For a moment everyone was frozen. The iron rust which had been the door floated in the sunlight, its coppery glinting illuminating the grief stricken face of Jonathan Harker. He slowly lowered his hand and crouched back down on the floor. It was as though he had not moved. Edward looked to Harry and saw his astonishment at what had just happened. Lady Elizabeth was coolly distant, examining the healing skin on her hands. Sir Francis, his mouth agape, stared unselfconsciously at Harker's hunched form. Carmilla was looking at the dust swirling around them with an expression of horror. Mitchell was crying, tears flowing freely down his face, smudging the dirty stains on his cheeks. Edward was struck for a moment at their contrasting reactions. Even in this they were dissimilar.
'What the fuck?' Spike's shout echoed down the chamber. He was shielding his eyes from the light and edging back to the wall as the rising sun slanted across the dusty floor towards him like a golden wolf. Harry crouched next to Harker whispering in his ear.
'Jonathan, the sunlight, you've got to use the 'nox' charm to block it out or else more people will...' his voice trailed off reluctant to say the words. Harker did not move. 'Jonathan I'm not powerful enough, I can't...' Harry shook the silent man's shoulder gently. Harker's reaction was to point his wand upwards, like a child he held his arm close to his body, making himself as small as possible.
'Nox,' he whispered and the sunlight was snuffed gently out like a candle on a birthday cake. Harry felt all the vampires' relief; even the ones who could withstand sunlight seemed to be more comfortable in the dark. Maybe it was their nature, he thought, the nature of a predator.
Spike, Zillah and the guards came quickly up to the rest of the group. Harker was being helped gently to his feet by Mitchell who was speaking to him softly. Spike nudged Harry.
'Works in a hospital he does,' he confided quietly, 'he's used to dealing with the injured. He was at Ypres too.' He pronounced it 'Eep', when Harry looked confused Spike explained. 'World War One, mate. Bloody awful mess.' Spike eyes took on a wistful expression as he looked at Mitchell comforting Harker. 'Bloody awful,' he repeated. Harry nodded, would he ever cease to be surprised at what these creatures had seen? No wonder some of them were ruthless killers and others had gone 'vegetarian' as Edward had put it. Their experiences had made them who they were, just like humans, he thought.
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Dracula felt the removal of his trap like a toothache. It stung and throbbed inside him, goading him into anger by its pain. He wasn't surprised that they had managed to escape the cell he had created for them, just that they had escaped so soon. And so few of them had been taken out of the game, he thought wryly, as he twisted the hair of the boy nearest to him, encouraging a shrill scream from his bed fellow. He sprawled back against the plush bed covers, seething. He had become bored of Mina Harker's body decades ago, only the torture her dear husband had felt watching the Count subject her to his whims had kept her alive so long. Even so Dracula was irritated that she had died so easily. Surely Potter had worked it out by now? The Count was relying on the boy's genius to deliver him from his limitations. If he had the solution then why hadn't he used it to help Mina? Maybe the dilemma had spurred the boy on? Made him think harder? Her death would not have been entirely in vain although Dracula wished he'd been there to savour Harker's pain as he watched his wife burn to cinders. He felt his body harden with desire thinking of the exquisite torture Harker must be feeling. Such a pity he could not see it for himself and must only imagine the anguish, the weeping. Oh well, the Count caressed his companion's body roughly pulling him across the bed to settle his lips over his growing arousal, he would have to settle for imagining. Soon enough the companions would be in the great hall and he still had an ace up his sleeve, he looked down at his naked body, or hidden somewhere, he smiled to himself.
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Now that the path before them was clear Harry felt some anxiety about what they were going to face. Dracula was strong, he already knew that, but the callous murder of \mina Harker had shocked him more than he had realised. Jonathan's reaction was so intense, what else would it be thought Harry to himself bitterly. What would my reaction be if I had seen that happen to Edward, he shuddered and tried to shake away the image in his head. Edward's beautiful face crumbling into black ashes in his hands. Of course sunlight wouldn't kill Edward but Dracula would have thought of that. Harker said the traps had been in place a long time, long enough for the Count to learn about the other vampire abilities and adapt? Harry thought so.
