Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 03:09:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nate House <extreamlucky14@yahoo.com>
Subject: Abandoned Blood 8

I'd like to thank all of those who have written to in support of this
project and invite those who haven't to do so. I welcome all manner of
critique and suggestions. I live to write for my audience and as such
encourage a free exchange of ideas as to what you'd like to see as the
story progresses. I've got plenty more in store for all of you, so keep the
letters coming.

Now time for the legal stuff. Though inspired by true events, all events
and characters within are borne of my own imagination. Any resemblance to
any real person or event, either dead, living, past or present, unless
granted permission (these people will be thanked at the end of the chapter)
are entirely coincidental. As I keep saying throughout, I'll leave it to
you to decide which parts are real and which parts are not.

Please enjoy the Eighth Chapter of "Abandoned Blood"!

********************

Chapter 8

Nadia hasn't said a word since the waiter took our order. She didn't look
me in the eye--hell she didn't look up at all. She just stared into the
dark oblivion of her lap. It didn't matter what I said, she refused to do
anything else. I guess vampires could sense each other out. Or maybe she
heard his thick accent and knew who was sitting just three tables
over. What I wanted to know was why the fuck my ex-girlfriend sitting with
him, mirroring my vampire.

"Nadia, please say something," I begged for the umpteenth time. I shook her
arm, but she refused to lift her gaze. It hurt to see her struck blind,
deaf and dumb like this. Risking a glance over my shoulder, I tried
again. "Nadia, I'm your Watcher. Let me help you." Father Darien was in as
grand of mood as the last time I saw him. I don't know what it was about
the guy, but he just made me sick. I guess the way people--other than me
for some reason--act around him pushes a button that just makes me want to
punch the shit out of him. I shook her arm harder, making her small
bracelet jingle on the table. "Nadia, please. Look at me."

"My, my, my, what a happy accident," the Father said. I spun around to find
him standing about four inches behind my chair. I retrained myself from
making a scene. My jaw hurt from how hard I was gritting my teeth; I'm sure
Nadia lost the blood flow to her hand by now. "How have my ladies been?"
God damn it, I wanted so bad to smack that smile right off his face.

"I'd be doing a lot better if you weren't around," I said bluntly, trying
in vain to wake Nadia from her trance. "And why the fuck is Tiffany with
you?"

Father Darien spun around and looked at her. When he faced me again, he
wore a confused expression.

"She invited me," he said innocently.

"Like hell she did," I shot back. His face began to morph into some
twisted, satisfied smile. I felt him touching my aura and it gave me the
creeps. "She doesn't know you and... and would you stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"That aura thing. Knock it off." He took a grand bow, arms open and
everything, as if to say "As you wish". I felt him let go. As happy as that
made me I was still plenty pissed about the fact he was even here. The
vampire pulled out a chair, I think just to crawl under my skin even more,
then Nadia made a sound. A chill went up my back. Whatever he was doing to
her mentally, she was liking it. "What are you doing to my vampire?"

"Nothing she doesn't like," he answered quickly. His little charmer facade
slipped to reveal his true, predatory nature. The bastard was reveling in
this. "Isn't that right, my sweet little Nadia?" I smacked his hand down
when he moved to touch her cheek. The Father flashed me one of his playboy
smiles, putting his gentleman exterior back on.

"Don't touch her. She doesn't belong to you." Nadia made another noise of
sexual satisfaction and grabbed a fistful of tablecloth. "And whatever it
is you're doing to her, stop. Leave us alone so we can have one decent,
normal meal."

Father Darien blinked, and sat back with his hand over his non-beating
black heart. "Now, my dear Charlene, I know you are not insulting my
cooking, are you?" I felt his fingers on my aura again. He was probing both
verbally and mentally. Nadia stirred again. I shuddered to think about what
he was doing to her right now, even as he assaulted me. Just how powerful
is this guy?

"The cooking? No. The company? Yes." I said with a bit of effort. He knew I
didn't stand a chance against him if he was to exert himself. I hated
feeling vulnerable like this, and he knew that. That's why he's playing
with me like this. I thought if I played nice and got him talking he would
comply. "I'm asking you politely, Father Darien, please let Nadia go and
tell me why you're here with Tiffany."

He smiled wide enough to show me a slip of his fangs. The last time I saw a
vampire do that I was nearly raped. "As you wish, you are her Watcher after
all." Immediately the air between us cleared. Nadia hunched forward over
the table, nearly knocking over her glass of water. "However, you have me
at a loss, my dear." I furrowed my brow in anger at his false concern. "You
claim to be her Watcher, but she holds no sway over you. Why is that?"

"She does too, dick face!" Nadia flipped her hand over and grabbed my
wrist. The threat in her eye did little to change my tone. I don't care how
high of regard she holds this asshole, he isn't going to talk to me like
that. "I don't know where you get off telling me shit like that, but I've
been dealing with this crap for days now and still haven't gotten a simple
straight answer about much of anything. Perhaps you can enlighten me."

I glanced over to his table when I saw Tiffany move. She was fidgeting in
her seat, probably just as uncomfortable with this guy as I am. Father
Darien looked over to Nadia and said, "Harold was right, Nadia, you need to
do a better job of leashing your Watchers before letting them roam free."
My blood was boiling at that fucking grin on his face. She went from
subdued to freaked out of her mind before he finished that sentence. "I
thought I taught you better than that. I know it would destroy you to lose
yet another one." He stroked her cheek a couple of times before I slapped
him away again. "Perhaps I should take you back into my fold for a while
longer."

Nadia's eyes bulged. "No!" I shouted for her. "I don't know what the fuck
it is you're getting at, but you better leave her alone. Can't you see how
fucked up she is already?" I was getting some weird looks from the other
guests, but I didn't care. And apparently, neither did the vampires.

The Father gave a me curious once over. Four heartbeats passed before he
answered. "Have you so little of an opinion of your own vampire? She
refuses me and my care. She fights me at every waking opportunity as of
late. It's curious though, that the only time she relents and becomes as
you see her now is because of you, Charlene. Why is that?"

I sat back, eyes wide. "How the fuck should I know? You're the expert here,
you tell me."

