Lesbian Vampire Ch. 04 - That Which Haunts You

When Lucy looked at her, confused. Rhea said, "That passive magick you told me about. I felt it on my skin but this time, in my mind..." She paused. The vampire nodded expectantly.

"There were images," Rhea said, with a shake of her head.

"Right," responded Lucy. She parted her lips and looked at Rhea intently.

Rhea shifted in discomfort. "The image looked different than anything my mind creates." The idea of false thoughts felt like an infestation and made her skin crawl. It's fine," Rhea added tensely, "I just am not used to being vulnerable to the magick of others and today it happened twice. The cyclone and now you."

"And I wasn't even trying," Lucy retorted, coy. "Imagine if I put some effort into it." There was a distinct tension to the way the vampire punctuated her words that thrummed through Rhea's midsection.

Lucy said, "So you don't believe it was suicide?" Rhea shook her head 'no.'

"Maybe it was an accident," suggested the vampire. "I've heard some witches have died attempting necromancy."

Rhea was surprised at the vampire's insight. A fatal error might explain the dead witch's passing, if she was unprepared. Death magick was dangerous and unpredictable. It could take your life and those in proximity in an instant. The uninitiated student learned only the most basic elements after they consented to the bind.

"Greta said she didn't study with us," said Rhea. "She would have had to consent to our bind, which only the caster can life. Maybe another necromancy coven somewhere else but not us. But I know it wasn't an accident--a younger student had a vision of the murder. Not the murderer, but the victim."

"How can we know for sure?" asked the vampire.

"Her guides wouldn't have shown her the murder and told her it was a murder, if it wasn't a murder," said Rhea. "We're necromancers. We dedicate our very long lives to understanding the magick of death."

Lucy asked "But what about that little glowy crystal?"

"Now that I don't know," answered Rhea with a sigh.

"Has there been any discord on the island? Conflict, power squabbles? Financial issues, stolen books or materials?" asked Lucy.

"I don't think so," said Rhea. She paused then asked "Do you think a necromancer did this?"

Lucy nodded. "It seems like the most logical answer. Someone is controlling a dearly departed spirit. I only know one order of witchcraft that controls the dead. First hand knowledge, in fact."

Rhea resisted the sting of Lucy's words, but it didn't make them any less true. "Well" she said with deliberation, "I think tomorrow I'll try to call up the mountain coven. Maybe one of her friends knows something." said Rhea.

Then, for a moment, she thought she saw Lucy's eyes flare.

"I've already spoken to them," said Lucy. "The dead witch left the coven awhile ago."

"What?" asked Rhea. She frowned-- the vampire was again holding critical information. "When did you talk to them?"

"Earlier today," answered Lucy. Her voice was even. "I've become... friends. With many of them."

Rhea raised a brow. "Well, did they say anything else?" she asked.

"The person I talked to couldn't really remember her..." said Lucy, and trailed off.

"See, that doesn't make any sense," answered Rhea.

"I think we should visit them. Together," Lucy interjected.

Rhea looked at her, "It's like a 2 hour drive."

Lucy blinked for a few beats and said, "They said they have some of her stuff. A calendar and some documents. Maybe some other things. We'll leave at dusk tomorrow." Rhea paused, deliberating. If they could figure out what was happening around her in the weeks leading up to her death, they might get answers. She felt a flicker of hope.

"Of course then. We'll go," responded Rhea.

"The problem is," said Lucy, ``It's unlikely we'll make it there and back before sunrise. I always have to stay during the day." Lucy added, " They can accommodate both of us."

Rhea resisted the urge to ask Lucy what she did, up in the mountains with all those witches.

"Besides," continued the vampire, "if one of them did kill her, you shouldn't go alone."

Rhea hadn't considered that. "I guess it's still hard to accept a witch as a suspect," she said wistfully.

Lucy sat with one leg curled under her. "Never allow yourself to be surprised at the actions of others, darling. Humans disappoint by design. But wallowing in despair won't help that witch, much less the vampire and his human girlfriend."

Rhea jolted upright and inhaled sharply as realization struck her. "No one tried to talk to either the vampire or the girlfriend," she explained. "We didn't know about them until the full moon ritual. We only tried with the dead witch, and it didn't work."

"Right," said Lucy, then, "why didn't it work again?"

"The link to my guide, Sweetwater, just fades," said Rhea. "Like a fog rolls in and pulls them back into the otherworld."

"And that's...not typical?" Lucy asked.

