Act Four Chapter Five - The Beautiful People

The storm had done a number on the Tidewater, but nothing too serious. No fatalities. Michael and Sarah headed back to Hampton, taking Julia with them.

They spent the rest of the night cleaning up the debris from the storm. At one point, Julia walked away to dump some branches into the river. Sarah pulled Michael aside. “So what are you going to do with her?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Michael retorted. "New girl for the harem."

“I don't believe that. I know what you look like when you’re smitten. This is different. The way you look at her is something else, something more.”

“Are you being jealous again?” Michael meant it playfully, but Sarah’s look was dead serious. “Yes, she’s different.”

“She’s a hunter.”

“Who is no longer a threat. Bound to me after three nights. Truth is, I’m thinking of making her my childe.”

Sarah nodded in understanding. "I should have guessed. But why her? Why not one of the others? You have great fondness for Sammy in particular.”

"Sammy's beautiful, sexy, and strong, but Julia got's something she doesn't. A hunter's mind, experience with their world. Combine that with kindred power and we've got one hell of a bodyguard."

“Bodyguard only?”

“You really are touchy about me being with another kindred, aren’t you?"

“It’s different.”

"And yet you were the one who just suggested I give Sammy the gift of darkness. Do you think embracing her would stop us from fucking like rabbits?"

Sarah's frown deepened. She was getting angry.

"Look," Michael began. He'd knew he'd won a round, but decided not to rub it in. "This one's different. Yeah, she’s a decent lay, but what I want her for is not the pleasure she can give me. I want her to stand between me and those hunters who remain out there. More accurately, I want her between them and you.”

“You have Boar and Mitch.” Argued Sarah, implying they were enough.

“And I’ll have her.” Replied Michael firmly.

“You’ve really made up your mind, haven’t you?”

“Yes. On another matter as well…”

“And that is?”

“Tell me something, Sarah. Do you know of any rites, rituals, or ceremonies whereby two kindred can get married?”

Sarah’s jaw dropped, her anger gone in a flash of astonishment. “Is that a proposal?”

“Of a sort.” Michael answered sheepishly. “Truth is, Sarah, I don’t want you to doubt anymore that I mean it when I say I love you and that I want to be with you. I don’t know what’s coming with The Djinn’s war, with these hunters, or what I might have to do with Rebecca in the end. I can’t predict the future. But I do know I can’t face it without you. I want you with me, whatever comes.”

---

Michael spent most of the next night “rallying the troops.” He contacted Boar and Mitch and had them meet him at his home. He then proceeded to tell them both of what had happened over the last couple of weeks: Damian’s warning, his encounter with Julia, all of it. Mitch recognized that the threat of the hunters could extend to the mage community, so he resolved to warn them of the coming storm.

But more of concern to Michael was the danger to himself and his own. He emphasized to his friends that he wanted them to keep a close eye on Sarah for him.

“Not that I won’t do what you ask,” Boar interjected, “but she’s not their real  target. They’re after you.”

Michael nodded in reply. “Yeah, but I’ve got something in mind to cover that.”

“Care to let us in?” asked Mitch.

“The Prince’s dispensation.” Both Mitch and Boar knew immediately what Michael was referring to.

“Oh? You have a candidate in mind?”

“I do. The very one whose attack on me three nights ago proved that Damian wasn’t just blowing smoke: Julia of House Snow.” The reference to the newly-released Game of Thrones novel was lost on the other two, but they understood fully Michael’s intent.

“An interesting choice.” observed Mitch, “just hope it doesn’t bite you in the ass.”

---

Michael wanted a full night to dedicate to his embrace of Julia, so he waited until the following evening to carry out his plan. He spent rest of the previous evening moving Julia out of the hotel and out of the dingy apartment she’d been keeping in Hampton.

In doing so, he discovered several things. One, Julia was far from poor. She kept several thousands of dollars in cash on hand, money that she claimed to use for hunting supplies. She also confessed that much of it came from the six vampires she’d already killed whose valuables were fenced at pawn shops up and down the East Coast. The rest was from her various DJ jobs. It went a long way to explain how a transient young woman with little steady employment could afford a multi-night stay at a hotel like the Ocean Sands.

