Havermouth, Present Time
The meeting broke up, and the soldiers rose and began the slow shuffle out of the tidy rows of seats, past Talen and Aislen, and out into the foyer. Their laughter and light-hearted conversation were at odds with the situation in Havermouth, jarring Aislen’s tolerances. She wanted to yell at them to stop f-king laughing and do something, but there was something intimidating and almost menacing about the men that held her tongue in check.
Her instincts told her not to draw attention to herself, or to Talen, and she suspected her vampire felt the same way, as he subtly moved them back into the narrow walkway behind the very rear row of seats, placing himself between her and the aisle.
The police and fire chief, Heath, and several black clad men gathered just before the stage.
“Should we go down there?” Aislen wondered, she couldn’t hear what was being said over the rumble of voices of the soldiers leaving the audience hall, but she could read the body language loud and clear, and, although Heath’s body language was more subtle than the police chief’s obvious anger, she could tell that her mate was wary from the way he held his shoulders and angled his head.
“I think it is best that we stay where we are,” Talen replied grimly, dividing his attention between the departing soldiers and the group by the stage.
“Can you hear them?” She looked up at him.
“Hmm,” his grimace was lopsided, and he frowned for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he concentrated. “The NES have told the police force and fire department to return to their normal duties. They have told them that the town needs their services to be available if needed and running their small staffs around the clock places the town in danger. To leave the clean-up and management of the epidemic to the experts.”
“They’re not happy about that,” it didn’t take a genius to read that on the police chief’s face, his cheeks were florid and his expression furious.
“Heath agrees with the NES,” Talen sounded surprised. “And is supporting the NES leader, Joseph Lennon. The police force and fire department staff are exhausted after being on call throughout the storm. He wants to send them home to rest. They will revisit the matter tomorrow with fresher eyes and minds.”
Aislen could read the words on Heath’s lips a moment ahead of Talen speaking them, and the effect was disconcerting
“It’s you!” A man exclaimed from the aisle with a bitter laugh drawing their attention away from Heath. Aislen and Talen both looked at him in surprise. He stepped closer, gripping the back of the chair nearest to him in white knuckles. “I thought it was you,” he said to Aislen.
“Umm, hi,” Aislen replied, searching his face, trying to work out why he knew her. Suddenly her stomach dropped, and her blood turned to ice. “Oh shit.”
“You remember me now,” his grin was feral and his eyes hard. “Toby Castillo. We met on one of the worst days of my life, and f-ked on the second worst.”
Her mouth was dry. “I remember.” Just looking at him made her feel ill. She had avoided thinking of that day, happy to leave the memories lost in a drug and alcohol blur, but looking at him seemed to clear away the haziness, and she had flashes of memory, of him over her, his skin against hers as he f-ked her…
“I didn’t go to jail,” he said, and it took her a moment to understand the words that he was saying, though he did not notice that her eyes had lost focus. “Dad pulled some strings so that I joined the army instead. Did two tours. Then was recruited to a specialist service. Not exactly the career my dad had in mind. Better, in my opinion. Doing something meaningful.”
“Nice,” Aislen looked down at the cake box in her hands and decided that she’d held onto it long enough, setting it onto the seat in front of her. “I’m glad things worked out for you, Toby.”
“Sure did,” he replied, his body language relaxing, and his attention shifting to the almost empty audience hall, and the intense meeting at the stage, before returning to her as he realized that the three of them were interloping. “What are you doing in here? This is a no-civilian zone.”
“We were delivering cakes for Boyston’s Coffee Shop, and didn’t know where to put them,” Talen said, placing his box on top of Aislen’s, and resting his hand on her shoulder, picking up on her distress.
“You work for the coffee shop?” Toby sneered slightly, running an eye over Talen, who smiled with false pleasantness, the points of his teeth just barely hidden beneath his lips.
“Volunteer, really,” Aislen replied with a slight shrug, Talen’s touch reassuring and recalling her to the present, so that she could shove the horrible memories back.
