Raven Walks Ch. 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Devil's Son

The wind began to howl early that afternoon, heralding an incoming storm. Ginger could hear the thunder roll in the distance, and the weather warnings from the radio barely touched her ears. Tornadoes were the least of her worries.

She tipped another bottle and let the liquid pour down her throat. She may not have known how to battle a vampire-warlock, but she was willing to bet her life on the fact he didn't know how to fight her either. She wasn't like any human he'd likely run across.

At least, that was what she was counting on.

She was sitting at the bar when Walter finally found her. He was an absolute wreck. "Ginger!" he admonished at once as he gathered her up in his arms. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Preparing for battle," she stated matter-of-fact. "Isn't that the idea?"

He glanced over her frame, from the tangled hair to the corset to the wrinkled skirt. "Looks like you've already been a few rounds."

She shrugged but didn't say anything, and she didn't look his direction.

The only thing that assured him at all was the fact she was drinking their water. Having left untouched the one he offered her before, he wondered if she had stopped drinking it purposefully in order to get close to the vampires.

He couldn't stomach the thought. "Ginger," he started as he touched her arm.

"I want you to go, Walter," she told him in the same dull monotone.

"Forget it," he said right away. "I'm not leaving you alone."

She turned her gaze on him then. A stubborn and unyielding gaze. "He'll never come for me if I'm not."

"You're crazy," he said. "You don't know how to deal with this thing."

"Nor do you," she pointed out. It was a gut call, but she knew by the look on his face she was right. But she also knew that if she wanted to get rid of him, she had to be straight with him. "Walter, this thing has a certain M.O. It goes after the people that both Constantine and Raven have... have been with."

He jumped on her hesitation. "But that couldn't have been you." He glanced down at the bottle in her hand. But then he took another look at her hair, her clothes, the very look in her eyes. Immediately he glanced at her neck.

"I'm clean," she told him as she glanced away. "It was a trap. I had no intention going any further than that."

He nodded but he didn't totally buy it. There was definitely something different about her. "So what next?"

"I wait for the Creature to come."

"And?"

She shrugged. "And I wing it from there. I have all the tools, you made sure of that."

He didn't buy it. She had a plan. She always had a plan. "Ginger..."

She turned to face him. "You have to go, Walter. With the storm, I expect him to get an early start."

He nodded. The oncoming storm looked to bring night to New Orleans early under a blanket of ominous black clouds. These types of storms were probably the reason so many vampires called the South home. They could move about freely, without any threat of the sun.

But he still didn't want to leave her.

He touched her face. Words hesitated on his lips that she couldn't allow to fall. She turned and left him standing alone at the bar.

She stepped out into the air charged with the energy from the approaching storm. Her hair whipped around her face and she hugged herself as she set out onto the street.

People stared as they drove past, on their way to anywhere but outside. Her shoes clattered against the cement as she moved farther away from the club. Thunder grew louder and lightning lit up the darkening sky as she walked past the one of the infamous cities of the dead; an above ground cemetery filled with ornate tombs and death.

It fit her mood.

Rain that began softly started to assault her like sharp needles, and pea sized hail targeted her like bullets. The streets cleared as people took to their places of shelter, but Ginger marched on, not even bothering to cover her head. The wind picked up speed and she could barely hear the thunder over the storm.

Yet she felt his presence. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she could almost feel his eyes travel over her frame as he studied her from behind. It wasn't just the storm that crackled in the air between them. It was his supernatural power as a vampire-warlock mixing with her altered chemistry from years of drinking the very thing that could kill him.

She had been right, she thought hopefully. The only thing left was to pray that he was far more interested in vengeance than self preservation.

Otherwise her intention to fuck him to death would never work.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she turned around to face him, but Argos looked far more degenerated than any other vampire she'd ever encountered, even when she was killing them. Her breath caught in her throat as she took it all in: the gray skin, the yellow teeth, the red, glowing eyes.

He wore a sick smile on thin skin that should have been lips as he stopped just within the circle of her aura. He was surprised how his body reacted so close to her, this familiar looking redhead who looked raw and delicious and surprisingly unafraid.

