A Voyage into Night Ch. 04

She gazed down at the body of her friend. The knife in her hand steamed in the cold night air as blood, coloured black in the moonlight, dripped down to stain the grass. She studied it for a long while, then let it fall. She breathed out, and it felt as if she had been holding that breath in all her life

She looked up from Ian's body towards Moretta, the woman had not moved from her position on the cliff's edge. Behind her, a dazzling bright moon shone in a clear stat strewn night sky. The woman's hair was caught in a sudden gust of wind, but otherwise she was as immobile as a statue. One thing had changed however: she was smiling.

Isobel closed the distance between them, her legs feeling weak and shaky as she walked and her stomach was a tight knot of anxious tension. The two women met on the edge of the cliff. Isobel was dimly aware of the dizzying drop behind Moretta as well as the the sounds of waves crashing against the rocks far below her; but they may as well have been far away in another country.

Moretta's face had an unblemished, ageless quality; like a beautiful statue of sculpted marble. Isobel reached a hand up to the woman's face and trembled when she felt the cool soft smoothness of the vampires skin. Still the dark woman did not move, her face unreadable. Isobel traced the woman's dark lips with her thumb and then, leaning in, kissed her softly, a chaste kiss that she held for a few seconds. Again she was aware of the coolness of the woman's skin, not unpleasant, but enough to remind Isobel of her true nature.

As she looked again into Moretta's eyes she noticed a change which, for a moment, turned her blood to ice in her veins. The vampire's expression was no longer unreadable; now there was a fierce look of naked hunger on her face and Isobel almost took a step back, for a moment unsure.

Then, Isobel felt Moretta's cool hands grasp the sides of her face and, before she could utter a word, she felt the woman's dark mouth on hers. The naked violence of the kiss took her breath away, the sheer force of the vampires need was overwhelming, a tidal force from which there was no protection. The doctor felt powerless in it's path, but the fear quickly subsided and Isobel gladly surrendered to it. Her lips parted, accepting the vampire's questing tongue. She had waited so long. They both had.

She felt her own need rising, her passion swelling to match that of the vampire's. Her arms encircled the dark woman's neck, holding her close, pressing herself into the other woman's body. Moretta began covering the mortal's face with kisses, and when her mouth returned to Isobel's there was blood on the immortal's lips. Isobel dimly registered that it must be Ian's blood.

She felt strong, agile hands, working on the fastening of her corset, hurriedly loosening it. Isobel helped and the corset dropped to the grass and she felt the delightful sensation of the cold sea air caressing her naked skin, bringing up goosebumps. Then, the vampire's strong, cool hands were on her naked breasts and she moaned in pleasure as she felt Moretta's mouth move to her throat, and she threw her head back to allow the vampire full access. Moretta opened her mouth and could not resist using her teeth on the woman's neck, careful not to break the skin, she too had been waiting for this moment for far too long. Isobel laughed in frustrated delight at the feel of the vampire's teeth against her taut throat, and arched her back as she felt the dark woman's mouth trace a cool path down to her breasts.

Moretta was lost in the exquisite taste of this extraordinary woman; she could feel her hunger rising but it lagged far behind her own arousal as her tongue licked at the woman's skin, tasting sea salt. The smell of Isobel's arousal appeared to hang about them like a cloud, conjuring up a similar reaction throughout Moretta's body. It had been years since Moretta had felt this level of naked animal lust for another human being. Decades. Longer. Her mouth descended on Isobel's breast in a rough, hungry kiss. Opening her mouth Moretta took as much flesh into her mouth as she could, flickering her tongue to awaken the nipple, leaving Isobel breathless with desire, particularly as she felt the cold, sharp touch of the woman's teeth against her sensitive skin.

Grasping the back of Moretta's head, she pulled the vampire harder against her, crying out as the woman again used her teeth, grazing her nipple but not yet drawing blood. It was clear the vampire was holding back, restraining herself, but not completely. Embracing Isobel, Moretta ran her fingernails down the length of Isobel's back; the sharp finger nails leaving a stinging trail across the doctors skin. Isobel moaned into the vampire's mouth, but did not protest.

