Fear Pt. 02

CHAPTER ONE

John took in Gregory's words, they were equally terrifying as they were comforting. He resigned himself to the knowledge that while he still had his love, he was not a monster, so he stood, and closed the door. Gregory led him downstairs, into the war room, where he found everyone watching him with different amounts of respect, awe and even fear. But they weren't his concern, his was the one look of pure love, coming from the beaming smile of his Queen. She was standing in the centre of the room, so he approached, wrapping his arms around her. Taking in the very essence of her scent, he tried desperately to remember every detail from the silkiness of her hair, to the smoothness of her skin and finally the taste of her lips. He wasn't quite sure who melted into whom, but when they finally separated, he felt like a new man.

"John, the others have had a discussion, and I would like your input," Brittany said softly, "You need to heal, and Maree isn't getting better either-"

"There's no store of blood here is there?" John grumbled.

"No John, this wasn't a planned visit," Janet sighed, "Council headquarters were designed to be impenetrable in normal circumstances, we never suspected an all out attack, this facility here is Maree's personal bunker."

John sighed, "Let me feed Maree, then let me be with my Queen."

Brittany smiled, nodding sadly, she knew John would understand. Maree had been injured saving Brittany, something even John had failed at that point... He owed her everything, and this was the least he could do. Brittany lead John over the medical wing, where Maree was sitting propped up on a bed. John's assessment was that she was unconscious, but the moment they walked in, Maree turned her head towards them.

"Thank you... John." she gasped.

"No Maree, thank you," John walked up to her and took her hand, "I've been told you aren't healing."

Maree grimaced, somewhere between a smile and a scowl, "there's no blood here... I can't... Regenerate... I have no... Regrets."

"Maree, I would like you to take my blood."

Maree looked momentarily stunned, before scowling. "No... You belong to the Queen-"

"The Queen who watched you sacrifice your life for hers, the Queen who gives her blessing to feed on my beloved, the Queen who wishes for your continued loyalty," Brittany choked on her words.

Maree lay there for a moment, clearly lost in thought, "I... " Maree coughed up a wad of blood, clutching her chest, "I will honour you... Forever."

John turned back to Brittany, seeing her slight nod, John sat himself on the edge of the bed, beckoning over Brittany. He gently bent over Maree, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he sat her up, cradling her gently. He manipulated her so her head rested against his neck. He couldn't help flinching, feeling her fangs touch his skin and she tried to pull away slightly. John just held her firm, reaching out for Brittany's hand. Maree got the message, this time she quickly found the spot, and bit down, causing John to groan. This time feeding was different, there wasn't a rush of pleasure, no emotional attachment, he found it comforting that he felt no desire, but the act itself was devoid of any real discomfort.

A few minuted later Maree detached herself, John helped her to lie down, watching her drift off to sleep, a content smile on her face. Standing quietly he faced Brittany, who quickly leaned forwards and licked the wet blood from his neck, that made him moan, for a different reason.

"It's your turn to feed," Brittany whispered into his ear.

Brittany lead John back to their private quarters, just two rooms, one with a bed, and the other with a large shower. Brittany had already made arrangements, and soon Grace knocked on the door. John decided to remain silent, but he could see her expression. Losing her friend obviously hurt her deeply... Ten minutes later, Grace handed John a blood bag and left without another word.

"You need to drink that, John." Brittany said softly, wiping away the small trickle of blood that wept from the puncture mark on her arm.

"Will she be OK?" John asked, ignoring her comment.

"... I don't know... But I need you well enough to do your duties, please drink."

John felt that familiar pressure in his head, and with a sigh, he punctured the corner of the bag with a pen. Taking a small gulp, his initial reaction was of distaste. Warm and coppery, it didn't go down easy, but under Brittany's insistence, he slowly worked his way through the bag. It was almost gone when John realised he was feeling different, he felt warm, energised, powerful. He quickly sucked down the last of the blood, now he felt hot... Too hot, his shoulder wound panged uncomfortably, and his skin began to crawl. Brittany could see something now, her concerned expression lead to words, words that John couldn't hear. Emotions rushed through him, happiness, fear, anger, loneliness, anxiety all flooded him at once.