Maybe it was the storm, he thought as he stepped closer.

His bones hummed and what was left of his skin felt like a hundred needles dancing lightly over him.

She tipped her head high. "Argos," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her.

He gave a slight bow, a bit pleased not only that she called him by his name but that she did not seem disgusted by his appearance, nor afraid as he advanced.

He loved a challenge.

"My reputation precedes me," he said with a raspy voice. Thunder punctuated his sentence but neither of them moved. "I am afraid that you have the advantage, as I do not know who you are."

"Yes, you do," she corrected.

He stepped closer, and the electricity danced between them. "You look like Abigail, but you cannot be her as I killed her just last evening."

She gulped but let no expression show on her face. "No, you didn't," she said. She'd have known. Despite it all, she'd have known. He was trying to scare her now. "Besides, Abi's not the one you want anymore."

"I don't?"

She shook her head. "You came for me because I am the one that Raven and Constantine share now."

He laughed and it rattled low in his throat. "You think you're woman enough for either of them?"

"I think I'm woman enough for you," she said.

He advanced on her purposely, and ignored all the strange sensations that surged through his dead body. "We will have to see."

She stood absolutely still as he flew at her and grabbed her up against him. His eyes widened when he felt the sparks crackle between them, and he growled with frustration as he crushed his mouth on hers.

Though her stomach threatened to rebel and vomit at the taste of his dead tongue in her mouth, she kissed him back just as hard – rewarded by the blue sparks that jumped between them as his skin sizzled.

He broke apart. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded at once.

"Too much woman for you, I guess," she said. She ran her hand down her leg and simple pushed her skirt aside to show her nakedness underneath. "But yet Raven nor Constantine had no problem fucking me whatsoever."

He growled and grabbed her close again, this time ignoring the sensations as his tongue shoved deeply into her mouth until it hurt so bad he couldn't take it anymore.

He broke apart again and stared at her through angry, glowing eyes. Who was this unusual human? Or was she even human at all?

"It's a shame," she said with mock regret as she felt his hold on her loosen. "I guess you're just not the vampire I thought you were." Then, more evilly, "the vampire Raven or even Constantine is, anyway."

That did it. He grabbed her up into his arms and took off into the night like a shot. They flew up high into the clouds, and she could feel the lightning spark all around him. She was terrified, but she refused to let him know that. She meditated to clear her mind of all thought, which made him angrier still.

He spiraled her through the air in death defying barrel rolls, the rain and hail assaulting her from all angles as thunder exploded in her ears. Then just as quickly as he ascended, he plunged toward the earth.

The only thing that scared her was when their ultimate destination came into view.

It was Sebastian's club.

He tore through the roof like paper and she fell out of his arms as they hit the floor, bruised and cut from the damage caused by their entry. Walter stood behind the bar, drinking his bottled water, but when he saw Ginger laying in a heap on the ground he rushed toward her. "Ginger!"

Without even touching him Argos sent him flying back over the bar and into the shelf of liquor bottles.

Ginger crawled to her feet. "No!" she screamed at Argos.

He had to smile. So this human did have a weakness.

"No?" he asked. He snapped his fingers and Tracy Lynn slunk from her sleeping chamber in the back almost in a trance. She walked to him obediently and then knelt on her knees in front of him. He ran a bony finger along her jawline that was parallel with his almost non-existent groin.

She bared her neck and he dove in, nearly taking a chunk of her skin with him as he fed. Ginger backed up as she watched Argos regenerate right before her eyes. She scooted back toward the bar where Walter lay on the ground, cut from the glass and groaning in pain.

"Walter," she said. "I told you to go!"

"Never leaving you," he muttered and tried to struggle to his feet. "Where are the others?"

From right behind her she heard Argos, his voice deep, his vocal cords restored. "Detained," he whispered against her skin, which made her shiver.

He spun her around to face him, fully young again, all the muscle and skin and hair restored as he stood shirtless and powerful before her.

"You get away from her!" Walter tried to charge him but Ginger stood in between.

