Author: Hi! Guess what? Since I have not been able to post all summer, I have the entire story all written out. However, I will post a new chapter only once a week; reviews will also influence the update rate. So, please, review; they are greatly appreciated! Hehe, thankies! Now go ahead and enjoy the feehan story you carpathian fans!
Disclaimer: I, Aspera, do not own any of those luscious, yummy, nummy, sexy, to die for carpathians created by Christine Feehan... but god knows I wish I did! However, Thaddeus is my very own hot, sexy carpathian! If you wish to use him in a future carpathian fanfic, be my guest! ;
'.....' are thoughts directed at another.
Bold is words that are supposed to be italisized for impact.
- - - - - - is a scene change, or a symbol that signifies the beginning and end of the chapter.-
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Dark Impulse
By: Aspera Ange-Chan
Chapter One:
Time of Discoveries
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The night was endless, insatiable in its hunger to consume the world. Monsters thrived in this darkness; vampires, creatures of the mortal's nightmares. Nothing was ever the same in the hours of descending darkness, of the fading light in the waning day. And yet, it was beautiful in its own entirety. The leaves shimmered a soft, glowing silver in the moonlight, the wind blew softly the woods, and the night fairly sang with its own mysterious, mesmerizing voice.
Sadly, the creature walking along the path in the forest on the outskirts of Detroit could not see the night's beauty, the night's wonders, or hear the music it made. There was no color for him, no emotion to guide him through the centuries that stretched out before him like a curse. Unfortunetly, upon this rising, he would not be seeking the rejuvinating sleep of his race, but the eternal, releasing rest. He would meet the dawn and end his empty, barren existence.
Thaddeus had lived for over a thousand years and could no longer face the emotionless years ahead of him. He had been a hunter of the undead all his life, though his true calling was not that of a hunter's. Thaddeus was a gem caller, like the great Byron, the prince's brother's best friend. He had been sent out by Vlad, Mikhail's father, those so many, many years ago.
He'd been in the United States for a very long time now, long before any mortal had set foot upon the land they now claimed for their own. The Indians were there long before him though, having flourised for many, many centuries before those from England arrived to colonize the states. He had arrived well before the man they called its founder. What was his name? Ah, yes, Columbus. Thaddeus had explored and protected this land, fighting the creatures of nightmares to keep the land safe and thriving.
Over the barren years, he'd found many retreats of his own; beautiful places of healing herbs and waters, soil and crystals. Moutians, caves, and valcanoes. Soothing places of tranquility and endless, vivid colors. However, he couldn't feel the effects of these wonderful places, nor see the colors they presented so brightly and vividly. He had lost all of his emotions when he was but a seventy-year-old boy, a younging, a fledging of his race. He had lost it all - love, affection, trust, hate, anger, and happiness - all of them. He no longer felt a single damn thing, save the insatiable hunger that crawled and ate at his black soul unmercifully, never giving a thought to his endlessly tormented mind.
The only chance he had to save his soul was through the arrival and finding of his very own lifemate. But, after having existed and waited for her for over a thousand and four hundred years, he knew that God would not bestow such a wonderful gift upon him. He no longer wished to simply be in this life; he missed his fledging years far more then he liked.
A sigh slipped past his thick lips as his obsidian eyes looked to the dark sky, his thick, powerful, and muscular body still in the night. He stood there silent and absolutely unmovable. He was immaculate, dangerous, looking more intimidating than even Darius of Gregori - the lengendary dark carpation and his brother. He was just as power as well if not more. His hair was a light, wavy, chocolate brown, tied at the nape of his neck with a leather thong, adding an Old World elegance about him.
He would've felt so utterly alone and desperate for his lifemate's companionship, had he the ability to feel such a thing. His soul was doomed. He had only two choices, though he'd already chosen - to lose his soul to the lure of the beast and become the deadly creatures known as Nosferatu, or to meet the dawn and end his suffering. He supposed he could go to the ground and sleep until the presence of his lifemate woke him. For one reason or another, however, this did not feel like the right decision in the least.
A wild cry of unfelt pain tore from his throat, the sound husky and loud, yet all the more mesmerizing. He wished he could feel the pain this emptiness caused, but he couldn't. 'Why are you so alone?' The voice shimmered into his mind easily, soft, husky, and innocently sexy. His cry was cut off rather abruptly and he blinked in a feeling akin to complete astonishment. Colors flashed and whirled, causing him to close his eyes as they sprang at him. What was happening? He wasn't suppose to see colors... unless he found his lifemate!
