Daughters of the Moon Pt. 12

"Ah, of course. Perhaps another time."

"Perhaps."

And without another word they passed the sentries.

"I'm glad that worked," said Gwen

"You didn't know that would work?"

"I mean I figured it would. I could have knocked them out if it didn't."

They were quiet for a few minutes as they traveled east. Gwen easily kept up with the trotting horse. Gwen ran a hand through her hair nervously, and found a knot and pulled at it, then she sighed.

"God I really wish I had gotten a haircut before I got turned, I've been stuck with this hair for a century."

"That's what youre upset about?"

"What should I be upset about, what will happen to me for staking the heir to house Dracul in the back and stealing his prize thrall?"

Gwen laughed, "God, I'm so dead. My only hope is Adrian is so embarrassed I got the drop on him he doesn't say anything, which actually seems like a real possibility."

"Come back with me."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure they'd love me back at your home."

"I'll tell them what you did. I'll explain."

Gwen shook her head, "it wouldn't work out. And I have responsibilities. I have a childe that needs me. Fuck, this was so stupid.."

"Why did you do it? I can never repay you, but why would you risk this for me?"

Gwen was silent for a minute. "Partly I just couldn't stand his smirking fucking face for one second longer. God, what an asshole."

Siobhan had to smile at that.

"But mostly... when I was turned, my sire... Mara... she tried to do to me what Adrian was talking about. She turned me by force and then she tried to mold me into what she wanted me to be. When she... she died there wasn't a lot of me left. It took me years to find myself again. And then Sophia... she forced me to turn my childe."

"That's horrible."

"I know. There were reasons. And we've mostly moved past it, but it was hard. It was very hard for a while. There were days I thought I was going to lose her. I swore I would never let that happen again."

"And you care about me that much? After one day? One hour?"

Gwen was quiet for a few moments.

"I feel like I've known you a lot longer than that. You're not Mara, but you are like her. You're like her without all the bad stuff. You're what I wished she had been. I won't let grandma destroy that."

Siobhan couldn't decide if she should curse the gods for tangling them in this web or if she should admire the cruel artistry of it, "Thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

Gwen looked up at her, "It's so weird to hear you say that. Mara never thanked me for anything."

"I'm not her but if Adrian's right. If we really do share a soul as well as a body, I want you to know that someone who shares your mother's soul is very proud of you."

Gwen looked away and wiped her eyes. Siobhan saw blood on her hand. "Goddammit. Fuck."

After a few more minutes Gwen stopped. Siobhan reigned in the horse.

"This is as far as I can go. I know your army's east of here, just keep going and I'm sure you'll find them."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

Gwen shook her head, "I wish I could. I wish..."

Wind roared around them like a hurricane. Whipping Siobhan's hair over her head. She had to duck down as her eyes watered. She heard Gwen shout as she was hurled away. When Siobhan could see again Gwen was twenty feet away. Her sword out and her teeth bared in a snarl, looking around wildly.

There was a flash and a crack of thunder. Terribly loud. Siobhan's horse reared and she was thrown from the saddle. She covered the back of her head instinctively, as she learned during her training, and the breath whuffed out of her as she hit the ground. She rolled to her feet instantly, pulling out the dagger. When she looked up Gwen she was slowly getting to her feet. Her shirt was partially burned away and the skin underneath was charred. She flexed her shoulder and held her sword up.

Lightning came down from the sky again, striking Gwen and blasting her off her feet. There was another crack of thunder, so loud Siobhan was partially deafened, her ears full of ringing.

Then Adrian floated to the ground directly in front of Siobhan. She lunged at him with the dagger and plunged it into his chest. He looked down at it and sighed, then looked back at her.

"Don't move. Don't speak."

Once again she was gripped, paralyzed and helpless in front of him. Adrian pulled the dagger out, there was no blood on it, and stuck it in his belt. Then he turned to Gwen, dismissing Siobhan entirely

Gwen was getting to her feet again, her sword up.

"I doubt you have enough left for your little trick. Certainly not enough to be faster than lightning," said Adrian.

Gwen lowered her sword, "Please Adrian, just let her go. I'm begging you. I'll do anything. You can bind me fully. I don't care. The only childe of Mara is yours. Just let her go."

