Undead 1
By: vampfire
Finally some action, though we won't presume to use the word "plot." This stands alone. It is rated R, and you can choose to read Morrolan as straight or bi in this, it's not obviously written one way or the other. It has a sequel, which is male/male and very R rated, which you obviously can choose not to read if that offends you. Oh, and back to ambiguous and somewhat arbitrary third-person viewpoint.
It was obvious that the last of Vlad's strength had been used for the teleport. He arrived in the library at Castle Black and promptly collapsed to the floor, blood already soaking into Morrolan's carpet. Aliera rushed over to him; it took her no time at all to decide this was far outside of her physicking skills.
"Get Sethra," she ordered Morrolan, and began stripping Vlad's shirt off without disturbing the two daggers his torso had acquired. Morrolan walked over a moment later with a stack of bandages, which Aliera used to wrap Vlad's arm, which was almost sliced in two, longways up his forearm.
She saw Morrolan's eyes widen, not at the dagger buried in Vlad's chest, but at the second one low in his back, right along his spine, and said, "Wait for Sethra."
Morrolan moved aside when Sethra appeared and watched as she assessed Vlad's condition. "I can't do any better than you, Aliera. If we manage to stabilize him, he'll be paralyzed for the rest of his life. If he dies, I doubt either of us will be able to revivify him."
Aliera nodded, "I was thinking of the third alternative."
Sethra looked startled, and she glanced down at Vlad's body as though seeing it for the first time. "Well, there is that," she said slowly. She glanced at Aliera again, as if wondering whether this was all some sort of trick, but then focused her attention entirely on Vlad.
Morrolan watched as her hand wrapped around the first dagger's hilt. It pulled free with a wash of blood and Vlad screamed, though he didn't thrash about or convulse. The reason for his paralysis was the irreparable damage to his spinal cord caused by the second dagger, which Sethra proceeded to pull free without ceremony. Vlad was screaming uncontrollably, and the nearly inhuman sounds were making Morrolan shiver all over.
Sethra did not seem unduly concerned. She spoke to Vlad softly in words Morrolan could not make out, but he could feel the power building in the room. Sorcery, potent and concentrated on Vlad's dying body. Aliera stood and moved to Morrolan's side to watch, her expression carefully controlled.
Aliera looked as though she knew what was going on, which confused Morrolan until he saw Sethra lean over Vlad's body to kiss the gaping hole in his chest through which he was losing his life blood. Then it hit Morrolan what she was doing.
Morrolan had personal knowledge of the lesser-known aspects of Sethra's vampirism. He had fed her more than once, in the traditional way a vampire fed, though only the first time had been from dire need. No, the following occasions of donating blood had been for less noble reasons, for to give blood to a vampire produced pleasure unlike anything...
Sethra was wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Suddenly, she bit her wrist, tearing it open in a ragged cut.
She leaned over Vlad and pressed her bleeding wrist to his mouth. Morrolan knew the exact moment that Vlad swallowed some of Sethra's blood; the air filled with the distinct sensation of a spell being brought to bear. A snap sounded throughout the room, audible to all three sorcerers present. Vlad's body stilled, the blood spilling from his chest seemed to slow, and it was obvious he was dead.
Sethra stood, steadily and quite serenely. "I need to take him to Dzur Mountain. Aliera... I could use your help, I think."
"Certainly," she said, looking up from her dazed study of Vlad's still frame.
Without being asked, Morrolan came forward and stooped to pick up the shorter man, that is, the corpse of his friend. He clenched his teeth against the sudden emotion, the rational side of his brain assuring the sentimental side that, whatever had just happened, Vlad was not as dead as he seemed.
Sethra raised her hands and lowered them in a sudden motion that caused the four of them to disappear. Morrolan found himself in a part of Dzur Mountain he'd never seen before. Sethra directed him to lay Vlad's body on a low table, which he did.
He then stood by and watched as Aliera and Sethra painstakingly repaired the wounds in Vlad's chest and back, though the wound along his spine left more damage than the mere puncture of his flesh. Vlad was unrevivifiable. When they were done, Sethra glanced at the bandage on his arm and gestured at if off-handedly, setting a healing spell in place.
Soon the three of them stood beside each other, staring down at a healed, very bloody, very dead Vlad Taltos. "We should clean him up," Aliera said suddenly.
"Yes," agreed Sethra, turning to Morrolan with a pointed look. The only thing that he wanted to do less than wash the blood from an Easterner, reflected Morrolan to himself, was wash the blood from a very dead looking Easterner who happened to be his friend. Morrolan lifted Vlad again, stifling a sigh, and took him to the bath Sethra showed him. Morrolan performed a quick heating spell on the water stored there, stripped the remainder of Vlad's bloody clothing from his body, and located the soap.
