The Lesbian Vampire Wars Ch 04 08

Chapter 4: The Report

It was several hours before dawn. Vanessa and Quinn banged on the front door of Ruthven Manor. Minerva, Lady Ruthven's ancient servant, let them in.

"We've got to see Queen Lenore," said Vanessa.

"Madame has already retired for the day," said Minerva, her wrinkled old face impassive.

"I don't care, we've got to see her!" said Quinn, frantically. "We'll take the responsibility. Just let us see her!"

"Very well," said Minerva, and ushered them to the Queen's chambers.

Vanessa and Quinn stood before the massive oak door, trimmed in iron. They looked at each other. Then Vanessa reached out and banged the massive knocker. "Come!" rang out the voice from within.

They pushed the door inward and entered. Queen Lenore lay in her large four-poster bed, on her back, naked. Her body, white and slender, was beautiful in its own terrible way. Her legs were slightly parted, with dampness showing between them. Two beautiful young naked vampires lay beside her, collars on their necks, each one sucking on one of her nipples. Lenore raised herself to a seated position, shooing her two attendants away.

"Well?" she demanded. "Do you have something to report?" Lenore got out of bed and glared at the two investigators. She did not bother to grab a robe.

"We do Your Grace," said Vanessa. Lenore gave her a stern look. "I mean, Lenore. We found the Feeder that killed Raven."

"What?" cried Lenore. "Where? How? Who is it?"

"We don't know who it is, but it is clearly the body of a Feeder; it was terribly mutilated, but the proboscis and musculature were unmistakable."

"Where did you find it?" demanded the Queen.

"In the church courtyard, not far from where Raven's body was found," said Vanessa. "It was really mutilated. Very thoroughly mutilated." Quinn stood beside her, nodding and looking queasy.

"I see," said Lenore. "Where is the body now? We'll need to study it. What did you do with it?"

"Do?" asked Quinn. "We didn't do anything with it, Your Grace. We left it there, untouched, so that you could have experts examine it."

"What!" thundered Lenore. "You left it there? To be discovered by the Feeders themselves? You fools!" Her face shook with rage; her lips pulled back, and her fangs deployed, longer than any other in the coven. Her pupils were cruel slits. Her naked body, white in the candlelight, her nipples stiff with passion, seemed to grow an extra inch taller. "You fools!" she repeated. "If the Feeders find it, mutilated as you say, they will blame us! War will be inevitable. Damn, damn, damn!" She looked right and left, her jaw muscles clenching, her fists in tight balls. "We've got to get it, hide it, immediately." She glanced at the clock on the mantel. "Damn!" she repeated. "It will be dawn in half an hour. We can't get it until nightfall. Let us hope we can retrieve it before the Feeders find it. And let us hope that your stupidity hasn't doomed us all."

Lenore glared at them both. Vanessa and Quinn shuddered under her gaze. "I'll take care of this. Now get out of my sight!" roared the Queen.

Vanessa and Quinn rushed out of Ruthven Manor, and back to their lair in the abandoned subway tunnel in town. As the sun rose, they were huddled in their bed, spooning each other tightly in an attempt to assuage their shame at their failure, and their fear for the future. Vanessa held Quinn firmly from behind, and stroked her hair and pressed her crotch up against her lover's buttocks. She gently kissed the nape of Quinn's neck. Quinn was shuddering with fear.

"It will be okay, darling," Vanessa cooed. "Lenore will take care of everything."

Quinn sobbed in her arms. "I'm scared, Nessy. So very scared. We screwed up. Now it will be war. I just know it will be war. And that body, that mutilated body...."

Vanessa continued to kiss the back of Quinn's neck, and cupped her breasts from behind. Her soft hands massaged the pale white skin of her breasts. "There, there. Just go to sleep, darling. Let me make you feel better." She dropped one hand down between Quinn's pale plump thighs, to gently stroke her sex.

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

The nighttime dawned dark and clear, and Vanessa and Quinn dressed and made their way back to the Manor. They wanted news, and to offer their services. They knocked on the door, but the answer was long in coming. The grounds were eerily silent. They looked at each other and squeezed hands, sharing a sense of foreboding.

