"Feed the Night C"( FF vamp )[3/3] Section C: Jezebel awoke hours later to Andi's prodding. "What is it?" She asked, attentively. "I need to talk to you, Jezzy..." Jezebel sat up and brushed the hair away from her eyes. "About the dreams." Andi nodded. "Yes. And something else." "Alright... I've been waiting for you to explain. It's an odd time, but I suppose this is as well as any, isn't it dear?" Andi smiled. "Yeah. I guess." She thought for a moment. She began to speak and then hesitated before continuing. "It's more than dreams. I've also had these... visions. But they've only come a few times. Perhaps a half dozen... And they come only when... well... when... when I'm coming." Jezebel smiled devilishly and immediately tried to cover it up. "Smart ass," Andi retorted. "It's always been a dark-eyed man in the dreams and visions. A tall, pale figure. Almost ghostly. It never made sense before, but his eyes frightened me. They always have since the first dream weeks ago." "Dreams," Jezebel whispered, "Andi, dreams are just the result of your brain processing information at night. It's noth--" "No. Listen," Andi insisted. "This dream... The vision... Earlier, when you put your hand in me... When I came-- I saw him again... And you." Jezebel's eyes perked up and she ruffled her brow. "Jezzy... You were by him on the floor... You were dead or something... I think you were dead..." Jezebel sat quietly. She was unsure how to respond. She wanted to disregard what she had just heard, but... It was familiar. She had experienced similar dreams during the time that Andi was sick. That is why she found it difficult to ignore. The image. The situation of her body on the floor. The man. It was familiar. It had happened to her. It was real. But when? Would she not recall it? It had been so long. She was certain of that. "I think," Andi said, "that I experience these images when I am most connected with you. That is why they occur when we make love. And when we're asleep... I don't know. Perhaps we are symbiotic then, too." "I don't know," Jezebel thought aloud. "I dreamt about this man, too. When you were asleep I dreamt for the first time in many years. I can't recall them completely... but the man with dark eyes. I knew someone like him before. With eyes like pits." "Who is he?" Andi asked, scooting closer to Jezebel and taking her share of the blanket to keep warm. Their legs brushed against each other beneath the covers. "I wish I could say..." "And why has he hurt you in my dreams?" "Again... I wish I could answer you." They were both scared, and neither needed to say so. Whatever these things meant, they were enough to stand the hair upon your neck on-end. But Jezebel knew that there was nothing that could be done about things beyond your control. Perhaps, after sleep, she would have the faculties to recollect the face in their dreams. And there was always Lodairos. Into each other's arms, they fell, appearing to sleep like babes on the outside, but sharing the same simultaneous dream of the dark man attacking Jezebel. Andi had recently decided to continue stripping. She found a comfortable excitement in dancing before men. Seeing their lust for her body and sucking in the beat of the music without her inhibitions. As night came, she showered and dressed for work. After she had gone, Jezebel went to the small store wherein she knew Lodairos would be busily archiving his texts and whatnots. Jezebel arrived to an unlocked door. That was unusual. Lodairos was an aging man and he knew that this neighborhood was no longer the safe fortress of his childhood. Worry growing in her, she pushed it open. She cautiously stepped inside and saw the gentle glow of a low-watt bulb in the far end of the store. A figure moved there. It turned. "Jezebel!" The voice cried. It was Lodairos. "Jesus," Jezebel said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Your door was unfastened!" Lodairos nodded. His eyes darted from her face to the corner of the room, gesturing for her to look behind him. Look for something. "I've been too busy at work. I must have forgotten about security, child..." Jezebel tried to follow his eyes, but she did not quite catch on what the old man was trying to convey. He cocked his head and she knew that they were not alone. He had tried to convey that to her from the moment she entered. That is why he moved nervously and his voice was higher than normal. Shaky. Unsure of it's footing. "Lodairos-- what is it?" Jezebel whispered. "Run!" He whispered, pleading to her with his eyes. His gray hair falling over his eyes and his hands gesturing for her to go. She wanted to ask why. She wanted to take his hand and calm him down. But the light behind him quickly disappeared. Jezebel looked up and before her, behind Lodairos, stood a man of more than six and one-half feet. Dark, trimmed hair and sunglasses. His skin was pale, like a sheet or a ghost. "What the hell?" She gasped. She stood, frozen as the man towered over her. His hand reached to his face and removed his eyeglasses. The black pits of his dark eyes stared into her soul. Jezebel tried to scream. The tip of a large knife suddenly appeared, silently through Lodairos' stomach. Blood spilled from the blade and wound to the floor. He mouthed words that Jezebel could not make out and the blade disappeared. The man withdrew the knife and returned it to his side. Like ice, crushing beneath the heavy boots of a storm trooper, he spoke: "My time has come to repent and make right what I have done." "What are you talking about?" Jezebel yelled, "What the fuck are you talking about?!" He lunged for her, but her quickness allowed her to evade him and avoid the point of the knife he wielded. "I made the mistake of embracing you, child. Many I have embraced. And the time has come for me to cleanse the soul I have left and sacrifice my children. I must remove the stains I have put on this earth." "You... You're my sire..." She said quietly, backing away from him