Lost Bloodlines Ch. 09

Victoria felt a shudder of butterflies in her stomach at the little gesture, and with a smile in response, she managed to push down her nerves. That's all it took nowadays. Just the smallest bit of attention from her former teacher had her feeling like she was on top of the world. Everything that had happened...she wouldn't trade it for anything. It had just been a marathon of excitement and mind-blowing sex and this incredible feeling of acceptance that... her dreamy reverie was interrupted by a little tap on her leg.

"What's the problem?" the goblin asked, staring expectantly up at her. Victoria jerked slightly, embarrassed, but quickly refocused on Vaald. The diminutive woman was still in her stained (and strained) overalls, with little bits of machinery poking out of dozens of little pouches scattered about her clothing.

Victoria cleared her throat awkwardly, gesturing towards the blank screen. "The, uh, the connection isn't working. I've tried like three time now but...ah!" Her explanation cut off with a gasp as Vaald just clambered atop her leg. Not sparing her another glance, the goblin used Victoria's lap to jump up onto the table, where she bent over the monitor to examine its back casing.

Victoria felt her cheeks heating as the goblin's position placed her absurdly generous rear right in her line of sight. Vaald's hips seemed to sway subconsciously as she rummaged about, humming lightly to herself, and Victoria was entranced. Someone so tiny had absolutely no business being that stacked. She had the sudden urge to bury her face between the tight contours of those cheeks, but she shook herself, her face heating in shame and guilt. Victoria's eyes flicked again towards Lilith, but the succubus was deep in conversation.

"Ah, that was it. Just some wires out of alignment!" Vaald chirped, and righted herself on the table. Even standing atop it, she was only barely taller than Victoria's seated form. The goblin twisted around, grinning cheekily down at Victoria.

She gulped, but returned the smile. "Uh...thanks." There was a knowing little twinkle in Vaald's eyes, and for a second Victoria considered that maybe the little show hadn't been an accident, but she brushed the thought away quickly. The helpful and eccentric little goblin was far too innocent for that to be true. As Vaald hopped down off the table and scamped back to her mound of cables (likely her happy place), Victoria leaned forward again and tried to make the connection.

This time the screen remained black for only a few seconds, and then the person at the other end of the line picked up. A harried-looking older woman was peering curiously down at the screen, obviously from the perspective of her cellphone. Victoria felt her heart lift in the instant before her eardrums were shattered by the woman's ecstatic scream through the microphone.

"Vicky! Oh, my baby girl, it's you!"

Victoria winced, but smiled back at her mother. "Hi mom."

Her mother, with the same pale skin and reddish hair as her daughter, looked up from the camera. "Dave! Get over here! Vicky's on the line!"

Sure enough, her father's weathered face crowded into the too-small view of the camera a few seconds later. "Hey, pumpkin," he said, his deep, gentle voice instantly putting Victoria at ease. "We were really worried about you." This was evidenced by the new lines that seemed to have appeared around her mother's eyes and mouth from the last time she had seen her.

"I'm sorry, dad," Victoria said guiltily, "This is the first time I've had access to a way to reach out. A lot's happened."

"You're damn right it has!" her mother jumped in. "We heard about the fighting down in Georgia, and that they were moving you and the other monsters out of the country or something. I tried to get in contact with every agency I could think of, but no one could tell me where you were!"

"Please, mom, it's okay. I made it out in one piece, and now I'm somewhere safe." Victoria's gaze drifted to the window on the opposite side of the room, where the reddish light from Hell's unnatural sun seeped in. "Mostly safe. I'm with the monsters, the, uh, old ones. I'm guessing you guys saw the broadcast from about a week ago too?"

"We did," her father started to say, but her mom cut in immediately after.

"Oooo, which ones? They put out little information blurbs on the news. There's an entire society of Nordic monsters, can you believe it? I want to visit and see the frost giants, and the elves, and the Great Tree, and..."

"I don't think they're giving out tourist visas quite yet, mom," Victoria rolled her eyes, but inwardly her mother's enthusiasm was refreshing after all the hate she had seen normal humans direct at monsters. However, she wasn't entirely sure how reassured she would feel to learn that her little girl was in Hell... "I don't think I'm allowed to say exactly which one I'm with, but it's not with the Seat of the North. It's been alright so far, we're kinda getting the royal treatment right now."

