The Making of Vampires Ch. 04

Andrecles, rage coursing through his body, stabbed at Martinelli's torso. His previous strike forced his opponent to lift his sword giving a clear opening to the younger vampire's middle and he intended to take advantage of the opening. He intended to piece his enemy's heart. He would end this quickly and rightfully prove his dominance.

Martinelli understood his peril. He flopped onto his back in the now to avoid the piecing strike and quickly rolled away before Andrecles could change tactics. He had to regain his footing and force his opponent into a defensive routine. He had to regain control over this fight.

Gabriel called upon a spell that he dreaded. It was one of fire and he hated to use fire. His brothers and their vampire soldiers were as vulnerable to fire as any of their enemy. Unfortunately, their predicament wasn't unfavorable and he had to help his brothers to gain an upper hand against their enemy. As he said the last words of the spell, a jet of flame shot from his hands striking the nearest enemy vampire who erupted into a ball of fire with a whoomp sound. Then the fire died and bits of soot floated in the cold winter air.

Gabriel pointed his hand at the next vampire and the jet of flame moved like a whip to lash at the next one. Another whoomp and motes of soot floated in the air. He felt the magic draining and knew he only had energy for one more attack with his fire.

Sophia was next, her face painted in horror and fear. She understood her peril. She was dead. The vampire's fire would strike her next. She closed her eyes not wanting to see her death coming at her.

August had killed three opponents and heard his brother's fire spell come to an end. Fire caused him to grow nervous as it did any of the vampires, but he trusted his brother and ignored any uneasy feelings the spells caused him. He moved to engage another enemy when he heard Gabriel grunt in pain. He turned to see his younger brother falling with a chunk of wood extending from his ribs. It had barely missed Gabriel's heart. His feet danced changing directions so he could protect his younger brother.

August's sword sliced through the hand that held another chunk of wood poised to pierce his younger brother's body. Then he cleaved his sword through the neck of the vampire who had managed to sneak up behind Gabriel.

August jerked and fell to his knees. He felt a strange burning sensation in his chest and looked down to see an arrowhead jutting out of his sternum. An archer aim was close to killing him. He had not even noticed any archers. He couldn't stand and he fell facing his brother. He feared for his wife. He feared for his son. He feared for his men. And he feared for his brothers.

Martinelli scrambled in a weird crab walk away from Andrecles. He had to create more distance so he could stand and regain his footing. Andrecles moved faster and lifted his sword with the blade down to pin his opponent to the frozen ground.

A small burning twig landed on Andrecles' arm unraveling the vampire and putting him into a panic. His clothes didn't catch on fire, but he turned his head focusing all his attention on that little burning twig. He used his sword to bat the fire away.

The need to free himself of the flame was his last thought. Martinelli had rolled up to his knees and with all his strength thrust his blade through his enemy's heart. Andrecles didn't have time to register the turn of events. Instead, he turned to dust and drifted away in the wind.

Martinelli looked to the side to see a shaking Sophia standing with another burning branch. She pointed to some trees. Martinelli looked over to see both his brothers on the snow with three of Andrecles' men slowly surrounding the duo.

He pushed himself to his feet and bolted to his brothers. His sword flashed high as he struck down a vampire with a bow. The body toppled over and fell into a heap of dust. Before he could recover his swing, he felt a biting at his side. A sword sliced into his flesh.

The two remaining opponents flanked Martinelli. They worked well and made sure that they were each on the opposite side. Martinelli would have to choose which to battle. He turned to the one that presented the greatest danger to his injured brothers leaving his back vulnerable and open to attack.

He struck quickly knocking his enemy's sword wide. Martinelli stabbed his blade into the vampire's heart fully expecting to feel a blade pierce his back. Instead, as the vampire in front of him turned to dust, he heard a whoomp behind him. He turned to see Sophia standing as if she had stabbed someone with the burning branch. Soot floated around her. She quickly looked around, saw no one near her, and dropped the branch into the snow. It hissed, the flame faltered, and then died.

Martinelli nodded appreciation to her and bent to help his brothers. He broke off the arrow's feathered shaft. Then he turned August over, ignoring the pain on his brother's face, and yanked the wooden arrow from his brother's body. August, freed to move, curled up into a ball fighting the pain.

Martinelli turned quickly to Gabriel and examined the chunk of wood extending from his chest. He turned Gabriel over and grabbed onto the thicker end of the wood, braced a foot onto his brother's back, and pulled with all his might. He expected Gabriel to curl up as August had, but he was too weak to move. Gabriel barely blinked.

Martinelli scanned the landscape to judge the battle. He should go and help his men, but he could not leave his brothers. The decision was taken from him when Sophia knelt beside Gabriel. She rolled up her sleeve placing her wrist at the injured vampire's mouth. Gabriel bit into her wrist, instinct alone guiding his actions. Martinelli left to defend his men in battle. He knew his brother, August, would join him as soon as his wounds finished healing. August's injuries were not as dire or life threatening as Gabriel's and he would be able to continue the battle in a few moments.