To distract himself from the unnerving clammy feel of Vlad's dead skin, Morrolan began reviewing a complicated witchcraft spell in his head. When he was done he rinsed Vlad with the lukewarm water, and it ran away towards the drain tinged pink with blood.
A drying spell and then the task of struggling to get fresh clothing onto Vlad while simultaneously holding him upright. Morrolan was exhausted by the time he carried the corpse of his friend back to Sethra and his cousin.
"If that is all," Morrolan told them after settling Vlad onto a large bed. "I will return to Castle Black."
"Yes, thank you," he heard Sethra say, just before the teleport took effect.
"You look nervous," Aliera pointed out.
Sethra gave her a withering glance then sighed and admitted, "I have never done this before. It will be... a rather personal experience. I would not have you here except that I am not certain that something won't go terribly wrong, and it would be nice to have help at hand."
"I see," Aliera said. Then, cautiously, "He needs blood, doesn't he?"
"Yes," Sethra said tersely. She continued to stare down at the still figure on the bed, who looked very pale in the black clothing Morrolan had dressed him in.
Sethra sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath before reaching out to Vlad, settling one hand flat on his chest, above his heart. She spoke softly until Vlad's eyes snapped open.
He tried to sit up, but winced in weakness and pain, and the tension drained from his muscles as he slumped back down. That slight movement, however, proved that Aliera's idea and Sethra's actions had worked. Vlad was neither dead nor paralyzed.
"Here, Vlad," Sethra told him, quietly offering her wrist. She laid it against his lips. His eyes rolled to settle on her as if to ask what the hell was going on, but then instinct jumped in and his body at least knew exactly what to do. Sethra gasped when Vlad bit her wrist. Aliera started forward, then forced herself to still.
Sethra had collapsed further onto the bed, moaning softly. Vlad's eyes closed and his hand rose shakily from the covers to grip her arm. His hand continued to shake in extreme weakness, but it was clear he wasn't about to let her pull her wrist away.
Sethra's breath was coming in hard gasps, and Aliera wondered at what point she was supposed to step in and save her. Sethra moaned again, writhing on the bed against Vlad's body. Aliera blushed and looked away as it finally occurred to her that Sethra's reactions were not in response to pain.
A moment later, her eyes were drawn back to the bed as Sethra's glazed eyes turned her way and she managed to say, "Stop him. "
Aliera strode quickly to the bed and began to pry Vlad's fingers from around Sethra's wrist, purposefully tuning out what was happening to Sethra in the meantime. But Vlad had grown stronger with the blood, and he wouldn't let go. "Vlad," Aliera said then repeated more urgently, "Vlad!"
His eyes opened and Aliera saw nothing of her friend in his gaze. She suddenly realized that Sethra's life was not the only thing in the balance now; she had to pull him back to sanity...
Aliera drew Pathfinder, thrusting the Great Weapon nearly under Vlad's nose. He recoiled in horror.
Vlad released Sethra's wrist and slid back so he was sitting against the bed's headboard. "Okay," he said. "I'm okay now." Aliera watched a thin line of Sethra's blood trickle from his lips and wasn't sure if she agreed with him, but sheathed the sword.
Sethra took a moment to collect herself then stood shakily. Vlad looked at her and his expression shifted to dismay, to shock. "Sethra..."
She shook her head, even smiling some. "It was necessary. I will recover shortly... and you should rest now." Sethra stood carefully and left the room.
Vlad was shaking, shivering where he sat amongst the pillows. Aliera recruited the courage to approach him, and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling, Vlad?"
Vlad looked at her, and what had just happened seemed to sink in. "I'm going to be sick," he managed and lurched toward the edge of the bed.
Aliera helped him stumble to the bathroom, where he bent over the chamber pot and heaved violently, though none of the blood he'd just been drinking came up. After a bit, Vlad was able to straighten, though he was shivering all over. Aliera helped him clean up. He had to lean heavily on her to get back to the bed.
Vlad was still shivering when Aliera pulled the covers over him and sat down on the edge of the bed. He had closed his eyes, and his skin looked pasty. Aliera laid a hand on his forehead and discovered he was burning up. She made a note to ask Sethra later if that was normal then decided she'd rather not hear Sethra tell her that she didn't know.
"Aliera," Vlad said, speaking to her for the first time since she'd pulled him away from Sethra. "Am I... undead?" His voice came out scratchy and his eyes met hers, fearful.
"I'm sorry, Vlad," she told him sincerely. "Would it have been better if I'd let you die?"