Adrian shook his head, "Even when I plan on exploiting it, I forget how deep your blood's curse can go. You've known this girl all of an hour and you burned your whole life down for her. But you're lucky I'm in a merciful mood. Other than this little hiccup things couldn't be better for me. No one knows what happened so I'm willing to just let this minor insult slide. However, do keep in mind I can bring this matter to your grandsire's attention at any time, and a full binding is a completely reasonable demand for remuneration. So your offer of trade is worthless. You are now mine any time I wish it. You're a little plump for my tastes but I'm sure we could get creative."

"You bastard. You fucking bastard."

"Harsh words when I'm being so generous. I'll even give you a little treat before we go back to camp. Sheathe your sword and come here."

Adrian turned toward Siobhan, eyeing her up and down, "I suppose I should have known. The tie between sire and childe is deep. Perhaps it exists beyond death. Another interesting question for later. And I myself find you very... compelling. It will be hard to give you up."

Adrian took the dagger from his chest and slowly cut her shirt away. Siobhan glared pure murder at him. Her hatred was an endless burning fire in her head and chest. But she could only glare and rage silently as he pushed her shirt off her shoulders to the ground. Another small slice and her bra joined it.

"Now, where were we? Oh, you may cry out if you wish. I always enjoyed Mara's noises."

He leaned forward and put his lips on her neck. Siobhan started breathing rapidly in a panic. Bracing herself for terrible pain.

Adrian bit down and she gasped as her neck lit up like a bonfire. She thought back to Lucy, in the forest after the trial, before this nightmare started, and the pleasure she felt as her love used her tongue on her. Lucy's fingers inside her and her lips on her breast. She hated herself for thinking of it, for letting the ecstasy of the bite make her think of the touch of her love but she couldn't help it. It was the only thing that compared the pleasure the bite gave her. She tilted her head back and moaned as the waves of tension radiated from her neck. Stiffening her nipples and sending pins and needles across her skin. She breathed in and out slowly, losing herself in the rapture of Adrian's lips on her neck. She knew he was drawing the life from her with every pull, but it felt so glorious she didn't care. After a few moments he licked her neck gently and pulled away. She reeled, trying to get her bearings as the bite faded from her neck.

She finally focused back on Adrian. He was staring at her, looking incredibly pleased.

"Exquisite. Everything I hoped it would be."

He turned and Siobhan followed his movement to see Gwen was next to them. Her mouth was slightly open and her fangs were out.

"You must be hungry, Gwen. You used your speed and healed those burns."

"No..."

"She's delicious. You can feel her strength in every drop."

"Goddammit, no. I won't."

"You have to have wondered what she'd taste like. You'll be the only vampire to taste her own sire as a human. Quite an achievement if you ask me."

Gwen's mouth opened wider and she was drooling. Her fangs were shining in the moonlight. Adrian tilted Siobhan's head back and offered her neck to Gwen

Gwen looked at Siobhan. The green of her eyes were almost gone, her pupils were enormous, "I... oh no..."

Then Gwen sank her fangs in Siobhan's neck at the same time Adrian bit her breast. Siobhan moaned as her entire upper body was lit aflame. They drank her together, each pull at her breast and neck pulsed with the electric thrill of her clit approaching climax. She felt the blood flow out of her and into Gwen and Adrian. All that she was was theirs and she couldn't care. The pleasure was too much. After a lifetime of denial she couldn't resist the joy their hungry mouths brought her. Her legs trembled and gave out and Gwen put a hand on her back, Adrian across her shoulders, as they lowered her to the ground and kept feeding. She felt herself grow vague and tired, her eyes closed and she made a small close mouthed moan as her body grew heavy, until the feel on their lips on her skin were the last two points of warmth in a cold, numbing sea of night.

...

Siobhan awoke slowly this time, gradually coming back to consciousness. She felt a horrible sense of deja vu as she took in Adrain's tent. The same banners and trophies were there as before, except now she knew she was one of them. She remembered a story of a man who had wronged the gods and was forced to relive the day of his death endlessly. She wondered if she was facing a similar torment.

