Amber: generation next
Jessica's tale: The Age of Darkness 2403-2420 d'L
Chapter 25: Vampires in Amber
With this thought in mind I decided it was time to venture off on my own through shadow. Time to enjoy the adventure of life . . . time to begin a new life . . . my true life, as Jessica Brandier. Like the rest of my generation I decided to take a "Surname" based on the name of my Amber parent . . . or in my case plural parents . . . Brand and Dierdre. Damaris was the name I used in shadow.
I walked shadow en route to Amber searching for a jungle, like Mimban, but a bit less dangerous. A jungle where not everything wanted to kill you. A shadow where survival was a way of life, but not the only way. For once it would be nice to be the predator and not the prey. Then a familiar feeling came over me . . . I was being watched.
Over the last month I have been pursued by a creature I cannot see. I can feel its presence, hear its breath, but it has perfect camouflage. It's armed with a blaster of sorts and a laser targeting system, but my superior skills have kept it from catching me. Somehow it was following me through shadow.
It pursued me through wild and urban jungles. Finally I grew weary of the chase. I began to feel as if I were being herded. It pursued me into a cave in an unfamiliar jungle. I felt it coming. Another pursuing its prey approaching from behind . . . a trap.
I ignited my lightsabre and stood ready. I shouted, amplifying my voice with the Force, "I grow weary of this game. The hunt is over! Let's finish it!"
Its eyes glowed for a Moment, three laser targeting dots centered between my breasts. It fired. With one swift stroke of my sabre, I deflected the laser bolt back between its eyes. It screamed and fell from the tree it was perched in. Its invisibility screen had been damaged and I finally saw the hideous beast that had pursued me for so long, but it would no more.
Spyder came crawling out of the cave, but I never saw the second hunter behind him. Jasmin called me by Trump, but we could not use it to travel between shadow. A Logrus tendril reached out and touched Spyder. Lady Julia Blaze and Jasmin followed behind it.
No sooner did they arrive, when two of the hunters attacked from the trees. The new attackers were just out of range for Jasmin's Blastec DL-44.
The sounds of a crowd cheering and the evil insane laughter of a commentator echoed all
around us. We were apparently in a type of arena, with cameras everywhere. The commentator said, "Place your bets. Who will win this round? Predators or prey? Ha-ha-ha-ha."
"I know that laugh," Spyder said. "It's the Goblin, an old adversary of mine."
Jasmin had been examining the equipment and body of the hunter I'd killed. She discovered it was a methane breather and could only see in the infrared spectrum. Armed with this knowledge, I used the Force to lower my body temperature to that of the ambient air. Then I adjusted my eyes to pick up the distortion field produced by their cloaking devices. Locating them, I used the Force to entangle one with the vines of the trees.
Jasmin and Spyder were moving toward the struggling Hunter. The second rushed past them. Spyder pursued. The first cut itself free, with a blade weapon on its wrist, but not in time. Jasmin was now within blaster range.
The second, followed closely by Spyder, rushed past Julia and I heading deeper into the cavern. We followed.
Spyder caught it with a web, forcing it against a wall. Julia used the Logrus to render it unconscious. Jasmin had caught up with us and probed its unconscious mind to learn the Goblin and another of Spyder's foes, a Symbiote creature had joined with each other and the Logrus to destroy the Spyder . . . the rest of us were convenient sport . . . and there was one more hunter . . . the leader.
A shot from his blaster ricocheted off the wall. I used the Pattern to short out his camouflage equipment. Now we could all see him. I lowered the temperature of my lightsabre hilt and hurled it at him, using the Projected Fighting techniques of the Jedi. Jasmin opened fire with her blaster.
I searched for a weak spot in his armor with the Pattern. I found one. There I targeted my lightsabre, just below the base of his skull. Upon impact the weapon activated. Telepathically I twisted the angle of the blade until it was driven through its brain. It died. Unfortunate, but it would have killed us given the chance. Not the best option.
Our audience was gone . . . the game was over. I felt a Pattern door open, we could leave now.
