Fangsome Foursome

[Veroe]

IC: Jericho

Nappa Valley California

Jericho pulled away from the woman's neck and threw the limp body to the wine cellar floor. He wiped some of the woman's blood off his chin and belched. "What do you know she was a rich full bodied red after all." His laugh was interrupted by another belch. Jericho patting his stomach.

They had come to this vineyard for the wine tasting, though they had been much more interested in tasting the tasters than the house merlot.

He looked around as the others were finishing the last of their own victims. "The life's gone out of this party," He announced, "I need a hobo or two to get the taste of rich snob out of my mouth."

Just then the door to the wine cellar opened and a metal barrel came bouncing down to the wine cellar floor. There was a metal box with lit red numbers counting down on one end of the barrel.

5...4...

---------------------------------------X

IC: Alexander Holt

All creatures feared fire, even ones who belonged in the eternal flames of hell itself. So inevitably the four of them rushed out of the burning house and right into his men's crossfire. As the one named Jericho rushed out the door his body was riddled with the automatic gunfire of Alexander's mens' Ak-47s and Uzis.

The bullets wouldn't kill them, but it didn't mean they did not hurt like hell even to Vampires.

They would overcome the ambush of course and make short easy work of his men, but they were expendable...there were always more where they came from. The four of them kept him well supplied of their victims' relatives and friends eager to attain some measure of vengeance upon them.

As the other three were busy getting shot Alexander saw through his scope the one named Karena pass through the doorway. He kept his crosshairs over the empty hollow place where a heart used to be in her. His finger squeezed the trigger. And a tranquilizer dart embedded its tip into her chest, but the chemical wasn't a tranq but some concoction he was shown how to make by Shadow.

He raised his head and said. "It's done." He didn't have to look he knew his shadow was there watching.

Shadow, a man in black robes covering his features from head to toe, nodded. "And now both of our vengeance upon them shall begin, my friend."

He shook his head as he lifted the custom-made sniper rifle up. The vineyard's house was a yellow glowing ember in the distance as one by one the sharp retort of one of his mens' machine guns were silenced. "Four of my wooden hollow tip rounds could've ended them right here."

"It's not enough that they die," Shadow answered, "They, she, must suffer first."

Alexander nodded at the sentiment. He walked straight through Shadow on the way back to his jeep as the last machine gun went silent. "Suffering is good just as long as they die too."

 

[Asa]

Karena

Karena wiped the blood from her lips aqs she dropped the young server whos hand was still resting up under the skirt of her dress. Tossing him aside after removing his hand from touching her.

So young... so sweet... so very hungry...

She watched her childer and grandchilder as they partook of the party as well. Life was good for being undead. Straightening her dress she stood up and walked around a little till the explosion. Fire... She hissed but protective over Vincent Ondine and Jericho she made sure that her family all got out before she fled the burning house. Watching the bullets begin to hit them she turned her head quickly tracking locations and quickly trying to moved towards those shooting at her offspirng.

A sharp bard from another location slamming into her chest paused her for a few moments as she looked to the dart and felt the fluid flowing into her as she grabbed and crushed the dart in her hand as the tiny glass vial shattered and cutting her hand released the last of its contents into the open cuts in her hand. Bullets striking her form as she struggled further seeking to kill those that shot at her and her family.

Finding one lone soldier barely grown he had jammed the uzi and was cursing watching her approach screaming something about her nad her kind killing his sister and his brother as she smirked fangs bared reaching to grab his throat no desire to seduce him the fear and rage flooded blood would have to do this time as she growled...

And now stupid child you will join them... what a waste to a young life... Revenge is so ugly in humans...

With that her fangs sank deep into his neck as she drained the boy quickly but... something was wrong... the blood... tasted burnt... something was wrong. Tossing the corpse aside she quickly ran to find Vincent or the others maybe these attackers were manipulated the reason the blood tasted strange to her. The exertion of speed and the fresh young human blood mixed with whatever she had been hit with and she began to feel strange... she was beginning to feel like she was burning up from the inside...

 

[Last_Rider]

Vincent sat in a chair, leaning back in the wooden frame, his booted feat crossed at the ankles and resting on a table. His dark hair was hanging down as his head was tipped back, his eyes closed and a slight smile on his lips. He was humming softly to himself a tune he was sure they would recognize. After a few minutes he almost unconsciously uttered the words in time with the hum.

"I wish they all could be California girls."

With a snapping motion Vincent pushed the chair back and was on his feet, eyes open and sparkling. His eyes always sparkled, something that pulled many of his victims to him thinking it was romantic or genius. It was both of those, in a way at least. First and foremost, it was evil insanity. There was plenty of romance, twisted and perverted into a form no sane creature could recognize, and a great deal of genius.

"God, I fucking hated The Beatles. They forever fucked up rock and roll music. I did my best to get rid of them, though I personally thought John Lennon didn't suffer enough. Oh, and poor Chucky. I told him, how many goddamn times, he needed a better line than Helter Skelter. Such potential, wasted because he wouldn't listen."

Hands on his hips Vincent looked up at the ceiling and sighed heavily.

"See, there's two types of Rock music, and they diverged pretty radically at about the same time," He held his hands to his left side, clearly indicating a direction, "One was all about bopping your head, snapping your fingers, and was heavily derived from the swing music of the 30's. This where your Beatles, Beach Boys, and such were." His hands shifted, now outlining a lane to the right of his body, "Over here you had Elvis, and the musicians who were about the music and putting emotion into it. They tapped into something deep inside of people, and didn't need acid to create emotion and visuals. This is the side of Rock that gave us the Rolling Stones, Metallica, ZZ Top, all the true greats."