Michael also got a good look at her wardrobe, which also taught him a few things about Julia. Julia was not quite as big as Leigh had been, but she was definitely fuller figured than your typical runway-model beauty. If her size had any bearing on her self-image however, you wouldn’t know it from her attire. Numerous t-shirts and tank tops that Michael tell from their design would be a nearly skin-tight fit on Julia’s ample torso, almost all of them with provocative and sexually charged screen prints. She also had numerous shorts and miniskirts, all the more to show off the curves of her legs and thighs. Everything in her wardrobe told him that this was a woman who was proud of her body. It also told him this was her central strategy in hunting kindred. She was much like him, using the powers of charm, beauty, and seduction to lure in her prey. When Michael realized this, he also realized how fortunate he’d been. He knew he would be such an easy mark to a hunter like her.

It took most of the night to move Julia to the beach house. When dawn came, Michael and Sarah retired to their secret lair in the basement, leaving Julia the full run of the place. He had no concerns. Bound to him as she was, Julia would probably merely explore her new home and its environs.

When dusk returned again, Julia was nowhere to be found in the house. While Sarah made ready for her evening, Michael searched the grounds. Julia had not gone far. She was in the garage, working on Michael’s Ford Falcon.

“I saw you were rebuilding it, so I figured I’d lend a hand.” she said, wiping the grease onto a pair of old jeans. She’d clearly been working for a while and was quite dirty.

“You are a woman of many talents.” Michael observed. “Thank you for your help. Get yourself cleaned up. Once Sarah has departed, you and I have something to do.”

Julia went inside to shower and then Terra arrived a few minutes later. When she did, Sarah came to him to bid farewell for the evening. “Off to do a little wedding research.” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “Good luck with her.”

Michael nodded and gave Sarah a kiss good-bye. Then he sat down by the pool and waited for Julia to finish. She came out after a while dressed in a more typical fashion for her: tank top and shorts.

“I don’t normally go for blondes.” Michael admitted as she walked over to him, “but I’m quite convinced I would have picked you out of any crowd at Nightstyles.”

“That was my plan.” she admitted. “An empty club only made it easier.” She sat down at the foot of the deck chair and looked at him. “What is it that you want me to do tonight?”

“When we were together in the hotel suite, you speculated that my intent was to make you a vampire like me. At that point in time however, I had made no such decision. Now I have.”

A look of fear shot across Julia’s face but only briefly. She nodded. “Whatever you wish.”

“Go inside and lie down on my bed.” he instructed. She got up and went inside. Michael did not follow immediately. Instead, he stood up and set his ears to listen to his surroundings. There was no sound of human activity anywhere nearby and for that he was thankful.

Michael was fully aware of what was going to happen. He remembered his own embrace, but perhaps more clearly he remembered Rebecca’s. After tricking Rebecca into his bed, he drained her to the point of death and then made her one of them. A vampire awakens to darkness with only the blood given them by their sire and the monster within them almost invariably drives them out in a maddened frenzy to find prey, to kill and to drink until satisfied. It had been that way with him. He’d counted on it with Rebecca, knowing Shawn would not go far. The remembrance of that planned murder shook Michael to his core, but so too did the death of his own first victim.

He had resolved it would be different with Julia.

Michael went inside to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He was pleased to find that Angelica had come through for him. He’d called her the night before and asked her to secure an ample amount of stored blood from her clinic. During the day, she had delivered it and so there it was.

Michael took out a large mixing bowl from the cabinets and emptied the blood packets into it. He then set the bowl on the table, right in the path to the front door so a frenzied Julia would not miss it. He hoped it would be enough for him to contain her initial frenzy and then begin a proper lesson on how to hunt. He hoped, but he was not sure.

He then walked into his bedroom. Julia was on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. A momentary shiver gave evidence of her fear. “Are you afraid, Julia?” he asked in a calm voice.

She didn’t look at him, but simply nodded. “Will it hurt?” she asked.

“A little.” Michael admitted. “But it will not last. Let me explain what I am going to do. I will drink your blood down to the point of death. As you are dying, I will give you in exchange some of my own blood and the transformation will begin. When you awaken fully from that transformation, you will be overcome within by something monstrous. We call it the Beast Within or merely the Beast. It will drive you forth to find more blood, which I have provided. Once sated, you will come back to yourself and your new life will begin.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then you will die.” Michael answered honestly. She shivered again. “I wouldn’t worry. You are not the first I’ve gifted with undeath. I did not fail then.  I will not fail now. Are you ready?”

