[Vorcla]

Author's note: adult content


Melissa Westfall licked blood off her lips, trembling with almost orgasmic pleasure as the last few droplets of the salty fluid slid sensuously down her throat. Slowly the ripples of bloodlust subsided, and, sated, she came to her senses.

She gasped.

She was crouched over her prey. It was a young boy, a beautiful child; he couldn't have been more than nine years old. The expression of agony and terror etched on his angelic little face pierced her heart. Blood glistened on his savaged throat in the bright, silvery moonlight.

'He's just a little boy,' she thought. 'And I killed him.'

Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her soft cheeks, and she jumped. They were as cold as ice water!

She surreptitiously wiped her eyes. Musn't let Nilos see. He would be angry with her.

It was a beautiful night. They had swooped down on the family as they conducted an evening prayer service in a meadow behind their modest cottage, and had butchered them - even the little ones. A man and a woman; their eldest daughter; the young boy; and two little girls. She had been wild with hunger then, even though she had recently fed upon the woman prisoner at LaGory's castle. It was because she was a new vampire, and was immediately metabolizing the nutrients in the blood. All she knew was that she had been chasing her prey - and she'd caught it.

Now, in the cold light of the moon, she wept for the innocence she had destroyed - just as her own innocence had been destroyed.

She thought of Dylan, and her tears flowed again.

Was he still alive? She was so afraid for him, but what could she do? If he died...

Melissa shuddered. If he died, she didn't want to live - especially not the weird half-life of the Undead.

No! It didn't pay to think like that. The beast inside her wanted to see his blood run; she did not.

She sighed. She had tried to fight the thing, as Dylan had urged her. But it was so hard, and when it was hungry, she couldn't help but kill.

A throaty purr of pleasure caught her attention.

Nilos LaGory snarled as he buried his fangs deep into the neck of a pretty, young girl. Her name was Leah, and she was nineteen years old. The front of her blouse was torn open; her full breasts were bared, and he groped them as he fed. He had forced her to drink his blood, and now he was going to finish her. Melissa shivered as she remembered how she herself felt as she died - the empty, helpless terror she had experienced. The girl moaned and reached down under the waistband of her skirt as pleasure venom coursed through her veins; she ground her hips in a pantomime of a woman meeting the thrusts of her lover as LaGory drained the blood from her body.

Then, too late, her eyes flew open in horrified realization of what was happening to her; then they rolled back in her head, showing white. LaGory let her drop to the ground, limp and cold and discarded.

LaGory dabbed at the blood at the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief. He chuckled as he glanced up at Melissa.

The front of her gown was soaked with the boy's blood.

"My dear, you certainly are a messy eater," he said. "You will learn with experience, though."

He clenched his hand into a claw, and the stain faded, leaving the dress a pristine white.

"There - good as new."

Melissa glanced down at the little boy's body. "I wish you could wipe the blood off my hands as easily," she murmured.

LaGory frowned. The new ones so often had difficulty shedding their human ways; she would come around in time.

"He's cattle - food," he said. "I will overlook your indescretion this time, since you are still learning. In time you will know. If it's any consolation to you, I'm not going to destroy them. They shall rise as my subjects. It's time my influence was felt in this area. I have left these villages alone, but I grow weary of going to the larger cities to feed."

Melissa shivered. The little boy would rise again, to drink the blood of the living...

Hilde trooped across the meadow toward them, hauling the farmer's body by an ankle behind her. The anguished expression on his dead face suggested that perhaps he had been forced to watch the slaughter of his family before he himself was slain. Blood ran down over his face and into his salt-and-pepper hair. Hilde's face was smeared with gore, but her gown was spotless.

Sonya dragged the corpse of the man's wife by her blonde hair. Her throat had been ripped out. There was no terror in her expression, just a sort of weary resignation.

LaGory shook his head in disgust as he gazed out across the glen.

Jennifer was tottering unsteadily across the thick grass.

"Blood drunk," he muttered. "She still doesn't know when to stop."

