Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2015 01:07:28 -0700
From: Nate House <extreamlucky14@yahoo.com>
Subject: Embrace The Enemy 7

**Note to Nifty: this is a continuation of my series by the same name**


Thank you all for being so patient with me and this story. It's been such a
long time coming for me, and for some of you as well. It's taken a lot out
of me to even get this much done and released before the ear mark of the
previous chapter.

Though special attention has been given to historical accuracy, and
inspired by true events, this story is a work of fiction. The primary
characters do not depict any actual person, so any correlation making it
seem otherwise is entirely coincidental. Some characters used in this
chapter and any following it did exist in history and have been used in a
parodic manner to fit the narrative and is perfectly legal, as well as any
place and event in history. This story contains graphic depiction of sexual
acts between two female characters, among others, as well as graphic
depictions of many things. If any of these subjects offend you, or if you
have a weak stomach, please leave now. I did not write those scenes for
enjoyment, but as a play on the historical accuracy of several sequences
throughout the story, nor did I write these scenes to have some random
person lecture me on my twisted imagination. While I do have a twisted
imagination to come up with this story in the first place, some of the
following scenes happened as I described them so if you have an issue with
it, take it up with your dead ancestors for supplying me with the material.

That's enough of my little rant on my not giving a fuck of peoples'
feelings. You've been warned, so if you read further you only have yourself
to blame for being offended.

So sit back, relax with your favorite person, and enjoy part 7 of Embrace
The Enemy.


**********

Chapter Seven

**~**~ NADIA'S PERSPECTIVE ~**~**

More than a week had passed since the imperial troops had entered the city
to quash the uprising. Untold numbers of people were still lying dead in
the streets, waiting for someone to put them to rest. No one in my family
dared to leave the house since my mother burned the blood-stained clothes
of my father and brother.

"I'll be back," my father said, already heading for the door.

All of us looked astonished. "Where are you going?" my mother asked, but we
all knew the answer.

"We need food. Things have started calming down, most of the troops have
left the city."

"But what if someone recognizes you?" she asked, not daring to make a grab
for him. We'd all seen that look before. It was not wise to question his
resolve.

"No one will recognize me. We wore face covers. No one will question an
unarmed man walking through the market with his daughter."

We all looked at each other. "What are you saying, Dmitri?"

"Nadia is coming with me," he declared holding his hand to me. I hesitated
before taking it, more confused than every one else in the room. I could
still smell the blood after all his efforts to get rid of it. It permeated
the air, was in the floors, in the walls... I could almost taste it with
every breath. No one else seemed to notice. "I will draw less attention
this way, especially the attention of the authorities."

My mother nodded in defeat. "Very well."

My father dragged me out of the house. I almost passed out from the noxious
fumes riding in the morning fog. Gunpowder, blood, death; agony, despair,
fear... my head was spinning. Literally and figuratively. I couldn't stop
looking around at the devastation wreaked upon the city. Everywhere I
looked people were either blank, angry, or dead. Or armed and marching. I
wanted to scream, but knew it wasn't a good idea. My father must have
sensed what I was feeling because his grip on my hand got tighter the
closer we got to the Central Market.

"Stay close to me, Nadia," he uttered without looking at me. His eyes were
on everything but me. Always watching, always alert.

We made a few stops along the remains of the market, picking up a few
items. We didn't stop long at any one person's stall or wagon, but my
father would nod or grunt to seemingly random people if given one first. To
any passer-by it would seem nothing more than a quick greeting, but even at
my young age I knew all too well what it meant.

They were part of the uprising.

They were the reason the Imperial Army laid siege to Odessa.

They were part of the problem.

The closer I looked at each man the more I started noticing a pattern to
their behavior. They would lock eyes for an instant with my father then
look around for any passing troops. Their heart rates would increase as
they did so, then slow when the coast was clear. My father would return
their quick greeting, then pretend like we never stopped there.

What surprised me the most was how little attention any of them, including
the Imperial soldiers, paid me. It made me feel insignificant, but
important at the same time. I could be carrying a bomb and they would never
know it. They could march right over my skull only to be mad that I got in
their way. Over the sound of their marching feet I could taste their
apprehension and distaste of being in my city like a sour flavor mixed with
the coppery sensation of the blood in the air. For some reason, that made
me smile.

On our way back home, the only person that my father verbally acknowledged
was the Arch Diesis of Odessa.

"Good morning, Father Ioeseff," he said genuinely happy to see him.

He gave us a kind smile in return. It was obvious that he'd been seeing to
the many parishioners who have suffered a loss over the past fortnight. He
looked haggard, weighted down, but was always quick with a smile as if
seeing one in return could change his whole day around. His robes were
spotted with blood, which caught my attention even before he returned my
father's greeting.

"I wish it were a better morning, Dmitri," he answered with his unusual
velvety German accent. I never learned how or why he chose Odessa. He could
speak our language well enough, but there was something about him that
always put me on edge. "So much tragedy and despair in the last two weeks,
but hope remains."

