Chapter 6

The wind whistled past Hannah's ears. Finally, she opened her eyes. First she glanced at the creature who carried her, then she looked below at the forest flashing by just beneath them. Many thoughts came to her at once. The idea of flying through the air, fear for her family members, an intense desire to know who this being was that held her, and what his intentions were.

He held her tightly to his chest. The feel of l'Olonoise was like the feel of the trunk of a tree. The touch of his hands was cold...just like Nathaniel's touch earlier. Her strong nature allowed her faculties to return to her. The idea that she was being carried aloft as if by a bird was too incomprehensible to consider so she simply put it from her mind and turned to him with a calmness that belied the situation.

"Put me down sir! I demand it!"

l'Olonoise did not so much as glance at Hannah. An air of superiority radiated from him. It was as if she were a bleating lamb being carried to...slaughter. Hannah pushed the thought from her mind.

Without warning the tops of the trees came toward her face and she shut her eyes again. All motion stopped and l'Olonoise lowered her until her feet touched the ground. She opened her eyes to see that she was standing on a path in the forest with l'Olonoise holding her from behind. He said nothing...as if he were waiting for something. Hannah could not help trembling in fear and awe as she regained her bearings. She finally tested his strength by attempting to break away from him but he barely even noticed as he held her fast.

Finally, he broke his silence.
"Pay heed woman...your destiny approaches."

Moments later, the sound of movement in the underbrush was audible. Something was coming fast toward them. A figure emerged running at impossible speed and abruptly halted before colliding with Hannah and l'Olonoise.

It was Nathaniel Berkley.

"Wake up Thomas!"

Thomas protested. "What do you want of me, sister? Leave me be..."
Abigail shook her brother again.
"You must wake, brother! Mother is gone!"
That bit of information got Thomas' attention. He struggled to a sitting position in bed and looked at his sister with bleary eyes.
"Mother is gone? Where has she gone?"
"I do not know. I was asleep and heard a man talking with her. I rose to sneak a peek and I saw them leave...at least I believe I saw them leave. The man ran from the house holding Mother in his arms." Abigail paused. "I think he took her..."

Thomas looked at Abigail suspiciously to make sure she was not playing a prank on him. She seemed sincere. One thing Thomas knew about his sister...she was a terrible liar. He could always tell when she tried to fool him.

Abigail, took her brother's hand.
"Come Thomas...let us rise and go to Tituba's house. ...Quickly now!"

Nathaniel felt rage boil over within him at the sight of l'Olonoise holding Hannah in the path before him.
"Vile demon! Release her! Do not sully her with your touch!"
Nathaniel stepped toward l'Olonoise in a threatening manner but the vampyre glared at him coldly...halting him in his tracks.
"Do you care for her so deeply? Or do you feel something else for her entirely?"
Hannah felt relief at seeing Nathaniel which tempered the fear she felt as the hands holding her painfully tightened their grip upon her.
"Nathaniel! He has abducted me!"

l'Olonoise only laughed, bent down, and kissed Hannah's cheek. "Yes...I have...but not for me..." he pointed at Nathaniel, "...but for him."

Nathaniel stood transfixed. The rage he felt at the sight of l'Olonoise competed with the lustful urge he felt at the sight of Hannah. He fought...using the rage to combat the hunger. And it worked.

Nathaniel sprang at l'Olonoise. The vampyre pirate was caught off-guard. The ferocity of Nathaniel's attack knocked him off his feet and slammed him into a tree. As he rose, Nathaniel's fist struck his face with a force he had not felt in many centuries...he felt the bones of his face splinter with the impact. The pain and blood blinded him. l'Olonoise roared in anger.

"You dare strike me? You unworthy wretch! I will make you pay ten-fold for this indignity!"

Hannah rose to her feet after being tossed aside by the collision of the two men. Her eyes grew wide as she watched her brother-in-law punch l'Olonoise with an awe-inspiring blow. The punch seemed to crush l'Olonoise's face and his scream was ear-piercing and...inhuman. Unbelievably, l'Olonoise then grabbed Nathaniel's arm, spun him around into the tree, and began to choke him. Hannah had never seen a fight like this one. She looked around...

Nathaniel struggled to free himself, but l'Olonoise held him tightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Nathaniel saw Hannah approaching with a tree branch. She no doubt was planning to strike l'Olonoise from behind. Nathaniel looked at the vampyre's bloodied and broken face and saw him grin. Nathaniel wanted to warn her...but he could not speak.

With one swift motion, l'Olonoise blocked Hannah's attempt to strike him, grabbed her by the throat, and pulled her toward Nathaniel.

"Enough! I will not be molested by the likes of you!"

l'Olonoise clenched his teeth and grinned a malevolent grin at Nathaniel.

"I have lived a thousand lifetimes! Do you believe I would meet my end at your hands? ...No...you will be dust...and I will still be here!"
l'Olonoise pulled Hannah toward him.
"But first...you will watch her perish..." he turned toward Nathaniel, "You hold fast to your primitive feelings you call 'love'...but it makes you weak...it makes you inferior...and it will make you suffer..."

"...because YOU will end her!"

"No!" Nathaniel turned his head away and squeezed his eyes shut.

l'Olonoise slammed Nathaniel against the tree in anger and frustration.
"You still resist? Why? She is nothing! You hunger for her...take what you want!"
l'Olonoise growled for a moment and then leaned in to Nathaniel.
"It is your love for her that allows you to resist. I wonder if your lust for her can overcome it!"

With that, l'Olonoise dug his thumbnail into Hannah's neck. She screamed in pain. Nathaniel struck out at the vampyre as hard as he could to no avail. He sobbed in frustration...

...but then Nathaniel noticed the stream of blood trickling down Hannah's neck. An inferno of hunger rose inside him. White hot pangs of desire stabbed at his belly and the world seemed to go red before his eyes. He felt himself irresistibly drawn to Hannah. Her neck drew closer. Whether it was because the vampyre pulled her nearer or because Nathaniel stretched toward her, he did not know. l'Olonoise laughed. Hannah felt fear rise in her as she sensed the change in Nathaniel.

"Now let us observe how strong your will is, foolish one! Here is the woman you long for...the flesh you crave...she is yours!"

In spite of himself, Nathaniel felt himself slipping away and becoming...teeth. Something inside him was awake and asserting itself like never before. The last remnants of Nathaniel's lucid mind feared that the thing which was awakening was merely a darkness that had existed long before l'Olonoise had entered his life.

He reached for Hannah...embraced her as she struggled against him...and found her neck. Her scream of pain was abruptly cut short as she relaxed in Nathaniel's arms. What Nathaniel had become felt bliss.