He considered that for a moment, reliving the fight that had ended up with two daggers buried in his body. It had taken every skill he possessed to make his attacker lose the Morganti blade that he had begun the assault with. He'd been incredibly lucky that it was only plain steel that had finally taken him out. "No," he told her. "I'm glad you got Sethra to do it. Maybe one day, I'll thank you."
She smiled. "Perhaps. Are you... how do you feel?"
"Better," he admitted. "Exhausted. Where," he asked suddenly, "Where is Loiosh? I can't hear him. He can't be, he can't be dead, he..."
Vlad was edging towards panic. Aliera reached out and gripped his shoulder. "We don't know, Vlad. He wasn't with you in the teleport. Look, Vlad, you can't do anything about him now. It's likely you're just too weak to reach him. I know I couldn't contact you psionically right now."
"Oh," Vlad said, calming some. "You've got a point." The tension drained out of him and he slumped back to the bed. "Tomorrow I'll be better; I'll reach him then... he's probably fine..." His eyes were once again closed, and she watched him fall into sleep.
Aliera made her way to Sethra's preferred sitting room when visiting with guests and chose a chair by the fireplace. Presently, Chas arrived and served her wine.
Not too much later, Sethra Lavode made an appearance, sinking into the chair nearest Aliera without a word of greeting. "How is he?"
"Sleeping. He seemed weak; will he recover on his own now?"
"No," Sethra said.
Aliera waited patiently, but no explanation was forthcoming. Aliera frowned. She'd studied some of the theory behind the undead, but there was so much that simply wasn't known. There was even less known about the various processes by which one could become undead. Then she realized what was missing. "He needs human blood." Aliera blushed and corrected herself, "That is, blood from a living human."
"Yes. It would be best if he had it soon. Tomorrow if possible."
Aliera nodded, knowing what the best approach would be. "If you'll excuse me..."
Aliera teleported to Castle Black, greeted Lady Teldra warmly, and inquired Morrolan's whereabouts.
She explained the situation patiently to the increasingly uncomfortable Dragonlord.
"Well, why aren't you volunteering then?"
"Morrolan, I'm Vlad's sister!"
"Not precisely," he murmured.
"Close enough," she said decisively. "Morrolan, I watched him with Sethra."
Morrolan blanched. First there was the fact that Sethra, who Morrolan had donated blood to on more than one occasion, had shared such an experience with Vlad. Then there was the fact that it was Vlad...
"You've done this with Sethra, haven't you?" Aliera said softly.
Morrolan glared at her. "Even if I have, that is entirely different. First of all, Sethra and I..." He swallowed the words in time to prevent their being said aloud. "And Vlad is..."
"Male?" Aliera asked, unable to suppress a slight smile.
"Well, I'm glad you find this so amusing!" Morrolan said angrily. He turned away, began to pace, stopped and said, "Fine. When?"
"Tomorrow. At your convenience."
Morrolan bit off a harsh comment about when it might be convenient and said evenly, "If that is all, cousin, I have business to attend to."
"That is all, Morrolan," she told him. Then, quietly, "Thank you," and she quit the room.
Sethra looked up from her study of the floor as she heard Vlad shift on the bed before her chair. He'd come out of the feverish state that had worried her earlier then fallen into unpeaceful dreams that seemed to feature Morganti weapons prominently. He was quiet now, lying still as though the thrashing about had exhausted him.
"Kiera?" he asked, uncertainly.
Sethra reached to take his lifeless hand in hers. "I'm here, Vlad."
"I'm sorry, Kiera," he muttered, still more asleep than awake.
"So am I," she returned softly as he faded off again.
Sethra was still there when he awoke. Vlad managed to sit up on his own and swing his legs over the side of the bed, but standing took considerable effort. He steadied himself against the bed and watched the room spin.
Wordlessly, Sethra helped him cross the room to the bathroom and, a few minutes later, back to the bed. The simple effort left Vlad winded and dizzy. He settled into an upright position leaning against a pile of pillows and asked, "Why am I so weak?"
Sethra looked at him contemplatively before telling him, "You need the blood of one who is living."
"Oh." Vlad closed his eyes a minute and reopened them slowly, but the room was still tilting slowly to the left. He tried to marshal his drifting thoughts and remember why it was that he wasn't too keen on drinking blood again.
Then the memories hit him, vivid images of what had happened between him and Sethra. His body started to react to the memory and he quickly tried to think of something else. "What happens if I don't get 'blood from one who is living'?"
"You die."
"Oh."
Sethra looked at him sympathetically. "Because of the way in which you became undead, you required first my blood and now that of the living. If you are lucky, you'll never have to drink blood again after this... unless you so desire. I can teach you other ways to recruit your strength."
