Dark Side Of The Moon

Dark Side of the Moon



by


P. A. Matthews

         Eyes the color of ancient glaciers surveyed the inkiness of night while he sauntered effortlessly through the cobbled streets, the stealth-like quality of each measured step matching that of his partner.

         Silently, they combed the city’s darkened corners for those whose hearts and souls were as rotted as the rancid stench in which they dwelt. His companion paused, breathing the cooling air of true dark. A smile crept across her face, causing her eyes to match the intensity of his until they burned with the fervor of a zealot.

         He’d smelled it first; however, he always liked to watch her eyes shine when she picked up a scent. He loved her eyes, especially when they glistened as raindrops caught in a fathomless pool of watery death.

         His breath caught in his chest as her essence enveloped his mind, weaving an intangible web of decadent power from which he hoped never to escape. Slowly exhaling, his breath warmed the air surrounding his mouth until it created an opaque cloud.

         She gazed at him, lifting delicate fingers and sliding them across his lips, teasing—until he felt ready to explode from her fleeting touch. Staring into her eyes was like getting lost in an eternity of smoldering passion, where he could never fully realize the intensity of her pleasure lest he die in her fire.

         Her soft laugh wafted through the misty air as her hand eased down his body in unhurried movement—each fingertip spreading promises of untold delights across his eager and willing flesh. She moved lower, caressing his growing desire with her mind and hand.

         “Ah, Julian, you will never disappoint me. I love knowing that the heat within you will soon spread elsewhere and consume everything you touch while leaving nothing behind to bear witness to our deeds.”

         Julian lifted her hand to his lips, delivering kisses to her fingertips. He smiled wickedly, showing a strong set of white teeth. “Don’t you mean misdeeds, Danielle?”

         “Now Julian, you of all people know that I don’t worry about semantics. Deeds … misdeeds … the words no longer hold meaning for me.”

         Julian backed Danielle against a brick wall of the alley they’d drifted through. Pressing himself tightly against her body made the glimmer in her eyes brighten, while his hot breath eased along her neck warming her ear with a blanket of seduction.

         “Tell me what holds true meaning for you.”

         Danielle unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands across his chest. Julian held his breath as she dragged a sharpened fingernail deliberately down him, the incremental move forcing the groans deep within him to vibrate against her mind.

         Trickles of blood traced the path of her fingernail, its viscous warmth enticing Danielle forward with the chance of tasting Julian’s life force. Her tongue gathered the swollen drops of glistening red while she fought the frenzied need to swallow, and then offered her tongue to Julian’s lips as one would deliver savory food to the starving.

         Tilting her mouth into his, Julian gently slid her tongue along his, allowing the pool of blood to tantalize his taste buds and ease down his throat on a path of lust.

         The need to drink of her power ran through his body like electric eels charging his blood. His mouth spasmed against hers, breaking the skin of her lower lip as he greedily kissed, his teeth grazing the small wound, hoping to keep it open until he could taste more.

         Danielle’s urges edged her closer to losing control as her moans fell into Julian’s mouth. Just one drop would sustain him until their time among the city’s repugnant was complete. His throat convulsed as he swallowed the few drops he managed to extract.

         Danielle pulled from the kiss, watching Julian experience her exploding inside his brain, shattering his thoughts until she left nothing except insatiable hunger. She guided him through the alley, whispering to his mind as they neared their prey.

         “Come, Julian, our fun awaits us. Let me share my love for you … the part of my darkened world only you understand.”

         Julian stopped and ran his hand along her cold cheek, staring hard into eyes that glowed in anticipation of the hunt. Determination filled their depths, yet the expression quickly changed—a fragile look that transcended their surroundings as it touched his insides like smooth silk covering eons of hurt. A tiny sigh escaped her pale lips, awakening his beast with the sound that meant she neared the abyss of excited death.

         Standing in a doorway’s shadow, Julian watched Danielle approach her prey with an unusually loud stride. The staccato of her stiletto heels beat an eerie tattoo across the cobbled stones, each strike drawing her closer to her victim. Julian smiled, knowing beneath her black overcoat were a pair of hips that leisurely swayed atop long legs, and that the attention she drew to herself was an act of seduction instead of the stealth approach used for her usual surprise attacks.

         Wrapping his arms around his body didn’t alleviate the cold emanating from Danielle as she released power throughout the alley. A chill permeated his overheated body, making him shiver in anticipation of her first move, driving the excitement of their love deeper to his core where it assaulted him in waves of uncontrolled sexual need.

