Intertwined Fates 16: Recollections

16: Recollections

"Aaron, things are getting pretty bad. I think I found another entry on Flavros. Once he has gathered enough energy he returns to the portal he came out of and uses the energy to stretch the doorway wider," Laura said softly.

"Oh yeah? The weather has been incredibly unusual lately. It never rains during this time of the year," Aaron replied.

"The second servant of Abbadon is Typhoon. He's responsible for unusual weather patterns. He controls the weather, so I'd say that Flavros has brought him into the world and is wreaking all this havoc," she told him.

"It's been two weeks since Carl had his encounter with Flavros, so that would make sense," said Aaron.

"Hopefully the situation can be contained soon or there could be a lot of things at risk," said Laura.

***

"Hey Joy, how was your day?" asked Carl as Joy walked inside the mansion and greeted him.

"Stressful as always, but now I can relax," Joy replied as she grinned, pulling Carl into a hug.

"We're all worried about Jake; we don't think he's been feeding. Kally's missing and we don't know what's happening," Carl said worriedly.

"Kally's missing? When did this happen?" asked Joy.

"About two days ago," Carl told her.

"And you didn't tell me?" asked Joy.

"Sorry babe, I didn't want to worry you especially if she comes back," Carl said.

"Alright but next time something like this happens I want you to tell me ok?" Joy asked.

"I will," Carl promised.

"Now, I heard from Aaron that you told him all about Miranda, but you haven't told me yet. So out with it mister," Joy said.

"Ok, let's just go into my room. Then we can talk," said Carl as he led Joy to his room and shut the door.

"I was in my last year of study for my businesses degree, and I met Miranda at a club in the place I was studying at. I thought she was the sexiest thing ever," said Carl.

Joy pouted at him before he said, "Certainly not anywhere near as sexy as you though,"

"Thanks Carl," said Joy as she kissed him.

"So of course I bought her a drink; we got talking and it seemed to me at the time that we had a lot in common. I didn't know that she already had relations with a powerful master vampire and that she was a manipulative bitch," Carl said, his shoulders tensing slightly. Joy put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently as she said "Go on babe,"

Carl put a hand on the hand that was resting on his shoulder and continued, "So while I was finishing my degree, Miranda was involved with this vampire. She was perfect for me then, everything I wanted in a woman. I didn't know just how good a manipulator she was, so not long after I got into the company and started work. I fell in love with her, really bad decision there now," before sighing.

"After working in the company for a year or so, I got promoted and when I was celebrating with Miranda I proposed to her and she accepted it gladly. I wish I knew back then that she was a money grabbing bitch," Carl tensed up as he remembered the painful memories.

Joy massaged the tensing muscles in his shoulders, prompting him to continue. "So we had this large extravagant wedding. Over the next two years I got promoted again, and when the current boss retired he gave me the job. It felt so good to get that position," Carl said, Joy watching him intently enjoying watching him begin smiling at the better memories.

"Then, when I had a tax audit done, there were some holes in my account. I thought they were mistakes or something like that. But then I found that Miranda who at the time I loved deeply was only using me for my money. That really hurt me, and I almost fell off the rails after discovering that,"

"I have no idea on when she made the switch to vampire but when I signed the divorce papers she was certainly a vampire then, because she demanded that all of our meetings be at night. After a few months more of pain, I began noticing all of the work you were doing Joy," Carl said. Joy smiled at him as he continued,

"It really helped me deal with all my Miranda related issues because I didn't have to spend so much time working on everything. I was getting so far behind in everything then you started working so much." Carl grinned as the tension drained away from him.

"It was a real help for me, so I decided to put Miranda completely behind me and planned to seduce you," grinned Carl as he watched Joy blush. "Well as you can see it certainly worked," he chuckled and then he kissed her.

"Oh I know and I loved it. Though, right then I thought you were still married! It was the biggest shock I had gotten in a long time," said Joy before she pushed Carl onto the bed straddling him.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" asked Carl coyly.

"Of course I am," Joy said as she pushed his shirt up. He gasped sharply when she nipped his hard stomach with her teeth.

"Well its working. Keep doing it," smirked Carl, gasping again when Joy grasped him through his pants.

