My Little VentrueChapter 40
- 2 years ago
- 41
- 0
"Happy Anniversary," said Jenna, clinking her glass to mine.
"I cannot believe it has been six years," I said. I took a sip of my champagne and savored the taste of it for a moment before swallowing it.
"It has been the best six years of my life," she said with a warm smile.
Suddenly I was ripped out of the tender moment. They definitely weren't the best six years of my life. Every day I kept wondering more and more why I had married this woman.
"We have had our differences and I have been trying to get better for you in bed," Jenna continued.
"Trying to get better in bed?" my mind screamed. Our sex life was terrible. Her idea of improving our sex life was to have more of it. More of a bad thing is not a way to improve it.
"Yes dear, you have been getting better," I lied. I didn't want our anniversary to turn into the normal shouting match that ensued whenever sex was brought up.
The bottom line was she was never going to own up to her shortfalls in bed and I was never going to be happy unless things were different. Our sex was always the same. There was little to no foreplay because she never wanted to kiss. She never wanted to be fondled. She always complained she hurt somewhere, yet when the gynecologist examined her there was nothing wrong with her. There was no oral sex. She was too disgusted by the sight of my semen, let alone her having to taste it. She would never let me give her oral because she felt she smelled too bad down there and that she would be too embarrassed. The outcome was always the same. I would climb on top of her after lubricating my cock because she could never get wet, and I would fuck her until I had to cum and I would cum on her tummy. There was no passion, no heat, and no desire. To me it seemed like it was a chore for her.
"I am so glad you are happy with me," said Jenna.
I thought I was going to be sick. I gave her a fake smile as an acknowledgement. The sounds of the restaurant seemed to disappear as my anger rose. I was too tired to argue. Jenna was too blind to see the forest for the trees. I knew the truth. I didn't want to be married to Jenna anymore.
The problem was that I knew I was being shallow. How would I tell my family or my friends or her family the reason for our separation? I couldn't tell them that she wasn't good in bed. To be completely honest that was her only flaw. She treated me like a king otherwise. So in the end I felt trapped and alone.
Sensing a lull in the conversation I looked out the window at the moonlit lake outside of the restaurant. I thought back to Nikki and how much joy I felt the morning after our first date.
When the alarm clock went off that morning after our first date, I stumbled out of the loft, careful not to wake my sleeping beauty. I put on a pair of pajama bottoms and grabbed my bucket of toiletries and headed to the shower. There wasn't a soul in the shower room. No one woke up at six in the morning any day of the week, especially a Monday. I needed to be at the fraternity house at eight so today I was the exception to the rule.
I trudged into the shower area and let the water run until it was hot. I then shucked off my pajama bottoms and stepped in. I let the hot water run over me as I processed what had happened the night before. I was with a naked girl all night. Not just any naked girl. A girl I liked. A girl I liked a lot. It seemed pretty obvious she liked me too. I bent down to get the soap out of my bucket when I noticed that it was gone. I then felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I felt the unmistakable shape of two breasts being pressed up against my back.
"Good morning handsome," said Nikki.
"You could get in a lot of trouble Nikki," I said.
"Where is your sense of adventure, Army Boy?"
She had a point. "What the hell!" I said with bravado.
Nikki treated me like a king. She took great care in lathering me up with soap, running her hands all over my body, paying extra attention to my "special" parts. She then got out my shampoo and washed what little hair I had. I had to squat for that part so she could reach me. I almost lost my balance a few times because her deep scalp massage was so relaxing.
"Now you get your morning treat," she said with an evil grin.
"Oh?" I said, raising an eyebrow at her.
"You were on your best behavior last night so you get a reward," she said winking at me.
Nikki dropped to her knees and grabbed my hard cock in her soft hands. I moved out of the spray of water so that the water wasn't running over her.
What Nikki did next surprised me. She licked the entire length of my cock sending shivers of ecstasy through my body. I had seen it done in porno movies; I just never thought it would happen to me.
"You are so big," said Nikki with absolute lust in her voice.
"I wouldn't call seven inches big," I said. I blushed realizing I just admitted to her that I had at one time measured it.
She didn't seem to notice though as she slipped the head of my cock into her mouth. I had to grab the sides of the shower stall to steady myself because of the incredible sensations causing my legs to go weak.
Nikki then took most of my cock in her mouth and then sucked hard. I almost came right there. She then began sucking and moving her lips and tongue up and down my shaft. With one hand she was stroking the base of my cock. It didn't take long for me to feel the familiar tingle of impending orgasm.
"I'm gonna cum," I groaned.
Nikki took my cock out of her mouth and stroked it violently with her hand until I finally found release, shooting my cum harmlessly into the shower. After shooting the last of it I backed up against the wall to steady myself.
