Havermouth, A few days after the stormToby knocked on the door of Compound A and blew out a breath when there wasn’t a response. “Fucking arseholes,” he muttered before pounding harder with the ham of his hand.An intercom near the door scratched into life. A scream echoed through the speaker standing the hair on Lyric’s arms on end. “What?” A man asked, his voice distorted by his proximity to the microphone in an effort to be heard over the screaming.“What the fuck…? Ergh,” Toby huffed out irritably. “Father Isaiah wants the girl secured here until he’s finished his phone call.”“We’re busy.”“Father Isaiah,” Toby repeated with emphasis. “He’s at Compound B. If you want me to take her back there, you can deal with the fallout.” There was a click and Toby nodded. “Smart move.” He waited until the speaker went silent, his hand on the door handle. “Just keep to yourself,” he recommended to her. “Don’t do anything stupid.”“Sure,” she replied wondering what precisely they were about to
Havermouth, A few days after the stormCap on or cap off? Lyric wondered as she gripped the ball-point pen in her fist. She stood on the other side of the plastic strips, tracking the movements of the man mopping the floors, waiting for her moment. Cap on she decided.She took a deep breath. She had killed Chris and Lee, she told herself sternly. She could do this. The man on the other side of the plastic strips was not a good man. He had participated in the torture of the red-haired woman, and probably others before her and then gone on to whistle merrily as he cleaned up her blood. He deserved to die.When his back was to the plastic strips, she leaped through them, wrapping her legs around his waist, and arm around his shoulders, and stabbed the pen, pointed lid first, into his neck. She hit his jawbone, and he screamed. The mop struck the ground, released from his hands as he raised them, clawing at her in an effort to defend himself. She tried again, and this time the pen sank in
Havermouth, A few days after the storm“How do you end up working for a secret military, anyway?” Lyric asked Toby.“We should travel slower, Lyric,” Niarthen commented from the back seat.“We hit a zombie,” Lyric explained to Toby. “He’s nervous about cars. But he is right, you are speeding.”“There is no one on these roads,” Toby replied with a slight roll of his eyes. “Other than us. We’ve shut down the entire area. As to how… My dad knows someone. Dad’s big on the whole humans are superior thing and annihilate the abominations…” He trailed off as if remembering he had two people fitting that description in the back seat. “So, I wanted to leave the army, and the Order was recruiting.”“There was no one on the other roads except the zombie,” Lyric commented.“Fine,” Toby slowed to the speed limit. “Happy?”“Not really,” Niarthen said under his breath.“What is going to happen, Toby?” Lyric asked him. He seemed to be willing to talk, almost relaxing into it the further they got away
Havermouth, A few days after the storm“Lyric,” Niarthen said softly. “We should do as he says.”“No,” she protested, her stomach churning with dread. “You saw what they do to people, Niarthen. I won’t let them do that to you.”“They will shoot,” Toby told her. “Please. Trust me, Lyric. This is for the best.”“How?” She demanded. “How is this for the best, Toby? These people are monsters. They torture other people. How is this the best for any of us?”“As long as we live, there is hope,” Niarthen decided and reached for the doorhandle. “As long as we live, mia persuma inillium, the chance exists to once again escape. And next time,” his eyes narrowed at Toby, and Toby swallowed hard. “We will kill this one if he again interferes.”Niarthen opened the door and stepped out of the car slowly.“Shit,” Lyric hastened to put the safety on the gun and left it on the seat as she got out. “Don’t hurt him,” she called out in protest as Niarthen was surrounded, forced down onto the ground, and h
Havermouth, A few days after the stormNot that bad, Lyric thought sourly two hours later as she pulled on her clothing with shaking hands. That was a fucking lie. The medic had treated her like a fucking dog, worse than a fucking dog, she amended to herself, because at least vets liked dogs. The man did not like women. He had spoken only to Dove, and only then reluctantly, and had uttered orders that Dove had repeated to Lyric, her voice stern but her eyes pleading with Lyric to comply.He had taken several vials of blood, and then ordered her to urinate, tapping his nails against the tabletop impatiently whilst she had stood and looked at the metal bed pan in disbelief.“Pee,” Dove had told her.“I can’t just fucking pee on demand. I’m not a fucking tap,” Lyric had retorted.“Please try,” Dove had mouthed the words.“Fuck. Privacy? No,” Lyric had grimaced. Of course, there would be no privacy. They expected her to squat and pee in front of them both, and damn it she had because know