         The overcoat dropped from her as she walked, revealing black leather thigh-high boots that clung to her legs like a supple second skin. His smile broadened at the sight of her lithe body barely clothed in a velvet bustier over a leather thong that divided those wonderful hips in two, each half waiting to be eaten by him when they returned home.

         She found her prey huddled against a brick wall, his liquored breath and sweat-saturated clothing like sweet perfume in her nostrils; later she would be repulsed by his wretchedness, but now all she smelled was his blood freely flowing below the surface of his filthy skin. Danielle walked to him, waiting for his rheumy eyes to focus as he belched a repulsive breath her way.

         Running her finger along the front edge of her thong, Danielle gave the man a sultry look. “Its cold out here, don’t you think? I could make you feel warm inside.”

         The man eyed her. “Yeah? What’s it gonna cost me, whore?”

         Danielle’s eyes burned brighter as she ran her hand along her breast, teasing him with a pretty pout. “That’s not very nice, I was offering a bit of comfort and you had to say something rude. You know, you aren’t the only one out here that feels down and lonely, but I guess you like your misery served up solo. Sorry to interrupt your good time.”

         Julian watched her turn from the rag pile disguised as a man and look toward the doorway. He grinned broadly as his heart joined hers … oh yeah it was going to be a great night.

         The man struggled to stand, grabbing the bricks to pull himself upright. His fingers scratched the rough wall, leaving bits of flesh and blood clinging to the surface in abstract patterns of unrelieved hunger felt by Julian and Danielle.

         “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

         Danielle faced him. “Well you did.”

         “Sorry. I’m not used to anyone being nice to me.”

         Danielle dropped her gaze while casually adjusting her bustier to give the drunk a better view. “So, you thought you’d take your anger out on me because you have a crappy life? Happiness isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, mister. I figured I’d make you forget the cold for one night and it wasn’t going to cost you anything. Sometimes I just like being nice.”

         He offered a lecherous grin. “Do I get to touch?”

         Danielle gave him an innocent look. “Who, yourself or me?”

         His vulgar laughter echoed through the empty alley. “Where’ve you been all my life, girly?”

         She smiled sweetly, granting him a little giggle. “If you only knew. I’ll let you touch me, seems like a reasonable exchange to escape the cold.”

         The man reached out with greedy hands.

         Danielle gave him a wanton look. “Are you a good lover … what’s your name anyway?”

         “Name’s Stanley. They call me Stan the Man.”

         “Ooh Stan, a man with a title, you’ll turn my head with your charming ways.”

         Julian wanted to crow with unabashed delight. His thoughts drifted inside her head. “Make him beg hard for it, I want to feel his urgency spill all the way to my toes. I’m not sure how much longer I can remain here and not participate in the fun though. I may have to beg as well.”

         Danielle inwardly smiled as she sent back a non-verbal love note. “Soon, Julian, soon. Beg me, I’ve got a plan just for you.”

         Julian’s insides twisted, her sexy voice leaving him breathless as it wound its way to intimate areas. “Pain … make him feel agony, I’m begging to experience his terror along with his sex.”

         “Keep begging Julian, I love hearing your voice fill my head with tragic emotion.” Danielle gave Stan a winning smile and pulled him closer, whispering seductively in his ear. “Trust me Stan the Man, I’m going to take you on such a wild ride you won’t know what hit you.” She placed his dirt-caked hand on her breast and squeezed his fingers against her flesh. “You do trust me, don’t you?”

         Danielle felt Stan’s blood rushing through his veins without restraint. Her pulse sped along with his when she witnessed his eyes getting lost in her intense stare. “Do you like things a little out of the ordinary?”

         “Yeah, you gonna ride me hard?”

         “If you’d like it that way.” Danielle heard Julian’s low growl register in her head, making her breathless.

         She moved Stan’s hands lower on her body and allowed him to caress her bottom. He stared longingly into her glimmering eyes, lost to the building urges within him, unaware that his life was about to change—forever.

         “How much do you want this, Stan? Tell me how much you crave me. Beg me to make this something you’ll never forget as long as you live.”

         Stan’s voice sounded strangled as he attempted speaking. “I’m begging you, girly … hurt me, beat me, anything, just give me sex or something to drink!”

         Danielle’s voice grew intimate in his ear as she ran her hand along his filthy cheek. “Such sweet words of longing, I can see why you’re such a wonderful lover. Relax, I’m going to make you feel every one of your desires until you beg me to stop, but I won’t. Close your eyes … get lost in my dark, life is too short not to experience one last bit of lust.”