Finally, the door swung open a few inches. "Who is it? What do you want?"

"It's Quinn and Vanessa," said Quinn. "Minerva? Let us in!" The ancient servant peered suspiciously at them through the crack of the door, but finally let them in. They went down to the meeting room, their senses of foreboding growing with each heartbeat.

The room was full of their coven-mates. All were standing, with grim faces. None spoke. They all stared at Quinn and Vanessa.

"What? What's going on?" asked Vanessa. She squeezed Quinn's hand as tightly as she could.

Lenore came striding into the room, wearing a face like death itself. She was dressed all in leather, with a shotgun strapped at her side. She glared at the young pair.

"Five of our sisters were killed in their lairs during the daylight hours. All were eviscerated. The war has begun."

Chapter 5: The War Begins

Lenore, queen of the vampire coven, looked out over the podium at her sister vampires. All faces were grim, but none were as grim as Lenore's own.

"Sisters," she began, "Five of our own were killed in their lairs by the Feeders during last daylight. The war has begun. They will be coming after the rest of us shortly." She paused for emphasis. The room was as silent as a tomb.

"No one may return to their lairs. We will all stay here in the Manor for safekeeping until this crisis has passed. I've already had all exits sealed except for the front door." She glanced at the clock. "Night has just begun. We all need to feed. We will travel out, in pairs, one pair at a time. Sign in and out at the main entrance. Nobody is to leave except at their designated time, in their designated pair. We must keep up our strength, but we must also stay safe here in our stronghold until the Feeders have been taken care of. Is this understood?"

A young vampire in the back of the rooom raised her hand. "Lenore, do you think the Feeders will attack us, here at the Manor?"

Lenore looked thoughtful. "It is hard to say. They can travel by day, as you know, but they prefer to travel by night when they are less likely to be spotted by the humans. And I don't believe they can break into the manor. I suspect they will besiege us here, and attempt to get us when we leave to feed. That is why we must travel only in groups, and only when necessary. Any other questions?"

"Why are they attacking us? What could they hope to gain, after all these years?" asked an elderly vampire, her face drawn and worried.

Lenore shook her head. "If I knew that, we'd be close to a solution. All we can do for now is be careful.

"Drusilla and Sally! You have the first watch at the main entrance. Only one pair is allowed out at a time. I'll draw up a watch schedule and post it in the hall. Dismissed, everyone!"

The roomful of vampires turned to leave. But Lenore grabbed Vanessa and Quinn by the collars. "Not you two," she said. "You are confined to quarters. You've done enough damage for one day."

"But, but, we need to feed, too!" said Quinn, nervously.

"You'll live on B-rations out of the pantry for a few days," said Lenore. "And be grateful that you get even that." She whirled and left the room. Quinn and Vanessa held each other tightly.

Quinn and Vanessa trudged shamefully to one of the rooms in the east wing. Ruthven Manor had many rooms in its sprawling wings and hallways, and was well equipped to house the entire coven when necessary. The pantry held many units of frozen blood for when feeding in the open was impossible; none of the vampires enjoyed the rations there, but it was better than starving. Too despondent even for the emergency rations, Quinn and Vanessa locked the door to their small room and huddled on the bed.

As usual, Vanessa spooned Quinn from behind and nuzzled the back of her neck. "It will be okay, Quinn, you'll see. Lenore will get us through this."

"No, Nessy, that isn't enough. We screwed up. We have to make it right somehow." Quinn sobbed in Vanessa's arms, but still managed to think through their problem.

"How, darling? What can we do? We're confined to quarters."

"Lenore said it herself: we are the best investigators in the coven. If we don't search for the answers, we're all at a disadvantage. Who killed the Feeder? And why? If the Feeder killed Raven first, it couldn't have been her. Lenore needs answers, and we need to find them for her." She sniffed back her tears and tried to sound brave.

"But we can't leave the Manor, darling," said Vanessa.