He chuckled at the attitude I was throwing at him. "Oh, you've got a
murderous rage in you, my dear, and I like it. You don't gain dominance
over your vampire by playing nice. You don't succumb to the sexual high
like every other Watcher she's had. I've taught Nadia a lot about the life
she was forced to live, but one thing that can't be taught is how to train
and deal with your Watcher; it's something you learn along the way. I've
seen countless Watchers fall by the wayside and become the scum that offers
themselves to any passing renegade bottom-feeder, but not you. No. You were
bitten by an experienced vampire and yet the idea of anything becoming of
it never crossed your mind.

You survived losing more than half of your body's supply of
blood. Impressive. You're arguably the strongest Watcher I've seen in my
lifetime and that is what makes her weak. That's the weird paradox between
vampire and Watcher, especially when no balance exists between the
two. Your strength is her weakness."

I tried to follow what he was saying. It was a lot to take in and not all
of it was making sense. I'd calmed down a bit, but was still confused. A
hundred questions ran through my head and like the typical dumbass I've
been lately, the one that came out was: "What do you mean by balance?"

"You're not very bright are you?" Affronted, I opened my mouth to say
something until Nadia covered my mouth and shook her head. His grinned
widened at that. "But that's not why you're the envy of the coven, Nadia."

"Wait. What?"

"Nadia has been my pet project for a long time and she's just now starting
to understand her true place our world."

He almost sounded like a proud papa. "All that's missing is an equally
powerful Watcher to balance out her own, which she still has yet to
appreciate fully."

"What the devil does that mean? I watched her punch through a guys aura and
then rip his throat out. What do you mean she doesn't appreciate her power?
I'm tired of listening to all of you talking this bullshit--"

"Mind your tongue!" the Father snapped. I jumped at the sound of his
voice. "I never said she didn't appreciate it. I said she doesn't FULLY
appreciate it." His gaze relaxed from anger to judgement--I'm not sure
which I'd rather have. "Though we are talking about everything you need to
know, you, little Watcher, are NOT listening. You've been gifted with
talents I've never seen before in yet you still don't understand your role
in any of this. You think it's just blood that a vampire needs from their
Watcher?" I nodded, trying to keep myself on an even keel. My face was pale
and my hands were shaking. "It takes more than that to keep us from going
insane. Do you know what it is, Charlene? Companionship. Friendship,
acceptance. Love. A Watcher needs to fully understand the life of their
vampire in order to appreciate their own. Even Tiffany over there knows as
much, and she lacks more than half of your abilities."

I looked back to Tiffany. I focused in on her and the way her hands were
fidgeting with her napkin. She wasn't only scared, she was sick. Her eyes
were red and puffy, her face had grown pale and by the odor coming off of
her, she hadn't bathed since I last saw her on the stairs in the
Daniels-Freeman building. I tried to read her aura, but came up empty. She
was either very shallow, or very freaked, and my bet was on the
latter. "What did you do to her?"

"Me? Nothing. I found her like this. I went to the university to check on
you and Nadia and found your little friend huddled in a corner behind that
old building crying her eyes out. When she mentioned your names I took her
in." He turned back to me, his eyes dripping with disdain. "I might ask you
the same question: What did you do to her?"

Affronted, I said, "I didn't do anything to her."

  "And therein lies the problem," he retorted. "Let me guess. You got upset
at her for also hearing Nadia's voice in her head, so you decided to turn
her a cold shoulder. You didn't bother to ask her of her woes, but insisted
that she understand yours." I was at a loss for words. There was only one
way he would know anything about that. "And when she tried to come to you
for help you pushed her away just as quickly. You both should consider her
lucky that I found her before a renegade, otherwise she might not be
walking around in daylight."

I didn't much care for the joke or his insight and told him as much. "Well,
Father, you seem to know a lot about me. Maybe you could tell me why I'm
afraid to walk around in the daylight and why my vision has changed."

A genuine look of confusion flashed over his face. Nadia, too, also looked
at me with that face, the first sign that she was still on planet earth
with me. "No, I can't explain that." He reclined back, making the chair
squeak and took his hands off Nadia. I quickly pulled my chair up between
them before he realized what happened. "That's never happened before
either. I'm sorry Charlene, but I can't help you with that one."

Did he just apologize to me?

The whole atmosphere around him started to change. He lost that over
confident veneer. Though still confused by all of what he was telling me, I
couldn't stop my satisfied smile. I made this seemingly omnipotent master
vampire speechless. It was short-lived, however, when I heard a voice that
didn't come from our table.

"Charlie?" Tiffany said, coming out of her trance. "Is that really you?"

"No, it's just some dolled-up hooker who looks like me," I shot back. I
don't know why I was unleashing my pent-up anger at her; I guess she was
the closest target. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't know." She looked around the place as if inspecting it for the
first time. Tiffany got up and started to slowly make her way towards
us. Her face was ashen, even more so than I thought, and it looked like she
hadn't eaten for days. "I told him that I was hungry, then the next thing I
know I hear your voice." My brow furrowed at Father Darien and what he
could have done to her. We may not be dating anymore, but she was still my
friend. "Charlie, I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me. I didn't mean to
say those things about Nadia. I'm sorry."

My mood at her changed instantly, but face hardened. Why the fuck was she
crying and apologizing? Both vampires started reacting to the heavy emotion
in the room. Both pairs of eyes started swelling and their auras started to
expand. Shit. "Tiffany, sit down," I commanded as directly and calmly as I
could. Anything too sudden could set them off. "Tiffany, stop moving and
sit down in the chair next to you. Stop crying and wipe your eyes." She
gave me a weirded out look, so I came up with something to explain it. "The
food should be out here any minute."

"How very noble of you to defend her, Charlene," the Father said through
that sinister grin. "You already know the warning signs and acted
accordingly. I'm impressed yet again." He turned his attention to Nadia,
who was cowering behind me and said, "You picked yourself a good one this
time, my little Nadia."

Again I felt him fingering my aura. He may as well been fingering my pussy
by this point--it would have had the same effect. I had to consciously
fight to keep my heartbeat in check and my fingers off my body. My scars
tingled, but only enough to tease me. Tiffany was struggling too, and
losing. "Stop it. Both of you," I struggled to say. "We're in a neutral
public place, not in your damn club. Let go of us."

