Vampires, Mummies and the Holy Ghost

Ali Vali

 

 

Part 5

"Bona sera, Kendal. What can I get for you this afternoon," said the waiter with his pad at the ready. She had been sitting in the Piazza St. Marco for a week, always at the same table and always from when the café opened. The liquor tab at the end of the night was helping him save the down payment on his new boat, but she never looked drunk when she walked off to the narrow streets of Venice.

"A bottle of beer and a plate of olives, Tony," she answered in perfect Italian.

"That sounds so Egyptian."

The velvety voice came from behind her but Kendal didn’t turn around. The only reason for the visit was to deliver a pep talk, and she wasn’t in the mood for it. "I felt like returning to my roots."

Indigo laughed and sat across from her. "Wouldn’t that have that worked better by actually going back to Cairo?"

"It’s not like I don’t have more time than I know what to do with. That just might be the next place on my itinerary. Why are you here?"

"I came to thank you on behalf of the Order. What you did will save the lives of countless innocents." She put her hands over Kendal’s and leaned over and kissed her. "And I’ve come to give you a reward."

"The best reward is to leave me alone. I did what I was trained to do so everyone can return to their lives. This is mine, leave me to it." Kendal pulled her hands back not ready to accept any type of comfort. She had gotten her revenge on behalf of her father, but lost Piper in the deal. It was to her a hollow victory.

"What of love, Asra?"

"What of it?" She took a sip of her cold beer and popped an olive into her mouth. If she didn’t feel like crap, she would laugh out loud. "If you’re serious, then I’ll tell you what my thoughts on the matter are. It doesn’t exist. It’s a myth wrapped in flowers and pretty candy boxes. Whatever it is, it won’t ever be mine so why worry about it at all."

"You’ve said often throughout the years to the women you’ve left behind that life is not worth living without feeling another heart beating next to yours that cares more about you than their own."

"I’ve tried it, Indigo, and I’ve come to regard love with the same feeling as being run through with a sword." A pale brow went up in question. "They each hurt like a bitch so I’ve sworn off both."

"What about Piper?"

"What about Piper?" Kendal repeated the question in anger. No matter how hard she had tried to forget the blonde, she was in every lover’s face she saw in this romantic city. "I left her to find someone she could share a life with. If you want to reward me with something, watch over her and make sure she’s ok because it’s something I can’t bring myself to do. I want her to be happy but I don’t think I could stand to see her with someone else. "

"She deserves to know what happened, and to know you aren’t dead. Don’t you feel you owe her that much since she’s in love with you?"

"Piper is in love with the idea of me. She’ll find someone soon who can give her the things I cannot."

"But what if it’s you she wants? Doesn’t she have a say in what happens in her life?" Indigo reached for Kendal’s chin and made her look into her eyes. "She’s hurting, warrior mine, and only you can make that go away."

"Don’t you think I know that? How badly do you think she’ll be hurting forty or fifty years from now when she grows weaker and older by the day and I don’t ever change? How badly do you think it hurts to know you will never get to keep the love of someone who completes everything in you because you’re a freak of nature?" She drained the bottle and wiped at the tears in her eyes. "I don’t want to put myself through that again. Call me a coward if you want, I don’t care."

"What if you found someone you could walk the road of forever with? Would you take a chance then?"

Kendal smiled at her teacher. The original forbidden fruit she only got a little taste of every so often. "I believe she’s off limits, or so you keep telling me."

She delivered a soft slap to Kendal’s arm. "Would you be with me if you could?" Indigo kissed her again and pressed her palm to the warm face. "Could you love me as much as you do Piper?"

"I love you, and want more than anything not to hurt you." The blue eyes dropped to the tabletop.

"That is answer enough I guess, no need to elaborate. You love me, but you’re in love with her."

Kendal thanked the waiter who put down two fresh bottles of beer and a loaf of bread. "I guess that age only makes us older but no wiser in some arenas. It’s our luck though to have the luxury of time to help heal the aches of our heartbreaks. Especially when we drown them in such visual beauty." She raised her bottle to the sunset and toasted to Piper’s happiness in her mind. "Be well, old friend."

Indigo watched her walk toward the northern part of town. She wasn’t sure if Kendal was staying in the city or retreating to her old haunts with the setting of the sun, but from where she was heading it was out of Venice and into the hills. With a flick of her wrist one of Indigo’s men took off behind her to see where Kendal ended up. She was sure of the final destination but she wanted confirmation.