***

"Hey come and sit down, baby. We haven't had much chance to really talk," Laura said.

"Ok, what did you want to talk to me about?" Aaron asked, smiling at her as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"I want to talk to you about what happened with Duncan," Laura said.

"Are you sure you want to go through with that?" asked Aaron.

"Yes I do, I want you to know," Laura assured him, putting a hand on his.

"Well ok, if you're sure. I've wanted to hear this story for quite sometime too," said Aaron and leaned in for a kiss.

"Ok," said Laura. "After I woke up I was in this room and I couldn't move because I felt so weak. That's when the monster Duncan came in,"

*

"Drink this!" demanded the voice as he shoved the cup against her mouth. Laura's head swam as she accepted the drink feeling the cooling water slid down her throat. The man then tied her wrists and ankles to the bed frame and left the room.

'Aaron...where are you?' thought Laura desperately as she closed her eyes. The next time she opened her eyes the unknown man was there by her side. He forced her neck back and slammed his fangs in causing Laura to scream in pain as he drew blood from her.

The next night was different; he fed on her then forced his bleeding wrist into her mouth his blood running down her throat. She coughed as he lifted his wrist from her mouth, then continued feeding but did not stop. Laura struggled against him weakly but it was no use, she was bound too tightly to fight back, 'Aaron...' she thought to herself as she faded away.

Burning sensations coursed through her body as the vampirism resurrected her. She opened her eyes and screamed at the savage intensity of the burning. A man approached her and she realized that this was not the same man. He restrained her thrashing limbs and whispered comforting words to her, after Laura had wrestled back control over the demons now possessing her. She ripped the bonds that held her to the bed and ripped loose her ankles, the man pressed her struggling form into the bed as she tried to bite him with her new fangs.

"Calm down, Laura, help is coming," said the man.

Another man entered the room with an unconscious man, and laid him next to Laura. The smell of the man's blood washed away any lucidity that she had gained. She growled and threw the man off her. She turned to the bleeding victim and sank her fangs into his neck, when she drained him dry she collapsed back onto the bed, whimpering at the thought of what she just did. The man she sent crashing into the wall came and stood next to her. "I'm Russel and I'll be helping you through this," said Russel, "This is Gerard, and he can be a bit extreme. But once you get to know him you'll like him,"

*

"Whoa, baby, you had it bad. What I went through is nothing compared to what happened to you," Aaron said soothingly. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"It was horrible Aaron; Russel helped me a lot though. I still didn't know who Duncan was, but from what I learned of him that he was a monster," Laura said before continuing with her story

*

"When Duncan asks you something, answer him. He has the worst temper," Russel warned her.

"Thanks, I'll remember that. I can't believe that all of this is actually real," Laura said softly.

"I know, it was a shock when it happened to me," Russel told her.

"There you are, Laura. Privacy, Russel," Duncan demanded as he entered the room.

"Yes, my lord," said Russel and bowed his head, leaving the room.

"Where is my husband?" asked Laura desperately. She gasped in pain as Duncan slapped her across the face.

"Don't speak unless spoken too, you are my servant. You will stay here unless told otherwise, and your husband is dead. I killed him," sneered Duncan.

"No!" shouted Laura. She gasped in pain again as Duncan slapped her again.

After silently crying to herself in the corner of the room for sometime, Russel came back into the room and sat down next to her putting a hand on her shoulder. "It will get easier with time. He did this to all of us. You haven't met Damien yet but his sister was killed before Duncan turned him. He killed Gerard's whole family and forced him to watch. He killed my two beautiful daughters," said Russel struggling as his eyes watered.

*

"That was the worst moment I have ever felt, Aaron. When I thought you were dead I died inside," said Laura a tear falling from her eye. Aaron wiped the tear away and pulled her into a deep hug. "It took me months of pain before I could think clearly enough before thinking of retribution," Laura finished, turning to Aaron with a sharp gaze.

"Go on baby," Aaron encouraged, hugging her tightly and kissed her cheek.

*

"We have to do something about this monster; I've been watching him closely over the last few weeks. He doesn't seem to have any strength of mind, so if we combine our strength together we can overpower him," Laura said conspiratorially.

"He's a weak coward that feeds off other people's grief and suffering," growled Gerard.

