Quirks of Fate

[Perverse]

thank you Lady Kit for graciously accepting the invitation to write with me









Time is a mistress with a twisted and cynical sense of humor. The harder you tried to control or defeat her the deeper you fell under her power, the greater you cursed you the more she returned those curses, ten times over. What once was good became evil, and what was lifeless, lived. It was her way of laughing at you while she taught you a very painful lesson.

Benjamin Blake had learned those lessons. Become a master at them. Understood and hated them with all he had left to call human. And knew regretfully he could never change what had happened in the past.

And yet time had an ironic way of repeating itself as well. Perhaps a certain set of events amused her and she allowed them to act itself out once again. Perhaps it was her way of saying she was capable of feeling a broad range of emotions, including sympathy and pity.

Benjamin had an excessive amount of time to consider those fine points among others. As he searched for his own lost memories he passed time searching for unattainable answers as well. Each and every night he walked the earth he felt the loss and searched for it, each and every time he fed he looked for clues in the blood and eyes of his victim, and with each failure consoled himself it was only a matter of time.

Born in 1606 to a position of wealth and power young Sir Blake had nearly everything his position could give him in life. His life was envied and desired and at the age of 31 he was wise enough to agree with them. He never knew the pain that came from working a 16 hour day in the fields, never felt the gnawing hunger of belly knowing there was no meal close, never smelled the rankness of the clothing worn day after week after month.

Nearly three hundred years later Benjamin still found himself thankful for those small blessings as he returned to the city he had lived and died in so many centuries ago. And cursed himself for hungers he was forced to give into. Hungers that drew him to the seedier lanes of town, to choose a victim that wouldn’t be missed and might even welcome a reprieve from the squalor they lived in the darkest of alleys.

Or so he justified in his mind as he drained their very life from struggling bodies

As he would have to tonight, his body told him with a tremor, it had been almost a week and too much longer he wouldn’t be able to kill a fly, much less defend himself.

Tonight he would hunt, and with luck? Perhaps find some clues?

 

[Lady_Kit]

A compact figure dressed from helmet to boots in black road over wet streets with aggressive confidence. The helmet and leathers covered a woman who looked like she belonged between the pages of Playboy; dressed in lace and displayed on satin, blonde hair tousled and loose, hazel eyes smoky and half-closed from sex. Beyond the sexy curves, blonde hair and hazel eyes there was no resemblance to the that soft feminie creature from the centerfold, the rider was tough as nails reporter, Natalie Hall.

She’d covered this ground a thousand times, could do it in her sleep, or when barely conscious as she knew from past experience. Tonight her mount was a late model motorcycle, a Triumph that roared and throbbed between her thighs. The perilous ride brought memories of other nights, in other places, when she knew that she had ridden a living beast with the same skill. The bike was a new acquisition, but she barely noticed its' performance. She wasn’t joy riding tonight, or going out for a friendly drink. She got a call from Burt, a bartender at a joint on the wrong side of town. He said he had a tip on a story she was doing, and Natalie would do just about anything to get a good story, even come out on such a miserable night.

Wind pushed at her from the side each time the bike appeared between buildings. Visibility was just about zero, the driving rain smeared over her visor, breaking every promise made by the manufacturer who guaranteed a clear view. Water ran into the open spaces between her leathers and her skin. The cotton garments she wore against her skin were soaked, the t-shirt and leggings stuck to her like a cold blanket. She’d be lucky if she didn’t catch pneumonia. The tip had better be good she thought darkly.

This wasn’t the first time she’d come out to chase a story in the middle of the night; it was part of the drill for reporters on the graveyard shift at the City News. One particularly bad gust of wind made the bike skip sideways; Natalie cursed Burt, the elements and her editor, then corrected the path of her mechanical steed. Most of her stories were crime related; burglary, assault, and murder. Sometimes something unusual would happen. Natalie has seen her share of weird stuff since she took on the night beat. Things she knows none of her colleagues saw. Not all of it had a rational explanation. Of course, these stories weren’t fit for print. Murray, her editor, refused to even consider them.

“Natalie, give me a break! No more stories about evil forces and monsters. Reality is scary enough, especially in your neighborhood.”

She supposed Murray was right; she did live in a rough neighborhood. Hell, it made rookie cops shake, but Natalie seldom had any trouble. It might have been the company she kept; every bouncer & bartender within walking distance of her building knew her, and would at the very least let her take cover behind the bar in case of trouble. Or it might be the rumor that she killed the last man who gave her trouble. Natalie would neither confirm nor deny the tale.