"And if I don't?"

"I won't let Nadia come any where near you again." He bellowed out a
laugh. As insulting as it was intended, it did distract him from making me
and Tiffany into his little sex puppets. I'm afraid he may have already
done that to her anyway.

"Strong, determined AND audacious, if not a little stupid, I see why she
loves you. You are a gem, my sweet little morsel."

"Who? Tiffany or Nadia?"

"Does it matter?" To me it does. "My, my, young Charlene Candice Coventry,
I don't think you'll ever cease to amaze and amuse me. Or yourself. Selfish
delusions will not only get you killed, but abandoned as well. And to those
scum and renegades, there is nothing more sweet than abandoned blood. I'm
sure Nadia has told you as much."

No, not really, but I didn't need to tell him that. "She might have
mentioned it." The aroma of my breakfast arriving drew my attention towards
the kitchen. The waiter noticed how we were arranged and told the other
staff to adjust the kitchen.

I guess he thought we were a bunch of friends wanting to eat together. The
scary part: in a twisted way he was right.

"Ah, perfect timing as usual Philip." Father Darien rose up in a show
etiquette and manners. The display earned him a a thank you smile from the
man. I readjusted my chair as he presented us with our meals. "Would you
please inform the chef that I will be eating with these three lovely ladies
and to bring that one's food out as quickly as possible?" He nodded over to
Tiffany, at whom he waved to come join us. The Father kept his tone polite,
but I knew it wasn't a request.

"Of course, sir." Philip took a step back and asked, "Would the ladies be
requiring anything else?"

"How about some butter and syrup?" I asked not taking my eyes off the
master vampire. Philip just took a small bow and headed for the
kitchen. Father Darien kept his eyes on me.

I prepared my coffee how I like it, especially when I was this worn out.

Despite the fact that I wanted to puke, I took a sip. Then another.

Tiffany sat down opposite of me. She refused to meet my eye. Nadia didn't
even look up when she passed her. With my food finally in front of me, my
blood pressure finally started going down. I'm sure the vampires could
smell it. After Philip brought me what I asked for, Father Darien said,
"You have questions.

Ask."

Nadia said that to me once. I didn't get all that much out of her. "Okay,"
I said around a mouthful of pancake, "How come I'm feeling nauseous around
food all the time now?" I figured I'd milk him for all her was worth; I
wouldn't get the chance very often if I had my way.

"Your body is changing. Your entire perspective of the world is shifting;
the senses adjust to fit this change." I listened while I chewed, nodding
in time with his words. "You are not becoming a vampire, no, but you are
not the same person as you were last week. As far as specifics go, I can't
help you much I'm afraid. Everybody reacts to these changes differently."

Fair enough. "A couple of days ago, I puked my guts up at a scent that
usually makes me so hungry I can't stand it. Once I was done I had this
weird need to just run. It was like my brain was rationalizing me running
out of my house in my underwear and into a not-so-nice part of town. Why?"

He turned his attention to Nadia. The man was almost angered by that. "Let
me ask you this. Did you hear Nadia's voice at all?

Or think about her in any way, shape or form?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

His expression hardened. Staring down my vampire he asked, "And when you
arrived, Nadia was nowhere to be found?"

"I woke up on a discarded couch," I recalled. "I walked around a little
bit. It wasn't until Harold showed up that Nadia appeared. Why?"

Father Darien made a tisking noise. "Nadia, you of all people should know
better than to do that to your Watcher." He turned his attention back to me
and said, "Nadia called out to you, and she wasn't there when you
answered. That's a big no-no."

I didn't like his little chiding, so I decided to defend her the only way I
could. By blaming me. "I passed out on a couch somewhere. From my house to
that spot is nearly fifteen miles. I've never ran that far before.

Don't blame her for that."

"Don't cut yourself short, Charlene. Your body is changing; Nadia has seen
to that. That distance should be nothing for you."

"Okay, now I'm confused." I stared at him for a moment to see if he'd
volunteer anything. Of course he didn't. "You said that I'm changing, but
not into a vampire. What am I becoming exactly?"

I had the group's attention with that. I think they were just as curious as
me to find out. "I'm not sure what you're becoming.

I've told you once already, I've never seen anything like you. Your skin is
similar to ours in sensitivity. You can see in nearly pitch dark with that
azure haze that clouds your vision. Nadia told me that you read the auras
of not one, but three prostitutes that night. You can expand your aura to
fend off the advances of a vampire, myself included, before giving in. I'm
not sure if you did all of this out of either gross necessity, or instinct,
but you managed to do it in a week's time. That simply does. Not. Happen."

I'd stopped eating before he finished. I turned to Nadia who gave a little
nod. I was happy she was alive that much, but I'd still like to know why
neglected to tell me any of this.

I made to say something when Philip arrived with Tiffany's food. She looked
at it much like I looked at mine. I gestured for her to take a bite--she
can thank me later. I chose my next question over a sip of this awesome
coffee. "Why did you bring Tiffany here, and not say, any of the other
hundreds of restaurants in this town?"

"I've been a patron here for decades," he answered proudly. "The chef and I
went to culinary school together. Plus I'm one of the owners." That makes
sense. He seems to know everyone in this town, why not own everything in
this town as well? "I brought your little Tiffany with me because she asked
me to.

She needed food and a proper gentleman never ignores a request from a lady.

Especially one of such beauty." I sincerely hoped that last part wasn't to
make me jealous.

Tiffany purred after taking her first bite. I smiled at that, but the fact
that Nadia hasn't said one word this whole time was like someone tap
dancing on my last nerve with spiked heels. "Father Darien, what is it that
you have over Nadia to keep her silent like this?" I knew his concern was
fake, but it made me feel a little better that he at least pretended. "I
know you said that she only acts like this when I'm around, but is there
anyway you can get her to talk?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't force her to talk." But you could
force her into a stupor, I thought dryly. "The two of you need to find that
balance we talked about earlier."

"And how do we do that?" My sarcasm was coming back. I didn't like it if
only because the Father did. "Is there some sort of ceremony or ritual?"

