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MA: it's that drugs, sex, and rock and roll again.

Chapter 9: Town Excursion

Maggie looked up at the cold, opposing figure of the clergy.

"We need the rogue Priest to come back to us. And if our men can't do it then you will do it."

"I don't understand. How could I bring him back here?"

Forty guards started to fill the cold ill lit chamber, surrounding Maggie.

"I don't understand Father, what have I done?"

"We have kept an eye on you my dear. We know you have an interest in him which is forbidden! You have broken your vows and now you will be punished."

He slammed a hammer down on the long desk in front of him, cueing the guards.

Orelas whispered to one of the clergy members. Upon Orelas command the member got up from the half circle and disappeared. Maggie felt panic, much like the panic she felt during the vampire war.

The guards with guns moved as a single unit, enclosing her in a tight circle. One took her arms from behind and put her in handcuffs. In rage, Maggie flung her head back and connected with the man's nose, poor sucker, his shield was up on his face mask. A crunch came from broken cartilage, and blood squirted into her black ponytailed hair. The man in front of her tried to rush her, but her leg flung out with precision and connected with the inner side of his knee, breaking it. She roared loudly at the clergy's betrayal. She saw Orelas stand up in his black throne. His skin glowed, it was pale as chalk; he looked like a demon in sheep's skin.

"Bitch!" a robust guard in front of her roared. The guard tried to punch her after his profane mouth sounded off, but she dodged it. Two guards flanking her drove the butt of their guns into the side of her head and she dropped to the floor stunned.

They dragged her off underground to a cell and forcefully threw her in; she did not have fans after broken bones. She looked to the ceiling of the cell after several minutes of laying there on the floor. She silently prayed, the pain blotted out the light in her and she closed her eyes. Still handcuffed, she prayed hard until she was exhausted and then closed her eyes.

…..

The familiar found Black Hat leaning on the train station wall watching the town. He let one of his minions drag the clerk at the station off to have for himself. He had ordered his vampires to rid the bodies once they were done murdering the town. He also ordered them to not leave the town looking shattered, even though he wanted to see it burn badly. He had a stronger desire to see Lucy relax. He wanted it to look as good as it could after a town was decimated, because he was going to take Lucy out to get some fresh air. He would have preferred to take her out while the town was alive, but his vampires were getting restless, making the train rock slowly from side to side. Black Hat didn't want to chance seeing her cry after she realized the town was about to be destroyed. A warm feeling he hadn't felt in a while almost touched his heart but died before it could get there.

His heart beat was so slow that no doctor would be able to notice it. It was a sign of power not only as a human, but a weakness, ultimately he was still killable just like any creature was.

Her plea to get him to stay worried him, after all he put her through, you would think she would try to kill him every chance she got. It seemed her first punch was all the fight he would get; that almost disappointed him. Lucy's plea sounded so fragile that it startled him, though he didn't want her to see it so he didn't turn around. A hint of suspicion loomed in his mind of his familiars, but he knew if they did something she would tell him.

"I heard Lucy scream. It sounded like somebody was dragging her around."

Black Hat flew past the familiar, almost pushing him off the platform in his haste. Vampires howled and the town stirred. The screeching started as the doors flung open, drool swinging through the humid air; their tongues and teeth clicked in strange dialect. Explosions ran through the town like wildfire and a blaze of X's formed on a bridge like structure between buildings; the humans were no match

Black Hat opened the door to find Lucy passed out on the floor. Her ruby necklace had a faint glow around it; two scratches marked her delicate flesh where the gem lay, like she tried to claw it off. He propped her up into a sitting position and tried moving her eyelids up.

"Lucy, wake up," he begged.

"Stop," she tried to shout but it came out a whisper. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around.

"I need to get you something more to eat. Would you like that?"

"I saw you surrounded by vampires…screaming."

Black Hat inhaled deeply, and avoided her statement. He was almost relieved someone else knew what he had gone through, but he wondered what brought her there. He got her to stand up on shaky legs which helped to revive her. Putting her head between his hands he tried to get her to look at him.

"What happened? Tell me," he commanded.

"I don't know...I was being dragged across the floor," her voice was hazy.

Black Hat's dark eyebrows furrowed against his tanned skin.