"Okay," Vlad said. "Whose blood am I getting now?"
Sethra paused a moment then said, "Morrolan's."
The ramifications of this took a moment to sink in. Vlad felt his pale face flush red. "Oh," he said again.
Morrolan was sweating. He had looked at everything else in the room except the Easterner on the bed. He was scowling even more than usual. These facts had not escaped Sethra Lavode. She turned to him now and said, "I will stay in case he loses control and tries to drink longer than..."
"No."
"Morrolan, really it would be best if..."
"No," he interrupted again, angry eyes meeting hers. "I am more than capable of handling him."
After a tense moment, she gave him a small bow, anger barely contained, and left them.
Morrolan remained facing the door she'd left through, his back to Vlad. He scowled at himself, largely because his body was eager for the effect Sethra's bite always had on him, despite the fact that it would be Vlad who...
Morrolan turned abruptly and marched to the bed. Vlad was seated in the middle, his back propped against the tall wooden headboard. "Look, I don't like this any better than you do, you know."
"Just... don't speak, Vlad," Morrolan managed between gritted teeth. He sat on the bed, willing his heart to quit pounding and his over-sensitive body to stand down.
"Okay," Vlad said. "Can I, uh, have your wrist?"
Morrolan rolled up a sleeve and held out his arm, thinking he might be able to brace himself for the inevitable... "Gods..." he gasped, collapsing fully onto the bed, feeling his muscles tense, his body harden.
Vlad was more vicious than Sethra, perhaps because he was so desperate for the blood that would make him whole again. The first few waves of desire that coursed through Morrolan's body brought him nearly to the edge. He was flat on his back, sprawled across the bed, touching the other man only through their connection at Morrolan's wrist.
Desire swallowed him whole and he could no longer see the room around him. The pleasure washed over him roughly, again and again. He slowly became aware that he was moaning continuously, that Vlad was making similar sounds beside him, along with the sucking sound his lips made on the Dragon's wrist.
Suddenly, Morrolan was there, hardly aware that he was screaming in pleasure. His body thrust upward, spilling over in hot waves. But he was no longer fully connected to it; he was somewhere beyond the physical existence of his body and there was only sensation after intense sensation.
Distantly, through the indescribable bliss, Morrolan realized this had lasted far longer than it should, that his body had emptied and still the pain built, for now it was pain, and there was Vlad beside him, still devouring his blood. Detachedly, Morrolan watched as Vlad drained away his life through his arm.
Morrolan groaned and punched Vlad with his free fist, squarely in the side of his head. Vlad released his wrist, stunned. Fortunately, Morrolan hadn't had the strength to put much behind the blow. He slowly re-entered his own body to find he was still writhing uncontrollably, pain and pleasure tearing through him.
He rode it out as it subsided, trying to stop groaning, trying to control his body. His wrist was a bloody mess, but there was nothing he could do about it now, when he couldn't so much as turn his head away from the sight of it. Vlad was in his vision now too, staring at him in horror. "Morrolan..."
"Shut up," Morrolan managed to whisper, "Just..." He finished the sentence in his own head as he slid into blessed unconsciousness.
Vlad came back to himself slowly, his mouth tasting oddly metallic... like blood. His eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed, discovering simultaneously that his weakness had vanished and that Morrolan had not.
The Dragonlord was asleep beside him on the bed, looking unhealthily pale. Vlad blushed as he remembered the feel of the blood on his lips, the intense need it had brought with it. Feeding on Morrolan had felt... amazing. The first time, with Sethra, he had obviously been too weakened to fully participate in the experience. But this time, the moment he'd bitten down on the pulse beating rapidly in Morrolan's wrist, sensations had exploded within him, something had taken control of him that lusted after the blood the same way Vlad's body had suddenly yearned for release.
It would be best, Vlad thought with sudden clarity, if I were not here when he wakes up.
Vlad suddenly realized he was missing Loiosh's rejoiner to that thought and remembered what was wrong... "Loiosh?" he asked desperately.
"Boss!" The jhereg sounded ecstatic. "Where are you? Hold on, you're not like on the other side of Deathgate, are you? I don't know how I feel about being a familiar to a dead guy."
"How about an undead guy?"
"Huh?"
"We should talk... where are you? Oh, damn, I'll get back to you. There's a Dragonlord waking up who isn't going to be very happy with me..."
Vlad was a second too late. Morrolan was looking at him, his face yet emotionless. He seemed to check himself over to make sure he was all in one piece then sat up on the side of the bed, which put his back to Vlad. Vlad could tell from the careful way he moved that he was suffering from the blood loss.
Without looking at him again, Morrolan stood shakily and teleported.