Father Darien chuckled. "Not exactly. And the fact that you're asking tells
me all I need to know."

"About...?" I drawled.

"Forgive me if I seem a bit hesitant to answer that." He took a breath as
though he was going to give me another one of his speeches. Even Tiffany
stopped to listen. "It's not my place to say anything on the matter. At
least not to you. That's up to Nadia."

Goddamnit! "Is there some sort of enigma code that I need to crack to
understand you people?" Nadia darted her eyes at me. Siding with him again,
huh? I silently chided, even though I'm sure she heard it. "You're her
master vampire, you control almost her every thought. It's not your place?
My ass."

"I told you once already to watch that little mouth of yours, Watcher." He
meant that in the most condescending way possible, but I wasn't hearing
it. All of this cryptic talk was pissing me off. "The reason why I will not
say anything is because it won't mean anything coming from me. However,
coming from your vampire it will mean the world to you. Do you understand
now, Charlene?" I nodded. "No you don't, otherwise why would you continue
to think that I have all the answers? I may have been around for over two
hundred years, so I know a lot, yes, but not everything.

Don't fool yourself into believing so."

I threw my hands up. "Why is it that every time I ask for information, all
I get in return is just enough to piss me off?" I let out a little laugh
and shook my head. Tiffany was stuffing her face. Not a bad idea. Pancakes
make everything better.

I forced all of the rage and anger out of me. A weird sensation came over
me as I began to relax. It felt like all of the emotions were coating my
aura, similar to what Nadia did when I was attacked. My body started
warming to it. I felt Father Darien reach out with his and touch it. He
recoiled his hand quickly as if it burned him. I smiled around the food I
was chewing.


"Tiffany," Father Darien boomed out, making everyone jumped. I guess he
didn't like it as much as I did. This guy cares for us as much as Harold
did. "Meet me by the door whenever you're ready to go. I'll take you home."
He looked at me and said, "Don't worry about the bill. Just leave Philip a
nice tip and I'll take care of the rest."

"That's very kind of you, Father Darien. Thank you." I was too elated by
the fact that he was leaving to say anything else. I looked over to Nadia
and saw her relief all over her face. Tiffany looked about the same.

The master vampire left after giving us another one of his famous grand
gestures. I don't know what happened to that guy, but he was certainly
fucked up.

I watched him go, heading towards the manager's office. As soon as the door
closed I ducked under the table and looked for some sort of listening
device. I let out a nervous breath when I found nothing under the table or
any of the chairs.

I got a few more curious looks from the other tables when I crawled under
each table searching for what wasn't there. I've never been so relieved to
find nothing.

"Charlie, what the hell were you doing?" Tiffany asked me when I sat back
down.

"Making sure we were alone," I replied. Nadia's face relaxed a bit further.

"Does that really matter? I'm sure he's got a way of finding out anything
he wants to know. I mean, he told me things about me that I hadn't thought
about in years." She went back to her eggs.

I let out a little chuckle. I've never known her to think much about
anything that didn't revolve around her getting laid. Wait... thought
about? Shit. Don't I feel like the fucking dumbass. He doesn't need a
device to listen in on us. He'll just tune into our thoughts later. Oh
well. Too late to stress about it now. I looked at the two women again and
thought this was as good a time as ever. They were going to talk to
me. Especially Nadia.

********************

Even with Father Darien gone Nadia still refused to look at me. I really
wish she'd quit doing that; beating herself up for reasons beyond my reach
wasn't helping our relationship any.  I swallowed the massive chunk of
syrupy goodness and asked her, "Mind telling me what that little talk was
all about?"

The subdued vampire slowly lifted her eyes. When was she crying? "The
truth," she answered bluntly. Her breathing came and went through trembling
lips.

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't. What exactly are you afraid of, Nadia?"
She looked away and at the door Father Darien just entered. "I mean, I
don't think he'll hurt you for telling me things I need to know, will he?"
She shook her head. "Do you think he wants the best for you?" She nodded,
still refusing to look at me. "Then what's the problem?"

The vampire held back another sob. "When he found me, I was lower than the
scum that I killed in my basement." I nodded my head, she's told me that
already, but Tiffany looked at her like she'd just seen a ghost. That
wasn't far off. "He made me do things... things that went against
everything I knew was right. He used my new instincts to create... this."
She finished by motioning with her hands down her body. "Father Darien took
me in from the streets and molded me into the very monsters I feared when I
out there. I hate him. I love him, but I hate him. Because I owe him my
life my good senses tell me to defend him against anything, much like they
do with you, Charlene, and it's those same instincts that tell me to get
away from him." She took a breath to keep her emotions in check. "I want to
get away from him but I can't. I need his protection to keep me alive. I
know what happens to vampires that don't have a master looking out for
them. I've lived it, and I'm not going back to that life."

I dropped my fork, suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore. And apparently,
neither was Tiffany. "Let me get this straight, Nadia. Father Darien took
you in and then brainwashed you into becoming something you hate?" I saw
the fire ignite behind those swelling eyes. My heart broke. "Nadia did you
not hear yourself just now? You are the vampire equivalent of Stockholm and
battered woman syndrome."

She didn't like that. The vampire's predatory instincts overtook her
subdued facade. Tiffany squealed when Nadia pounced on me. We fell back,
rolling over the chair. I held my ground knowing that if I moved I was
dead, Watcher or not. Then I saw the pain flash over her face. She didn't
want to do this; I could see the battle waging in her head as she fought
off her natural instincts. I crossed the line by telling her what she
needed to hear.

Her breath was hot on my skin, causing my scars to start tingling. Shit. I
had minutes before her aura over took mine and reason gave way to sexual
desire. I could feeling building in my pussy even before she jumped me. I
averted my gaze to the other people in the room, hoping they would either
go back to their meals or just leave already. If I lost this, they wouldn't
want to see what happens.

Fighting off the instincts in my own head, I gave Nadia instructions with
as firm of voice as possible.

"Nadia... get up and sit down in your chair. You don't want to... do
this. I'm your Watcher, Nadia. I'm here for you, but not like this. ...You
hear me?

