A Guardian's
Love
By Stein Willard © 2008
Disclaimer
The characters in the story are a product of my own imagination
and hopefully have no resemblance to any living persons or vampires
for that matter. But if it does it is entirely coincidental. Some
of the places mentioned are either fictitious and or adapted to
suit the plot of the story.
Sex: This story contains sexual content of a
graphic nature between consenting adult women, thus if you are not
18 years old and not allowed to read content of this nature, please
move on to other suitable stories.
Violence: Scenes of violence can be
expected.
Feedback: This is my first try and not being a
native English speaker, it's so much more challenging. Constructive
criticism is greatly appreciated, so feel free to drop a line or
two at steinwillard80@gmail.com .
PART TWO
Chapter 4
"You frequent odd places, Slayer." Paloma said when she reached
her, the silver eyes looked calm, almost drowsy, but Inger sensed
the woman's alertness. And something else too. Something
very familiar. The buzzing was very strong tonight. As if
it was coming from close-by. She turned her head slowly and
stopped. The only person standing close to her was Paloma. She
looked into the silver eyes and got her answer before she could
ask.
"Now that I know you were shadowing me for more than three
years, may I know why you did it?" She was angry at the woman for
having stalked her all these years, but at the same time she was
angry at herself for having been stalked by such a sexy creature
and not knowing who she was. Goodness, had she known earlier they
sure as hell would've made some spectacular fireworks
together.
Paloma gestured for the bartender to come over and ordered a
glass of red wine.
"I was just looking out for you," she said softly. Her eyes were
staring deeply into hers and hidden in those silver depths was an
undecipherable emotion. Lust, perhaps. Or was it
bloodlust.
"What makes you think I needed your protection?" Inger asked
sharply.
Taking a quick sip from her glass of wine, Paloma
smiled.
"You are an exceptional fighter and I think I am learning a lot
from you. You know where they hang out and how to flush them
out."
Said like a true diplomat, Inger thought and looked past Paloma
to a short balding man in a grey suit. He not only looked out of
place in the bar, but his eyes, which were boring into Paloma's
back held a deep hatred.
"Come here often?" she asked the vampire and was surprise to
find that Paloma had been staring at her the whole time. The silver
eyes were guarded, but for a fleeting moment she saw a brief
flicker of something. A strange emotion which had made her heart
stutter a few times.
"No."
"Then you must make enemies faster than I do."
Paloma grinned without turning to look at the man. "I was hoping
he would see me. Now at least I have a face to work with. Are you
done with your drink, because we have a bar to clean
out?"
With the words barely passed her lips, Paloma exploded into
action, using preternatural speed. In a blink of an eye three
renegades were lying on the floor with their heads wrenched off
clean. Inger was gaping at Paloma who was moving so fast it was
impossible for the human eye to follow. The only other people she
had seen move like that was Tahlia, Jonas and Pierre. Goodness
gracious, she thought, another super vampire.
The man in the suit was making a beeline for the door, but Inger
calmly grabbed a chair and hurled it at his feet. He crumbled to
the floor, hitting the edge of a table on his way down to lay
there, unconscious. Reaching for her sword, Inger joined the
fracas. Within ten minutes the bar was quiet with body parts lying
strewn around the floor.
Paloma pulled and body parts closer to each other and with the
flick of her hand the pile burst into flames making the fire alarm
go off. She then turned to the bartender, who was standing there
rooted behind the bar, his eyes stiff in their
sockets.
"You will remember nothing of what happened here tonight. An
ashtray caught fire and set of the alarms. Do you understand
me?"
The man was swallowing hard as he nodded repeatedly. Pulling the
man in the suit up by the scruff of his neck, Paloma left the bar.
When she came outside, there was no sign of Paloma or the
man.
Reliving the short fight, Inger shook her head. No wonder her
own kind feared her so much. She's a killing machine. Getting onto
her bike, she drove to the campus.
****************
Opening her eyes, she reached for her alarm clock. It was only 2
am in the morning. Something woke her? She swung her legs from the
bed. Mid-yawn, she realized what woke her. Someone was on the
balcony. She quickly donned her gown and went to open the balcony
door. At first she didn't see her even though the buzzing in the
air was very strong.
"You shouldn't be so careless as to come out onto the balcony
unarmed." Paloma spoke from behind her.
Turning sharply, she saw Paloma stepping out of the shadows. The
long-legged lithe strides made her stomach flip
over.
"What are you doing here, Paloma?" Inger asked sharply, suddenly
uncomfortable at being alone with this woman.
Sensing her fear, Paloma kept her distance, but her silver eyes
were so intense, that Inger felt them leaving a scorching trail
where they traced her body.
"I will never hurt you, cara. I wanted to come and see
if you've arrived home safely. I had to rush off to secure that
man, before his people got to him first."
