The Taste Of A Warrior

Part 24

Posted: October 2003
Author: Dhvana

*****

"What the fuck are you doing?" I demand, trying to free myself from the vampire's titanium grip on my arm. Within seconds after my unceremonial dumping outside the window, George had grabbed onto me and started to quickly drag me down the street. He is moving so fast, I have to run in order to keep up. "Why aren't we waiting for Orlando?"

"Orlando can't follow us," he answers between clenched teeth.

"What?"

"He is. . . incapable of following us. Your friends have him."

My struggles grow even more fierce as I try to break free of George. We did not just leave Orlando behind, and we especially did not just leave him behind and in trouble. No. No!

"You son of a bitch," I growl, clawing at his hand and digging my heels into the ground to pull us to a complete halt. "What the fuck are you thinking? How could you just leave him there?!"

"Would you cut that out?" he snaps, turning his flashing brown eyes on me, eyes that would send an ordinary man running. Me, I've been through enough shit over the past couple of months that it doesn't even faze me. Well, maybe a little, but goddamnit, this is Orlando we're talking about here! George is not going to scare me out of forgetting that we abandoned him. "I'm not going to just leave him there. I'm getting you someplace safe, and then I'm going back for him."

"Not without me, you're not."

"Yes, without you," he snarls irritably. I get the impression he doesn't care too much for me at the moment. "I didn't go through all this trouble only to have you end up getting hurt, or dead. It would take a long time for Orlando to forget about something like that, and I don't want to have to deal with him until then."

His concern for my well-being is overwhelming. At least his affections for Orlando seem to be genuine enough, so I guess I can forgive him for not caring about me. But that doesn't mean I'm backing down.

"I'm not going to cooperate until he's safely back with me, where he belongs. Besides," I add with a cocky grin, though my voice makes my words sound like a threat, "this will be good practice for you to start getting used to having me around."

"I don't think you're in a position to make that decision, little one," he says, his voice filled with grim amusement. "Unless you want to fight me over it."

"Fuck yeah, I'll fight you over it!" I say, planting my feet firmly on the ground and preparing to send my fists flying. "You are not leaving me out of this. They're vampire hunters, and they have a vampire at their mercy. If he's not dead. . ."

I choke on the word as George's hand tightens on my arm, his other hand clenching with the urge to pound something--probably me. He drags me into the nearest alley, hopefully to keep from drawing attention to ourselves and not to have an inconspicuous place to leave a body. Be strong, Colin, or you'll never get him back.

"If he's not dead, then what they must be doing to him. . ."

A thousand terrible images flash through my head, each one more horrifying than the last. They can't do this to my Orlando--they just can't!

But they can. And if they are, he's going to be in no condition to do anything, much less participate in his own escape.

"You'll need help," I'm finally able to finish.

"You won't be any help to me. You're only human. I can get in and out of there faster if I don't have to worry about you as well."

"These people are my friends. They'll be less inclined to hurt me than they will be to hurt you."

"You my find their affections for you have changed since you decided to join forces with vampires."

"I'm not joining forces with vampires. I'm joining forces with Orlando, and by association, you. The rest of your kind can burn."

"You're fortunate that you keep such distinctions clear in your mind, little one," he says, but something in his tone makes me think he doesn't believe that's possible.

"I've had time to practice. Spending the month with your creation has taught me tolerance. Not all of you are bad. I just can't bring myself to approve some of the crap you do."

"Like eating humans?" he asks, corners of his mouth twitching with cruel mirth, and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Yes, like eating humans. You don't have to do that, you know. You could refrain, find an alternate food source."

"Like cows? Pigs? Bunny rabbits? They'd work, for a little while, but our bodies need human blood. We'll starve without it."

"Oh," I say, digesting this new information. I'd always hoped I could talk Orlando into becoming the vegetarian equivalent of a vampire--ease him off the human blood and have him keep to animals we both feel comfortable with eating.

George tilts his head, staring at me. "Haven't you bothered to discuss any of this with Orlando?"

"Well, no, not really. We tend to avoid vampire subjects when we're together." And our mouths are usually busy with things other than talking.

"How do you expect to live with Orlando if you don't even know anything about him?"

"That's the point of living with him, so we can learn about each other."

"Which barely works for two humans, but a human and a vampire? Are you two mad?"

"Look," I say, starting to get a little bit annoyed with him, "I love him. That's all that matters. We'll work the other stuff out as we come to it."

"‘The other stuff'?" he repeats, arching an eyebrow with disbelief, then shakes his head, looking very much as if he'd like to start pounding his skull against the brick wall. "I was right. You two are mad. The other stuff. The other stuff could be what breaks the two of you apart! If you can't handle the other stuff, or if he forgets for even a second that you're human, you could end up hating him or you could end up dead!" Sighing, she shakes his head. "I can't believe this. How could the two stupidest people on the earth even manage to find each other? And how did I get so lucky to have to baby-sit them both?

"You know, fuck this." He throws his hands in the air. "I don't know why I ever bothered to think that you could have a mature, meaningful relationship together. Orlando's involved. That should have been a huge red flag right from the beginning. Mature and Orlando just don't mix. You and Orlando just don't mix. I don't know what I was thinking to allow this."

All right, that's about all of George's rant I can take. He can insult me all he wants--I'm human, I understand that's going to take a little getting used to for him--but there will be no demeaning of Orlando or of our love while I'm around.

Stepping in front of his peevish pacing, I interrupt his rant with a shout. "HEY! Listen to me, you goddamned blood sucking son of a bitch, this is not your decision—"

Before I can finish yelling at him, I find myself thrown against the wall, his teeth sinking into my neck. I know it's pointless, but I try to escape anyway. He just presses me harder against the wall and quickly drains me dry.