“Yes.” she answered firmly.

Michael smiled. “It is your courage that I so admire about you and it is your courage that has made this decision for me. I need someone like you to protect me and mine. So...” he paused himself, to steel his own will towards her embrace. “it is time.”

Michael leaned over. He parted her legs and sank his fangs deep into her thigh. He chose the leg to get to the femoral artery, easier and more quick in some ways than biting through the more stereotypical carotid and jugular vessels in the neck. He drank with abandon and the Beast within him growled with satisfaction. He’d not killed by feeding in a very long time.

It was not long before there was no more left to drink. Michael came up and looked Julia in the face. Her eyes locked briefly upon him before life fled from them and they began to stare blindly into space.

Michael wondered briefly how long one could wait between the point of death before the exchange of vampire blood would no longer have any effect. He decided to not put that to the test and sliced his wrist open with a dagger. He held the wound open and placed it over Julia’s mouth. His own blood now poured forth, down her throat, and into her.

The effect was almost immediate. Her eyes snapped back to life and her body convulsed. Michael stepped back from her side and watched as her unlife began. It was always this way. This was the pain, the agony of being reborn to darkness.

Would she thank him for this? Or would she one day curse him? Michael wondered as he watched her body wrack and convulse through its transformation. He had to admit his own unlife had been much more blessing than curse. What sort of life would he have had if he’d remained a mortal? Ordinary, boring, still constrained by his fears, handicapped by his anxieties. No, now he was everything he had ever wanted to be and more. He had his every desire, even the dark secret ones that he barely dared to admit to himself. He might feel differently in a hundred years or five hundred, but for now life was everything he could hope for.

Was that true for Rebecca as well? Michael remembered his wonder at the creature she had become after her embrace. Much like himself, all her inhibitions vanished. No fear, no anxiety, no worry, just total confidence and comfort with herself. Her own dark desires came out in the open. How long, he wondered, had she hidden her attraction for other women, raised like him in a church that openly frowned on homosexuality? Was she even perhaps grateful for the embrace, given it had liberated her from that bondage?

Michael found that thought disturbing. He always believed Rebecca hated him for turning her into a vampire, that she had resented what he had done. What if she didn’t? What if his guilt towards her was baseless and by turning her, he had instead done her a great favor, just as Deborah had done for him?

The questions brought no comfort to Michael’s soul. It only proved, in many ways, what Sarah had said to him in their argument: that he really didn’t know Rebecca at all.

A loud cry followed by a guttural almost animalistic roar brought Michael out of his thoughts and back to the moment at hand. Julia leaped off the bed and out the door, driven by the monstrous desires within for fresh blood. He followed her to the hallway and saw her grasp the bowl he’d set out. She lifted it up and poured the blood messily down her throat.

“Julia!” he called out as she finished the last gulp. “Julia!” he repeated her name again, trying to reach her and draw her back to sanity. She dropped the bowl and looked at him. Her clothes were soaked red and she looked something both nightmarish and sexy at the same. However, her eyes were feral. The Beast still had her.

“Julia!” he repeated the third time and her humanity returned to her eyes.

She looked over herself. “What...what have I...”

“What I intended. You are yourself again.”

“I couldn’t stop myself. I still...”

“That’s the Beast, as I told you. He’ll be your constant companion, but he is easily kept at bay so long as you feed. The Beast is like a great bully and a coward within you. It will attack and seek to destroy that which is weaker than you, but it will flee from those things that can harm it. But you must control it.”

“I’m okay.”

“For now. You’re a mess again. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

---

Michael helped wash her and change her clothes. Part of why he did this was his own curiosity. He wanted to see the whole of her, but not for any sexual thrill. No, it was to test a theory, one he already knew the answer to.  As it had been with Rebecca, so too now with Julia. The modest imperfections of her skin had faded with her embrace into the Daeva clan, whose strength is beauty. She had become as beautiful as she could be, a goddess to walk among men.

“If I thought you irresistible before...” Michael commented as she got dressed.

Julia looked in a mirror and marveled at herself. “You didn’t tell me about this part.”