By: vampfire
Finally some action, though we won't presume to use the word "plot." This stands alone. It is rated R, and you can choose to read Morrolan as straight or bi in this, it's not obviously written one way or the other. It has a sequel, which is male/male and very R rated, which you obviously can choose not to read if that offends you. Oh, and back to ambiguous and somewhat arbitrary third-person viewpoint.
It was obvious that the last of Vlad's strength had been used for the teleport. He arrived in the library at Castle Black and promptly collapsed to the floor, blood already soaking into Morrolan's carpet. Aliera rushed over to him; it took her no time at all to decide this was far outside of her physicking skills.
"Get Sethra," she ordered Morrolan, and began stripping Vlad's shirt off without disturbing the two daggers his torso had acquired. Morrolan walked over a moment later with a stack of bandages, which Aliera used to wrap Vlad's arm, which was almost sliced in two, longways up his forearm.
She saw Morrolan's eyes widen, not at the dagger buried in Vlad's chest, but at the second one low in his back, right along his spine, and said, "Wait for Sethra."
Morrolan moved aside when Sethra appeared and watched as she assessed Vlad's condition. "I can't do any better than you, Aliera. If we manage to stabilize him, he'll be paralyzed for the rest of his life. If he dies, I doubt either of us will be able to revivify him."
Aliera nodded, "I was thinking of the third alternative."
Sethra looked startled, and she glanced down at Vlad's body as though seeing it for the first time. "Well, there is that," she said slowly. She glanced at Aliera again, as if wondering whether this was all some sort of trick, but then focused her attention entirely on Vlad.
Morrolan watched as her hand wrapped around the first dagger's hilt. It pulled free with a wash of blood and Vlad screamed, though he didn't thrash about or convulse. The reason for his paralysis was the irreparable damage to his spinal cord caused by the second dagger, which Sethra proceeded to pull free without ceremony. Vlad was screaming uncontrollably, and the nearly inhuman sounds were making Morrolan shiver all over.
Sethra did not seem unduly concerned. She spoke to Vlad softly in words Morrolan could not make out, but he could feel the power building in the room. Sorcery, potent and concentrated on Vlad's dying body. Aliera stood and moved to Morrolan's side to watch, her expression carefully controlled.
Aliera looked as though she knew what was going on, which confused Morrolan until he saw Sethra lean over Vlad's body to kiss the gaping hole in his chest through which he was losing his life blood. Then it hit Morrolan what she was doing.
Morrolan had personal knowledge of the lesser-known aspects of Sethra's vampirism. He had fed her more than once, in the traditional way a vampire fed, though only the first time had been from dire need. No, the following occasions of donating blood had been for less noble reasons, for to give blood to a vampire produced pleasure unlike anything...
Sethra was wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Suddenly, she bit her wrist, tearing it open in a ragged cut.
She leaned over Vlad and pressed her bleeding wrist to his mouth. Morrolan knew the exact moment that Vlad swallowed some of Sethra's blood; the air filled with the distinct sensation of a spell being brought to bear. A snap sounded throughout the room, audible to all three sorcerers present. Vlad's body stilled, the blood spilling from his chest seemed to slow, and it was obvious he was dead.
Sethra stood, steadily and quite serenely. "I need to take him to Dzur Mountain. Aliera... I could use your help, I think."
"Certainly," she said, looking up from her dazed study of Vlad's still frame.
Without being asked, Morrolan came forward and stooped to pick up the shorter man, that is, the corpse of his friend. He clenched his teeth against the sudden emotion, the rational side of his brain assuring the sentimental side that, whatever had just happened, Vlad was not as dead as he seemed.
Sethra raised her hands and lowered them in a sudden motion that caused the four of them to disappear. Morrolan found himself in a part of Dzur Mountain he'd never seen before. Sethra directed him to lay Vlad's body on a low table, which he did.
He then stood by and watched as Aliera and Sethra painstakingly repaired the wounds in Vlad's chest and back, though the wound along his spine left more damage than the mere puncture of his flesh. Vlad was unrevivifiable. When they were done, Sethra glanced at the bandage on his arm and gestured at if off-handedly, setting a healing spell in place.
Soon the three of them stood beside each other, staring down at a healed, very bloody, very dead Vlad Taltos. "We should clean him up," Aliera said suddenly.
"Yes," agreed Sethra, turning to Morrolan with a pointed look. The only thing that he wanted to do less than wash the blood from an Easterner, reflected Morrolan to himself, was wash the blood from a very dead looking Easterner who happened to be his friend. Morrolan lifted Vlad again, stifling a sigh, and took him to the bath Sethra showed him. Morrolan performed a quick heating spell on the water stored there, stripped the remainder of Vlad's bloody clothing from his body, and located the soap.