Vincent dropped his hands to his side and sighed again.

"I mean, if you follow that other line it turns into Disco, into Pop, into whatever-the-fuck you call music pumped out by 14 year old kids on Disney or Youtube. I hated them at the time, and I hate their influence now even more than ever. I suppose the only plus side is that they inspired plenty of musicians who took the other path."

Vincent's discourse on the history of Rock music was directed at a bunch of lifeless, bloodless corpses sitting with lolling heads against a wall. They were mostly intact, in terms of their bodies still being together.

"Fortunately plenty of real musicians have remade their songs so I can at least enjoy hearing them. Of course that it pisses so many people off is a wonderful side effect."

There were three still alive in the room, but Vincent had his back to them. Two frightened and struggling blonde girls, a mother and daughter, and a man. They owned this particular vineyard, and the daughter had been all to happy to invite the charming Vincent upstairs. Poor girl, he'd put her to sleep and tied her up, then brought her parents upstairs to watch him ravish their sweet baby girl while their guests and servants screamed downstairs. He'd had his share of those as well, and they were now seated against the wall, heads down, eyes open, watching as Vincent turned to face his last remaining captives.

"I mean, you were old enough to remember the Beatles, right Pops?"

The man was older, close to sixty if not over it, but in good health. The woman was half his age, maybe a little older, and their daughter hardly 18. He stepped closer, sinking into a crouch before the terrified family.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. I bet you stood beside a Jukebox and snapped your finger, bobbed your head, I bet you even got laid with while the lyrics about a yellow submarine floated through the car."

The man was angry, that was clear enough, but it had been supplanted by fear. The woman was weeping quietly, breasts shuddering up and down. The daughter was what drew his attention, she was sobbing, and apparently choking. The vampire rolled his eyes, reached over and yanked the tape from her mouth.

"You can't cry like that with your mouth gagged. You generate mucus, can't expel it, and you'll suffocate. God, if I wanted you to suffocate I'd have done it myself."

She was sobbing, deep belly sobs, breathe heaving, eyes puffy and tears streaming down her face.

"P-please, pleahehese, I-I want, I don't want-"

Vincent clapped a hand over her mouth, silencing her words, leaving only sobs and ragged breathing.

"They say no parent should bury their child. It breaks something in them, I remember my father. I watched him after I came back, and he just wasn't the same anymore. Sure he still went to church, prayed mightily for my dearly departed soul, and came down a bit heavily on my younger brother to be the man of the house now. But his heart wasn't in it. There was something dead in his eyes."

His eyes had shifted, still sparkling, but no good humor was there now.

"Some, little light that left him when I died. I watched his eyes closely, I saw it go out more and more with each of my three siblings, and his wife. By the end he was just a shell, didn't even resist when I sunk my teeth into his neck and sucked him dry. I should have left one of them alive, nothing tastes like family blood. I've relived that night, the sweet taste, so many many times. Nothing compares."

His hand moved from the girls mouth, no words came, just deep gut shaking sobs as she hung her head.

"Aw, don't cry little one. I'm not going to kill you, or any of you."

The brief light, hope, that shone in their eyes brought a smile to Vincent's lips.

"This whole place is going to go up soon, I can hear them outside right now, preparing their little device. I'm going to leave you here, and we'll let humans decide your fate. If they come in they might find you in time, before the smoke and the heat, and the sweet smell of burning flesh usher you from this life. In the end it's not up to me, it's up to those outside. You've been praying, I can feel it, to be rescued. Well, the cavalry is here for you. Let's see if they want to save you, or if they just want to kill us."

The tape went back across the girls mouth and he stood, bright eyes looking down at the woman.

"Sorry I didn't get to play with you, if you live maybe I'll look you up."

With a swirl of his coat Vincent was gone, walking down the stairs, aiming for a window. As the flames leaped from the device in the basement where Jericho was enjoying himself Vincent broke through the glass and landed easily on the manicured lawns below. Bullets began flying immediately, but they didn't matter. Vincent was only interested in one man among all of these.

He could smell Holt, he was here somewhere. How nice of him to provide dessert and entertainment after the main course.

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

Ondine~At home in the doll house.

"I hate these stupid little get together's. They annoy me."

The words were softly spoken and her dark chocolate eyes gazed about, as if enraptured. She wasn't. Not really, but it paid to give the appearance. After all, nobody wanted a crazy in their homes. No one wanted to think that the crazy saw further than they did or knew more than they did or felt things just as deeply as they did. The crazies were just...crazy.

Ondine was more than that. She saw what other's missed. She felt what other's never admitted to~ not even her Sire, nor her own childe. It didn't matter, the appearance of sanity, THAT was all that really mattered. She could appear sane, for a while, or at least sane enough to please the other's as they went about feeding. She wasn't hungry. She wanted home and her dollies, maybe a pot of something hot.

"Oh, that's right. I can't drink things from a pot. I guess you will have to do. Come here, little one. Do you have a dolly I can play with? Not one of those Malibu Barbie's or one of those hideously uncouth Bratz...but a real dolly?"

The little girl blinked at her with wide, blue eyes and took her hand, leading Ondine away from the wine tasting, taking her upstairs to the play room where a few pretty china dolls were set up, in display cases. Ondine smiled, wide and pretty, a dimple flashing in her cheek.

"Oh these are just precious. Not as pretty as mine, mind you, but close enough. I do find though, that walking with you has made me very thirsty. You don't mind if I have just a little drink, do you?"