As Moretta rose up again to kiss her Isobel breathlessly began to work on the fastenings on the back of Moretta's own dress, but found the task beyond her. Moretta slowly, but firmly, took hold of Isobel's hands, restraining her. "Please.." whispered Isobel, "I need to see you." Moretta, lost in the feel and taste of this woman did not initially grasp her meaning, then, when what was being asked of her sank in, there was a moment of doubt; a moment of uncertainty that was as surprising to Moretta as it was for Isobel who immediately sensed she had crossed a line. Moretta stepped away from the doctor, turning her back and looked out at the ocean.

Isobel opened her mouth to apologise, and then closed it again without speaking: she was not sorry about wanting this woman, about needing to see her, but she was mystified by the woman's reaction. Could it be that she was self conscious? This seemed unthinkable.

For what seemed a long moment no one spoke and Isobel's uncertainty grew to outright unease. Then Moretta, still with her back turned, reached behind, and with an agility that suggested double jointed limbs, began to undo the fastenings of her dress. Isobel sank to her knees to watch, letting out a long, slow breath.

When the dress opened, revealing the woman's back, Isobel was initially confused as, instead of revealing the pale skin of Moretta's upper back, a darkness has been revealed. A shadow, if anything, deeper than the black dress she is discarding. Still with her back turned Moretta lowered the dress further to her hips and Isobel could finally see what it was: a large, black birthmark covering most of her back from from the shoulder blades to just above her buttocks.

Moretta stepped out of the dress and stood naked before the young doctor, the first time she had allowed herself to be exposed in... she couldn't honestly remember. Despite the luminescent beauty of the woman standing before her, Isobel could not take her eyes away from that birthmark. She stared at it in fascination and then gasped when it began to move. First the deep shadow seemed to spread down the vampires buttocks but then, unbelievably, began to press outward, bulging from her skin as if something alive was seeking the air. Moretta turned halfway towards Isobel. She had removed her mask and casually dropped it over the edge into the water below. She watched the young woman's face as she revealed herself fully for the first time.

Isobel was dumbstruck as she watched the change coming over this incredible woman: the outline of her body wonderfully silhouetted against the moonlit sky. All was revealed: her fine high breasts, her slender powerful legs, the patch of midnight gathered between her legs, and, rising from her back, a shadow that continued to spread, pressing into the night sky. Isobel gasped when she finally realized what they were: Wings. Huge, dark, leathery, bat-like. Inhuman.

"Beautiful!" breathed Isobel as she sat, in awe of this wondrous creature before her. Moretta turned fully towards her, something almost like a shy smile on her lips. Behind her, the wings spread out in all their dark glory. Rising, Isobel joined her on the edge of the cliff, and Moretta watched as this mortal women, instead of recoiling from her lack of humanity, appeared to be entranced by it. Isobel traced her fingertips along the hard ridges and soft membranes, feeling their strength, seeing their beauty. So perfect, thought Isobel, for this dark, bewitching woman standing naked and unveiled before her.

This time it was Moretta's turn to shiver as she felt Isobel's warm hands trace down the length of her wings to her naked back. All feelings of vulnerability gone now as she felt the younger woman stroke and caress her skin, a tactile examination of her body. This time, when the two women kissed, it was a gentle exploration, each woman lost in the touch and taste of the other.

Isobel took the lead and,taking Moretta by the hand, led her a little way from the cliff. Then, kissing her briefly, directed the vampire to lie on the grass, her wings fully spread out on the ground. Moretta complied unquestioningly, again, something usually against her nature but this night, and this woman, were different. The grass was cold and damp against her bare skin and, for a moment, she considered a move inside to one of the huge, comfortable beds she knew would be available. But then she saw that Isobel was stood above her, undressing, and any thoughts of being anywhere but here fled from her mind.

Their eyes never left each other as Isobel stepped out of her skirt and underwear. She left her knee high boots on, something which the vampire did not object to. As more and more of the doctors body was revealed Moretta felt her hunger rising and she knew that, before the sun dawned, she would need to feed.

Isobel lay down on top of the vampire and again Moretta was struck by how long it had been since she had known the intimate feeling of another's naked skin against her own. How could she have denied herself this for so long? How could she have forgotten? Brushing her little long red hair from her own face, Isobel leaned down and kissed Morretta, a hard hungry kiss that brought a moan of pleasure from the vampire. Isobel's tongue dared the inside of the vampire's mouth, flickering dangerously close to Moretta's lengthening canines.