"Like hell," said Quinn. "There's the ventilation system. That can't be sealed. The Feeders can't crawl through it, so Lenore wouldn't bother to seal it up." She disentangled herself from Vanessa's embrace and stood up. "Let's go, darling. Duty calls."

Vanessa was dubious, but didn't like languishing in the tiny room any more than Quinn did. She stood as well. "Okay, darling. Let's do it."

The two young vampires stood facing each other, stretched their arms out to their sides, and drew in deep breaths. Then they closed their eyes, tilted back their heads, and transformed. Their bodies shrunk and compressed, their arms turned to wings, and their legs pulled up into their bodies. Moments later, they were two perfectly formed bats, with glowing red eyes and wide leathery wings. They flew out through the ventilation shafts and soon were circling the Manor, high in the moonlit night sky.

Chapter 6: First Watch

Sally sat cross-legged in a high-backed chair in the vestibule of Ruthven Manor, reading a book of poetry and humming a happy tune to herself. Her jaunty blonde hair and bright yellow dress stood in stark contrast to the rest of the furnishings in the gloomy front room.

Across the room, Drusilla, her partner in guardianship, glared at her in undisguised annoyance. After an interminable period of listening to Sally's ridiculous humming, she finally exploded.

"Must you make that annoying sound?" she bellowed.

"What?" said Sally, innocently. "My humming? I'm happy! You might try it yourself."

"What have we got to be happy about?" demanded Drusilla. "The Feeders want to kill us all, the coven is on lock-down, and you and I have drawn first watch! It's a dreadful situation." She bit off the words.

"Oh, fiddle-dee-dee," said Sally. "You just have the wrong attitude, like most of the old dinosaurs in this coven. Try to be happy for a change, Drosophila."

"It's Drusilla! Drusilla! Not Drosophila! A drosophila is a mosquito, you blonde bimbo," crabbed Drusilla.

"Oh, whatever," said Sally. "Drosophila is a better name for you anyway, you annoying blood-sucker." She stuck her tongue out at her older companion.

"Hmphph. You're a blood sucker, too, you know. And what kind of a name is 'Sally' for a vampire, anyway?" asked Drusilla.

"It's my original name," said Sally, defensively. "I've never gotten around to changing it. I've only been a vampire for less than a century, you know. I'm still getting used to the idea."

They continued to bicker, but nevertheless kept their eye on the entrance to the manor. For all they knew, the Feeders were gathering right outside the door, ready to burst through and kill them all.

Chapter 7: The Tooth

Quinn and Vanessa, back in human form, were once more at the courtyard of the ancient church where Raven's eviscerated body had been found, as had the remains of the Feeder. They were on their hands and knees, crawling, their nostrils distended and their pupils formed into vertical slits, their every vampire sense at fullest alert.

"Anything yet, Nessy?" hissed Quinn.

"Not yet, Quinn," said Vanessa, swinging her head back and forth. They were examining the dirt, the gravel, the hedges; everything in the vicinity of the double killings. Suddenly Vanessa lifted her head and sniffed loudly.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Something behind the hedge." Vanessa dropped down and crawled on her belly, like a snake, her nose literally plowing the mud beneath her. She nuzzled the moist dirt, sniffing and tasting, her tongue darting in and out like a Komodo dragon. At last, she snatched at the ground in front of her, and leapt to her feet. "Ah ha!" she said.

Quinn was at her side in an instant. "What is it?"

Vanessa held up an ivory triangle. It was razor sharp. "What does that look like to you?" she asked.

Quinn studied it in the moonlight. "A tooth?"

"Exactly!" said Vanessa. "But whose? Or more likely, what's?"

Quinn took the tooth in her hand. She turned it over and over. It was clearly not human. But it was far too large for any sort of animal with which she was familiar. "Nessy, this tooth is not natural. Not natural at all," she decided.

Vanessa nodded. "I agree. And we need to find out where it came from."

There was no one within the coven who was an expert at zoology. And even if there were, they weren't supposed to be out of their quarters in the first place. They needed the help of an outside expert.

"The university," said Quinn. Vanessa nodded. They spread their arms, and were soon flying, bat-form, toward the University campus.