“Well, put the cakes on a table in the foyer, I’m sure someone will eat them. Then you’d best be out of here. Go home, and stay there,” Toby said, easing away from them into the aisle between the rows of seats, wanting to leave. “It’s safer to just stay in doors.”
“Toby,” she said following him into the aisle. “What is happening here?”
“What do you mean, what is happening?” He frowned down at her.
“I mean, with this bug, and closing off the town, and all these soldiers,” she said. “And making everyone stay at home and tie red cloth to their doors. It’s very… scary Toby. It’s really very scary. There’s a little girl lost, and no one seems to be interested in looking for her, and no one is doing anything about the internet or the phones…”
“Aislen,” Toby hesitated, and glanced around him and then at Talen.
“He’s with me,” Aislen said.
“Boyfriend?” Toby evaluated Talen.
“Fiancé,” she replied.
Toby lifted his eyebrows. “Take her home, fiancé,” he said to Talen. “And keep her there until things are settled in Havermouth. She’s an okay girl, or she was when I knew her. Terrible taste in men, then, though. Hopefully her taste has improved and you’re smarter than you look and will do the right thing. Take her home and lock the door behind you. Stay at home, Aislen, if you want to go back to your volunteering work at the coffee shop. Things are about to go to shit in this town. Keep your head down, and you’ll get through it. Do you get me?”
“Yeah,” Aislen whispered. She reached out and touched Toby’s arm, giving it a squeeze. “Thanks Toby. You’ve been a huge help.”
“Old time’s sake,” he replied. “Go home.”
She watched him walk into the foyer, feeling faint. “We are in some serious shit here, Talen,” she said to her mate. “He’s right. We need to get Heath and get the f-k out of here. And then we need to get Rhett, and Cameron. We need to get back across that f-king river and we need to do it right now.”
“Aislen,” Heath said coming up behind her. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
“Neither should you,” she took his hand. “Let’s go Heath. Quick, quick.” She fell silent as Joseph Lennon, his men, the police chief, and the fire chief came up the aisle towards the foyer. Joseph’s eyes were drawn to Talen, a frown creasing over his nose and he came to a stop, blocking the other men from passing.
“Heath,” he said. “Who are your friends?”
A muscle twitched in Heath’s jaw and through the touch of his hand, Aislen was flooded with Heath’s revulsion for the NES leader, his rage and… his fear. Heath’s emotions had Aislen’s already heightened heartbeat thudding against her ribs, and her palm sweating against his. Heath did not want to give Aislen and Talen’s names to Joseph Lennon, but he also could not lie in front of the police chief and fire chief without being queried for it.
“This is Aislen Carter,” he said, with no hint of his reluctance in his voice, sound precisely as if he were performing a pleasant introduction without a concern in the world. “Aislen holds the key to the town, for her recent service in risking her life to save others during a shooting at the local high school.”
“Hmm,” Joseph Lennon’s eyes scrutinized Aislen, and then returned to Talen. “And this is?”
“Thaelen Gulgane,” Talen replied with a tight smile.
“Thaelen Gulgane,” Joseph Lennon struggled with the pronunciation. “Interesting.”
“If you’ll excuse us,” Heath said, stepping out into the aisle in front of the group. “We had best follow your advice, Joseph, and return home.” He led the way at an unhurried pace up the aisle and into the foyer.
The fresh air of the sidewalk was welcome, Aislen thought, dragging in deep breaths through her teeth as they made their way across the soldier-heavy street, and headed down a side alley that Aislen had never known was there.
In the alley, out of sight of the soldiers, Heath picked up the pace. “Thaelen Gulgane, eh?” He said over his shoulder to Talen. “Smart move, not giving him your name.”
“I did,” Talen replied mildly. “Just not the one that I am currently using.”
“What inspired you to that?” Heath asked, unsurprised but curious.
“Body language.”