There were some differences this time though. She looked down at herself and she was no longer in the remains of her uniform. She was in a white dress of well woven cotton. Though it was too simple to be a wedding dress it had that look to it, and Siobhan chilled at the implication. Siobhan looked around the room again and froze. The jade dagger was back in its sheath. Slowly, she walked up to it and pulled it out. She hadn't really looked at it before. It was beautiful work, with an ornate jade hilt carved in the likeness of some fantastic doglike beast and the blade was made of fine steel with waves somehow forged into the metal. The hilt was too elaborate for it to be practical, but the steel was good and the blade was sharp.

Siobhan brought it to her throat.

Siobhan took a deep breath and let it out. Part of her had known the moment on the battlefield when Adrian had locked eyes with her was really her last. That all of this was just an epilogue, an interlude before her death. But at least she could meet it on her own terms. She stayed there, frozen, trying to end it. But she was unable to move her hand. After a minute, she realized it wasn't that she had lost her nerve, it felt different than that. It felt like...

Like when Adrian had frozen her in place with his eyes. He had done something to her while she was unconscious. He had known she might try this and had bound her hands. He had left the dagger there to mock her.

She stared down at it a moment, feeling lost all over again. Every choice, even the terrible ones, had been taken from her.

She looked around until she found a belt. There was a notch on the jade sheathe for it to be looped through. She lifted her pretty white skirt and strapped the knife to her thigh. If she couldn't use it on herself she could at least plunge it into Sophia's chest before she was taken. She vowed to the crow mother then and there she would fight until the last drop of blood left her body, and beyond if necessary.

Siobhan waited patiently, praying to the crow mother for the strength to spite her enemies. She found herself strangely calm. She knew she should have feared her death and what Sophia would do to her before that, but the fact she had been given the chance of one last act of defiance gave her some measure of comfort. She tried not to think of Lucy, of the life they had imagined that was now gone. She would have to be satisfied with what she could take.

After a while the tent flap was pushed back and Adrian entered. "Hello again. I hope you've gotten all the foolishness out of your system and are ready to cooperate."

Siobhan didn't say anything. She just glared pure hatred at him.

"I'll take that as a yes. It's time for you to be presented to Sophia. Follow me."

Siobhan stood. She didn't try to fight the compulsion Adrian laid on her so casually. She knew this was the path the crow mother had chosen for her and she was ready to see it to the end.

They walked through the camp, everyone getting out of their way, she didn't get the impression Adrian was using his power, it was the sheer force of his presence and reputation that made everyone clear a path.

Adrian glanced at her as they walked, "You seem in a better mood, starting to come around to the exciting new life you're about to be offered?"

"I'm taking solace that my death was for a good cause. That my people are safe."

Adrian laughed, "Safe? Who told you that?"

"Gwen. She... she said we won."

"Oh you definitely won. It was a masterful performance. I'm hoping I'll have a chance to discuss strategy with your league advisor before I devour him. If this was one of the previous invasions this loss may well have broken us, but things have changed. Have you ever heard the expression 'they won the battle but lost the war?'"

"If you return we'll defeat you again just like we did the first time. My people will never break."

"Bold words but that's not how war works. Courage helps but numbers and resources always win out. You destroyed about seven thousand of our troops and killed twenty seven full blooded vampires, with twice that number forced into Languor. That is a big loss for sure. But we retreated in good order and inflicted casualties of our own. You lost maybe two thousand, including all of your precious snipers, and we captured a few hundred more. Right now everyone we captured is being bound, drained, or turned into revenants and half bloods. The dead left on the battlefield will be made into larvae, or zombies if you want to use the vulgar term. So you had an advantage in attrition but your army is smaller and you can't replace troops as quickly as we can. Soon we'll send foraging parties out into the countryside. We'll restock our larders with food and blood and take more of your people to turn into revenants and larvae.

Now, the full blooded vampires are a true loss that can't be recovered easily. We lost a lot of valuable magic and experience. But most of the blooded that died were younger. The older vampires have been forced into Languor but will be back up in a few weeks. You're just one of several of the Daughters of Morgen that we captured. All of the house primaries have decreed your captured sisters be turned fully. The best of your people will return our strength."

"I don't want to hear this."