Chapter 8: The Professor

Moments later, Quinn and Vanessa found themselves strolling the grounds of Miskatonic University in the center of town. They didn't expect any of the offices or libraries to be open in the middle of the night, but hoped that maybe they could find a late graduate student or lone researcher who could help them. They stopped first at the Natural History Building. One window was lit, on the third floor.

Vanessa counted the windows. "Fourth window from the end, third floor. Let's check the marquis inside," she said.

They pushed open the massive oak and bronze doors and entered the ornate lobby of the building. The marquis listed one Abner Ravenscroft, Professor of Cryptobiology, in room 304. They looked at each other. "Worth a shot!" said Quinn.

Making their way up the stairs and down the hall, they came to the room with the lighted window. A shaft of light leaked out of the frosted glass pane in the door. They pushed lightly on the door, and it swung inward. Carefully, they stepped inside.

There at a massive oak desk, ridden with wormholes and covered with enormous piles of paper, was an ancient man, studying an even more ancient manuscript on the desktop. His bald head, wire-rim glasses, and slender frame told them that he was a man devoted to study. He looked up at them.

"Well, come in, come in!" he said, as if he'd been expecting them. "No use standing there in the hall! It isn't exactly my office hours, but if you seek answers, I'm your man! Come in!" Nervously finding each others' hands, Quinn and Vanessa stepped into the room.

"I see the fashions among our students are up to date," said the ancient professor, noting their black dresses, fingernails, and eye shadow. "Yes, very stylish." He chuckled to himself. ""What can I do for you young ladies?"

Quinn curtsied slightly. "We're sorry to disturb you, sir. We're not students, but we do have a question we were hoping you could answer." His quick clever eyes looked her up and down. She felt naked under his gaze. She reached out her hand and dropped the large ivory triangle, almost glowing in the fluorescent desk lighting, onto the surface of the oaken desk.

Professor Ravenscroft picked it up and examined it, turning it over and over in his hand. Then he removed a magnifying glass from a drawer and continued to examine it. "Very nice specimen," he pronounced. "Very nice indeed." He looked them up and down. "You do know what it is, don't you?"

"No, we don't," said Vanessa. "That's why we're here." She smiled nervously.

"Well, well, well," said the Professor, leaping up from his chair and going to a book shelf. He looked left and right, up and down, looking for the book he wanted. Then he spied it, on a top shelf. "Hmmphph," he said, and scampered to a corner to get a ladder. He laid the ladder up against the shelf, scurried up to the top, and came back down with an enormous leather-bound tome. "Here we are," he said, and laid the book on his desk with a loud thump. He blew off a layer of dust.

He flipped pages back and forth for several minutes before finding the one he wanted. Then he pointed, and said, "There!" triumphantly.

Quinn and Vanessa stared at the image in the book. It was the tooth! An exactly representation. They scanned up to the title above the photo. They were incredulous.

"A Gargoyle tooth? Are you sure?" asked Vanessa.

"Oh, without a doubt," said the Professor. "I didn't even need the book to recognize it. I just wanted to show you my documentation. That's a Gargoyle tooth, alright. A molar, I believe. Don't see too many of them these days." He smiled to himself, and rubbed his hands together.

Vanessa and Quinn looked back and forth at each other, at the book, at the tooth, and at the Professor, who had reseated himself behind his large oaken desk.

"But, but... But that's impossible!" said Vanessa. "Gargoyles don't exist. Do they?"

The Professor's eyes twinkled. "No, of course they don't," he said. "Of course Gargoyles don't exist. But don't let that bother you. I'll bet the two of you know of all sorts of things that don't exist. Am I right?" His eyes continued to twinkle, and he gave them the slightest of smiles.

Quinn tilted her head and looked at the old man sideways. She was beginning to suspect he was more than he appeared. "Are you a familiar?" she asked, quietly.

The old man just bobbed his head and smiled more broadly. "Give my regards to Lenore," he said, and turned back to the ancient manuscript on his desk. Clearly, the interview was at an end.

Quinn and Vanessa retreated back into the hall, pulling the office door closed behind them. "I guess we have our answer," said Quinn.