“I had almost forgotten.” admitted Michael. “The curse of vampirism comes with certain advantages. Our clan is the Daeva and beauty is our strength. Other clans have other strengths. The Nosferatu terrifying, the Gangrel feral, the Ventrue commanding, and the Mekhet mysterious. Each of these gifts as well as your powers serve one purpose alone.”

“Blood.” she guessed.

“Yes, and you can probably guess how you’ll get it.”

“I presume then that all parts are still functional.” She rubbed herself just below the waist to emphasize her point.

“They are, but not autonomously so. You can will your body to act perfectly normal. You can eat, breathe, and yes, have sex. For a good while, you will do this almost reflexively. It is only, as I understand it, after many long years as a vampire that you will no longer be a given when you awaken each night and you will have to remember to do it.”

“I thirst.” she admitted.

“I'm sure.” Michael commented. “Preserved blood is stale and not very satisfying. Come, let us begin your lessons. And we begin with the most important one of all. One in some ways, you’ve already gotten some practice with: the hunt.”

---

Michael dedicated the next several nights to teaching Julia the basics of her new self. He took her into Virginia Beach and hunted along its tourist packed streets. Julia proved a quick and conscientious learner; no prey died to her fangs over those nights. Michael was pleased.

The lessons about vampire society were more difficult. Introducing Julia to Prince Maximilian was a shock. Whatever her expectations of the leader of the cities’ kindred, he did not meet it. The hunchbacked gargoyle was his typical blunt and cynical self, lacking the charm, beauty, and soul-searching she’d discovered in Michael. Francois was likewise intimidating. Both proved Michael’s earlier comment about the gifts of the different clans.

In addition to teaching Julia, Michael was also learning from her. She showed him the various ways in which hunters communicated back and forth. His computer science background as a mortal made the newly expanding Internet less of a mystery, but its secret nooks and crannies were still unknown to him. One site in particular was disturbing, a message board where the identities of alleged monsters was posted and discussed.

“Do they ever get it wrong?” Michael wondered aloud as he clicked through page after page of supposed vampires, werewolves, mages, and other things. They were sitting together in the office at Nightstyles, using the computer there to surf the web.

“Quite frequently I suspect.” replied Julia. “If you’re smart, you’ll take these claims with a grain of salt. You investigate yourself, watch and observe before making your move. Make certain before you kill an innocent.”

“What tipped you off about me?”

“I read lips. I ‘heard’ most of your conversation with your friend, the Reverend, just by watching the two of you. Taught me a lesson. Not only did I confirm my suspicions about you, but I also learned he’s not quite human either.”

Michael cringed at his own laxity. Anyone could have done that and discovered the truth. That he’d exposed a friend was even worse.

“Would you have gone after him next after you killed me?”

“Probably. At the very least, I would have placed a profile on a site like this about him, so others could investigate.”

“You’re going to make me paranoid.”

Julia gestured at the computer screen. “Paranoia is the name of the game here.” She paused introspectively. “Somehow, I don’t think I’m the first turncoat hunter. How many of these are false leads, deliberately put here to throw us off or to get us in trouble with mortal law enforcement? How many are real and posted by these kindred’s enemies to make us do their dirty work for them? You never take anything at face value in this business. You can’t afford to.”

“And I’ve done way too much of that.” Michael admitted bitterly.

“You should have been an easy mark, Michael, from everything I was told. All I had to do was bat my baby blues, stick my chest out, and you’d be mine. Honestly, you surprised me when you seemed so reluctant.”

“Seeking the truth of my soul can be a bit of a buzzkill.”

“Still, I got you in the room alone and that’s all I needed. You were just faster on the draw than I was and that’s the only reason you’re still alive. Next time, you might not be.”

“Next time, I’ll have you.”

“Is that why you turned me?”

“It was better than killing you.” said Michael bluntly.

“And a waste of resources to simply leave me as a sex slave in your harem like the others.” added Julia with equal tact. She stood up and motioned for him to follow him outside. She pointed down to the far side of the dance floor, where an attractive couple in their early thirties was sitting on the sofas by the wall. “If that’s my purpose, then so be it. Those two there could be hunters.”

“How do you know?”

“They’re trolling for a threesome and you’re a sucker for kinky sex. That, in and of itself, isn’t enough but the way they watch the people they’re talking to is a big clue. They’re investigating. They’re researching. You can see it in the way their eyes dart about.” Michael was impressed to note that Julia was already making use of her enhanced senses to see things at a distance that no mortal could. A quick learner indeed!