Now it was time to deal with her other lovesick bookend. Once this was over the two would make a stunning pair, if only because they were able to wring out every emotion in each other. The reason their love burned so passionately was because they seemed to know instinctively what the other needed and what drove them. Frustration, anger within reason, jealousy and affection were always the best ingredients for love, in Indigo’s opinion. Piper and Kendal had them all in spades.

"I hope I can get her to pick up another sword once this little girl gets her hooks into her," said Indigo softly as she opened the door of the suite she had gotten at the Lido.

"Did you find her?"

"Not yet, Miss Dupont. Tell me, are you always this impatient?"

Piper tucked her feet under her in the chair she was sitting in, which was a sure sign of trying to contain excitement. "Look, I want to believe all this mumbo jumbo you people have been feeding me, but I’ve been sitting here for hours looking at every freaking tourist who can afford one of those cute little hats ride by in a gondola until I’m about to go insane. I don’t think it’s too much to ask if you found her."

A knock at the door saved Indigo from having Piper see the size of her smile. Oh, Asra, may the gods bless you and keep you strong, you’re going to desperately need it. A young man leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Indigo nodded and sent him on his way.

"Well?"

"Just some information about something else. Why don’t you retire for the evening? Tomorrow we’re heading out early for a hillside walk."

"I’m not here to sightsee, lady. I’m here to see Kendal." Piper stood up and ran her hands through her hair and pulling it when she got to the ends. "And when I find her, I’m seriously thinking of kicking her ass."

"Asra is the finest fighter in the Order," Indigo gently reminded her. "I don’t think you have the skill to swat a fly off her much less kick her ass as you so poetically put it."

"She’s also the big weenie who left without saying goodbye. I already told her what thinking for me did for my disposition." With her arms crossed over her chest Indigo looked at her and smiled. "What?"

"Listen to yourself, Miss Dupont. To talk like that you must believe that she still lives. It is that faith you will need to guide you through life if you choose to stay with Asra. I’m sorry, if you choose to stay with Kendal," she finished with a small bow of her head.

"I love her enough to believe in anything if it gets me back to her side."

"Your faith will be rewarded then."

Piper took a chance and walked close enough to Indigo to put her hands on the woman’s shoulders. "You love her as well, don’t you?"

"The difference between us, Miss Dupont, is that Asra has found her mate in you. How I feel is of no consequence."

"That didn’t answer my question though."

Indigo turned and faced the window. "She is my pupil, to stay with her like that is forbidden to me." With as much of a neutral expression as she could muster, Indigo faced the green eyes and tried to hide her emotions. "Even if it were allowed, her heart would still seek you out. She loves you, Piper, and if you love her as much I will not mind losing gracefully." Indigo spread her hands out and shrugged her shoulders. "Good enough?"

"Yes and thank you for being honest. I promise, if I find her, I’ll take good care of her."

"Then she will never want for anything."

************************************************************************

"Are you ready?" asked Indigo the next morning. She looked at Piper and saw what it was Kendal found so attractive. The young woman was not only beautiful but had an aura about her that reminded you of life.

For her part Piper smoothed down the simple dress she had chosen to wear. It was cool outside but if there was a chance Kendal was out there to be found, she wanted to look nice. "Sure."

After a boat and taxi ride Indigo walked with her down a deserted country road. Ten minutes of walking and all Piper had seen were a few stray goats and an occasional lone bird on the hunt for a meal. The incline they were on was getting steeper and she was about to complain about her shoe selection when they crested the hill. It was the sudden and unexpected flash of yellow that made Piper’s jaw click shut. They were extremely out of season, but the hillside was filled with daffodils, thousands of them.

"When Charlie told me what kind of flower she had given you, I knew instantly where to find her. If you want that chance you feel was stolen from you, keep walking. I will leave you to it unless you wish otherwise." Piper shook her head and opened and closed her fists trying to relax. Without another word Indigo headed away from her, leaving Piper to find her own answers.

Figuring that she’d found Kendal away from the path her life had been following for years, Piper decided to use that logic again. She walked straight into the flowers feeling faintly guilty about the ones she destroyed under her feet. After about fifty yards she stopped and pressed her hands to her mouth to suppress a sob. If it was a ghost her mind had conjured up, she didn’t want to scare her away.