Edward was planning ahead, thinking of how they could best out smart Dracula. They were outnumbered if Zillah's account of Dracula's minions was anything to go by and Dracula had the upper hand in controlling the vampire in Edward. Could he stop him if the count decided to reach out that hand again? Edward didn't know, his think eyebrows furrowed together and he tried to feel inside him for the creature which Dracula held on a leash. From inside there was a growling, a feral animosity which shocked Edward. He had never felt so separated from himself before. Was this good? Had his love for Harry splintered him in ways he was only now realising? He shook his head to clear these dark thoughts swarming his mind. He had no time for philosophy; all he could do is go ahead and do his best. He squared his shoulders and looked around. The other vampires were standing in twos and threes talking quietly. It was hard for them, he realised, working together. They were used to solitary pursuits of life. Only Mitchell and Spike, the two with the most human friends, although Edward wasn't sure that a Slayer, a witch, a werewolf and a ghost could be strictly classed as human. The thought pulled a small smile from the edges of his full mouth. He felt a hot hand in his and looked to see Harry beside him, staring up into his face with a wondering expression. Edward traced the corner of Harry's mouth with his marble cold finger and watched as Harry sucked the finger into his mouth, the wet heat of his tongue caressing its length. Edward felt familiar desire rising inside him. He wondered at it, that even now in this crisis he could still feel so much lust and longing for this boy. With his free hand he pushed back Harry's black hair and ran his hand down the soft warm cheek. Harry realised the finger and smiled up into the topaz eyes. He rested his cheek on the white hand and reached up to pull Edward down to kiss him. The kiss was long and lingering; it spoke of their desire and love. Harry's magick rose out of him like wings and folded over Edward's body, holding him close, caressing him with tingling fingers of light. The kiss reinforced their feelings for each other, assured each one that those feelings were mutual.
'When we get out of this...' Harry whispered into Edward's kiss. The fire between them grew as Edward nodded mutely and Harry opened his mouth and felt that cold hard tongue penetrating him, owning him utterly. They broke apart, resting their foreheads together each looking into the other's eyes almost to the soul.
'Then we'll be together forever,' Edward promised, his voice hoarse with longing.
A laugh from the other side of the chamber broke their attention. Zillah was bent double laughing at Spike who was wearing a very strange expression, somewhere between happiness and embarrassment.
'A Slayer!' Zillah was gasping out, clapping a long hand on Spike's black leather clad shoulder, 'oh man, that is ... it's just... 'He started to laugh again.
'Yeah, girl's got superhuman powers, know what I mean?' Spike was grinning now. He nodded almost to himself. 'Oh yeah, superhuman. Knocked a house down once while we were...' he seemed to realise there were others present. 'Anyway, yeah. She's a one!' he ended smiling. Zillah pulled himself together and slapped Spike on the back again.
'Nice one man!' he laughed. He and Spike nodded together, their eyes shining.
'What about you? Still hanging around with that posh bloke?' Spike's voice took on a comical upper-class accent, 'dear boy! How terribly spiffing.' Zillah laughed harder, nodding.
'Yep, still with Ruthven. Man, he is fun to be around.' He stopped laughing abruptly, his body and face suddenly motionless with that unearthly stillness that never failed to surprise Harry. Zillah turned his attention to harry and Edward. 'He's in there,' he said quietly, 'Ruthven's in the great hall. He's hidden so Dracula might not know he's there but...' he ended and it was obvious that the danger he had left Ruthven in was only just occurring to him. Harry wondered why everyone seemed to think he was in charge? Then he stood away from Edward's embrace and into the centre of the chamber, all vampire eyes, cold and glinting in the torchlight were on him, the only person not looking at him was Harker who was staring dully at the floor by his feet.
