Wow. This chapter/episode really kind of wrote itself. Once I started writing it just took off. I like it when that happens. In light of several of your emails, I've decided to take requests; if there's something specific that you'd like to see in an upcoming chapter feel free to send it in. I'd also like to send a warm thank you to everyone who has written in so far, and I sure hope there are more to follow.
Though inspired by true events, the following story is a work of fiction borne of my own imagination. Any resemblance to any actual person, real or fictional, living or dead, and/or real event, either past or present, is entire coincidental. This story contains graphic imagery of sexual acts between two female characters, among others, as well as graphic depictions of bloody and gory sequences, including but not limited to rape, bodily mutilation/dismemberment, psychological and physical torture and abuse. If these sort of things offend your delicate sensibilities, then please do us all a favor and leave now. This work is copyrighted to author and is property thereto. If it is illegal to view this content in your area, or if you are underage, the author and hosting site are not responsible for whatever harms befall upon you. If you would like a downloaded copy of this work, please send me an email with this specific request; don't steal it.
There, that enough of the legal crap, and it's unfortunate that I have to include it. I'll never understand people.
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So, sit back, curl up with your partner, and enjoy Part 4 of Embrace The Enemy.
******************** Chapter 4
~ Charlene ~
"No Nadia, we're going to get this shit done and over with," I snapped. She's retreated to her usual sulky self right after we got home, and I wasn't about to put up with it.
"You don't know what you're asking, Charlene," Nadia countered, nearly sobbing.
"I know exactly what I'm asking." I put what was supposed to be my romantic dinner in the microwave. It got cold on the quiet ride home. I didn't know how to begin talking about what happened on that dance floor tonight.
"What'd we miss?" Sven asked, making me jump ten feet in the air.
"What the hell?" I said with my hand over my heart.
"We heard you yelling," Sven said, like a typical brother would, "So we decided to see what it was all about." He paused long enough to get me going even more, as if I was going to answer his unanswered question.
Henry and Amber emerged from the back bedroom a second later. "What's all the yelling about?" Henry asked for him. My human best friend looked at me like I just threw him into the wall again. "Charlie, what's up?"
I turned to Nadia. "That's exactly what I'd like to know." Everyone turned to my suddenly timid vampire. I don't get it, this woman could kill each one of us in two seconds flat but she's backing away as if she was scared for HER life. Her eyes were solid black and her lower lips trembled.
"Nadia?" Amber asked, daring a step closer. The look on her face showed even more betrayal than Henry's. That in itself caused me to worry anew, not to mention the pheromones she was dumping out were starting to affect the humans. The last time Amber did that was after Father Darien possessed her body; it doesn't take much for vampires to completely flake out and become, well, vampires.
I shot a hand out against Amber's chest. She screeched when I accidentally slapped one of her boobs. I would have laughed if I wasn't so worried for my girlfriend. "Nadia, breathe," I said evenly. I repeated the phrase in my mind. Her eyes were completely black, her chest heaved to and fro. Shit. No one better make any sudden moves. "Nadia honey, it's me. Charlene." She took another step back. I looked back at the humans and said, "Everyone take three slow steps back."
Nadia backed all the way up to the counter. She shook her head as she uttered, "I can't, Charlene." I noticed her eying the stairwell down to the basement. When she looked back to me I nodded. Before any of us could blink again, she was gone. Then came the thud of the door being slammed shut downstairs.
Amber immediately relaxed. Her poor, naturally submissive self didn't stand a chance against a presence like Nadia's. "Okay, can one of you two explain what the fuck just happened?" Sven asked from the bedroom door.
"Just a mild freak-out," I intoned. I turned to look back at his wide-eyed expression.
"Mild freak-out? That was a mild freak-out? She thought we were a gang of vampire hunters on the prowl."
I sighed. "Yes, Sven, that was mild freak-out. You don't want to see the bad ones. Trust me." One time is more than enough for me, thank you very much. I expanded my aura to comfort his, and Henry's. My older half-brother let the tension relax away, but I could still feel his anger. "What were you guys doing back there anyway?"
"Come back here and we'll show you," Sven answered, nodding over his shoulder.