She turned around to face Michael. “They could be perfectly innocent. Two people out to fulfill a sexy fantasy. But I doubt it and would you have known any of this if I hadn’t told you?”

Michael shook his head.

“In the animal kingdom, there are numerous predators that do very well by pretending at being prey. That is what a vampire hunter is. It’s our dark reflection. Our kind...” she paused briefly as the oddity of saying that struck her funny. “...rely on secrecy to capture our prey. I’m in no danger. This is just a fun one night stand with a cute guy. For the hunter it’s the same. Oh, I’m in no danger. This is just some stupid human who doesn’t know what’s coming. Wrong! That’s how they get us. That’s how I killed six of our kind and it’s how I almost killed you.”

“Good thing you’re on my side now.” Michael half-joked. His effort at mirth fell flat largely because he didn’t feel it. This was deadly serious and he knew it.

“Look, Michael, I will protect you and yours. I will fight to the death to keep you safe, but I can’t foresee everything my former colleagues might do. An ounce of paranoia is probably warranted right now. Hunters know vampires get lax in their superiority and in their secrets and I think tonight has taught you just how guilty you’ve been of those very sins. You are vulnerable and now you know just how much.”

---

Michael and Julia drove back to Hampton after Nightstyles closed for the night. The first part of the journey was silent; Michael had too much to think about to be very talkative. His concern was Sarah. If he was this vulnerable, what about her?

Pointless speculation in his own mind gave him no comfort, so he asked Julia openly. He explained Sarah’s hunting style and asked about her potential vulnerability.

“Sarah has the advantage that she’s not a target right now.” emphasized Julia. “The hunters are looking for you, not her.”

“You picked out Pastor Ian as a potential mark merely by my conversation with him. Sarah may not be a target now, but that won’t last if there are eyes on me all the time.”

“Perhaps not. But that goes for Virgil, your harem girls, Sarah, Mitch, Boar, and me, as well as anyone else you associate with openly.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It’s not supposed to. Paranoia, remember?”

“What’s Sarah to do?”

“You’re overlooking the fact that she has a very powerful advantage, one I’m guessing you lack. She can read minds. They’ll not get the drop on her. She’d be a hell of a lot harder to kill than you.”

“As a hunter, if you knew your prey could do that, what strategy would you use to take them down?”

“You throw subtlety out the window. It’s guns blazing. Brute force, plain and simple. It’s also the strategy that hunters usually avoid. Nothing brings the cops down on you faster than automatic weapons fire.”

“Depends on the neighborhood.” joked Michael grimly.

“Yeah, and how many kindred do you know live in the ghettos?” Julia retorted. “Regardless of our mortal race, our kind doesn’t typically stay poor very long.”

Michael was about to raise several holes in her argument, but she cut him off. “Look, regardless of whatever you’re going to say, my point stands. Hunters don’t have the network of control, allies, and contacts that kindred do. You don’t fear the police for the most part because you control them from behind the scenes. Hunters don’t have that advantage.”

Michael smiled at her slipping back and forth from “us” to “you” in her language, a mark of her inexperience, but he also realized she was right. “So unless they get desperate and throw all caution to the wind, Sarah is safe.”

“Safer than you.” Julia emphasized.

“Then the one who shot me a few weeks ago is probably not a hunter.”

Julia looked at him curiously and Michael told her about the sniper attack outside Nightstyles.

“No,” she affirmed. “That was probably another vampire.”

“Your patron, I’m guessing.” concluded Michael as they pulled into the driveway of the beach house. Michael noted Terra’s car was present, which meant she was probably there helping Sarah with wedding preparations.

Michael and Julia walked inside to see Sarah and Terra on the floor, looking over several books. Sarah looked up at Michael when he walked in and beamed a radiant smile at him.

“You’re enjoying this a little too much.” Michael commented.

“It’s actually a lot of fun. Kindred marriage is a very rare thing. Our kind is not taken to trust or to love easily. Most of what I’ve uncovered are adaptations of mortal ceremonies.”

“That’s fine with me. So what sort of thing do pagans do for weddings?”

“Well, that’s part of the fun. Wicca is a relatively new religion, only about a hundred years old. It was formed basically as a pastiche of druidism and other pagan faiths that have long gone extinct. But within all that is a great diversity of practice and ritual.”