         Stan closed his eyes, memorizing the glowing green of her fevered expression, never seeing her pale lips open and reveal her hidden agenda. Danielle pulled him into an intimate embrace, sinking razor-sharp fangs into his carotid artery and began drinking heavily.

         As Danielle pulled Stan to her, Stan writhed and bucked within her arms while her powerful jaw dug deeper into his offensive flesh. His one attempt at screaming muffled by her strong hand pressed firmly against his mouth until the sound became a gurgle at the back of his tortured throat. The sound filled Danielle’s head like an erotic etude as she kept him suspended between life and death.

         Julian emerged nude from the doorway, carrying his clothing as he sauntered toward the pair embraced in a dance for Stan’s life, his need to prolong the excitement of Stan’s demise paramount in his mind.

         He stared at his lover feeding from Stan’s flailing form. Danielle’s power always amazed him, matching his own on every level—except one. She had the power to bench-press a bus with her supernatural strength and used that strength many times to bring down prey. Yet, she possessed such incredible control over violent situations that it made him long to be as overt with his kills as he could just to see her master that control and turn it into something delicate—a form of love he’d never experienced.

         As Julian watched, the beast within him sought the freedom Danielle so freely offered as she lowered Stan to the ground for Julian’s participation in her act. Julian grew excited as Stan writhed between her legs, the long lines of leather acting as a barrier against his escape as she dug them into Stan’s sides, causing more suffering as he struggled to escape.

         Julian could barely contain his change as he felt the agony of Stan inside his head, knowing Danielle could have mesmerized Stan’s mind and made the act of death pleasurable. However, she’d withheld that bit of vampiric ability and made Stan feel every bit of trauma he could experience in order to satisfy Julian’s deep-seeded longing for torture.

         Danielle lifted her head from Stan’s neck and exhaled. Finally sated for the moment, she gazed at Julian with a loving expression.

         Julian watched as her breath clouded the cold air with the warmth of Stan filling her. He dropped to his knees beside the still-moving Stan, leaned into Danielle and licked the smears of blood from her mouth with a sensual move of his tongue until her face was pristine.

         “Do you know how much I want to make love to you right now, Danielle? You’ve given me such a wonderful gift I don’t know which one of you to eat first, the pile of quivering filth between your legs, or your body that’s crying in my head for a true release of all your emotions.”

         Danielle smiled wickedly. “It’s too bad I don’t have sex with you while you’re furry, otherwise we could accomplish both events at the same time. Julian, take him, I kept him alive so you could play a bit knowing how you like to have the final kill.” She reached forward and caressed Julian’s cheek, her voice low and intimate. “Next time I’ll let you have the entire kill to yourself, I know how you like to play rough.”

         Julian’s eyes glowed with the fire only his kind possessed. A growl of urgency replaced his sex-filled voice, an echo of loving lust that filled Danielle’s head with longing for the man who’d been her lover for almost two hundred years. She gazed in awe as he transformed before her, his body lowering to all fours as he donned his wolfen coat.

         He jerked Stan from between Danielle’s legs, flinging him to a wall with one powerful swipe of his paw. The sound of Stan’s bones breaking against the bricks satisfied that momentary rush of awkwardness Julian always felt as his lycanthrope nature took hold. Springing from Danielle’s side, Julian rushed the wall before Stan could slip to the ground. Staring into Stan’s panicked-filled eyes gave Julian the excitement needed finally to have his way.

         Placing his large mouth over the bite mark left by Danielle, Julian listened as Stan offered one last pitiful wail to the darkened night, and then tore Stan’s throat from his body and ate it whole.

         Danielle watched Julian devour Stan the Man with gusto, feeling Julian return to the base animal that drove him far beyond rage into a realm of unbelievable slaughter. Julian’s need to rage would eventually pass until the next time his thirst for gore created a burden he was unable to bear.

         Seeing him sniffing the ground on which he’d killed Stan, for any trace of blood or meat that would betray them, made her heart ache. Realization that though Julian’s quest for death was great, his hatred for life as a werewolf was greater, though it was something she’d learned to live with in order to keep that small spot of vulnerability in him intact.

         Danielle put on her overcoat and gathered Julian’s clothing as he groomed his fur to remove any trace of blood. She knelt in front of him, staring into the artic-blue of his beautiful eyes, and lightly kissed his muzzle.

         “Come with me beloved, I long to hold you at home and share this memory.”

         She stroked his neck as he gently licked her face. No one noticed the woman with a large animal at her side when they left the alley. The only indication they’d been there was a small pile of dirty, tattered cloth disappearing as the power of the wind replaced Danielle’s calm of death.