Stifling a yawn, Inger nodded.
"I've arrived safely as you can see. I really need to get back
to bed. I'm writing a test tomorrow."
With her dark-hair sleep-ruffled and her dark blue eyes still
sleepy, Inger had no idea how close she was to being ravished.
Ignoring her own advice of taking it slow, Paloma took two quick
steps and pulled Inger into her arms. She saw the alarm in Inger's
eyes and she smiled tenderly.
"I will never hurt you, but since that night you kissed me in
the nightclub, I had to hold you in my arms again." With that said
she gently tightened her arms around Inger and held her. Paloma
could actually feel her cold heart thaw as the heat of the young
girl seeped into her core.
The last time she'd held someone like this was almost 800 years
ago. It was one of her lovers - a beautiful Italian countess, but
it didn't last. There had always been something missing in her
relationships. There was love sometimes, loyalty, ignorance and in
many cases fear, but still there she felt a vital part was missing.
She'd always wanted more. But what it was; she'd never known.
Until now.
She had wanted someone who could look beyond the monster and
reach out to the woman in her. Someone like Inger. Someone who was
comfortable around her kind. Someone who understood her. She gently
pushed Inger out of the embrace and looked down into her face. The
blue eyes were looking at her with confusion.
"The only person who holds me like that is my mother. You should
one day tell me about my mother. There are so many similarities
between the two of you."
Smiling gently, Paloma playfully touched the tip of Inger's
nose.
"Never confuse me for your mother, cara." The silver
gaze burned her lips as they stared unblinkingly at them. Inger's
lips parted on their own volition, pushing out a shaky breath.
"What I want to do to you has nothing maternal to it. Your mother
will kill me if she finds out that I'm having this conversation
with you." Her voice was hoarse from suppressed desire as she
gently stepped away from the human's intoxicating nearness. "I will
go and roam the streets until dawn breaks and you need to get back
in your bed and sleep."
She pushed Inger through the door, but didn't follow. Seeing the
question in Inger's eyes, she shook her head.
"Your mother placed strong protection spells at your doors and
windows. I will try and unravel them one day, but I need to warn
you…" Inger's blue eyes widened slightly. "Once I have
altered the spells and I am inside your room, I will want more than
a kiss, dearling. Remember that."
She pushed the door close and stepped back until Inger had
locked the door. Then she disappeared.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
She was a few yards from Inger's room, when she sensed another
presence. Swinging around, she was in her battle stance, but
immediately backed down when she saw who was standing behind her.
Staring at the woman she was taken aback by her ethereal beauty.
After 20 reincarnations, Jemima still looked as beautiful as she
was the first time she'd seen her.
"We drop by every night to see if she is home safely and that
she is covered up warm enough. As a child she used to kick her
blankets off. It kept us busy covering her up every five minutes,"
Jemima said calmly, but her blue eyes showed her inner-turmoil.
"The habit just stuck."
Not knowing what to say, Paloma just stared back at the blonde.
"We have raised her with so much love and maybe were too
protective at times, adding to her being a little naïve, but
we would not want to see her get hurt. She has a beautiful heart
and a loving spirit."
Paloma nodded.
"I understand your concern, Jemima, but I can assure you that I
will not let any harm come to her. I will protect her with my
life." And it was true. After having been around her since she was
a toddler, Inger had unwittingly placed a spell on her heart,
making it impossible for her to even consider a life without her.
There was a slight shift in the air and Tahlia suddenly appeared
next to Jemima, her black eyes burning with a disturbing intensity.
Paloma knew that Tahlia was still slightly angry at her for the
kiss between Inger and her.
"I was hoping that I would find you tonight. We have something
urgent to discuss. The Consortium found a possible link between
your resurfacing and the activation of a Vampire slayers group
which had been dormant since the 16th century. Maybe you
have information that can be helpful. We are meeting tomorrow night
at the Melton Hotel. I will send Juan to accompany
you."
Looking past Jemima, Paloma stared at Inger's window. She was
hoping she could spend the night with Inger, but she was trained to
put duty before anything else. That was the code she'd been living
to for more than two millennia.
"I will be there."
"Good." Tahlia took Jemima's hand and together they melted into
the shadows.
*************
"Ms Marsden?"
Inger's head jerked up and she heard muffled giggles. She was
lying with her head on her folded forearms and standing in front of
her, with his hands on his hips was Jonathan Warren, her
Criminal Law professor.
"I take it you must be done with your test." He held out his
hand. "If I may."
She had dozed off while taking her test. Damn! Her eyes quickly
scanned over the test paper. At least she seemed to have filled in
all the blank spots.
"I'm waiting, Ms Marsden."
Sighing she handed over the paper and sat back in her chair.
Damn, Paloma for waking her this morning. Afterwards she couldn't
sleep and instead decided to do revision for the test.