Isobel reached up and caressed he vampire's face as they kissed and then, in an unexpected show of force that Moretta could have easily resisted but didn't, forced the immortal's head to one side. Isobel's mouth found Moretta's neck and the immortal was surprised at the audacity when the young woman applied her teeth to the sensitive skin beneath her ear. The bites were not strong enough to break the surface but hard enough to bring groans of pain and pleasure from the vampire.

Moretta reached up to hold the young woman and was further surprised when Isobel firmly took hold of her hands, and pressed them back onto the grass. Again the two women kissed, but it seemed as though it was Isobel who was the dominant one, possessing the woman beneath her. Claiming her. Then, with a slight smile on her lips and maintaining eye contact, Isobel began working her way down the vampire''s body; kissing, tasting and taking little playful nips as she went. Moretta could not remember feeling so aroused as she watched and felt the young woman take control. When Isobel reached the dark woman's firm breasts she paused to take a nipple between her teeth. She bit down gently, then harder, while all the time her tongue flickered over the erect flesh. Moretta moaned, arching her back and fighting the delicious urge to take back control. But she was enjoying the attention too much to interrupt it.

Then Isobel moved lower, all the time looking into Moretta's eyes as she tasted the woman's skin: the crevice beneath her breasts, her belly, the soft skin below the navel, the gentle, shadowed curve of her hip. Her hand scouted the path ahead, pressing itself into the damp curls between the vampire's legs. Isobel was surprised at the warmth she found here and she pressed into the wet heat of the vampire's sex. When her fingers emerged, glistening in the night air, she brought them to her lips to taste.

When Moretta felt the woman's fingers enter her, for a moment she felt as if she would lose control. It is said that you never truly remember pain; the same could be said of pleasure. She had forgotten that something could feel so good. How could she have denied herself for all those years? When Isobel removed her finger Moretta almost commanded her to replace it; but then the young woman lowered her head, and for a moment the vampire felt the mortal's breath against the lips of her sex, and then her tongue, and at once the world was swept away as Moretta gave into an ecstasy so powerful it was almost frightening.

Isobel took her time, tasting and teasing the vampire with slow circular sweeps of her tongue, listening to the heightened rhythm of Moretta's breathing. Isobel matched her movements to the woman's sighs, building up pressure only to reduce it when she sensed the vampire was getting close. She did not want this to end too suddenly.

Eventually neither woman could hold back and, as if caught together in a fast flowing river, they threw away restraint. Moretta held Isobel's head in place and pressed and rubbed against her mouth. As her passion built so too did her hunger. Her upper and lower fangs had extended an inch long, and her eyes burned a deep red. As Isobel gazed up from between her thighs, Moretta appeared more demon than human. Isobel pushed harder, quickening the pace. The orgasm built, peaked and overwhelmed her as the vampire came hard against the woman's mouth. Her body spasmed on the ground as she gave in to it, a cry of sheer pleasure that changed to laughter when Isobel continued to use her tongue on her overly sensitive clit after the main peak of pleasure had passed.

Moretta sank back into the grass, for the moment, spent. But Isobel was not finished, her own desire unsated. Crawling up Moretta's body Isobel positioned herself so that she knelt with one leg either side of the vampire's head. Moretta's teeth gleamed sharply white in the darkness but Isobel felt nothing but trust as the vampire raised her head to seek out the parting between Isobel's legs.

Very soon Isobel was breathing heavily as she felt the pressure of the dark woman's mouth and tongue against her body . Leaning back on her hands, her breasts raised to the stars as the pleasure built and built. Moretta's hands clawed the young woman's back, her nails leaving deep scratches that, if anything, drove Isobel higher and further in her passion. Then, it was Isobel's turn to shudder and scream out her ecstasy into the starlight night.

Afterwards, while they were both recovering, Isobel began to shiver with the cold. Sitting up, Moretta spread her wings around the young woman, keeping her warm as they held each other without speaking. Out, over the sea, Isobel could see a dull paler colouring in the sky that signified the night was almost at an end. She broke the silence first:

"What happens now?" she whispered. Moretta kissed her cheek:

"That is up to you. My life is yours, if you wish to share it."