I followed in line behind Henry and Amber. She gave me a questioning look that I couldn't quite decipher. I looked over to the microwave and shook my head. I'm glad my salad and risotto was good enough.
I did not expect to see what awaited for me in that room. This explains the odor and Nadia's mood. I thought it was residual crap from last week. Once you've gotten used to the smell of blood and vampire you kind of stop noticing. Tied down on the bed spread eagle was a shirtless vampire who'd been beaten and bitten. Blood leaked all over the bedspread from his neck. His face and body looked like Joe Fraiser just finished his workout. His mouth was bloody as well, but I couldn't tell if it was from feeding or the beating.
"Would you like to tell me what's going on here?" I asked, repeating his question.
"We caught this bastard sniffing around the house while you were out," Amber said a little too proud for my comfort. Her aura shifted in a way I've never seen before.
"Okay," I drawled. "So why is he tied up on the bed?"
"He just wouldn't listen," Amber said. "I told him to leave, but he wouldn't listen."
"Okay, Amber," I said more calmly.
"You stupid piece of shit! You should have listened!"
"Whoa girl," I said, shocked. "Calm down. Just tell me what happened." I don't think I'll ever understand vampires; their mood swings are worse than a pregnant woman's. And that' the very reason I refused to touch her. She may be small and diminutive, but she was still a vampire. And that made her the strongest person in the room that wasn't tied up. "Henry? Care to fill me in?"
"We got back about ten minutes after you and Nadia left," he started. "We were just getting settled in when Amber went all watchdog on us." That earned him a stern look. Henry gulped at whatever she mentally said to him. "She ran outside and the two of us tried to follow, but she had him pinned to Nadia's favorite tree before we could get there. Her hands were around his neck squeezing the life out of him. Sven went on the offensive and started beating the shit out of him with the metal pole out there. I managed to talk them into bringing him in to the house and tying him up for 'further questioning', as your girlfriend likes to call it."
I just stood still while he spoke. I knew all too well what it means when a piss-ant-peon comes poaching on the wrong turf. I couldn't blame Amber for freaking out like that, this is technically her home for now. "And then," I prompted.
"And then Amber bite him," He said very matter-of-factly.
"It was to drain him of his energy," the girl pleaded.
"I know why you did it, Amber," I said. "Vampires don't normally bite other vampires like Bleeders for no reason." Nadia told me that once.
"Amber can you go out to the living room?" Sven asked quickly. I could have sworn he sounded concerned.
"Why?" she snapped.
"Because you're vamping out on your friends." It was true. My brother may be human, and annoying as all get-out, but he damn sure learned quick.
Amber looked at me as though I had the final say in the matter. And in this case I agreed with Sven. "Sorry, Amber, but he's right. You're flying off the handle as it is. Go out to the living room, or step outside. You need some air."
The blonde vampire looked like a five year being sent to bed early. She balled her hands into fists, stomped her foot and spun on her heel. I half expected the you're-ruining-my-life spiel to follow. Amber made sure she slammed the door behind her for good measure. In a way her little stunt did wonders for my aura, most of the tension followed her. When I went to check Henry's and Sven's I noticed that I was a man short in my count. I couldn't sense the vampire lying on the bed, very much alive, if only just. Weird.
Henry waited a second before continuing. "Between Amber biting him and Sven's beating it didn't take much to drag him into the house and rope him down." The blonde surfer boy began pacing in front of the bed. "He was barely conscious enough to talk. We questioned him up until literally two minutes before you girls got home. We asked him about why he was here, where he came from, who's he working for, what does he know about about Asmadeus and Adriel, but all he would answer with was some kind of Latin or gargled words. After about twenty minutes of this, Sven took his frustration out on him again."
I really didn't know what to say. The room was quiet except for the Renegade vampire's noisy breathing. I must have looked at each of my cohorts about a dozen times each trying to think of something to say about all of this. This guy was the first intruder that Nadia hasn't personally dealt with, and she sure as hell was in no shape to deal with him now.