The little girl watched, mesmerized, as Ondine stood and moved with the rapidity of a striking snake, her hand capturing a passing server. Her face had changed slightly, canines elongating. And soon, she was feasting. Nothing soothed an upset belly like warm, rich, iron fresh from the fount. When the skin had been emptied, Ondine turned, pulling a length of white lace from her bodice and patting her lips.

"Remember, sweetness. Always clean your face after a meal."

The next hour was spent in post orgasmic bliss as the two females, dark and light, played dolls. The little girl wouldn't remember any of this when the night ended. Usually they never left anybody alive to talk...but with the changing of the times, one had to be more circumspect. And anyway, Ondine liked her. No one was going to kill this little one.

Suddenly, the scent of burning. He's here! And what do you know...he's brought dinner.! Ondine's eyes blazed with sinister glee but she tamped it down. After all, getting the pretty out of the blazing fire was important, wasn't it? Who cares? I care! So do I! OK, fine. Get her out. She can be a hot pocket later, if we need it.

"Come on, Claire. Time to go."

XxX​

She had successfully escaped, hiding the little girl deep in the fields, before returning to fight with the others. Gleefully, she allowed her more demonic aspect to come to the fore and she laughed gaily as she ripped out throats and hearts. To her left, Jericho...far to the right, Vincent. But where's Karena? Over there. RUN! Suiting actions to thought, Ondine sped up, racing toward the other female in their small family, but by then the dart had been aimed and shot.

Karena looked paler than usual, her normally perfect coiffed blonde hair all a tangle, her face flushed with more than fresh blood. Ondine, stopped, one hand going almost negligently to her side to swipe across an upcoming human male's throat. Getting Karena out of here was the best possible idea. How to do it?

"Jericho? Vincent? Something's wrong with Karena....."

 

[Veroe]

IC: Jericho

Jericho twisted his hand and the neck of the last gunman broke in his grasp.

He looked down to see how his chest was riddled with bullet wounds. "Damn, my favorite shirt too. I should've killed these losers slower." He looked over to Vincent, "Do you know how hard blood and bulletholes are to explain to a dry cleaner. Not that I wouldn't kill them too, its just the hassle of it all."

He reached into his pocket for his cigarettes to find they were destroyed by the barrage. "My smokes too. That's it let's find a witchdoctor so we can resurrect these guys and I can kill them all slow and painful again."

"Jericho? Vincent? Something's wrong with Karena....."

He turned around to see Ondine and Karena over by a tree. "Surely those pussies didn't give her any trouble. Maybe your old age is catching up with you grandma." He walked over noticing something in her scent was wrong. "Let's get her out of here to some shaman or something so we can torture him to help her."

 

[Asa]

Karena

Karena saw Ondine. She saw her own hand reaching for her dear sweet grandchilder. She felt as if she were burning up. It was a strange feeling after all these centuries. Everything was a roar in her ears as she opened her mouth to speak to Ondine.

Don't feed off the assassins... somethings... not right...

Her eyes wanted to close but she fought it trying to focus on her family before her. As she tried to speak again.

Tell Jericho and Vincent Sweet one...

She finally gave in a little and "sat down" with much less than her usual grace. To her it was as though the ground had pulled her down... as if gravity in that one spot seemed double suddenly. She heard Jericho and tried to look at him it was getting harder to focus and move without pain though.

Then it hit her she began to remember her past and the sickness before he came to her. The burning... it was like the fever that would have taken her had... Lucien not found her... His face now in her mind. Repeating once more the last two words she spoke to him as a mortal

Won't... die...

Beyond that thought everything became a blur both in mind and in vision.

 

[Last_Rider]

The sound of gunfire and cries were everywhere, but the sound seemed muted, as though in the background as Vincent moved through the men before him. Bullets hurt, both going in and when they'd have to be taken out later, but the pain also seemed dull. It was mostly irrelevant, he was looking for Holt. The men he killed here were of no matter, necks broken, throats and hearts torn apart and laying bare to the world. Holt was here, yet not here. Holt would have been shooting with wooden hollow-point rounds. Or at least rounds with holy water in a hydro-point.

Vincent kicked a downed man so hard in the back of his head that his eyes actually left his skull as he died. There was motion further back in the trees. Vincent didn't see it so much as perceived it, and was about to head off in that direction when Jericho spoke. Holt couldn't outrun him, especially now that he knew where to look.

"It's because you're too reckless Jericho, just another thing I love about you."

Comparatively Vincent was hit far fewer times, though he supposed if you tallied up the body count Jericho would have killed more. Vincent wiped some blood from his mouth, the taste of fear, grief, and hatred was an intriguing cocktail. Not his favorite, but definitely different from the normal taste. He half turned towards the direction where he guessed Holt was moving from when Ondine's words reached his ears.

He and Jericho moved to Karena's side, something was definitely wrong. Her skin color was off, and here eyes were dull and unfocused. Vincent nodded in agreement with Jericho.

"It wasn't the humans, I fed on a few and nothing's wrong with me. I'll start on the road, there's more than enough cars for you to get one Jericho. Look around, Holt was over there," he nodded towards where he'd seen him, "and he'd never throw away this many without some kind of gain. See if you can find anything that will be of help, much as I love torturing shaman they tend to be less accurate the more pain they're in."

Vincent turned to Ondine, and smiled.

"I'm sure you two will find something. But behave yourselves and don't take too long."

With that said he crouched down and draped one of Karena's arms over his shoulders before standing, bearing most of her weight. She wasn't heavy and Vincent didn't have to carry her far, one of the many cars would be much more efficient.

"Hang on Karena, you're not going to die yet. We did promise to visit India again, and we haven't been there since they threw the British out."

His lips touched her forehead, and then they were off.

