Rachael

Something was not right.  In the distance I heard a small child screaming and crying and an older man yelling.  I could tell by the breathiness of his screams he was hitting something.  My heart raced, and all my senses hyper-focused. 

I ran toward the sound, my supernatural speed closing the distance in moments not minutes.

He stood over the child, a girl and he was kicking her with all his force.  She had curled up in a ball and was not moving.  I could smell the blood on both of them.  I listened for her heartbeat as I moved from the shadows toward the man.  It still beat.

“Big man are we now?  It really takes a tough, brute of a man to beat a poor defenseless child doesn't it?  Working your way up the food chain are you?  Next will it be women?” I said in in my most contemptible voice.

“Who the fuck are you bitch?” he said looking me up and down, “You look like you would make a nice piece of ass to make my night.  So small, so petite.  And just look at those long red trusses of hair,” He purred.

I stood my ground, not moving.  I stared at him and slowly reached out with my power and touched the edge of his thoughts.  I shivered involuntarily.  Oh he was one bad piece of work.  Frank, his name was Frank, worthless piece of shit. 

“So Frank, you think you can just take whatever you want, including me, is that it?” I asked him, challenging him.  “You aren't man enough to handle me.  I would eat you alive.”

“How did you know my name?  Do I know you?  No, nice piece of ass like you, I’d remember you.  Who sent you?  Ahh, it doesn't matter, it must be a present from the heavens.”

“You think so do you?  You want a piece of this?  Only in your wildest dreams,” I retorted.

“Ha ha ha.  Never met a bitch so full of herself.  You’ll be a lot of fun to break.” He said as he started toward me.” 

I could smell the blood from the little girl, not a dangerous loss yet.  Her heart is still beating strongly.  I can focus on this bastard.

“Come on Frank, take your best shot, I’m just a little girly, girl after all, I shouldn't be that much of a challenge, now should I.” I said to him waiting for him to move further away from the child.

I scanned the area, listening for any witnesses.  Looks like ol’ Frank was a little smarter than he looked, no one was stirring. 

I backed into the shadows and he moved faster.

“Trying to hide from me whore?” he said as he rushed into the shadows.  I struck.  He never saw me coming.

I ran at him, faster than he could follow and I grabbed him by the throat and threw him against the wall.  My fingers dug into his skin as I slowly lifted him off the ground.

Fear gripped his eyes, but he couldn't speak.  I moved my face close to his and squeezed tighter on his neck.  “Not the biggest, baddest monsters on the street are you Frank?  You get off on hurting those smaller than you; I can see it in your mind.  I caught his eyes and held them, you will remember how it feels to be on the other end.”  I broke the contact.  I wanted him to feel the fear.

His hands reached for mine, clawing at them, trying to find release.  He kicked out and I pinned his legs to the wall.  His eyes started to water and I laughed.  “How does it feel Frank?  Scared are we?”

I lowered his body back down on the ground and kept him pinned there as I listened to the flawless sound of his heart as it raced and pumped.  Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.

I could now smell the blood in his body, the warmth, the heat of it, intoxicating.  His breath brushed along my skin, such lushness.  I pushed my mouth against his neck and felt the pulse throb against my lips.  Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.  My body was drawn to the sound of it, even as he pushed and pried at me for release.  I just pushed him harder against the wall.  He couldn't move.  He was mine. 

“Frank,” I murmured against the skin of his neck, “You should leave women and children alone.”

I bent his neck to the side and felt my fangs spring forth and I acted without thought.  I was mesmerized, thump-thump, thump-thump thump-thump.  I sank my teeth into his neck and shivered as the first trickles of blood touched my tongue and slid softly down my throat, bursting into a flow of ecstasy.  It caressed my mind, my body, my soul.  I lavished in the taste of it, in the smell of it.  It coursed through me and it was heady.  I could feel the man struggle against me and that made it all the more exciting.  Oh, my beautiful little monster you are orgasmic, I can feel my body trembling against his.  My body grew hot and buoyant.  I never wanted to feel it end, but it had to.  I could feel his pulse slow.  I had to stop, but oh my, I didn't want to, he tasted so good, so vile. 

I shivered one last time and released him, licking the wound and watching the puncture marks disappear.  I took one last look at my ugly little rag doll and without another thought for him, tossed him into the trash along the alley.  He’d live.

I shook my head, trying to shake the rush of so much blood.  My focus had to now be the child,  the poor child.  I ran over to the small crumpled form and held her closely against my body.  It was the surest way to inspect her body.  I could sense broken bones: ribs, wrist, leg, painful but recoverable.  She had a pretty bad head wound, but there was no internal bleeding.  I had gotten to her in time.  I sighed with relief but my heart ached for her, the fear and pain she had experienced.  She was an innocent and did not deserve this. 

“Damn you frank, she had no way to fight back.” I yelled aloud.

I held her even closer to my body and looked down at her face, so small, so round.  Her eyes were blackened and her lip was still bleeding.  I reached out with my power and called on the elements.  I wove a net of healing around us, laying it down over the injured child’s head.  I felt the spell slowly, lightly caress her skin and knit the wound closed. 