The vampire gave out a loud cough. Then another, bloodier one. We all stepped a little closer and I could have sworn I recognized him from somewhere. The tattoo on his shoulder and upper chest looked familiar. When he opened his eyes he looked right at me. His eyes, once fierce and brooding, were now just puss-and-blood-filled orbs of approaching death. It was a quality that made him look even more frightening, if not a little pitiful. And I almost did pity him. Almost.
"Who are you?" I asked softly, trying a different approach.
He smiled. I could hear the surprise from the other two. "My name is Arnold," he said with a good deal of effort. His Brooklyn accent had a familiar ring. "You killed my brother, Harold."
"You've got to be kidding me," I said under my breath.
He coughed again. "We all know... what he did to Charlene Candice Coventry... he deserved it."
"So why are you here?"
"I came to... confirm the rumors." His eyes rolled back in his head.
Shit, he didn't have much longer. "What rumors?"
"If you… you actually... killed him…" he said around his now-persistent cough and wheezing.
"What?" I said askance. A delirious vampire was never any help.
He choked on his own blood for a second before hacking it up so hard it hit the ceiling. "We saw him... Now I've seen you... Charlene Candice Coventry... the one they're all talking about..."
He didn't say anything else. He just smiled and laid his head back on to the mattress. I was beyond confused, and after the night I've had I really wasn't in the mood to be angry.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sven said, holding a knife to his throat. Where the hell did that come from? "Tell me or you're dead."
"You're all dead..." he wheezed/whispered, "You just... don't know it yet."
I vaguely recall hearing something like that before. Sven let out an animalistic groan and jerked the knife against his Arnold's throat. What was left of his life oozed out from the huge gash. Only Sven didn't stop there. He kept sawing back and forth against his neck, his anger seething from every pore. Henry was damn near shock, completely horrified in a huddled mass in the far corner. I could hear the blade digging into Arnold's neck bones. I summoned up my courage to reach over and stop him. Surprisingly, his arm ceased when my hand touched his.
We all looked down at the nearly decapitated man. Just like his brother, he died with a smile on his face, and if history was any indication, there would be some kind of ejaculate in his pants. I wasn't about to check for that.
I've never seen Sven act out with this kind of rage. First the severe beating, and now this? "She told me I should have listened," Sven said, teary-eyes. He wiped his nose with the back of his blood-covered hand.
"Who?" I asked softly, trying not to think about much.
"Amber. Just now." Henry left the room, but it wasn't hard to discern why. "That's who she was yelling at when she started PMSing."
I just tried to be a good sister and hug him. I felt relieved when he relaxed into me. "What did she mean by that?"
"Before they took Sylvia, Amber warned us to stay away." He let out a half chuckle. "She told us to get as far away from this town as possible. The little bookworm was right when she said that it would destroy me if they got to her."
That explains a lot. His mood swings during our conversations, his penchant for getting up and pacing for no particular reason, his lack of care about life recently, and just his overall bitchiness. I knew he took the news of her death a little too well.
I knew all too well what he was feeling right now. No one should ever have to feel that low, like you have no way out. Like you have no control over your own life. I've been beaten, raped, attacked, betrayed, and I'm still alive. I knew I should tell him that everything was going to be okay. I should have told him that in that moment he had me, Nadia, Henry, Marcus, Amber, and the rest of his band that loved him. I wished I had told him that, but this isn't the kind of thing that you put a band-aid on and kiss it to make it better.
I tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." I pulled on his arm to get him to move. "You smell like blood, sweat, anger, and fear. Go and take a hot shower and relax so you don't push Nadia and Amber any worse than they're at."
"Are you defending those demons, Charlie?" my brother asked all of a sudden. I was taken aback by his harsh tone. "Those... things just come and take whatever they want. They act like they're entitled to our lives."
"Sven, don't," I warned. "Don't start going on like that; don't start thinking of every vampire like they're some kind of demon-demigod, because most of them aren't."
"Bullshit."
"It's not bullshit. Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm still adjusting to it too." My tone became harsh and scolding. "Remember who you're talking to. I've been through more crap than anyone should ever have to suffer. Don't get your emotions even more worked up over a lowlife street urchin. And yes, I will defend them because I'm one of them."