†

         Julian rose from his bed as a soft knock sounded against the door. Swiftly padding across the room, he opened the door and accepted the proffered crystal goblet.

         “Thank you, Oleg. Please ensure Annette that her mistress will appreciate this gift more than Annette realizes. Is she resting comfortably?”

         Oleg bowed. “Yes, Julian. Annette is resting very comfortably.”

         “You will see to it that she is given extra attention, won’t you?”

         “Of course. It is my pleasure to care for her.”

         “Good. Your mistress will speak with you later this evening.” Julian nodded as Oleg bowed again, and then closed the bedroom door.

         A swift inhalation of breath and a soft moan met Julian when he returned to his bed. Placing the goblet on a marble-topped bedside table, Julian stretched his long frame across the silk-covered mattress and gave Danielle a passionate kiss. Her eyes slowly drifted open, meeting his tender expression.

         “What a wonderful way to begin the night. Did you sleep well?”

         Julian ran his hand along her nude form as he gazed into her eyes and grinned. “Quite well, and you?”

         “Slept like a rock.” Danielle lifted her head, and then laid it back on the pillow. “Oh, my head hurts a bit. I don’t think Stan’s vintage was a very good year, I think he gave me a hangover.” She sighed dramatically. “Such is the life of a bloodaholic, sometimes age only turns the drink to vinegar.”

         Julian chuckled as he watched her waken. Wrapping one of her arms around his neck, he laid a dewy kiss on her neck. “Very true, but just think of all the money that we would have spent for groceries if we were still eating regularly.”

         Danielle laughed at his lame attempt at humor. “You still eat food.”

         Julian began nibbling down her body, briefly stopping at a breast to pay homage with his mouth until he moved lower in anticipation of nibbling more delightful fare. Raising his head, he laid a kiss on her thigh while watching her eyes.

         His chuckle tickled her flesh. “Besides, you know we both eat more organically these days.”

         She laughed as he gave her a small love bite on her inner thigh. “Did Stan bother your digestion?”

         Julian eased up the bed and grabbed the goblet from the table. “Nope. Stan went down just fine for someone so … shall we say … wrapped in layers of grime. Gave the meat that certain earthy piquant you don’t get when dining on the upper crust of society.”

         “You’re truly sadistic, Julian.”

         His face appeared over her bearing a giant grin. “I know, that’s why you love me.”

         “Alas, how true that statement is.” She took the offered goblet from Julian. “What’s this?”

         “Nectar from the sweet veins of Annette. She knew that your encounter with Stan would probably leave you in need of better sustenance, so she bled herself before you woke.”

         Danielle studied the vibrant red sparkling in the cut crystal glass. The candlelight in the room played along the glass in colored prisms, making the blood seem alive and moving. Her voice was soft when she replied.

         “My darling Annette. What shall I do when she dies?”

         “You could always turn her.”

         Danielle sipped until the last drop of Annette’s blood was gone. It was the most flavorful life she’d ever drunk—untainted by time or deed.

         “No, I couldn’t do that to Annette. Her essence is pure. I would never inflict a vampiric life on her.”

         “She’s served you for eighty years.”

         “Which shows how honest and faithful she is. Let’s not talk about Annette any longer it makes me sad to think that she won’t always be with me.”

         “Alright.”

         “Do you know what I truly miss, Julian?”

         Running his fingertips along her cheek, he checked Danielle’s wistful expression. “No.”

         “England.”

         Julian raised an eyebrow as his gut twisted with a familiar quiet yearning. “We haven’t been in England for over a hundred years. What would entice you back there?”

         “It was our home. I’ve missed the countryside as well as London, walking along the Thames—”

         “Hunting through the docklands and Whitechapel.”

         Danielle ran her fingers along Julian’s jaw. “You know, they’ve rebuilt the entire area … gentrified it with new shops and homes. We could buy a town home; there is still an element among those in London who would welcome us home.”

         Julian squinted at her. “It seems you’ve given this quite a lot of thought. However, I can think of a few of the London set who wouldn’t relish our return. In fact, I know Braedon Carlisle in particular might seek your destruction. Aren’t you happy living in America?”

         “Of course I am, but we’ve been here forever. Over the past hundred years we’ve seen almost every place that this country offers. I’ve grown restless to stand on my homeland and feel the excitement of lost time rushing through my veins until my blood is frenzied. As for Braedon, I’ll handle anything that comes up regarding him.”

