Author's note: I was a big fan of Greek myths growing up. Halfway through writing this, I realized I'd made parallels to the story of Orpheus and Eurydice without even realizing it. So the quote seemed appropriate. Also, there's sexy times in this chapter. You can just read the first part if you don't like sexy times, and assume David did what he usually does. Also...thought I was done posting for the day, but then decided to go ahead and write this other chapter after my nap.

"Had I the lips of Orpheus and his melody

to charm the maiden daughter of Demeter and

her lord, and by my singing win you back from death,

I would have gone beneath the earth.

I would have brought you back to life." - Admetus

Though she had the form and frame of a sex kitten, she looked a lot more like a rabid dog right then, crouched like she was at the bottom of the pit. Boredom, or whatever could be described as boredom for a creature with little reason beyond all-consuming hunger, had driven her to begin to tear and shred at her clothes, leaving her looking like some kind of strange cave witch with dripping fangs and glowing eyes.

"Whoa." Paul whistled.

"Yeah." Marko nodded.

"Whoa." Paul repeated.

"Yeah." Marko agreed.

"I think ten times is enough. If you aren't gonna say anything else, shut your traps," Dwayne sighed, leaning over the side of the cave pit with his arms crossed. So this was what Michael had done to Star?

"I gotta hand it to him. That's one wicked way to get revenge," Paul shook his head. He wasn't giggling anymore. The effects of the weed had worn off fairly quickly, thanks to his immortal constitution. Convenient for driving, not so much for keeping a steady high.

"He wasn't getting revenge, though, was he?" Dwayne shook his head. "No. He fucked up. Big difference." The darker-haired vampire concluded, hovering into the air and craning over to get a better glimpse of the Star-thing at the bottom.

"Is it weird that..." Paul looked away, a weird half-grin crossing his face, "...I think she's a little hotter like this?"

Marko glanced at him in surprise. "Didn't know you were into that kinda shit."

"What kinda shit?" Paul shoved Marko's shoulder.

"Bestiality," Marko snickered and flew back as Paul tried to throw a punch at him. Not the rage-filled sort Michael might have swung with, it was a more playful (albeit still painful) sort.

"It's technically not bestiality. She still has a human body," Dwayne reasoned, glancing back over at them with his upper lip curled into his own smile.

"Yeah, but not much brain function there. Does that mean she's the vampire equivalent of a vegetable?" Marko pondered, ducking under an arm as Paul tried to tackle him and swinging around to fly into the air and join Dwayne above the pit.

"I'd still take her for a spin," Paul waggled his eyebrows and stuck his tongue out as he gave them a horn symbol with his right hand.

"It took three of us to get her back here, and like eight pints of blood, Pauly. There's no way you're riding that wildcat!" Marko laughed, shaking his head.

"Wanna bet?" Paul joined them both above the pit and gave a flirtatious look down to the 'pack pet'. Star hissed up at them and dug into the cave wall, struggling to drag herself up and get at the blood she knew was nestled beneath their skin.

"Yeah, I'll take that bet," Dwayne glanced at him. "Easiest money I'll ever make."

"Okay! Done! The game is on boys, whoever nails her first-" Marko clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

"No...that's not the bet," Dwayne affirmed. Quite firmly.

"You're no fun, dude. Seriously, man," Paul sighed.

"I'd prefer not to have my dick ripped off, Paulie," Dwayne shook his head. "But you have a ball, by all means."

Marko looked at Dwayne with a twinkle in his eye and bit on the thumb of his glove. He's gonna lose both of them, if he really tries it, he whispered in Dwayne's mind. They could both agree on that point.

"Thorn," David shoved the dog away as it growled at Michael. The hellhound was only reflecting his master's feelings, he reasoned, and earned a hell of a lot more credit in his book for it.

Reluctantly, Thorn padded from the chamber, though he paused more than once in the process.

"GO." David stated firmly, and the hellhound was finally gone.

"Now, Michael," David lowered his childe to the ground, though he still kept him pressed up against the cave wall with a hand at his neck.

"What's this really all about?" He asked, voice dripping with poisoned honey.

"I just told you what it's about, David. So go ahead and kill me, because I'm done. With everything. I'm done with you, I'm done with them, and I'm done with being the thing you turned me into. I'm done." Michael replied, refusing to back down or let his gaze waver as he stared directly into David's eyes.

David's laughter echoed about the chamber, soft and taunting.

"You really think it's that easy? If I'd planned on letting you go, or even just killing you..." He loosened his hold on Michael's neck, dragging a single claw down to his shirt collar and ripping at the fabric there. Playing with it. "You'd have been dead the night I brought you home with me. So face it...you're with us forever. Bettor or worse. Till death do us part."

"...We're not married, asshole. The phrase doesn't apply," Michael growled, pressing himself as far against the cave wall as he could. Which wasn't very far, considering how hard the rock was already digging into his back.

David shrugged. "Whatever you say," he breathed and pressed his forehead up against the younger vampire's, inhaling his scent. "You remember the night at Hudson's bluff, Michael? When you slugged me? Something along the lines of...'just you'?" He asked, though they both knew the answer. How could Michael ever forget? That was when his nightmares officially began. The proverbial step across the threshold.