"As my little Valkyrie only deserves," her mother basically preened. "After all the wretched things people have been saying about the monsters, it's good to see them proven wrong."

"Hopefully it'll stay that way," Victoria agreed, and then leaned a bit closer to the screen. "But what about you two? How are things back home? No one here seems to want to tell me anything."

Before her mom could respond, the camera's focus jerked to the side as her father took control. "I'll be honest, pumpkin, things aren't looking good. People are scared and angry. The shortages were bad enough back when we were just under martial law, but now with all the talk of war...well there are a lot of people who are going to be going hungry in the next few months."

"Dave!" her mom exclaimed from out of sight. His tired face just turned to look chidingly at his wife.

"She deserves to know, Aada. It's not sunshine and rainbows for everyone."

"And what about the Militia? We figured that Georgia was revolting after our transfer convoy was attacked, but are they everywhere?" Victoria pressed, now that her parents weren't restricted in their speech as they had been when they visited at the prison camp.

A dark look crossed over her father's face, and Victoria was taken aback. In all her life, she had never seen the easy-going man show anger like it. "Unfortunately, they are, though the feds are cracking down on their meetings where they can. Militia groups are popping up around the country. The fucking traitors have full control of almost twenty states. They're calling themselves the United Human States."

"And the government just let them seize control like that?"

"Not entirely. It's being challenged in the courts, and the news talks about negotiations all the time...but it's looking like it'll turn to war. The Militia killed a lot of servicemen trying to get control of the monsters when the transfer order went out, and people want justice."

Victoria was gripped with the sudden, terrible image of her home being turned into a ruined warzone. "Oh shit. Are you going to be okay? Are you close to the border?"

Her father grimaced, his grey eyes drifting to the side as he spoke. "We're not in as much danger as those poor bastards in Florida or Virginia; they're almost entirely surrounded by Militia states. Closest to us is West Virginia, but that's still a ways from Baltimore."

That did very little to alleviate Victoria's apprehension. "Could you move? I don't want you two to be anywhere near that."

"Traveling isn't exactly easy right now, pumpkin, but we've considered it. In either case, there's actually a good reason to stay." At this point the phone was forcibly yanked from her dad's hands and her mother reappeared.

"You'd never believe it Vicky, but it turns out there's actually an Ásatrú community nearby! I don't know how we never found them before. It's just a few hundred people, but they've been sharing supplies and holding services! It's really been a huge help to get the essentials when a lot of people have been going without."

Victoria's eyebrows rose skeptically. Her mother's Neo-Pagan religion wasn't exactly a popular one, especially outside of Iceland, and to hear that there was a temple near her home...it was odd, to say the least. But at least it meant that her family had support.

"Well, that's good, mom. I'm happy to you and dad have somewhere to go."

Her mom was beaming. "When all this nastiness dies down, you need to come visit with us. They would be absolutely thrilled to meet you! The Goði has been trying to get the state to allow some Norse monsters to visit his congregation, but no luck so far. For everyone to see my baby girl in the flesh would be..."

Victoria forced a smile. "That sounds great. Hopefully we'll be able to be back home before too long." She had always humored her mother's beliefs as best she could, often suffering alongside her father, but being paraded in front of a bunch of true believers was not her idea of fun. Then again, it might be preferable to the treatment she had received from some demons here in Hell...

Her mother looked happily at Victoria through the connection, until her exact phrasing seemed to reach her. "Wait, we?"

She blushed. "Yeah, I came here with a few friends I made at the camp. I told you about Sam, Cyri, Draco, and Aqua already. And...uh, I also met someone else. Someone special."

Her mom's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Victoria mentally prepared herself for the incoming scolding. Lying about her newly unconventional relationship certainly seemed appealing, but the thought of hiding Lilith entirely from her parents just left a queasy feeling in her stomach.

"And does this someone have a name?"

The Valkyrie steadied her breathing, and took a chance. "Do you remember Mr. Finch from St. Paul?"

It took a second for her mother to make the connection. "What, the young history teacher? What does he have to do...Victoria Astrid Dahl, tell me you are not dating your teacher!"

And there it was. "Okay, I know it looks bad, but..."