Dangerous or not, the place suited her. Natalie was a loner, prone to foul moods and quick to anger. All things considered, she wasn't a good person to be around. Natalie was also more than a little convinced that she's insane.

 

[Perverse]

Benjamin Blake belonged to no coven. It was a distinct advantage in his search for clues as to his missing and forgotten past life. As a rogue he could move from city to city and enter without having to make lengthy explanations as to his purpose in each. All that each Master of the particular city demanded of him was to follow the unwritten rules that were burned into each before their first feeding.

Never expose your presence to the human population willingly and once you have make sure they do NOT remain living. Never defy the local ruling Vampyre unless you do so in order to dethrone them. Never intrude on another nightwalker when they were feeding. Never stay out after first daylight. Never develop emotional attachments for your food.

Failure in any of these rules ultimately ended in the permanent demise for the offender.

Benjamin was acutely aware of these rules and had no intention of violating them, although like any vampire he had a highly developed sense of curiosity.

That curiosity held him on the rooftop above as two of his "brethren" stalked their victim below.

What drew him to remain was the fact there was two of them. Although not unheard of a vampire was usually a solitary hunter, and to have two working together as this pair obviously were rated the event highly unusual.

The second detail that held his attention was the obvious victim. Secrecy demanded you take your "meal" in a less then public place and NOT from a figure that might be missed. This person was of some stature for they had stepped off an expensive motorbike and headed for the front entrance of a local and still open nightclub.

Still curiosity was not enough to draw Benjamin into a matter that was not his business and he remained a distant voyeur as the two glided from the corners they had been waiting in and approached the figure.

The events that occurred next only proved to Benjamin something was very, very wrong.

Not because the pair were dragging the figure from the street and into the darkness of the alley. Not because the figure was fighting them and doing a fair job of it for the first few minutes. Not even the fact the "figure" was a woman, a fact that became erotically evident as the greater strength of the pair overwhelmed her and she lost her blouse.

But because of what happened after that moment.

The victim was a well-shaped woman. Her anger was apparent as she fought the pair even after losing her blouse. But that anger quickly changed to worry as he arms were twisted and pinned behind her back and the second vampire tore her remaining clothes off. Her knee rose in blinding speed and the second vampire easily caught the muscular leg, then held it while he undid his jeans with his free hand.

Her scream was clear and echoed off the walls of the eroding brick buildings, the laugh of the vampire mingled with it as well as he rammed himself into her and began to move in and out. Screams that changed in tone but continued as the first living dead "finished" and the pair pulled her deeper into the shadows, before the second monster took his turn.

A turn that seemed to last an eternity even for Benjamin before the screams weakened and finally quieted, his assumption the pair had finished playing with their shared victim quickly proven wrong as they dragged her from the shadows and draped her over the motorbike she had arrived on.

What was wrong about it all made Benjamin stand in horror, then step off the edge of the building to drop to the ground between the trio, his eyes verifying the womans raped and abused body.

"You did NOT feed?"

His voice was raw anger, the words hissed as only an undead could do, the woman’s bare breasts moving as she gasped for another breath. A breath she wasn't supposed to be gasping for at all, a breath that told Benjamin she was indeed alive with her lungs needing air. And her heart pumping blood.

"Stay out of this brother, do not meddle with affairs that are NOT yours."

"Then feed and be done with this."

Benjamin's attention was divided between the pair and yet his senses remained keen enough to detect one common detail he should have detected much, much earlier. Both vampires faces were flush with color. Not from the mild exertion of raping the slowly stirring woman behind him, but from an already consumed meal of human blood.

The pair had NO need for blood. And yet they came to this place, waiting for this woman?

He was sure of his assumption this time. The woman did not deserve to be deliberately abused and raped by this pair, a pair that called him "brother" and asked demanded he walk away.

"I will kill her then and take her blood."

The statement drew the reaction he expected this time, anger flaring in the men’s eyes as they stepped forward in reaction to his words.

"It is my RIGHT, I claim her for a need you have NOT, a claim you can not refute under all the laws that govern us, brothers."

The words stopped them momentarily; to deny him "food" when they had no need for it being contrary to their very existence, and yet the confusion cleared and a greater purpose filled their eyes.

60 seconds later it was over. One vampire lay at his feet while the other fled. Numbers meant nothing in strength when they were but fledgling hunters and only a few years old, while he had survived a much greater span of time through use of wit and cunning. Still he had a need and couldn't let good blood go to waste.

