Shadow School Ch. 10

Kristie looked down at her nipples and gasped, seeing thick brown fingers tug at the tender pink tips. She was so full, so hot, her clit being teased mercilessly as she came; hot spasms of pleasure taking over her body as her pussy walls clamped down in triumph. Over and over she convulsed, her head thrown back and her mouth open in an "O" of ecstasy.

Just as she began to come down, Kristie's eyes opened and looked up into Daman's grinning face. She jerked, her body having nowhere to retreat as her arms lashed out to push Daman away. Her hands grabbed onto the show curtain and she slung herself under the water and to the tiles under the spray, putting the flow of water between her and...

No one.

Gasping, Kristie stared at her empty shower from a sprawling position over the faucet and under the shower-head. She flicked the curtain back and stared at her empty bathroom. She was panting, her heart was beating wildly, and... apparently she was insane.

How could she let herself picture Daman while she masturbated?! And... why was that the one thing that got her off?

What the Hell was that?

***

Melanie hadn't been surprised that William had taken her somewhere other than home. She had had a thought just as they pulled onto a main road that arriving home after three days with a bleeding vampire probably wasn't the best way to greet her parents. Instead, William had pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and told her to stay put as he went in to purchase some things to get the bullet out of his shoulder.

She had sat there, a little frazzled and chilled, hoping no one really took a good look at her. Not that there was anyone there; most normal people would have been in bed a long time ago.

William had only been gone a few minutes before he returned and wrapped his jacket around her; he had only taken it to cover the blood soaking his shirt. He stashed the plastic sacks in the saddle bags on his Harley and cupped her cheek before straddling the seat and starting the engine.

After that, he took her to a motel.

The place was the kind she would never in her life expect to visit. The rooms stank of stale cigarette smoke and the walls were still covered in wood paneling. She didn't even want to think about the state of the bed. Ew.

"We're not staying here," William said. "There's just no way to walk into a nicer place without raising a few eyebrows." He brought her over to the mirror and Melanie gasped.

She was covered in blood.

There were dark circles under her eyes, a bruise on her right cheek, and her hair was a mess of tangles and dried, dark blood. Her clothes were filthy, she knew that already, but they had taken even worse damage during the grand finale of her captivity.

Melanie's hands went to her face and she started trembling all over again. This wasn't right. This wasn't her life. Nothing, not even her horrible time at Prom or the aftermath of school gossip and glares could compare to the state she was currently in or what she had just gone through.

William came up behind her then, murmuring softly that everything would be okay and it was all over. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and he cradled Melanie, his head lowering so that his cheek pressed against hers. He actually rocked her side to side on her feet as she attempted to calm herself down.

"This place is gross," she said, sniffling and eyeing the filthy mirror.

William's rumbling chuckle vibrated through her. "I concur. Let's make swift business of my wound, get you cleaned up, and head for a nicer place."

"I can't go home yet. Not like this. Not even after I'm clean... I'm... I can't let my parents see me like this."

William eyed her reflection in the mirror and she returned his gaze, marveling that she could actually see his reflection at all. His lips quirked at her thoughts and he said, "We'll go somewhere for the night. You can call them, let them know you're safe. At least let them get a good night's rest. I'll take you back at sundown."

Melanie nodded. "Let's take a look at your shoulder."

William's arms left her then and he crossed to the scratch-and-dent table and chairs near the window. Digging through a bag he pulled out an artist's exacto knife and some gauze, neosporin and bandages.

"I thought you healed fully," Melanie said, eyeing the ointment in confusion.

"Those are for you... unless you want more of my blood to heal your scrapes and cuts." When Melanie shook her head, he nodded and tore open the packaging, handing her the knife and taking the gauze out. Lots and lots of gauze. "This is to catch my blood. I don't make a habit of dripping all over motel floors."

Melanie winced and took the knife, looking at her hands in horror. She turned and went to the bathroom to wash off as William pulled his shirt up over his head. By the time she turned to come back into the room, he was sitting on the bed with one of the chairs pulled to face him.

She stared at his muscular back, eyes wide and mouth doing very, very dry. As she took more steps toward him, William reached out and pulled a bottle of water from another sack, twisting the cap and handing it to her with a slight smile on his lips.