Her protest was quickly cut off by her father. Rather than appearing outraged, he just seemed a little perplexed. Giving a chastising look towards his wife, he took control over the tiny screen. "What your mother meant to say, was that we're very happy for you. You're old enough to make your own choices, and he's hardly your teacher anymore." He paused, as if to order his words carefully. "We're just a little surprised, Vicky. We, ahem, were under the impression that you weren't all that interested in men."

Victoria just let out a little laugh at her father's clumsy interruption. "Thanks, dad. And Mr. Finch isn't exactly a man anymore. A lot of people ended up switching genders due to the transformation. Charles goes by Lilith now, and she's just the best girlfriend I could hope for during all of this mess. She's actually the reason we're being treated so well."

Her mom's head butted back into the frame, though not appearing as outwardly incensed as a minute earlier. That had always been the case really. Aada Dahl had always been a bit controlling over Victoria's life, and it was her father's intervention that usually balanced out the household. "Well, I'm glad you at least seem happy," her mom conceded. "What sort of monster is she? Is it at least something...respectable?"

"A biblical demon. A succubus actually." While her mom's brows furrowed in confusion, her father let out a surprised laugh.

"What? So, she has horns or something? And what's a succubus?" At the questions, her dad just started to laugh harder.

Victoria's red cheeks had refused to abate since the start of this awkward confession. "Well, yeah, she does, but it means that she's..."

"A sex demon!" her father gasped out between guffaws. "Oh, pumpkin, you lucky girl."

"Dave!" her mom smacked her husband lightly on the arm as she blushed in embarrassment.

"Anyway!" Victoria interrupted as the two started to bicker over her choice of partner, "The point is, I'm safe and happy here, so I hope you two don't have to worry too much."

Even through her own embarrassment, her mom gave her an earnest look. "We'll always worry about you, Vicky, but your father is right. I'm glad that you're happy, and we can't wait to meet this new girlfriend." The supportive words were somewhat muddled by her mom's subsequent attempt to look scolding. "If only to make sure she's good for you, young lady."

Victoria felt her lips quirk upwards, and moved to retort when she saw that one of the Tartarus techs on the other side of the room was tapping his watch meaningfully in Sam's direction. "I bet she'd like that too. It looks like I'm about out of time. I'm really glad to hear from you guys, and I'll make sure to send you a message or call again when I have a chance."

Though taken aback by the abruptness of Victoria's departure, her mom recovered quickly. "Of course, sweetheart. We love you. Stay safe!"

"I love you too." With that, Victoria cut the program, and once more the loading screen fell dark. She slumped in her chair, staring balefully across the room at the interrupting human technicians. Her usually sunny mood was darkening as she mulled over her father's words, and what they meant for the safety of both her family and her home. Flashes of the dire battle on the highway raced through her mind as she imagined that chaos and death coming for her parents, a murky cloud of fear gathering over her thoughts...

That was immediately dispelled as a pair of red arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind, warm hands coming to rest on the exposed skin of her collarbone. Victoria tilted her head back, the back of her head coming quickly into contact with the giving flesh of her girlfriend's chest. Lilith's head came into view as she tilted her head forward with a happy smile, and they shared a look that completely washed away the darkness gathering in the back of Victoria's mind.

"Everything you hoped for? How's your family doing?"

Victoria shrugged, closing her eyes and leaning back into Lilith's embrace. "Surviving, the best they can. Mom seems to be in good spirits though, despite everything. I just wish I could see them."

Lilith's nimble fingers shifted to her shoulders, rubbing soothingly at the hard muscles there. "I know, babe. Maybe I can work something out with Lucifer, get us some sort of visitation back to Earth for a few days."

"That'd be nice," Victoria murmured, relaxing into the succubus's skilled hands. "Who were you trying to contact? You never said this morning."

"Alana. She says hi, by the way."

Victoria's eyes opened and she shifted, pushing the chair back and to the side. With an insistent tug, she pulled the unresisting demoness into her lap. Lilith settled there happily, spade tail flicking near Victoria's feet. "And how is Lady Kingsley?"