         Julian gave her a skeptical look. Braedon Carlisle wasn’t someone to anger—ever. “What about France? You love Paris, Danielle.”

         A pout sat firmly on her lips. “Yes, I adore Paris, but London is our home.”

         Julian ran his fingers through her pale gold hair. “But why now after all these years? We specifically left there knowing we would probably never return.”

         “True, but times have changed. People are more accepting of unusual lifestyles these days.”

         Julian laughed. “Well, I think most people still have trouble with coffin-dwellers and beasts that eat the citizenry.”

         “Don’t be crass, Julian.”

         “Danielle, I’d love nothing more than to return, but we’d just have to move again in a few years. There is the non-aging aspect of us that tends to make people wonder. Think how many times we’ve moved around this country.”

         “Why are you making this so difficult?”

         Julian caressed her face and quietly spoke. “Because I know what we feel like when we’re in England. There’s a deep yearning for pain that we’ve never touched anywhere else we’ve lived. That country is where we were made and it has the ability to heighten our senses and unnerve us.”

         “Julian, do you remember what a wonderful time we had during the autumn of 1888?”

         Julian’s intestines grew excited as they twisted in his gut. “Yes, and we left Europe several years later to protect ourselves.”

         “I miss riding through Whitechapel in a carriage, breathing the oppressive stench hanging in the air until I could separate the living from the dead and decayed. I miss the silence of the fog as it enveloped the land and made it a treacherous place to dwell.”

         Julian’s breathing quickened. “Please don’t tempt me with those memories.”

         “I miss strolling through those darkened nights with you … two lovers oblivious to those scurrying around us as we combed vile streets for prey. There was nothing as magical as hearing the clatter of people’s footsteps as they ran through the fog trying to find safety, only to be cornered, and then killed.” Danielle sighed. “Life was very special that year.”

         Julian’s body pulsed with the need to sink his teeth into Danielle and taste the power that made her unashamed to enjoy what she’d ultimately become. For almost two hundred years they’d learned from each other through the cravings for blood and flesh until they could do what they needed as monsters and still lead shameless lives.

         Danielle was better at feeling no shame than he was, and it had taken her almost all those years to make him understand he wasn’t to blame for his nature. He’d learned some control from her, but to tempt fate by putting themselves back at the scene of one of the most notorious incidences in England made him question her motives.

         Julian breathed deeply to stave off his change. “Danielle, do you regret anything about those four months in 1888?”

         The expression in her eyes grew distant as she thought. “I regret that I didn’t allow you to eat more, and that all that spilled blood went to waste as it seeped into the ground. Other than that, I don’t regret much.”

         He listened to her calculated thoughts, becoming aroused by the memories of those few special kills.

         “What do you miss most about the kills?”

         “That the fear in their eyes couldn’t have lasted longer. All that terror and pain running freely through their expressions, and then it faded with their deaths. I’ve figured a way to keep them alive longer while you enjoy eating their insides. It would be a new twist on an old game. Like I said, things have changed, so have my talents. I think I proved that while killing Elizabeth Short in 1947, although you didn’t get to eat anything. What did they call her?”

         “The Black Dahlia.”

         “Right, I knew it was something flowery.” Danielle rose from the bed and left the room, soon returning wearing a black cape across her shoulders and a top hat on her head. She held a glass jar in front of her that triggered so many memories for Julian that his mind felt drunk.

         She sat down on the bed. “I see my trophy brings back memories. Are they good memories, Julian?”

         He swallowed hard, trying to remain under his excitement. “Memories, like words, are at times difficult to attach meaning to.”

         “Oh Julian, don’t pretend. I know what you’re feeling, I feel it as well. It’s the thirst that can’t be quenched, the hunger that can never be sated. Please don’t deny its power.”

         Julian closed his eyes, reliving the excitement of that murder. “I remember.”

         Danielle smiled. “Good. I saved our last trophy all these years to remind us of what we can do. Just think, the heart of Marie Jeanette Kelly, murdered Friday, November 9, 1888, was never lost at all. I think it’s a loving tribute to commemorate our last Whitechapel murder, don’t you?”

         “Yes.”

         “And since I allowed you to eat all the other trophies I removed, I think it’s nice to keep Marie around, out of respect and all.”

         “Do you respect the people you’ve killed?”

         “Certainly I respect them, without their blood I would no longer survive. I appreciate their gift to me. We are what we are Julian, I cannot change what someone did to me three hundred years ago, nor can I continue living with remorse that I have to drink from people to sustain my life. I don’t kill everyone I bite.”

