Microsoft Word - TheStormyLoveLifeofLauraCordelaisSusanCfinal Read online

  She opened her eyes and laughed. "Okay, so what are you up to?"

  He smiled broadly, exposing his fangs. "Nothing. Just washing. You're so dirty."

  "Oh, yeah." She took up the shampoo bottle and began with his brown curls that became plastered against his head and slowly, seductively worked her way downward.

  Her fingers lingered over the strong muscles in his arms and chest, down his abdomen, and further. He reminded her of Michelangelo's David, only better endowed.

  David closed his eyes and the water washed over him. "Hmm, Laura," he whispered, playfully rubbing his fangs against her ear. It seemed to her that his fangs had gotten a little larger. He pulled her closer against him and nuzzled her neck.

  Laura laughed. "I love you, David."

  196

  He kissed her neck and worked his way back to her lips. "Guess what? This is the first time we've been alone since we took our vows, Mrs. Hilliard."

  She laughed. "We were alone in our dreams."

  He kissed her gently. "Doesn't count."

  "Not even that time in the middle of the storm?"

  "No." He brought her against him. His hands moved down her back.

  The soap and water washed over them. Each enjoyed the other's playful scrubbing touch. Laura swooned when his hand slid all the way down her bottom.

  Then she looked up at him with concern. "Brilla said the Keres will tear us apart if we complete the ritual."

  "I don't believe her," David replied. "I think she said it just to scare you."

  "But the Keres did show up."

  "Yeah, after she summoned them. I don’t want to talk about Keres right now."

  He kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth and she sucked it. His hands flowed over her body, lathering up her breasts again and gently touching her nipples.

  Laura sighed. Then she pressed her teeth against his tongue, not enough to bite, but enough to make him withdraw. He laughed and pushed her against the wall. He was hard and ready and more than willing to make her moan for hours. "But David, the Keres . . ."

  "Ssh," he said, gently stroking her hair. "Please, my darling, listen to me. I'm your husband. The only way I'll take a no, is if you say no. I'll respect it, if you aren't in the mood. But not this Brilla crap."

  Laura looked at him not saying a word.

  197

  He still had her against the wall. "So Laura, I'm asking you, do you want me? If you do, I'm going to make love to you right now."

  She smiled, her hands caressing his dark hair and winding around his back. Then she leaned forward and breathed into his ear, "I really want you."

  He hugged her. She heard him think, Yes! And chuckled. Then the kissing began with more fever this time. He held her face, kissing every inch. Her hands caressed him and then his hands fell to her waist. He lifted her up. His hardness touched her core for only an instant before they melded together in one deep thrust. Laura couldn't breathe and the shower rained on them both. She had almost forgotten how strong David could be. His every movement sent waves of ecstatic delight throughout her body. She couldn't stop moaning and quivering. She couldn't move much because of the way he positioned her. When she could move, she pressed hard against him and he groaned helplessly in her clutches. Her vision blurred. It felt like she was floating, soaring through a dark, starry sky entwined with him. Every breath ignited a tide of splendor that washed over her, and every breath led to another exhalation of wonder. At what point did it end, she couldn't say? She barely remembered him turning off the shower and wrapping her in a towel. He carried her into the other room.

  Laura had no idea how much time had passed, when she opened her eyes and stretched.

  David was smiling down at her.

  "How long?"

  "About two hours."

  198

  She reached up and twirled one of his dark curls in her fingers. "Did you have to overwhelm me?" She feigned being annoyed. "When will I be able to send you into a blissful unconsciousness?"

  David grimaced and kissed her on the nose. "When you're 100."

  "Why is it that a vampire can do really great stuff after they're 100? Like making love in a way that is virtually unimaginable by humans. God, it's so overwhelming. Like eating human food again. Like . . ."

  "Enough." He stopped her mouth with a kiss. Then leaning on his side, he pulled her with him, holding her closer. His hands moved over her hips and then down between her legs.

  Laura gasped. "Are you trying to start things all over again?"

  "Definitely." He chuckled, as his fingers caressed her so deeply that she gasped.

  "No," she growled, moving his hands away. Then she pushed him on his back and straddled him. David grinned.

  Roaring and screaming shook them out of their connubial bliss. The two lovers stared at each other in shock. David leapt out of bed, knocking Laura to the floor. The roars stopped. The screams choked off.

  Donovan shouted and pounded on the door between rooms. David opened the door. Laura grabbed a sheet to cover herself.

  "Oh, my God." Donovan gasped for breath. Facing his naked son-in-law, he flushed. "I thought someone was getting murdered. Oh, God, I'm so sorry."

  "Excuse me, Papa." Wrapped in the sheet, Laura scooted past him into the bathroom. She threw out David's clothes and shut the door. He took that moment to get into his jeans.

  199

  Donovan backed up to the opened between-rooms door. "I'm just so sorry. God, I didn't mean to interrupt your . . . "

  David stood nonplussed, as he realized what Donovan meant. "No, it wasn't Laura and me. We don't sound like that . . . I mean . . ."