I looked up at the heavens, “Thank you Danu!  Thank you elements!  I pay you honor for this child’s life.”

I touched her skin, she was cold.  I pulled off my coat and wrapped it around us, sealing in my new found body and warm her.  Gingerly, I touched the very surface of her thoughts gently probing for her name, Rachael Jamison.  I moved gradually a little deeper.  She lived with her mom and this man, Frank.  He was her mom’s boyfriend.  I reached deeper and got her address and filed it in my mind.  Then I released her.  It would not dig deeper, I had no right.  She had done me no harm.  I wiped the hair out of her face and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

“Rachel, I promise you this will not happen again.” I said. 

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone and dialed 911.  I reported the attack and told them that the child was down. 

I then called Susan Baker and explained to her what had really happened.  Without question, as always, she said she would meet Rachael at the hospital.  Susan had a way with people, a “special” way.  She would evaluate the mother with her own methods and then Rachael and put one or both of them into one of my facilities and get them all the help humanly possible.

While I waited, I wrapped Rachel in my coat and stepped away.  I ripped and tore at my clothes and rubbed dirt on my face and clothes.  I already had Franks and Rachael’s blood on me, so that it was easy.  I looked like I’d been attacked so the police would believe me.  Mind control works well for a while, but in today’s society, forensics makes things more of a challenge. 

I walked over and kicked Frank in a few well-placed spots including the head.  Poor Frank, he really shouldn't have tried to kill Rachael and then try to rape and threaten to kill me.

Jacqueline

Power erupted around Jacqueline like a flare as she stepped from her magical portal and into the mausoleum’s shadowy depths.  The crypt’s murky blackness lashed out at the light, thrashing hungrily—straining futilely to devour it.  She reached out with her mind and instantly grabbed the crypt’s power, reining it to bay.  With a firm grasp, she choked it down liked a starved dog on a collar, exerting her will until it shuddered and whimpered at her command. 

Turning abruptly, she dismissed the portal and watched it evaporate into a smoky haze, leaving only a faint fading impression of its former existence. 

She stood tall.  Her six foot, well rounded, body framed the crypt’s hallway.  Absently she ran her long, red nails through her thick, coarse black hair that trailed well below her waist.  In today’s world she was model material, with her long curvy legs and vivid blue eyes and she knew it.  She was not above using her beauty to her advantage when she could.  Today, however, would not be one of those times.

She stared at the spot where the portal had disappeared.  Two months ago she could not have held the portal that long, let alone keep the flow of energy from announcing her presence to all the sensitive’s in a three-state area.  But now, thanks to her new tome of knowledge and her expanding power reserves, she could, that and more, so much more.

Turning her thoughts to the situation at hand, she searched for Richard, her reason for coming to this dismal place.  With unseen probes of her twisted mind, she reached invisibly to him and quickly found him--His Highness, Richard the Seductive, the Vampire Prince of New York City.  He was at the end of the narrow corridor ahead of her.

A wave of raw emotion hit her and she blocked her mind from the assault, shielding out the tortured emotions that blared through the meter thick granite—desperation, loss, and despair.  Yes, Richard was still hidden here, just as she had expected he would be.  She couldn't have planned this better. 

This whole ordeal started three months ago.  She rushed into New York from Boston, in the guise of a desperate fledgling, fleeing for her life.  She had fallen on her knees and pleaded with Richard to grant her sanctuary.   She told him the dreadful tale of Boston’s fate.  All the Boston vampires were gone.  As far as she could tell she was the sole survivor.  She knew for a fact they were all gone.  She had taken care of that.

He had accepted her story and promised her protection, if her story were true.  When no one could find any vampires in Boston she was given asylum.  She slowly gained his trust over the passing weeks, often backing his inane ideas and plans that the others argued about.  She had proven to be the only one to support him unerringly, soon making her way to his favorite.

Then slowly, she began severing the outside ties they maintained, isolating them completely from any help.  She had acted swiftly, putting an end to the dangerous peace negotiations Richard had been mediating with the Minnesota kingdom.  She had been planting seeds of suspicion toward Minnesota and even hinting that they might have been responsible for Boston’s downfall.  After all, the Prince’s own sister was not only a vampire but a known witch, and presumably a dangerous one.  It had not been a lie.  The Minnesota group was dangerous, even if they were outcasts, scorned for the eccentric lifestyle and the Prince’s sister.

The Minnesota kingdom was small but powerful, only fifteen in all, yet they held vast power and she knew they would be deadly enemies for the unwary.  But it was more than just their power, it was their bond.  There was some unknown tie between the vampires that connected them to Prince Colin and his bitch sister, Bridget.  No one seemed to understand nor could they identify it.  Most, simply dismissed them since they had never outwardly threatened anyone, but that group would be one to reckon with when she crossed them.

Jacqueline knew she was still not powerful enough to take them not yet—but soon, very soon, she would.