         “True, but you like torment and fear, like with Stan. He wasn’t your type but easy prey, yet you taunted him unmercifully.”

         “Stan was fun to kill, nothing more. Sometimes I like having a lighthearted evening out. Spare me the self-righteous tone Julian, you like torment as much as I do.”

         Julian’s thoughts sped back through time. The two of them walked through Whitechapel in search of the food that would keep them alive, as well as using it for a training ground to control different aspects of their individual cravings.

         Danielle was the mastermind, quietly working the streets while he stood in the shadows waiting for her cue. She arranged time with the prostitutes, paying them generously for one night of fun, as she called it, with her brother … a man that had never known a woman and needed to be trained in the ways of sex.

         Life was cheap then, and death even cheaper. The prostitutes took Julian to their rooms, while Danielle stood invisible within the shadows, waiting for him to strangle his victim. Danielle’s urges supplied the slashes as she dragged her sharpened knife across their dead throats, slicing their abdomens to enable Julian with an area to work which looked surgical instead of the slice and dice method of his claws.

         Often they took turns dismembering the victims to look as if a madman had been let loose within London, when it was simply practice sustaining control over their insatiable needs that lured them to continue killing. Danielle refused to drink from the victims to control one urge, and he controlled his change by killing in human form.

         Julian smiled at the memory of each face attached to a ravaged body. They’d never been caught and planted enough stories in the press to take the direction of the manhunt far from them. Several years later, after roaming through Europe, Danielle and he finally settled in America where they could practice their new-found control.

         Julian laughed aloud. They’d only deluded themselves when they thought they were controlled, but who was he to argue with two hundred years of mayhem while never getting caught.

         He pulled Danielle closer, staring at the pickled heart inside the jar. His emotions broke, reeling him to a dangerous place where only darkness prevailed and intuition made you safe. He took the jar from Danielle, placing it next to the crystal goblet, and then shrugged the woolen cape from her shoulders, but kept the black top hat on her head as a reminder of what she was.

         Kissing her passionately, Julian’s desire for pain swelled his body. Braedon Carlisle’s face wavered in his mind’s eye. It might be worth moving to London if only to see Carlisle’s rage as Danielle and he twisted the knife deeper into Carlisle’s life.

         He whispered conspiratorially in her ear. “I’ll go to London with you, seems we have some unfinished business there. We can always return here if things get too hot.”

         Danielle’s body quivered with lust as Julian spoke. “Thank you my beloved. I promise I will never make you regret this decision.”

†

         Tendrils of fog reached through the moonless night, caressing Danielle’s body with an elemental embrace. She breathed the moisture-laden air, knowing that as the fog lay as an opaque blanket upon the night her chances of discovery were almost nil.

         She moved through London’s darkened streets, noting the changes that had occurred. Her thoughts grew wistful as she ran her fingertips along a brick building, hoping the stones would release their memory of the past century. The stones remained silent, their secrets as deeply buried as her own, refusing to speak no matter how masterful her touch.

         Danielle slipped into a nightclub Julian had inspected while she’d slept. The club writhed with the underbelly of society, each wretched life vibrating along Danielle’s skin until the sensations grew maddening. Inhaling deeply, Danielle searched among the reprobates lining the neon-flooded walls for the perfect victim who would birth her new reign of terror.

         Easing alongside a haughty-looking Goth, Danielle ran her cold fingertips down the girl’s face, and then along her pale throat. Entwining the girl’s gold chain through her fingers until its amulet lay within her grasp, Danielle inspected the ankh with its small vile of blood attached.

         Staring into the girl’s kohl-rimmed eyes, Danielle whispered seductively as she moved closer. “This is an interesting amulet, tell me what it represents.”

         The girl gave Danielle a withering look. “It represents life. You want to let go if it?”

         Danielle fondled the blood vile. “Does this represent life as well? The lure of an eternal afterlife is a great aphrodisiac … what is your name?”

         The girl’s expression flashed with uncertainty as she stared into Danielle’s glistening eyes. “Felicity … my name is Felicity.”

         Danielle trailed her hand along Felicity’s arm as her voice grew intimate. “Felicity … what a lovely name … yes, quite lovely.”

         Felicity removed Danielle’s hand from her arm. “I’m not your kind lady, I don’t screw women. You ought to learn some self-control.”

         Danielle’s rich laugh filtered through Felicity’s mind. How she wished Julian were with her to experience this thing and her little vile of blood. “How quaint you are. Tell me the power your ankh provides.”