We'll discuss everything later, but you... you have to gain control of
yourself."

I felt her aura dissipating from mine. The muscles between my legs relaxed
a bit. The vampire backed off and sat back in her seat.

I lurched myself up. I noticed that Tiffany had a hand between her clenched
thighs and the other had a death grip on one of her boobs. My eyes went
wide at how easily she fell prey to the sexual tension the pheromones
pulled on us. I hoped I wasn't like that my first time. Placing my chair
back where it belonged, I asked Tiffany if everything was alright.

She let out a breathy, "Yeah." My ex blinked a few times to regain her
bearings. "What the hell was that?"

"An overreaction to a simple question," I said staring at Nadia. "They have
a habit of doing that, don't they." Nadia nodded. She sat back in her chair
like a beaten child. Her eyes were still vamped out, but I knew she wasn't
going to act on it again. I made a face at the throbbing in my lower
back. I looked at the food, then to the two women around me. "You two done?
I know I am." We had to get out of here, this was too much for all of
us. Both nodded, Tiffany more so than Nadia.

As we left the dining area, Nadia made a quick detour to the manager's
office. I tried to protest, but she slammed the door in my face. I heard
her voice in my head again. "Wait for me outside. I won't be long."

********************

Tiffany and I sat on the bench outside while Nadia spoke with Father
Darien. At least, I hope they were just talking. We've been waiting out
here for nearly ten minutes now. I tried to break the ice with my ex with
the usual small talk stuff, but she didn't want to answer anything beyond
those one word answers that have been pissing me off lately.

"Damn it Tiff, say something," I said for the fifth time. My skin was
warming up and my eyes started to hurt. I needed some sort of a distraction
from the elements and she was the closest thing I had. "How did Father
Darien ever stumble into you?" She looked at me like I'd lost my mind or
something. "And no, I don't believe one word he said about it. That guy is
a creatine; I've spoken with him before and he creeped me out then too."

Tiffany just threw up her hands and looked away. "That's just like you,
Charlie." She let out an exasperated sigh. "Can't you see what you've been
turned into by all this shit? Ever since you met that little skank you've
been a complete bitch to me and all of our friends. You haven't called me,
or anybody else for that matter. You've practically disappeared from
school--"

"Stop right there!" I shouted. Blood rushed into my face, adrenaline surged
through my body. "You don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking
about. I was attacked and raped. Twice. Nadia saved my life and took me in
when no one else gave two shits about me. I haven't hear word one from you,
Travis, or Henry, either. A phone works in two directions, Tiffany. Why
didn't YOU call ME?" Tiffany started crying at that point.

Good, cause I wasn't having any of her shit. Not today. I would have
started crying too had I not been so pissed off. After another second of
this, I took a breath and said, "I'll ask again, how is it that Father
Darien found you on campus?"

"I don't know," she said after a shaky breath. "I just remember hearing
Nadia's voice in my head, telling me to leave you alone, then you ran down
the stairs, then I was alone. I made my way outside, curled up in a little
ball, and tried to disappear." She wiped her eyes and looked at me. "It
hurt the way you went to her, Charlie. I saw the way you two looked at each
other." Tiffany looked up, trying to decide what words to use. "Father
Darien, as you call him, brought me back to his house and let me stay
there. I told him about the fight I had with my parents the after we all
went to the Were-House. He helped me, Charlie. More than you or Travis
could have."

Adrenaline surged through me. My anger shifted to dire concern. "Tiffany,
what did he do to you in there? Tell me everything."

"Well, at first, he just let me sleep," she started, sobering up. "I really
don't remember much else besides this weird need to masterbate all the
time. That's the most I remember about it all--being really, really
horny. I was afraid to ask him about it." I knew exactly what she was
talking about. Inwardly, I was smiling in understanding and shaking my
head.

"Then there was the heat. It must have been like a hundred degrees in that
house night and day. He thought it was amusing that I walked around in my
underwear all the time, but never said anything. He treated me like a
lady. He told me some things that were exactly what I needed to hear, so I
just stuck with him, and then we decided to come here to get me something
to eat."

Something about that last part wasn't adding up; my inward smile fell. "He
never once made a pass at you? Or tried to bite you?"

She shook her head. "No, though he did call me his little morsel a few
times. Since he's a vampire, I just assumed it was a pet name he gave to us
humans." Tiffany smiled as if him calling her that was a joke.

"Tiffany this is serious," I said, grabbing her shoulders. "You've checked
yourself over completely? No bite marks anywhere?" She nodded and kept
smiling as though she was proud of herself. Something in my gut
clicked. This just wasn't right. He just told me about how much vampires
savor the taste of abandoned blood, and, by all accounts, that's how he
found her. Then the night I was attacked by Harold flashed through my
mind. Where his teeth stopped against my neck wasn't on top of my scars. He
was going to leave his own mark, hidden by my hair. "Tiffany, lift your
hair."

"What?"

"Hold your hair over you head and let me look at the back of your neck."
After mumbling an okay she did as I asked. My heart sank when I saw a pair
of puncture marks atop one another just off center. Right next to the
vertebrae. She couldn't have missed my disgruntled sigh. If everything that
bastard just said was true, then she'd become one of those low-life buffets
on the streets begging to be bitten. I almost started crying, and probably
would have if my lungs worked.

"What?" I put my face into my hands. "Charlie, what is it?" I stood up and
started pacing. "Charlie, you're scaring me."

"He bit you," I said softly, barely above a whisper.

"What?"

"I said, he bit you," I repeated. Her face went even more pale than
mine. She had no idea how fucked up her life was about to become. And there
was nothing I could do to help her. Hurt and confusion melted onto her
face. "That's why you don't remember much, except what he wants you to
remember." A light went off in my head, but I didn't have time to dwell on
it. "Tiffany, listen to me very carefully. If you ever start feeling... off
about any situation. Any room you walk into, any person you talk to, I mean
absolutely anything, get out of there." I didn't have the heart to tell her
anything more, it was too broken.

She started tearing up again. "What are you talking about , Charlie." I
shook my head and apologized. "What do you mean you're sorry? Charlie!"

