"It is not as it is written, though some humans still believe the truth. Do you really think a man as powerful as he, wouldn"t know that one of his disciples was going to betray him?"
"You mean Judas...right? He sold out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and revealed Jesus to the Romans, which is called the Judas kiss." He looked quite impressed that I knew all this but I was a history buff.
"Keira for someone that is not very religious you seem to know your material. That is how the bible tells it, yes, but these are not all the facts. See the faith that was being followed was dying out by the Romans. Jesus knew that the memory of something great, outlives a great man! And sometimes it only takes one significant act to change the world forever. He made the sacrifice for that faith to live on indefinitely. Which it did, being now one of the world"s oldest and most followed beliefs." It sure did make sense but what did I know?
"So let me get this straight, you"re saying that Jesus asked Judas to betray him?"
"Yes that is what I am saying." He said calmly.
"But why? Why Judas and why go to all that trouble and pretence, why not just hand himself over to the Romans?"
"That"s a lot of whys Keira, even for you," he said laughing but I just poked him in the ribs for making fun of me.
"I do not know all the answers but I know that the act was more of an impact this way. See, he needed a way for the Romans to be looked badly on for their conquest and this turned out to be the ultimate sin. Judas was unfortunately caught in the cross fire. He did the deed before Jesus told the other disciples of his plans. So when he kissed Jesus this was the sign the Romans needed to arrest him. Judas was picked because of his well known greed but through this act, his sins were to be wiped clean in the eyes of G.o.d. He was actually known to be one of Jesus" most loyal disciples." I must have had my mouth open at this point because Draven playfully tapped my chin before carrying on.
"But after Jesus was crucified the other disciples hung Judas as a traitor. He was first left to burn in the sun for days. He was then made to eat the silver that turned out to be the price of his own life, along with Jesus". Finally, before running out of air from choking, he was cut allowing his guts to spill below his feet. Some say that the sky filled with another darkness, like the crucifixion eclipse that happened on the ninth hour that Jesus finally died." His hands found mine and he kissed them twice before looking up into my eyes to judge my reaction.
"Ok." I blew out air like I was blowing the seeds from a dandelion.
"So I hate to ask the obvious but what has any of this got to do with Lucius?"
"He was Judas!" Right....Ok now I needed a drink....a real one.
I got up and went to the liquor cabinet and searched for something strong.
"Are you alright or have you hit your limit yet?" He said looking a bit worried about the shaky bottle of Jack Daniels in my hand.
"I just need a human minute, you want one?"
"Let me." He said taking the bottle from me and placing me back down on the couch. He left me to my thoughts while he got the gla.s.ses and I hoped ice. It was such an emotional account of the most significant event in history. Emotional for me that was. Draven told it with little conviction. I suppose as a human event, it didn"t really affect him until Lucius came along. Which got me thinking, how did that happen?
Draven was placing the gla.s.s in my hands and the ice made a cracking noise with the warm liquid that had been poured over it. He resumed his place and placed the bottle on the table ready for seconds. He downed his back like it had been apple juice.
"Do you ever get drunk?" I asked bringing back the familiar roar of laughter that came from him when he found any one of my questions amusing.
"Not in the same way that you do, I get more relaxed but that"s about it"
"I like to sing when I am drunk and trust me n.o.body wants to hear that!" This had him laughing harder.
"I think I would pay good money to see that and of course hear it."
"Why would you do that?" I was shocked and suddenly very glad that he couldn"t access my mind like he could with other humans or he might have had me doing karaoke with the click of his fingers.
"I can imagine it would be highly amusing to see you intoxicated and well, I have never heard you sing before."
"And never will, not unless you like the sound of dying cats. You might be powerful but nothing would save your eardrums!" He put both hands on my face and pulled me in for a kiss while he chuckled at my descriptions.
"I think you exaggerate immensely. Surly you cannot be that bad?" He really wasn"t taking me seriously.
"Well, you"re just going to have to trust me on this one "cause you ain"t ever going to witness it!"
"You know I just love it when you go all Northern like that, it is beyond cute." I wrinkled my nose in disagreement.
"No, still cute." He said smirking.
"Anyway let"s get back to my questions. So you said he is Judas or was or whatever, how is that possible?" He frowned, not liking that we were back to this.
"Have you not had enough for one day?" I didn"t answer. I just gave him a look which was pretty easy for him to interpret.
"Ok but only if you promise one day to let me hear you sing?"
"Draven you should be ashamed, that is blackmail!" But he just grinned like a bad boy and mouthed the word "Demon" to me.