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

Ondine~

The sudden silence as those who were left made their escapes caused more of a disturbance to Ondine's mind than all the yelling, screaming and gun shots had done before. The sound of her GrandSire's voice~so husky, so dead~ made her feel unsafe. Luckily, Vincent came and took control of the situation, making everything glitter becomingly. Ondine tilted her head, listening as he spoke, watching the flickers of color that came and went with each spoken word, each admonishment. The mention of Holt was dark red, bloody and angry. The idea for finding what had been used? Golden, glittering. The admonishment? That was dark, deep blue.

"Behave ourselves, don't take too long?"

Her voice was quiet, introspective, musing, questioning. As if she could convince Jericho to do ANYTHING he didn't want to do. Half the time she felt as if SHE were the childe and he had made HER. She hated feeling that way, she hated not knowing how to behave, more like the rest of them.

Her dark, slanted eyes watched as Vincent picked Karena and made his way toward the cars parked in front of the stately manor home they had invaded. 'Stop pouting. Not! You are. Yes, you are. Fine. Let's look.' Ondine, squatted, her eyes trained on the ground, following the erratic course of Karena's retreat. Something glittered, about 30 yards away. Rising, Ondine advanced and bent to retrieve the broken case with a smashed up tip. 'THIS. Get it. You sure? Yes.'

Turning once, she spied Jericho and darted to his side. "They used this on her. Let's get a car, now. But you drive it...I can't stand to be this together much longer." Ondine stopped then, all color, all emotion, draining away. Right then she resembled nothing more than a big doll. It took a moment, but soon the intelligence returned, the emotion.

"Will meet you out front. I have a hunch......"

No other words then, she turned after handing him the bits she found and retreated toward the trees. A scent. There. Known, but not. Guessed at but hidden. 'Remember THIS. Yes.'

 

[Veroe]

IC: Jericho

I'll start on the road, there's more than enough cars for you to get one Jericho. Look around, Holt was over there," Vincent told him nodding towards a hill overlooking the vineyard and a copse of trees, "and he'd never throw away this many without some kind of gain. See if you can find anything that will be of help, much as I love torturing shaman they tend to be less accurate the more pain they're in."

Jericho scowled. There Vincent went thinking he was the big boss of him. One of these days he and Vincey was going to have a long conversation about who could order who around. Still he didn't have a problem with looking for Holt or clues to him. For a human he gave a damn good fight. Jericho would actually feel sad when they finally put the man out of his misery-well sad might be too strong a word unhappy to see such an entertaining righteous bastard reach the end of his road-and the boredom and hassle of finding someone else to chase them for some jollies and a good fit of sheer mindless violence.

"I'm sure you two will find something. But behave yourselves and don't take too long."

Vincent then helped Karena up towards the road as Ondine, his beloved destiny knelt down looking over the ground.

He knelt but stared at her, "I just had a good fight, love," He should be looking for clues, but he never was one to do what he should, "You know what a good bloody row does to my libido. What do you say we ditch Vince and Grandma and go back to Tokyo. Remember the fun we had there, fighting those yakuza losers, and sharing those geishas together. Or Paris. The french always drove you to such a murderous passion. It such a turn on to see you eviscerate somebody."

She turned to face him darting towards him. His Ondine. His one and only, his destiny forever and ever. "They used this on her. Let's get a car, now. But you drive it...I can't stand to be this together much longer."

Damn...when she was 'no longer this together' his Ondine was damned dificult to get in bed with. When she was bad off she'd rip his throat out which was only foreplay when she fully intended to do so and other times she'd cry and sob or spout some unconnected gibberish that he had no hope of following-which killed the mood completely.

"Fine," He said rising and heading towards the car he chose a big SUV. After a few moments he had it hotwired and ready to go.

 

[Asa]

Karena could hear Vincents voice it was a comfort. but all she could feel now was the burning. She knew he was holding her up trying to guide her. She tried to walk to keep up with him helping her to show him she had not faded yet she tried repeating at least something he said. Hearing the word India her mind grabbed at that as she faintly thought she was smiling as she said.

Yes... India...

Once in the car her eyes closed her mind struggling with past and present she actually tried to gasp as if she thought she could really breath. It was to her like she was nearly dying all overagain as if now in some cruel twist she was meeting the fate she was protected from so long ago. The color of her skin growing slowly darker yet more ashen as she sat there. Once more her mind slipped into a moment of consciousness as she tried to talk again.

The soldiers... Holts men... blood tasted burnt... strange... they were poisoned... to poison us... Are you alright love? Ondine... Jericho... are they... okay.

Her head turned yet more rolling to the side to look at him still attemting to smile. She tried to move her hand to rest on his leg but what she thought was happening was solely in her mind her body not paying any attention to her mind.

Was a fun party till...

With that exertion she slipped silently into unconsciousness. She roused once more but only for a fleeting moment as a tiny window into her mind was spoken.

Vincent... Lucian... Family... *Mumbled barely audible words*... won't die

 

[Last_Rider]

Vincent was doing his best not to wreck the car as he sped through the streets. The irony was he blended in perfectly with the California traffic. He could hear Karena mumbling, doing his best to discern her words.

"Yes, they're safe. Don't worry, we'll take care of you. Just stay with me, relax if you want to, but don't go away."

One hand gently caressed her face as he moved through traffic. There was a shaman not too far away, and he took a moment to text Jericho the specific address when he finally pulled to an abrupt stop. This wasn't a typical shaman residence, but then again nothing in California was typical when compared to other places. He carried Karena into the establishment. Thankfully it was a business, he didn't feel like trying to get an invitation.