On the way back to Amber we encountered a Shadow of the Realm, where all the elders, the guards . . . everyone in Castle Amber were dead. The Pattern of this Shadow was reversed, and at its center was a large humanoid figure dressed in black with a long black riding coat and a wide-brimmed hat.
It turned to us in recognition, but it knew we were not the ones it had killed. It smiled, revealing its bloody fangs. A vampire, but not like any we'd met before, this one wanted Amber. A vampire with power over the Pattern, but how long could "Shadow Blood of Amber" keep him real enough to use it?
Lord Corwin, to the surprise of us all, called me via Trump. I hurriedly insisted he bring us through to Amber. Once there we related our tale. Corwin had been reading a book left in the library by Jasmin. A book that chronicled the adventures of my generation, so he knew about Lord Nor, but this new "Pattern Charged" vampire actually made him shudder.
Jasmin and Belle went to warn Random and Queen Vialle of the new dangers, when Corwin asked for a Moment in private with me. He told me the book, "The Chronicles of Amber: The Next Generation," had explained in detail about my recurring 'nightmare' and its cause.
As he mentioned it, I began to get the feelings of sexual arousal again. This time I was wide awake and knew it. I could feel the mysterious hands caressing me, I could smell . . . Corwin continued to explain. By the Force it was hard to concentrate on what he was saying . . . but before he could finish explaining I knew.
Michael had freed her from the amber gemstone. He kept her for his own personal lover. I suddenly realized I had to sever the link between the clone made from the severed hand of the failed Jedi Jessica Damaris. We were psychically connected through the common DNA and the Force. Unlike most clones she had been generated by a Chaosite using my actual hand and not just a few cell samples taken from it, but actually grown around it. It was almost as if I had regenerated my entire body from that hand.
Her fantasies were my nightmares, it had to end. Every time Michael fucked her I felt it. I could not blame him for still being in love with me . . . her, but I was being violated.
I hoped I had enough time. I thanked Corwin for the information, took my leave of him and Trumped home. Once there I found the best medical facility in the New Republic. I then used the Pattern, the Force and a Trump of myself to summon Jessiica to me.
Michael's defenses were good, but my exceptional control of the Pattern and the link between us allowed me to penetrate them and make contact with my clone. Immediately upon her arrival the medical droid sedated her.
I had found the droid that had originally replaced my hand and he accessed his database to help undo his work and remove from Jessiica only what was mine.
He restored my severed appendage and gave her my artificial replacement. Together we altered her neuro-pathways, the droid using technology and myself using the Force, the life bond between us was gone. She was her own person now. Her memories intact, except for my involvement in her receiving the artificial limb. I gave her a new memory for that, it was an accident during the battle at Amber. Michael replaced it before he freed her from his spell and never told her. I returned her to MageWorld.
Michael wanted Jessica Damaris, now he had her . . . all of her, and her flaws. A copy of the original, but just as real. Jessiica Damariis was alive and contentedly in love with her cousin Michael Ericsson; Jessica Brandier was now free of that cycle. Free to begin again.
For me it was over, Jessiica Damariis was the shadow of who I had been. May the Force be with her. She had her life I had mine; and mine was back in Amber.
I felt a disturbance in the Force, near the Pattern of Amber. I teleported within the Chamber.
Lord Nor crashed through the heavy steel door, not quite the vampire I was expecting, but a threat to Amber just the same. He tried to intimidate me using his Force enhanced vampiric abilities, but that was another life. I am a Jedi and a Duchess of Amber, the woman he knew was gone, and I am not easily intimidated.
I knew a prolonged lightsabre duel or even a battle of psyches would take too long, and there was the possibility he could defeat me, however remote that chance was. I summoned Force Lightning and reduced the undead Dark Jedi to ash.
The tingling sensation of channeling the Force Lightning through my own hand, a living hand, rather than the cybernetic one, was almost pleasant. I could hear the Dark Side calling me to use it again. This time I was strong enough to resist and begin my penance instantly, cleansing myself of its influences.