"Had a wicked night last night, did you?" A teasing voice said
close to her ear.
Turning she grinned at the girl sitting behind her. Marsha
Bredenkamp was her next door neighbor. Blonde and very beautiful,
she was one of the most popular girls on campus.
"Yep. I was up late doing revision."
An unladylike snort came from Marsha. "Not from what I saw, you
didn't. I saw a hot blonde on the balcony with you and she didn't
seem like the tutoring kind."
A little startled by Marsha's revelation, Inger made a mental
note to warn Paloma about coming to her room in future.
"I assume you must be done too, Ms. Bredenkamp." Professor
Warren was staring at them from over the frame of his glasses. "I
you will bring you paper to the front, please, and I will ask the
two of you to leave the auditorium as not to disturb the rest of
the class."
************
Stepping outside into the sun, Inger was so intent on reaching
her room that she wasn't aware of the two men following her at a
distance. Once she'd entered her dorm, the men
stopped.
"We will have to come back tonight with reinforcements. One of
us will have to stay here in case she leaves her
room."
************
The black eyes were thoughtful as Tahlia observed the way Pierre
and Jonas interacted with Paloma. The four of them had been
fighting back to back for centuries and had developed a strong
familial bond over the ages. Pierre and Paloma were standing a few
feet away, chatting softly with their heads close.
The doors swung open and Michael Jensen with Joan in tow entered
the room. The minute they saw the tall blonde, the two of them came
to a stop, gaping at the Vampire warrior. Michael, at least managed
to shield his reaction, but not Joan. She was staring at Paloma
with awe. Paloma's silver eyes stared back blankly.
Paloma almost smiled at Paloma's demeanor. That look helped them
many times as youngsters when they had to quibble with street
vendors for prices. Paloma always intimidated the hell out of the
merchants. Their parents knew and exploited the blonde's uncanny
bargaining skills.
"Since we are all here I believe we can start." Tahlia walked
over to the gleaming oak table and took her seat. The rest of the
group followed suit.
Clearing his throat, Michael looked at Paloma.
"My name is Michael Jensen and I'm the head of the Human Vampire
Slayer's Consortium." Pointing to Joan he continued. "My colleague
here is Joan Arcadia. She's in charge of the research component of
the organization and knows almost everything there is to know about
vampire legends and traditions."
Paloma nodded her acknowledgement.
"If I may ask, Ms Soleil, we thought you dead for almost 500
years. How did you escape the ambush staged by the slayers?" Joan
was still staring at Paloma with awe.
"I killed them all and then I went to ground." Paloma answered
calmly and Tahlia saw the slight shiver that went through Joan at
Paloma's curt reply.
"What do you have for us, Joan?" Jonas was looking at Joan with
a slight frown and Tahlia wondered if Jonas felt intimidated by
Joan's admiration of Paloma. Over the centuries many straight women
has fallen prey to Paloma's dark sensual charm and both Jonas and
Tahlia knew that Joan wouldn't stand a chance if Paloma turned on
her charm.
Joan blushed lightly and flipped the file open which were lying
in front of her.
"About 800 years ago a clandestine organization of human slayers
operated in Europe, hunting rogue and Royal Can vampires alike. In
the 16th century the group was headed by Columbus
Mercredi, an Italian nobleman, with a score to settle after his
only daughter was seduced and killed by a rogue vampire. Already a
firm believer in the occults, he formed a group recruiting the
cruelest killers from prisons across Europe and trained them to
hunt the vampire. In their search they had butchered vampires and
humans indiscriminately. The last official recording of their
existence was in 1530 when they claimed to have killed Paloma. No
reference to them appears in any literature that date from the
16th century onwards."
She reached for her glass of water and took a quick sip. "About
fifteen years ago the group's operation was reactivated. Our
European branch started tracking the group and found their head
office in Naples, coincidently right at the spot where their
predecessors had claimed they had killed Paloma. The Euro branch
alerted us that the group was infiltrating the US. We are now
investigating the link between the group and
Paloma."
Tahlia turned her black eyes towards Paloma. "Why do you think
these people might be hunting you?"
"Prior to our battle at Naples, I had been aware of the group's
operations. They had killed a few of my warriors over the years."
She rubbed over her eyes. Reliving all the centuries of bloodshed
always caused a dark stain to seep over her soul. The killing was
too much at times and the only time she didn't think about it was
when she was with Inger. How she missed her now. "I went after them
and killed them all and made sure that they knew who was
responsible so I could flush them all out. The battle at Naples was
actually an ambush for them. Mercredi and his son managed to escape
and I thought that they would not be able to regroup after the blow
I've dealt them. But I was wrong. Last night I captured one of
their members at a bar downtown. He is locked away safely until I
figure out what to do with him."