“F-k,” Heath said under his breath. “I was hoping… for more. I was hoping that you had something concrete. That man sets every alarm bell that I possess ringing and makes my skin crawl, and yet, despite disagreeing about the priorities the NES is setting, I can't justify it. I had hoped you knew something more."
"Oh, it's justified," Aislen told him, breathless from the fast pace of walking, and from the fear that had a tight grip on her chest. “Alarm bells ringing, and skin crawling is accurate.”
“Aislen?” Heath came to a stop at the end of the alleyway and looked both ways before crossing a car park that was clear of soldiers and cars. “What do you know?”
“Well, two things, really,” she said, keeping her voice low. “The first is that there is no medicine for this. They’re bull shitting about that. The second thing is that they’re not NES. Or they are, but they’re also not.”
“Aislen,” Heath drew in a deep breath and released it, controlling his frustration, and stopping himself from snapping at her. “Can you be a little clearer.”
“They’re not NES, they’re hunters. Like, hunters of us,” she gestured with her free hand between the three of them. “Like we’re the prey.”
“Ah, f-k,” Heath ground out between his teeth. “They’re Van Helsings?”
Havermouth, Present Time“That’s like… a thing? Like a real thing?” Aislen looked between her two mates.“It is,” Talen replied placing his hand on the small of her back and encouraging her gently forward.The alley and carpark had taken them through the square of the town, depositing them on the street where Rhett’s shop was located, bypassing the blocked off, soldier filled main street. It was a route that someone who had grown up in the town knew, but that people new to the area would not.They crossed the road, pausing on the corner to look up towards the main crossroads of the town as yells broke out, Heath tensing. A group of men dragged a woman, fighting, clawing, her hair wild and her blue suit covered in blood, out of a building and into a van, leaving behind one designer high heel on the pavement. The van shook, and the passenger within shrieked, the sound carrying as the van pulled away from the curb.“Was that…?” Aislen trailed off remembering Dr James and the bite mark on
Havermouth, A Year Before“She’s a beauty,” Cameron leaned against the fence and admired Jules’ new mare, Aria, who was grazing in the field nearest to the house.“She is, sired by Maverick James, and out of Soprano Siren, fourteen point two hands, she needs a bit more work, but she has a sweet, gentle nature,” Jules was pleased by his purchase. “I’ll take her out to ride the fences later today and see how she does.”“Chester will be jealous.”Jules slid his eyes to Cameron and then away. “Sometimes we have to make choices, Cam, and no matter how much we love a horse, sometimes a new one is needed, right?”Jules wasn’t talking about horses, Cameron thought grimly, but about women. “Sometimes, there only is one horse,” he replied softly. “And you can’t replace it.”“I’m sorry for that,” Jules murmured. “I am, Cam.” They watched the mare graze in silence before Jules gave a slight restless gesture. “You should go see your mum before you head off, have a cup of tea. She’s leaving again f
The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century)Thaelen watched Sigrid chase the waves with the slave children, her skirts held to mid-thigh, and her braids bouncing as she laughed and splashed through the shallows. The day was bright, and the sky clear of cloud, and the weather had encouraged the slaves to the water. They searched the sand and the shallows for fish, took boats out deeper to cast their nets and strung drying frames around the fires, to smoke and dry their catch for the winter.Thaelen had not come to the beach for food. He searched the sand, to see what treasures of the deep the tide had brought in.“What are you doing?” Sigrid asked as she returned to him, the sand crusting her wet legs with salt.“Preparing offerings for the gods. In a few days, we will travel into the mountains, see there,” he pointed to the shadow on the horizon. “There is a temple there. It will take many days to walk there, and we will stay with the strongholds we encounter o