If he was going to say something he held it to himself. I saw him swallow the lump in his throat. I like to think he was just too tired to fight, but I know better--I could feel his adrenaline pumping, hell I could practically smell it.
"Now take a shower, bath, whatever, and just calm down," I reiterated when we entered the bathroom. "Leave your bloodied clothes outside the door so I can throw them in the washer." He nodded when I asked him if he was using the dresser in the room of death. "Okay. I'll get you some clean clothes and spray them down with the stuff Nadia uses to kill the blood odors."
I don't often get the chance to play big sister to Sven, so it felt good to know that I could take care of him like this. After I got everything in place, I headed for the basement to check on Nadia. She's been way to quiet for a night like this, even for her. Henry was talking to Amber on the porch, so no worries there. He learns faster than Sven, plus that man could make a deaf man laugh with a joke.
I didn't hear anything as I walked down the steps. It's weird how in moments like these that every thing comes into focus. A nostalgic smile crossed my lips with each step: this was the first project Nadia and I worked on after I moved in. I was damn proud of these stairs, it helped make me feel like this was also my house. Plus it helped to make our relationship seem more normal when she surprised me with the new cookware and knife set. To this day I have no idea how she talked those guys into coming to the house.
My vision changed over before I reached the bottom. Nadia keeps it pitch black down here unless she's in the study. Stepping lightly down the hallway, I listened with every available sense I could; I kept both ears wide open, I smelled and tasted the air, I kept my heartbeat slow and my footfalls careful, I watched the door with both my eyes and aura for any sign of disturbance. Still, nothing.
"Nadia?" I asked after knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"
She didn't answer me right away. I could hear her sobbing somewhere, most likely balled up on the bed with my pillow. "Yes," she finally said.
The hinges creaked. I tried to put o a smile for her, but I knew it would be fruitless. This woman would only cheer up when she's ready. I didn't realize that she was naked until I stepped on the dress and underwear she had on. "Nadia, honey, what's going on with you?"
She didn't stop sobbing. Her tears streaked down her face, making a mess of her carefully applied makeup. "I almost hurt you tonight, Charlene," was her answer after I placed a knee on the bed beside her. Her accent made her sound even more vulnerable than she looked. "I was so close to losing control..."
I pulled her into me. She melted into me like she usually does and just let it out. I patted and stroked the back of her head, shushing her. It hurts to see the one you love like this. "You would never hurt me," I whispered.
"I could hurt them, and that would destroy us both." I didn't think of it like that. That's a hard truth to face.
"You love all of us, no you wouldn't."
"When they smell like blood, death, and fear I could." I hate it when she negs out on me like this. "I have to fight every instinct to stay in control of myself, especially when there's an intruder in our house."
"Sven took care of him," I said, trying to make her feel better. She immediately sobered up some. "He slit the guys throat and damn near cut his head off after beating the living hell out of him."
"I know. I heard him laughing." I was hoping she didn't. I remember the look on her face when she ripped Harold's throat out--it's an image I'd just as soon forget. "I'm glad the three of them defended the house and killed him. Now perhaps the others won't be so quick to poach."
I adjusted, pulling her smaller frame into my lap. Covering her up with the blanket, I said, "It' been a long night for everyone, Nadia. Why don't you try to get some sleep? We'll clean up the mess upstairs."
I felt my vampire shake her head. "No. They made the mess, they can clean it up." She took a deep breath then added, "I have something I need to tell you." Her arms were around my neck before I could respond. "It's time I finally told someone, who better than my Watcher?"
"Mind if I change out of this dress first?" I asked. She let go of me and slid out of my lap. The brunette unlaced my bodice and helped me out of the wonderful gown. I made sure to put it on a hanger, making a note to get it cleaned the first chance I got. I slipped into a nightie and crawled into bed with her. "Where do you want to start?"
My beautiful, naked girlfriend snuggled into me. "It's always best to begin at the beginning."
Thank you for reading part four. I hope you enjoyed it and are eagerly awaiting part five. I know it was short, but that's how they're gonna start coming out. The perspective will begin to alternate between Charlie and Nadia to better tell the story. Please send in your comments, questions, concerns, and critiques. I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.
Thank you again.