Kneeling he lifted the mortally wounded vampire and pressed his lips to the jagged wound, drawing deep from the thick liquid of life he craved so dearly, taking his fill of it before lifting his head to look towards the abused woman in the middle of it all.

And moving to catch her before she slid off the back off the motorbike, her eyes rolling in her head as her nude and abused body shuddered and then fell limp.

Benjamin lowered her to the filthy surface of the alley long enough to recover the remnants of her clothing and find her drivers license, then lift her back into his arms to head towards the "classier" side of town and an address he found to be a quaintly decorated townhouse. Shock had set in and the woman slept through his cleaning her entire body, an occasional moan the only sound coming from her full lips, lips he kissed softly once he had finished dressing her and before leaving her tucked into her own bed.

They would meet again, he was sure of that fact, but what he wasn't sure of was why these events had been set in such violent motion, or by whom?

 

[Lady_Kit]

Nightmares drove her from sleep, dreams of pain, blood and violation; dark dreams of a woman screaming in anger and fear. Brutally two men raped her, thrust obscenely into her unwilling body, and laughed at her struggles. Too strong to fight, too fast to evade…God they were hurting her! Help never came, the violation went on and on….until she fell into blissful darkness.

Natalie woke to the sound of her own cries and when her voice failed the mental echoes continued to shout out her anguish in her mind. The screams were real. So was the rape and the pain, Natalie as discovered when she raised injured hands to touch bruised lips. The tenderness around her lips was only one of the hurts that had been inflicted on her. The nightmare was real, denial wouldn’t help, but knowing the extent of the damage might.

Natalie pushed back the covers, and swung her feet to the floor. Momentary dizziness and nausea made her hold still, and gave her time to take stock of her surroundings. To her shock, Natalie was in the top floor master suite of her own town house! If she stepped into the hall she’d see the spare room to her left and the stairs to the first floor on her right. Downstairs was a living room, her office, kitchen and dining room. But, Natalie had no memory of returning.

Was she alone in the house? Natalie thought she was; she doubted her rapists brought her back home. Something tugged at her consciousness, the touch of a hand…lips. Someone cared for her, a passerby afraid to be identified? A witness, there was a witness! And she’d find him; then she’d find the men who did this to her.

Resolutely she headed for the bathroom, ready to leave immediately. The face in the mirror, bruised and puffy as it was, didn’t deter her, she’d looked worse. Well, maybe not, but she’d looked at least as bad. By the time she brushed her teeth and hair, Natalie was exhausted. She was so tired, or so she told herself, that it would be best to start her investigations tomorrow. Natalie burrowed down into her bed, drawing thick blankets up to her chin and looking fearfully at the inky darkness outside her windows.

She’d start looking for the witness tomorrow, in the daylight.

 

[Perverse]

Benjamin hovered about the townhouse as the woman inside stirred and woke. It was no concern of his that she felt pain over her rape.

Even in death you felt pain.

To exist was done at a price in any species. To awake and find yourself alive was counted as a blessing in his world.

What did concern him was the fact he was now drawn into her problems. The vampire that had fled would bring the knowledge of his involvement immediately back to his coven, and once the Master had digested there was a rogue vampire in his city fouling his plans he would order a search party to begin.

A search party that would turn into a hunting party, with Benjamin as the hunted fox, who would either be driven from the city or destroyed.

And Benjamin was unwilling to leave, not because of the raped woman, but because the feelings he was drawing closer to the clues of his own beginning were intense.

The woman slept again, returning to her bed in the false security slumber would protect her, and for reasons not understood Benjamin felt sympathy for her at that moment.

He drew closer to her again. Not in the physical plane this time but in the sublime, his mind reaching to hers and easily invading, his senses telling him she was once again reliving her rape.

They gave you a warning Natalie. You understand that, I'm sure? If they had wanted you dead you would not have awakened to dream of it again. All you need to do now is nothing. Forget that it ever happened. STAY AWAY. And your life will be the safe and secure one you want so badly at this time.

He stood in her dream and watched the rape play itself out, and yet he spoke to a second figure that stood beside him watching her own shadows rape, her eyes searching for clues in the trio at the alley as well as in his face.

Beware Natalie if you continue to seek for answers. You will not find them in the light. The darkness that holds your answers may very well consume you.

And then Benjamin left her mind. He needed answers as well. Knowledge of who controlled this city and what he feared. To understand his fears would allow Benjamin to control him, or was it her?

And as he traveled to the center of the decrepit city he knew his search for answers was about to change.

Into a desperate struggle for survival.