He traced the path unfailingly and touched the young woman's mind gently, sending a message winging over time and space to her. 'We males are always thus, inquiring one.' When the voice returned, he caught it for what it was - unfailingly sexy, soft, caressing, and definitely feminine. 'Why is that? People make their own choices, don't they?' His body clenched at the notes caressing him, an ache he'd never known pooling in his body. He thought about his answer carefully, his mind firmly locked with hers' now. When he did answer her, his voice had become deep and husky with a need as elemental as time. 'Our lives were created to be this way for a reason. It is simply the will of God.'
He silently and carefully inspected her mind as she thought over what she would say next. She was young yet, he found, only just having reaching her 18th year in this world. She was alone as he was. This woman knew what it felt like to find the world empty, to find that half of her being was missing and that she'd never be complete. Her parents were both dead, murdered when she was but an infant by what he suspected to be a vampire. She had no siblings, either. She'd grown up on the wrong side of the tracks and knew what life was really like. She'd actually been as alone as he - finally, God had taken mercy on his soul and granted him the one thing he'd always sought. A lifemate. His very own brave, curageous, and compassionate lifemate.
'God would never subject you to such utter lonliness and darkness that I sense in you. If you ask me, I simply find it cruel. You're in tremendous pain and I felt it even with this distance between us.' To his utter disbelief, he felt her soft, delicate fingers on his chin, brushing along his square jaw with a soothing touch. Desire was strong in him, so strong that every nerve ending in his body alive and sizzling with centuries of pent up passion. It was an exquisite, but painful need.
'Yes...it has been an extremely lonely existence. Though, I could no longer feel the pain after the first seventy years, and the hundreds of years after were only filled with this endless hunger.' He cursed as he caught himself. He had never made a mistake in his life and yet, just after talking with her for a few minutes, he'd already slipped up. 'Hundreds... exactly how old are you?' Surprised, he hesitated. There was no fear, shock, nor even astonishment of any sort in her mind. And she was mortal. Mortals such as she feared the unknown, the creatures that they oftenly mistook for carpathians. She was not afraid, at all.
'I am over a thousand and four hundred years, I-ett.' Thaddeus murmured the words gently in her mind as he felt the breath slam out of her lungs, and her heart beat a great deal louder inside her chest. Now there was fear, however minor it might be. 'Wow...that's surely a long time to live. It's no wonder that you feel and are so alone.' Her voice was soft, hesitant when he read inbetween the lines. He felt a smile tugging at the edge of his tiers, shocked that a smile was even possible for him to attempt. He found he wanted to see her and wondered where she might be; he could see through her eyes to find out, however, her mind barriers were outstandingly strong and he did not want to be so overly pushy with her. So, he did it the polite way and asked. 'Where are you now, I-ett?'
There was definite hesitation now, in her young mind as well as heart. Though her heart, soul, body, and mind cried out for his, she was still mortal and set human limitations for herself. She did not understand the calling between lifemates, but he would make sure that she would truly understand. Though she was now afraid - she had grown up in a dangerous world and had been taught never to trust, especially a stranger - she did answer him. 'I'm in a bar, not drinking of course; sitting and listening to some music with my friend, Audra.' She laughed softly and his gut clenched hotly in a semblence of desire; it was so much more than that, so much more invigorating and all-consuming. 'She decided to drag me here for a late 18th birthday celebration. Not that there is really anything to do here. It's so dull, you know?'
Thaddeus touched her mind gently to see what she up to at this time. Red anger flared in his eyes and soul as he found her talking with a male, a handsome one at that. He could feel her discomfort at his touch, as that male's hand was gently touching and exploring the revealed skin of her thigh. Gritting his teeth, he calmed himself with an extreme effort. 'What is your name?' Again, he asked her rather than simply picking the information from her mind. 'My name? Well, since I suppose I'll never see you, I guess I can tell you. My name is Rika Li Shayne. And your's? What is your name?' He was growling now, being able to still feel the man's hand on her as he was nestled firmly in her mind. His voice was deep and a drawn out growl as he repsonded. 'Thaddeus. Thaddeus Ordian, at your service, also known as Tall Shadow among the native americans.'
'I like your name.' She stated to him. Thaddeus found it was getting harder and harder to hold back the urge of ripping out her male companion's throat. Finally, he could not take it. 'Get that man's hand off you now!' Fangs exploded into his mouth, peircing his lips as he slowly became more animal than man. 'For the sake of mortals and immortals alike, you must get him off of you!' His hands shot to hold his head as the anger and jealousy increased ten fold, to the point where it was almost driving him insane.
Not liking his attitude, but hearing the urgency in his voice and feeling his anger and jealousy, Rika hurriedly complied. "Jack, stop now. I know you know I've told you before: I'm not interested." Her voice was slightly haughty, but overly exasperated. Jack blinked and sighed, taking his hand from his companion's thigh. "Sorry, Rika. You're just so damn beautiful, with your bright blonde hair that flows like silk, to your solid ocean blue eyes, and to your tan, luscious, curvy body," Jack said this to her in his most conjoling voice, hoping he could win her over and get her to come home with him tonight. He'd been lusting after her for so long now, years in fact, that he was almost at the point of obsession.