Michael shot her a mischievous grin. “Did you just half admit that your religion is a bunch of made-up bull?”

Sarah recognized his playful tone, and responded in kind. “All religions have their bullshit and all religions have truth. Christianity is hardly immune. Your faith absorbed its fair share of the pagan over the centuries, the dating of Christmas for instance.”

“Fair enough. So what did you find?”

“Well, here’s a handfasting ceremony from one tradition of Wicca. The bride wears a red dress and the ceremony is held in a wooded glade.” She paused to see his reaction. He gave none. “Then there’s my own tradition, which has most rituals, including weddings, done skyclad.”

“And that is?” Michael had heard the term before at various SCA events, but was not fully familiar with what it meant.

Sarah grinned as she responded. “Naked.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun.”

“I’m somewhat disinclined to go that route.” Sarah admitted. “I want your eyes on me that day, not on all the other lovely ladies in the coven and among our guests.”

Terra giggled at that and Michael feigned innocence.

Julia looked at Sarah with disbelief. “You actually worship naked?” she asked condescendingly.

"Occasionally." admitted Sarah. "We're not as consistent on that point as we probably should be. Sometimes we have to concede to the wider culture."

“If you’re like me,” Michael interjected, “you were told by the church that Wicca is nothing more than a religion of choice by college students looking to get laid.”

“Either that or it’s Satan worship.” added Sarah. “Talk about bullshit. What a religion says about other faiths is probably where that pile gets the deepest.”

“Well,” said Michael, drawing them back to the topic at hand. “Whatever you decide I’m sure will be beautiful. Naked or not, I know I’ll have you as such for the rest of that night and for many nights thereafter.”

“Of course, it might be worth it after all, since I’ll get to look at you in all your glory.”

“And the rest of us as well.” added Terra, licking her lips seductively.

“I’m not sure you realize what an Adonis you are with all that Daeva blood running through you.” Sarah finished.

“You have only to ask and you could have it right now.” It came out more playfully than Michael felt. Soul-searching was not the only buzzkill he had found. His embarrassment at how truly foolish and vulnerable he’d been in regards to the hunter threat also qualified.

“I’ll take you up on that if no one else will.” replied Julia. “That Daeva blood may make us beautiful, but it also makes me horny as hell.”

Michael was not in the mood, but he was also too distracted to say no. He looked to Sarah, who nodded assent. Julia saw that as well and grabbed him by the arm to drag him off to the bedroom.

---

Felicia had heard rumor of the elaborate hotel suites at the Ocean Sands. She knew Michael kept one of his own on permanent reserve for his own hunting. But this was the first time she'd been in one herself.

"Nice." she commented aloud at her two companions. Her smile hid a grim secret. If these two fools only knew...

"Plenty of room for a bit of fun." said the man. Emmanuel was his name, come from New York City for a summer visit to Virginia Beach.

"Well, that is what people come here for." said Felicia innocently. "Thankfully, the hurricane didn't do too much damage to your vacation plans."

"We were glad for that," said the woman. Her name was Sonya. She was Emmanuel's wife but when Felicia had sat down with her at Nightstyles, she had made no secret that they were swingers. Sonya made very clear they were there to find a third (or maybe even a fourth or fifth) join them after hours at their suite.

The additional numbers were not forthcoming. Felicia briefly considered contacting Nikki, who had remained at their shop that evening rather than going down to the ocean front to hunt. In the end, she resolved to be somewhat selfish and to leave this feast of flesh (and blood) to herself alone.

Sonya excused herself to the bathroom. Felicia hopped playfully onto the bed, playing the part of the eager and youthful ingénue as she always did while on her search for blood. Emmanuel slid beside her and kissed her passionately, his hand sliding under shirt to grope the treasures beneath.

Felicia let her passion take hold for the moment. By the time Sonya emerged from the bathroom again, she and Emmanuel were both undressed and both pleasuring each other with abandon.

"Any room for me?" teased Sonya. She was dressed in black lace lingerie that hid very few of her charms.

"Oh, yes." Felicia rolled off of Emmanuel and lay on her back. Emmanuel moved to mount her missionary style, while Sonya climbed onto the bed to straddle over Felicia's face.