"You can"t pull that one every time! You don"t see me doing something bad and then say, Well, I am a Cancerian!" I punched him when he started laughing and we ended up having a bit of a play fight on the couch. Well, more like I tried to reach his body parts and he kept restraining me. It was a big turn on and I almost gave up my goal to have s.e.x with him for the third time today. Wow, three times that would be my record.... umm, here"s hoping.
"Ok I give up, you win my G.o.ddess!" I made a satisfied noise and grinned with it.
"Right, so explain, how is it possible for Lucius to be Judas?" He let out an exaggerated sigh before continuing.
"Well the G.o.ds in heaven are not the only ones with plans. Judas renounced his G.o.d with his last breath. He felt betrayed by Jesus but he was wrong. Jesus tried to clear his name to his disciples in one of his last of the seven statements he gave before his death. But it was dictated wrong in the scriptures. His disciples thought he was just trying to prevent vengeance and didn"t believe his words when he said "Truly Judas, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." But they left out the "Judas" part for reasons of their own. Mainly to justify murder. When this was found out by Judas it was too late, he could not change the fact that he turned his back on his faith and so he was not accepted into the paradise that Jesus spoke of. Instead he was reborn by another G.o.d, one of the Netherworld."
"He became a child of the Devil?" Draven just nodded and I couldn"t help but feel a small pain in my heart for how Lucius came to be.
"Then what happened?"
"Lucifer, who is father to most of the elders on this plane wanted a King to rule over the Vampir or Vampires as they"re more commonly known as. These Creatures have been around for thousands of years but they were weak and unpredictable. They needed a leader, one stronger than them all, someone who could control them whilst making them evolve. Imagine these weak demons like rodents becoming wild, powerful cats. They mutated, genetically so they became stronger, quicker and more methodical in their thinking. Lucius became their master and he is in all of the Demons that he turns."
"So it isn"t humans that get turned?" I think he knew I was going to ask this because he tilted his head slightly.
"No, these rumours originated because years before medical science, people weren"t that great at distinguishing between death and someone that had just pa.s.sed out for a time. As a result, a lot of people got buried alive and when the earth is wet and the graves shallow some would claw their way out. When rare cases like this happened it would naturally be put down to Vampires. Lucius is the only one that can change a Demon into something more, and if they are a partially gifted then they are even more so when they are turned. He likes to collect powerful Vampires because he can control them." Draven was now very serious and sounded almost respectful to his lost friend.
"So if I met a Vampire he wouldn"t be able to change me or another Demon....right?"
"That"s right. Think about it, if they all had the power to change both humans and Demons then the world would soon be overrun. Considering they are immortal it would be very hard to stop them or to maintain control."
"So what about the other rumours, you know, garlic, stakes to the heart, sunlight, silver and feeding on humans.... that type of thing?"
"Garlic no, but sunlight and silver, yes. But sunlight is the only weakness Lucius holds, although it does not kill him. He doesn"t like these things because they are all a reminder of how he died as a human. So his memories of them got transferred into each one he turned, so therefore, it is now their weakness. But considering Lucius pa.s.sed on despite these, it makes him immune to most cases. As for the feeding on humans I am afraid that part is true and not just for Vampires." I wasn"t surprised considering I hadn"t been frightened when Draven had bitten me during certain, breathtaking times, I had already guessed as much.
"What about the spiking?"
"Ah well, that is highly unlikely as it would have to be made by the same wood as the tree he was hung from and considering no one knows what type of tree it really was then you would have to be extremely lucky. Plus it wouldn"t have to be in the heart, anywhere would do." Oh well I will keep that in mind. I couldn"t help but giggle at the conversation we were having. Draven didn"t seem to mind, I think he was just glad I wasn"t screaming. I put my strange behaviour down to a coping mechanism.
"So they"re not dead then?"
"No, they have an immortal host like usual Demons but whereas most Angels and Demons outgrow their vessels. Vampires keep on to theirs because of the blood that regenerates them. The blood l.u.s.t is down to wanting to be more powerful than the next. A lot of the time they feed on humans but do not need to kill them. Many have been bitten, drank from and then healed. Most don"t even remember the act. It is a very s.e.xual act and most prefer to have s.e.x with the living. You do, however, get rogue Vampires that kill and trust me when I say I have had to deal with more than a few of those in my time." I could just picture him as a slayer but then he and Buffy popped in my head doing the b.u.mp and naughty so I quickly pushed that far, far away.
"What are thinking about?" He asked as I must have been staring at nothing. I usually did this when thinking hard about things.