The sound made Kendal turn around. Seeing Piper standing there made her feel as weak as if someone had cut the muscles in her legs. "Piper?" It was a whisper into the wind but the blonde heard it and almost fell over.

"Are you real?" Piper held her hand up in midair. "Please be real." She watched as Kendal moved slowly forward. The same powerful body that she saw when she closed her eyes wrapped her in a hug and Piper’s world righted itself. It was the warm safe cocoon she thought she’d never find again after that horrible night at Oakgrove.

"I don’t know what you’re doing here or how you found me, but I sure am happy to see you." Kendal took a deep breath and filled her senses with the scent that was uniquely Piper.

"Please don’t talk," Piper’s arms snaked around Kendal’s midsection. "Just hold me." She listened to the steady beat in Kendal’s chest, closing her eyes to the wonderful sound. Every beat of her heart was like a balm that eventually soothed the memory of the blood she had seen streaming out of the same chest. "I thought I’d lost you."

"I keep telling you I’m made of tougher stuff," Kendal tried to joke. She was surprised by a blow to her midsection when Piper pulled back. It didn’t actually hurt, but it might work up to pain if she tried to interject any more humor the totally pissed woman in her arms wouldn’t appreciate.

"Why in the hell I love you I don’t know. You’re made of tougher stuff? You asshole. Do you know what I’ve been going through? I thought you were dead, and it was killing me a little bit everyday thinking I’d never get to tell you how I feel."

"Piper, could I…"

"You can stand there and shut the hell up, is what you can do, I’m not finished. You promised me if you survived whatever you had to do, you’d come back to me." The tears were falling in earnest and as suddenly as the anger had come, it died away. "Why?"

"You may not understand, sweetheart, but I left to give you a chance at a normal life." Kendal moved a lock of blonde hair behind Piper’s ear. The breeze had picked up and she was enjoying the way Piper’s dress fluttered around her legs. "Even immortals make mistakes though, can you forgive me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I love you, Piper. I fell in love with you that first day I saw you in the Palace Café when you had your hackles up and were ready to take me on."

"And you won’t leave again or do my thinking for me anymore?"

"I will never leave you, and as for taming you, never. Your fire is your most beautiful quality." Kendal leaned in and hoped Piper wasn’t still in a fighting mood. She wanted a break from biting creatures. When her kiss was retuned Kendal picked Piper up and cradled her in her arms. "And I will never waste a moment we are given." Piper did pull away when they started for a small villa further down the hill. The place looked ancient but it had an excellent view of the water much further below them.

"Try and not mess up too many flowers," she ordered Kendal.

"You like them?"

Piper pulled the leather tie from Kendal’s hair and watched it blow free in the breeze. How many of the village girls who lived hundreds of years ago watched the same beautiful locks whenever Antonio DeCristo walked these hills? It had been one of her favorite chapters in Lenore’s book.

"They’re my new favorites."

Kendal turned them around to look at the riot of bright yellow. "I first encountered them when I lived here. Unlike some of the more sought after flowers like roses and orchids, these have a simplicity to them that make me happy."

The explanation warmed Piper’s heart more than the sun shining down on them. "They are beautiful, but strange."

"How so?"

"It’s fall, they shouldn’t be blooming."

Kendal laughed and started walking again. "No, they shouldn’t, but they have something in common with me."

"You didn’t."

"I did and it was one of only two times the Order got upset with me, but look at them. Don’t they look like they should live forever?" Piper noticed all the ones that Kendal and she had stepped on bounced back and turned their petals toward the sun. It was hard to believe how long they had bloomed.

"The idea is starting to grow on me."

************************************************************************

The view from the bedroom window gave Piper an equally nice vista of the water and the indestructible hillside of flowers, but neither could compete with the sight before her. Kendal was standing there dressed only in her pants with a look of love in her eyes. Whatever power kept her alive had also wiped away any evidence of the recent battle. There were no scars on her chest or arms, just the bands of muscle Piper remembered.

"I wanted you to touch me that day in New Orleans," said Piper. She didn’t move when Kendal stepped behind her and unzipped her dress. "Your hands felt so good."

"It wasn’t for a lack of desire, believe me." Kendal kissed one shoulder before pushing the dress to the floor. "I was trying to be good. You did after all think I wanted you only for your body, and I try in all things to be noble of heart."

Piper turned around wearing a set of pale blue underwear looking just as sexy as Kendal remembered. With steady hands she unbuckled Kendal’s pants and unfastened the buttons. "Let’s hope you’re not so noble minded now."