Havermouth, A few days after the stormAs soon as the soldier was gone, Lyric threw her arms around Niarthen and buried her face into his chest. He wrapped himself around her, burying his face into her hair, and held her for a long moment before starting to stroke his hands up and down her back soothingly. “What has happened, mia persuma inillium?” He murmured. “What has upset you?”Lyric closed her eyes. The feel of his solid body against her, the warmth of him, and the scent of his skin centered her and renewed her purpose. She shook her head. “I am fine,” she lied and eased away from the embrace.He caught her chin between his fingers, searching her eyes with his own, until he was reassured and nodded releasing her. “I am sorry that they did not set you free,” he said. “Now we must find our way out together.”“Yes,” with renewed determination, Lyric began to search the cage for weaknesses. “We will get out of here,” she told him over her shoulder as she moved to the front of the ca
Havermouth, A few days after the stormThe explosions continued, filling the sky with smoke and ash so that it drifted down and coated the car, the street, and the pretty little cottage gardens like snow. The smell was how Lyric thought the end of the world would smell like. No average wood fire – the smoke had shadows of burnt plastic, melted metal, and roasted flesh.Several of the streets showed signs of some dramatic event having occurred, with upturned 4WDs, others abandoned, doors open as if the occupants had fled, and puddles of blood. Shell casings glittered amongst the ash like buried treasure.“War,” Niarthen observed grimly. “The local supernatural communities must be fighting back against the humans.”“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but not all humans, Niarthen,” Lyric corrected. “The civilians have nothing to do with this. They’re as caught up in it as we are.”“Enough humans permitted them to build this power. They failed to see the monster that grew within them,
Havermouth, A few days after the stormHalfway down the bank, Niarthen fell, and the boat slid down through the undergrowth towards the water at an alarming speed. Lyric and the red-haired woman dove after it, the bushes tearing at their skin and clothing. It nosed into the water, but they dragged it back.Niarthen caught up and took the weight. “Quickly, get in,” he said through his teeth.Lyric and the red-haired woman didn’t argue, half falling into the rowboat. Niarthen followed, collapsing against Lyric as the boat slid the rest of the way into the water, jolting them around inside of it. “Are you okay, Niarthen?” Lyric asked in concern, leaning forward over him. The rowboat was dragged by the current towards the center of the river, and the red-haired woman fought to control the paddles as the water pulled at them. The metal side of the boat was stained with Niarthen’s blood. “Let me look…”“No time,” Niarthen replied grimly through his teeth, pushing away, and reaching for th
Rideten, Present Time Aislen was jolted awake when Talen shot out of the bed to the door. She was nicely nuzzled into Heath and Talen had been a warm spot against her back, his sudden moving causing a draught that was quickly filled when Cameron rolled over and snuggled up. She could hear Talen’s voice through the open door, and the reply of other voices on the other side. Cameron’s hand cupped her breast and his cock nudged against her arse. He rocked his hips suggestively, still mostly asleep. Heath tensed. “Fuck.” “- leave in fifteen,” a woman spoke crisply and in a tone that said there would be no compromise. “Victor’s orders.” “No,” Aislen pressed her face into Heath’s ribs. “Nonononono.” “It’s retaliation,” he decided. “For last night.” “It’s mean,” she grumbled. “Cruel.” “No sex?” Cameron sat up. “That’s not fair.” “You had sex last night. Good sex too, from the holes you left in the covers,” Heath pointed out. “It was good sex,” Cameron was smug. He nudged Rhett. “Hey
Havermouth, Present Time Embroidering living human flesh was somewhat harder than Meguitte had anticipated, but the challenge was very absorbing. Midway through the first flower, she realized that she wanted the knots required every stitch to cluster at the center, so she snipped and undid what she had started, much to Bianca’s distress. Meguitte was tempted to stem the witch’s complaints by explaining that it was becoming obvious that the stitches were not causing enough pain to override the wards, and her choices had become doing greater, potentially maiming, harm, or being patient and hoping that a lot of small agony would eventually become enough. The second attempt turned out better, and by the time she had completed the third flower and created a stem to connect the three, she was quite proud of her efforts. The blood kept getting in the way of her design, however, and she paused a moment to suck her fingertips. “I do believe I understand Mercy’s aversion to magical blood,” s