"... I... I don't know what to say, Tiff," a tear escaped. I crouched down
and held her hands. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you." This wasn't
fair. She didn't deserve this. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fucking fair!
"Tiffany, I want you to call me as soon as you get home. Okay?"

"Why?"

"I just need to know that you got home safely." I was biting back my
frustration, trying desperately to not unleash it on her. "This is serious,
Tiff. Please?"

I heard the door crack open. Nadia walked out of the restaurant and grabbed
my arm.

"We need to leave." I tried to shake her off of me, but failed. "Now! I
need to get you out of here before--"

The door opened again. The devil himself emerged from the shadow. "YOU SON
OF A BITCH BASTARD!!" Nadia's arms were on my middle, pulling me away. A
wicked grin spread on his face. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER!"

My answer came to me in my head. "Nothing she didn't like." That was the
same thing he said about what he was doing to Nadia not twenty minutes ago.

"YOU FUCKING PRICK! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Charlene, stop it please," Nadia pleaded as she dragged me away. Betrayal
ripped at my soul. "The best way to help her right now is to leave."

"FUCK YOU!"

"Get in the car, Charlene." I didn't care if she was vamping out on me, I
was going to kill this mother fucker. "I'm begging you. Don't make this
harder than it has to be."

I blanched. My stomach turned over. "I can't trust any of you." I said it
just loud enough to hear.

"You are one us, Charlene," the Father said to me.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Nadia shouted, tears threatened to escape her
eyes.. "LET ME TAKE HER HOME!"

I felt her aura expanding. I accepted it like a security blanket. My mind
went numb. I forgot how to think. In less than a week everything I knew was
turned on it's head. One of my best friends was going to become something
less than human. Something that even renegades consider beneath them. I
started flailing my arms when someone tried to push me into the car.

"Charlene please, stop." That sweet voice seemed so far away. I think my
hand found her face. "Charlene, please, I need you. Stop!"

I couldn't think. All I wanted to do, other than kill the Father, was curl
up on my own bed, with my family around me and pretend this was all just a
bad nightmare. I just kept repeating, "I want to go home, Nadia... Take me
home..."

"Get in the car, Charlene. I'll take you home."

*********************

"Oh my god, Charlie!" My mother screamed when we came through the
door. Nadia was carrying me as if I was some lame and frightened
child. There was actually some truth to that. "Who are you?"

"Get her a glass of water," Nadia said as she mad her way to the couch. "My
name is Nadia. I'm a friend of Charlene's."

"What happened to her?"

Nadia spoke up quickly, as if lying to humans was second-nature. "She
fainted. Can you please get her a glass of water?" Well, not exactly lying,
but close enough.

My vampire set me down on that heavenly softness. I rolled over, away from
everyone. I didn't want to talk anymore--I had enough of it. I didn't want
to be a part of this anymore. I tried to accept it. I tried to understand
it all, but all the lies and twisted truths had run their course. I was
done.

I felt Nadia sit down next to me. Mom was doing something in the kitchen. I
couldn't stand to look at either one of them, and for two different
reasons. I was mad as hell at Nadia, and I was too ashamed of myself to
face my mother. I swatted the hand that came to my shoulder, but it didn't
move. I could tell who it was by the temperature of the skin. "Go away
Nadia," I all but cried.

"Charlene?" she mumbled. I felt a tear fall onto my cheek. Why was she
crying. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have said something about
this. But he wouldn't let me. I wanted to so bad, please believe me."

"Nadia! Shut up! I'm done listening to this crap. You've used me in more
ways than I thought possible. You're all full of shit. I'm sick of it." I
swore I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't. "Leave me alone."

Nadia sniffled, but didn't move away. "I can't." I rolled over, her face
inches from mine and filled with more emotions than I've seen on her all
week. "I can't, Charlene. I promised I'd never leave you." Another tear
landed on my face. "Don't send me away."

I sat up when I felt something off about the room. "Mom!" I stammered. I
don't think my voice was as shocked as her face. "How long have you been
standing there?"

I noticed the cup started shaking. "Long enough," she mumbled. "Is there
something you want to tell me?" she asked, coming towards us. Nadia sat
back and looked away. She offered me the glass of water and suddenly became
the astute woman I knew her to be. "A friend, huh?"

She gave the vampire a good once over and said, "Must be a pretty close
friend."

Shit. There was no way I could explain any of this to my mother. "You could
say that. She let me borrow some of her clothes when mine got..." I thought
of a good word to describe it. "Dirty."

"And why haven't I met her yet?"

I took a sip of my water. "We just met this past week, mom. I planned on
bringing her by sometime soon to meet everyone, but she insisted that it be
today." God, now I'm the one whose lying.

Mom raised an eyebrow. Why can''t I do that? "Sounds more like the two of
you are dating. I saw the way she was holding you just now."

"Yeah it does, but it's not like that." I swung my legs over the edge of
the couch but didn't dare stand up. That's why Nadia carried me in here in
the first place. I tried to run away, but only got about two steps before
my vision started getting dark and I fell over. I looked over at her, but
she was cowering away as if my mom was Father Darien. "She helped me out
some at school and became friends. There's not much else to say." I hated
lying to her, but that's the only way I knew to get out of telling her the
truth.

She looked between us both several times. I could hear the clock in the
dining room tick, even without my new ears. Any idiot could smell the
tension between us. I kept an honest-to-god look on my face as best as I
could. "That still doesn't explain why she had to carry you into the house,
Charlie." I gulped. "Why don't you tell me what happened."

Damn it.

"Well, Nadia and I went to Carlton's for some lunch," I started, glancing
at the sullen vampire, "And I guess I ate too much. She drove me home when
I told her that I didn't feel so good. I got out of the car and nearly
passed out." Mom kept an blank expression the whole time, as usual,
rendering me incapable of anticipating her response. Sometimes I think that
she was trained to be an interrogator by the CIA or something. "I'm still
not feeling all that great, so I wasn't about to tell her no. I thought it
was a nice gesture."

"You look like you're feeling much better."

Not really, I thought. When I didn't say anything she added, "I'll be
outside in my garden if you need anything. You father will be home at six."
She looked over to Nadia. "And I expect you to stay for dinner tonight."
The vampire just nodded.