"I guess I am still confused as to why he would want me." This changed Draven so quickly it took me a moment to realise he wasn"t still on the couch. His body was ridged and at first I thought he had heard danger, like when you see a dog"s ears go back when they know some things not right.
"That is quite enough for today. You do not need to be worrying about something that I will not allow to happen. And besides this is supposed to be a date and I doubt it is customary to talk about so much death and destruction." I got up and put my arms around his neck, well tried to, but he got the hint and when I interlocked my fingers he lifted his neck back up and me with it. He held my waist and when he went to kiss me, I moved my head back causing him to let out a disapproving groan. I was teasing him and he knew it from the big naughty grin that spread the width of my face. He tried again but I moved and with his hands still holding my waist he couldn"t do anything about it.
"You"re enjoying this, aren"t you?"
"Maybe, but you"re not I gather?" I was clearly making fun of him, which was hilarious in it own right.
"c.o.c.ky now aren"t we, what happened to that shy girl that used to flinch if I came too near or jumped if I touched her lightly? I think I must be spoiling you Vixen?" He said giving me a thoughtful half smile and a new nickname. His eyes nearly closed from looking at me with such intense l.u.s.t.
"Do you want to spoil me again?" I asked biting my lip.
"Always!" Was all he said before lifting me up into his impressive arms and running with me up the stairs once again to my room. There he sat down on the window seat and I was on his lap where he kissed my neck still trying to reach my lips. I stayed firm knowing that teasing him would be worth it in the end. See I had a plan, I wanted to see what he would do when under my control, then I would give in at the last minute. That is if I could last that long without kissing him first.
"Behave," I whispered and he gripped me tighter. I moved to straddle him and felt his eagerness increase into a hard bulge. I pulled my top off, leaving me with just a plain black bra. I really needed to invest in some fancy underwear.
He cupped the material with me in it and then gripped them making me moan. He then stood up and held me wrapped around him with one arm. With the other he unfastened his jeans and lets his length breathe freely. He pulled down on my waist line and with a quick movement from each leg I was out of my black sweat pants quicker than it had taken me to put them on. He lifted me higher before sitting back down so he could lower me onto him. This way was always going to be more intense as it seemed to go in further making it harder to take, so when I screamed out he lifted me off slightly, knowing this could be a problem.
Then he controlled my movements to be slow and steady. I thought that with me being on top it would put me in the driving seat but because of Draven"s size it meant that I wasn"t yet used to this position as I had first thought. However I was still in control...In one way at least. I still wouldn"t let his lips touch mine and he looked like a man starved from his addiction. He was craving my lips but I kept moving out of his way and he would growl and groan with agony at being withheld. It however made my pleasure increase.
"Keira yield to me!" He commanded and I placed my lips near his ear to whisper, "No, not till, I... am... ready." I said slowly and over p.r.o.nounced. So in return he multiplied the storm that was happening in between my legs. I whipped my head back and he started to bite my neck but stopped himself before he could penetrate the skin.
"Do it!" I ordered and I could feel the gratified smile on my skin. I could tell he was happy he had regained some control. He stood up suddenly and pulled me tighter into his groin. I screamed back again and his arms that held my waist gripped tighter still not allowing me to leave his size. He walked over to my desk and sat me down, while keeping us securely connected.
There he took back his control and gave me a very powerful o.r.g.a.s.m making me shudder in his arms. I could feel the energy grow inside me. The fire and ice fought each other under my skin. My blood raced around my body as if it was being pumped by two hearts. Draven"s and mine. His hand was supporting my neck as I jerked against him. I could feel that he was close too, so I looked up at him and said, "Kiss me, kiss me now..." He didn"t even wait for the last word to leave my lips before he crushed his own to mine. He came quickly after that, while still kissing me and I felt his crying out inside my mouth. I also came....again. He rested his forehead on mine and I could see his smile. He lifted me over to my bed and lay me down before joining me.
"That was incredible, Keira. No-one has ever teased me like that before and well you know the out come...it was just..." It wasn"t often that you heard Draven lost for words, so this unfinished sentence was the biggest compliment I could have ever received.
"Ecstasy!" I said before snuggling into my little nook situated under his neck and by his shoulder. He stroked my hair back and kissed the top of my head.
"Yes... yes it was. Sleep now my little Vixen."
I was soon fast asleep and would have loved to say that I dreamt of me and Draven being together but I didn"t. Even though in life I belonged to him, this was no longer the case in my dreams. I had lost all control. I belonged to someone else....to another. So I dreamt of Lucius that night and in my dream....
I belonged to him.
Chapter 7.