 

[Lady_Kit]

The bright light of morning brought no comfort to Natalie. It’s harsh glare showed the extent of her injuries. She was very lucky to be alive. Natalie snorted in disgust at the beaten women in her mirror.

“Didn’t hold up your end of the conversation very well did ya Nat?”

Her reflection refused to answer, just continued to stroke concealer over the bruises. Luck had nothing to do with it, of that she was certain. The rape was meant to convey a message, and it did. Natalie understood that her investigations had gotten her noticed by a society to which she did not belong and where she had no protection.

The lotion she gently spread over the torn lips of her sex burned for a moment, then provided a cool numbness that Natalie welcomed with a sigh. The pain reminded her that the power of the least of that hidden society, like the thugs who had assaulted her, was greater than she could overcome. The fact that she had been allowed to live was not lost on her. The people who had taken an interest in Natalie Hall had the power of life or death over her. She got that.

A pile of delicate panties and bras lay in the top drawer of her bureau; from the colorful bits of lace and satin Natalie chose the softest to place against her abused flesh. The bra was almost more than she could bear when the smooth satin brushed against nipples ringed with the marks of sharp teeth, but with a set of very full 36Ds you just couldn’t go without a bra; at least not and be taken seriously.

Normally Natalie didn’t think much about the way she dressed, going for comfort more than style for the most part. Today was the exception and she dressed to be remembered. A suit of tan moleskin hugged her body like a lovers touch, beneath the fitted jacket she wore an ivory turtleneck sweater, letting its long sleeves and high neck it hide the worst of her bruises. Matching boots with a three-inch heel completed the outfit; she pulled out the stops because she was going to see her editor, and officially resign.

It was the only way to let her attackers know that she got the message. They would expect it. Since Natalie had no desire for a repeat of last night; she would heed their warning with a clear retreat.

The day was difficult, Murry at first refused to accept her resignation, until she pulled up her sweater to show him the marks of brutal hands on her pale skin. His fears were realized, and her editor At home later that evening, while she sorted through the pile of belongings from her office at the paper, Natalie considered her next move. She’d drop out of sight, let it be known that she was leaving town for a while. Do what any helpless woman would do; hide. Slowly she sipped a glass of deep red wine, feeling the alcohol sting the cuts inside her mouth and smiling grimly around the small hurt.

“You should have killed me too, you bastards.”

On the desktop lay a newspaper clipping. Its edges were tattered from frequent handling, but the caption was still easily read. Had the words been gone Natalie could have read them from memory.

Body of Missing Reporter Found - Cause of Death Unknown

Behind closed eyes Natalie could see the story, she knew every word; she’d written them. It was mostly lies, to cover the bizarre ending of one story, that of her friend Michael Parks and his death by near decapitation. Tonight was the beginning of another chapter in her story; the one that would lead her to the truth of his death if it didn’t lead to her own first. Hopefully her public retirement from the media, and a rather melodramatic exit from the offices of her editor would reach the ears of her enemies and give Natalie an advantage. She’d need all of those she could get.

In the world outside her office darkness covered the city. She could feel it out there, waiting like a hungry predator; knowing she was inside, knowing she’d have to come out sometime. Natalie recognized the feeling of being hunted and she didn’t like it. Answers were her defense against the hunter and would offer what little protection she could muster. Her resources were pitiful; her whole stock of knowledge contained in a fat file of clippings, articles printed from the net, and letters from every crackpot in the city. She’d read them all, more times than she could count, but tonight she’d do it again.

 

[Perverse]

It was a fact that with a single drop of blood a vampire could taste the very essence of what made up a human being. If they possessed courage or cowardice, good or evil, intelligence or depravity, all the qualities that formed the character of a human being and not only defined who they were but also how they would react in every situation. That same partaking also created a link for a short time that allowed the vampire to "feel" the emotions of the same human being and to a limited point to track them

It was fortunate, Benjamin reflected, that the vampires who had raped the woman were under strict orders NOT to take her blood and had obeyed those orders.

For if they hadn't they would know with all certainty that raping her would only increase the resolve in her mind to press on, for in that taste of blood as Benjamin had cleaned the raped woman he tasted something the Vampyre Clan would loathe and fear.


A sense of righteousness and the determination to find that justice no matter what the cost.

Benjamin felt that strength and knew once set on a course she would never stray far from it, as well as if the Master of this city ever shared that knowledge the woman’s life would quickly be over. But still it was no concern of his own, he chastised himself, what should be his concern was to determine if he had damaged his abilities to move freely within the City in search of his own haunting and lost past.

