49: Strange Bedfellows – Pt. 1

“Nana, please answer your phone! This is close to my 10^th message and I’ve still not heard back from you.” Victoria sighed and switched ears, successfully managing to multitask while prepping breakfast for her and Derrick. She flipped the skillet, tossing the pancake up and catching it before lowering the heat on the burner. “It’s really important I talk to you. I need to know what to do next. Call me back, please.”

“Still haven’t heard from Loretta?” Derrick’s voice took her by momentary surprise.

“No. Not yet,” Victoria sighed with a quick glance over her shoulder. “You’ve been sleeping a lot lately,” she remarked as she dropped her cell phone to the counter. “I thought vampires never slept.” Derrick rubbed at his eyes and shook the sleep from his head before sluggishly joining her in the kitchen.

“We sleep; just not much. And I don’t know what it is,” he replied, leaning against the wall, watching as she went about the room preparing breakfast.

“You think it may have something to do with that trip into my dreams? I mean it seems to me it started right around the same time.”

“Could be. Maybe I got jealous seeing all of those great dreams you were having about me and wanted to have a few of my own,” he smirked, watching her bracelet briefly change from red to purple, the color of passion, and back again. “I wouldn’t worry about it though. I’m sure whatever it is won’t last long,” he shrugged and smiled as she sat a plate of pancakes in front of him. “Is that for me?”

“Yes.” Victoria giggled gleefully and looked down at the stack of buttermilk flapjacks, covered in syrup with a pat of butter on top. “No. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” she slapped her hand on her face in embarrassment and Derrick laughed to himself at her sudden blush. “I don’t know why I did that.”

He took a bite to humor her and Victoria nibbled her bottom lip nervously. “Not bad.” Derrick replied, coming around the counter. He pulled her into his arms and tenderly caressed her cheek to help ease her anxiety. “It’s sweet you thought about me. It’s one of the things I really lo…like about you. Your unending concern for my wellbeing; how normal you treat me.”

“Yeah,” she laughed again and leaned into his touch. “Momentary lapse of judgment. I’m just sort of consumed with this whole dream thing. And Nana’s disappearance isn’t helping much. Well, anyway, I could conjure you up a glass of B positive if you’d like?”

“Mmm, how about you make it O negative instead?”

“Sure. One warm, ‘freshly squeezed’ glass of iron coming right up!” Chanting a few words under her breath, Victoria summoned a glass of blood and handed it to Derrick. “Where do you think this stuff comes from anyway?”

“Why blood cows, of course, where else?”

Victoria thought for a moment and shrugged. “I’m gonna go grab a shower and change. If Nana is avoiding me over the phone, I wanna see how she handles it when I’m staring her in the face.” Victoria gave Derrick a quick peck and started upstairs.

“Sounds good. Give me a little bit and I’ll join you,” he called at her retreating back. Studying the liquid in his hands, Derrick closed his eyes. The rumblings of his hunger burned in the pit of his stomach, drawing out the thick, visible veins on his face. When his eyes opened again, they were as red as the liquid in the glass and glowing. 

The sound of the water coming on upstairs indicated he was now alone. Alone with his thoughts, and his demon. He quickly gulped down the drink, allowing the viscous fluid to slowly quench his eternal need. A calming sense washed over him but promptly vanished when he heard her voice. “You coming?” Victoria yelled down to him just before stepping into the shower. It was happening again.

Derrick’s grip tightened on the glass in his hand. Tiny cracks rippled from his palm and webbed up the edge of the cup. The affect she had on him was getting worse and he could feel it blazing through his body like wildfire. Running his tongue over the last drops clinging to the bottom of the glass gave him the time he needed to settle the angry grumble. And as he felt the monster inside retreat to his cage for the time being, he slowly released his grasp and a sinister smile grew on his lips. “I’ll be right there!”

The steam from the shower fogged up the mirror. Water vapor glistened around Victoria’s body as Derrick watched her move the soapy sponge over her body. She turned and smiled at him, leaning back against the shower wall as he stepped inside. The cool tile chilled her back, momentarily, before the heat of the water warmed her skin.