"My God Nikki," I gasped. "That was incredible."
"Maybe sometime you can return the favor," she said with a smile.
Nikki moved into the water and began casually washing herself off. I came up behind her and gave her a hug from behind. Her ass felt wonderful pressed against my still deflating cock. I grabbed her soapy breasts and massaged them gently, remembering the lessons from the previous evening. I then took her nipples in my fingers and gently flicked them causing her to emit a low groan.
"Thank you for last night," I whispered in her ear.
Nikki turned around and faced me. Her beautiful aqua blue eyes were focused on mine. "You are so wonderful," she said softly. She then gave me a lingering, but tender kiss.
"You know how we planned lunch on Tuesday?" I said.
"You aren't canceling?" said Nikki, panic written all over her face.
"No, I was wondering if you wanted to do lunch every day this week instead, seeing it will be all I will get to see of you until Saturday night."
"I would love that. Noon open for you?" she asked.
"Yes. We can meet at Esker for lunch." Esker Hall was one of the two campus dining facilities for dorm students.
"That sounds wonderful," squealed Nikki. She stood on her tiptoes and gave me a kiss on my nose and then broke free of me. She stepped out of the shower stall and grabbed a towel she had stolen from my room.
"Hi Greg, "said Joe, my neighbor from across the hall.
"Hi Joe," I replied. I then realized what was happening. Joe was here and so was Nikki who was quite naked.
Joe for his part realized it late as well. His eyes bugged out when he saw Nikki who thankfully had already wrapped a towel around her chest.
"Didn't realize you had company," said Joe unable to take his eyes off of Nikki.
"Joe this is Nikki," I said gesturing at Nikki. "Nikki, this is Joe, the guy from across the hall and who was leaving for about five minutes."
"Ok, ok," said Joe holding his hands up in mock surrender.
Joe left and Nikki and I busted out in laughter.
Nikki put on a t-shirt and sweatpants she had also absconded from my room and I threw on my pajama bottoms for the trip back to our room. Since our secret was already out we didn't check the hallway first before going to my room.
When we got back to the room I was already running late. I threw some clothes into my suitcase for my week being spent at the fraternity house. I piled all my books that I needed into my backpack. I then got dressed and headed back into the bathroom to shave and brush my teeth among other things.
When I returned to my room Nikki had put on her red dress. I tossed my toiletries into my suitcase and put everything I was taking by the door. I then took Nikki into my arms and gave her a tight squeeze.
"Thanks again for last night," I said. "I am going to miss not having you with me tonight."
"Me too," she said. I could tell she was trying to hold back from crying.
"So where are we here?" I said.
Nikki's face was full of confusion.
"Are we an item? Exclusive?"
"Is that what you want?" asked Nikki, her lower lip trembling.
"Yeah, if it is ok with you," I said.
Nikki was silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and to have Nikki be scared and walk out on my life forever.
"I thought you would never ask," said Nikki starting to cry.
I held her close to me as she cried.
"What's wrong Nikki?"
She pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes.
"I'm falling in love with you Rob, and I didn't know if you were feeling the same way but now I think you do and I'm so happy."
"Nikki, I'm gonna be upfront with you," I said pushing her back a little so I could look straight into her eyes. "I've never been in love before so I don't know what it's like but I do know that you are always on my mind. I know I'll be looking forward to lunch today more than any meal ever in my life. I know that you make me happier than I've ever been in my entire life."
Nikki collapsed into my arms and held onto me with a death grip. She was sobbing lightly into my chest.
"I'm gonna miss you," sobbed Nikki.
"I'll miss you too Nikki," I said. "I have to get going now."
Nikki pulled back and composed herself. "One last kiss for your new girlfriend?"
Girlfriend? I liked the sound of that. That meant I was her boyfriend!
I gave her a short, but very passionate kiss and then headed out the door. She followed me out of the dorm and to my car where she gave me another kiss. Then it was off to the fraternity house for hell week. I was wondering how much more hell it was going to be now without Nikki by my side.
"Rob?" yelled my wife. "Robby?"
I realized that I had drifted off at the table.
"What's wrong? Are you ok?" asked Jenna.
"Honey, I'm not feeling well," I said. "I need to use the men's room."
"Are you ok?" said Jenna, a look of concern on her face.
"Fine," I lied. "I just need to use the men's room."
"Ok honey," she said, still concerned. "Hurry back."
I got up and made my way through the restaurant looking for the bathroom. I managed to get lost once and finally gave up and asked where it was.
As I walked my stomach knotted up, as I grew more and more sick over the situation I was in and the fact that Jenna was so blind to what was happening. Anytime I had tried to discuss it with her she either blew me off or blew up at me. That was when she went to the councilor. She told me it was to help our marriage. The truth was she was looking for someone to tell her she was right and I was wrong. It made all those years of calling me a pervert ok.