'We'd better get going, I guess the Count knows we've escaped by now, he will have felt Mina's...' he cast around for the right word. 'What happened to Mina.' He hurried on, 'so we have no element of surprise. I think we have to create one.' He turned to Edward, knowing that what he was about to ask was going to be the hardest thing he'd had to do since he'd met this beautiful vampire. Edward raised an eyebrow questioningly. 'Edward, I think you'll have to pretend to have changed your mind about... well things.' He ended lamely and then carried on.' You have to convince Dracula that you've surrendered to him, that you are going to betray us all. I don't know how you'll do it but...' Edward's face was a mask, still and smooth, expressionless. Then the mask broke and the torment he was feeling broke the surface of his calm expression. He twisted his mouth and shrugged, not meeting Harry's eyes as he looked at the floor. Spike interrupted, breaking the tension.
'I think 'arry's right eddy boy,' he swung an affectionate arm over Edward's still shoulders. 'It'll leave a nasty taste in your mouth but it's out only hope.' He looked blankly at harry as he said his next line. 'I think Edward will have to do something extreme to convince the count this is the real deal. .Something really extreme, like feed from a... human.' Harry's gaze automatically went to Edward's and he wished it hadn't. Edward's jaw was clenched, his eyes closed as though he had known what spike was going to say, of course he did know thought harry, he had known before any of us did. He could only imagine how hard this must be for Edward, after years of being so controlled, so civilised to have to resort to these depths to survive, to keep them all alive. It was the only situation harry could think of where Edward would even consider such drastic action. Harry held his breath as Edward nodded once, his eyes still closed. Mitchell crossed to where Edward was standing and out his hand on his arm, Edward didn't shrug him off.
'I think Edward needs some time alone to work this out,' he said kindly, 'he'll have to do this on his own, to convince Dracula he's gone rogue. Make it look like a secret right? Like Edward's crept away to feed and then come back like nothing's happened. Can you do it Edward?' Mitchell didn't meet Edward's dark gaze, his amber eyes boring out from under his knitted brows; his shoulders hunched, hands in pickets stance screaming 'leave me alone' as clearly as if he'd shouted the words. He nodded again.
'Where will he find this human?' Lady Elizabeth was practical and her voice was crisp, business like.
'There's humans further down the passage, towards the hall.' Spike pointed and wrinkled his nose. 'I can smell 'em.' He added shrugging an apology to harry or Edward, it was hard to tell.
'I need a minute.' Edward's voice was cold, distant and harry could sense the resolve in it, the determination to get them out, no matter what the cost. In that moment he felt something happen that he hadn't imagined possible, his love for Edward grew a little more. The feeling washed over him and he looked with awe at the amazing creature who was risking all he held dear for him, Harry Potter.
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Edward stalked the short dark passage. The scent of the human's blood was in his nostrils and he fought to stay in control over the monster whose bonds he had freed ever so slightly. Even so, the thrill of the hunt was in him and the blood lust high. He planned to let the human live, to drink enough to convince Dracula of his new intentions, to let the Count feel him hunt and feed. His body sang with the love of the hunter for the chase and deep inside him the beast crouched, ready to pounce, to tear and savour the of fresh human blood running down his throat, over his chin, down his chest as his victim, he shuddered at the word, struggled feebly against his hard, cold muscles.
The torch lights flickered adding to the drama of the scene. Edward's muscles moved smoothly moving him forward silently. The topaz eyes scanned the scene before him; the young human male was standing, leaning, in the doorway ahead, facing away from Edward. His exposed throat, his shirt open loosely at the neck, begged to be savaged. Edward took in the toned muscled body, the beauty of the smooth pale skin, flushed with the wine that dripped from the goblet in his drooping hand, and realised this must be one of the count's human playmates. Even as Edward was relieved that the boy was drunk, that he would hardly know what was happening to him, the beast inside revelled in the enjoyment it would have in biting down on the smooth skin, ripping at the throat until the warm blood pumped slowly into his mouth. The boy sighed to himself and leaned back against the wall, slightly turning his body to Edward. He peered into the shadows and saw the monster crouched in the darkness.