"The other houses are shaken. This is their first war and they've never experienced a loss like this. They're scared and they want to retreat and regroup. But they don't understand war like the Dracul. We've been doing this for centuries. Another saying you may have heard is 'wars are won with logistics,' and thanks to the blood preservation device I invented, the logistics of the dead are now superior in every way to the logistics of the living. As long as the blood flows we can never lose. And the blood of your people is rich indeed."

"Shut up!"

Adrian laughed softly, "I know this seems dreadful to you right now, but tomorrow you'll be one of us, and in a week or two you'll acclimate to your new existence. By the time we face your people in battle again we'll fight side by side and we'll celebrate our victory together, just as we did a century ago."

"Never. I will never help you conquer my people."

"I've heard many others make similar promises, but the power and pleasure the blood offers always brings them around quickly. Ah, here we are."

Siobhan looked up dully, numb from Adrian's matter of fact description of her people's fate. Of her fate. The tent in front of her was large enough to fit a hundred people inside. It had four banners repeating on the sides, a dragon, a crescent moon, a wolf, and a mill wheel. Two guards stood out front in elaborate dark red armor.

"Time to meet your maker. Don't speak unless spoken to and be respectful. I don't want a scene," said Adrian. He said it casually but she felt the chains of his command settling over her.

"Wait here until I call for you."

Then he approached the tent flaps and the two guards pulled them back for him.

A master of ceremonies announced him, "Count Adrian Lisette Gresit Dracul."

She waited for a few minutes; she heard the faint sounds of discussion inside between Adrian and a woman she assumed was Sophia. but couldn't make out what was being said. She got the impression from the tone of the voices Sophia was slightly annoyed.

After a few minutes she heard Adrian's raised voice. "Come in now."

His voice didn't have the chains of compulsion in them but she entered anyway. She knew her fate had drawn her here and there was no escape.

The inside of the tent was dimly lit. With the banners of the vampire houses and tapestries of past battles decorating the walls. There were twenty or thirty vampires clustered in small groups around the tent, some in lord's finery and some in simple work clothes. They all stared at her with polite interest and confusion, unsure why Adrian had made such a big deal of her entrance.

On a small dais at the other end of the tent was a vampire seated on a small, elaborately carved wooden chair who must have been Sophia. She was tall and elegant in a simple but fine green dress. She too shared the court's confusion until she took in Siobhan's face. Then she stood, eyes wide with shock. She actually put a hand to her chest, to hold a heart that no longer beat.

"What is this?"

"I told you. It is a gift for you."

"This is some sort of trick."

"If it is, it's the gods' trick, not mine. She is a recurrence. I have confirmed it as well as I'm able to. She is a perfect replica of your lost childe. Identical in every way. She has similar mannerisms which implies even her soul is identical to Mara's. I've told you of recurrences. My own sire is one, if you remember."

"Yes... yes I remember. But I didn't understand."

"Yes it's hard to really comprehend it until you face it yourself. She was one of the snipers that caused us so much trouble. One of their finest warriors. I'd expect no less from Mara's doppelgänger."

Sophia looked to be a woman of infinite poise but that poise was shattered now. She had covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes were rimmed with red.

"This cannot be. This is impossible."

Adrian turned to her, "Tell Sophia what you did when you first saw me."

"I shot him in the chest and tried to drive a dagger into his heart."

Sophia ran a hand through her hair and grabbed it, ruining her careful styling, "She sounds just like her. Oh gods."

Then she cleared her throat, visibly gathering herself, trying to recover her detachment, "And you're just giving her to me."

Adrian looked and sounded grave, "We are hard people and we play dangerous games, but I know what Mara meant to you. I could not keep her for myself in good conscience."

"Grandsire.... Grandma."

Everyone in the tent turned and looked at Gwen.

"I know she looks like her and it sounds like her. I know it better than anyone other than you. But that's not Mara. She died a long time ago. That girl is Siobhan. She's a good person and you shouldn't force her to be what you want. You've done it before and you always regret it."

There was an uncomfortable pause and a few of the vampires laughed quietly.

Adrian smiled indulgently, "She was captured during battle and by the rules of war for the living and the dead I may do with her as I wish, and what I wish is to return my friend's great love to her."