To distract himself from the unnerving clammy feel of Vlad's dead skin, Morrolan began reviewing a complicated witchcraft spell in his head. When he was done he rinsed Vlad with the lukewarm water, and it ran away towards the drain tinged pink with blood.
A drying spell and then the task of struggling to get fresh clothing onto Vlad while simultaneously holding him upright. Morrolan was exhausted by the time he carried the corpse of his friend back to Sethra and his cousin.
"If that is all," Morrolan told them after settling Vlad onto a large bed. "I will return to Castle Black."
"Yes, thank you," he heard Sethra say, just before the teleport took effect.
"You look nervous," Aliera pointed out.
Sethra gave her a withering glance then sighed and admitted, "I have never done this before. It will be... a rather personal experience. I would not have you here except that I am not certain that something won't go terribly wrong, and it would be nice to have help at hand."
"I see," Aliera said. Then, cautiously, "He needs blood, doesn't he?"
"Yes," Sethra said tersely. She continued to stare down at the still figure on the bed, who looked very pale in the black clothing Morrolan had dressed him in.
Sethra sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath before reaching out to Vlad, settling one hand flat on his chest, above his heart. She spoke softly until Vlad's eyes snapped open.
He tried to sit up, but winced in weakness and pain, and the tension drained from his muscles as he slumped back down. That slight movement, however, proved that Aliera's idea and Sethra's actions had worked. Vlad was neither dead nor paralyzed.
"Here, Vlad," Sethra told him, quietly offering her wrist. She laid it against his lips. His eyes rolled to settle on her as if to ask what the hell was going on, but then instinct jumped in and his body at least knew exactly what to do. Sethra gasped when Vlad bit her wrist. Aliera started forward, then forced herself to still.
Sethra had collapsed further onto the bed, moaning softly. Vlad's eyes closed and his hand rose shakily from the covers to grip her arm. His hand continued to shake in extreme weakness, but it was clear he wasn't about to let her pull her wrist away.
Sethra's breath was coming in hard gasps, and Aliera wondered at what point she was supposed to step in and save her. Sethra moaned again, writhing on the bed against Vlad's body. Aliera blushed and looked away as it finally occurred to her that Sethra's reactions were not in response to pain.
A moment later, her eyes were drawn back to the bed as Sethra's glazed eyes turned her way and she managed to say, "Stop him. "
Aliera strode quickly to the bed and began to pry Vlad's fingers from around Sethra's wrist, purposefully tuning out what was happening to Sethra in the meantime. But Vlad had grown stronger with the blood, and he wouldn't let go. "Vlad," Aliera said then repeated more urgently, "Vlad!"
His eyes opened and Aliera saw nothing of her friend in his gaze. She suddenly realized that Sethra's life was not the only thing in the balance now; she had to pull him back to sanity...
Aliera drew Pathfinder, thrusting the Great Weapon nearly under Vlad's nose. He recoiled in horror.
Vlad released Sethra's wrist and slid back so he was sitting against the bed's headboard. "Okay," he said. "I'm okay now." Aliera watched a thin line of Sethra's blood trickle from his lips and wasn't sure if she agreed with him, but sheathed the sword.
Sethra took a moment to collect herself then stood shakily. Vlad looked at her and his expression shifted to dismay, to shock. "Sethra..."
She shook her head, even smiling some. "It was necessary. I will recover shortly... and you should rest now." Sethra stood carefully and left the room.
Vlad was shaking, shivering where he sat amongst the pillows. Aliera recruited the courage to approach him, and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling, Vlad?"
Vlad looked at her, and what had just happened seemed to sink in. "I'm going to be sick," he managed and lurched toward the edge of the bed.
Aliera helped him stumble to the bathroom, where he bent over the chamber pot and heaved violently, though none of the blood he'd just been drinking came up. After a bit, Vlad was able to straighten, though he was shivering all over. Aliera helped him clean up. He had to lean heavily on her to get back to the bed.
Vlad was still shivering when Aliera pulled the covers over him and sat down on the edge of the bed. He had closed his eyes, and his skin looked pasty. Aliera laid a hand on his forehead and discovered he was burning up. She made a note to ask Sethra later if that was normal then decided she'd rather not hear Sethra tell her that she didn't know.
"Aliera," Vlad said, speaking to her for the first time since she'd pulled him away from Sethra. "Am I... undead?" His voice came out scratchy and his eyes met hers, fearful.
"I'm sorry, Vlad," she told him sincerely. "Would it have been better if I'd let you die?"