         Felicity felt the inability to keep her thoughts mute as Danielle’s presence lulled her to a place of exposure. She stared hard at Danielle, trying to shake the feeling of losing control. “It represents my true nature.”

         Danielle fingered the symbol. “Oh? What nature would that be?”

         “I’m a vampire.”

         Danielle gave Felicity a small smile. “Really? I’ve always wanted to meet a vampire.” Danielle ran a nail over the vile in her hand. “Is this your blood?”

         “No, it’s a gift from my master reminding me I’m of his house.”

         Danielle let the ankh fall against Felicity’s chest. “My brother desires to become a vampire, though he’s afraid he’s not going to rise after death. Would you be willing to bring him over?”

         Felicity’s expression grew smug. “I don’t believe in taking life to create vampires. We aren’t afflicted by that myth or curse which makes the vampire a faulted individual.”

         Danielle smiled. “You don’t bite your victim and drain their blood to make them vampires?”

         “No. Like I said, that practice was a myth.”

         Danielle nodded her head. “Well, Julian will be relieved to hear this since he’d like to avoid dying. If you don’t bite people, then how do you obtain blood for sustenance?”

         Felicity’s expression changed as Danielle smiled encouragingly. “Not all of us are sanguine. Many of us practice psychic vampirism, where energy is exchanged instead of blood.”

         Danielle touched Felicity’s face and concentrated on her eyes. “Do you have a flat nearby where Julian could speak with you in private? I’d pay you handsomely or make a large donation to your house.”

         The haughty look reappeared in Felicity’s eyes. “We don’t accept bribes.”

         Danielle caressed Felicity’s cheek. “I meant no offense. It is just that Julian has felt this vampiric calling for years, I merely want him happy. You do understand that calling, don’t you?”

         A dreamy expression crossed Felicity’s face. “Of course. My flat’s around the corner.”

         Danielle took Felicity by the hand and led her through the throng of vibrating people until they reached the outside of the club. Felicity moved her fingers against Danielle’s cold hand, and with each pass of her fingertips she experienced a sense of calm as well as a growing desire to intimately touch Danielle without restraint.

         Felicity ran her other hand along Danielle’s face. “You are so cold. I’ll make you a hot cup of tea when we get to my flat.”

         “That would be lovely, Felicity. Are we near your home?”

         Felicity looked around, suddenly realizing they were standing in front of her building. She pointed to a door. “This is my flat. You can call your brother from inside.”

         “Thank you, Felicity. I’m sure Julian will be quite pleased to know we’ve finally met.”

         Julian stepped from the shadows as Felicity and Danielle entered the flat, and then followed them in. “Thank you for helping, Felicity.”

         Felicity felt confused as she turned and faced Julian. She inhaled sharply as she gazed at him. “You’re so beautiful.”

         Julian smiled shyly at Felicity while he stared at her shroud of black lace. “Thank you. You’re lovely as well. I look forward to making all your desires come true. I hope I will be able to satisfy you sexually since I’ve heard vampires have a great need to be gratified in that way.”

         Danielle ushered Julian forward. “Julian finds vampires very appealing. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with him as a lover.”

         Julian eased behind Felicity, caressing her shoulders as he whispered sexily in her ear. “Let me pay homage to you.”

         Felicity lost her ability to question why strangers were interested in her. Losing herself in Julian’s embrace, Felicity relaxed into Danielle’s erotic thoughts swimming violently in her mind.

         Danielle nodded to Julian, who brought one hand around Felicity’s shoulders while his other hand caressed her throat.

         “Are you enjoying Julian, Felicity?”

         Felicity felt drunk, yet her body hummed with sexual energy as Julian moved intimately against her, gasping as her body spasmed. “Yes.”

         Danielle pulled her knife from her boot as she stared at Felicity’s enraptured expression. “Do you want to experience more?”

         “Oh … yes … please don’t stop.”

         Danielle ran the knife down Felicity’s neck as Julian followed with his tongue, keeping Felicity aroused while Danielle played with her prey.

         Felicity’s eyes widened when she felt the cold blade move to her cheek. “What are you doing?”

         Julian tightened his embrace as he kissed her ear. “Welcoming you to our world, Felicity.”

         “But … who are you?”

         Danielle pushed the knife against Felicity’s stomach while baring her fangs. “I’m the myth you refuse to acknowledge, a great sanguine vampire with the ability to make you rise from your grave with an eternal unquenchable thirst nothing will sate. Don’t worry, my dear little Felicity, I won’t turn you into something like me. You aren’t that worthy. Besides, I don’t need any more pretentious pseudo-vampires filling my world. However, I will allow you to be my prized kill.”