Thankfully the bathroom was completely empty when I walked in. I rushed to the nearest stall and puked my guts out. It wasn't just food I was expelling. It was the bad feelings I had towards Jenna. I resented Jenna. I needed someone besides Jenna in my life. When I was finished I broke down into tears. I stayed there like that for nearly five minutes, bent over the toilet, violently sobbing.
I finally got up and cleaned myself off. I flushed the toilet and headed out to the sink. I splashed some cold water on my face and thought back to the last time I got that sick. It was the morning of the happiest day of my life.
I woke up that morning feeling like a bus had hit me. My head was pounding and any little sound in the room was amplified ten fold. I looked around and realized I was in the pledges room at the fraternity house. I also realized that I had a woman's arm draped around me. Further inspection of the arm revealed to me that it was Nikki's arm.
I tried hard to remember what had happened the previous night. The first memory was of waking up in the middle of the night and puking my guts out in the urinal of the communal bathroom of the frat house. I remembered Nikki rubbing my back afterwards and her helping me back to the room and rubbing my back until I fell asleep again.
I tried to remember what put me into this state. It was obvious I had the mother of all hangovers. Then I remembered the party. It was our post- initiation party following hell week. I remember several of the other fraternity brothers handing me beer after beer and my consuming them at a rapid pace.
I turned in the bed and faced Nikki.
"Hi sleepy head," said Nikki with a smile.
"Don't talk so loud," I said.
Nikki giggled and drew me in for a hug.
"We need to get you showered and get you to brush your teeth," said Nikki with a giggle. "Then we need you to drink lots of water."
"Why water?" I said, my head pounding with each word.
"Best cure for a hangover. Your body is dehydrated."
I struggled out of bed and as I stood up it felt like someone was stabbing a knife into my head. Nikki helped me over to the bathroom and then left to get my toiletries and a towel. I let the water in the shower run over me for a bit while I waited for Nikki to return. She returned with my stuff and then left again.
I stood under the shower until the water went cold. It felt good just having the water run over me. Once the water was cold I made a quick job of washing up and shampooing my hair. After the shower I toweled off, wrapped the towel around my waist and started the rest of my morning ritual of shaving and brushing my teeth.
Nikki was waiting for me by the sink with a huge plastic cup of water.
"Drink this first. All of it."
I looked at the huge cup of water and the daunting challenge in drinking the whole thing. I took a few sips and put the cup down.
"Come on," said Nikki with a little bit of venom in her voice. "You didn't have any trouble slamming cups of beer last night that were this size."
~~Jack~~ Jack’s eyes went wide. Half of Viktor’s head was gone, just gone. The bloody gibs of brain matter and bone turned into tiny fires that faded into ash and embers before they even hit the ground. “Shit! Shit shit, what-” Julias put a hand against Jack’s mouth, and pushed him back against the wall. “Sniper, down the path.” Jack reached up and pulled his sire’s hand down. “What about Viktor!? The fuck are we supposed to do now?” Just as he was about to start ranting, his jaw dropped...
~~Antoinette~~ “Oh god oh god oh god.” Jack, trembling and ready to sweat — though thankfully unable without the blush of life — looked out over the crowd. The two of them were in Bloodlust, one of her fonder establishments to enjoy. The pulsing music, and the dark red lightning with the occasional white light strobe made for a combination of sinister, sexual, and theatrical visual stimuli. Everyone in Bloodlust felt as if they were partaking in a movie. Everyone except her poor little...
~~Beatrice~ Part of her wanted to sneak up on Julias, try and catch him by surprise, see if her scant twenty years could get past the man’s eyes. Have fun! Play with him, like old times. But, these weren’t old times, and her sneaking into his mansion, or trying to at least, was a bad idea. He probably had lookouts about, snipers, and they’d shoot first if they saw suspicious rustling in bushes. So the front door it was. Knock knock. “Good evening Miss Damor, Miss Denver,” the doorman said....
~~Jack~~ His trip to speak with Azamel had been successful, more or less. Azamel looked worse than ever, but he found her speaking with Sándor, and it seemed like they were coming to some sort of agreement. Not that Jack got to stick around long enough to find out more. Azamel promptly booted him out, saying her arrangements with Sándor were none of his business. It was his business, kinda. It was his job to keep the different species getting along. But he left anyway, a bit thankful for...
~~Antoinette~~ From the meeting room of her great glass tower in Elysium, Antoinette stood in front of the window-wall, and watched the city burn. Far off in the distance, the night sky had turned slightly orange with the light of flame, as the large fire of the North Side’s warehouse district spread. Sirens filled the air, and flashing lights of firetrucks and other emergency vehicles zipped by. “It burns,” she said. “Quite the sight.” Jacob stood beside her. The old Nosferatu was...
