind was quivering from the fear of the enchanted blade I had only heard rumor of her possessing, but my body would not hear the horror of the truth.
Aubrey guessed the rest as his black eyes focused upon the dark maroon stain on my white shirt. He parted the fabric gently and his face slackened in sadness as he saw the wound above my heart.
"Barrett…" he sighed as he sat up away from me. "There is nothing we can do now. The wound will never heal unless the one who caused it speaks the incantation imbedded in the blade over you."
A stinging flared behind my eyes and I saw the tears mudding my vision. "I don't want to die, Aubrey. If only I had gone with you to find Teraisa's minion."
"Don't speak of that now, friend." He smiled softly. If the pain weren't so unbearable when I moved, I'd have embraced him and told him how much he had meant to me those past few months since our first meeting.
He must have sensed my wishes, for the next moment Aubrey's strong arms were wrapped carefully around my body and he was holding me close. I thought that I had felt his body convulse in a choked back sob, but I knew it was only foolish hoping.
"I'm sorry I didn't kill her when I had the chance," I growled as I managed to bring one arm over his shoulder.
Aubrey looked deep into my eyes then. His expression was one of complete earnest. I watch him, my angel of the dark. It was he who had saved me from the grind of a worker's life and from my wife's treachery. He had brought me from the world of man into the world of blood, where he had longed for us to live eternally together, traveling and wreaking havoc every step we took.
A strand of hair as black as pitch settled in front of his eyes, distracting me from his gaze.
"Aubrey, I--" My words were cut short by a searing pain that shot from the wound in my chest.
Aubrey sat up swiftly. "Hold still," he said.
"No," I grasped his arm. "I'm dying, Aubrey. Don't leave me…"
He began to rise away from the bedside.
"Aubrey!" I called to him, my arms outstretched. "Please!"
He looked to the door, anger lit across his chiseled features, and then glanced back to me. He knelt beside me and pressed his lips to mine. My shared our last kiss, our tongues dancing together, though mine with decidedly less energy than his.
He pulled back from me, saying, "I'm not going to watch you die, Barrett. Goodbye."
I shut my eyes, not wanting to see as he walked away. My ears betrayed me with the sounds of his boots headed across the wooden floor of our home. The door latched and I heard the familiar sounds of Aubrey's boots rushing across the cobblestones.
He was gone. He hadn't even the decency to wait for me to die, to make certain that the flies and the rats did not consume my flesh before the earth did.
I clenched my teeth tightly together and arched my back as the pain rode through me once more. "Aubrey!" I shouted with all my strength. "Aubrey, I'm afraid!"
"He cannot hear you, Barrett Gelder," a voice whispered from the dark recesses of the room. "He does not wish to hear you, either."
She shut the window and walked to me. Brynn stood above me, smiling wide.
"Devil! Sorceress!" I spat at her. "Are you not satisfied that you have to be here as my witness?"
A laughter stirred within her and she flung her head back. Her red hair danced around her face like tiny fiery whips and her fangs were drawn. She brought her face close to me. "You think I come to watch you die, dear Barrett?" She giggled. "What a foolish lad you are."
She drew back and held her hands above me. She spoke, her voice low and dark, "Fm'varl'nesera-hena'tasa'Brysh-ra. Que'ka'rre-tasa'Ahnleh. Nese!"
A copper light shot from her hands and into my body. I convulsed as the light filled me and began to seep onto the floor. A moment later, the blinding light had filled the room.
She stepped back, breathing heavily, but smiling still. "Welcome back Barrett. You are mine to teach now…"