Disclaimer: If I was making any money off of this, there might actually be a good reason to sue me. As it happens…I'm not.

Heart of Night

Chapter 4;

Release Me

The girl's eyes barely opened as she heard the god's footsteps as he reentered the room. She wasn't long for the world and he probably realized that, too. Narkissa sighed, there was one thing she could do, though she had no way of knowing if the boy was strong enough yet. Best to wait and see if there was some way she could spare herself. After all, he would be called to her blood. He needed but a drop for the change to be complete.

Neil growled low in his throat as he stared sullenly at the wall. While the items that his friends had brought for him would normally keep him amused for hours on end, he found he had absolutely no interest in them. No, there was something else. Something he needed, yet couldn't place. He frowned, pulling his eyebrows together in a delicate furrow as he glanced around.

With an exasperated sigh, he flopped backwards on the bed and ran his tongue along the tips of his fangs. There was something there. A deeper, almost darker need than his bloodlust. It was rising, and had been for the past few days. It seemed to grow with the passing of the hours and Neil had no idea what to do about it. His gaze traveled over the room once more, before settling on the book. Vampires: A History was not his usual choice of a good read, but then again, who was he to complain. After all, it might hold the key to some form of an answer or another.

He lifted up the heavy tome, his body barely registering the weight. He settled it onto the bed, rolling onto his stomach as he flipped through the pages idly. Truth be told, this was more along Odie's line than his. He'd much rather be finding out more about that girl who had bitten him.

The suggestion of his Maker, for lack of a better word, gave him pause to think. It was true that his thoughts often drifted towards her, particularly towards her blood. It was as though he couldn't get the taste of her out of his mouth. Yet that was impossible, as he had fed several times now and knew for a fact that none of the samples belonged to her. Her taste was exotic, rich, dark and he desperately wanted more.

Flipping rapidly now, far faster than would be possible for a normal human to skim, Neil searched for the words he was looking for. And frowned. There were pages missing from the book. He couldn't see any tear marks, which suggested he wasn't supposed to realize they were gone. That meant someone didn't want him to know something. And he sure as hell was going to find out what that something was. However, they were kind enough to leave the passage he was looking for.

Maker and Childe-Turning

The bond between Maker and Childe is developed mainly during feeding. The fledgling vampyr need take the blood of its maker to sustain its life throughout the change from mortal to immortal. However, the longer the fledgling remains without the blood of its Maker, the stronger it will become. There has never been a documented case where a fledgling has survived without its Maker indefinitely.

In the rare case where the Maker abandons the Childe, the maker is usually hunted down by the newborn, where the sole attempt is to drain the Maker to receive the maximum amount of strength possible. The fledgling, however, is usually so very weak by this point, as it has yet to learn to hunt and feed, that it is almost always destroyed.

However, in the event that the maker and the Childe are separated before the Turning is completed, a bond will be erected that will ultimately lead either the Childe or the Maker to the other, depending on who is most able. It is said that this bond is mostly psychic, though others claim it is a smell or a feeling that leads them to the other. It is most likely to be the latter, developed through the first infusion of blood and continued as a feeling that inevitably pulls one to the other. After the Turning is completed, the two vampyres are free to part and remain without each other for an eternity.

Neil snapped the book shut, anger flooding his veins. They knew, of course, and the infusions of blood they were feeding him were obviously laced with a drug that prevented that bond from surfacing and becoming all encompassing. He had been here over three months, and by all rights should be dead without her blood. He needed her to change, and yet his friends and family were refusing what they knew he needed. They must bloody well think they could still prevent this. That they can sill fix him. He needed out. But first, he needed that bond.

Moving to the edge of the bed, he assumed the lotus position, focusing with everything in him on his blood, and the odd humming noise that sounded so very like singing whenever he did.

Narkissa gasped, her blurred vision clearing as she gazed about her. The god who had only moments before been torturing her for information was gone, as was the pain. She felt as if she were floating, even as the small, cramped room came into focus. Books, electrical devices, and all sorts of trinket that she was unable to identify surrounded her. A heavy tome lay on the bed behind her, though she did not know how she knew that. She looked down, and the image of her Childe's body filled her sight.

So you've discovered the bond It was not a question, and the boy did not take it as such. He focused, bringing her more firmly into his reality, and she groaned, realizing he was trapped.

'Where are you?' Neil murmured, speaking in a tone that suggested he was deep within his trance, 'How do I find you?'

You are trapped, Fledgling, how would you expect to escape? A sense of the teen's mirth ran through her, and she almost shook his head in disappointed exasperation. His next words gave her pause, however.

'I am only trapped for as long as I say I am. You can help me escape so that I may return the favor,' the blonde told her in monotone. Images flashed through her head, and she realized the boy had discovered exactly here he was.

Alcatraz. The one place they wouldn't expect you to escape from This time she did express her emotions through him, sighing before dropping his head in his hands.

'You know how to escape. I can save you,' the boy murmured.

I will release you, on a single condition

She could feel the boy's alarm through the bond, even going so far as to sense his nervousness. 'What would you have me do? I can only give what is in my power, remember. Nothing more.'

She chuckled humorlessly. I realize that. I want you to drain me. Completely. Mother forced this life upon me and I want peace. You can give me that. You, and no one else.

'You want me to kill you,' the model asked, alarm and curiosity running through the bond like wildfire. He stood, still in a trance, and moved to the small bureau. From there he withdrew a white poet's blouse and a pair of dark jeans. Dressing quickly, he managed to find a pair of boots and pulled them on as well.

Have you decided then? Narkissa sent, receiving only a grim determination from her childe. She felt a flash of pride as she realized he recognized her need for release, even if he did not yet understand it. 'I have. Release me.'

Okay. So it's rather short, but I've decided to give you a cliffie. Ducks under barrage of rotten fruit Next chapter will hopefully be up soon.