With the last of her resolve, Kendal took hold of Piper’s hands as her fingers looped into her underwear. "Are you sure about this?"

"You told me to wait until it meant something to me. I have." She got Kendal completely naked. "I waited for you." On instinct she sucked in one nipple and took pleasure in hearing Kendal moan. "I love you, so it means something to me to show you." Piper went willingly when Kendal lifted her off the floor. "You stir my passions, but more importantly, you own my heart. And you will for the rest of time."

Kendal laid her on the large bed and hovered over her. The blue eyes were competing with the full lips for Piper’s attentions but it was the hand that came to rest on her stomach that won out. She turned over a little so Kendal could unfasten her bra, feeling extremely wanted when it was stripped away from her body with a bit of impatience on Kendal’s part as if she were tired of the barriers between them no matter how small. The panties came next and Piper took a deep breath to try and relax.

For the first time in her life, Piper wanted to give herself over completely and without reservation to the person above her. "I love you, Piper, like I have loved no other before you." Kendal rested her weight on one elbow so she could run her fingers along Piper’s brows."

"More than Angelina?" It wasn’t the time to ask such a thing, but Piper couldn’t help herself. The question caused Kendal to roll off her, but she didn’t move too far away to Piper’s relief.

"I loved her, but you have to understand that was a different time. She loved Jacques St. Louis. Granted it was who I was then, but I will never know if she could have loved…"

"Asra."

"Yes, and I’m too old to play out fantasies in my head of what could have been. I’m being honest with you now though. You surprised me at first because you both look so much alike, but you are as different as night and day."

Piper pulled her closer by tugging on one of the big hands. "Is that a good thing?"

"I have no secrets from you, Piper, and still you keep coming back. So yes, it’s a very good thing. It humbles me that you want me for who I am." Kendal bowed her head and kissed her loving the way Piper’s hands moved over her back.

"I’d like very much to be coming now," teased Piper. She bit Kendal’s bottom lip softly and pulled on it.

"And you made fun of me for corny lines." The pressure on Kendal’s lip increased.

Piper finally let go liking the fact Kendal wanted to play with her. "I want you, Asra. I want you to make me yours."

The request won Piper a kiss as Kendal dragged her hand up her body at a slow, sensual and torturous pace. "We have plenty of time for whatever you wish, so stop me if you need to." Her lips felt soft against Piper’s throat as she spoke the words. "I want you to always tell me what you want, but more importantly what you don’t want. I love you too much not to give you what you need."

"Please, Kendal," begged Piper as Kendal’s hand engulfed one of her breasts. "I need you."

Kendal kissed her as she slowly rubbed the hard nipple under her palm. The feel of Piper’s nails along her scalp was driving her crazy but she wouldn’t rush this. Piper deserved her full attention. She moved to replace her hand with her lips and from the second she sucked in the perky pink nipple, the head massage turned into a bit of hair pulling.

"Ung," Piper’s verbal response was incoherent but the way her body was responding spoke volumes, especially when Kendal paid equal attention to the other breast. "Don’t leave, you promised." Her eyes snapped open when she felt Kendal start to slide off.

"I’m not leaving, sweetheart. Relax and let me touch you." Her lips were close to Piper’s as she spoke so she could pepper her words with kisses. Piper’s skin felt like magic under her fingertips as Kendal caressed her way down its length.

When Kendal reached the soft blonde hair at the apex of her sex, Piper’s legs opened wanting to feel more. "Please, Kendal," she said again. "I want you to."

Two fingers dipped into the abundance of slick wet heat. Kendal could feel the hard point of Piper’s need and slid her fingers around it and squeezed. The move caused Piper’s legs to close and trap her hand in place. Kendal moved her own leg between Piper’s to keep them open. Up and down she rubbed and Piper ran her nails up her back in an effort to make her move faster.

"Inside, Kendal, I want you inside me."

Kendal looked down at her and thought how different her words were now than at their first meeting. Almost as if knowing what Kendal was thinking when she saw the arched brow she loved, Piper opened her legs wider and tugged on Kendal’s hair. "What can I say, you grew on me."

"Then let me fill up the small piece of you that’s still wanting." Kendal pushed her fingers into Piper with one slow thrust, enjoying the way the walls of Piper’s sex pulsed around them in greeting. She didn’t move for what seemed like an eternity to the blonde wanting to remember the moment.