He said that last part looking directly at me. Even with my innocent eyes I
could see something behind his warm presence shift. I felt... cold standing
there before him. Exposed. Like he could see right through me, like he knew
about the changes happening to me that I had yet to understand. When he
exhaled, I could smell something odd about his breath. It smelled like
something I wouldn't understand for many years to come.

"Indeed, Father, so long as you and yours continue working through God. It
does me good to see out amongst us." My father was oblivious to the fact
that I was trying to hide behind him away from this man. "We are bringing
some daily stores back to the family. You should come by when you can spare
a minute."

Father Ioseff's smile widened at me, then he shifted back to my father, his
lips falling back to the simple grin. "Duty has my schedule filled for a
while yet, but I thank you for the invitation."

Then we were off on our way to the house. And what felt like its
diminishing safety.

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


**~**~CHARLIE'S PERSPECTIVE~**~**

The room was spinning even before I opened my eyes. I could feel the
dizziness threatening to take over reason. Did Nadia just seriously tell me
that she was worth a half-billion dollars? Did she just propose?

"Charlene? Honey, can you hear me?" I swear I could hear that angel's voice
somewhere above me. "Wake up, honey."

My eyes fluttered open, the bright light coming from everywhere at
once. The pressure in my head was easing up little by little, but that
couldn't take away the fact I was freezing. Being almost naked might have
something to do with that though.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to sit up on my own and failing.

Nadia's arms were still wrapped around my shoulders. I could feel her
perfect body behind me, but that didn't bring the familiar comfort I
thought it would. My head was still swirling from that mind fuck a moment
ago.

Nadia put her chin on my shoulder, her breath even but forced. "I told you
how much money I have and you blacked out."

"I mean after that," I said turning my head. "Why am I naked?"

Nadia shrugged. "I thought I'd take you to bed. You've been out for a good
twenty minutes. I thought you'd hit your pretty head, or something."

I groaned and rolled my eyes away from her. That would explain why we were
on that magnificent bed. "Are you seriously worth a half-billion dollars?"

Nadia shrugged again. "Somewhere around that. I haven't checked it since I
had your ring made." That got my attention. My question must have been
spelled on my face, because she continued with, "I used the precious metals
from my own bullion vaults. You're wearing a ring I had made specially for
you, melted from my own gold, palladium, platinum, and rhodium holdings."

I couldn't help my smile. I was going to cry, I knew it. For all the things
she's done for me since before we even met, I could only love her in
return. For all eternity if all the rumors were to be believed. That
thought took some of the twinkle out of my eye though.

"What?" Nadia asked, sensing my mood dampen.

I shook the thought from my head. "Nothing. It's just after all that we've
been through already, I never thought something like this could ever be
possible." Nadia held me tighter. In all my life I never felt safer than
right there in her arms. Nothing could ever tear us apart. Nothing.

I felt her lips touch the unscarred side of my neck. A chill ran down my
spine from the amount of force she put behind it. I knew she was hungry --
shit, so was I -- but she wouldn't dare break my skin unless I gave her
permission, Watcher or not. I also knew she liked to be teased with will
power. The longer I held out, the better the sex would be afterward.

The heat from her mouth's ministrations kept building. Her hot breath was
ragged with want and desire. She knew what I was doing, hell she knew what
she was doing if the subtle raking of her teeth was any indication. I could
smell the wetness between my legs building, so I knew she could. Nadia's
nails hardened into my skin; it hurt, but damn it hurt so good.

My own breath was getting ragged. I opened my eyes in time to see her leave
claw marks across my shoulders and down my arms. They were red, but
bloodless. My nipples were rock-hard, so the little pinch she gave them
sent an even bigger tingle up my spine than normal. My breath came and went
in a satisfied groan.

"Nadia..."

Everything stopped. I knew she would. It was that pause before I gave her
permission to draw blood that told us who controlled whom. I couldn't help
my smile when she whimpered.

"Go for it," I breathed.

Her mouth clamped down on my neck. I felt the pleasure in the pain of her
teeth sinking into her mark, into me. The whole world spun around us as she
drank. We were in the depths of a bliss that no one could dare intrude
upon. My vampire had become my world. My vampire would now become my wife.

And her Watcher will become hers. It was in that moment I realized what we
truly had. It was the answer I had been searching for ever since I was
pushed into all of this. It felt like Nadia's very soul was intertwining
with my own, not overtaking it as the stories once had me believing. Her
teeth in my neck, or when we make love, it's the same sensation. I wrapped
my arms and legs around her and held her against me. This is what true love
felt like. My pussy wanted to get fucked, no doubt about it, but every
other part of me wanted this. I wanted to protect her from the things that
went bump in the night, the things that would harm her the most. I wanted
her to tell me everything. I wanted to be strong for her, to see my fiance
through what I knew we had to do.

Then everything stopped. Her teeth pulled out of me. And then I fell. I
fell forever it seemed. I was alone in a cavernous void, only the echoes of
my breathing broke the silence. I couldn't tell if I my eyes were open or
not. I knew I lifted my hands to touch the nothingness surrounding me, but
I couldn't see them.