Thaddeus found he could finally relax as Rika took charge and firmly put the male in his place. His fangs receded, his anger dissapated, and he was finally back to himself once more. He then began walking in the direction she was, determined to stake his claim before all so they would know she was his and his alone. He sensed he was not far, probably a short few miles, as they were both in the vacinity of the city Detroit. He stayed firmly in her mind, observing her conversation with this 'Jack' fellow, as he picked the super speedy flight of his race. At this rate, he would be there in no time at all.
"Jack...you know that is not going to work with me," Rika stated almost angrily. She knew his true thoughts and feelings, she knew that he wanted her in his bed, serving his needs, being his night of flickering candles, silk sheets, and long, hard sex. Rika was an extrodinary psychic, but kept it to herself, knowing that abilities like her's could very well get her killed. "I'm tired of telling you no. And when I say no, I mean it." Angrily, she pushed herself up from the table, long, tan legs exposed to the light and the visions of others'. Since her best friend and herself were clubbing tonight, she'd worn nothing more than a simply, leather mini skirt and a military patterned halter top. Her hair was drawn back in a messy, quick bun, strands of spun gold silk falling in a wild fashion around her delicately carved face. Gritting her teeth in an effort to stay civilized, she spat, "Got that, Jack?"
Jack watched her, eyes of emerald green flaring with lust beneath his long, pure black hair. He was angry, as well as hurt, but no matter what she did, he could never stop these over whelming feelings for her that welled up out of nowhere. Her blue eyes were just so large and innocently sexy. They did such odd things to him. As her words sunk in, he growled and climbed to his own feet, his large chains thunking against the table and the chair. He slammed his hands down on the table and glared at her, angry that she couldn't see what she was doing to him. "You're such an ice queen, Rika! Always aloof and not conscious of the effect you have on men all around you. Can you not see what you do to me?!" He was tired of this; tonight...he would show her how much he truly lusted after her.
Rika's friend, Audra, turned at the commotion she picked up with her exceptionally good hearing. Seeing Jack, her brother, pressing his suite for her friend once again, caused her to grow rightfully angry. Why didn't he ever learn to accept a declination when he got one? Storming over to them in her simple outfit of black jeans and a black tube top, Audra slapped her brother solidly across the face. "Knock it off, Jack! I'm serious! I know she's told you more than once that she doesn't want you; accept it like a man, would you!"
Her brother slapped her back. Hard. Rika gasped, tears filling her large blue eyes as she watched her friend fall to the ground. Anxiously, she called for Thaddeus. 'Help me! Please! Jack hit Audra and the bouncer here isn't seeing what's going on. I can't take Jack on my own. Please come, Thaddeus!' She knelt beside Audra and helped her sit up, glaring daggers at her friend's abusive brother. "You stupid jerk! what the hell did you do that for?!" Jack took a threatening stop towards them, only to stop in his tracks rather abruptly. His hands flew to his throat as his airway sealed off invisibly, eyes widening as he struggled to breathe.
Immediately, Rika knew this was that man's doing. 'No, Thaddues! Don't kill him! Please, let him go. He won't hurt us, I promise, just please, please, release him.' There was no answer, just a very strong impression of a red haze of anger. An animal wanting to go by its instincts and kill. Suddenly, she saw Jack fall to the ground, once more able to breathe. He wheezed and struggled to get to his feet as the bouncer of the club, and other's simply there, rushed to aid him. 'Get out of there, I-ett, now. Take your friend and meet me out front.' His voice shimmered in her mind and was so mesmerizing, she found herself doing exactly what he said. She was not able to hear the under lining anger and dangerous contempt in his voice.
Helping Audra up from the ground, who was crying and shaking with fear, she walked outside. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Audra," Rika said soothingly as she hugged her friend, "Jack has been such a jerk lately. I don't know what's gotten into him." Angrily, Audra pulled back from the hug and pushed her away from herself. "You got into him, that's what!" She glared at Rika for a few moments, then turned on her heel and stormed away to her car, getting in and starting the little Ford Escort, before driving it out of the club parking lot dangerously fast.
Stunned, Rika felt tears running down her cheeks in warm, wet trails. Audra was right...that this was all her fault. She had always attracted men's attention, but had always declined their pursuits as she had never felt anything in return for any one of them. 'It is not your fault, Rika, never that.' The beautiful, masculine voice of her fantasy slipped into her thoughts. Not wanting to do anything but crawl in a hole and scream, cry, rant, and rave, she sunk back against the club's brick wall. She hung her head and cried quietly as Thaddeus landed swiftly a few feet away.