Usually a vampire could sense when he or she had drunk enough, before it started to poison the system. Nausea would set in. Not Jennifer, however. After the others had taken their fill, she had gone around to each of their victims and finished draining them. She was such a slender little thing, too.

And she became so belligerent when she was like this...

She staggered toward them. She carried the two little girls, one under each arm. They dangled like limp, bloodied rag dolls.

Melissa had to turn away.

"Over here," LaGory directed. The bodies were dumped in a pile on the ground, and Jennifer noticed that the corpse of the eldest daughter still lay at LaGory's feet.

"What of her?" she demanded, swaying unsteadily.

"She's mine," LaGory replied. "She's a comely little wench. Her thighs are a little meaty, but we can work with that. Sometimes it's all in how you dress."

Jennifer's eyes narrowed into crimson slits.

"With all due respect, Master Nilos, you don't have time for all of us now! What will you do with another bride? The Harem is big enough as it is. You just added this skinny little bitch..."

"Jennifer!" LaGory exclaimed dangerously. "Know your place!"

She whirled on Melissa.

"What are you looking at, bitch?"

"What?!" Melissa blurted, startled. "N-nothing. I..."

With a banshee howl, Jennifer hurled herself at the startled Melissa. The two women went down in a kicking, biting, screeching, hair-pulling tangle of flailing limbs. Sonya and Hilde circled in close, screaming at them and urging them on.

"You want to take my place with Master Nilos, don't you?" Jennifer raged. "Well, I'll kill you first!" She viciously backhanded Melissa, splitting her lip and bloodying her nose. A terrified Melissa responded reflexively with a knuckle punch to the chin that snapped her foe's head back.

LaGory sat down on a large flat rock, chuckling. He was going to have to discipline Jennifer, but he'd let them slug it out for a bit. It was an immensly entertaining thing to watch. The two women clinched and rolled across the ground, still shrieking. Jennifer ripped Melissa's gown down the front. Melissa countered by yanking out a handful of curly red hair. They scrambled to their feet and faced off.

Then Jennifer kicked Melissa's legs out from under her. The copper-haired vampiress fell backward and smashed her head hard against a rock with a sickening 'thud!'

She did not move again.

Jennifer stood triumphantly over her fallen foe, her chest heaving. In the blink of an eye, she assumed the hideous form of the winged creature. Her ragged mouth full of too-sharp fangs gaped, and, with a hissing screech that sounded like the opening of a rusty gate, she prepared to strike.

"ENOUGH!" LaGory roared.

He jerked a hand upward and Jennifer flew through the air and landed at his feet, stunned. By the time she shook her head to clear it, she had reverted to her human form.

"You have overstepped your boundaries, Jennifer! Now you must pay the price!"

Jennifer blanched. "Oh, no, Master - please don't punish me!"

LaGory closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

"Sometimes our worst punishments are found within ourselves..." he intoned. "Remember - just a few years ago? A high school camping trip. You were trapped in a forest fire. Two of your friends died. They rescued you just as the flames closed in. A few more moments..."

Jennifer loosed an unearthly, ear-piercing scream and began to writhe and thrash on the ground as her own terrifying memories tormented her. Hilde and Sonya, who had helped the groggy Melissa to a sitting position, stared in horror at their tortured sister.

"No, please!" Jennifer screeched. "Not fire! Please, Master! I...I promise I'll be g-good!"

LaGory stood, impassive as stone, standing over her as her screams shattered the stillness of the countryside.

Then suddenly Jennifer convulsed violently, and blood streamed from her mouth. A dry, croaking rattle issued from her chest as she sagged to the ground.

LaGory's eyes widened. "Jennifer?"

Jennifer's body began to rot and melt before his eyes. Her skin turned to slime, and bubbled and streamed off her dissolving skeleton like spilled paint.

Within moments, all that remained of her was a boiling puddle and green lumps of putrefied gore.

Then that, too, was swallowed up by the earth.