Life Interrupted I woke to the lush feeling of a warm naked body next to me and I sighed, I was so happy. The body next to me shifted his weight and then I felt his breath by my ear.
"Good morning, my little Vixen." I loved it when he called me this and it was the truth, I was his and there was no getting away from it. I rolled over to face him to see he had clearly been wide awake now for some time. I stretched out and my bones made cracking noises at having to work again. For some odd reason Draven found this amusing.
"Morning!" Was all I said as I was still shy in the morning. I still expected to wake up and find out it had all been an amazing dream, of course I was always over the moon to find out it hadn"t been. I was shy because I knew my hair would be a mess and my breath strong enough to take out large farm animals.
"You haven"t been awake for hours staring at me again have you?" I asked praying he hadn"t but his smile confirmed my fears.
"If you owned a masterpiece, you would spend a long time admiring it, wouldn"t you?" He said simply. I hid my head under the covers to hide my shame. I felt the bed move while he laughed.
"Why are you hiding under there? Are you blushing again because you know that just enhances the picture of beauty?" Oh please let him stop before my cheeks exploded! He got frustrated when I didn"t come out, so he made the covers float up to the ceiling using his hands to control them. I was still as naked as he was and he laughed harder when my hands flew out to my private parts.
"Bring it down!" I shouted as it flattened against my ceiling.
"You will no longer use it to hide?" He raised an eye to me and I nodded, making my quilt coming waving down until landing first on my feet then to my shoulders.
"How do you do that?" I asked trying not to sound like a five year old.
"I use its energy to do my will." He said but when I frowned, he knew he would have to give me a bit more than that.
"Everything has energy, even though your eyes can"t see, it is still there. Most of my kind can home in on some of these energies and once you get a feel for the right energy, you can use it, move it, break it, do anything you want with it."
"So there are some things you can"t...umm...home in on, is that right?" I pulled the covers under my arms and propped up on my elbow as I waited for his answer.
"Me?... No, there is nothing that I can not home in on but that is only because I have extra gifts. But don"t forget I have to be stronger than the rest or there is very little point of me being here. My brother and Sister are the same, they can find any energy but they can"t hold onto it for as long as I can." He said this more as a matter of fact than sounding arrogant.
"Is that what you did with the cabin?" This memory instantly squared his features into hard lines.
"It was," he answered shortly, clearly not liking where my questions were leading.
"So things that big you can control?" I asked remembering the sight of the cabin that held me, being ripped apart by just Draven"s thoughts.
"My rage helps increase my powers as it is fuelled by my Demon side which is stronger in aspects of energy control." He said this so matter of fact it felt a bit like an interview.
"So there are limits?"
"It takes a lot of our energy when we use our powers and we need a lot of rest after so much has been used. We need to regenerate the power that has been transferred." Now I knew why Draven had slept so much the night after the fight with Sammael, it must have worn him out and of course there was the ripping apart of all those Gorgan Leeches to consider.
"Of course, feeding from humans helps." This also sounded very matter of fact and if I wasn"t already getting my head around all this supernatural stuff, then running out of the door screaming would have surely accrued.
"Ok when you say....feed, you do mean, on their emotions...yes?" G.o.d I hoped so. He had told me about this before and when I first found out, I went a little crazy. He explained how Angels and Demons both feed from human emotions to get their energy. But some take it to the limit, keeping humans in extra happy or extra depressing states so they can keep absorbing whichever energy they preferred. Draven had also told me how it wasn"t always Demons that like the negative energy and Angels that liked the positive. Angels can sometimes be bad and Demons sometimes good. One thing that he made clear though, is how no-one, Demon, Angel or even Draven himself could feed from me.
"Yes but of course, we do not eat humans Keira, we are not animals!" He sounded insulted but considering the conversation we had last night, could he really blame me? I may have thought this way but I decided to keep my mouth shut on the matter.
"Umm... while you"re in the answering mood, could I ask another question?"
"But of course." Ha, he won"t be so forthcoming when he hears it.
"It"s about Lucius." There it was... the ultimate frown.
"Keira please, don"t you think we have spoken enough about him?"
"Well it is better for me to be prepared. I know you say he can"t get me but I would still like to be well informed, just to be safe." Ok this wasn"t the only reason. After dreaming about him for the second time, I wanted to know if there was something more to his powers than other Demons because usually when I had drawn what has haunted my dreams, this meant they couldn"t come back. Like being locked out but with Lucius this hadn"t happened. I didn"t want to tell Draven that I had another dream, especially not one where he had kissed me.
"What would you like to know?" He said sighing in defeat.