and easing her way to the doorway. "Yes... I raped you and fucked you like the whore you have become." "Why would you say such a thing? Why did you... Why did you make me this way?" "I was a venomous man. Frightened of my newfound strength and immortality. I thought I was a god. But I was wrong. I'm erasing the mistakes of my youth." "But I'm not a mistake! I was... I was human until you..." "Yes, yes... I know... But I made you what you are. I am your sire. Give yourself to me and we will make things right. I will be quick in taking your heart." He swiped at her, lunging forward. He missed her as she dodged to the side and he fell against the wall, blade slicing into the dark wood. "Fuck you!" Jezebel said. She swung her arm around, elbowing her attacker in the jaw and drawing blood. With a quick jump, she found the door and opened it. As he came again for her, she caught him in the balls with a heavy foot and he squealed. He dropped to the floor and cursed her as the bitch he claimed she was. She wanted to look back as she fled, but the sheer anger and relentlessness in his eyes had convinced her that one more glance would not be worth her life. She ran. Andi should have been to work by now and she would be able to speak with her there. In her presence, she would feel safe. The bar was alive tonight. Not crowded, by any means, but there were enough people to mingle and dance with. Jezebel made her way through the people to the counter. "Jezzy! You're here!" Eddie said loudly, handing her a drink. She shunned the drink and asked him when Andi would be on the stage. "She's got another ten minutes, babe. You want I should go get her for you?-- I gotta say, I'm damn pleased one of my girls returned after a night with you. Guess there's a first time for nearly fuckin' everything ain't there?" "Thanks," she replied, "but I'll just go talk to her myself. I'm in a hurry." Eddie saw something unusual in Jezebel's face. It was... anxiety. He hadn't seen her worried about anything before. "Jez-- you okay? Is everything alright?" She looked up at him. She would like to have told him, but could not risk involving him in this. He was a bit of a prick, but he didn't deserve to have anything like this thrust upon him. He wouldn't stand a chance. "I'm... There's someone I don't want to see. And I want Andi to know who he is." "Well, I see anybody in here looks a bit suspicious, I'll take care of them. Now get on back and see Andi before she goes on!" Jezebel moved around people, zigzagging her way to the back of the club. The pattern of lights changed, and the blue intensified; pulsed. The music changed. A harsh, industrial riff of KMFDM shook the building. Andi danced powerfully onto the stage; demanding attention and getting it. Damn!, Jezebel thought. She couldn't get to Andi from the dance-floor. There was no way up and the stage was much too high. Steps. There were steps behind stage from the dressing room that she could use. If she could get her attention from behind there. But that would cause a commotion. Ten minutes. She could wait ten minutes. Andi would have another thirty minutes before her next set afterward. She could wait. She stepped up to the front part of the stage and watched Andi dance. Her nearly naked body spun and her breasts bounced. Her long arms wrapped around the brass poles and then around herself. She caressed her body and lay on the floor, slithering toward the crowd. Her eyes caught Jezebel's. Eagerly, Jezebel tried to communicate to her, gesturing and yelling, but it was too loud for her voice to carry. Jezebel waited and watched. Just a few minutes. It was all going to be fine. Her Sire was behind her, crawling on his knees in pain. He would be awhile before finding her-- and this would be the last place he would look for her. Eddie took a clean cloth and dried the inside of the glasses before him. It was a pleasantly busy night. More people meant more money. And more money meant... Well, it meant he could get the hell out of this town and away from his ex-wife. Some place warm would be nice. But he wasn't excited at the thought of leaving the gorgeous women who danced for him. Especially Andi. She had worked out very well at his bar. Such a beautiful young thing when she walked in off the streets looking for a gig. And here she was, his main draw for customers. His thoughts turned to Andi's new fling, Jezebel. The thought of them together made him snicker. Somehow, they seemed appropriate for one another. He'd sure like to get a piece of each of them, though. But, he wondered, what was up with Jezzy tonight? She seemed so worried. Her mind was definitely elsewhere and she was scared. Who could she mean by 'him'? It certainly couldn't have been an ex-boyfriend. When had he ever seen her interested in a male? To that point, when had he seen her around any men? A dark image reflected in the glass he held. Eddie looked up from it and saw the bearer. It was a tall, dark-haired man. He wore damaged sunglasses and walked with a subtle limp. His pale skin-- it looked as if he'd ripped it from Jezebel and worn it himself; so pale. He certainly didn't belong in a place like this. He didn't seem to even want to be walking into this place. Eddie's instincts raised his interest and he stopped the man. "Can I help you? Are you looking for someone?" The man kept silent, scanning the room. He was looking for someone. Jezebel. Eddie would have wagered his scrotum on it. The man turned to Eddie and said, "Yes, thank you-- I've found what I'm looking for." The man removed his hat and glasses. His eyes were pits and their blackness froze Eddie as he opened the drawer by the register and took the butt of the revolver inside. The man walked further. Those who were standing moved from his path as he approached. He certainly was not going to move around them. Several people at their tables glanced nervously upward as he passed them. He wore a grimace. Jezebel felt a cold stare. It darted across the room