LaGory sat down heavily on the rock, visibly shaken. He stared beseechingly at his remaining brides.

"I...you've got to believe me! I didn't mean for that to happen! I..I thought she was stronger than that! I only wanted to punish her..."

His brides rushed to his side, and he embraced them with a groan. They cuddled up against him, weeping for their fallen sister, weeping for him. Melissa found herself joining them in spite of herself. She could sense the distress in LaGory; he was genuinely shocked over what had just happened. She kissed him and stroked his hair.

"It's all right, Nilos," she whispered. "It's all right. It was an accident."

Then she paused as a chill coursed through her body.

She was becoming one of them!

And then she realized with ineffable sadness that she was one of them.

"It's all right, Master...Nilos," she crooned, tears streaming down her cheeks.

They stayed locked in their embrace for many moments. Finally LaGory stood up with a resigned sigh.

"We will remember Jennifer even as we welcome our new sister, Leah," he murmured. "Let us bury her family and return to our home."

LaGory closed his eyes and concentrated mightily. A huge length of turf and soil about three feet deep ripped free of the ground and raised up, perpendicular to the earth. The brides quickly thrust the bodies of their victims into the shallow grave, and then their Master slowly lowered the massive strip of grassy sod over them.

He relaxed and shut his eyes. His lapse with Jennifer troubled him. The battle with the boy - had it affected his mental powers? Dylan was a formidable opponent. He doubted he would have won the battle of wills with the youth without the help of his Harem.

That bothered him even more than the fact that he had miscalculated with his luckless bride.

He picked up Leah's cold, stiffening corpse and glanced around at the now empty meadow.

"Let's go," he commanded. "It's time to return home."

His brides quickly changed into winged creatures and soared off across the valley. Nilos LaGory followed suit a few moments later. It was peaceful up here, flying across the green fields and verdant forests. It calmed his churning mind.

Soon Dylan Vorcla would be dead. He would hang up the boy's skeleton on the wall next to his father. They would be reunited in death.

He smiled serenely.

Then he need no longer fear The Wolf.

To be continued...

['Ginnis]

Melissa Westfall licked blood off her lips, trembling with almost orgasmic pleasure as the last few droplets of the salty fluid slid sensuously down her throat

*sniff* beautiful sentence

The beast inside her wanted to see his blood run, but she did not.

Just a thought, I'd delete the but, put in a semicolon and italicize the word she. It distinguishes between her and the monster she's becoming.

Nilos LaGory snarled as he buried his fangs deep into the neck of a pretty young girl.

You're the English major but I would put a comma after pretty so that we know she's young and pretty, not pretty young. It read awkwardly.

"He's cattle - food,"

great analogy

"Ah, where's a huge vat of Jello when you need it?" he mused.

I like this line but I'd be careful with it. We know that LaGory keeps up with the times, but delving into something as kinky as jello wrestling could detour from his classiness. He his after all rather sophisticated if not a flagrant womanizer. Perhaps a comment or small paragraph could qualify it, else wise it's almost tacky (then again, that's not tacky about jello wrestling...?)

Sorry it took me so long to get to this. I spent the day moving my uncle into his new apt. Great work Vorc. Going really well.

[Vorcla]

Originally Posted by 'Ginnis;

The beast inside her wanted to see his blood run, but she did not.

Just a thought, I'd delete the but, put in a semicolon and italicize the word she. It distinguishes between her and the monster she's becoming.

Nice catch; much smoother transition. Done.

Originally Posted by 'Ginnis;

Nilos LaGory snarled as he buried his fangs deep into the neck of a pretty young girl.

You're the English major but I would put a comma after pretty so that we know she's young and pretty, not pretty young. It read awkwardly.

Mechanically it's fine; however, for clarity's sake, you're right - a comma would be good there. Done. Your fielder's glove's getting a real workout there, Kara!

Originally Posted by 'Ginnis;

"Ah, where's a huge vat of Jello when you need it?" he mused.