Okay, that wasn't exactly why her mouth was dry but Melanie did vaguely remember being a little dehydrated. She knew there was water being handed to her, but her focus was on William's chest, something that seemed a little more important than the bottle he was holding out for her. Her eyes roamed his torso and landed on the barely-visible hole in his shoulder; that brought her out of her daydreaming.

Cheek flushing, Melanie took the water and muttered a thank you before gulping some down and setting the bottle on the table. She sat, a new purpose at hand, and stared down at the knife she was holding. How in sweet Jesus' name was she going to do this?

"Just think of biology. Follow the hole through until you see metal."

"But how do I get it out after that?"

"With these," William said, pulling a new pair of pliers from one of the plastic sacks.

"Oh, God, Oh... God, William, I don't think..."

"You have to. Otherwise I'll have to do it myself."

"Does it hurt?" Melanie asked, staring into the wound that was still oozing blood.

"Does a bullet lodged in my shoulder hurt?" William asked flatly.

Melanie looked at him, exasperated. "You're a vampire. You don't look like you're in pain. I've never done this and you're telling me to cut you open like a dead frog and pull out a piece of metal with those things." She gestured to the pliers. "Don't act as if I know what I'm doing because I don't." Her cheeks flushed, her anger at the person who shot William, tried to shoot her, boiling to the surface.

"Could I add to that list your making," William said, "that the quicker you do this the easier it will be? Because it's taking all of my concentration to stall the healing process.

Melanie's eyes widened. "You can do that?"

"Only for a very short time."

Melanie brought her hand up and aimed the knife at the wound, trying to figure out which way to cut. When she hesitated, William asked, "Would you like me to call Alicia to come take care of this?"

She stabbed him.

The knife hadn't quite hit the mark because she had gritted her teeth and glanced at him as she did it, but a quick twist brought the new gash into contact with the hole in William's skin. He grunted, biting his lips and staring over her shoulder as she worked.

Point proven, Melanie furrowed her brow trying to figure out what to do next. Before he could say anything else, she turned the knife and sliced up the same way then decided to cut across as well. Once that was finished, she glanced over at William who seemed to be zoning in on the ashtray.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

William kept his eyes forward, but didn't hesitate too long before answering. "Daman Sokar and John Harvard. They call the two the fox and the hound. They track better than the others."

"I didn't see anyone from Sokar-" Melanie said, before William cut her off.

"Daman left once the location was confirmed. All of the Heads are irritated by this whole infiltration business and they are all keen to keep an eye on their chosen. It wasn't his fight.

Melanie thought she had the wound open enough but she still couldn't see the metal. She dug a little more. "So is he the fox?"

William grin-grimaced. "The hound. He has a higher ability with scent tracking. Harvard has a sharp mind for problem-solving and maneuvering; he's the fox. Tricky bastard. That and he loves to lead any attack. It's a game to him."

"But his student was okay?"

"Well guarded. We found out in time before more were taken. It was just... the two of you."

Melanie thought of Devin's limp body being lifted by Gavin, blood forced into the girl's mouth. She shivered. "Do you think Devin will be alright?"

"No idea. My focus was on you."

Melanie glanced at him again, this time meeting William's eyes. He glanced down at the wound and blanched before returning his focus to over her shoulder.

*** Cameron hung on Danvy's every word; how the immortals found a new way of life by living as Von Muter had once lived, and how the schools were founded by those who followed a certain set of rules. The only difference was that Von Muter still kept to his vow of celibacy. Others had not.

"That was a big surprise, let me tell ya," Danvy said, smirking. "Thousands of years and out of the blue a girl is pregnant with an immortal's child. Caused quite the stir. Suddenly immortals were falling into line, behaving themselves for not only the chance to last a little longer in daylight, but to reproduce as some of them desired.

"They're a bit covetous you see, of valuable possessions. And nothing says "I'm better than you" than presenting other immortals with your offspring, straight out of your very loins."

Cameron blanched at the word "loins." "Yeah, all that," she said, "makes no sense."

"Call it what you will, it works. You believe in God? Maybe He did some heavenly voodoo to make the immortals behave. Don't believe in a higher power? Call it evolution or fate or personal center of balance. Whatever it is, it works. And it only works for males, by the way... female immortals cannot bear children. They use surrogates."