  They both heard giggling from the bathroom. Laura obviously overheard.

  "It really did sound like someone being murdered." David opened the room door to the hall. The two men peered out. No one was in the hallway. Blood splatters decorated the carpet and walls. A lot of blood. Huge talons had clawed the length of Door 13.

  Laura, now dressed in her gown and robe, stepped between them to look. She gasped. "There's no body, only blood."

  "Maybe we should leave the hotel," Donovan suggested.

  Laura put on her black coat, as David finished dressing and donned his. Then the three went into the hallway carefully, stepping around the death scene. As they made their way toward the staircase, Laura saw the door of Room 3 ajar, a small foot sticking out.

  Laura pushed open the door. A small maid was sprawled on the carpet, dead, her blood forming a large, red sticky pool. Her head and hands were missing. Was this the same maid they had spoken to? David pulled Laura out of the doorway and returned the door to its former state.

  "We want nothing to do with this," he whispered. They nodded and headed for the staircase.

  At the foot of the stairs, the sign read: Dinner will be served in the East Ballroom.

  Sultans Bleaque will perform for your dancing pleasure.

  200

  "We should go in and talk to people. Someone might know how to leave this world," suggested Laura.

  Donovan and David reluctantly followed her into the huge, bustling ballroom.

  Dancers swayed across the white and black marble floor. Mirrors in gold gilt frames on the walls magnified the spacious ballroom and it occupants. Crystal chandeliers sparkled over their heads from high ceilings with intricately carved angels, and the band played from an ornate gold-leafed stage at the farthest end of the room. Small people that looked like the maid ran between tables carrying huge trays and oversized pitchers.

  The diners feasted and drank.

  Laura chose a table and her husband and father sat on either side of her. The other guests already there ignored them. A huge tray arrived and the small waiter lifted off the cover. Then he ran. A strange, round red creature with six legs and six frightened eyes stared at them from the plate but for a moment. The people leapt at the beast stabbing it until the squealing died down. They cut off chunks of the quivering flesh and stuffed it into their drooling m
ouths. Even with the spurting blood, Laura felt no temptation.

  From a distance the diners had looked human, but this closer view revealed faces distorted in various horrible ways. Eyes and ears were in the wrong place. Gaping mouths revealed razor-sharp teeth. They reminded her of the vampires that her kind called 'savages' for they were crazed killers, not human at all.

  Donovan pretended to be interested in the dancers instead. "Great band." The woman next to him with nostrils in her forehead grunted.

  "Your wife's not eating," said the leering man with three eyes sitting beside David.

  "Is she ill? Is she in a family way?"

  201

  Then the woman next to the leering man whispered something to him, and they both looked at Laura and laughed.

  "No, my wife's not in a family way," growled David, taking Laura by the hand.

  "Come on. Let's dance." They joined the other couples, who moved like zombies shuffling across the dance floor. Seconds later, Donovan danced solo beside them.

  "Hey, you're not leaving me alone at that table. The woman next to me started licking my arm."

  A deafening BONG-BONG-BONG of a clock stopped the dancers like statues.

  Then seconds later they were moving again, but this time making lines and leaving by a side door. David, Laura, and Donovan stood in amazement as the revelers filed silently past them.

  "Where's everyone going?" asked Donovan.

  No one stopped to reply. The room was nearly empty, before they decided to follow the last few. A woman with green hair and a blank face was last in the line that went down several flights of stairs into what looked like a white and black tiled subway station. A train rushed in behind the squared-off pillars. Figures in black robes herded the tightly packed crowd into the cars.

  It was fortunate that Laura and David wore their black coats. They hid Donovan behind them. The white claw of a Kere reached out from the sleeve of a black robe and pulled a woman beneath the robe's folds. She shrieked but no one responded, as she struggled for her life beneath that robe. There was a crunch, and the woman's green high-heeled shoes stopped moving.

  Slowly they backed out of the station. Laura, David, and Donovan reached the stairs and beat a hasty retreat. Halfway up, they were met by four tall figures in black.

  202

  Run, she screamed in her head.

  Down they ran back into the station. On reaching the bottom step, David grabbed Donovan's right arm and Laura, the other. Off they flew across the ceiling of the station. More Keres joined the pursuit. Up and down hallways the three soared searching for an escape route with Keres only inches from their heels. They turned a corner and flew into a wall. There was no escape now, and the Keres made no pretense throwing off their robes. They licked their lips, their tusk-like fangs extended past their salivating mouths.

  "Look! A vampiress! We'll use her later," one of them said.

  David's eyes turned red. He growled, moving in front of Laura. In that second before the Keres' attack, she knew what she had to do. Sandwiching her father between her and David, she inwardly told them to hold on tight.

  The Keres attacked. Laura felt their claws on her skin, inhaled their foul breath.