I'm in luck, the boy thought to himself as he took in the toned body of the vampire watching him. He ran a lustful glance up and down the tightly muscled chest, the long, strong legs and the obvious excitement showing on this gorgeous vampire body before him. The creature's topaz eyes burned with lust and the glamour spreading from its gaze made his knees feel weak. Just what he had hoped for when he'd left the sleeping chambers. The Count was fun but he fancied a bit of a change. Now this was a change, he thought as the creature took a silent step towards him.
'Hey handsome,' he called in a low voice, heavy with desire, 'looking for someone?' The creature blinked, a slow shutting of the eyes, as it breathed his scent in, the nostrils slightly flared. The boy dropped the goblet of wine onto the floor where it splashed and rolled away into a corner. In a heartbeat, the boy could feel it pounding in his chest as the creature approached him; the vampire was in front of him. It was deathly still as though drinking in the sight of him, the essence of him. Amber eyes looked into his soul and the boy felt his breath catch in his throat, god this vampire was gorgeous. Glamour pooled around him, softening his movements like a drug. Slowly, never leaving the vampire's gaze, he couldn't seem to drag his eyes away, the boy slowly trailed a hand down his own chest in a lazy gesture which ended with his touching himself. He was hard; he'd never been harder, not even with the Count. The vampire's eyes followed the hand like a cat watching a mouse. The look was seductive, suggestive. The boy's heart raced faster and he stretched out his other hand to touch the mesmerising creature before him. The skin was cold as he mirrored his actions on the body of the vampire who looked down to watch the hand's slow progress over his body. Over the powerfully, muscled chest, smooth and icy as marble under the loose shirt he wore, down over the navel, down over the waistband of the low slung jeans, down until it brushed at the hardness it found. The boys' breathing was ragged now. His mind was wild, imagining the taste of this vampire in his throat; the white hands in his hair holding him down, making him take more, harder, faster. He stroked more insistently now, his gaze held by the topaz eyes. The vampire reached out a hand to him; it seemed to take forever, grabbed his shirt and pulled the boy close to him. The icy cold skin of its chest stung the boys nipples as he felt himself pressed again the vampire's body, the hips crushing his hand against the vampire's hardness. One long, powerful hand held his head while the other snaked between them and began to stroke the boy's straining erection. The boy sucked in air noisily, aroused beyond caring about who might hear. The friction of the cold hand deliberate and just slow enough to tease and torment. The full mouth dipped to brush his throat and his pulse beat wildly under the skin, hot and urgent. The vampire's hand quickened its pace and they boy felt himself spiralling into orgasm; his hot hands clutched the vampire's hair, his shirt, pulling him closer, closer. The cold mouth sucked hungrily on his searing , burning skin, the teeth resting with infinite care on the throbbing vein in his throat. As the boy came, the strong jaws bit down, causing his body to spasm more violently than before. Blood began to pump freely from the gaping wound as the crashing wave of orgasm caused the heart to beat wildly. The vampire lifted the boy's feet from the floor as it drank, hungry jaws crushing the slender neck. His legs dangled, kicking slightly in his death throes and he fell limp, forever.
Edward felt the boy's life ebb away and was powerless to stop the creature he had unleashed. He tried frantically to pull back to reclaim his body as his own. As the heart gave its final beat he felt himself orgasm. Sick and disgusted with himself he let the body drop to the floor.
In the great chamber Dracula felt the rush of Edward's orgasm, tasted the sweet blood thickly running down his throat and smiled. His boy had come home.
Please give me a review!! Thanks to Meg for the tight abs inspiration and to Wolfpup for the encouragement!! Thanks if you've reviewed already, don't just add to favourite stories, tell me you liked it!