~~One week later.~~ ~~Jack~~ “Twenty million.” “Fifty million.” “Twenty million.” “I’m sorry. Is there an echo in here?” The sly brute adjusted his gloves, even as he put his feet up on the table. A pistol rested in his chest strap, mirrored by the four thugs who stood behind him. Thugs in suits. “I know what the merchandise is worth, and it’s not worth fifty,” Jack said. He was standing, with his arms folded across his chest and a surly look on his face. It was all part of the game, of...
~~Jack~~ Back at the burned apartment building, alone this time, and using his free time as well. Course, Invictus didn’t exactly mandate hours, but you were expected to work a certain amount. Work above that, accomplish things, and you moved up in rank and social standing; which was like gold in the Invictus. And he wanted to figure this out, who burned down this building, who killed Barry. He stood atop the ceiling of a neighboring building. The sun had just set, and he only had a couple...
~~Julias~~ Everything had fallen apart in a matter of seconds. When it was just the six hunters, he and his childe could have handled the situation easily. Even Angela, for all her absurd might and endurance, was only human. Six humans? He could have handled this himself. Having to work quickly, break through Angela’s defenses, deal with a magical barrier, and save Samantha, threw a wrench into what would have otherwise been simple. Unless the hunters managed to nail him with a shotgun or...
~~Beatrice~~ “It this ... everyone?” Sighing, Jack nodded, crouched low on the roof of Robina’s. “Clara’s not here yet, but yea, h this is everyone. If any of the hunters escape into a nightmare, Azamel will send Fiona to help us on that end. You know, assuming she can find us.” Beatrice started counting. Six vampires, one werewolf, and one monster; potentially two monsters, if they had to fight in the nightmare. That was not nearly as many people as Triss was hoping for. And, for some...
~~Beatrice~~ Following the Invictus right hands was hard enough, but now she had to follow three. Shadowing Julias was easy. Like a typical Ventrue, he was useless on his own. His power was in creating and controlling armies. But damn he looked good in a suit. Those broad shoulders, the combed back mafia hair, even the damn tie. It was a good thing she wasn’t using the blush of life, or she’d be rubbing her thighs together already. Fuck, the stupid knight made her feel like a cat in...
~~Beatrice~~ She had to get something to eat first, then she’d show Julias. She’d show up and beat the undead shit out of that piece of shit, stupid shit fuck. Eat first though, definitely. She was drained and tired from shadowing the trio, and there was no way she was going to confront big bad ancillae Julias without a stomach full of blood. She’d tried feeding on some people gently lately, using the darkness and her strength to her advantage. It had worked well enough, and she’d had more...
~~Julias~~ A taxi would not do, not for this. Perhaps it was too ridiculous, too absurd, or just too over-the-top, but Julias took great delight in the magnificent limousine they were in. Other Kindred would arrive in their usual ways, but the Prince expected a certain level of presentation for her ball, and Julias got that. There was something beautifully innocent in the mindless indulgence of expensive vice, jewelry, and wearing someone on your arm. Jack was in the limousine with him,...
~~Natasha~~ She stood there in front of Sándor, frowning, arms folded across her chest, and chewed on the inside of her cheek. Antoinette stood beside her. A thrall was busy cleaning of the prisoner’s body; it was a human body after all, and it did things human bodies did. Pooping, peeing, all the nasty realities of trying to keep a dangerous person prisoner. The horror stories prisoners of war shared were never fun reads. “Still unresponsive,” Antoinette said, sighing. “The mark on his...
~~Jack~~ Her. It was her. No doubt about it. As if someone popped a balloon in his face, snapping out of his memory to the present was loud and painful. That was Susanna’s childe, and Jack’s great grandsire. “In the name of peace,” Antoinette continued, “these three hunters were invited to the ball to be shown that Dolareido, my city, is not as devolved as other cities with a Kindred presence. We are better than our baser desires.” She adopted an evil smile, and looked back to the hunters....
~~Jack~~ It only took a small nod to the bouncer for Jack to get in. Just a week ago, he wouldn’t have dared dream of it, but Invictus connections were endless – larger than just Xnomina - so now here he was, stepping into throbbing music and pulsing lights. The air smelled of sweat, body’s grinding against each other with the beat, and enough skin was exposed to make his heart race. Or at least, it would have if it still beat; the fact it didn’t never stopped unsettling him. Everything was...