The shaman, a youngish man who was reading when the door opened, jumped when Vincent brought in Karena.

"Something's wrong with her, you're going to help."

His eyes were sparkling darkly, fangs bared. To the shaman's credit, after his initial surprise he cleared off a spot for Karena to rest.

"Looks like she's been poisoned with something. That should narrow it down, there aren't too many poisons that affect vampires. Did she ingest it?"

"I don't know. Do what you can for now, two more are coming, they should have more information. Oh, I need forceps."

The shaman nodded at a table and Vincent removed his coat and shirt then sat down. He snarled loudly when he removed the first bullet, the pain was much more in the forefront of his mind now without a fight to distract it. Despite the pain, his eyes never left the shaman. Vincent didn't trust humans.

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

Ondine~getting it together

Ondine moved from the copse of trees, her mind awash with the scent of one who hadn't been there. 'Not possible. Don't care. True.' The night had stopped it's infernal whirling and finally, the words that Jericho had spoken crystallized.

"I just had a good fight, love"

"You know what a good bloody row does to my libido. What do you say we ditch Vince and Grandma and go back to Tokyo. Remember the fun we had there, fighting those yakuza losers, and sharing those geishas together. Or Paris. The french always drove you to such a murderous passion. It such a turn on to see you eviscerate somebody."

The words throbbed with his emotions~muderous glee, happy lust filled longing and at the pit of it? Love. Desire. Wanting. 'Stupid. Should have listened closer. You've put him right off. Yup. You did. Silly git. Didn't mean to. Fix it. Get it together.' Ondine nodded. She missed him when he was away~ her childe, her lover, the one thing that she had done right.

Running now, toward the front of the manor house, head aching. Aching. Tired from holding it together. Being sane. For him. Not for her Sire or the Grandma as her evil little love called Karena...but for him, her childe. Jericho. 'Sappy. Bullshit.' Ondine giggled, high and girlish and shook away the voices. They comforted her usually, especially when the day closed in and she had no one there...but right now...she wanted to fix things so that he would know.

She emerged from the rear of the building just as he got the big truck looking SUV started. Head cocked, fangs lengthened. She stalked him. Coming up behind him with whisper soft steps. One hand shot out, grabbed his neck, yanked him backward and down. Rising up on tip toe, en pointe, she allowed her fangs to slip beneath his skin, feasting on his essence and that of those he had taken from. He tasted...good. One clawed nail, ripped a furrow into his side and she moaned...low. Then, just as quickly as she had started, she retreated.

"I am thinking Japanese take out would be lovely." A wide, wicked grin, slanted eyes sparkling. "Or I could just eat you...but first, we need to let Vincent know what we've found...yes?" In her head the eternal debate 'Stop it!' But she didn't let it show, she wouldn't. Her childe had need of her...and she always needed him. She could hold it together a bit longer.

"Come on, soonest begun, soonest done...and then you can show me just how randy your libido is...."

 

[Veroe]

IC: Jericho

The Chevy Tahoe's engine roared to life as Jericho slid up from the crossed wires up into the driver's seat. He had the driver side door open so he could stick his feet out as he worked on hotwiring the SUV.

Apparently the owner of the Tahoe was a Stones fan because the CD player started blaring out, 'Satisfaction' as soon as the engine turned on.

The pain from the bulletwounds he had sustained was starting to merge with Jericho's frustrated arousal. He either needed to kill something again soon or fuck someone.

The cellphone in his pocket buzzed. Vincent had sent him a text message of a shaman's address. Well he better not have started torturing the bastard without him.

Just then fingers slipped around his throat from behind wrenching his head back painfully. It was Ondine. She moved in close lips against his pulse-well if he still had a pulse-and if he did it would be racing-but not with fear-with arousal. There was pain as her fangs sank into the side of his neck. His eyes fluttered as the tittilation and pleasure of her drinking his blood.

Her fingernail gouged into his side sending a spike of pain into the pleasure. That's his girl. She knew just his brand of foreplay.

A low growl of a primal animal came from him as his face twisted into predatory snarl. Fangs shining white in the dark california night. Hands reaching behind him to pull her around so he could return the favor and torture her like they did that time on the canals in Venice over the gondolier's corpse.

She released and pulled away from him saying, "I am thinking Japanese take out would be lovely."

He nodded, "That depends on the delivery boy, doesn't it?"

"Or I could just eat you...but first, we need to let Vincent know what we've found...yes?"

She started walking around to the passenger side just as The Stones repeated the line: 'I can't get no satisfaction.'

"Boy," He chuckled sardonically, "You said it Mick."

She climbed into the Tahoe and told him. "Come on, soonest begun, soonest done...and then you can show me just how randy your libido is...."

He swung the driver's side door shut with a gusto. "For you its the randiest, love, forever and ever."

 

[Asa]

Karena's eyes opened once more. She was very disoriented... dizzy and worst of all hungry. Her eyes spotting someone who was not any of her family nor anyone she recognized right away. She hissed but not as any warning it was merely a simple charge as it were as her fangs were bared and she was lifting up to attack the unknown male hovering over her.

The toxin was burning through all of the blood she had drained from the soldier bringing her back to that hunger. The dark sensuality of drawing life from another into herself, the intoxication of tasting each individual nuance of each unique emotion of each victim, right now however the richness and varied flavors mattered little to her she needed blood.

Her hand still harboring shards of the glass sealed around the arm of the man hovering over her. Fangs bared eyes crazed as she was sinking into a burst of survival energy… fight or flight… death frenzy whatever people called it. Her only intent was blood. To prevent her falling into a final death she found the energy which did little to slow the toxin within her.