I started walking, the echo of my erratic footfalls brought little
comfort. I was surrounded by something -- how else could I hear an echo? --
but it didn't seem to matter how far in any direction I moved, I felt
nothing but the solid floor beneath me. I stopped dead in my tracks when a
booming, maniacal laughter pierced my thoughts. The thump of someone in
heavy shoes sounded from somewhere behind me. It didn't have the same
register of my ragged breathing or footfalls. No, this was a solid noise of
someone controlled and in command of the air around them, around me.

I heard someone snap their fingers, then felt the severe heat of light hit
my still naked back. There was an imposing shadow on the ground beside
mine. "Are you having fun with my little Nadia?" the man said in
a... German accent? His voice was just as thunderous as his laughter.

"Where am I?" I answered, refusing to turn around. "Who are you?"

"Who I am does not matter, Charlene Candice Coventry. What does matter is
this unique position you are in with Nadia."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your engagement." His tone was definitely not congratulatory. It seemed
more hurt and threatened. "Why would you, a Watcher, make your vampire your
betrothed?"

I almost scoffed. "Why does that bother you so much? Jealous?"

He laughed at that, but this time it was different. "Of you, little
bleeder? Absolutely not. However, that will not excuse my curiosity as to
why you think you are worthy of one of my esteemed children."

I paused at that. Seriously, what kind of smart-assed comeback could I make
that would help, even if that last bit didn't confuse the hell out of me?
All I could come up with was, "Tell me who you are. I've already killed
Father Darien."

"Truly?" he challenged. "Did you see the body?" When I didn't answer, he
continued. "Insignificant at best. He was my brother in the Order, but
enemy everywhere else. I was the only one of us wise enough to leave him be
in his delusions of creating his own coven. Someone close to him was bound
to end his reign. But I had no idea it would be his own sister."

"Half sister."

"My apologies. I didn't realize your hatred of him ran so deep. Or does
it?"

I sighed. "Will you just get to the fucking point? Who are you and what do
you want?'

"So demanding. I will answer neither of those questions. Ask my
daughter. She has been lost for so long to the whims of that fool. But
thanks to you, I have found her once again."

That light flashed out. I was alone once again in the forever darkness. The
sudden cold made shiver uncontrollably. Mr. Mystery Man's words didn't have
to sink in for me to know we were in trouble. Fear gripped me as though the
cold had fingers. It squeezed me tighter.  My whole body was shaking with
erratic, random spasms. My teeth clattered together.

My body was shutting down. "Nadia... " I pleaded into the
darkness. "Nadia." Not even my echo responded. "NADIA!"

I didn't know how long I was unconscious, but when I awoke my throat hurt
and not because Nadia had bitten me. It hurt like I had been at a concert,
screaming my head off. I was dressed in a rather nice purple satin nightie
with a nice warm, wet towel wrapped around my neck. My mouth was dry, but
my eyes weren't. I'd been crying in my sleep.

I could hear someone sobbing a few feet away. My vision came back from that
azure haze to a drunken blur. Even still, I could always tell Nadia's
profile anywhere. My mouth moved, but no sound came out.

"Charlene?" That lost-little-girl-hope in her voice worried me. "Are you
awake?"

Since I couldn't talk, I gave her a thumbs-up. My vision was clearing, but
not nearly as fast as it should. Nadia sat beside me before I even saw her
move. She smiled down at me, moving a lock of hair out of my face. It felt
nice to feel her gentle touch. It didn't feel nice to see how red her eyes
were.

"What happened?" I mouthed with some difficulty.

"I was there, Charlene. I saw him talking to you." She started crying as
she spoke. "That monster managed to find you through me. And me through
you. I thought he died a long time ago. I'm so sorry, Charlene. I'm
sorry..."

It hurt to see her like this. I've never seen her look so scared. She was
horrified beyond reason. I reached out and grabbed her hand. I squeezed
until she looked at me. It hurt to try to speak and Nadia suddenly turned
into Mother Hen.

"Don't talk, love. You've been screaming for the last ten minutes. It
was... terrifying." She moved the blanket up to my chin. "You started
crying, then I started crying..."

I had to say it, fuck how much it hurt to do it. "Who... who was he?"

Nadia only looked at me, single tear falling down each cheek.

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

I would like to thank everyone for being so patient with this chapter. I
know it's been a while (two years now? holy crap!) but I have been busy
with a lot of other projects. I have written and pitched my first feature
film "The Bullied" for representation with the APA -- the Agency of the
Performing Arts (still waiting for their reply at the time of sending
this). For information about this script/film just ask.

I've also been writing for a developing TV series called Intergalactic
Space Rangers (www.intergalacticspacerangers.com). I've also been working
as a Supervising Producer for the accompanying audio series called Doorways
And Dimensions (search for us on YouTube). Our first chapter called
"Breathe" has been released on YouTube (search for it and check it out for
yourself, it's about 33 minutes long). I personally have written 4 TV
episodes -- 3 are slated for production, 1 on reserve possibly for the
second season -- and have written 4 episodes of the audio series, and I've
read about a dozen other submitted scripts. Go to the Space Rangers website
for information on how to get involved and pick up some swag!!

I've been working a lot of hours at my night job as well, plus going to
school. Hopefully I'll get this story going a bit faster. And yes, I am
still outlining this series into a feature film.