Lucy had a vision of her being pulled by the spirit onto her feet and towards the vanity, towards it. She tried to rip her necklace off but it stopped her. The spirit did not hurt her, but welcomed her like she was a daughter, a weird feeling that made her stomach tingle, and inevitably changed her.

She moved her feet a little bit and the world stopped tilting. She must have hit her head on the way down. Black Hat gave her the jug of water and Lucy drank some of it.

"Come with me." He pulled her softly out by the elbow and checked once more just to make sure she was coherent enough to at least listen to him.

"You're sure you're okay? I wouldn't want to cancel our night." A devilish glint held his eyes and his open mouth showcased fangs.

Lucy nodded, staring at his deep dimples and lush lips stretching over white fangs. The experience was far from normal; she felt different but now was not the time to think about it. She was being led to fresh air, out of the train compartment. She came alive as she saw the stars in the night sky. Her ordeal soon forgotten, it felt like she was a bird set free after being in a cage for years. The air rustled her red hair and she closed her eyes. Walking in front of Black Hat, she twirled in circles with her arms extended, a graceful smile on her face.

It made him happy to see her like that and he knew tonight was going to be an interesting night; him caging her paid off. She stopped twirling and looked back at him, expectant. He neared her with a smirk and together they walked towards the town.

Right at the town's edge Lucy stopped and looked at the smoke coming from the fire. She looked at Black Hat with uncertainty in her eyes and a small fear that she may get injured.

Earlier, before he commanded the vampires to clean out the bodies, he told his familiars to lounge in the town but far away from where Lucy may decide to go. He wanted to give Lucy less of the death sense that falls on a town after it has been slaughtered. Originally he wanted to take her out before the town was murdered, but he couldn't hold back his vampires for long and he did not want Lucy to witness it yet.

"Lucy, I have something for you that may help you enjoy this more fully," mischief laced his rugged voice as dimples formed on his dark cheek.

"What is it?" Lucy ventured.

Black Hat reached into his dark cloak and delicately pulled out a beautiful light blue flower.

"It is called belladonna, sweet, beautiful…and wild." He skipped the word 'deadly' and paused to let it set in, "It won't harm you of course, but you will never forget the smell." It was her cue to smell it.

"You are trying to poison me, aren't you?" suspicion lighted her green eyes.

He laughed out loud at this one, "No, I am not trying to poison you. If I wanted to I would have done it," he frowned.

"The flower is meaningless, in that way; I thought it reflected your beauty well."

His eyes would have betrayed him if he had not lifted the flower to her nose, distracting her attention away from his jubilant face; he would not let her hold it.

She looked at the light blue flower with almost transparent, veined petals carefully and then decided for herself that it must be harmless, especially if she wasn't the one holding it.

He moved his gloved palm towards her pale skin and brushed her jaw with his fingertips while lifting the flower to her nose. She inhaled delicately at first. The smell was like a mixture of candy, aqua, and white musk. A shimmery substance made of blue, red, and purple hues floated from the core of the flower and into her nose.

It was clear to her now that the haze was the same haze that the dark spirit operated in, just like the color of her ruby necklace was connected with the spirit. Just like how the dark haired woman was connected with sapphire bracelet, she assumed. She pulled away abruptly and she suddenly did not care that the jewelry was haunted; she wore that ruby necklace for so long it was now a part of her. She dreaded the nakedness she would feel if she took it off.

It didn't matter that the monster appeared to her in this precarious time after the kidnapping, what mattered was why the stranger gave it to her. Lucy could not remember for the life of her who gave it to her and her mother would not talk about it. Whispers told her it was her father, but there was no proof.

She was not angry about wearing the bracelet because it was of pure light, and it would be her only reminder of innocence.

The clarity did not last, and the world tilted upside down; she saw his lithe body tense and he caught her before she crashed her head on the sandy ground. The feeling that she just ate desert coated her straight teeth, filling her cheeks, and her body felt like she was swimming through peaceful waters. Elation engulfed her heart, mind, soul, and when she lifted her head up she saw Black Hat's concerned face. One black eyebrow raised and he straightened her up; his dimples seemed deeper than before.

"Whatever that was I want more," she said in a giggling fit. Lucy thought she would never feel this way again.