To the contrary the toxin seemed to burn more with the burst of speed but right now she could not feel it. The Shaman would see in her eyes the raging of the toxin sitting just behind the panic of seeking to live. Her other hand locking around his other arm as she in a way used his own firmly planted feet to pull herself up to attempt to bite him.

 

[Last_Rider]

The Shaman

It was a nice night, and Dan was reading. It was always better to read when you were slightly stoned, and if you knew what you were doing you could blend traditional pot with a few mystical elements to create a really trippy blunt. He could almost feel the words against the back of his eyes when the front door was kicked in. He almost hit the ceiling with his head, it was such a surprise.

"Something's wrong with her, you're going to help."

"Yeah, no problemo. Right over here dude."

The vampire brought the girl over, and he could immediately tell she was also a vamp. The odds of his surviving to see the dawn were diminishing. Still, all he could do was help her.

"Looks like she's been poisoned with something. That should narrow it down, there aren't too many poisons that affect vampires. Did she ingest it?"

"I don't know. Do what you can for now, two more are coming, they should have more information. Oh, I need forceps."

More? Well, at least he was already high. Dan pointed towards a medical like station while he turned his attention to the female vampire. He hardly heard the sounds coming from the other one as he looked her over. She was hot, no question. The symptoms could be attributed to a couple of different poisons, he needed more information.

Just then her hands latched onto his arms and she pulled herself up.

"Whoa there, you don't want any of this."

His right hand bent at the elbow and covered her mouth as he pushed her back down.

"You wouldn't like my taste anyway babe. Just chill, I'll get you something."

Her eyes were burning, whatever was in her was fast acting. Dan climbed up on the table with her, knees on her arms, slowly pulling her grip loose. When one hand was finally free he reached onto the nearby wall and found a glass vial. It wasn't blood, but was a decent substitute and should calm the chick down.

Dan glanced at his left arm, there was some blood leaking from shallow cuts. He poured the contents of the vial into her mouth. It would help calm her mind. He checked her right hand, and saw tiny bits of glass embedded in the skin. Using tweezers he pulled a few of the pieces out.

"Chill chicky, let Dan do his thing."

Dan also decided he needed to top off his buzz for this. He opened a cabinet and ran his fingers of literally hundreds of pre-rolled joints. He found the right one and lit up, inhaling deeply. When his eyes opened he could see things a little clearer, and moved to what looked like a chemistry set to begin analyzing the glass. There wasn't really enough to do much with, so he took another hit from his joint.

"Dude, it's really too bad you can't breathe, because this stuff is the shit."

He heard another car pulling up and guessed it would be the other vampires. Dan had another book out and was speed reading through poisons that affected vampires. This particular blend helped his brain process information, though none of it stayed long term. Fortunately there were only three poisons that had these specific symptoms, so with a little more information he could diagnose and maybe help her.

 

[Last_Rider]

Vincent

Vincent had been too busy with Karena, and then pulling slugs from his body, to really notice the Shaman. With the last slug in a metal basin and the wounds starting to heal, Vincent could actually take a look at him. Of fuck me, a stoner. Of all the shaman in California, Vincent had found the dope fiend extradionare of them all.

"Just my luck."

His eyes were sharply on the young man now, unfortunately the pervasive odor of pot kept him from having a truly effective sense of smell in here. When the kid lit up again Vincent snarled at him, but Dan didn't pay any attention. He started sprinkling different materials into a shallow bowl, but had a difficult time getting a reaction. Dan took another hit and then began speed reading through a book, Vincent just stared for a bit, no way any of that information was actually registering.

He moved over to Karena, whatever the kid had given her seemed to have calmed the fight or flight reflexes.

"Jericho and Ondine are almost here Karena. There was nothing wrong with the assassin's blood, we all fed on them and nothing happened to us. Can you remember anything? Did you cut yourself, did you get hit with anything besides bullets?"

Vincent didn't really expect coherent answers, but the sound of his voice would keep her relaxed. He also heard Jericho and Ondine pull up. Keeping one of Karena's hands in his he stood and looked towards the door.

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

Ondine

"For you its the randiest, love, forever and ever."

Her eyes blazed scarlet, her tongue darted out to get the last little bit of him from her bottom lip.

"You do say the sweetest things, love."

The drive to where they were going seemed to take absolutely no time at all and within that short time frame, Ondine had mostly reminded herself that fucking wasn't going to happen any time soon. When that idea was finally, firmly, implanted she withdrew a bit into herself and was as startled as she could be when they pulled into a parking spot and Jericho got out.

Ondine slipped from the passenger side and hurried to catch up with him, her shorter legs stretching just a bit. Jericho never meant to leave her behind, not usually. he was just so damnably tall. 'You coulda always enjoyed the view from the back....' 'HUSH!" She managed to slip inside just behind Jericho and came to a halt, all forward motion finished.

'He looks like fun.' 'No tearing the Shaman limb from limb til he has helped Karena.' 'Bull shit. You ruin everything.' 'BE QUIET!!' The silence inside her skull was deafening and she was sure she looked as empty headed as she felt. Shaking her head slowly, she moved to her Sire's side and knelt.

"Has he figured it out yet? Jericho and I found something. Looks like the remnants of a dart."

With those words, she rose and moved away, pressing her body against Jericho's, allowing his too solid flesh to anchor her more firmly in the now. Her eyes slipped toward the shaman and she felt the beginning pangs of hunger building. 'I knew we shoulda brought the hot pocket along....' 'Be damned to you...I liked...what was her name? 'Claire.' 'Yes.' 'Focus, you silly twit!'