Ripping his sword from its scabbard, John ignored Brittany's terrified expression, before he tossed the blade lightly to the floor at her feet.

"Get... Help..."

Brittany picked up his blade and rushed from the room, John lost his short term memory at this point, the rush of emotions sending him spiralling into psychosis, hearing noises that didn't exist, voices that didn't make sense, visions that flashed and faded. The feeling of a hand gripping his shoulder caused him to lash out. Grabbing the hand, he ripped it free, pulling it over his body, he felt someone tumble over him onto the floor, before realising in panic he was staring at a vampire. John lost control, spinning, he ran for the door, straight into the open arms of Brittany, she was vaguely familiar, but she too was a vampire, snapping his arm back to punch her, pain exploded behind his eyes, he fell to the floor, screaming, clutching his head, gentle hands quickly took his head, stroking his hair. The pain subsided enough he opened his eyes, he found himself face to face with that vaguely familiar vampire. Tearing himself free from her arms, he scrambled to his feet, turning about, his last sight was a long silver rod coming into view.

This was a familiar sensation... Even without opening his eyes, John knew he was in a hospital bed. He also knew the cool body wrapped around him was Brittany. What he didn't know, was why he seemed to be strapped down.

"What's going on?" he asked softly. Immediately feeling bad as he felt Brittany flinch.

"You're awake?"

John frowned... He didn't like that her words were phrased like a question. "Did something happen?" John said softly, opening his eyes, he turned and looked at Brittany... He couldn't rationalise how beautiful she truly was.

"Oh thank god..." Brittany sighed, burying her head into the crook of John's shoulder.

It took a moment for John to realise she was crying. "Brittany... Please tell me what happened?"

"You had a reaction... Grace thinks it's part of the change." She lifted her head, staring into his eyes for a moment. "You had some kind of psychotic break... Forgot who you were... You tried to punch me."

John stiffened at her words, "did I hurt you?"

"No... The compulsion must have stopped you..." Brittany started fiddling with his manacles. "Gregory knocked you out, and we brought you here."

John sat still while Brittany leaned over him to release his other hand. When he had both free, he pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry."

Brittany melted into his arms, she was so relieved he was back to normal. She didn't know what to do if he didn't come back to her. John was just happy that she wasn't frightened of him. Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he was about to apologise again when the door opened.

"Damn it Brittany, you should have told someone he was awake." Grace growled.

"I wanted him to myself for a bit," Brittany replied without sitting up, keeping herself pressed as closely to John as she could.

"What if he were still dangerous? You've undone his manacles, he could have hurt you!"

"He couldn't hurt me when he didn't know me, he wasn't about to hurt me now." Brittany pulled her arms tighter around John.

"Do you know what happened to me?" John asked, trying to placate both women.

Grace gave a half shrug, "We think it's part of the changes you'll go through. We have a working theory that your body adapted to Brittany's blood last time she fed you. When she gave it to you this time, you had a sort of 'overdose' that spiralled out of control after your body healed up."

"Healed up? I thought it would still take some time?"

Grace smiled, "check for yourself, you've only been unconscious since yesterday."

John slipped the top of his shirt down. Right where he was expecting to see a partially healed stab wound, was bare flesh... Not even a scar.

"Well that's new..." John sighed.

"Give me a hand Grace," Brittany called softly, moving to unshackle John's legs.

A minute later, John was walking with Brittany back to their room. John was very aware of the eyes that followed him everywhere. He couldn't be sure that he wasn't being watched as a threat to Brittany... Not that he could expect much after his episode... Brittany quickly led him into the bathroom. There wasn't a permanently heated waterfall and pool, but the oversized bath looked just as welcoming. Even more so as he watched Brittany slip out of her clothing and climb in. It took John only a moment to slip out of his own clothes. Slipping into the bath himself was glorious, the hot water washing away the ache in his neck from the hospital pillows. The gorgeous woman wrapping herself around him, washing away the knowledge that everything had gone to shit. The soft lips pressing against his own, washing away the regret for his actions.

"I love you," she whispered.

John pulled her in tight against himself. "I love you too."

They were left alone for the remainder of the day. Only interrupted with having meals delivered, and a quick update on Maree, letting them know she had been released from medical.