With her prodding and guile, suspicion grew fast.  Richard began to read things into Prince Colin’ words, turning and twisting them.  Then suddenly without warning or word, Richard cut off all contact with the Minnesota group.

Without the interference of Colin and his clan, actions fell into place rapidly.  Over two weeks, Jacqueline had drained Richard’s flunkies one by one, leaving body after body drained of its life essences with nothing but their physical husks still surviving.   

She reveled in Richard’s vain struggle to protect and save his people.  He was racing from one lifeless corpse to another unable to form any plan or action.

In desperation, he had ordered her to find a safe place to store the fallen vampires until he could find a way to restore them again.  She had obeyed him as always without question, choosing this isolated tomb for their final resting place. 

She had pulled the energy from each of the fallen bodies she entombed, secretly weaving it into an existing framework of spells.  The crypt was a storehouse of power…their power…now her power. 

She found the irony almost too much to bear.  Here sat their Prince among their listless bodies, pining for them and totally unaware that they surrounded him, calling out to him voicelessly, begging him to save them.

Out of habit, she caressed the web of power and a jolt the power surged through her body sending chills of pleasure up and down her spine as it held her, caressed her and kissed her soul.  She wallowed internally in the heady, drunken high that she always felt from the masses of power.  It was better than drinking the blood and life essence from her mortal victims. 

Begrudgingly she forced herself to let go.  She moved gracefully, her steps fell as still as the darkness that surrounded her.  Richard would be expecting something and she couldn't afford to be drunk on power—at least not yet.

She released the shield spell that blanketed the vault as she stepped under the main arch.  Raw and pained tension lay heavy in the air, stabbing at her senses like a stake through the heart.

Poor Richard sat statuesque among the numerous caskets that were crammed into the room with his head buried in his hands.  His once tall, regal body was now hunched and beaten.  His unwashed short brown hair was plastered against his head and his once warm blue eyes were dull and grey.

She tapped the raw power again and manipulated it, forcing it to the back of her mind, ready to be called back at a moment’s notice.  With the stealth and speed of a panther she turned on her intended prey.

“Your Highness,” she said stepping from the archway and into the vault.  Her voice broke the grim silence like a clap of thunder.

“Jacqueline,” he said leaping to his feet in surprise.   “My God, you’re back and safe.  Have you found a way to help them?  Any news?  Anything?” He pleaded, hope bleeding into his eyes.

“The only way for you to help them and put an end to this situation is to join them,” she replied.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried?” he said misunderstanding her.  “This is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.  It’s as though they never existed, even their bonds to me have evaporated.”

Jacqueline pulled an octagonal charm from under her belt and held it up for his inspection.  He gazed at her with disgusted skepticism planted firmly on his face. 

Secure that she had his full attention now, she chanted a harsh phrase.  Her voice was raspy and discordant as she thrust a pointed finger toward the wall.  A torch levitated sedately towards her.  Grasping it, she dangled the charm from a thin gold wire, directly into its flame.

“Watch,” she said, “notice the flow of the flame.  Instead of radiating the energy as he expected, this glass-like stone absorbs everything it comes in contact with.”

She jerked the pendant from the fire and crossed a few steps to Richard’s side and pressed it to his cheek.

He flinched, expecting to be burned.  Shock turned to amazement as the stone was cool to the touch.

“How and where did you get that torch?  I didn't think you moved that fast.” he stammered.

“It’s easy.  Once you realize the power of this charm.  With this, I can help you find your people.”

Turning to the center of the vault, she summoned her frenzied slaves, the power of all the vampire’s essences and raised her hands.  She embraced their power that swirled about her.  The wind whipped about the room in a whirlwind, extinguishing the torches in a mad gush, until the only light emanating was from her. 

Casting the charm at Richard’s feet she intoned, “Let this person know his place, let him go where he has no face, let his essence roll to me, and his master shall I ever be”

Richard started to move and tried to balk but she continued the incantation.  Blazing bars of light leaped from the pendant entrapping the Prince. 

“You are mine!” she finished as his body transformed from the beast within.  First his humanity and then his soul were shredded from his body.

She looked at his crumpled body on the ground.  “Poor Richard,” she said aloud, “brought to this,” she said as her arms encompassed the entire room.

She watched the essence that had once been Richard being sucked out of his body and disappearing into the crystalline structure of the charm.  She chuckled.    He was completely coherent and totally devoid of all his perceptions:  blind, deaf, and robbed of all his tactile sensations, how wonderful.

She kicked the lifeless husk of Richard’s body out of her way and retrieved the jet icon that held his essence and smiled at the warmth that now radiated from it.

“They never suspect their own of genocide.  Too proud to admit any weakness in their abilities, they don’t see it and they don’t warn the others.   Soon all the vampires in North America shall be mine to call upon,” she cackled.

She moved to a coffin and threw back the lid, pulling out a large handful of charms and turned back to the center of the desolate room.  With a careless wave of her hand, she opened a portal and gathered her minions to her.  A blinding shaft of light pulsated through the darkness and in a moment she was gone, leaving behind a ringing cadence of maniacal laughter and thirty plus vampire corpses.