During my brief absence, while I was making myself whole, my companions had chased the vampire, now known as Vanclor, to a shadow they named Masquerade.
The technology was roughly equal that of 20th Century Shadow Earth, but no fossil fuels were used. The primary transportation was horse drawn wagons, steam engines or an occasional diesel engine using a non-petroleum based fuel. The clothing styles were pseudo-Victorian. People carried swords of all shapes and sizes in a manner reminiscent of the classical old west or musketeer genre.
Historical notes in reference to Shadow Earth: The Republic of Texas retained its original boundaries and included New Mexico. The Republic of California controlled all of the west coast. The "Manifest Destiny" of the United States had stopped dead at the Mississippi. The Coalition - a nation of Native American tribes - controlled the rest of the North American continent except for Quebec and Ontario. Then there was Mexico which controlled all of Central America.
Vampires had virtually wiped out the Garou or werewolves and most other gothic horrors. By 1941 A.D., the Kindred Wars had reduced the Garou population to around 1000. An unnamed, reportedly immortal, scientist gave the Garou a silver antigen, along with the formula to create more, and virtual immortality. The year we arrived in San Antonio de Bexar was 2001 A.D. and the Garou population continued to decline, at best seventy-five were left.
The architecture was heavy in Spanish-gothic influences. Even more so than the San Antonio of Shadow Earth. We took the Imperial Suite in the Quacoatl Inn. We dressed appropriately for the shadow and took off searching for a way into the Kindred society.
Most of us went to a nightclub called Los Diablos. I found my way to a higher class establishment called The Rose. Once there I made myself a target and soon found myself before the "Prince of the City" a handsome, vampire named Travers Rodriguez-Lopez-de Santa Anna-Dickerson.
In this shadow it seems vampires are born of Kindred and human mating as well as by blood exchange from sire to neonate. Most vampiric researchers can find references to such creatures, though they are generally considered rare. Traditionally they were vampire hunters, the sons of gypsies and Kindred, most often called Dhampir. It seems the prince was the son of Lieutenant Dickerson's daughter and the grandson of Generalismo Antonio Lopez-de Santa Anna, turned vampire.
I learned he singled me out because I had what he called 'Potent Blood' and had the scent of Kindred about me. After all this time scent of Lord Nor still lingered on me . . . at least among the Kindred.
I was left alone with him in his private chambers. He locked his gaze upon mine . . . a mistake on his part . . . I turned my superior Amber Psyche against his. I learned he knew Vanclor and hated him. I learned Vanclor's weakness was his sense of superiority, not only among his own kind but toward all creatures. At least now I understood why he wanted Amber.
I used my Amber borne powers and the Force to affect his memory, drawing upon my knowledge of Lord Nor's reactions, to make him believe he had actually tasted my 'Potent Blood.' The memories were so vivid, I actually found myself desiring to experience the rapture again. From his mind I could tell he not only desired my blood, but my physical body as well. Physical and emotional pleasure at once . . . he wanted me. Not just for herd stock or a daily meal, he desired me as an equal . . . a mate.
I uncovered my breasts, but just before his tongue and fangs could touch them, a Logrus tendril grabbed me and I found myself with my companions. The spell was broken, but not forgotten.
My companions had gathered the same information from a Garou named Antonio Cloud-Walker MacEwen. He was a crossbreed between a Native American, the Celtic and the Royal Garou clans. His occupation: Vampire-hunter. He also provided us with the background information of this shadow.
Together with the aid of the Garou hunter we trapped Vanclor. Owen alone stood against the vampire, while the rest of us dealt with the minions who followed the Pattern-charged monster. MegaForce was brought down by a follower of Vanclor, believing himself damned he gave himself to his vampire attacker.
No one else seemed to notice the Kindred slit his own wrist and offer it to the fallen hero, turning him into a Kindred neonate. I saw Mark St. John's instinct for survival join forces with the combat rage of his alter ego MegaForce, under those influences he entered what the Kindred call a Frenzie. He drained his sire dry, his natural powers overwhelming the 'dying' vampire, becoming a vampire of equal stature as the one who created him, sending his sire to a final death.