"I agree with you both, something has to be done. But how do we do it? Are you in Russel?" asked Damian.

"You've been a light in the darkness, Laura. I don't know how you've been able to cope with your grief," Russel said softly.

"Thank you; are you with us Russel?" asked Laura.

"Yes, I'm with you. We need to figure out a plan and get him so he's not suspicious. Your right, it probably won't take much to overpower him. He's never used the mind power that other master vampires seem to have," said Russel.

"Right, then we can use that to our advantage. Why don't we combine our strength? Alone we can't fight even a weak vampire who's over 300, but if we combine our energy into a focus we can get to him," Laura said.

"You've really thought this through haven't you, Laura?" asked Gerard in awe.

"Yes, my husband deserves to be avenged so do all of your loved ones. We can do it together," Laura said.

"When will we do this?" asked Gerard eagerly.

"I think the best time would be when he returns from the council meeting," said Russel.

"That's tonight though," Damian warned.

"I know, but it's best to catch him off guard when he's not expecting it. It will greatly reduce the chance that we have of being discovered," Russel said.

"Yes, I agree. I've been discreetly poking through Duncan's archive of magical tomes. I found something about a power combination ritual that should work for us," Laura told them.

***

"Alright, the power focus stands in the centre of the ring," Laura instructed.

"You're our focus, Laura; we have been too weak to even consider such a thing. Your stronger then any of us," Russel praised, gesturing Laura into the middle of the ring of power they had laid out on the floor in the dining hall.

*

"Isn't that a lot like the ritual you sent me to stop so we could rescue Carl?" asked Aaron.

"Yeah it is, so I knew what Miranda was intending to do," Laura said softly.

*

"Isn't there supposed to be some ritual chanting?" asked Gerard.

"Not from what I read; all you need is to allow blood to flow into the target. Simple power transferal," said Laura. "However you need to use this athame; the inscription is the magic that's needed. If you cut yourself with this blade it keeps the wound flowing until it's sealed, so it can serve its purpose."

"Ok then," said Gerard grabbing the athame and slashing his wrist, the athame glowing as it cut his wrist; he passed it to Russel and then Damian.

"Thanks, Damian," said Laura when he handed her the athame and she sliced her wrist open. "We need to have your wrists touching so that I get all of the energy together, or it will be unfocused,"

"Ok," said Gerard, as they raised their bleeding wrists above Laura.

"If this works you should feel a draining pull on you," said Laura and raised her bleeding wrist to theirs. As soon as she touched their bleeding wrists the power circle that they were standing in blazed to life. They groaned as energy began being pulled out of them and channeled into Laura who shuddered as the energy traveled down her arm into her body. After a little time the blood flow ceased as their injuries sealed.

"How do you feel, Laura?" asked Russel a little dazed.

"I feel fine. That was a rush," Laura told him.

"Well I don't feel very good," said Gerard.

"Well that's good then, means it worked," Laura responded.

"Means what worked?" asked Duncan as he walked into the room.

"Means we can kick your ass," said Laura matter of factly

"You dare! You'll pay for that insolent whelp!" roared Duncan before he charged her.

Laura closed her eyes and called to the power that she received. Finding the golden orb of energy in her mind she grasped it and thrust it towards Duncan. He froze from the unexpected attack. He pulled out his own energy and thrust it back against Laura. She stumbled as the sea of crushing darkness pushed towards her; foolishly he diverted all of his attention to fighting off Laura's attack. He was not expecting what came next. He roared in pain as Gerard shoved a broken chair leg through his back. Duncan stumbled forward as the curtain of darkness dissolved.

"Stop, Gerard, there's a better way to do this," Laura said as Gerard proceeded to try to kill him.

"What way?" Gerard asked.

"What's the most painful way a vampire can die?" asked Laura grimly.

"Sunlight exposure," said Russel; he grinned when Duncan's eyes widened in fear. "It hurts like hell; I had bad sunburn on my leg for two weeks after I first turned,"

"Very creative," grinned Gerard evilly.

*

"Awesome, so how did you manage to get him outside?" asked Aaron.

"That was the easy part; we had to actually find something to hold him down. You don't find much silver in a vampire's house. But we had found that this mansion belonged to a couple of old people who were quite wealthy so we found a storage room with some silver cutlery," grinned Laura evilly. "See the mark I have on my hand?" asked Laura.