Rhea shook her head. "It only happens when I ask about the murders. Sweetwater knows worlds beyond human comprehension. It doesn't make sense they can't help me figure out who killed this girl."

"Well, part of me wants to ask you to dip into the ether again, like back at the lab," said Lucy. "But I can't emphasize this enough: you were bleeding from your face."

Lucy was right, thought Rhea-- she probably would have died. And fatigue made her less effective. The sensible thing was rest. But she felt a surge in her chest and knew she couldn't wait. "I can't go back into a full trance," said Rhea, "but I can try with the cards." She reached for her bag nearby and pulled her deck out.

"Oooh, tarot cards," said Lucy in a way that reminded Rhea of friends she had, decades ago by now. During college, when she had just begun to dabble in witchcraft. "When I was human," said Lucy, "I loved the occult and it was a source of great embarrassment for my devout Protestant mother. Even now, the idea of irritating her thrills me."

Rhea found herself too fatigued to bother with keeping her guard up. "I never did tell my mother about witchcraft" she said. "She was Southern Baptist. It was the early 80's and the Satanic Panic was just ramping up. Who knows what she would've thought."

Lucy's eyes lit up, "Oh, wow. Memories," she said. "Back then vampires couldn't get caught feeding if they tried. Humans wanted to blame Satanic cults and Satanic cults alone." Being near Lucy felt like dipping in a bath, warmth slowly seeping into her center. The vampire continued, "For the first time in human history, at least that I'm aware of, the masses blamed a bloodless corpse with puncture holes in the neck on the wrong supernatural element."

It was strange, Rhea thought, that a vampire could make her feel so warm.

Lucy's eyes were like dark water when she looked at Rhea, and Rhea realized she'd been staring. She suppressed a grimace of embarrassment but couldn't look away. The soft light reflected off the vampire's face and long red curls; she was illuminated against a backdrop of darkness behind her. "Sorry darling, I know you're sensitive to human death."

As she gazed at the vampire, that curious mist-magick again skimmed against Rhea's skin. The witch tensed.

"Why are you telling me all this?" asked Rhea. She meant to say it with conviction, but it came off soft and full of wonder.

Lucy tilted her head as she looked into Rhea's eyes. "Why not?" asked Lucy.

"Vampires are supposed to be secretive," said Rhea, barely above a whisper.

"Well," said Lucy, "one must have methods of coping with eternity."

Rhea nodded because she didn't know what else to do. She wondered if this was one of the ways the vampire beguiled her victims. With her smile and empty, beautiful words like liquid mercury. Maybe the vampire was lying about the mist-magick, thought Rhea; maybe the vampire could control it. Maybe it was the reason she stared at Lucy's face. And her lips. And her hands.

Rhea closed her eyes. She felt no foreign magick, only yearning that roiled in her lower belly. She shuffled the cards and called out to Sweetwater who was there in an instant. Rhea felt the tell-tale prickle across her scalp and it soothed her like aloe.

"Christ," barked Lucy and she startled back in her seat as soon Sweetwater appeared. Rhea smiled, the tense knot in her shoulder easing. Sweetwater's peaceful presence felt transcendent and, when they occupied Rhea's consciousness, showed her the beautiful things they saw in worlds beyond. She shuffled the cards she whispered-- find the spirits of the murdered vampire and his human girlfriend.

Just as back on the island, Sweetwater's presence dimmed.

Rhea pulled a card. "The Chariot, reversed-- whatever the killer was trying to accomplish didn't work. But the killer learned from the mistake."

Lucy leaned in and peered at the card and asked skeptically "You're getting all that from an upside-down picture?"

"Yes," hissed Rhea, "and quiet."

Lucy sat back and narrowed her eyes at the apparition behind the couch. Rhea pulled the next card, "The Fool, reversed," she said. "The killer was someone they trusted." Despair flared within Rhea-- the link between her and Sweetwater was already scant, fading faster than it had before.

She turned the last card. A soft tingle along the top of her hand was the last whisper of Sweetwater before they faded away into the ether. "The Wheel of Fortune." Rhea paused-- "There's still a chance," she whispered.

Lucy, confused, asked "That's good, right?"

"Yes!" Rhea exclaimed, glee in her voice. She smiled broadly and Lucy mirrored it; the fine lines around the vampire's eyes deepened with delight. "The link still fades and the message is cloudy but I know Sweetwater was trying to tell me that there's still time." The truth of it, Rhea felt deep with her bones.

"Time to do what, exactly?" asked Lucy.

"To stop whatever plan the killer has pushed into motion," responded Rhea.