Michael took a sip from his water and cleared his throat
nervously. The Assassin made him uncomfortable and addressing her
meant he had to look into those strange transparent eyes of
hers.
"Maybe you can bring him to us for questioning. He will be
locked up safely and no one will get to him without my permission."
"These guys are cold-blooded killers and I don't trust you to be
as effective in getting him to talk. I know how to make them talk."
Paloma's voice was void of emotion, but her eyes were
ice-cold.
Michael looked to Tahlia, silently begging her to step in.
Tahlia nodded and turned to Paloma.
"You will keep the slayer with you, but will only question him
in the presence of either me, Jonas or Pierre. We want him alive."
Her black eyes were boring into Paloma's until Paloma nodded.
"Good. Michael we will let you know as soon as we have any
information. Until then I suggest we keep our eyes open. Joan, ask
the Euro branch for the top structure of the organization. We need
to know where to hit to weaken them."
Coming to her feet abruptly, she walked over to Paloma. The
Queen's black eyes were glittering with hatred, making Paloma
stiffen. What now? Instead Tahlia came to stand in front of
her.
"I want you to come with me. Inger has been kidnapped."
***************
A wave of nausea came over her when she tried to lift her head
and Inger slumped back. Opening her eyes slowly she found that she
in the boot of a car. The last thing she remembered was getting on
to her motorbike ready to leave to go see her grandparents. She's
heard a sound and before she could turn to inspect the sound, her
head exploded and she saw black. The car was speeding and even if
she screamed she doubt anyone would be able to help
her.
<I am nearby, my baby. Don't
worry.>
<Mom! > She almost cried at the sound of Jemima's
voice in her head. <I'm scared,
Mommy.>
<Just be calm, my child. I won't let them hurt
you.> This time Jemima's voice was cold. <There are
four of them in the car. Your mother and Paloma are on
their way. Don't be scared, my love.>
The car came to a standstill and the boot was popped. The men
were all dressed in dark suits and one of them had an antique
crossbow aimed at her chest. She was roughly pulled out of the boot
and dragged to a steel cage nearby. The heavy door slammed shut
after she was unceremoniously pushed inside.
Looking around she saw she was in a large warehouse and that
there were three more men with crossbows guarding the cage.
"Now that you have me, I would like to know what you intend to
do with me." She was glad to know that her voice didn't sound shaky
at all. Her mother was nearby, she could feel her. One of the men,
a dull looking fellow with cold grey eyes turned to look at her and
Inger was taken aback by the hatred she saw in his eyes.
"Shut your mouth, bitch. You will speak only when spoken
to?"
"Well, then you don't know me at all, mister," Inger snapped,
thoroughly miffed by the man's chauvinistic remark, but before she
could continue with her tirade, the air in the warehouse shifted
and a dark, heavy, oily appearance of evil filled the warehouse.
She saw the men turn to look behind her and she slowly turned to
see who the newcomer was. Whoever he was, she knew that his
presence here spelled danger for her.
The back of the warehouse was dark and anyone not knowing what
to look for wouldn't have seen the dark shadows shifting. A gangly
human shape stepped out of the shadows and she gasped. Whatever the
thing was she was looking at, may have once resembled a human
being, but that must've been a very, very, very long time ago. She
had read in a book on vampire folklore that after centuries of
killing innocents, vampires lost the ability to shape shift to
their human form and became the true monster which haunted the
dreams of humans.
Inger knew that she had just come face to face with a living
nightmare. The creature in front of her reeked of violence, hatred
and death. Its face was contorted by bloodlust and his glowing red
eyes stared at her with so much ill-contained hunger that Inger
felt a shiver run down her spine. Gliding on thin air the creature
came closer to the cage and the closer he came the more terrified
she became.
"So, you are the daughter of the Vampire Queen." The creature's
voice was raspy and every syllable was pronounced haltingly.
"Why did you bring me here?"
The vampire stretched his tall frame and Inger saw the muscled
wings which grew out of its back. "You are our bait and my snack
while we wait for your mother and the Assassin to come to your
rescue." The creature glided over to the gate and with a flick of
his hand the door swung open and his elongated claw reached in for
her.
With her hands bound tightly together it was impossible for her
to dodge his claw which curled around her throat and she screamed
when the tip of his long nail broke her skin and she felt a sticky
wetness running down her neck. The creature threw her against the
bars and touched the tip of his blood-stained nail to his black
tongue.
"Ah, sweet and uncontaminated - just the way I like it." She
felt the nausea build-up again when the creature stuck out its
black tongue to lap the last bit of blood from the tip of his
finger. "I will enjoy you first before I decide what to do with
you. But first we need to get your parents here." He reached for
her again, but this time he stuck his nail deeper into the wound in
her neck and Inger screamed in agony. "That's right; make sure they
know where to find you."
And suddenly all hell broke loose.