Argos just smiled and once again using a powerful psychic force flung Walter backward and back into the wall, this time knocking him unconscious.

Ginger advanced on Argos. "Are you going to waste your time being a bully? Or are you going to fuck me?"

He grabbed her in his arms again and kissed her hard. This time she didn't feel the spongy sensation of a tongue hundreds of years dead. It was strong and firm and decisive as it shoved through her lips, and because of the new tissue the sparks sizzled between them. He grabbed her breast, which tingled but didn't manage to burn like the inside of her mouth.

He refused to break the kiss, despite the pain it caused him.

She ran her hands up his bare flesh leaving a trail of electricity where she touched. When she reached for his pants she thought she was home free, but a force hit them so hard it knocked her almost completely unconscious.

She glanced up to see Raven standing toe to toe with Argos.

"I'm sorry, Argos," a plaintive voice said from behind where Ginger lay. Tracy Lynn slunk over to her master. "I just wanted to taste him... like you promised."

His lip curled as he backhanded her, sending her sailing across the dance floor. "You insipid fool!"

Raven rushed him swinging, but Argos quickly recovered with an effective swing of his own. Raven went down and Ginger couldn't help herself as she ran to him. The minute she touched his arm sparks flew from his skin. Raven's brow knit with confusion and Ginger suddenly realized what a mistake she made. The only leverage she had to get Argos where she needed him was the hedonistic display from the night before – which would work Argos's pride and make him best the likes of Raven and Constantine no matter the pain it caused or the danger it posed.

If he figured out that they too could not touch her, he'd just tear her in half and be done with it.

Her eyes tried to convey her thoughts to Raven as she reached forward and kissed him, whispering, "Take it, please," against his lips.

His skin burned and his lips felt like they were going to peel from his face, and when she probed her tongue into his mouth he felt like he was swallowing a hot dagger. But, somehow he trusted she did not mean to hurt him – and so he took it like she asked.

He did not have to suffer too long as she was wrenched backward by her waist and carried off into one of the back rooms. Raven tried to scramble up to run to her, but he was in incredible agony feeling like his skin was going to fall from his skull and so he slumped back down.

He just had to will her the strength he knew she would need to carry out the task at hand.

She prayed for the same strength as Argos threw her down onto a bed, where Constantine laid just as he had that morning, except now he was unconscious from a blow to the head.

She glared at Argos. "So is this how you prove you're better than they are? By attacking them when they haven't even woken yet?"

Argos snarled as he tore away his pants. "No, you silly cunt. This is how I prove I'm better than they are!"

He pinned her against the bed with his body as his knee roughly spread her legs apart. He pawed at the slit in her skirt until it was torn apart and displaying her nakedness to satisfy his angry lust. He ripped her corset right down the middle and roughly shoved all material was in shreds around her naked body.

It hurt to touch her, and the more pain she caused him the angrier he got. "They took my Nina from me. So I must take everyone from them," he told her as he grabbed her breast in his hand and squeezed it hard. She felt him grow hard in between them as he bent down to capture the nipple in his mouth and bite it in between merciless teeth.

"I corrupt everyone and everything they touch. Just like they've done to me." He ran his tongue over his fangs that glinted off of the low light in the room.

"I'm simply taking back what they've stolen," he told her before he shoved his thick meat up inside her, impaling her on him with anger and vengeance.

The minute he was completely enclosed inside of her, he gasped in an almost pleasurable pain. She grabbed at his cock with her muscles, and it felt like there were a hundred little needles stabbing into his hard shaft.

He started to withdraw but her legs scissored back. "How can you steal anything?" she whispered with an evil gleam in her eye, " when you can't even fuck a human they both used all night long."

He glared down into her face with a grimace as he tried to tolerate the pain. "Their incredible dicks stayed hard," she told him as she felt him start to soften inside of her. "They could fuck me for hours. Everywhere," she added. "In every way."

He growled as he started shoving himself inside of her, forcing himself to stay hard even though the friction only made the sensations worse. He screamed out in pain has he fucked her harder, punishing her as roughly as he knew how for the agony he felt as the skin of his cock began to shred with each stroke.