There was a heavy pause between them. "So, they might kill again?" asked Lucy. She asked the question like the killer had insisted on a second visit to a subpar restaurant, rather than murder. Rhea nodded. Then Lucy asked, "was Sweetwater the sinister hooded figure that appeared out of nowhere and hovered a terrifying 12 inches off the ground?"

Rhea smiled, "Yeah, that's them. Or, at least how you perceive them."

"How do you perceive them?" Lucy asked.

"Sweetwater rarely shows themselves to me anymore," Rhea answered, "But when they do, they appear as a portal that opens into a realm of infinite stars."

"Well, I'm actually not sure if that would be more or less jarring. And you have to talk through the cards? There's no... direct connect?" asked Lucy.

"I use the cards, others don't," replied Rhea. "It's not like it makes a difference. Communicating between the human world and the otherworld isn't straightforward. Everything is different. Our speech, our thoughts, the way our ears perceive sound. The way electricity moves in our brains--these are distinct to humans." She turned towards Lucy, "Or at least human bodies. The dead want to share their secrets, but communicating from spirit realm to material is tricky."

"And the magick the killer used somehow made it harder?" asked Lucy.

Rhea nodded. "Sweetwater practically gets muzzled when I ask about the murders."

"Well, never fear." answered Lucy. "Tomorrow when we go to the mountains outside the city, we'll see what those witches know."

Without thought, Rhea asked "What do you get up to with those witches in the mountains?" She cringed at her own impulse. Lucy placed her elbow on the back of the couch and rested her jaw in her hand. Rhea couldn't stop herself, "I mean, aren't you outnumbered?" She hadn't recalled Lucy sitting so close.

"What could they do to me?" asked Lucy. "They use the magick of the natural world. Creation. Fertility." She spoke in a belabored tone and added a dramatic waggle of her hand to dismiss the notion. She continued, "Only death magick affects vampires." Lucy tilted her face down towards Rhea at her, eyes glinting. They held a mischievous quality, and her lips stretched into an easy smile. Rhea's rib cage felt tight and she struggled to keep her breath even.

"So it would make more sense for them to ask these questions about you," said Lucy-- teasing again, in the gentle way Rhea found she was beginning to accept as inexorable. "They'd want to know why I'd expose myself to someone who could render my body helpless. Should the mood strike," added Lucy and then raised a suggestive brow.

Rhea's eyes opened wide and she inhaled sharply. Before she could open her mouth to respond Lucy added, "I go there because they teach me."

Rhea's chin jerked into her neck with surprise. "Teach you what?" she asked. Lucy responded with a confused tilt of her head.

"Oh, right," Rhea said. "You know witchcraft."

Lucy nodded. "Some. I can't do necromancy but I can do other sorts. It's a little unconventional, obviously, but the mountain witches will have me."

"A vampire, learning witchcraft," said Rhea. She supposed it made perfect sense-- to the witches of the mountain coven libidinous passion was a virtue. Rhea found herself fidgeting.

"There's always been vampires who cultivate their power using magick, darling," responded Lucy. When she smiled her lips formed a sharp red line that angled upward toward her high cheekbones.

"Why?" whispered Rhea.

"To strengthen The Gift," answered Lucy. She spoke as if it were the plainest truth she could imagine. She leaned towards Rhea, her voice low. "The Gift," said Lucy in a contemplative voice, "is complicated. One must keep it satiated with blood, of course, or go mad with hunger. Too much isn't ideal either; if it becomes too strong, you'll go mad with bloodlust." Again Rhea found herself watching Lucy's lips as she spoke; they were narrow in shape but the soft flesh seemed gently swollen.

"But something about witch magick compels it," said Lucy. She looked at Rhea with heavy-lidded eyes, lips parted. Rhea knew she was staring, but she could not look away. The vampire added "Which probably has something to do with why necromancy is so effective in controlling us. The Gift recognizes something essential about itself within your power. It will always be loyal to a witch before a vampire, even if it is the very force that allows me to defy death itself." Her eyes were soft; there was a tender quality to her voice, a reverence for something that could still strike wonder in the scope of eternity.

She sat close to Rhea, so very close. Rhea's heart pounded in her ears.

"Witchcraft allows the Gift to behold itself," said Lucy. "It's thrilling. Like being on the precipice of a cliff. At its root of witch magick lies a wildness who's rhythms are something fierce and free. And unbroken. And so very beautiful."

Rhea, plain as day, leaned in and kissed Lucy.