He considered that for a moment, reliving the fight that had ended up with two daggers buried in his body. It had taken every skill he possessed to make his attacker lose the Morganti blade that he had begun the assault with. He'd been incredibly lucky that it was only plain steel that had finally taken him out. "No," he told her. "I'm glad you got Sethra to do it. Maybe one day, I'll thank you."
She smiled. "Perhaps. Are you... how do you feel?"
"Better," he admitted. "Exhausted. Where," he asked suddenly, "Where is Loiosh? I can't hear him. He can't be, he can't be dead, he..."
Vlad was edging towards panic. Aliera reached out and gripped his shoulder. "We don't know, Vlad. He wasn't with you in the teleport. Look, Vlad, you can't do anything about him now. It's likely you're just too weak to reach him. I know I couldn't contact you psionically right now."
"Oh," Vlad said, calming some. "You've got a point." The tension drained out of him and he slumped back to the bed. "Tomorrow I'll be better; I'll reach him then... he's probably fine..." His eyes were once again closed, and she watched him fall into sleep.
Aliera made her way to Sethra's preferred sitting room when visiting with guests and chose a chair by the fireplace. Presently, Chas arrived and served her wine.
Not too much later, Sethra Lavode made an appearance, sinking into the chair nearest Aliera without a word of greeting. "How is he?"
"Sleeping. He seemed weak; will he recover on his own now?"
"No," Sethra said.
Aliera waited patiently, but no explanation was forthcoming. Aliera frowned. She'd studied some of the theory behind the undead, but there was so much that simply wasn't known. There was even less known about the various processes by which one could become undead. Then she realized what was missing. "He needs human blood." Aliera blushed and corrected herself, "That is, blood from a living human."
"Yes. It would be best if he had it soon. Tomorrow if possible."
Aliera nodded, knowing what the best approach would be. "If you'll excuse me..."
Aliera teleported to Castle Black, greeted Lady Teldra warmly, and inquired Morrolan's whereabouts.
She explained the situation patiently to the increasingly uncomfortable Dragonlord.
"Well, why aren't you volunteering then?"
"Morrolan, I'm Vlad's sister!"
"Not precisely," he murmured.
"Close enough," she said decisively. "Morrolan, I watched him with Sethra."
Morrolan blanched. First there was the fact that Sethra, who Morrolan had donated blood to on more than one occasion, had shared such an experience with Vlad. Then there was the fact that it was Vlad...
"You've done this with Sethra, haven't you?" Aliera said softly.
Morrolan glared at her. "Even if I have, that is entirely different. First of all, Sethra and I..." He swallowed the words in time to prevent their being said aloud. "And Vlad is..."
"Male?" Aliera asked, unable to suppress a slight smile.
"Well, I'm glad you find this so amusing!" Morrolan said angrily. He turned away, began to pace, stopped and said, "Fine. When?"
"Tomorrow. At your convenience."
Morrolan bit off a harsh comment about when it might be convenient and said evenly, "If that is all, cousin, I have business to attend to."
"That is all, Morrolan," she told him. Then, quietly, "Thank you," and she quit the room.
Sethra looked up from her study of the floor as she heard Vlad shift on the bed before her chair. He'd come out of the feverish state that had worried her earlier then fallen into unpeaceful dreams that seemed to feature Morganti weapons prominently. He was quiet now, lying still as though the thrashing about had exhausted him.
"Kiera?" he asked, uncertainly.
Sethra reached to take his lifeless hand in hers. "I'm here, Vlad."
"I'm sorry, Kiera," he muttered, still more asleep than awake.
"So am I," she returned softly as he faded off again.
Sethra was still there when he awoke. Vlad managed to sit up on his own and swing his legs over the side of the bed, but standing took considerable effort. He steadied himself against the bed and watched the room spin.
Wordlessly, Sethra helped him cross the room to the bathroom and, a few minutes later, back to the bed. The simple effort left Vlad winded and dizzy. He settled into an upright position leaning against a pile of pillows and asked, "Why am I so weak?"
Sethra looked at him contemplatively before telling him, "You need the blood of one who is living."
"Oh." Vlad closed his eyes a minute and reopened them slowly, but the room was still tilting slowly to the left. He tried to marshal his drifting thoughts and remember why it was that he wasn't too keen on drinking blood again.
Then the memories hit him, vivid images of what had happened between him and Sethra. His body started to react to the memory and he quickly tried to think of something else. "What happens if I don't get 'blood from one who is living'?"
"You die."
"Oh."
Sethra looked at him sympathetically. "Because of the way in which you became undead, you required first my blood and now that of the living. If you are lucky, you'll never have to drink blood again after this... unless you so desire. I can teach you other ways to recruit your strength."