Felicia could almost feel the pulse of blood through Sonya's femoral artery, just inches for her face. The bite would come soon, but first a distraction. She buried her face in Sonya's nethers and heard the delightful squeal from the woman above.

Sonya reached down to knead one of Felicia's breasts with her hand. Felicia could sense the woman's arousal rising. All the while, Emmanuel dutifully and pleasurably plowed into her. Soon, she could have her fill of what she had really come for.

Her fangs drew forth and Felicia began to kiss the woman on her thigh. She drew back to bite and then...

Agony tore through her chest. She'd been stabbed. Betrayed! Tricked!. Felicia grabbed Sonya's thighs and flung the woman off of her. She then looked down to see a stake plunged partway into her chest. Emmanuel, his face filled with sudden fear, grabbed the stake and shoved it in further. Felicia felt her limbs harden as the ancient bane of vampires took hold of her.

"That was close." commented Emmanuel, standing up. "It's dangerous to miss with that first blow."

"You worry too much, my dear. She's not the one we were sent to find, but she'll do for now." Sonya rubbed her hand through Felicia's hair playfully. "Now the real fun begins."

---

It was Sunday night. July 21 and Bethel Community Church had come alive for their evening worship. In the nave below, the faithful had gathered lifting up prayers and songs of praise to their Lord. Many were particularly thankful for the Lord's deliverance from the hurricane's wrath the week before.

In the balcony overlooking them sat two figures. Darrel Mills was an elder of the church and one of its most generous benefactors, but was known as a very private individual. He was never seen save for Sunday night worship. Over the last few months, he'd been seen in the company of a new friend, a young man named Jasper.

No one really minded Darrel's absence from the day to day activities of one of the Tidewater's most energetic churches. There was just something off about the man and his new companion was little different. None of this flock however suspected the truth. Darrel was kindred, a Nosferatu and the only primogen of the old order to survive Maximilian's coup. Jasper was his new childe, embraced under dispensation from the new Prince.

"Look at them, Jasper." whispered Darrel, mindful to not have his private observations broadcast during the quiet of prayer and meditation. "Full of fervor and gratitude that God did not strike them down with this storm as he did others. This is what I've been teaching you: our purpose as God's servants. We are like the storm that drives many to faith."

"We terrify them so they seek out God to protect them?" Jasper answered in equally hushed tones.

"Indeed. We are God's wrath made manifest, what the reformer Martin Luther once called God's 'alien work.' It is not in God's nature to be wrathful; he is kind and compassionate, but he also knows not all humanity will respond to his pleasant nature. They must be driven to him by fear. Fear of a hurricane or fear of a monster they barely believe exists, it does not matter."

"And those we kill?"

"God will judge their final fate. Ideally, we should kill only those beyond his aid, those who are truly monstrous or heretical among humanity. But I also recognize that we, like the vast masses of humanity, are flawed and make mistakes. That is one of our tests: to frighten, yes, but to avoid killing as much as possible."

"Angels clothed as demons."

"While no doubt many faithful would see us as demonic, you need not do so. The angels themselves are terrifying enough. There is, no doubt, reason for why the first thing they say when they manifest in Scripture is always 'Fear not.'"

"So we are like to angels."

"Yes, like them. We come with a message: repent or perish."

"Go forth in the peace of Christ. Amen." The two vampires overheard below.

"They are done. Come. There is sin in this community that we must address tonight." Darrel rose to his feet and Jasper followed.

Together, they walked down the stairs into the narthex of the church. They greeted the various worshipers who had begun to egress from the sanctuary to their cars to go home, but also made their way through the crowd towards the minister's office.

"Brother Nestor." said Darrel, knocking and poking his head into the office. There, he saw the minister removing his clergy robes, but he was not alone. There were three others with him.

"Ah, yes, Elder Mills. Please come in. We have some visitors from Richmond. This is Reverend Willis and two members of his congregation, Hattie and Toby."

The three visitors, two men and one woman, looked a bit like extras from the Beverly Hillbillies. "Pleased to meet you." said Darrel cautiously. He turned to Nestor. "Reverend, we have a problem in the church that bears discussion. With respect to our visitors, could we speak in private?"

"Can it wait? These friends of ours have come with word of a demonic threat to our congregation."

"What sort of threat?" asked Darrel, annoyance in his voice.

