5
Taberinth
"Good day, young masters," the limo driver said. "Or should I say 'good night'?" He chuckled at his own wit. Karl smiled dryly and nodded.
"Can we just go?" Marty asked, looking over his shoulder at Drew, Essie, and Merrill. Their parting affair had been rather brief, although Essie had given Karl an extraordinarily long kiss, and Marty just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
"Certainly," the limo driver, whose nametag read David, said. "Please hop in. I'm sure you'll find everything to your liking on your trip to Taberinth."
Marty and Karl climbed into the limo, admiring the lush leather seats and the large TV screen in front of them.
It would have probably been a very long and uninteresting trip to Taberinth had the duo not discovered the hoard of blood in the fridge, which they devoured greedily.
Then the pair sat down for a long evening in front of the boob tube, watching what else, but Dracula.
~~~~~
"Welcome to Taberinth, young masters," David said as he drove slowly towards a café on the edge of town. "Vehicles are not permitted within the city limits, so I shall have to drop you off here. The owners of the café will give you directions for the Sleeping Griffin, which is the local tavern/inn. You'll find people are a bit old fashioned here, but I'm sure you would be too if you had been born in the 15th century or earlier."
Marty got out suavely, but Karl hesitated. "Come on, big guy," Marty urged. "Get out and enjoy the show. When was the last time you were free to walk around by yourself?"
That seemed to have helped, because Karl finally stepped out, and looked at his surroundings. David drove off and still he looked on silently, for sitting by one of the tables in the café, their pale skin lustrous in the artificial sunlight shining on them, were two of the fairest vampiresses he had ever seen. The first, a tall blond who could have easily passed for a teenage model, was sipping her tea delicately. She smiled when she saw Karl looking at her with such focus, and casually waved them over.
"Hi," she greeted. "My name's Marisa. You must be Karl and Marty."
Marty stared at her suspiciously, and Marisa's equally attractive partner, a redhead, jumped into the conversation. "We haven't been spying on you," she assured, waving her delicate fingers around like an aristocrat. "That's not our power. The Elder of this town informed us that you would be coming for a bit of a spell."
"Ah," Marty replied. "I would be Marty Strickland, at your service milady," he said as he grasped the redhead's hand and delivered a kiss on the inside of the palm.
"Janelle Sloychuk," she replied with a sly smile on her face. "We hear one of you is looking for your one?" she asked curiously, making a point of looking at Karl.
"That would be me," Marty replied.
"Hmm," Marisa smiled. "So would your friend happen to be free?" She looked at Karl with a predator type look on her face.
"I have a girlfriend," Karl replied haltingly. Think of Essie, think of Essie, he said to himself, trying to block out the sight of the two heavenly creatures before him.
"Fun stuff," Janelle commented.
"Yeah," Marty said, "but we should really be going, so…"
"We'll see you around," Marisa said.
"Right." Marty walked into the café and found the owners, an old man and woman, behind the counter. "Where could I find the Sleeping Griffin?" he asked.
The old man gave him direction in an almost mechanical sounding voice as the woman moved items around the café in an almost too organized manner. Marty soon left the building more than a bit disturbed.
6
Sleeping Griffin
He was dreaming again. Marty realized this as soon as the oh so sweet smell of daisies filled his nose. Still, he was unable to wake himself up, something that was such a basic instinct it could have been done with the snap of his fingers. He should have been able to wake himself up. Marty tried, just to see if he could. He couldn't. He didn't even know if he wanted to. The first part of the dream, the part that had led the others to believe Marty was searching for his One, was so beautiful and breathtaking, The rest, the rest was too horrible for words. Marty didn't want to see it. Without the intrusion of someone in his mind like the last time however, he knew he would be forced to. For some reason, whoever was sending the dreams didn't want others to see the second part…
Blood flowed freely from multiple wounds. He was starving, the parched feeling crawling from the tip of his tongue down his throat, kicking him viciously in the stomach. The blood lust was too strong.
He looked down and saw pale, feminine arms. He wasn't Marty Strickland anymore, but an unnamed female. A dark mist covered his vision, but as far as he could tell, there was no mist in room.
Two figures appeared suddenly in front of him and he gazed unwillingly at them. He was the person in his dream, but he couldn't control it.
"Are you ready to join us?" one of the figures asked.
"Fuck you, you sick twisted bastards," he answered, or she did anyway. The voice was meant to be light and airy, but had grown heavy with bloodlust.
"It will end if you accept our proposal," the second figure said. It was familiar, but Marty couldn't concentrate…couldn't figure it out…it was cold and he was so hungry…
"MARTY! WAKE UP!" A voice sounded from beside him. He jumped up, revealing washboard abs and a pair of boxers.
"What!" he asked, his fangs showing.
Karl backed off slowly. "You were having a bad dream, man. I was trying to wake you up."
Marty sighed. "Sorry," he apologized. He grabbed some pants and a forest-green sweater and headed out into the kitchen area. He practically ran into the kitchen to grab a packet of blood. Ten minutes and five drained packets later, he gazed up to see Karl looking at him.
"You want to talk about it?" he asked.
Marty shook his head. "Maybe later," he replied. When I have this whole thing figured out he added to himself. He had been with his One; he had been in his One's body. What could it have possibly meant. She was in danger, that he was sure. And though he didn't know how, he knew she was somewhere close by. She was waiting for him to come and save her.
How can she depend so much on me when she doesn't even know me? Marty shook his head in confusion, but he was going to find the answer.