Cameron stared at the cover of her novel. "First, God and Voodoo are two different things. Second, why have children in the first place? What's the endgame?"

Danvy rubbed his ringers into hair, mussing his red dreadlocks. "Because again, immortals are not your mythical vampires. They live forever, yeah; but that still doesn't mean they don't want kids. And when that particular side effect of living this lifestyle spread to others, they amended their way of life."

Danvy eyed her speculatively. "But this way of life, this 'thou shalt not kill, steal or covet' business, means the immortals that walk in the light - figuratively speaking - are more vulnerable to those who chose to remain in darkness. Mating with a human female, staying with her, almost always ended up in some catastrophe where the woman or the child, or both, died. Cause you see, the child of an immortal is quite the tasty morsel to the Dead Ones."

"Dead Ones?" Cameron asked, wide-eyed.

"It's extremely hard to kill an immortal, obviously, but they can die. They're not immortal like a god; more, immortal in a sense that they don't age or grow old. Their hearts can stop beating, and when that happens... well, I'd say run but you'd never get away.

"I said zombies earlier because it's like the corpse of an immortal is reanimated. They look and act like the man or woman they once were but that's where the resemblance ends. No compassion, no heartbeat... pure demonic possession. Reanimated dead. Just without the rotting part.

"They need more blood, cannot eat food, but living amongst humans like the vampires of myth is impossible. You'd know when one walked into a room. And that is why they search for half-breeds such as myself. Because for a moment, just a moment, they can feel alive again just by drinking our blood. They cannot consume immortal blood so we are the closest thing."

Cameron exhaled and placed a hand on her stomach. "So Shacrow is like a big buffet? Why can you even operate as you do, working in the world..."

"Because there are not many of them. And they only come out at night. And they have no super ability other than being very hard to kill. They are as they were when they died, and when you are half immortal, half human, you're pretty damn strong or quick or whatever you inherited from your parents.

"Par-rentssss, by the way," Danvy said, interrupting himself. "You have just as much to do with your child's ability as Elias."

Cameron gaped. "How?"

"Breeding. Got that memo during the whole lottery day on campus, didn'tcha? Bloodlines. Your family tree must be fresh and ripe for the picking." Davy wiggled his eyebrows. "Not only do you have completely fresh human DNA running through your veins, but you're fertile, have no history of serious family illnesses beyond the norm, and you have specific talents." He paused then said, "That, and the chosen girls tend to be pretty hot."

When he saw Cameron's face, Danvy hastily amended, "Oh don't worry, sweet cheeks. I know your thoughts before they even filter through your brain. Years of 'why me,' 'does he really love me,' and 'am I just a pretty brood mare?' and you start to see a pattern. Every girl has that moment of self-pity without seeing the big picture."

"And what exactly is the big picture?"

Cameron looked up and Danvy spun to face Elias, who was standing stone-faced in the doorway.

Danvy's mind seemed to stall for a moment before his demeanor changed and he relaxed back on the chaise, saying, "That they have the chance to have a child as awesome as me."

Cameron looked from Elias to Danvy, pretty sure that wasn't what Danvy had planned to say. It did, however, seem to have the desired effect on Elias. Or at least she hoped it did.

Elias glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I know what I signed up for," Cameron said, making both males turn to her at the tone of resolution in her voice. "I agreed to go to Shacrow VanMeter College and keep its secrets in return for chances of a lifetime and," she faltered a little, "my services." She looked at her Anne Rice novel and thumbed the pages. "I guess I put my own spin on the situation." She looked at Elias then, to read the expression on his face, but her eyes started to sting with tears the moment she saw him so she looked away.

"Whoa. No, it's not like that-" Danvy started to say.

"Enough, Donovan." Elias said, cutting him off.

Donovan?

"I just meant it's obvious you felt something more for her, otherwise you wouldn't have broken your cycle."

"I said enough!"

Danvy stood. "She's gotta know this stuff otherwise she'll freak out."

"Does she look freaked out?" Elias asked, gesturing to Cameron.

"Why should I freak out?" Cameron's heart began to race.

"Well, yeah, now she kinda does." Danvy admitted.