"Yeah?" replied Aaron.

"It's a silver burn I got from staking him into the ground," said Laura "Russel and Damian have one too,"

*

"No!" cried Duncan as they struggled with him, hauling him outside the mansion. Dawn was still hours off.

"Forks or knives?" asked Gerard.

"Forks will work better," said Damian. Gerard gasped in pain as the silver burnt into his hand. They held him into the ground as Gerard slammed the fork through his wrist. Duncan screamed in agony as the silver burned through his nerves. After Damian and Russel had shoved the fork in, Laura said to him, "I want you to think of all of the horrible things that you have done to people over the centuries you have been around, but of course you would hardly have started by the time the sun comes and roasts you," She picked up the last fork, ignoring the burning pain in her hand and stabbed the fork through his leg, pinning him totally to the ground. He yelled in pain as more of the burning pain rushed through his body.

*

"We heard his screams for a little while longer, and then when the first rays of sunlight burst over the horizon he started pleading for mercy. We placed him where one of those big trees would shade him for a limited time. It took about an hour but when the sun finally did reach under the tree we heard him screaming in agony as his fiery death crept closer to him. It was a satisfaction for us. When we went outside after the sun set there was a pile of ash and four mildly burnt forks sticking out of the ground," smiled Laura.

"He needed a ruthless and agonizingly slow death," Aaron said.

"He so richly deserved it. The next part is what really shocked me and it's where the prophecy comes in," said Laura

*

"Laura, you need to go the vampire court and claim this mansion. It's yours now. If it hadn't been for you the monster would still be around," Russel said, hugging her.

"Wow, what do I even do?" asked Laura.

"It should be simple; you go to the vampire who controls registration in this city. He just needs to change the property deed name. Since it was your inspiration and your plan that got us here, Laura, it should be all yours," Damian told her.

"You really deserve it, Laura. You gave us the strength and courage to get our revenge," said Gerard. Then he hugged her as well.

"Thank you guys. It's not going to be as hard to get through it with friends like you," said Laura blushing.

***

'Now where the hell am I supposed to go? It's like a damned maze,' thought Laura to herself as she made her way through the underground tunnels.

"Laura, over here," called a ragged voice.

"Who are you?" asked Laura

"I am Shiva and I have to show you something of great importance," Shiva said and motioned her to follow.

Laura decided to follow the old crone. She stopped when she came to a small candle lit room.

"We have just uncovered two portraits from a hidden cellar and I think you will be greatly surprised," said Shiva. She pulled the sheets off the boards revealing her and Aaron lying on a couch together. Laura's stomach rose to her throat as she studied the painting of her dead husband.

"He's not dead, Laura. You both have a big part to play in the future,"

"But... how?" asked Laura in disbelief.

"Duncan only thought he killed Aaron, but he's alive and still human. You cannot seek him out until the time is right or you'll lose him," Shiva told her.

"What? Why?" asked Laura.

"Its written in the prophecy that a man and woman will rise and be the strong protectors of our future king and queen who have yet to even meet. I am a seer, though this prophecy still eludes me. I can only see a dark shadow, but recently the dark shadow has split into four dark shadows. Then we find these paintings. The man in this painting is going to be our king," said Shiva.

Laura studied the painting of a man in a suit of gleaming armor, holding a large shiny sword. Standing next to him with her arm around his waist was a woman wearing an armored bodice and gleaming leg plates, she was holding in her right hand a bronze plated dagger.

"Now look up, Miranda. You will know when the time is right," said Shiva and walked out the door.

*

"When I walked out the door to catch her she had totally vanished," Laura finished.

"I love you, Laura. It was so painful having to deal with all that shit. I had been carrying around all that hatred and sorrow for so long, then it just vanished the moment I saw you again," said Aaron.

"It was the happiest feeling I ever had when I found that you were still alive, even happier then when you asked me to marry you," said Laura.

She wrapped her hands around his back and drew him in for a deep kiss. Laura broke the kiss and said, "Not needing to breathe has its advantages," Aaron groaned as Laura slipped down and bit his neck, licking him while she ran her hands up his chest and over his arms.