There wasn't a lot of sleep that evening. Brittany could sense John's discomfort in the darkness. She knew he wasn't good at sitting still for long, he was a 'doing' man after all. It was a good thing that the changes made to her, made her very good at 'doing' as well.

John frowned in the dark, as Brittany slowly extracted herself from his arms. Before he could say a word however, she placed a finger over his lips. That didn't stop the low moan as he felt her own lips press around the head of his cock. He tried to speak again, only for Brittany's entire hand to replace her finger, covering his mouth. She wanted this to be about him... To settle his nerves... To show him that he needn't fear that she felt differently after his episode. The only problem she hadn't rectified, is while she was a fabulous distraction... John still wasn't 'doing' anything. Quickly reaching out, he grasped Brittany by the ankle and in a flash, pulled her lower half over his head.

Brittany tried to move away, adamant that she was to act selflessly for the time being. But John's arms wrapped around her waist, allowing his hands to grip her ass. It was Brittany's turn to be kept speechless as she felt his tongue probe and swirl around her entrance. She was already aroused and ready, and the feeling of his tongue slipping inside her was divine. She had to concentrate just long enough to take John's cock in her mouth again. Not to be outdone, John slipped lower, running his tongue over Brittany's clitoris. He felt he shudder, a split second before she moaned, sending vibrations over his cock. Spurred on by her reaction, John sucked her clitoris into his mouth. Keeping up the pressure, he rolled his tongue over the sensitive nub. Brittany lost all semblance of control at this point. She couldn't coordinate her tongue the way she wanted, so she leaned down, determined to take as much length as she could.

John's first clue for Brittany's orgasm was a sudden rush was a warm fluid seeping out of her. The second was the subtle contractions he could see clearly from this angle. The third was the overwhelming feeling of his cock being forced to the hilt, down Brittany's throat. That, coupled with her muffled squeals, brought him over the edge. He was surprised when Brittany didn't let up for a second, choosing instead to moan between swallowing, milking him dry. John, not to be outdone, released her clitoris, lapping away at the fluids, he reached around, running his fingers around her sensitive nub, milking her pleasure the same way she milked his.

Finally, Brittany decided that she couldn't take any more. Throwing her leg back over, she pulled herself into the fetal position, trying to control her breathing while her body still twitched. John gently, turned her around, pulling her back up into his arms. There was no need for words now, and they both soon fell asleep.

Gentle knocking woke John with a start. His immediate reaction was to jump out of bed, but Brittany's cool form wrapped around him prevented his immediate impulse. Slowly extracting himself from her arms, he smiled at her deathly gaze as he disturbed her. Pulling on a pair of pants, he double checked Brittany was covered, before heading over to the door. Only now did it occur to him, that he didn't have his sword... With a sigh, he admitted to himself that if an assassin got this far, they wouldn't be knocking, and opened the door.

Janet stood in the doorway with a smile and two mugs of coffee. "Good morning John, is Brittany awake?"

"I'll be out in a moment, Janet," Brittany called from the bedroom.

John just smiled, offering Janet a seat. "What can we do for you Janet?"

"Please, I'd rather wait for Brittany to be present before we start talking. She needs to know what's going on as much as you do." Janet spoke in a firm, but not unkind tone.

John was not one for small talk. So the few minutes it took for Brittany to get dressed felt like they dragged. He however was not disappointed as he watched the gorgeous creature walk out before him, wearing a flowing gown. He couldn't be sure, but he suspected that Janet would have agreed with him. Janet hid her appreciation of Brittany by offering her a mug of coffee.

"Thank you Janet," Brittany sighed, taking her cup.

John seemed to snap back to reality as Brittany took her seat. "So what's going on then?"

"The Australian council is under attack," Janet said softly. "We don't know who is still loyal, we don't know how many are actively working against us and we don't know how long until reinforcements will arrive."

"Where are the reinforcements?" Brittany asked.

"Brunhilde has sent for her dragoons, it's a twenty-two hour flight... But that's after she musters them..."

John shifted uncomfortably, "how long can we realistically expect help to take?"

Janet glanced down slightly, "Three days... We have laws against massing armies. Everyone's forces are scattered except for personal escorts. The largest force in Melbourne currently are the Clanless. I can't trust my own forces until they are dealt with... Well, except Gregory."