Lilith's eyes sparkled cheekily as Victoria's stabilizing hands came to rest on her wide hips. "Settling in well with the Sacred Lotus. Their sub-plane, the Eternal Kingdom, is apparently the largest among the Seats, with almost fifty million monstrous inhabitants. They're giving her a crash course on everything monstrous before they send her back to the UK with their new diplomatic delegation. Her only gripe is, and I quote, that 'it's too bloody hot, but at least they know how to make good tea.'"

Lilith's overaffected British impression made the large Valkyrie chuckle. "Good for her. I was worried; she was always more hesitant than the rest of us about magic, maybe she's finally coming around with her job back."

"One can hope," Lilith replied, leaning her head down on Victoria's shoulder and showing no sign that she intended to get up again. Victoria enjoyed cuddling with the smaller woman for a few minutes as the rest of the room slowly fell silent as their friends' respective calls ended.

"Hey, Lilith?"

"Mhmm?"

Victoria hesitated for a moment, not wanting to ruin the peaceful moment, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. "Did you not want to talk to your own parents?" Lilith's head whipped up, and Victoria flinched slightly at the rage that briefly appeared in her crimson eyes. As soon as it came, however, it vanished, and Lilith just looked sad, her gaze drifting from her face to somewhere behind her.

"No."

Victoria took a breath for courage, and then pressed further. "Why not? You said they never visited the camp, and this is the first real chance..."

"I said no, okay?" the demon replied forcefully, and then appeared to immediately regret the harsh tone. She shook her horned head. "It's not something I want to talk about right now, but we aren't close. I doubt they care one way or another."

That answer only made Victoria more curious. Lilith didn't talk about her life before the transformation much, even when pressed, and this little hint was a tempting peek into her past. But Victoria knew better than to press further. "It's okay, I understand. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Lilith shook her head again remorsefully, dark locks bouncing. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just a touchy subject."

Victoria did what felt right, which was of course was to pull her demon into a hug. It was lucky they were both so tactile, just being close like this conveyed far more support than words ever could. "You've got a lot on your plate, what with the reunion and everything today."

Lilith just groaned petulantly into her shoulder. "Ugh, why did you have to remind me. It's going to be so awkward and uncomfortable. All those ancient demons desperate for mommy's attention, and me stuck pretending like I care." As she finished speaking, she winced, a hand drifting to her temple and eyes closing in pain.

"Your unwelcome guest?"

The succubus nodded, still rubbing at her head. "She's quite loudly warning me that if I treat her kids poorly, she'll stick knives in my brain. And that bitch doesn't bluff." Victoria tilted her head, planting a few supporting kisses on the demon's temple.

"There. All better."

One crimson eye opened to look sullenly up at her. "It's almost sickening how sweet you are."

"But you love it."

Lilith let out a deep sigh, and then snuggled closer. "I do."

"Ugh, what kind of perversion is this?" Sam's mocking voice rang out from behind them, and Victoria twisted her head around to see the angel approaching, flanked by Aqua and Cyri. She caught the flash of unguarded jealously on Cyri's beautiful face, but the werewolf smoothed it over so quickly Victoria worried she had imagined it. "This is Hell, woman! Cuddling is deeply inappropriate. Now orgies on the other hand..."

"Shut your face, Sam," Lilith groaned, but pulled herself away from Victoria, lifting herself to her feet with that unconscious grace that was growing more pronounced by the day. "The demonic morality censors can eat me."

"Don't give them any ideas," Aqua jokingly warned, then darted forward to claim a kiss from the succubus. As always, Victoria felt a rush of jealously at the sight, followed rapidly by an aroused heat rising somewhere in her middle. It was an emotional struggle she was still coming to terms with, but one she happily excised most nights with either the demon or the siren, and often both.

"Sam and I are headed out into the city to do some exploring if you want to join us, Tori," the bubbly siren chirped, extracting herself from Lilith with a parting ass grab.

"Sure thing," Victoria replied, bringing herself to her feet. It still brought her a brief rush of pleasure to tower over all of her friends, with Sam as the sole exception. She turned towards Cyri. "What about you? Do you and Draco have plans or something?" The dragon had notably disappeared from his terminal.

Cyri just shook her fuzzy head. "The lizard mumbled something about a date before ditching us. I was going to head back to the Villa to read. Elena brought me some books on monstrous society that I wanted to start."