~~Beatrice~~ Climbing down into the cavern was getting easier. But no matter how good she was getting at it, if the clouds decided to cover the night sky, the obsidian shadow below her was an easy way to get some broken, mangled limbs. God damn the canyon was a bitch, with no good footing anywhere, and enough jagged rocks to kill any kine who fell down, guaranteed. But she was familiar with it now, knew where the good rocks for grabbing were, knew where to put her weight into a crevice to...
~~Jack~~ Getting taken back to the real world was a curse and a blessing. Everything, everywhere, was teasing him with answers he couldn’t get to. What was the Ritual of Faces? Black Blood and the red wraiths, what did they have to do with the ritual, how were the hunters doing it, why were hunters and spirits working together, what did the red wraiths mean when they mentioned ‘who the monster speaks with ... the trail to their goal.’ Azamel? Were they talking about Azamel? If they were, how...
~~Jack~~ “Oh my god,” Jack said. “Oh ... dear Lord,” Damien said. “Now arriving, Mister Jack Terry, of the Invictus, and champion this evening. With him, Mister Damien Burksen, of the ... Lancea et Sanctum, and champion’s guard,” the ghoul in the tuxedo beside them called out. The crowd turned to them, clapped for a few moments, nodded their hands, and resumed socializing. Somewhere along the line, Antoinette’s invite to the ball, which had included a ‘some skin but not too much’ message,...
~~Jack~~ “So you let Tilly go?” Elaine asked, chuckling as she stepped in past the door. They were in his mansion, and Mulder and Scully sat on his shoulders, eying the much, much older vampire. Idly, Jack noticed that neither of the birds crapped anymore. They’d always been smart enough to not do that in the mansion, but apparently it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. “How do you know that?” “Do you think I came to this city alone? I have eyes and ears everywhere.” He eyed her. She...
~~Beatrice~~ The war was over. Jacob laughed when he told her that. Told her it was temporary, because the Carthians and the Invictus and ‘Churchies’ always eventually got in each other’s face and business. Tale as old as time, he said. But either way, for the moment, there was a truce, and that meant people could breathe easy; dumb metaphor considering vampires. Triss and Jen were at the cave when Sam showed up, and she smiled and waved at them before she slipped into Jacob’s alcove. They...
~~Julias~~ A sleeping Kindred is not really sleeping. Instead, they are nearly in torpor, an undead coma. When the sun disappears, they wake in an almost jarring pulse of energy from their dead body jamming vitae through their limbs. Older Kindred, like Julias, had long learned to rise with awareness and efficiency. Younger Kindred like Beatrice rose with a startle, as if someone had injected adrenaline straight into their heart. They had fallen asleep together on his couch when dawn...
~~Beatrice~~ Beatrice had no idea Dolareido had so many dark, hidden corners. “You Carthians. It will never cease to amaze me how much you want to adapt the modern,” Jacob said. “Modern?” The two of them were deep into North Side, and probably near the edge of the city. It was a big city; she’d never been out this far. “That you would take a car, instead of this!” The crazy Nosferatu gave that weird chuckle of his, and jumped. With the old, dark robes he was wearing, he looked like a...
~~Jack~~ “Oh ... god...” He couldn’t cum anymore. Just the thought of another orgasm made his insides ache in pain. No more, his balls cried. We’re dry! The devil and her two imps didn’t seem to agree. Ashley and Julee had both let him drink them, just a little, just enough to spark the arousal in his Kindred body once more, without either of them succumbing to exhaustion for it. And they took advantage. “One more?” Antoinette said, smiling up at him. The Prince was on her back on her...
~~Jack~~ If there was one way he was going to die, it’d be between two dangerous women. Antoinette’s tiger eyes returned, with all the ferocity and rage of when Lucas had crashed her ball. Like a crushing storm, being so near her shook him to his core as the rage poured off of her, buried him in rolling thunder that vibrated his bones and pulled his gut up into his throat. She wasn’t looking at him anymore, thank god; her eyes would have bore holes through his body and couch otherwise. The...
~~Antoinette~~ Oh no. She sat upon the highest floor of her tower, a tower she had built upon what she designated would be Elysium territory, where Kindred-on-Kindred violence was prohibited, where feeding was prohibited, and where discussion was encouraged. To place her tower within its embrace was a choice she had made, a political stance signifying her devotion to peace and cooperation. And within the highest floor, her main office was her place of control, and where she could personify...
~~Damien~~ One of the hunters came out of the shadows. He recognized this one. A woman, short, thick with muscle, and with a shotgun in her hand. “ ... you’re dead,” Damien said. “You were one of the hunters killed in the chaos, in the—” “In Sándor’s chamber, yeah.” She came closer, tilted her head, and showed them her neck. There was a giant scar where an Uratha had torn into her. “How!?” Matt asked, growling as he began to pace. The big guy put himself between the group of them, and the...