Words escaped her, syllables she hadn't expected. "Jericho, love? When we finish here...would you hold him still so I can have a lolly.....that's always the best place for...snacking."

Her voice was hollow and behind blood red eyes, the shaman's death capered.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Jericho

The address to the Shaman's house was just down the highway and then down a winding dirtroad to a house surrounded by thick woods. The Tahoe pulled up beside the car Vincent had stolen from the vinyard and Jericho climbed out of the SUV.

There was a cloying herbal scent in the breeze as it wafted through the trees. The scent of a large crop of canabis plants hidden in the copse of trees.

"A hippie," Jericho scowled with disgust to Ondine, "I hate hippies."

He had eaten a hippie once at woodstock, unfortunately the hippie had been on something, and it gave Jericho a head trip where he had spent an entire week having deep philosophical conversations with mushrooms and flower pots. Ondine and Vincent and Karena had found him in South Africa and Vincent had never let him hear the end of his inability to overcome a little LSD in his food. Regardless if Jericho thought whoever he was going to eat had the least little bit of something in his blood he refrained from eating him. Something else Vincent always teased him over, damn it.

He entered the house with Ondine. As she crossed to hand the peices of the dart to Vincent he glowered at the hippie shaman as he pulled another lungful from the blunt in between his lips.

Damn it all this guy was just begging Jericho to kill him too.

Ondine returned and snuggled in close to him asking quietly, "Jericho, love?"

"Hmm," He said wrapping an arm around her and bringing her closer to him.

"When we finish here...would you hold him still so I can have a lolly.....that's always the best place for...snacking."

His hand cupped the side of her head. "Careful, love," He whispered into her ear dragging a fang against the shell of her ear. "You have no idea what else is in that joint of his." He made a low growl as his other hand squeezed a handful of her ass, "But then again watching you play with your food always gets me all hot and needy."

"So you can have your lolly," He whispered running fingers over her cheek romantically, "I just want to watch and wring this hippie's fucking neck."

 

[Asa]

Karena could hear them all talking. They sounded like so many little bees in a barrel. She laughed a little hearing Ondine speak of lollies and smiled to Vincent. She was relaxed and calm, her mind fogged from it desire to frenzy and feed. She looked to her hand seeing Vincent's hand holding hers, her eyes following his arm up to his shoulder neck then face. Looking into his eyes she smiled feeling safe with him there. She tried to reach her free hand to his cheek but she was so relaxed her arm barely moved.

Love it will be okay Holt will fall upon all of our fangs soon enough unless you Ondine or Jericho already got him?

 

[Last_Rider]

Dan

Dan was feeling pretty good, not about his chances of surviving, but in general. He took the dart from the the first vampire when one of the new ones handed him glass and a hypodermic needle. He heard the asian chick ask something about snacking, but he was already ok with dying.

The needle went into a basin and he carefully used a few different chemicals to get a reading from it. Apart from the sick vamps blood there was definitely something. The final bit of liquid he poured over it turned neon blue.

"Whoa."

He turned back to his books, eyes moving rapidly over the words before he found exactly what he was looking for.

"I found it. Nasty little bug called Memento Mori. It's slow to kill, so you should have time. If she tries to feed she'll get worse. It took effect quickly, but it was supposed to drive a vampire insane from lack of food and pain so they'd take their own life. It was developed..."

A snarl made him jump.

"Right, not the time for a history lesson. Sorry. Anyway, bad news is only one vampire has ever been hit with it and survived. Some guy named Lucian, about fifty years ago, managed to survive. That's all I've got guys. If there's a cure, this Lucian guy has it."

The book closed with a thud and he took another hit from his much diminished joint. At least this one also would dull pain.

 

[Last_Rider]

Vincent

Vincent smiled at Karena.

"I know, you just relax."

From the looks of things relaxing wasn't going to be any kind of a problem for Karena. Whatever the guy had given her was working. He watched Jericho and Ondine enter, and couldn't help but smile. Poor Jericho, never had gotten over that experience at woodstock. He passed the remnants of what looked like a dart to the shaman then focused on Jericho and Ondine.

"I knew you would come through."

Ondine was sweet, and he laughed at her request as well as Jericho's reply.

"I wouldn't worry about her too much Jericho, I doubt there's much that could really hurt her mind."

Vincent had seen to that before creating her.

"You know, I always wondered what it was about South Africa that drew you there."

Much as Vincent couldn't resist teasing Jericho it was really just for his own amusement. He liked the kid, Ondine had done well with him. Before either of them could really get into it the shaman spoke up.

"I found it. Nasty little bug called Memento Mori. It's slow to kill, so you should have time. If she tries to feed she'll get worse. It took effect quickly, but it was supposed to drive a vampire insane from lack of food and pain so they'd take their own life. It was developed..."

Vincent snarled, eyes burning into the bloodshot eyes of the shaman.

"Right, not the time for a history lesson. Sorry. Anyway, bad news is only one vampire has ever been hit with it and survived. Some guy named Lucian, about fifty years ago, managed to survive. That's all I've got guys. If there's a cure, this Lucian guy has it."

"Son of a bitch!"

Vincent lashed out, kicking over a row of shelves. Vincent and Lucian didn't really get along. Sure they weren't exactly at each others throats, but Karena was his favorite and Lucian hadn't been too happy when she chose to wander with him instead of stay by Lucian's side. Vincent didn't have anything specifically against Lucian, apart from his superior air and desire to have some form of control over vampires. Vincent answered to no one.

He moved to Jericho and Ondine, stroking the back of his and over her lovely skin.

"He's all yours love. We'll have to hole up here for the day, the suns coming up."