"Rika, you know what I speak is the truth." He murmered the words softly and soothingly, growing worried when she didn't respond. "I-ett?" Her head turned, peircing blue eyes glancing at him through slight strands of gold. "Go away," she whispered, pushing herself off of the wall, before turning and walking along the sidewalk down the street. She longed to be with that tall, muscular, all-so-yummy man of her fantasies, but that was just what he was - a fantasy. Though he stood before her now, tall, lithe, handsome, and dangerous, he wasn't real. That thick chocolate hair wasn't real. Those black valcanic rocks that were his eyes were false. That sad, longing look of concern across his beautifully carved face, was nothing but her imagination.
Thaddues watched her walk away from him, easily seeing that she clearly denied his very exisistence in this world. Bewildered, he silently shook his head and began following her at a slow, leisured pace. He had found his lifemate, and no matter what she thought - and she thought such silly thoughts about him as just her dream guy - he was determined to win her over. And now protect her as well, both from danger and the emotions that were threatening to swallow her whole.
Rika sighed softly through her lips. She knew he was there, slowly following her along the darkened sidewalk. 'Please go away, Thaddeus.' Her voice pleaded with him through their mind link. Catching his thought before he did, she knew he was silently shaking his head as he followed. 'That I cannot do, I-ett. I know you do not understand what is happening, but you shall in all due time.' His voice was filled with a sense of male amusement. That in itself grated on her. Her hands doubled into fists at her sides and she sighed once more. 'And what is it exactly that I do not understand?'
'There is too much to discuss, I'm afraid. I shall begin with the simplest of our knowledge that you will need to know.' Carefully, he continued, aware of reactions that could follow his words. 'I am not human, I-ett, but a carpathian male in his full prime. And you, Rika, are my lifemate.' He stopped as he saw her halt her walk forward. Turning, she stared at him in disbelief. "Carpathian?" she murmured softly, looking at him with impossibly wide hues of incrediably sexy blue eyes, "Are you freaking serious?" At his nod, she gasped with delight. "You mean you all are really real? Like Mikhail, and Jacques? Adian, Gregori, Julian, Darius, Barack -- " Abruptly, he cut her off, almost angry. "How do you know about all of us?" Thaddeus demanded.
Seeing that he was angry, Rika hesitated. "I...um...well, read about them in a book, more than one actually. They were called the Dark Series. Dark Prince was about Mikhail and how he came to find Raven...and the others entailed the rest." His angry black eyes watched her disbelievingly. "And who wrote these...books?" She blinked and wondered how he could not know. "Why," she started, smiling, "Christine Feehan did of course."
"I do not know this...Feehan woman. How does she know about us?" His eyes were watching her thoughtfully. How did someone mortal know of their race, and how did she actually know everything that happened? How did she know who was lifemates to who? He was exceedingly curious, quickly sending all information he gathered to the most important of their race -- Mikhail and Gregori.
"I don't know, Thaddeus. Perhaps she is psychic like me." She cursed to herself as she let that information slip. Never had she told anyone that she was psychic and she had never wanted to. But, seeing as he was carpathian and of a completely different race, she had instinctively known to trust him. Thoughtfully, Thaddeus nodded. "That could be true," he hesitantly confided in her.
Abruptly, Thaddeus' entire demeanor changed. His face darkened inexplainably. His lips thinned to a hard line of contempt. His eyes hardened to cold, flat, emotionless stones, though she could see the red flames flickering about in their depths. His form took on a stance she had never seen before, one of a dangerous predator. Reading the books as she had, she could geuss what had probably caused this change in him. "Is it the undead?" she asked him in a whisper. Surprised, his eyes shot to her. "Aa, it is. If you know this, then you must go at once."
"But, Thaddeus -- " He cut her off. "Go, now!" Afraid now at the anger he was showing, Rika turned and fled down the street. She knew why the vampire had come and why she had to leave. The undead were now after her, a psychic woman they believed they could find a mate in. But they could not. They'd chosen to lose their souls and ended leaving their potential, possible lifemates alone in the world to suffer. The last thing she wanted was to be forced into doing anything by the vile touch of a vampire.
Unfortunetly, luck was not on her side this night. When she arrived at her house, she immediately knew that something was amiss by the darkness that now beamed around her house. There was more than one. And the other had come -- for her.
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Author: So? What did you think? I wasn't overly pleased with it, but I hope you enjoyed it. Push that button down there - see it? - and let me know that you thought and if I should continue or not. Oh, and I be you're all wondering; 'I-ett' is Nez Perce (an indian tribe that was prominent in the Oregon country in the 1800's) for 'my woman,' and 'Aa' is simply yes. Thanks a bunch for reading.
'Aspera Ange-Chan'