"Where's Sven and Syliva?" I asked when I realized just how quiet the house
really was.

"They're out on the road for the next couple of weeks." I couldn't help but
notice the pride in her voice. She was the one who taught him how to
sing. She walked towards the back door, pausing only to take one more look
at us. Her mouth curled up a little, but her eyes told me the truth. She
didn't believe me.

Nadia sat down next to me. I didn't look at her. She tried to reach out to
me, both physically and mentally. I jerked away at both. "Don't touch me,"
I snapped. "And leave my aura the hell alone."

"Why?"

"Because I said no. Or does that word not matter to you people?" I felt my
pulse speed up. Nadia did too; good, then she'll know that I'm genuinely
pissed off.

"Of course it does." She didn't answer that with any degree of
confidence. "But it's our nature to be predators. It's not that it doesn't
mean anything... that's why most of us go insane." She was crying again,
and the vulnerability in her voice made me want to believe it. "Our very
nature battles with our conscience and usually wins."

"I thought you enjoyed holding power--"

"You think I enjoy this!"

she shot back standing up. "You think I want to keep attacking people to
stay alive? I hate it. It tears me apart every time I feed, even on you. I
don't want this life. If I could take it out of me I would, but I can't."
Tears were streaming down her beautiful face. It was like a knife twisting
inside of my heart to look at her. Damn it, I'm not going to start
crying. "I hate living like this. Father Darien knows that and he plays on
it. And there's not a gaddamn thing I can do about it." She collapsed onto
the floor. I had to fight my instinct to help her up or hold her. She
needed to get this out. This was rage, not a pity party. "I can't go back
there, Charlene. Please don't send me away. He'll find me and take me
back. I can't go back... I can't...."

Despite the fact I was mad as hell at her, it tore me up to see her like
this. Even through all the tears and pain I could see she still had more to
get out. What she said to me before we got in the car came rushing back to
me. "Why do you need me?" She looked at me with a questioning
expression. "It's a simple question, Nadia. It requires only a simple
answer. Why do you need me?"

"After everything you've seen so far, you still have to ask me that?" Her
voice was disbelieving at best.

I shook my head. "No. I don't NEED to ask it. What I do need is to hear you
answer it in as few words as possible. Spare me the usual crap and give it
to me straight, for once."

She let out s lightly hysterical giggle. "Look at me, Charlene. I'm losing
my mind at just the thought of you throwing me out. We vampires rely on our
Watchers for stability, in every sense of the word. You are my lifeline to
normalcy." She sniffled again and wiped her nose. "Watchers are our willing
companions in all of this."

"Willing? I seem to remember you attacking me first... twice actually. You
call that willing?" She shook her head vigorously. A painful memory flashed
over her face. "Fath... that son of a bitch said something about you not
having any sway over me, or something."

"And you said he was lying."

"And you said he wasn't, so I'm curious about your first attack on me. At
the pool game." Her eyes turned down in guilt. I knew something was off
about what she said before. "You told me that you just expanded your aura
to coat mine. But every other time you've done that it had the exact
opposite effect. Why and how did it happen like that?"

"It was Father Darien," she said to the floor. A sheepish smile came to her
lips. "I knew from the start that there was something different about
you. I told him that I've been following you around, trying to get close to
you. I used his influence better my own. I didn't intend to give you a
near-orgasm right there, that was his doing. What I smiled at was your
resilience and willingness to fight me off. It came naturally to you. I
made the decision to make you my Watcher then." She looked up at me and
paused. I didn't know what to believe anymore--that sounded way too
convenient. Then again, after what I went through earlier today, that
version seemed much more plausible.

"I'm sorry Charlene, there is only one way I knew how to do that. That's
why I bit you at the club that night." Again, convenient but
plausible. "Father Darien told me dress the part, so I put on my best gown
and followed you there. I don't know how much of our 'moment' you remember,
but I'm sure you didn't feel the sexual rush until it became sexual."
Thinking back on it, she was right, she used her aura to tease me, not rape
me like Father Dick-face did.

The memory made my pussy moisten a bit. My scars were tingling in time to
the tightening of my inner muscles. I squirmed to keep myself under
control. I'm sure Nadia could sense it.

"Okay... um... why did you need his approval?" Please scars, not now.

"He's the de facto leader of the coven," she answered ad if it were common
knowledge among humans. "He's the master vampire of this area. I don't
necessarily need his blessing, but it's socially unacceptable to take a
Watcher without it."

That was a new one. "Socially unacceptable?" She nodded. "To who?"

"The coven. You met a good number of them at his place." Guess that
explains the name. I gulped at the thought of asking my next question.

"And what he did to Tiffany is 'socially acceptable'?"

"I don't know what he did to her," she said with remorse in her voice. "But
from what I saw, both yes and no. Yes because he still needs to feed. No
because he has a fairly extensive support network for that, so he
needlessly turned an innocent into a blood whore. But no one will say
anything because of his status of master vampire."

I thought of several things to say, and they all turned into something that
I was afraid to ask. After everything she's shown me about her loyalties, I
didn't know how she would answer."Would you give me to him if he asked
you?"

I gulped at her determined expression. "What makes you think he hasn't
already?" I blinked in shock. "I've given myself to him twice to prevent
that from happening." I think my heart stopped. Se rose to her feet with
her body stiff. It was like she was holding back from hitting
something--hitting me--out of frustration. "That's how much you mean to me,
Charlene. I will stop at nothing to keep you safe. I won't let you end up
like the squaller feast I used to feed on."

My mood changed instantly. "Why didn't you tell me all this before? I
wouldn't have--"

"I told you I'd explain everything," Nadia interrupted. "I just couldn't do
it in front of Father Darien or anyone in the coven. That's another thing
that's frowned upon. I'm actually not supposed to take you into the coven's
house until we have established a balance."

"What does that mean anyway?"

Again, a painful memory flashed over her face. "We call it a balance, but
rather it's an eternal bond that isn't supposed to be broken. It takes a
lot of strength and trust of both Watcher and vampire to successfully
orchestrate that bond. The painful paradox about it is I will live much
longer than you will."