"Well, you got what you want. Just me. Be careful what you wish for," he grabbed Michael by the chin and forced his face to the side, effectively breaking their eye contact. Not that Michael could have held it much longer. He was already beginning to feel uncomfortable, the instinctual need to submit digging under his skin. God how he hated the way David forced these compulsions on him. Because he knew it wasn't natural. He'd figured that out a long time ago.

There was the sharp sting of familiar pain in Michael's neck, but it went deeper than usual. Before he could even begin to struggle, his arms were pinned above his head, and David was yanking at the wound he'd created with a ravenous growl. He could feel his own blood dripping down his neck, staining the top of his shirt and his jacket.

"What..." He rasped, even as David continued to gleefully feed and draw from him, making the younger vampire weaker with each gulp of blood.

Hazily, a thought ran through his fading mind, and he wondered whether he really wanted David to kill him after all. Whether he really wanted David to let him go. And the little voice that was ever-present when he found himself unable to resist his master, unable to fight his animal impulses...the little voice spoke up. I don't want to die...

I win again, Michael, David purred in his mind, pulling back with a vicious smirk and licking at the wound on Michael's neck. He'd taken a lot...more than he normally did. But it was worth it to put the younger vampire in his place. It always was.

Michael was weaker now, unable to even try to push David away as he was stripped of his jacket and shirt. Only vaguely aware of cold lips pressing against his collar bone, a tongue darting out to lick up the stains of clotted blood along his neck and shoulder. All he could do was dig his fingers into David's hair and lean his head back.

David pulled away and shifted, shrugging his coat off and and lifting his shirt up over his head. Once, in the early days, their skin had contrasted. Tan against creamy white. Now that Michael had gone a year without the sun, there was hardly much of a difference between them. Much. David was still a pale fucker.

He was getting dizzy, perhaps from the loss of blood, or perhaps from the way his maker made him feel. Physically overwhelmed. So Michael took a deep breath, though he didn't need to breathe, and closed his eyes when they met in a deep, bruising kiss. Sneakily, he tried to nibble at David's bottom lip, to weasel back some of the blood that had been stolen from him, but the blonde pulled away and shook his head.

"No, Michael, no food for you tonight. You're going to have to learn your lesson the hard way."

Soon they were rolling on the dirty ground together, giving and taking kisses, while David bit at his skin, and Michael tried to nip back in frustration. It felt like that's all he was, really. Just frustrated, or angry, or upset. Never happy. Even in the throes of passion, or whatever you wanted to call what he had with David...he was never 'happy'.

By the time he was ready to do more than just cuddle, David was standing, and gave Michael a firm mental command to stay on his knees. Where you belong. Any opportunity he could take to humiliate or upset the younger vampire, he relished it. So Michael refused to react. He couldn't afford to lose any more blood that night.

"Are you hungry?" David asked, flashing his fangs at Michael. The younger vampire lazily nodded, though he scowled up at his maker with more than a little agitation. He knew what was about to happen. They'd played this game before.

"Keep asking, David, and I'm going to bite down on it this time..." Michael replied, squeezing his eyes shut to steady himself.

David flinched. Okay, maybe he'd taken just a little too much blood...but the boy was asking for it. Begging, practically.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me now, you've got a job to do!" David grabbed Michael's shoulders to hold him still. For a moment, he was a little concerned. If the boy couldn't even sit up straight, he probably wasn't going to be able to hang onto the perch when they went to rest either.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Michael snapped, trying to pry David's hands off of his shoulders, slurring a little.

"I don't give a shit if you're fine, Michael, I just want to make sure you finish what we started," David growled, lying through his teeth.

"Fuck y-" Michael's words were cut off when David firmly shoved his cock into his mouth. He was tired of waiting.

From there on, David just tilted his head back and enjoyed the ride. If he'd been paying attention, he might have noticed a change in Michael's eye color. But...he wasn't. So he didn't.

"What? Oh. I see. I'm so sorry to hear that, I had no idea! Why no, the boys didn't tell me. Yes. Of course. I'd be happy to. Are you sure? Really? Okay, I understand. No, it's no trouble. Sometimes these things happen. Sam would love to have them over for a few more weeks until school starts..." Lucy sighed, rubbing at her temples as she placed the phone on the hook.

"Rehab?!" She mouthed the word with her hands on her hips, incredulous. She'd had no idea Edgar and Alan's parents had a drug problem. Really, they seemed like such nice people over the phone. But why hadn't they told her that was the reason they were coming to visit?

"Boys!" Lucy shouted, intending to get to the bottom of this. Coming to visit for one week was one thing, and she was just fine with that. But if they needed to stay longer, they really should have been more direct and honest with her. 'Protecting them from vampires' may have been believable in the sense that she knew they existed now, but they really shouldn't have kept this from her.

"Mom?" Sam skipped down the stairs and took a flying leap on the last three. He was quickly followed by Edgar and Alan, who appeared to have put grease paint streaks on their cheeks.

Oh dear...Lucy worried at her bottom lip, biting it. These poor kids really needed some decent therapy...

"Um..." She scratched at the back of her head, still keeping the other hand on her hip, and avoiding eye contact. "I think I was a little harsh on all of you yesterday. How would you like to go shopping with me?"