It was Piper moving her hips to come up and meet her thumb to add to her enjoyment that got Kendal going. She wrapped one arm around Piper’s back and started to meet the young woman’s thrusts, liking the way their bodies fit together perfectly. For Piper,

Kendal’s hands weren’t about conquering or possession, but only about her pleasure. There was no awkwardness between them and no hesitancy in their touches.

Kendal took her time, only speeding up her hand when Piper screamed it was time. She kept her hand still as Piper’s sex convulsed and squeezed out the last of her pleasure. In the heat of the moment their positions had reversed and now Piper was on top moving her hips freely, her hands on Kendal’s shoulders, and her eyes closed tight. Never had anyone made her feel so much or made her make so much noise in bed, it was unbelievable she had lived this long feeling so little.

When the orgasm ripped through her and she was left panting, Piper collapsed on top of Kendal sure she would never experience this kind of bliss with anyone else ever again. Kendal had claimed her, but Piper knew she had equal ownership of her lover’s heart. She just hoped the immortal would be this passionate when she was eighty because after one time, Piper was sure her lust for Kendal would never die. She loved her, but like she had told Hill, her body made her sweat. Now she could add quite a few more sentiments to that list.

"I love you, Piper," said Kendal as she wrapped her arms around the smaller woman to keep her warm in the night air. She maneuvered them under the blankets smiling at the look of contentment on Piper’s face.

"What about you, love?"

"What about me?"

"I want to touch you too. It isn’t fair not to return the favor," teased Piper, wanting to slap herself when she yawned.

"Sleep now, little one. The Elders keep telling me to believe in eternal life, and with you I hope they’re right. With you it will take me until forever to show you how much I love you. Close your eyes and rest assured that there’ll be plenty of time for all the things we’ll do together."

"Promise me again," Piper asked before sleep claimed her.

"I will never leave you, love, and I will always be here to watch over you."

************************************************************************

A month later Kendal knelt across from Piper in the field of flowers under a full moon. They had shared a bath in the house much like Indigo had done to her seasons before, and Piper watched with interest as she mixed the multitude of ingredients.

Up to then their days had been filled with exploring the countryside, the streets of Venice and each other. After they made love at night, Piper drifted off to sleep knowing Kendal was content to watch her until the sun washed across their bodies in the morning. Never had she had a lover who took such time and pleasure in what she wanted. It was why she’d asked, and why they were here. Her way of proving she loved Kendal was to never let her be lonely again.

"Are you sure? Once it’s done, it can never be undone." Kendal looked across at her and smiled. She was done and the moment of decision was upon Piper.

"As sure as I am in my love for you."

Kendal handed her the chalice filled with the glowing liquid. "Then you will walk at my side for as long as the world exists. For two thousand years I’ve lived and learned all that I could. It’s taken me only a very short time in comparison to learn the most valuable lesson."

"What’s that, my love?"

"That I cannot, and do not want to live without you."

Piper held up the cup in toast and smiled before bringing it to her lips. It was like drinking a cool bolt of lighting and a sort of fire went through her. When the elixir had done its work Piper opened her eyes on a new world. Yet, for the first time since the elixir had been used it gave the recipient eternal life but failed to change Piper’s eyes into ethereal blue.

Instead, Kendal looked at the legend Lenore had spoken of for years. The oldest of the Order had spoken of a woman who would one day join them in a future a long way off. It had come in a vision to one of the Elders gifted with the sight of a seerer. The woman he spoke of would drink the elixir of life but keep the one thing that would set her apart from the others like her, and show her lover who she had awoken.

This woman would become an Elder who would join their ranks with her green eyes and heart of a lion. Her place within the Order would be to join with the warrior and bring light into the darkness in the world, starting with her lover.

It was foretold by the oldest among their kind and so it would begin that night in a field of daffodils. Be it through the sword or through words, Piper would be Kendal’s salvation and their love would know no end. The immortal knew she would never walk alone again.

Across the globe another immortal was given a new surge of power. A young female vampire saw the cloud of red dust in the air and laughed toward the heavens. Her prayers had been answered. With open arms she accepted Ora’s spirit into her heart. The Queen of the Vampires would live on. When the unholy union had finished, the young woman opened her eyes and the first word out of her mouth was, "Asra."

The battle would begin again, but now Asra would be joined by the other half of her heart. That alone would make them invincible.

 

The End

 

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