Derrick pulled her against him. Slowly his fingers slid down her side, grazing her firm breast down to the curve of her hips. His tongue rolled over her lips, parting them, and pushing its way inside her mouth. Victoria tilted her head deepening the kiss. She moaned around his tongue as his hand rubbed over her mound.

Delicately, his fingertips parted her labia and he skillfully moved a finger up and down her wet slit. Victoria moaned, shuddering lightly as he leisurely massaged her sensitive bud. Derrick lowered his head, briefly flicking her hard nipple with his tongue. Her hand closed around the top of his head, clamping his wet hair between her fingers.

Standing eye-to-eye, Derrick grinned at her, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes and an eerie feeling rolled up Victoria’s spine. She tried pulling away but her ass bumped the faucet knob behind her. Derrick’s hand closed around her arms and he roughly pulled back into his chest, making her whimper. Slowly, he teased Victoria’s clit with the head of his cock before pushing it into her tight body. 

The gushing shower water drowned out her soft moans as he thrust himself harder against her. “Yes,” her lips parted and she let out a small gasp. She rested her head against the tiled wall as he began to speed up, driving himself faster between her legs. Victoria tangled her fingers in his hair and she winced as his strokes intensified and again whimpered at the force behind his motions. “Derrick…” she whined, pushing at his chest to loosen his grip on her thighs. “Go slower, please.”

Ignoring her plea, he squeezed her firmer, his fingertips sinking securely into the supple flesh of her thighs. A deep moan rumbled from his throat and Victoria’s eyes shut tightly at the driving power of Derrick’s hips. And soon, he felt warmth wash over his cock as he drove himself to her hilt. Victoria came unexpectedly and her eyes opened in time to see the sinister smirk on Derrick’s face. His eyes fell to the visible vein on her heaving right breast; the sound of her heartbeat and the surging blood running through it caused his jaw to drop open in a long growl.

Turning her in his arms, Derrick quickly re-entered her from behind, thrusting violently and causing her to slip. Victoria whimpered quietly, her hand reached out, looking for support to brace herself against his relentless thrusts. The water over her head was running from her stomach down the crack of her ass and Derrick slid a finger along the path it made. His open palm smacked her slippery ass cheek and he gave it a firm squeeze as he roughly pumped in and out of her.

Ramming his body, his pelvis slapped against her wet, hot skin. Derrick held onto her hips, pulling them into his as he fucked her. With one hand he lifted her leg, holding it at his side as he pounded her. Victoria moaned and grunted, her cries of ecstasy filling his ears. “Ohh, yes Derrick,” she whimpered as he drilled her harder, pushing and pulling in and out faster and with more force.

Reaching around, he rubbed her clit with his finger while his cock continued pistoning her. Her moaning became more intense the closer she came to another orgasm. Her velvety walls clenched around his cock, the spasming muscles drawing him towards an end. He leaned his head against her shoulder, the throbbing of her heart growing louder and more intense. Derrick’s hand closed around Victoria’s throat. He could feel her vein pounding beneath his fingers and he squeezed tighter, enjoying the delicious sensation of her heart beating against him. “Derrick, you’re hurting me!” she cried as his fingers wrenched her neck. 

His eyes closed as he listened to her sob and he fought harder to keep his demon at bay. Opening his hand, he slid it up her cheek and pressed himself snugly against her ass. Victoria’s body tensed up, feeling the rigidness of his cock as it slipped against her moist walls, and she let out a cry of pure pleasure as a new wave of warmth coated her skin. “Mmm, Derrick,” she groaned, delighting in the sharp tingles exploding though her nerves. At the same time, Derrick grunted in her ear. A hot stream of sperm shot from his head, jetting deep inside her wet body. 

His fangs pierced the tip of his tongue as he came, swallowing the desire to bite through the artery just beneath his hand. He didn’t give Victoria time to come down before he pulled out and quickly backed away. “Get yourself cleaned up,” he growled behind her, keeping her back facing him. “I’ll meet you at the jeep.” Victoria turned in time to watch him escape through the bathroom door. Her body burned where he’d held her and she ached from his frenzied assault. She stood beneath the water, stunned and a little confused.