  Within her, the core of the storm exploded. Laura spun faster and faster, throwing Keres in every direction. Spinning faster than a top, Laura felt the pressure build. A cone of wind and debris grew around the three. Laura's cyclone destroyed everything. Creatures blew apart. Stone exploded. The air, thick with dirt and blood, left Donovan wheezing, gasping for breath. He gripped her arm, desperate for air.

  Laura's fury heightened ripping the station, then the building apart. When the winds died down, they stood in gray, open air beside a black chasm in the ground.

  "Well, that's impressive, my darling."

  "Thank you." She grimaced at him, flashing her fangs. Her expression changed, when her father collapsed to his knees.

  203

  "Quickly," said David, "we have to go now." He grasped both Laura and Donovan and took off, flying low and fast between buildings in an effort to distance them from the disaster. They landed in the shadows of an alleyway.

  David spoke to Laura's mind. We need to get out of the city.

  Her father was in obvious trouble, still pale and wheezing.

  No, we have to stay hidden for a little while longer, she responded, as she helped Donovan walk further into the shadows.

  204

  Chapter 19

  A door opened where there had been none. A force sucked them inside and locked the door behind them. A single candle sat on a table with one chair. Laura sat Donovan in the chair and rested by his feet. What a strange room with its stark white walls and bare white tile floor! No windows. No doors. No decoration or color. No one besides them. This absurd refuge captured them by force. Why?

  David paced, frantic in his energy. Then he too sat on the floor.

  "What is this place?" he said in frustration.

  "Nowhere," replied Laura.

  Donovan began to laugh. "I think she means it. We're in a little piece of nowhere." He laughed again, and Laura began to worry about her father. His hands were cold and clammy. His color hadn't returned. She took off her coat and covered him.

  "We'll stay here for awhile."

  Laura heard the horrible screeching of the Keres searching outside for them.

  Their wails echoed through the streets, and the house trembled as if it lived. Donovan closed his eyes. His pulse slowed.

  So in our silence we are safe, she thought.

  205

  "Unfortunately, you are not safe even in silence," said a voice.

  Laura turned. A small man, not four feet high, stood with a group of ten or twelve others. They reminded her in their delicate, pretty features of the little maid.

  Each had the same brown hair and eyes. They were all uniformed as waiters, maids, cooks, cleaners, attendants, and servants. Each man's suit and vest was smartly pressed. Every woman wore a starched white apron over her plain dress. Laura wondered how her vampire ears did not hear them enter the room. How did they enter?

  She saw no door.

  The small people chuckled. From the center of their group, a man brought out a long, flat piece of metal and placed it against the wall. He did this several times until the walls changed from their plaster appearance to one of bronze metal paneling. Laura watched closely as the metal panels fused together leaving no seams.

  A hideous scream outside the walls threw all of them flat against the floor. The small people trembled. No one said a word until the sounds faded long away.

  "They're searching for the vampiress that calls the storm," said a bearded man.

  Laura stood up. "I am the vampiress."

  "Throw them back," a woman demanded.

  "The lilith has embraced them in her protective arms. We cannot do less." The bearded man appeared to be in authority.

  "What's the lilith?" asked David.

  "This place all around." A woman gestured to the room. "It lives."

  Their leader continued. "I am Cob, and we are the Mach. It has always been our way to give sanctuary to the persecuted. The lilith has shown us the way and we will follow in its wisdom. Soon it will no longer be safe here. Please, follow us."

  206

  The small group parted revealing a perfectly round hole in the floor. Then they led the way down steep, white stone steps into the dark. The bearded man held a lighted cube aloft and guided them. That small light barely illuminated the steps below. They went down and down. Laura didn't care for all this moving underground. It reminded her of tombs and crypts. Closed-in places made her nervous. David held her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. The narrow tunnels lined with stone increased her anxiety.

  When they paused to rest, Laura saw the tunnel behind them fuse into a solid wall. She shuddered. David hugged her and suggested they move on. Between the dim light and the echoes of their steps on the stone, Donovan's mind took a misstep. Bead
s of sweat poured off his face. He stumbled along like a drunk. Laura reached for her father.

  "We're going to be buried alive. I can't breathe. I can't breathe." Donovan screamed and raced into the dark tunnel ahead.

  No, stop! Laura said to his mind, trying to calm him. David tried, but Donovan's mind had closed down. The man couldn't stop screaming or running.

  Laura and David flew after him. David tried to grab him, as he got closer. This only escalated her father's fear and desperate, incoherent cries.

  David got him. Donovan fought like a demon out of hell, snarling and shrieking as he struggled. Laura could hear her father's heart pounding dangerously fast. David held him down. Donovan's body writhed in a torment his mind created. He screamed.

  Laura looked to David. "What should we do? He's going to have a heart attack at this rate."

  "The fastest way to get him under control is to..."

  "I just can't do that. Please," Laura implored David.

  207

  He shook his head. Laura, I told him I wouldn't bite him. He's going to hate me for this. David held down his father-in-law, who was still struggling, still screaming. He heard Laura's pleas in his head and sighed. "I hate doing this. I'm only doing it for you." That said, David pulled Donovan off the ground and nipped him on the neck.