"I told you something magical was going to happen."

The memory of them at the vanity, the night he saved her, formed in her mind. How his pouty lips had sought out hers; instinctively she looked at his curved mouth.

"Not now," he said with a smirk. "Later."

He steadily walked her into the town and towards a bar so that she could sit down. Lucy saw shabby people walking around messing with motorcycles.

"You didn't kill them?"

This question made Black Hat stop to face her. He brushed a strand of red hair from her flushed cheeks.

"They are my familiars. Command them, if you like."

She looked up at his handsome face with some surprise and he showed off his flashy white fangs.

Lucy felt like she was seeing things for the first time and wondered if this is how Black Hat felt when he changed. She looked at the man who had her hooked by the arm. His shadow fell on her like a protective shroud. The black stubble that crept up to his defined cheeks begged for her to reach out and touch it.

This is what you could see for a long time if you joined him. A voice was whispering to her in her mind and in her mind's eye she saw the shrouded creature that had accosted her earlier. She did not mind the intrusion and the spirit took her into the future.

She saw herself with Black Hat and she wore her ruby necklace like always. She glowed with a healthy vibrancy, looking more alive than she had ever been. Even the familiar's looked alive and interesting, an important piece to a puzzle. Others were with them, red crosses on their foreheads as well. She saw his dimples and white teeth, utterly attractive to her now. Then someone with a familiar face looked at her from far away.

Then she was brought to what must have been one of the most tortured memories this man possessed. She recognized his stature and dark hair as well as his pouty lips which clenched tightly together. He was lying on a stone table with hundreds of vampires feasting on his bloodied flesh from head to toe. Their bloody mouths growled and clicked at each other, trying to establish dominance. Though he mostly screamed, he also cussed, and then he began praying fervently between screams. Begging God to save him or to hurry up and end his life, blood splashed across his red crossed forehead, burying it in chunks of skin. She died a little inside when he started crying. Suddenly, the vampires fled him like they were on fire and it seemed that God had finally answered his anguish. A larger figure, a cross between a vampire and a bat, swaggered her way to him; her large claws clicked on the ground. She got the feeling that the strange creature was attracted to him, wanted him like a son. Her black orbed eyes and horned head stared into his eyes and whatever she saw there, the deal was done. She lifted up her jagged talon to slice open her wrist. Dark blood oozed out and the man expressed shock at how God answered him, but nevertheless he accepted this angel of mercy. His mouth trembled as the blood touched his lips and then gushed into his gaping mouth. His eyes were wide as the change ruptured inside of him. He shook his head back and forth as his eyes changed, first a black, then a golden brown. One last cry as his anatomy and physiology were complete and he sat up swiftly. Turning to the glorious Queen he reached out, making her back up with a growl. He got off the table just to fall hard on his knees and bow before her. He looked up at her as she got closer to him, satisfied, she allowed him to touch her. He smiled with hungry looking fangs as he touched her nose. She was pleased with what she had made so she threw her head back; opening her wings, she screamed at the other vampires to bow before her King.

Back to reality as Black Hat helped her up the steps so she wouldn't trip. He opened the door and beckoned her in. Most of the furniture was intact as well as bottles that lined the bar.

Lucy was not hungry after smelling the unique flower and did not accept the food he tried to offer her. Black Hat slid his arm around her waist when they sat down next to a window. She almost let out a moan as she felt his strong hand grab her hip. He glanced down at the tear in the dress exposing flawless skin and he licked his lips. She reached towards his fangs and he almost let her touch them.

"If you want to touch my fangs you have to take a shot," his voice lowered in her ear.

"WHAT? Not after what happened to me."

"It will be different this time," he assured her.

"Why, because it is you who can rape me instead of one of them," frustration graced her eyes.

"If I wanted to, I could have taken you," he lightly gritted his teeth.

Lucy started to get a high off of his mysteriousness and she did not want to ask him about himself yet.

Black Hat got up and went to one of the many bottles at the bar. He picked up one with an amber color that immediately peeked Lucy's interest. He took out a shot glass and poured it in with another infamous smirk; his eyes glowed yellow and green below the rim of his hat.

He sat back down next to her and peered into her eyes.