The ride to Danbury Ridge was quiet. Several times Victoria wanted to bring up his behavior earlier but chided herself, attributing it to his recent sleeping habits and let it go. A blanket of fresh fallen snow covered the streets and the homes in Loretta’s neighborhood. A group of kids had gathered in the abandoned lot on the corner of her street and a snowball war had ensued. Derrick drove into Loretta’s front gate and parked on the side of her house. Right away the sense that something was wrong struck them both.

The place looked abandoned. It was lacking the normal scent of fresh baked pastries and the warm glow of a porch light as it always had. The two exchanged a glance as they made their way up the front steps. Peeking through the windows, neither could make out anything inside. The home was dark and not a sound was coming from indoors. “I don’t think anyone is home,” Derrick remarked, looking through the window of the old Victorian. “It looks like she may have taken off.”  

“Why would she do that? Where would she go?” Victoria chewed on her bottom lip as Derrick tried the door. It pushed open with a heavy gust of wind and they again exchanged a look. “Something’s wrong.”

“Wait here,” he cautioned and entered the home first.

“Derrick!”

“Wait here,” he repeated with a harsher tone and Victoria conceded and leaned against the wall beside the window. Leaving the door ajar behind him, Derrick walked through the foyer and into the dining room. He checked the kitchen, living room, den and back porch before starting up the stairs. 

Victoria paced anxiously as the vampire made the rounds in her grandmother’s house. The feeling of dread wrenched harder at her gut and she peered into the doorway, waiting on Derrick to reappear at the top of the stairs. A gust of frigid air wormed its way beneath her sweater and she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. Derrick had decided to wear a short sleeve shirt and just the idea of it made her shiver. First the damning hot weather of hell and now the freezing temperature of winter and his body didn’t feel a thing. 

In the meantime, Derrick finished his search of the magic and guest rooms and reentered the hall. Nothing appeared disturbed. There was no sign of a struggle, no items seemed to be missing and the home was just as neat as it would be if Loretta was home. A subdued noise, mimicking a sleep sigh, sounded from the master’s suite and he slowly started forward. Sneaking along, he turned the knob and let the door swing open, his eyes opened in shock as he gazed at the bed. 

 “Well?” Victoria asked once he’d rejoined her outside.

“Loretta’s gone.”

“What?”

“My guess is she took off last night after she asked me to take you home, her bed wasn’t slept in. She didn’t leave a note or anything, but there was this,” Derrick opened his palm, revealing the golden face of another talisman. The intricate design on it was of an all-seeing eye propped above a cauldron. “The Witch’s Eye. I think Loretta was up to much more than she let on.”

“The fourth talisman!” Victoria exclaimed, taking possession of the amulet from Derrick’s hand. She brought it closer to her face, examining the pattern on the outer edge of the crest. “Spiritus mundi surge mortuos sus—”

“Wait!” Derrick quickly snatched the necklace away, preventing Victoria from finishing the inscription.

“What does it say?”

“That it’s never a good idea to read anything in Latin.”

“It doesn’t say that…”

“No, I’m saying that. I told you what the talismans were for; do you really think it’s wise to go reading ancient text scribbled on the sides of them?” Derrick reasoned, shoving the object in his pocket. He turned and shut Loretta’s front door before taking Victoria’s hand. “Come on, let’s get back.”

“But what about…”

“She’s gone. There’s nothing more we can do here.” Reluctantly Victoria followed. Derrick was right. If Loretta left of her own free will then she would have done a damned good job of covering her tracks. But for her to leave so abruptly in the middle of the night, Victoria worried if it was of her doing at all. Something was off. And Derrick’s insistence to leave gave Victoria all the more reason to be concerned.

They got back to her place and Victoria spent another three hours on the phone searching for her missing grandmother. Finally giving up, she joined Derrick upstairs in the bedroom and tried to get some sleep. But sleep didn’t come easy. Her active mind continued thinking over the horrible things that could have befallen someone she dearly loved and she found herself up and working once again.

The bottom step creaked and Victoria barely looked up to find Derrick slowly walking towards her. “Victoria, it’s late. What are you doing down here?” he yawned as he joined her in the living room.

“Fane Dragonos,” she replied, her nose remaining glued to the book in her hands.

“Who?”