~~Beatrice~~ The two vampires jumped up and spun around, looking around in the dark. That voice. She recognized that voice. What the fuck, why was it here? Both of them pulled out their phones and started shining them around, but the catacomb was empty. “You ... you can’t be here,” she said. “No one’s ... no one’s been sacrificed.” Jen stepped in closer to her, and pressed her shoulder to hers, enough for Triss to feel her friend trembling. While Triss was still shaking because her world...
~~Jack~~ It’d been two weeks since the incident. Two weeks since the news broadcasted Jack’s fuck up with the crows. Two weeks since Julias’s death, his mother’s embrace, and the capture of Sándor. Two weeks of futile attempts to understand what had happened to him. He’d stuck with journaling, organizing his thoughts and putting them to words, but it wasn’t working out very well. All he could manage to write were succinct paragraphs that were obviously bitter, cynical, and angry. Sometimes...
~~Antoinette~~ “Does he speak?” “No.” Antoinette sighed as she glared at the bound man. Two thralls were seeing to his body, cleaning and maintaining Sándor so he did not drown in his bodily fluids, or die of starvation. An unfortunate consequence of keeping a prisoner alive was handling the frustrating elements of biology. It was not a process she was unfamiliar with. She kept several prisoners in her tower, after all, emergency sources of blood should she or an ally need them. Dealing...
~~Beatrice~~ Jacob hadn’t been in the cave when she came back with everyone. She was kinda thankful for that. Stressful conversations could wait until another time. Waking up was a strange feeling, and the memories hit her hard. Angela, Jeremiah, Athalia, the fucking twisted curse Jack, the huge gargoyle Sándor, it all came back to her a little faster than she’d have liked. Joy, over knowing Angela was dead, and Jeremiah too. Sadness, about Athalia; not a lot, but enough to make things...
~~Jack~~ “It’s been a long time,” Michael said, and he pushed open the door. Jack, Jessy, and Damien followed. The leader of the Invictus, and the three Right Hands, together, in the home of Viktor Honors, and then later, Julias Mire. A beautiful mansion, very Victorian, with its grand entrance room and big wooden stairway with fancy railings. Hell, there was a chandelier. It was very Viktor. It was very not Jack. Michael stepped over to the stairs, but didn’t go up. Instead, he leaned...
~~Antoinette~~ Veronica, still unconscious, lay in the ritual circle, bathed in the blue light of her chandelier. Antoinette and Elaine both pointed their tablets at her, observing with keen eyes as the humming machine in the background ran through the various wavelengths the devices were programmed to respond to. They started with the same frequency that had detected the remnants of the Strix upon Jack’s person, and moved outward from there. Nothing. Antoinette breathed a sigh of relief,...
~~Antoinette~~ Three months later. She stared down at the corpse, and sighed. Sigh turned to frown. Frown turned into snarl. In her youth, she would have likely elevated to outright rage, and destroyed all in her vicinity. But she had long learned to control her anger, and she quelled it now as she stood, confused and frustrated. Blood seeped out over the lines of the ritual circle, over the dark tile, and around her feet. She stepped about it effortlessly as she motioned to Daniel. “It...
~~Jack~~ “Not long after I sired Viktor, I left him, and disappeared.” Elaine held his eyes, for a while, but eventually she looked down. “I was not proud of abandoning him. I do not think he ever forgave me, even after my return.” The two of them were still on the stairs in his mansion. The stairs were the best place for a conversation, and their magic powers could hopefully disarm an elder vampire. “I wondered about how you could have been his sire, without anyone knowing.” “It was not...
~~Jack~~ Every time he woke up, it was a shock. Julias had said a Kindred doesn’t really sleep, cause how could a corpse sleep? They just become a corpse, and when the sun sets, they un-corpsify. Each and every time, it was like someone jammed adrenaline straight into his heart. He sat up in his bed with a jolt, and could feel the Vitae spike through his system to wake him with its unnatural power. But then it settled. He’d grown more comfortable with his new body, its strange, thinned and...
~~Natasha~~ Nothing was as satisfying as the sensation of keyboard keys giving way to just the right movement of the fingers for flawless typing. Did that make her a geek? She was too old to be a geek. Fifty-years embraced, and another twenty-five kine years on that meant she was older than commercial computers. By a lot. But she picked them up quick. Perhaps it was her lifetime of piano play that drew her to typing. Even as a kine, she found typewriters fascinating. “Yo, Natasha.” Snap...
~~Antoinette~~ The next evening was not a pleasant one. She’d hoped to awaken to news from her thralls of the boy’s whereabouts. She’d awoken to despair. “Why am I not out in those streets, Daniel?” “Because we’re trying to find a needle in a haystack, Annie.” The man stood and watched out over the city along with her, the two of them by the large window in her office, at the top of her Elysium tower. “I am an extra pair of eyes!” “You know that’s not how you find someone in a...