"Okay," Vlad said. "Whose blood am I getting now?"
Sethra paused a moment then said, "Morrolan's."
The ramifications of this took a moment to sink in. Vlad felt his pale face flush red. "Oh," he said again.
Morrolan was sweating. He had looked at everything else in the room except the Easterner on the bed. He was scowling even more than usual. These facts had not escaped Sethra Lavode. She turned to him now and said, "I will stay in case he loses control and tries to drink longer than..."
"No."
"Morrolan, really it would be best if..."
"No," he interrupted again, angry eyes meeting hers. "I am more than capable of handling him."
After a tense moment, she gave him a small bow, anger barely contained, and left them.
Morrolan remained facing the door she'd left through, his back to Vlad. He scowled at himself, largely because his body was eager for the effect Sethra's bite always had on him, despite the fact that it would be Vlad who...
Morrolan turned abruptly and marched to the bed. Vlad was seated in the middle, his back propped against the tall wooden headboard. "Look, I don't like this any better than you do, you know."
"Just... don't speak, Vlad," Morrolan managed between gritted teeth. He sat on the bed, willing his heart to quit pounding and his over-sensitive body to stand down.
"Okay," Vlad said. "Can I, uh, have your wrist?"
Morrolan rolled up a sleeve and held out his arm, thinking he might be able to brace himself for the inevitable... "Gods..." he gasped, collapsing fully onto the bed, feeling his muscles tense, his body harden.
Vlad was more vicious than Sethra, perhaps because he was so desperate for the blood that would make him whole again. The first few waves of desire that coursed through Morrolan's body brought him nearly to the edge. He was flat on his back, sprawled across the bed, touching the other man only through their connection at Morrolan's wrist.
Desire swallowed him whole and he could no longer see the room around him. The pleasure washed over him roughly, again and again. He slowly became aware that he was moaning continuously, that Vlad was making similar sounds beside him, along with the sucking sound his lips made on the Dragon's wrist.
Suddenly, Morrolan was there, hardly aware that he was screaming in pleasure. His body thrust upward, spilling over in hot waves. But he was no longer fully connected to it; he was somewhere beyond the physical existence of his body and there was only sensation after intense sensation.
Distantly, through the indescribable bliss, Morrolan realized this had lasted far longer than it should, that his body had emptied and still the pain built, for now it was pain, and there was Vlad beside him, still devouring his blood. Detachedly, Morrolan watched as Vlad drained away his life through his arm.
Morrolan groaned and punched Vlad with his free fist, squarely in the side of his head. Vlad released his wrist, stunned. Fortunately, Morrolan hadn't had the strength to put much behind the blow. He slowly re-entered his own body to find he was still writhing uncontrollably, pain and pleasure tearing through him.
He rode it out as it subsided, trying to stop groaning, trying to control his body. His wrist was a bloody mess, but there was nothing he could do about it now, when he couldn't so much as turn his head away from the sight of it. Vlad was in his vision now too, staring at him in horror. "Morrolan..."
"Shut up," Morrolan managed to whisper, "Just..." He finished the sentence in his own head as he slid into blessed unconsciousness.
Vlad came back to himself slowly, his mouth tasting oddly metallic... like blood. His eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed, discovering simultaneously that his weakness had vanished and that Morrolan had not.
The Dragonlord was asleep beside him on the bed, looking unhealthily pale. Vlad blushed as he remembered the feel of the blood on his lips, the intense need it had brought with it. Feeding on Morrolan had felt... amazing. The first time, with Sethra, he had obviously been too weakened to fully participate in the experience. But this time, the moment he'd bitten down on the pulse beating rapidly in Morrolan's wrist, sensations had exploded within him, something had taken control of him that lusted after the blood the same way Vlad's body had suddenly yearned for release.
It would be best, Vlad thought with sudden clarity, if I were not here when he wakes up.
Vlad suddenly realized he was missing Loiosh's rejoiner to that thought and remembered what was wrong... "Loiosh?" he asked desperately.
"Boss!" The jhereg sounded ecstatic. "Where are you? Hold on, you're not like on the other side of Deathgate, are you? I don't know how I feel about being a familiar to a dead guy."
"How about an undead guy?"
"Huh?"
"We should talk... where are you? Oh, damn, I'll get back to you. There's a Dragonlord waking up who isn't going to be very happy with me..."
Vlad was a second too late. Morrolan was looking at him, his face yet emotionless. He seemed to check himself over to make sure he was all in one piece then sat up on the side of the bed, which put his back to Vlad. Vlad could tell from the careful way he moved that he was suffering from the blood loss.
Without looking at him again, Morrolan stood shakily and teleported.