"I've never been fucked like that," she whispered, disdain dripped in her tone. "Doesn't look like you're vampire enough to fuck me like that either."

He came down hard on her and covered her damnable mouth with his own, shoving his tongue inside to shut her up as he continued to ride her even though he suspected it was slowly killing him to do so.

"What the hell...?"

Constantine struggled to come to next to them, and though she tried to keep Argos's attention on her, he grabbed the other vampire by the hair and pulled him over to him, breaking his punishing kiss with Ginger only to sink his teeth into Constantine's neck. As he sucked loudly, Ginger felt his cock literally regenerate inside of her.

Constantine struggled against him, but was no match for the older vampire-witch. He was too weak from the attack, and then from the blood loss.

She watched in horror as Argos restored himself on top of her, and then his fucking became frenzied and even more hateful as he grew stronger.

She watched Constantine slump against Argos, dying as his blood drained into his enemy's mouth. But as long as he sucked on another vampire's neck he could continue to punish Ginger with his brutal fucking. His hand clawed at her breast, leaving claw marks in the soft skin.

Just when she thought she might not be able to keep her wits about her one more second and begin to struggle against him, Constantine was ripped from Argos's grasp. With relief she saw Raven holding the weaker vampire in his arms as he stared at her in impotent frustration. He didn't know how to save her, or even if she wanted him to.

Argos almost pulled away to go after Raven, but she clasped him tighter inside of her. "Fuck me!" she screamed.

He grabbed her neck with both hands, ready to strangle this infuriating bitch as he came inside of her, but that was when it hit him that her neck was completely clean.

Raven had never taken her. Neither had Constantine.

He grabbed her up to him as he propped himself up on his knees, holding onto her by the neck. "That's right," she told him with a triumphant grin. "No one has been vampire enough to take me yet." Then, with purposeful intent that scared Raven as he looked on, she goaded, "But with your yellow belly and your limp little cock, I doubt that you could ever have what it takes."

With a roar he dove into the curve of her neck and she thought he might actually take a bite out of her body with the ferocity of his rage. But the minute his fangs tore into her delicate flesh, she knew her calculated risk had been to her favor.

The minute her blood, made sacred of years of ingesting holy water, splashed over his lips, it immediately scorched his mouth like hot lava flowing down his throat. He gagged against her and she held him tight in her arms as she forced him to take just enough of her to begin to explode from the inside out.

She felt his skin fall apart over her body and inside of her like wax melting, and she held out as long as she could – ready to endure it all if it meant Argos would be destroyed for good. Raven, who had watched on transfixed in horror, finally wrenched her away from the clutches of the dying vampire.

Despite the electricity of her their bodies touching, Raven clung to her as they watched Argos stumble backward off the bed as tiny explosions rocked his body. As every one of her blood cells literally blew up inside of him, rays of light tore through his skin that quickly deteriorated as if they had just pushed him into the sun.

Ginger reached into the discarded corset where the wooden stake had been carefully sewn into the ties that bound the garment together. With a determination that both scared and impressed Raven, he watched as she charged the weakened vampire and plunged the sharpened wooden point right into his chest.

He howled in pain as he writhed on the floor. Every skin cell incinerated before their very eyes. His bones smoked and his tissue evaporated, and Ginger stood over her kill triumphantly as he literally zapped into nothingness.

Only when he was gone did she stumble back and collapse onto the bed. Raven rushed to her immediately. "Ginger! Are you okay?"

She felt like she could shower for a month solid and not erase his touch from her body. "I'm fine," she whispered.

"Liar," he accused as he sat next to her without touching her. "Vampire-b-Gone, huh?"

She gave him a wry smile. "When you find something that works, you stick with it."

"I guess so," he had to agree. And he was especially glad he had decided not to feed from her yesterday. But he hated it meant he couldn't touch her now. He suspected she could use it.

She sat up. "Thank you," she said earnestly. Had he not come along when he did, both she and Constantine could have been history.