~~Damien~~ Damien looked over at Amanda, and she smiled at him before offering a small wave. She seemed like a kind little creature, dark skin and long black hair. Damien did not care for her sire, Gloria Jenning, who had a far larger mouth for gossip than any Mekhet should have, but Amanda seemed alright. Perhaps a little ditzy, but then, after being around Fiona, ditzy didn’t seem to bother him so much anymore. Ditzy people had the amazing ability to be happy and enjoy themselves. For...
~~Damien~~ He looked at the picture again, then put the phone away. Gulping, he pulled the phone out again, and looked at the picture. She was so beautiful, and fun, and joyful, and overwhelmingly sexual. The frizzy red hair, bouncy and big, her soft face and pale skin, her golden eyes, it was all gorgeous. Of course, she knew she had large breasts, and in classic Dolareido fashion, had no issue using them to get what she wanted; in this case, him. Lucky him. He was damn glad she left her...
~~Antoinette~~ High within her tower, Antoinette perused the latest information she had acquired through her network of spies. Pictures of Terra Den and its enforcers were cropping up, far more than she wished, as were pictures of the various Xnomina thralls and ghouls, moving against them during daylight. Forever a frustration, that a Kindred’s movements and actions were limited to the night, while their far less capable thralls and ghouls could move about freely whenever they desired....
~~Beatrice~~ Everyone left. Sándor was apparently a really, really strong Begotten, to the point he surprised Fiona when he opened a pathway back to the real world without issue. A wave of the gargoyle’s hand, and the darkness in the forest flickered. Fiona, or Vrall or whatever, went through it with her man, and they disappeared, supposedly to arrive near Damien’s apartment so he could take a moment to recoup. Two crows sat on Damien’s shoulders, and several more plus a few rats scurried...
~~Jack~~ Not much longer until sunrise. God, he was starving. Strong as the curse was, it wasn’t invincible, and it’d used a lot of his available vitae to fight that creature. Fought, and won. Don’t forget that. Jack silenced his thoughts as best he could, and waited, but the curse said nothing. Just as Jack had noticed throughout the battle with the azlu, and Sándor’s Horror before that, and the attack on the hospital before that, the curse had trouble maintaining control after expending...
~~Jack~~ ~Are you alright, master?~ Scully asked, perched on a powerline outside. ~I’m fine. Any kine wandering nearby?~ ~No.~ ~Any signs of Michael?~ ~Not yet, ~ Mulder said. The ability to communicate with his familiars over distances psychically was freaky and awesome. Normally Animalism required some sort of visual or auditory contact. But now that Mulder and Scully were his familiars, dead and revived as half vampire creatures, no auditory or visual connection necessary. Full on...
This is a stand alone story involving the Black Djinn, although you do get to see how he works. TALES OF DJINNAR: The Pool of Truest Reflection by Raven John sat in the bar with his close friend, Aleem. The setting was early Friday evening, nearly seven o'clock, and the place was filled with young professional women celebrating the onset of another weekend. Aleem noted his perpetually brooding buddy, and reminded him in his faint Arabic accent, "John? This is called Happy...
~~Julias~~ It didn’t matter how many times Julias stood before the triumvirate, he never felt safe. Viktor was old. Michael and Maria were there as well, and while they were older and stronger than Julias, it was Viktor that made his inner-beast recoil. Sometimes Julias wondered if his sire would try another torpor, before his strength grew to the point that he’d need Kindred blood to survive, and not kine blood. Every time he stood before him, he started to worry more and more about that...
~~Antoinette~~ Her Black Hall had more faces than she’d expected. Wonderful, that meant tensions had lessened between covenants and individuals alike. There would be lasting peace in her city, even if it meant she had to drag the idiots into the peace like kicking, screaming children. She took a moment to look around. Garry, Jacob, Maria, Michael, and Julias up on the balcony. Delightful, all the primogen were there. It was the first time in a long time the primogen had come to a ball of...
~~Jack~~ “I uh, have a girlfriend.” “Oh, damn.” She let go of his shoulder, but shrugged and kept walking. “Glad you told me though. Surprising, given your circumstances. Figured you might have said yes to a date just to get on my good side.” “The thought had occurred to me.” Except suffering Antoinette’s wrath would have been a million times worse than pissing off Clara’s whole pack, let alone just her. “It’s not Natasha is it?” “No.” “That’s good. It’d really make this whole situation...