"Drink this and I will get you a better dress."

"You are wheelin' and dealin' with me? I don't think so. The next dress will cover my neck," she said stubbornly.

"Ah…like that will stop me from getting to your neck. You will have to come up with something better, Lucy." Her name rolled of his tongue like a whisper.

Just to prove his point he took the tear of the dress and ripped harshly, exposing more of her toned stomach.

His eyes were amused and he could not resist bringing his mouth to her parted one before she could react. He broke off the kiss before it could turn passionate, and he noticed a blush enveloping her body. He loved the effect he had on her. It showed he had complete control which made him smug.

"Take it."

She sighed, cutting her eyes to him briefly, and then daintily put the shot up to her lips. She wanted to see where this would go now that he freed her; all caution was thrown to the wind.

"Wait; put it all in your mouth. Do not sip it…or you will regret it."

She threw it back impulsively. A mixture of spices, syrup and alcohol crashed on her tongue. Gulping it down, the burn lasted for a second in the back of her throat.

He watched her reddish brown eyebrows furrow and her mouth pucker. He could not take his eyes off of her neck, the pulse, ostentatious. Her daring move proved she could be an excellent consort, she didn't know her own potential and it bothered him; he could have had her sooner if she did. A stronger, aggressive girl makes a faster mate. He had come this far with her; he knew now the time was coming when she would be his regardless of whether or not he tampered with her reality, like he was doing to her now.

Her quickly throwing back the shot deserved more than a dress. A low rumble started in his stomach and bubbled up to his chest. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the bench.

"Wh-" she gasped.

Black Hat put his long fingers on her hips and pulled her up to sit her on the table ledge. His left hand pushed her chest down and a wicked look crossed his face. She started trying to wiggle away on the table.

"Stay still," he said in a guttural voice, giving her a sharp look that stilled her, making him smirk.

"Wait- I don't even know your name." The ridiculous timing made her giggle, but if the man was going to try to succeed in seducing her, then she better ask sooner than later.

"Heath," rolled off his tongue, relieved that she finally wanted to know. He was wondering why pleasure fleeted across her delicate, pink cheeks.

The name sounded that much sexier when she repeated it in her head while looking at his shimmering, still rugged face half covered by the hat.

He lifted her dress up to her lower stomach and looked briefly at her white skin. He ran his right hand from the back of her right thigh to the back of her knee, slightly spreading her legs in doing so. Placing four kisses on her small calf up to her rounded knee; he then licked halfway up her thigh.

She looked into his naughty expression under the rim of his hat, driving her to pant harder; he seemed thrilled at what he was doing to her.

"I could do this all night." He was trying to control his actions. He waited a long time to be with a woman.

"Uhhh," she moaned. Squeaking quietly, shivers racked her body at the unexpected assault of his fangs as well as the stubble caressing and scraping still higher on her smooth thigh. She balled the black fabric on his shoulders into her fists and then released it.

His hot breath came out thick on her sensitive skin, making her back arch high in the air. He pushed her legs open wider, brushing his finger tips slowly in anticipation along her wetted cloth covering her entrance; preparing to move it aside when he briefly looked out of the window.

Black Hat saw three figures that were not of his familiar's stature. Red crosses bluntly stood out screaming Priests. He quickly scanned to see if his minions were around but came up empty.

"Damnit," he swallowed the word in a growl.

He grabbed Lucy's heated face in his hands and tried to get her to focus on him. "Stay here no matter what happens. I will come back for you."

The genuine concern made her see his face in a new light even if his fangs looked painful to her human eyes. Losing herself in his golden orbs all the time, she decided she would not fight anymore. Hicks treated her similar to how Black Hat did, but she knew Black Hat could take it to another level. He would never tell her not to do something, the spirit creature was right: Hicks was not coming for her. She closed her eyes in defeat and felt herself give in to her visions of Heath. Something inside of her simmered and curled in happiness like a spider over a victimized fly in the web. She got up to pull her dress back down and peered out of the window.

She saw him walk with purpose out to meet the hooded figures, their leader in front. Lucy ran to the door of the bar and quietly stepped outside. She felt something knot in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn't for Black Hat.

Hey guys, more will be coming within the next week. I am excited to write the upcoming chapters.