"Satan is ever at work amidst the flock of the Lord.” said Willis. “Like a lion, as says the Scriptures, looking for ones to devour. I've been given a vision that demons cloaked as men dwell within this congregation."

"Hunters.” Darrel thought in the silence of his mind. “Looking for us.”

"Brother, are you truly going to trust the word of this stranger?” Darrel turned back to Nestor. He used no vampiric power in those words, but he was drawing upon the thrall-bond that he had long ago placed upon the minister.

“You did allude to a problem in your church.” pointed out Willis. “Perhaps a sign that we have truly come at the right time.”

“I doubt our issues have anything to do with demonic infiltration.” Said Darrel, dismissing the theory.

“There is a test.” Suggested Willis. “A way in which we can determine the presence of a demon. Would you humor me that much?”

“This is nonsense.” Protested Darrel, growing impatient.

“I’m inclined to agree.” Said Nestor. “I’m sorry, but I think this is a waste of our time. Your concerns have been noted.”

The trio exchanged glances between them, as if they anticipated this. Toby drew a dagger from behind his back and slashed his hand. He squeezed the blood out between his fingers.

Both Darrel and Jasper felt their Beasts rise within them at the sight and smell of fresh blood. Both steeled themselves against its desires as Toby spoke. “They hunger for fresh blood. You put blood before them and they’ll give themselves away.”

“This is ridiculous. Are you suggesting these demons are some sort of vampire?” said Nestor.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, we are.” Willis glanced again at his companions. “And there are two of them in this very room.”

A tomahawk appeared in each of Willis’ hands from within the sleeves of his coat. He immediately swung them at Darrel, who was too focused on controlling his Beast to react in time. The twin hand axes lodged in his torso, one at his neck, the other in his belly.

Toby swiftly reversed his dagger and plunged it into Jasper’s gut. Seeing his master wounded, Nestor shot to his feet with a loud cry. Hattie produced a sawed-off shotgun from under her coat and fired, blasting the thrall back into his chair and killing him instantly.

Willis yanked the tomahawk’s free from Darrel, who had recovered enough to respond. Darrel willed the blood to increase his strength and speed against this threat. But the seasoned vampire hunter was ready. He slashed a tomahawk across Darrel’s throat, it’s razor sharp blade nearly decapitating him.

Recognizing the near fatal blow, the Beast roared within him again and panic took hold. He rushed the door, knocking Hattie from her feet. Willis threw his second tomahawk, planting it firmly into the back of Darrel’s skull before he could get the door open.

Meanwhile, Toby was wrestling with Jasper and losing to the vampire’s superior strength. Hattie saw her friend in distress and came back to her feet. Jasper flung Toby hard against the wall, smashing the dry wall with his body. Hattie jumped in and fired the second barrel of her shotgun into Jasper’s face at point blank range. Jasper’s head exploded in a blast of gore. He turned to ash before the rest of his body hit the floor.

Darrel began to rise when Willis jumped on his back. “Oh, no you don’t. In the name of God, I damn you back to hell. Monster!” With his second hatchet, he cut through the back of Darrel’s neck. His head came loose and he turned to ash as final death took hold.

“That was close.” Said Toby, rubbing his side and limping over to where the others were standing.

“Too close.”

“We always knew there’d be risks.” Said Willis confidently. “But that’s two more and one of their accursed human slaves to boot. We’ll cleanse the church and the world of their pestilence, one at a time if we must.”

Hattie checked the hallway. “No one coming. The building must have emptied before I opened fire.”

“Good thing too, or we’d have a mess on our hands.” Said Toby.

“It would be worth it to rid the world of two more of these.” Said Willis undaunted. “But a bit of breathing room is a welcome blessing. Gives us time to do some investigation. Search the room and the bodies. See if we can find clue of more of these beasts about.”

The three of them began going over the room together. Toby went to Jasper’s “body” and began rummaging through his clothes. He pulled out a concert flyer from the dead vampire’s pants pocket.

“Reverend!” called out Toby, “what about this?”

“Unicorn Pirates?” scoffed Willis, looking it over. “What foolish names these heathen entertainers come up with.”

“Yes, but if this one demon was at this Nightstyles for this concert, perhaps others might be found there as well.”

“Good thinking. Perhaps we should pay a visit to this den of iniquity.”