Minutes after arriving Benjamin realized he was being followed, first by a male blatantly making his presence known as he annoyingly followed him from one shop to another, then a female almost going unnoticed as she trailed several hundred feet behind. For the moment neither interfered with his inquisitions, for the moment they only observed, not bothering to follow up on the questions he asked for as they had no need to with their own acute hearing.

So Benjamin progressed in the human underworld. Tirelessly investigating each shop and sleazy pub, making small purchases as he asked seemingly casual questions, his senses tuned to watch for hidden reactions that even the best poker player didn’t realize they were revealing. And time after time drawing a blank on whom he might have been, in this timeline or a past one.

But what information he did gradually gather from distorted conversations and carefully whispered phrases from the general population was that they were becoming aware of a presence among them, a very hostile and ruthless presence that represented a frightening danger to them all. Rumors of people mysteriously disappearing had begun to surface, small facts of a certain military brat connecting to form larger facts, and a trail that a trained hunter could easily follow if so inclined.

It seemed the unspoken warning was acutely clear. Something other than human was moving within the human population and wished to remain unseen, each and everyone who had tried to reveal that presence was either violently warned to forget or disappeared, and Benjamin was suddenly quite sure one individual human who wasn’t going to heed the warning she was given was going to be a major factor in the events.

Events that would be quite interesting to observe from a distance and quite possibly reward him with a few clues as to his own search. Observe being the key word for as of yet Benjamin had no need to actually be involved in the affairs of the woman or missing humans or to turn away from his own private search.

 

[Lady_Kit]

“We found your bike outside Nat, but there was no sign of you. Cops wouldn’t come down, not even,” Burt looked sideways at her, sadness softening the rough face that bore the scars of more than one barroom brawl, “not even for you.”

Natalie punched the shoulder of the huge man on the other side of the scuffed wooden bar. It should have hurt, the fact that no one had rushed to her aide. It would have, if half the customers in the bar hadn’t spoken or nodded to her when they came inside. The regulars of Burts’ Bar & Grill,” as the broken neon sign outside announced, had come looking for her, though.

“Someone came, Burt. I assumed it was you, or someone…” Natalie waved her hand at the occupants of the room.

“I wish it was. A bunch of us would like a piece of the trash that roughed you up. But that night, we never heard a thing. Funny, ain’t it?”

It wasn’t at all funny, Natalie thought. She’d screamed at the top of her lungs from the moment she was grabbed. Even above the storm she remembered the way that the sound echoed off the walls of the alley; instead of one woman, a hundred alternately cried for help and cursed her attackers.

No one heard her, she told herself later at home. Strange as it seemed, it was consistent with the stories she’d collected. There were no witnesses to any of the reported deaths or disappearances. Natalie was now a statistic in her own investigation. But this time, there was a witness; a man, instinctively she knew her rescuer was male. A man who carried her across town; somehow. Who was he? She wondered as she read through the pile of clippings. Was he real? Natalie shivered, and sipped from a fat crystal glass of scotch for courage.

Attributing the events of that night to supernatural causes went against her sense of logic, but, there was no denying that someone had returned her to her home, bathed her, tended her wounds and left her to sleep in her own bed. All without disrupting the armed alarm system in her townhouse. Special Forces or Supernatural Forces?

What had she gotten into? Monsters in the night? Specters stealing people in the dark? She recalled one story from last year. The victim was drained of blood, yet none was found at the scene; the assumption was that the body was moved. Was it?

“Vampires.”

Natalie hissed. The word tasted like acid in her mouth, the very sound enough to turn her stomach. She knew nothing, and everything, about them. They were real, more than Hollywood movies and popular fiction. Where this knowledge came from, she couldn't say; but Natalie didn't question it. Instead of satisfaction, the knowledge brought a feeling that was primal, basic, an anger that surged through her with an unquestioning, instinctive rage that wanted a target.

The wall facing her was covered with a map of the city. Natalie lifted her jean-sheathed legs and propped bare feet on one corner of her desk. The map was dotted here and there with flags that marked the location of an event detailed in the clippings. There was an unmistakable pattern to the attacks, and a central area that was clean. Natalie noted the location; finally, a place to start.

 

[Perverse]

Benjamin became aware he was slyly being herded by the two young vampires who flanked him. With each city block one would move into his path and after he turned to avoid them they would again fall back and to each side. It was a game Benjamin had often played as a young man in his human teens, perfecting the hunt of mature stags, driving them forward faster and faster until caution was gone and the animal literally ran into deaths waiting arms.