~~Jack~~ There was still plenty of time before sunrise, and Antoinette felt like pampering him a bit more. To the pool they went, but instead of using the pool, they stepped down into the hot tub. “I’m ... pretty drained, Antoinette,” he said. “Came twice, you know?” She laughed, and reached out to touch his nose as she stepped into the water. “I am sorry, my love, but I know you drank of both my ghouls only a couple hours ago. I suspect you have much sexual energy left for me to feast...
~~Natasha~~ “Something ... h-horrible?” she said. Art stepped forward into the buildings, into the civilian lobby, and sniffed the air. “Monica told us she found out that, apparently Jack managed to bust his way out of here, and kill a few hunters on the way out. I assume you know more. Can you spare us any more details?” What details could she share that she’d read about? Antoinette had her ways, and especially so did Daniel, to get detailed reports about what happened here, more than...
~~Julias~~ “Mister Terry, you’ll be working with Madam Leauvion and Madam Jenning.” The boy raised a brow. “Sire?” “I know you expected to be working with Mister Burksen and Madam Herrington, but ultimately, they have a lot of experience that would be better served working with younger, less experienced Kindred. In your team, your experience is key, and will compensate for Jenning and Leauvion’s lack thereof, while at the same time, Jenning is Mekhet and old enough to provide a quality use...
~~Damien~~ As the night went on, two things were becoming painfully clear. First, that the hunters were either not in the tunnel, or hiding terribly well. Second, that working with Fiona was extremely distracting. It wasn’t that Fiona was too juvenile to focus, or too bubbly to ... not bubble around everywhere, but rather Damien’s own mind not being able to concentrate. She was too attractive. Ever since that date, where they’d both enjoyed a meal together, it’d become impossible to ignore...
~~Beatrice~~ They walked through the cemetery gates, and stepped among the tombstones, a bunch of brainwashed kine behind them. She tried to not show it, but she was a little scared. Not of Jacob and the madness he pursued; that ship had sailed. No, she was afraid of Jack. He’d accidentally hurt these kine, their brains, with how easily he’d dominated. Accidentally performed an act most ancilla Ventrue would have struggled to perform, let alone a neonate, no less. And he wasn’t lying about...
~~Eric~~ They took a trip to a club. Eric was kind of sick of the club scene, working at Bloodlust all the time; not that Bloodlust really counted as a club, more of a night lounge thing. Bloodlust had the music, the low light, and the people, just less of them. To go to a proper nightclub was not how he wanted to spend the night, but Matthew and Arturo assured him it was temporary. They didn’t need to convince the bouncer to let them in. Natasha wrapped them in her Kindred powers, and...
~~Antoinette~~ Jack had seen her. She knew he must have. And yet, he gave chase into the forest, with Beatrice over his shoulders. So committed was he to his plan, to his need for revenge, that he would ignore her approach, the Prince of Dolareido, and his lover, to pursue it. It was not Jack she saw. It was the curse, a relic from ages past, from those infuriating striges and their obsessive need to disrupt the lives of Kindred. The curse. The damned, bloody curse, that crawled into her...
~~Jack~~ “Consider a glass cage, my love, and within, a glowing sphere bounces up and down. The cage holds the sphere perfectly still on the horizontal plane, forcing the sphere to remain locked on its vertical path. It bounces at the speed of light, which, as you know, is the limit matter may travel. No faster. 299,792,458 meters per second.” Jack nodded, eyes wide and engaged as he watched Antoinette. Understanding the world in terms of special relativity was always a troubling mental...
~~Eric~~ Jack, Clara, and Sándor, had taken a very strange route. First, they’d left the mansion, and headed into North Side. Then their trail ended inside an old, abandoned hotel. Not a hotel, but some sort of motel? Hard to tell. According to Jessy, the city went through some gold rushes and job rushes during development at the beginning of the twentieth century, and a lot of people moved to the city for seasonal work, building the subway and whatnot. So some companies set up temporary...
~~Jack~~ He knocked on Damien’s door. Someone very much not Damien opened it. “Fiona,” he said, smiling. “Jack! How are ye, ye bawbag? And who’s this lass?” “Veronica, meet Fiona, Damien’s girlfriend, and ... a paranormal creature.” Both Jack and Veronica were dressed in suits, though Veronica’s was less fancy. It was how Invictus did things. Vampires and their servants were well dressed, but it was obvious who the master was. Fiona, on the other hand, was wearing a white button shirt,...
~~Jack~~ As the two of them sat on his couch in his old apartment, he spared no detail. It wasn’t exactly new information for Elaine; they’d have this conversation already. But it was obvious she wanted more info about the emotional side of the Ripper, about how he thought, how he felt, how the fucker took over Jack and basically became a new person. She wanted the information Jack had kept a little vague, to spare Antoinette. Of course, the Prince likely inferred a lot of it, but that...