"Out!" Elias said quietly. "Take Bastian with you. You're both on border patrol with the others." When Danvy started to speak, Elias turned to stare at him.

"Going," Danvy said quickly.

"And Danvy," Elias said before Danvy was out the door, "thank you."

Cameron heard the grateful tone in Elias's voice so Danvy must have as well. The "Irish pirate" smiled at her and nodded to both of them before leaving the room. Elias closed the door and shook his head.

"You should be sleeping," he said, turning to face her.

Cameron sighed tiredly. "I couldn't. When I hadn't heard from you..."

"I thank you for your concern, Cameron, but there really is no need to worry."

Cameron inwardly baulked at the formal way Elias spoke to her. "Yeah, but Danvy said immortals could die."

Elias eyed her. "Did he. And did he say how?"

Cameron's brow furrowed. "Well, he sort of skipped that part. He just mentioned the Dead Ones and how they used to be immortal." Among other things.

Elias's shoulder slumped as if he were tired. "Danvy should have let your sisters in the Circle break it to you, but in one respect he was right. You should know these things and the sooner the better. You should have learned them before..." He glanced down.

Cameron followed his eyes to her stomach, thinking of the way Danvy had gestured to her stomach as well. She wanted to grin but wasn't really in the mood; she had learned quite a lot tonight.

"So, you haven't just had a lot of lovers in your hundreds of years as a va- as an immortal." Cameron shook her head, thinking of each of her house guests that night. "And I'm guessing you have more children than Mahi, Bastian, and Danvy."

There had only been a few times in Cameron's life when she wished her brain wasn't so clever; so logical in its problem-solving. Seeing the inevitable conclusion approach her, she told herself she knew she was getting into something the moment she agreed to attend the college. Hell, for all she knew they were a bunch of aliens and she was expected to carry their spawn.

Eyes widening, she glanced up at Elias and he gave a look that squashed that theory.

"You learn you can live in the human world," she said. "Learn you can have children and set up a university for them. But it's not just for dhamphirs, it's for human females. Seven chosen each year, one for each house." She stared at him, daring him to finish her thoughts for her.

"Chosen, being the key word." Elias cut in. "And accepted openly by the girl and her family."

"For what purpose?" Cameron wanted to hear Elias say it.

Elias turned to her and said nothing for a moment as he studied her thoughts. Finally, his face relaxed back into a stony mask. "We are at war. There are not many of us left. For hundreds of years Dead Ones picked us off one by one or turned us into one of their kind. Then there are the were-kind, once trusted companions, now an equal enemy whose population is breeding like rabbits. And there are hunters..."

He looked at her sharply when Cameron immediately thought of Buffy. His tone grew agitated as he said, "As much as I would like the idea of only one 'slayer' being a strong sixteen year old, the truth is that hunters have a strong guild of secret members stretching across the planet. Some live in cities, others reside in deserts or jungles, but all have a common purpose: to rid the world of our kind, alive or dead."

Elias's expression softened. "Hundreds of years ago a summit was held with a handful of immortals who followed in Von Muter's footsteps. It was clear our children had special abilities, abilities similar to our own, but with the added benefit of being able to walk in sunlight.

"This ability was also their downfall. They would sleep at night, having been up during the day, and Dead Ones would find them helpless in their sleep. Until that time immortals and Dead Ones avoided each other, only clashing when one stepped over a clearly drawn line. Once word spread of our offspring however, the war began."

"So why not make more immortals to help you fight?" Cameron asked.

Elias looked at her, his expression softening. "That was tried at first. But to Make another... it's a difficult process. Ritual is involved and things must be done a certain way to create another immortal. The newly created are weak in their first years of life. They do not just change in one night and wake up with amazing powers. Their bodies evolve slowly. They must learn their abilities just as you learn to play a sport."

Cameron could guess the next statement.

"Dead Ones killed them easily, building their own numbers." Elias said, confirming her thoughts. "At one point it was so bad that Dead Ones actually walked among the living. During the Black Death of 1348, what we then called the Great Pestilence, the look of some humans resembled our enemies, allowing them to walk into communities and pick off those who were untouched by illness. As you can imagine, this drove us even more toward war; we could not sit and let such a thing happen."