"All the better" He reasoned to himself and smiled, "Let them think I'm foolish enough to be driven until we arrive at thier Master's lair."

There was no doubt in his mind now. Who ever controlled this City had no wish for his demise. At least not YET. Instead they followed suit to a weakness nearly every vampire had, and that often fatal flaw was named curiosity

Benjamin intended to help satisfy that curiousity, but not at the cost of his own existence, and as he read the emotions that weeped out of the two inexperienced minds that trailed him and sensed they had reached thier final destination he moved.

Like the wind, he concentrated and felt his body become weightless and then transparent, scattering into the breeze that had appeared and lifting his molecules to reform as a gray mist behind the male vampire.

"Play with the adults and you suffer adult consequences."

It was all the warning Benjamin gave and a deliberate ploy to force the over confident male into turning and exposing his jugular.

His final mistake, Benjamin reflected and watched the male crumble to the ground below, his blood darkening the earth around him as his body crumbled into dust.

"Your turn my pretty little plaything"

A second time he had moved, then reformed into solid to grip the wrists of the female, twisting them behind her as he drove his extended fangs a quarter inch into her trembling flesh, then slowly pulling back.

"Join your friend or take me to your Master my pretty, but choose quickly for I grow bored easily."

The evening was young yet and had proven itself to be quite interesting. But even more interesting to Benjamin was if he would live to see the end of the night.

 

[Lady_Kit]

Natalie was sitting in a dingy bar when she saw him. She’d been keeping an eye on her bike through a dirt-streaked window while trying to pump the wizened proprietor for information when a man walked passed. The face was unfamiliar, and yet she knew him. Hurriedly she rose, threw a twenty on the bar and nearly ran to the door. But by the time she passed through the sidewalk was empty.

So was the street and she felt a lot like a big loud target as she rolled the triumph through the neighborhood.

“At least it isn’t raining.”

If it didn’t it would miss one hell of a chance; thick clouds covered the night sky. The bright dots of stars were hidden beneath an inky black that pressed down on the lone rider as if to trap her between the darkened buildings lining the street. Any sane person would turn around and head back to the better-lit parts of the city. Any sane person would, Natalie didn’t.

Her witness was here somewhere. If she saw him once, she might see him again. Then, she’d get her answers.

 

[Perverse]

Benjamin watched the young female vampire run, her weak legs gathering enough strength to propell her down the filthy alley and away from him in blind flight.

He had his answer. He had intended to finish the woman and drove himself in the womans tender flesh to drink his fill, drained nearly every drop of her own stolen blood from her, blood so fresh from her own feeding he could still feel the victims fear in it as he took it. And as he gorged himself the womans memories unwittingly had become his own.

Perhaps not a name but a place and the very location gave him good clue as to the caliber of the Master he was dealing with.

The decision to free the vampire before he was finished wasn't his own, rather the presence of an intruder forced that from him, the rumble of a powerful motor rapidly drawing closer as he turned from the woman with a flare of anger to face his intruder.

Anger that he found flared from the rider of the motorbike as well, the emotion spilling past the blinding headlight to wash over him as the rear brakes and tire screamed in protest as the bike slid to a halt.

It was only because of the familiar face that moved into the headlight that he chose to stay and face the muxic.

 

[Lady_Kit]

"What's going on here?!"

Natalie demanded as she leapt from the Triumph, her face and body backlit by the bright headlight left on to illuminate the two figures at the back of the alley. Fear of a second personal attack was gone the moment Natalie glimpsed the woman struggling against her attacker. With no thought for her own safety, Natalie rushed in to rescue the victim. The crackling of the cooling engine was a suitable accompaniment the anger that burned brightly in her chest. She was filled with courage, her steps purposeful, until the attacker turned.

“You!”

She cried out the word in shock. Followed quickly by anger. The revelation of his face in the headlight left Natalie feeling betrayed in ways she didn’t understand. Here was her rescuer! The one who saved her from further hurt by her attackers. Or had he? Was his the face of angel or devil? Hero or villain?

All this passed through her mind in less time than it took to draw the Browning High Power from the snug holster in the small of her back. The gun felt good in her hand, solid and dependable; an anchor in a world gone suddenly wrong.

She kept herself balanced on the balls of her feet, the gun carefully trained at the torso of the man before her. All of her emotion was in her eyes, deep pools of hurt, anger, and confusion. When she spoke her voice was cold, unemotional.

“What will it be first? Introductions or explanations?”

 

[Perverse]

Benjamin stood quietly, focusing on the growing presence and menace of creatures of his kind nearby before refocusing his full attentions to the woman facing him.