and froze the hair on her neck. She turned, sure of the eyes that stare came from. Her Sire. His angry, mechanical hate bearing on her. Forbidding her to flee. And to flee would only prolong the chase. She knew that he was weakened. The limp he had acquired from their earlier encounter gave his pain away. And the grimace on his face, which was more than just hate-- pain. Her mind raced and she wanted to alert Andi. Seek Andi's help so that she would be all right. So that she would not have to face this end alone. But only she and her Sire existed. Outside their bodies the world moved in slow colored blotches, blurring their peripheral vision. Andi suddenly ceased dancing. At their tables, customers grumbled and wondered why she had stopped. She nervously clutched at her face, naked body standing free. She stared exactly into the eyes of the dark-eyed man who had torn her attention from her routine. He was oblivious to her, though. He moved in a set manner, determined, as he came upon Jezebel. "Jezebel!" Andi screamed. She could not get her attention. "Eddie!" She screamed, realizing that Jezebel was unable to gather her senses. She seemed... hypnotized and drawn into the void where the strange man stood. The man from her very own dreams, whom she had seen above Jezebel many days before. Eddie saw the commotion as the patrons of his bar mumbled worriedly and unknowingly in response to the sight before them. The dark man who had entered minutes before reached a cold hand to Jezebel, brushing her cheek. Without words, Eddie drew the pistol from below the counter. With a clear line, he fired. Twice. The first tore through the man's right arm, shattering his elbow. The second bullet pierced his shoulder, throwing him forward against the stage. The man screamed and stood to look at Eddie. In a magnificent bound, the wounded man leaped to the stage. He shoved Andi off and she fell clumsily to the floor below. She winced as the room echoed with the snapping of her forearm. The dark-eyed man, with his healthy arm, ripped a brass pole from the ceiling, it's now jagged edges reflecting light against the walls of the now empty nightclub. Eddie fumbled with the pistol. It clicked twice. The man turned toward the bar, twenty yards from the stage. He hoisted the brass pole like a massive shining javelin. "Christ!" Eddie swore, hoping furiously for the trigger to give. 'Click'. The man hurled the pole into the air and it sailed across the room. 'Click'. The magazine could not be empty. It was always kept fully loaded. God damned miss-fires! "Christ!" Eddie swore again as his eyes caught the end of the pole bearing down on him from the center of the room. He forced the trigger once more and the gun fired. Eddie didn't see the bullet hit its target squarely in the jaw, throwing bone and teeth spattering across the stage and lights. The pole carved through Eddie's large forehead with its uneven rude edge. It speared him against the back of the bar, between black and white photos on the wall. Andi screamed as she saw her boss-- her friend, slaughtered in her defense. The dark-eyed man, seeming only momentarily effected by his wounds, dove from the stage, landing on Jezebel's back, wrapping his arms around her head. She would die and he would see to it. His mistake would be erased. Jezebel knew she was in danger. She wanted to fight off her Sire, but he leapt on her and controlled her. How could she fight her creator? How could she destroy he, who gave her life?-- But these were not her own thoughts. God, these were not hers! They were his! She knew this and fought desperately to banish them from her head. But his connection with his progeny, even years later was such that she could afford only a weak and swift fight before submitting to his obvious power. He drained it from her; the power. He reclaimed what he had given her. To removed her heart from her chest would be the only remaining step. Then, she would cease to be nasferatu. She would cease to live. It was then that Andi felt the surge of power. It was pure adrenaline coursing through her veins like a wild drug in the arm of an addict. She was nasferatu as well, and her Sire was soon to expire. She was strong. She had not yet needed to rely on the instincts that had embedded themselves in her system these last weeks. Now, it was impossible to deny that she was more than she ever imagined she could be. Instinctively, she willed herself to move across the floor. Despite the awful pain in her leg, she stood and found herself whisked to where the dark-eyed man and Jezebel stood. She had not leaped, nor walked-- yet she had moved from where she sat, to where she now stood. Her power, in this moment of duress, had grown exponentially. "Turn to me, coward," she demanded of the dark figure. He turned, releasing Jezebel from his arms. His mutilated jaw and mouth could not speak, but she heard words in her mind, "Do not interfere child. She is mine." "No," she telepathed to him. She had learned recently of her ability to communicate without words or gestures with Jezebel. She had not realized it was an ability beyond herself and her lover. The dark-eyed man's eyes suddenly gained emotion. Before, so sure and direct, now curious and growing frightened. He knew instantly that this one was powerful. She was young and she had something within her that he had never had... Passion. Yes, he sensed passion in her and he feared it. "No," she said aloud this time. "She is mine!" Shouting gutturally, from her throat, Andi threw her hand into the man's chest. Her finger's dug instantly into his skin and shock glazed his eyes. Her hand twisted inside of his body and he slumped forward, gasping a final breath before she withdrew. He fell to the floor. Andi loosened her grip and his now still heart rolled from her hand, dropping next to his belly. She looked for Jezebel. She was slumped against a barstool. She was delirious and incoherent, but she would be fine. Andi would see to that.