Pain.

Pain everywhere.

My arms, my legs, my stomach, my neck, my eyes, my ears, even my hair. My hair hurts. How can my hair fucking hurt?

But it does. Along with my fingernails, my lips, my skin, my muscles, my bones, everything.

"You miserable fucking son of a bitch," I croak. "What the fuck did you do to me?"

George gives me a maniacal grin as he kneels down next to me. "Skipped ahead a few years and saved us all a bunch of fighting and heartache."

"What the fuck does that mean?" I demand while wondering why I never noticed how sonorous George's voice is. He has a truly remarkable voice, deep and pleasing, with just the right accentuation to his words. It rings so pleasantly in my ears--I could listen to it for days.

Wait a minute.

Yeah, George has a nice voice, but it's not the only thing I'm hearing. I can hear the people in the buildings around us--the quiet murmurs of their voices, the soft pounding of their footsteps, the droning of their televisions, the scream of a teapot. There's a man walking a dog two streets over. Pigeons on the roof are cooing in their sleep. A car driving by is enough to deafen me.

And, fuck! When did the stars get to be so bright? I didn't even know you could see the stars in London, but there they are, laughing at me and irritating the fuck out of my eyes.

I force my eyes to roll a little to the side so I can concentrate on George, who is grinning at me as if this is the most amusing site he's ever seen.

"Congratulations, Colin. You are one of the lucky few members of the human race to become immortal. How does it feel?"

How does it feel? How I would love to demonstrate it to him, down to the tiny pricks of agony from my suffering cells. "It's fucking painful, you son of a bitch. And when I get my strength back—"

"Your dramatically increased strength."

"—the first thing I'm going to do is fucking throttle you."

"That's really the first thing you're going to do? I was hoping you'd help me rescue Orlando."

Orlando. My beloved vampire. My beloved fellow vampire.

Oh, crap.

I'm a vampire.

I can't even turn my head to look at George. It hurts too fucking much. And my gums are killing me. I can't even lift my finger to give him the bird. This is so damn unfair.

"You didn't give me a choice," I say, my voice accusing.

"Colin," he sighs, "think about it. Your differences were too great. You would have hated each other after a couple of months. A couple of weeks, even. You and Orlando couldn't even have had sex as long as you were human. Would you really have wanted to live like that?"

"Do I want to live like this? And we had sex before."

"You had sex with him. He couldn't have had sex with you, and trust me, I've witnessed enough to know that Orlando likes to be both top and bottom. One day, you would have switched places, things would have gotten out of hand, and you would have ended up dead. I've seen it happen, and I didn't want it to happen to him, or even, as some small part of me hates to admit, to you. You mean too much to him, Colin. He probably would have forgotten about you after a while, but something in him would have been switched off. As I happen to be quite fond of Orlando the way he is, let's just say I was taking preventative measures by changing you."

Good excuse. Still not going to except it. I mean, he's right. It probably was inevitable, but I would have at least like to have been asked first.

Well, I've got all eternity now to yell at him about it. Right now, we need to get Orlando back. "You know, as angry as I am with you right, and believe me, my anger towards you is bordering on limitless, let's get Orlando, and then he and I can both kick your ass."

"That's an excellent idea. Now, I just need you to tell me if he's even alive."

"What?!" I'm starting to see red here. "You fucking changed me and you don't even know if he's alive? If he's dead, I swear to god, I'm going to kill you."

"Would you relax?" he says, rolling his eyes. "He is my creation. I think I would know it if he was dead, but I can't be sure. I need you to tell me."

"How?"

"You are bonded to him because of me, you are bonded to him through each other, and now you are bonded through my blood. Picture him in your mind, think of how you feel about him, and concentrate."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Colin, I don't have time to beat you into submission right now. Just do what I say."

‘Beat me into submission'? Somehow, I think he'd do it.

"Fine," I grumble, and close my eyes. Then open my eyes. "I can't concentrate. It fucking hurts."

"And it's going to hurt for at least another week or so, and then you'll never feel pain again. Well, a little pain, occasionally, unless you're into pain, and then you'll be able to feel as much as you want without any consequences."

That was more of an answer than I ever really wanted. "Um. . . no, but thank you."

"Don't write it off just yet. You see things from a different perspective when you're a vampire. However, you won't have that option if you don't start concentrating."

"Oh, and that's very reassuring. I'll just hop to it then."

"Colin," he growls, his face growing dark.

His worry is making him impatient. I don't blame him. I'm worried and impatient, too.

But I'm also afraid.

What if I can't sense Orlando? What I can't sense him because there's nothing to sense? What will I do then? I don't want to live without him, and I certainly don't want to spend an eternity without him. Please, Orlando, be safe.

I take a deep breath, then remember I don't need to breathe. I guess old habits die hard.

Yeah, well, so did I.

Closing my eyes again, I concentrate on Orlando. I think of his warm brown eyes, his silky curls, those long, luxurious fingers drifting across my skin, his mouth brushing across mine. I think of the love in his voice, the constant little touches and caresses that let me know how much he cares for me, how much he values me, treasures me, worships me. I think of how much I value, treasure, and worship him. How I can now love him for longer than just the rest of my life. I can love him for eternity.

Right after I kick George's ass.

Damnit! There went my concentration.

All right, Colin, you can do this. Worry about George later. Right now, think of Orlando, something you should be used to. All you've done since that first night is think about him. He's the one you belong with--that's the real reason for the connection between you. Not blood, not George, just you and him. Reach out to him. Find him.

Oh, fuck, I've found him.

Opening my mouth, I scream.

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