"You know I do," tears were threatening to well up in Isobel's eyes and she tried to cover up her emotion with a joke: "After all, who would turn down an opportunity to live forever."

Moretta did not smile, her face was grave, and serious: "I cannot offer you that, " she said, "no one can." She ran her pale fingers through Isobel's hair. "No life is without dangers, without risks, least of all mine. There are many ways that my kind can die. There is only one promise I can make, and keep: If you die, I die."

Isobel gazed into the vampires eyes and the tears finally came. The two women kissed. "Will I grow wings?" Isobel asked. This, at least, brought a laugh from Moretta:

"I'm afraid not. I was not made by another vampire. I am one of the first, the last of the first."

"I want to know everything about you." whispered Isobel

"Well then, your choice is clear, for it would take longer than a mortal's life span to hear it." This time Isobel laughed, then she asked the question she had been most afraid of asking.

"How?"

"It is very simple. You feed on my blood," a kiss, feather light, on Isobel's lips, "and then I take your mortal life."

"I'm scared." Isobel shivered, this time it was not due to the cold.

"You should be," whispered Moretta, "It is not something to do lightly."

"That woman you spoke of. What happened to her."

"She was not like you, she was not a hunter."

"So, what did you do?"

Moretta's face was grave: "She refused to take my blood, so I took hers."

Isobel opened her mouth to ask another question but Moretta hushed her: "The dawn will be here soon. You must choose."

"We both know that there is no choice to make."

Moretta nodded. Extending the fingernail on her index finger she raised it to her throat. Isobel, on an impulse, stayed her hand. Moretta looked at her questioningly:

"Have you changed your..."This time it was Isobel's turn to silence the other woman, by placing her hand over the woman's mouth. She knew how she wanted this to go. It took a moment for Moretta to understand what was going to happen, but as she felt her own head tilted to one side by this audacious mortal she had a flash of nervous excitement. another emotion she had thought she had left far behind her.

Isobel bent forward and placed her mouth on the dark woman's neck. Opening her mouth she bit down hard, the skin resisted and Moretta groaned in pain although she did not resist. She rested one hand on the back of Isobel's neck, signalling her consent. Then Isobel's finally teeth broke the surface and her mouth filled with warm, salty blood. the flavour was unlike anything she had ever tasted and she swallowed it down. Moretta held the woman tightly and gazed up at the strewn sky with glistening eyes. She could feel herself weakening and she wondered if this was how her countless victims had felt whilst receiving her kiss. She hoped so.

Eventually she did need to lift Isobel's head and she kissed the woman's bloody mouth. This pushed her over the edge and her hunger could no longer be denied. She had held her darker needs at bay for too long, it was time to release them.

Isobel could tell the point had been reached, and was about to signal her consent when she was thrown violently backwards, hitting the grass with an impact that drove the breath from her body. When her vision cleared she look up to see a vision of terrible beauty. Moretta's wings stretched out behind her seeming to fill the sky. Her face was inhuman, terrifying and irresistible as an avalanche. Realizing the time had come, and fighting her own rising fear, Isobel nodded her assent and pressed her head back into the grass, exposing her throat. With a hiss Moretta, all restraint gone, threw herself down onto the young woman, tearing into her throat.

There was a flash of pain, more powerful than anything Isobel had known before, and her hands tore helplessly at the grass as the woman fed. She tried to find the breath to cry out, to beg for mercy, but then the pain subsided and a wave of ecstasy flooded through her entire body. She clung on to the vampire as she felt buoyed up by the feelings of pleasure and she sensed her strength leaving her.

Breaking away from Isobel's neck to gasp for breath Moretta took a moment to gaze at this woman beneath her, pale and beautiful in the cold predawn light. Moretta's hunger was far from sated and she bent to sink her teeth into Isobel's breast. This time the pain subsided far more quickly and Isobel was left breathless by the pleasure coursing through her veins. Gasping with the sheer power of it she clung on to Moretta even as she felt herself weakening. She moaned as an orgasm washed over her, her eyes open to the fading stars. As the last star faded from the brightening sky, her hands fell from the vampire's shoulders and fell to the ground. Still the vampire fed.