"Okay," I said hesitantly, "What's involved?"

"I will have nearly drain you of your blood and... and replace it with my
own." I sat back, thinking of what it felt like when that happened the
first time. "While I'm recovering, you'll have to... keep me alive with the
usual feedings. Without it, my body will wither since I'll be too weak to
hunt."

"And you've done this before?"

She nodded.

"Once. It was one the few people I've ever trusted that much. I found out
from some of the others about the risks, but kept those from her. She
insisted. It took me two weeks to give in. We had everything planned
out. My brother would be on stand-by with that cast iron skillet in case I
lost control. The event itself happened as smoothly as I could have
hoped. It was what happened afterward that frightens me. Her body began
resisting the blood. The extra enzymes were being attacked by her defense
systems. I felt it myself when I fed on her. It was awful. My body attacked
back and won, but she was losing. I watched her body kill itself in a slow
death for three years."

I think I understood the whole "going insane" bit now. I know I would after
half the shit she's told me. The idea of standing up and giving her a
sympathy came ad went. "Who was it?"

"My mother." A new wave of pain and regret washed over her. "After she
died, my brothers and sister kicked me out of the house. They said that I
was a plague. I agreed. No matter how I looked at it, it was because of me
that my father left and my family fell apart. I left that night without
saying a word. I never saw my brothers again. I found my sister once,
selling her body for a meal to eat. After that I moved out here where no
one knew me and I didn't know them."

I put my hand up to stop her. "Tell me some other time." I promised myself,
twice in fact, that I wouldn't start crying. I knew that if she started
telling me that part of the story I would break that promise. "I see why
you wouldn't want a balance with me after that. Is that what Harold and
Darien referring to with their 'keep her on a leash' comments?"

She just looked at me. It was a look that made my skin crawl. In the
seconds it took for her to answer I thought about telling her not
to. "Yes. If you are bound to me then only my touch can ignite your
scars. The pheromones will still affect you, yes, but I can teach you how
to stifle it."

I blinked. "You said we were bound."

"I don't know why I said that." That's freaking great. "I am bound to you
by virtue of my mark.

You claimed to be my Watcher in front of Father Darien and more than half
the coven. I am bound to you, but you are not bound me except by your
word. Those in the coven won't touch you; it's one of the rules of
tradition--and they know I'll kill whoever tries--but renegades don't care
about the rules. They don't care about my death threats, especially if
they're starving. They'll risk it."

"So until we go through with establishing a balance, I'm fair game to every
cretin out there," I said, stifling my own hysterical giggle. "But to go
through with find that balance, we both risk dying, me more slowly than
you." She gestured as if to say, "basically".

"That's just fucking peachy. What happened with all your other Watchers?"

She fell to her knees right in front of me. "I never formed that balance. I
was going to with Marianna, but she left when one of the other coven
members beckoned her away. I learned the hard way that those closest to you
can also be your worst enemies."

Nadia reached out and grabbed me hand. She knew I could use a little bit of
comfort too it seemed. "Do you understand why I need you, Charlene?" I
nodded and told her yes. "I've seen what happens to unbound Watchers, and
what happens to those Watchers who hasten into it. It's a hard decision for
me to come to. I won't force you into a balance with me, and I won't let
anyone touch you. Father Darien most of all. I swear on my soul that you
will not become some vampire plaything. You are my Watcher, Charlene. I
need you."

I almost thought she was going to end that speech with three little
words. At least, that's what it felt like. After everything that's happened
today I still had plenty to be upset about. I still don't know why she
waited this long to tell me all of this, but I wasn't going to push the
issue. I guess she needed it to come at the right time. But now that I knew
this stuff, what was I going to do with it? She placed a high value on the
friendship--if you can call it that--for no other reason that I accepted
her for who and what she is. And in return for that she's protected me at
least twice now.

I scarcely noticed her inching towards me. I felt her arms wrap around my
neck and pull towards her.  Our lips met in the softest touch I've ever
felt. My hands grabbed her cheeks. Our mouths danced in a beautiful
ballet. One of her hands brushed against my scar, setting my groin
ablaze. I gasped, arching my neck back. Nadia's wet tongue traveled up and
down the length of my throat.

Without warning she grabbed my hair and forced my head to the side,
exposing her mark. Her other hand started rubbing my tits. I so hoped she
was going to bite me. My pussy was absolutely drench right now. Her teeth
passed over the scars several times. "Don't tease me," I breathed. I sucked
in the air when those marvelous twin pearls pierced my skin. Nadia dipped
her rubbing hand under my skirt and panties.

With her teeth and fingers inside of me, I didn't know how much I could
take before I passed out. I didn't care that we were in the living room, I
just wanted to enjoy this. Her lips attached themselves to my skin. Her
talented tongue dipped into the open wounds as her probing fingers tickled
my G-spot. Her thumb rolled over my exposed clit in tiny circles. I was
gonna cum before too long. Nadia moaned against my neck, almost pushing me
over the edge. She started grinding her crotch against my knee. I could
feel her wetness through the denim.

My pussy erupted in a tidal wave of girl juice. Her palm and my panties
caught most of it, the rest dripped onto my skirt. Nadia reared her head
back when I felt her pussy erupt in a similar fashion. She was quick to
finish tonguing my bleeding neck to keep blood off my mom's sofa. Whatever
stains I left behind were going to be enough fun to explain. Her hand
slipped out of my borrowed panties, pulling some of the sticky juices with
it. I let out a little giggle at the noise it made.

Even after the scar tissue healed over, Nadia continued to nuzzle against
my neck. She licked her fingers clean then wrapped her arms around me. I
held her there, she wasn't leaving. I think I owed her that much for all
she's done for me so far. A pang of guilt hit me. She was ready to kill
herself to keep me safe and I was two seconds away from throwing her out. I
could see why she was so torn; I needed to start treating her with the same
respect she showed me. Why not start right here, right now? I smiled when I
heard her cooing beneath my touch. Fortunately for us, mom was still
outside; I could hear her cussing at her plants. And just as unfortunate,
the moment I closed my eyes to relax, the fucking phone started to ring.

********************

The End? Not even close. Stay tuned!!