Gabriel felt his senses and reasoning return to him. He had a vague notion of feeding. It comforted him in a way that imbibing from someone he had never tasted before and he continued to do so. Then he realized that it was the woman, which was to be his wife, kneeling beside him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. He fed from her wrist. He felt a moment of confusion, but didn't stop.

She smiled nervously saying, "My name is Sophia. You didn't kill me when you could have."

The memories of the battle blossomed in his mind's eye and he remembered the wood erupting from his chest. He remembered the pain. He remembered falling and then nothingness. His wound had been grievous and he understood that he nearly died.

His health continued to build within him by the grace of Sophia's blood. His alertness grew. Her smile, though forced, encouraged him until he no longer felt the hunger, but he was still weak. He would not cast any more spells this day. He would not fight against a uninjured vampire and live today. He had taken much from her. She would be tired and she would need to rest.

Gabriel sat up and before he could say any words of thanks to his savior, he heard a loud explosion. He looked toward the area from where he heard the sound. A dark spot appeared on the snow as soot drifted down to cover it. An empty spot, nearly thirty feet in diameter, appeared within the fighting vampires. Men from both sides of the fray were gone. He shivered with dread as he saw Martinelli standing only a few feet from the barren circle. His brother had nearly died, blown from existence because of magic. His brother was too far away for him to help even if he had the energy to cast a spell.

Looking around, Gabriel saw a woman draped in long flowing red robes. She stood at the tree line preparing another spell and he was not the only one who had seen her. One of Andrecles' soldiers left the cover of a tree and approached with stealth. He rammed his sword into her back or would have if enchantments hadn't protected her. She turned and flames erupted from her hand incinerating the vampire. Knowing she had been detected, she twisted a ring on her finger and disappeared.

Gabriel felt the thrum along the magical weave. He turned to see her appear on the ridgeline and a man in a red cloak left the shadow of the trees to join her. Then they both disappeared. Gabriel felt no more magic from her and knew they had gone far away. He would share this development with is brothers later.

A thunderous sound emanated from the mountain, an avalanche. The vibrations of the explosion had dislodged the vulnerable and loose snow from clinging any longer to the mountain's side. He pulled Sophia to her feet. They started to run away from the fast moving snow. Gabriel glanced over his shoulder to see the snow winning the race. He continued to run hoping they would get closer to his brothers, making their rescue quicker.

He felt Sophia stumble a moment before the rampaging snow entangled his legs. He fell hard and rolled wrapping his arms around Sophia hoping to have enough strength to keep the snow from crushing her. He didn't. He felt the bones in his arms break and felt the pain as the weight of the snow cemented him down.

Gabriel heard the continuing rumble of the dancing snow above him, but he couldn't hear Sophia breath. Dread entered his body. He forced himself to fight against the pressure of the snow, but he failed. Her heartbeat grew softer with each beat.

Fear gave him just a tiny bit of strength and he turned his head. His lips searched for the weakening pulse in her neck. He fought through a thin layer of snow to reach her. It felt like eternity before he found her neck. He bit deep and drank. He would turn her into one of them; give her a small chance at surviving this ordeal.

Her heartbeat continued to weaken until it stopped all together. He moved as much as possible to offer his neck to her for when she awoke and would need to eat even though his wasn't human blood. She could feed from a human after they got out of this.

His mind didn't calm until he felt her first stirrings. She fought against the snow trying to find the blood that called to her, trying to find that which would calm the burning hunger within. It was so close, but she couldn't reach it. It seemed to taunt her. She fought harder.

Her lips brushed against flesh. Sophia instinctively understood what she needed; the blood was below that flesh. Her teeth grew, a strange and new sensation for her. She bit down clumsily. Blood washed over her lips, running into her mouth, and down her cheeks. She drank. She continued to drink and awareness returned to her. She opened her mouth releasing her bite.

Sophia surrounded by darkness, felt terror. She didn't understand. She fought for freedom. She lost. Somehow, she had no control over any part of her own body.

Then a soft whisper by her ear caught her attention. "Sh. Fear not, Sophia. I am with you. We are under the snow and my brothers will find us."

Gabriel felt her relax, stopping her struggles, and pressing her face against his neck. He found comfort in her presence and hoped that his brothers would truly find them...If they survived the battle.

***

It felt like hours before Gabriel heard a scratching in the snow indicating that someone was digging through the snow. He hoped that it was his brothers. He hoped that his brothers were alive...Well, alive as any undead could be.