"You make it difficult for someone who might be an ally to answer you Natalie, the forces that you face are powerful and more deadly than you've ever faced and in your position you need friends, not enemies."

The barrel of the Browning never wavered and her face stayed carefully blank as did her eyes without betraying any emotion.

But Benjamin didn't need outward clues to feel the doubt and confusion that wafted off of her sleek form even as she held the upper hand.

He moved.

Faster than the human eye could follow to place himself directly in front of her, the weapon touching his chest as he spoke softly and she blinked in recognition of his new position. Yet still he made no aggresive movements to take it from her, or touch her.

"Your weapon will not kill me Natalie, not without silver bullets and then only if you seperate my brain from my heart. If I wanted you harmed I would not have placed you safely in your own bed, so please either test my words or lower your weapon so we can leave this filthy alley together before her reinforcements return."

 

[Lady_Kit]

Natalie blinked stupidly. Her mind unwilling to accept the evidence her eyes recorded. He moved with unnatural speed, stopping before her only when the sights of the Browning touched his shirt. The demonstration of control was indisputable proof that he didn’t intend to do Natalie harm, at least right now. This information was processing as the man spoke, but what he was saying didn’t make sense.

“Reinforcements? But…”

Natalie darted a glance at the victim only to see that she was gone. She couldn’t have been in any condition to run. But even if she could. Where did she run?

“Reinforcements, yes, many more than it would be prudent to encounter tonight.”

His voice was steady, calm; just as she remembered it. His face, now that she saw it clearly was familar, but like a photo seen many times of a place she’d never been. The timbre of his speech reached inside her, creating sensations that she had no time to examine as the meaning of his words clicked into place. Her own internal warning system finally recognized the wrongness of the moment and the night around them. Retreat was in order. Natalie smoothly secured her gun and stepped back. Not ready to trust him but at least willing to explore the possibility.

“I still have questions, but you’re right about this alley. It’s filthy and bound to attract vermin. We should go.”

Natalie turned her back to the man, swung a well-shaped leg over the bike and started the powerful engine. She settled onto the seat and quickly stowed her gun in a tank mounted holster. Maybe it would kill them, maybe it wouldn't, but having the gun at hand made Natalie feel better; she'd at least make the effort. When the motor settled into a throaty idle she jerked her head toward the small space for a passenger. Riding double was tight, but could be done, if the riders didn’t mind being joined at the torso for the trip.

“I believe I owe you a lift. Where to?”

 

[Perverse]

"Daimon's Cathedral do you know it?"

Swinging a leg over he pressed his body against hers and planted his feet on the rear pegs. The deep murmur of the bikes pipes quickly changed to an enraged roar and they accelerated away even as Natalie acknowledged the location and then chuckled as he looked for a place to put his hands.

"Around my waist unless you enjoy eating pavement, but behave.

“I promise”

Accepting the offer Benjamin leaned forward and molded his body to hers, watching Natalie move quickly and crisply up the gears as they tore out of the alley and down the street, his hands gently holding her hips at the road turned into a blur.

The location he had named had several distinct advantages. It was on the opposite side of town and in a distinctly better class of neighborhood. It was populated at this time of the evening and there for shunned by the undead, and the cathedral would give them the opportunity to have a measure of privacy.

He quickly acclimated to the feeling of the powerful bikes acceleration and handling and as they ate up the pavement he felt the threat of others like him fall away, leaving him to concentrate on the woman in his arms.

She was enjoying the ride in more ways than one. The horsepower and handling of the bike was one major factor, the feeling of being in control of such a powerful thing giving her a much-needed rush of energy and confidence. It made her heart beat faster and blood pulse through her veins so strongly Benjamin could easily see each vessel distinctly.

It also had a second effect on both of them he decided. A much more earthly and erotic one as the vibrations pulsed through the frame and seat into her. The smell of her arousal coming to his nostrils and making him press the hardness of his body even tighter to her curves as she swung up the lane that would take them directly to the once elegant but now retired cathedral.

" We will be safe for the time and be able to discuss what's on your mind."

It was a few minutes after midnight and Benjamin didn't need a human wristwatch to know that dawn would come early at this time of year, they had little time to waste before the sun rose and he had to flee its effects.

They stopped and he slid back from the warmth and sweet smell of her body reluctantly then stood and waited as she moved to set the bike on its rear pegs and failed.

"You're still weak, allow me?"

She nodded and Benjamin gripped the frame with a hand to roll the bike back as she toed the pegs down.