The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century)The pilgrimage towards the mountains took several days as it was traditionally made on foot. Many vampires chose to make the pilgrimage each year, and so Thorarin and Thaelen were accompanied by a number of vampires, slaves, and wagons ladened with supplies for the humans and gifts for both the lords of the Concordia who would host them along their path and to sacrifice to the gods.The days were filled with the slow trudge towards the mountains on the horizon, and the nights with stories told by firelight, the storyteller’s throats lubricated by blood mixed with mead or beer. When they reached a stronghold, the entire caravan would be absorbed into the homes of their hosts, and they would stay for two days, in order for Thorarin to spend time with the lords and ladies of the Concordia, with Thaelen at his side learning how to negotiate and resolve the concerns of his future kingdom.As they passed through the strongh
The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century) The Temple of the Gods was perched high in the mountains, and it took most of the day to guide the wagons up the steep and narrow roads to where, around a jutting point of rock, the way suddenly widened into a generous courtyard and the temple appeared, cunningly carved into the mountain. The temple was as large as a stronghold, the chambers uncounted, with many layers of openings and balconies looking down into the courtyard it framed on three sides. The stone-smiths who had carved it were artist vampires, and their efforts were still ongoing, with scaffolding built against one side showing the newest renovations. The arrival of the pilgrimage was anticipated, and the courtyard was filled with acolytes, priests and priestesses of the various gods, and their blood slaves. Thaelen and Thorarin were guided through into the great hall, lined with the altars of the gods, and began the slow progression from altar to al
Kabramatta, One Year Before Aislen dreamed of Rhett, dressed formally in a black suit and shirt, standing on the balcony of the river house with the wind trying to suck his hair free of its tie as he gazed out over the river. His hands were in his pockets, the suit jacket riding up around his wrists, and he was clean shaven. His cheekbones were sharper, his jaw more defined, youth faded into manhood. Heath walked up behind him, wearing charcoal grey to match his eyes. His hair was closely and severely cut. He placed his hand on Rhett’s shoulder and they both stood, grimly looking out at the flowing water, before turning together as Cameron stepped out of the river house. Like Rhett, Cameron wore a black suit, his shirt crisply white. He was weeping and shook his head as both Rhett and Heath started forwards. “Don’t,” his lips shaped the word though there was no sound. He turned and walked around the corner of the house. Aislen woke and lay awake gazing at the ceiling, her heart rac
The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century)Thaelen admired the way that the moonlight played over Akaus’ skin, his muscles flexing as he thrusted into Besafora, his fingers gripping her hips so tightly that the skin dimpled beneath his fingertips, but it did not seem to hurt her at all.“You can be rough,” Akaus grunted. “Rougher than you think, faster than you think. You have been raised to be careful with your vampire strength but have trust that Besafora will let you know if it is too much. With some practice, you will learn to read your partner’s response.” He withdrew and moved to the side. “Try it.”Thaelen’s heart pounded as he moved between the human woman’s legs and Akaus curved over his back, confident that his weight would not affect Thaelen, his hand stroking over Thaelen’s stomach, guiding Thaelen’s c-ck into the human woman.Thaelen groaned dark and gritty. “Ah, by the goddess,” he sobbed out.“Yes,” Akaus enjoyed Thaelen’s pleasure. “She feels w
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen pried Rhett’s hand away from the wound and cried out. Nathan Lowe had more than bitten Rhett, he had almost torn a chunk of his forearm away, only a section of skin holding it into place. Rhett made a wet sound in the back of his throat, looking away. “F-k.”“Talen!” Aislen’s call was a panicked wail.“Let me in, little demon,” the vampire picked her up by the waist, lifting her off her feet, and setting her to the floor outside the small powder room so that he could see. “Hmm, that is… unfortunate. I can try to lick it, but I suspect that saliva alone will be insufficient. Better, I think, Rhett, for you to take some blood. Let’s bandage this and sit upon the couch, as a powder room is no place for such things.”Heath put his arm around Aislen as they both watched Talen bandage the wound on Rhett’s arm. Through the touch, Heath’s thoughts spilled into Aislen’s mind in a rapid fire of worry. (Talen hadn’t wanted to lick the wound) Heath thought, (becaus