I like this line but I'd be careful with it. We know that LaGory keeps up with the times, but delving into something as kinky as jello wrestling could detour from his classiness. He his after all rather sophisticated if not a flagrant womanizer. Perhaps a comment or small paragraph could qualify it, else wise it's almost tacky (then again, that's not tacky about jello wrestling...?)

I wrestled (no pun intended) with that line. That should have told me something; always trust your instincts. I wanted a patented LaGory sarcasm, but this might be too much. It can be deleted without hurting the story, and it shall. Thanks again.

As always, your comments are extremely appreciated, Kara. Thanks for taking the time. Comments are like gold to me; they're "payment" for the work that goes into these, and they seem to be becoming more and more scarce. I'm not looking for a pat on the back (although those are nice), but feedback - like this post. I want to see how I can do better.

Thanks again.

[Jimbalaya]

Wonderful imagery throughout, Rick. I couldn't find anything to bitch about. 'Cept maybe I thought the death of Jennifer could have been a bit more fleshy. It seemed to pass very quickly. Other than that, looking forward to the next one! Great job!

[Vorcla]

Thanks for commenting, Jim. As far as Jennifer's death goes, I'm trying to tone down. Glad you liked it.

[dearest]

Good to see the internal conflict in Melissa, but also the change that's starting to happen as she becomes one of them. Good, very good. Well, I'm about the same as Jim. Not much to say, just on to the next.

[Venomous Vixen]

I think what struck me most in this one was when LaGory got to questioning his own power and what Dylan may have done to make him mistake the bounds of it. I can almost see how later on that could be used and it is a great bit of foreshadowing, or what I can see as foreshadowing anyhow. The beginning plucked a bit at the heart, to see Melissa realize she was a beast now, one who was capable of killing innocent children the same as any human - food. Also, I enjoyed the one drunk bride, got a bit of a chuckle from me. Looking forward to more, I am really enjoying this story!

[Vorcla]

You and I have talked about this, but this is a way to humanize vampires and make them more interesting. Yes, Melissa is a ravening beast who can turn into a hideous bat creature, but somewhere inside her is a sweet, winsome 18 year old girl who was robbed of her innocence - and her life. When that 18 year old girl surfaces from time to time, she's horrified at what she's done. This, I think, is what makes it poignant. Also - LaGory miscalculating. I like that idea too. As always, thank you for taking the time, hun.

[Lubesh]

I hope Melissa isn't too far gone still, now coupled with more vulnerabilities re LaGory...hmmm. I feel he is less now and jello actually suited him at one point lol

[Vorcla]

Originally Posted by dearest

Good to see the internal conflict in Melissa, but also the change that's starting to happen as she becomes one of them. Good, very good. Well, I'm about the same as Jim. Not much to say, just on to the next.

Tricia - thanks for commenting. Somehow I missed acknowledging you. Sorry.

Melissa will continue to have conflicts between her human and vampire selves. Stayed tuned...

[Vorcla]

Originally Posted by Lubesh

I hope Melissa isn't too far gone still, now coupled with more vulnerabilities re LaGory...hmmm. I feel he is less now and jello actually suited him at one point lol

Thank you, Lu. Melissa is very conflcited. Part of her doesn't want to let go of being human. Indeed, she will still have that conflict in future Vorcla series down the road.

LaGory is still quite formidable. Just wanted to show that he DOES have an Achilles heel, though.

Thanks again for commenting.

[katofmystery]

You are indead a word smith Rick! Your stories keep getting better!

[Vorcla]

Thanks, Kat. Much appreciated.

[RENA HANDS]

Should this be a possessive...before it started to poison (their) the system.(?)

What about saying (if it doesn’t matter then disregard my inquiry)...Such a slender little thing, Jennifer to watch her as she had taken thief fill, she had gone around to each of their victims and finished draining them.(?)

I say kill Melissa just for the unexpected. Again, I have to applaud your GREAT work and give a rating of 5/5!