Gabriel felt the weight of the snow easing from his back. Sophia squirmed. Her hunger for human blood, which would seal her fate, called to her. Gabriel's blood had helped her to survive this long and would help her to survive any time after, but a vampire's magic was sealed by their first consumption of human blood.

Gabriel, still weakened, had difficulty pushing against the snow to break free. It wasn't until he felt strong hands lifting him that he could finally move his limbs. Sophia jumped out of the hole like a spring. She hissed as her eyes searched for a human meal.

Gabriel's eyes met that of Uruku's. He quickly searched for his brothers, mere feet away and Uruku's sons amongst their own troops. His brothers looked exhausted and could barely stand. He wondered if they had been fighting the whole time he had been trapped in under the snow.

Gabriel said, "She needs to feed. I turned her to keep her alive."

Uruku's deep resonating voice answered, "So do your brothers and your men. They would not leave to feed until we found you and the others buried under the snow. Unfortunately, the humans died. The other vampires were strong enough to break free, but your previous injuries have greatly weakened you."

August walked over. "A few soldiers are searching for human volunteers. We will watch her carefully so she doesn't kill any from her village."

Gabriel nodded. Then he dropped to his knees. August caught his brother helping to gentle his fall to the snow. Martinelli appeared at Gabriel's side to stand protectively over his fragile brother. He would ensure that nothing happened to harm Gabriel further.

It was only a matter of minutes before a line of humans marched to them. Some seemed not to care. Some seemed reluctant. Some seemed scared. Yet, they continued to move toward the vampires.

Gabriel asked, "Do they do this of their own volition?"

Uruku answered, "Yes, we offered them freedom from their oppressors if they volunteered enough humans to help us. Andrecles' men can leave this village or be killed. I'll leave some of my men around in the woods for a while to ensure the others have left."

***

Sophia' first human feeding had gone well. She had a great deal of discipline and didn't kill her human who happened to be her cousin. She also used her magic to help calm her cousin and any others that were nervous and distressed by their situation.

She now stood in her tiny hut with Gabriel. Her instincts revealed that she was his. She hid her nervousness and built a fire in the hearth to warm the hut. Without thinking, she tossed two more logs on the fire. Sophia felt a gentle hand on her arm stopping her from reaching for more wood.

Gabriel asked, "Do you still feel the cold?"

The question caught her off guard and then she realized that the cold didn't bother her. Shrugging she said, "I guess this is just a habit. No, I don't feel the cold."

Gabriel pulled her away from the fire. "Remember how fire affects us? You are vulnerable to that now. I don't want you to go up in flames."

She shivered at the thought. "Won't people notice that we are never cold? Doesn't that announce our unnatural state?"

Gabriel kept from smiling. "Well, if we made it obvious, but we keep small fires so humans see us trying to keep warm or to cook our food." He paused a slight moment before continuing. "Are you nervous of becoming a vampire or scared of me?"

Sophia blanched thinking that she hid her fears. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure. I'm overwhelmed."

Gabriel nodded. "I can imagine. We usually give humans an opportunity to choose if they want to become one of us. I didn't do that with you." He couldn't do that. Every part of his being told him to protect Sophia and keep her safe.

He pulled her close, massaging her back until she relaxed against him. He kissed the top of her head. Sophia tilted her head so she could kiss him back. Their lips met and it was as if a sparked ignited within each of them.

They pulled at each other forcing their bodies closer. Gabriel ached to be inside her. She ached to feel him inside her. He pulled her coarse shirt up and off her. She clumsily worked at his buttons until he took over to remove his shirt. She unlaced her pants, kicked of her boots, and peeled off her wool stockings. Gabriel wasn't as patient. He just unlaced his pants enough to free his hardened rod.

They joined into another kiss. He pushed her back against the wall and lifted her. Sophia wrapped her legs around him, tightening them as she pulled him closer. Gabriel felt her moist opening on his head. He pushed into her. She moaned.

Her moan destroyed any control that he had. He rammed into her needing to feel his release. She threw her head back. He kissed her neck and felt her nails dig into his shoulder. Gabriel pinched her nipples and heard another breathy moan.

His fangs snapped out and he prepared to bite her. He would time it with her orgasm. She whimpered and matched his thrusts as she squirmed between him and the wall. She clawed at his back.

Gabriel felt wood chips in his hands and realized that he clawed into the wall crushing the logs. He barely registered anything except the feel of her walls milking him, begging for his cum.

Sophia could take no more and whispered, "Please."

That pushed Gabriel over the edge. He no longer had her pleasure as a goal. He needed release. He slammed into her repeatedly listening to each gasp, moan, and whimper. He was about to cum. He bit into her neck drinking from her at the same time that he fed her lower lips.

He felt the precious painful pinch as her teeth pierced his throat. Sophia's body quivered and jerked telling him that he had succeeded in pleasing her as well. His legs weakened and he gripped her tightly as they slid to the floor.

***