Lucy stifled a twinge of surprise and opened her mouth to Rhea's.

Desire grew wild within Rhea. She could feel it burning brightly in every cell of her body as their lips rolled against the other; wet and hot, their movements were arrhythmic. Lucy's lips were warm and slightly swollen like Rhea had wondered, watching them as she spoke.

Because she had fed.

Rhea felt Lucy's hand slide to her waist then the tip of her tongue searched past their lips. Something disagreeable flared in the back of Rhea's mind but it slipped away when she slid her hand up the vampire's arm. The cashmere sleeve of Lucy's dress felt soft. Desire again surged within Rhea and she balled her fist, crushing the fine material. She pulled Lucy into her.

Between them the kiss had found a singular tempo. Lucy propped herself up on an elbow and hovered her long body just above Rhea. Rhea felt the overstuffed arm of the couch against her back.

Again, another bothersome scratch. There was a reason this shouldn't be happening. But as Lucy slid over her, between her legs, Rhea struggled to remember why.

She moved one hand to Lucy's face. The other wrapped around and pulled the vampire's body tight against her own. The vampire gave a small, quiet groan.

All of Lucy felt hot against Rhea's body, the stolen blood singing within her.

Again, a flare of discomfort distracted Rhea and she broke the kiss with a gasp.

Lucy dragged her lips across Rhea's cheek and down to earlobe. Gentle sensations of pleasure rolled down Rhea's body and she moved gently in tandem. Her eager breath staggered. The vampire, encouraged, found Rhea's mouth with her own. Gone were the tentative touches. Now there was a searching hunger between them; Lucy flooded Rhea's senses. The vampire slid a hand down the outside of Rhea's thigh towards her backside. Without thought, Rhea slid down the couch a few centimeters to encourage Lucy on top of her.

A growl came from the back of the vampire's throat. A primal surge of fear flared within Rhea. "Stop, stop," Rhea said and wriggled out from under Lucy, who pulled back with one graceful movement.

"Sorry," Lucy said, as she eyed Rhea carefully, "I wasn't going to bite, that just, uh, happens sometimes. When I forget myself."

Rhea closed her eyes. She shook her head, incredulous at her own impulse, and rubbed her temples.

"If this is an existential crisis," Lucy said flatly, "it's wholly unnecessary."

"I, I can't believe I did that," said Rhea, bewildered. Lucy rolled her eyes. "You'll give me a complex, darling, with all this carrying on." With an air of defensiveness Lucy said, "Did I not just explain you are so powerful you could bid the very magick that allows me to defy death to betray me, and it would obey in an instant? Surely kissing can't still be transgressive. And I won't accept you didn't realize we've been dancing around this from jump."

Rhea replied, "Then I can't believe I let it happen." Her face burned hot. Shame spasmed through her and squeezed against the desire that now refused to yield. Both boiled dually within her. She fought the urge to run--down the stairs, out into the wet street until her legs collapsed underneath her.

Lucy's face betrayed a twinge of irritation, "Well, I don't think it's unbelievable." The vampire crossed her arms.

Rhea shot her a frustrated look. "I'm here to date, I'm trying to stop a gross perversion of magick. I don't expect you to understand something like a sacred calling..." Lucy retorted with a theatrical sweep of her arm. "But it matters to me," continued Rhea. And it would be profoundly stupid to...become distracted. Especially by a vampire."

Lucy responded, "A calling, I understand. What I don't get is choosing to carry sanctimonious angst after crossing into witch power. Or whatever you call leaving your regular life."

"Initiating," Rhea offered.

Lucy nodded and continued, "The mountain witches told me necromancers were too serious and weird about sex."

"I'm not weird about sex," snapped Rhea, "think about what is at stake. Just because I don't want it doesn't mean I'm weird about it." Lucy gave her a pointed look that felt like a dare. Rhea grumbled, "Just because I don't want to be distracted doesn't mean I'm weird about sex." Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it pulsing in her fingertips.

"You're being weird right now," countered Lucy.

"Stop it," said Rhea. She could see the corners of Lucy's lips twitching into a smile and she willed herself not to be baited into irritation.

"I just don't get why it's a big deal," added the vampire.

"Because I couldn't stop myself!" Rhea hissed. With a contented smile Lucy said, "You're acting like you murdered someone." Rhea grimaced.

"Sorry," Lucy said, quickly. "I meant it as a turn-of-phrase."

It would probably be best to leave, thought Rhea; retreat into the easy solace of distance. And rest. "I'm not sure what this means," said Rhea.