         Danielle ran the knife delicately along Felicity’s throat, teasing the vein that ran along the side of her neck until it rose above the flesh waiting to be bled. Julian breathed deeply to stave off his change as Danielle watched Felicity’s eyes reflect what she had missed and craved for over a hundred years. Fear spread through Felicity’s eyes, making Danielle’s urge to drain the blood from her throat rise to near delirium.

         Julian stared at Danielle while he ran his hands over Felicity’s body with wild abandon. “Danielle, why do you tempt me with this kill, and then refuse to start?”

         Danielle reached forward and caressed Julian’s cheek. “My beloved, please don’t be impatient with me. I promise we will play in a moment and you will get your reward. I am merely savoring the sensations being back in London has brought. I don’t want to rush this time with our dear Felicity, do you?”

         Julian sighed as his insides twisted with unrelieved need. “No, I’d like to enjoy everything Felicity has to offer.” Julian turned Felicity’s face toward his. “Isn’t that right, Felicity? Remember, I promised to fulfill all your desires.”

         Felicity’s screams continually filled the room as Danielle sliced across her stomach, ran a finger along the gash, and then offered the first taste to Julian. He put his hand over Felicity’s mouth to muffle her frantic cries, cooing erotic sounds in her ear as Danielle dragged the knife slowly across Felicity’s throat to begin her demise. The aroma of blood filled Danielle’s nostrils with an intoxicating scent until she couldn’t contain her excitement. “Relax, Felicity, you’re going to be famous.”

         Several hours later, Danielle finally allowed Felicity to fall into death as Felicity’s body lay dismembered on her bed, and Julian washed his nude form clean. Danielle pulled Julian to her and gave him a provocative smile. “Didn’t I promise you a new twist on an old game? I think Felicity was quite a good sport allowing us to keep her alive while we treated her to a night of fun. Come, my beloved, the night grows short and I wish to share this kill with you as only we can.”

†

         Danielle came to bed with her top hat adorning her head. Julian gazed into her glistening eyes and smiled. “You look beautiful, Danielle. I must confess I missed you wearing that hat tonight.”

         She leaned into Julian and kissed him. “I suppose everything can’t be the same as before, even the area’s name changed to White Chapel.”

         “Name changes and the lack of a hat don’t alter history or our place in it. Where’s Felicity’s heart?”

         Danielle smiled broadly. “Braedon should be getting it now. What else could I give him to let him know I’ve returned? I was always one of his favorite children. In fact, I couldn’t be more like him if I’d been born of his loins. I wish I could see his face when he opens the box, but I have more pleasurable ideas for tonight.”

         Julian fingered the golden ankh with a vile of blood adorning Danielle’s neck. “I see you decided to take a more tangible trophy this time. Why?”

         Danielle smiled devilishly. “I want to feel Felicity’s master’s power while we remember our time with her. I want to know if whoever gave her this misses his quaint little acolyte.” Danielle’s smile vanished as a hardened look permeated her green eyes. “I want their secrets so I know how to destroy another line competing with Braedon’s and mine. I think we might just have the perfect way to do away with those pseudo night things calling themselves vampires, beginning with tonight’s wonderful kill.

         Julian let the ankh drop against Danielle’s pale skin. Granting her a sexy smile, he ran his hand along her breast, fondling it until she groaned with pleasure. “You are truly wicked, Danielle. I simply adore everything about you. I’m assuming you have a knife?”

         She removed the knife from her hat, replaced the hat on her head, and then smiled. “How did you know?”

         “Two hundred years of loving you. Remember, I like it rough.”

         Danielle gently lowered Julian across their large bed, straddled him, and made one distinct swipe across his abdomen. Blood seeped through the shallow wound, making her brain quickly frenzied. Pushing her fingertips through the gash, she moved them along the cut, forcing a cry of exaltation from Julian.

         He watched as she pulled her hand from the wound and began sucking his blood from her fingers. Soon his wound would heal, but in the meantime there was so much he could experience while she performed her misdeeds.

         She gathered another handful of blood, delicately placing it in his mouth as she ground her body against his. Julian threw back his head in triumph as his blood ran thick and warm down his throat.

         He chuckled while gazing into her beautiful face. “Girly, are you going to ride me hard?”

         “If you’d like it that way. You’ve made me extremely happy, Julian, there’s really only one way to repay you.”

         Julian sucked in a lungful of air as she sliced deeper across his chest. His voice contained a blend of agony and ecstasy as he replied. “Welcome back, Jack.”

The End