Ondine was so perfect, he'd invested enough time into her that she should be.

"I'll board up the windows and make sure this place is safe. Seems we have to get to Lucian."

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

"You have no idea what else is in that joint of his. But then again watching you play with your food always gets me all hot and needy."

Ondine laughed, a low seductive sound. Poor Jericho. Always so worried about the after effects. No matter which drug was coursing through the shaman's blood stream, it wouldn't really cause her an issue. She liked the feeling of not hearing or seeing reality. His next sentence caused her to look at him, a wicked gleam in her almond shaped eyes.

"So you can have your lolly, I just want to watch and wring this hippie's fucking neck."

"Just hold him still love, I will take care of the rest...and then I will take care of you."

The voice change wasn't odd. Ondinde didn't relish the kill as much as she liked to torment, confuse, hurt and rip apart. So when killing happen, Ondine herself stepped back, internally, and allowed one of the others to take over. Jericho would know and he would handle her accordingly, until the blood stopped.

The shaman had given them an answer, of sorts~one that didn't bode well for her Sire. Of course, Vincent wouldn't want to go there. He disliked Lucien, immensely. Ondine KNEW it, just like she knew that Vincent would rather go through hell than return Karena to Lucien's clutches. He cared for Karena, though, and would move heaven and earth to see her made well. If that meant they would have to search out Lucien to accomplish that? That would be what they would do, case closed.

Ondine had settled against Jericho, her head held just beneath his chin, her eyes focusing intently upon her meal. Vincent moved toward them, stopping to stroke them with proprietary fingers. His voice was low, seductive, like cat's paws in her ears.

"He's all yours love. We'll have to hole up here for the day, the suns coming up."


Ondine nodded. Once his word had been given, there was no way anyone could stop it.
No one would want to. After Vincent was the Father of this little group. ALL here owed him allegiance of a kind. The rest of his words were lost as a rising tide of hunger swamped her mind.

"Good. Am starving."

No more words now. Ondine stepped away from her lover, her heart, and prepared to strip down. This would be a leisurely kill and there would be blood, lots of it. After all, there was no one here that required a lesson in the proper etiquette of eating. And Ondine LOVED to play with her food. 'This will be good.'

She stripped methodically~shirtwaist , floor length skirt, silk panty hose, corset, panties. Soon everything lay in a puddle by her feet and she began to glide forward, her skin gleaming mellowly. Her voice was low, odd, husky.

"What's your name, shaman? Have we been properly introduced?"

 

[Veroe]

IC: Jericho

"So you can have your lolly, I just want to watch and wring this hippie's fucking neck."

"Just hold him still love, I will take care of the rest...and then I will take care of you."

Jericho's eyebrow arched as he recognized the difference in tone and attitude in his love's voice. People who did not know his Ondine so well wouldn't have noticed the change, but this was Ondine but also a whole other person at the rudder. Which didn't bother, Jericho nearly as much, he loved all the many facets of his girl.

"Promises, promises, love," He teased.

His eyes narrowed as Vincent approached and he glowered at him as he ran the back of his hand along Ondine's cheek. "He's all yours love. We'll have to hole up here for the day, the suns coming up."

He continued glowering at him as he went to board up the windows. His attention returned to his Ondine as she proclaimed, "Good. Am starving."

He leaned back against a bookshelf as he enjoyed the show of Ondine stripping. Once completely naked she approached the hippie/shaman circling like a predator asking, "What's your name, shaman? Have we been properly introduced?"

She was forcing him to turn his back to Jericho, a common tactic of pack hunters the world over. He reached out tapping the hippie on the shoulder.

He turned his head to look at him out of reflex. His first if not his last mistake.

"Isn't my baby sexy when she plays with her food like this." He smiled not caring that the hippie could see his fangs. It wasn't his fangs he should be worrying about anyway.

 

[Asa]

Karena laid there and laughed watching her grandchilder and Jericho toying with this strange smelling little man. She looked back to Vincent reaching a hand to him. She could see that there was something wrong. Her precious childer and lover she had seen this stalking agitation before in him. When they first arrived at Luciens so long ago for introductions. The place was to him like it became to her at times too... A prison... Something Lucien never fully understood about her. She loved her Sire but Just as in life she had a wanderlust and a drive to end problems and as a vampire she could end problems with grace and efficiency.

Vincent... Precious Love? What is wrong? You act as though we are trapped or something... is something wrong?

She tried to sit up but quickly found that to be a bad idea as the room began to swirl around. Quickly lying back down she let her eyes roam over everything around her still feeling quite looped from whatever the strange little hippie gave her.

I'm Hungry...

 

[Last_Rider]

Vincent

Lucian.

Anyone else, anything else. That sadly decrepit old man. He'd lost his touch, sitting around in his dark caverns, brooding on the dark arts. Vincent spat into a corner as he broke furniture apart to fit the windows.

Lucian thought and talked big, but from the first time Vincent had met him he'd realized the truth. Lucian liked this world. Sure he didn't like humans, didn't like many vampires last Vincent had heard, but he was complacent. He was fine with things as they were, and his position in that little world. Vincent was different.

Now wasn't the time for ruminating, he'd need to get himself under control before they found Lucian. Their last meeting hadn't gone very well, but Vincent didn't really hate Lucian. In many ways he admired him, especially what he'd done in the past. It was the current version of him that Vincent found sorely lacking. His head turned when Karena spoke. Damn, she was stoned.

"No we're not trapped here."

His hand found her reaching one and held it for a minute.

"I know you're hungry, but you can't eat just yet. Eating will make you hurt more."

He smiled down at her.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of you. Hopefully find you something you can eat safely."