No one witnessed the tragedy, for better or worse, there was a new vampire among us. No one but me. MegaForce had been a friend, for now I'll keep his secret.
Returning to Amber, I learned more disturbing news, Jessiica Damariis escaped MageWorld and according to Michael she had a piece of the Kaiburr Crystal; Escrima, Michael's staff-dragon, has gone off on his own; and I don't recall anyone retrieving the Jewel of Judgement from Vanclor.
Jessiica was becoming my Darth Vader, and like Luke Skywalker, I must confront her someday . . . turn her or destroy her . . . alone. She is part of me, but separate. She IS what I might have been or could yet still be. Every bit as real . . . every bit as dangerous to Amber.
As a Jedi I have my work cut out for me . . . for it seems not only must I act as guardian of peace and justice, but defender of Chaos, Amber and all of Shadow against the consequences of my very existence. I wonder if Michael ever regrets taking me to Amber as much as I now regret having gone with him?
A proverb from Shadow Earth: "You've made your bed, now sleep in it."
Its gonna be a long night. I might as well make the most of it.
I'd been roaming shadow enjoying life as an Amberite to its fullest potential. In a shadow similar to Jasmin's home, I met a young woman named Alanna Buchanan. She was taller and heavier than I, standing 5'11" and weighing about 145 pounds, solid muscle. She had long, black hair that fell between her shoulder blades. Her accent was Gaelic, though she spoke perfect "English." She was a "Gothic Hunter" by trade. Which meant she didn't discriminate, she hunted all the traditional gothic horrors. Seemed to me, she was the perfect companion for my search for knowledge in dealing with such creatures.
One afternoon, I was lying naked atop my bed, in the two-bedroom apartment we'd rented, with the windows and doors of my room open to let in the warm breeze. No artificial air circulation systems were developed in this shadow and the last days of Spring were a bit warm. I heard the front door to the apartment open, I felt her presence. I knew it was Alanna, so I thought nothing of it. She was no threat.
Our rooms were separated by a narrow hall with the refresher room at the end of the corridor. My door was nearest the front of the apartment. She had to pass my room to get to hers or the refresher. Today she stopped at my door and stared at my body, glistening with sweat. Then she did something truly unexpected, after all we had been together; four months hunting vampires, werewolves and other creatures of the night, alone many times before. She slowly raised her fingers to her blouse and started unbuttoning it. As she walked over to me her blouse came off, followed by her skirt.
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She knelt on the bed, her full round 35" breast only centimeters from my lips. The next thing I knew, she was sucking on her tit while she was plugging up my vaginal hole with her fingers.
She leaned down to kiss me. Her tongue was inside my mouth and felt more comfortable than any other tongue had ever been. I felt her other hand on my left breast, tracing the areola. Then she lightly pinched my nipple as she started kissing my neck.
In a blink of an eye, or less time, we were cuddled together, intimately twined. She kissed me and I kissed her back. She pressed her breasts into mine, and she rustled her lush, furry mound tantalizingly against my naturally bare one.
Alanna pulled me on top of her face to face. For a few minutes we made love to each other that way. I gave in first followed only seconds by my partner.
Catching my breath, I stared into Alanna's beautiful brown eyes, then kissed her as a lover, whispering, "That was incredible!"
"Oh darling!" She whispered as we separated, "I have so much to teach you!"
"I might know more that you think," I said wryly, as I crawled on top of Alanna's hard, firm beautiful body and inhaled deeply. I ran my fingers through her thick mound of black vaginal fur and I felt her touching the core of mine with equally loving hands.
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We went on like this for several weeks. Unfortunately Alanna was killed during the winter months later by a werewolf we had been hunting. I left that shadow and returned to Amber, where only a few hours had passed. Of all the sexual encounters I've had, except for my first experience with Michael, none have given me as much pleasure as the year with Alanna.