"You're an excellent driver, I can see why the machine excites you so, I may look into purchasing one myself in the future."

He complimented and moved ahead to press open a once ornately gilded door that now complained as he forced its rusted hinges to move. They stepped into a room that once boasted of hosting Kings and Queens but had only seen the occasional mouse in the past ten years.

"We are far from our "friends" here and there are enough people nearby to guarantee they won't attempt to follow. Perhaps the place to begin our discussion might be what activities you've been up to and the conclusions you’ve drawn from them?"

 

[Lady_Kit]

Natalie used the time it took to travel from the dark alley to the cathedral to gather her thoughts. Tonight she rode without a helmet, wanting a wide field of vision as she hunted and now the wind helped to blow the confusion from her head. Before she could sort through all the new theories that came with her passenger the headlight picked out their destination.

Cool wind touched her back through the leather of her jacket when he moved away; she’d felt more than warmth when he rode against her, and his arousal was as troubling as her own. Her thoughts were still in disarray as she tried to lift the bike onto its stand; to her dismay her pull was weak and the bike rolled forward onto its front wheel.

"You're still weak, allow me?"

She agreed and the bike was soon settled into place.

"You're an excellent driver, I can see why the machine excites you so, I may look into purchasing one myself in the future."

A noncommittal sound was her response to his words. Under the circumstances, what would be appropriate? This was hardly the time for polite conversation about motorcycles.

"We are far from our "friends" here and there are enough people nearby to guarantee they won't attempt to follow. Perhaps the place to begin our discussion might be what activities you've been up to and the conclusions you’ve drawn from them?"

As the quiet of the cathedral surrounded them Natalie felt the first bit of peace she’d had since the attack. The deep voice of her companion was an unwelcome disruption, especially when instead of giving her any information; he asked to be told what she knew.

“The only conclusion I can draw is that I’ve lost my mind.”

Natalie sat down heavily on a dusty bench just inside the massive doors. The light from outside bathed the space in a dim light, not enough to see the man who had entered with her. Suddenly she didn’t care where he’d gone, she was tired; exhausted by the events of recent days and the nightmares that had kept her from decent rest for months now. The heavy sigh Natalie expressed as she leaned her head back against the paneled wall and closed her eyes sounded like it came from the depths of her soul. It would be so simple to slip into sleep, to rest here where no other sounds broke the silence. If only she could stay in the quiet.

“I have no facts, only theories based on B-grade horror movies and superstition. I have no evidence. All that I have seen is impossible. My only lead was a witness to my own attack. A witness I have since caught assaulting another woman, who though she looked nearly dead, disappeared under her own power. And who, according to you, went for reinforcements.

So you see? I don’t know anything, including your name and where you fit in all this.”

 

[Perverse]

"My name is Benjamin"

Stepping out of the dark to let the dim light play across his face he waited until Natalie opened her eyes to look at him.

"Benjamin Blake. And you're not losing your mind, only having a difficult time trying to sort out events that you don't fully understand yet."

Standing still he cursed himself for being in the wrong place and time as well as his curiosity that damned him time and time again.

"The woman you saw in the alley was one of two that attacked me. I would have finished her as I did her accomplice if you hadn't arrived, an act that very soon you'll wish I had completed I have no doubt."

"Accomplice? There was no one else in that alley dead or alive, I would have seen them in my headlites."

"You were looking for a body, a HUMAN body and that is part of the problem your having trouble with it, isn't it? "

"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying Mr. Blake, just WHO are you and how do you figure into all of this?

"It's not who I am that you're worried about is it. It's WHAT I am. You can't bring yourself to admit what you already know deep inside can you? But how I figure into all of this is quite simple though, I am simply passing through this city and stumbled across another pair of Drake's thugs as they raped you. It was to be a warning to you to quit asking questions and leave well enough alone, but when I happened upon you my curiousity drew me into the event and I'm afraid that only accelerated things."

"Event? You consider what happened to me...what they did a event Mr. Blake? As if you had watched a boxing match or the opera, an event? "

For the first time Benjamin heard anger in her voice and watched it creep into her eyes and high cheek bones.

"Until now Miss Hall we have never been formerly introduced. I understand you are a reporter and a quite good one, but until this moment in time you were but another mortal I might pass by anywhere, even when I found you and returned you to your home you were but a face with little meaning to me."

Pausing he gave her time to digest what he had spoken and felt her eyes searching his face as she did.

"But now it seems we are both in the same circumstance if you will, the being you asked questions about and whose servants I destroyed has grown irritated at us and wants us removed."