"So why is this a problem, if nobody knows where we are?" John flinched, not wanting to know the answer.

"A guard was murdered last night." Janet looked crestfallen, "we have a traitor in our midst, our location isn't secure."

Brittany reached out and took John's hand, "I never wanted this..."

John's heart broke seeing Brittany's expression. She was right... After everything that happened, both of them just wanted to be left alone... The urge to go back to John's apartment and live quiet lives was their driving force... And now they were being driven to fight for something they didn't know existed... All because a madman labelled them a threat... It's not fair... Not again... I won't lose someone else I love...

"I suppose I'll need my sword then," John said firmly, "I need to protect my Queen."

"Gregory!" Janet called, a moment later the door opened.

"It's good to have you back, John." Gregory bowed, offering John back his sword.

John thanked him as Gregory left, and John quickly stood, moving to get dressed. Walking back out to Brittany and Janet, John was wearing what he would describe as his battle regalia. Military style leather jacket, half cape and cargo pants. What completed his setup was the scabbard he was now attaching to his hip.

"What time is it?" Asked John.

Janet looked uncertain for a moment, "about seven at night, why?"

"Are there safe houses in the city? Small ones, for just a few people?"

"Dozens... Why?"

John just smiled.

CHAPTER TWO.

Janet stormed into the meeting room. She had called an emergency meeting to discuss John's plan. Everyone including the guards were in attendance. John was hoping the traitor might expose themself if everything went to plan. The only two people not in attendance were Maree and Grace, Maree as she was still recovering, Grace because she was attempting to autopsy the dead guards remains and couldn't be disturbed.

Taking her seat, she held up her hand, belaying any questions. "John asked for this meeting, we need to wait for him."

The room fell silent... Everyone had it in the back of their minds. They had again failed in securing the Queen... Was John going to take retribution? Was this an execution?

The door opened behind them. Standing in the doorway was John, a grave expression across his face. Behind him was Brittany, dressed in a hooded cloak, the hood pulled up. It looked like they were preparing to move by daylight.

"You have failed us again." John said quietly, taking in the panicked expressions of everyone in the room. Even Gregory looked nervous. "I cannot afford to continue taking chances with you people."

With that, the pair turned and walked down the hall and out of sight, in the direction of the exit. Gregory was the first to move, rushing to catch up. He made it just outside the door when an explosion rang out. Moments later Gregory stormed back into the meeting room, covered in dust.

"He set off a mine in the corridor, it's collapsed the ceiling." He said, before coughing to clear his lungs. "We can clear it, but it will take time. I need everyone to help, it's not safe out there for them."

Janet watched his agitation increase. She watched his haunted expression roll across his features... This man she could trust... It took a little over half an hour to clear enough rubble to get outside. Only to find that all the vehicles now had a flat tyre.

Janet sprang into action. "Alright everyone, split into small groups. I know we all have bolt holes, so that's where I suggest you go. Take only your people, and don't tell anyone else your location. If one of us is found, you won't be able to betray the location of others."

She watched in grim satisfaction as each council member paired off with their people. She watched as the guards all changed a tyre on each vehicle as their various charges huddled inside. It wasn't long before everyone started leaving. Soon it was just Janet, George, Gregory and two more guards. Grace was however still inside with Maree. Janet doubted they even knew what was happening right now.

"Alright everyone, it looks like it's just us." Janet smiled weakly, "unfortunately, I'm going to have to leave the two of you behind."

Janet watched their expressions. The guard standing on her right looked like he was half way between wanting to vomit, and protest her decision. The other however, she was sure just flinched towards his weapon.

"Gregory..." Janet called softly.

As Gregory turned his attention towards Janet, her suspicions turned true. The guard suddenly pulled a knife and lunged at Gregory. He obviously thought Gregory would be the greatest threat... He didn't take into account that Janet might have a few skills of her own... After all... Learning to fight in the Colosseum as a teenager, gave her a rare set of skills... Skills that had only been sharpened over the millennia. Before the guard knew what was happening, Janet slipped past his guard. Knocking his strike off target, she pulled her own hidden blade from her belt.