“Fane Dragonos, he’s believed to be the God of Dragons and was written as being the largest of any dragon ever in creation with traits of European and Asian serpents. I’ve found instances of him in several of the books you gave me and although his name and appearance differs throughout, the type of being he was and his formidable size remained the same.”

“It’s said that he dwelled within the Divine Source, a fountain of mystical energy that bestows every magical being with light and nourishes them with energy. ‘Fane’s true, physical form had rarely been observed by lesser beings. Instead, he would often appear as a ray of pure light or a golden flame when visiting creatures of his realm’,” she read from the book in her hand.

“‘Originally living as one soul, the Dragon God split into two: one of masculine energy and the other feminine.’ And that’s sort of where it ends. Most of the information and recorded texts about the Dragon God have been lost or deliberately destroyed.”

“Victoria, what does any of this mean?”

“Honestly? I have no idea. The name just came to me.”

“What do you mean it ‘came’ to you?”

“I was standing right where you are, reading and rereading that parchment I pulled from my dream. Realizing I was driving myself insane, I dropped it to the table in anger and was starting back upstairs when out of nowhere the name hit me, I mean literally hit me in the face. The paper reappeared right in front of me and scrawled on the back in what I guess must have been some sort of spell scribe was the name ‘Fane Dragonos’. And as you can see, I sort of took it from there.”

Derrick sighed and rubbed his head in frustration. “Vic…”

“The little girl, the image of me as a child, she called the demon in my dream the ‘dragon man’ remember? What if he and Fane are one and the same person?”

“So you think some mythological dragon god is invading your dreams and sending you on wild goose chases? For what? What’s his endgame?”

“I don’t know. But it makes sense doesn’t it?”

“No, Victoria, it doesn’t. None of what you’re saying makes any sense to me whatsoever.”

“Derrick, it’s written that this guy is, I don’t know some super-being-creator-of-all-things-magic! He appeared as light when he was ‘good’ what if he’s that smoke thing now that he’s…lost? THE SMOKE TURNED INTO A DRAGON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!” she yelled excitedly, trying to get her point across to the man standing in front of her. But Derrick refused to budge.

“Well, Victoria, you’re forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Dragons don’t exist,” he sighed in frustration. “Baby, it’s late. You’re tired. You’re frustrated. You need to try and get some sleep. Work on this tomorrow.”

“Sleep? Do you have any idea how hard that is for me?”

“I do. But I’ll be beside you when you close your eyes and I’ll be beside you when you open them again. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Fine,” Victoria relented and slammed the book shut in her hands. She followed Derrick up the stairs to her bedroom and he quietly tucked her in and rested on the pillow beside her.

An hour later, Derrick awoke abruptly. A light sheen of sweat covered his body and his normal gray eyes were bright red and glowing. Victoria rested undisturbed beside him and he watched her for a moment. Moonlight beamed in through the opened curtains, tracing the contours of her body and he marveled at the peaceful look on her face.

The sound of her heart beating drew his eyes towards the vein at the crook of her neck. Tiny pinpricks from where his fangs had penetrated were still visible, but slowly healing. A tinge of remorse struck him again and he hastily withdrew from her side. 

The covers had bunched up at his feet and Derrick threw them off, encasing Victoria more beneath the blanket. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he waited until he felt his inner demon settle before standing. Quickly locating his pants and shirt and, he, as quietly as possible, dressed and rushed out the door.

He needed to get home and soon. Victoria had been expecting him to spend the night, and as much as he hated disappointing her, there was someplace he needed to be. It shouldn’t be this way, and he knew. But there was a part of himself he could never share with her…she’d never understand. 

Derrick made it to his side of town in record time; his 5-story manor was in sight. Cutting through the gas station lot, he rushed passed the convenience store and towards the diner on the corner from his home. Almost there.

“Hey there stud!”A sexy redhead purred from behind Derrick as he rounded the building. “You looking for some company tonight?” She was dressed in a tight, red spandex dress, thigh-high stockings and a pair of Madlen stilettos with metal straps. The smile on her devil red lips curved more when he stopped walking and she placed her hands on her hips and waited.

“Well,” Derrick turned with a seductive grin and slowly stepped towards her. The lustful look in his eyes turned her into goo and he could hear the rhythmic beating of her heart as he neared. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

Continue---->