Rideten, Present Time The water was all but cold, but Talen had bathed in worse – recently, in fact, during the troubles in Havermouth. He scrubbed himself with a washcloth, rubbing away the sticky blood. A rhythmic thudding started against the wall behind him, causing him to pause and grin. It sounded like Cameron was putting some force into it, he thought amused and absently reached down to cup his cock, already hard at the thought. He turned off the water, deciding to join them. As he briskly dried himself, his phone began to ring from where he had set it on the vanity. Fatima’s number flashed onto the screen. He raised his eyebrows and answered it. “Fatima.” “Talen,” she was breathless and her voice tense. “They did it. They actually did it. Jules is alive.” Talen almost dropped the phone in surprise. “He is?” “Yes. He’s not quite… He’s very disorientated, but Harry’s looking after him. But he’s alive.” Talen braced his palm against the cold stone of the vanity, relief floodi
Rideten, Present Time Aislen grinned. “Is that right, Mr Wolf?” She purred stalking him over to the bed. “If I get it, I get to do whatever I like with it?” Cameron’s lips curled in a smirk. “No. But I will do something you like with it.” “Promises, promises,” she lunged for him, and he sidestepped so that she landed face-down on the mattress, before pinning her there with his body, his hands slowly drawing her hands up and holding them down to either side of her head whilst he nuzzled under the tangled sprawl of her wet curls to nibble along her shoulder and neck as her giggles gave way to soft moans as she closed her eyes and surrendered to his seduction. He nudged her legs apart and her knees onto the edge of the mattress, lifting her hips from the mattress so that he could rub his cock against her cunt in a slow, hot tease whilst his teeth pricked little bloodspots along her neck, his tongue soothing away the little sting each time as it captured the droplets. She could feel t
Havermouth, Present Time Tears streamed down Harry‘s face as they rose to their feet. They ran their hands over the lush hide of the weredragon. It was precisely the colour of Jules’ hair. Harry draped their body over the dragon’s chest, pressing their ear to the hide, celebrating the steady beat and rise and fall of the ribs. Alive. Gloriously alive. And they could feel the tie of their mate bond twining them together. With their eyes closed, Jules was a glow within the darkness. “Oh Jules, Jules, Jules…” They wept the words, stroking and luxuriating in the living creature that surrounded them with its bulk. It did not matter in the slightest that this Jules was not as Jules had been before… Harry’s most fervent wish had been granted and they had their mate back. “I knew it,” they whispered pressing kisses into the fur as they moved along the length of the dragon towards its head. “I knew that you were not gone.” They stroked over the dragon’s snout and pressed a kiss between his n
Havermouth, Present TimeHarry did not know how long they had been tending to Jules in the small cold room. Time had lost any meaning as the room had no natural light. They fed when Fatima brought them blood, or one of the ancients descended the stairs in order to donate. And then they would patiently drip blood into Jules’ slack mouth, watching for a sign that he had swallowed, before unbandaging the ruin of Jules’ hand, examining the wound for signs of healing before coating it again with blood and carefully, tenderly re-wrapping it.Jules was not dead. They were certain of it. Although he did not breathe, did not swallow, and his heart did not beat, Harry was certain that they sensed a spark of life within him, that they would know if the body that they held was nothing but flesh.They had, after all, handled many dead bodies in their long, long life.And the hand wound... It looked better. They could not precisely say how it was so - it was still a mess of bone and meat, and the b
Rideten, Present Time“Oh gawd, so good,” Aislen moaned as she squeezed in between Rhett and Cameron. “I so need to get this blood off my skin. It’s beginning to itch. Tsk, look at you two,” she added taking the washcloth from Rhett’s hand and tugging him down so that she could scrub the blood from his face. “You even have some in your ears. How do you get blood in your ears?”“Beats me,” Rhett’s hands gripped her hips, and his thumbs stroked her skin suggestively. “I have some blood lower down,” he smoldered. “Cameron was just offering to lick it off for me when you came in and gave us a better idea.”“Oh?” Aislen knew precisely what they had in their dirty, dirty minds - basically the same plan with slight variations between the two men. But she wasn’t going to make it easy on them. “Come here,” she scrubbed at Cameron’s face with the cloth. “Good enough,” she decided and handed it to him. “Do me whilst I rinse my hair out.”“Do you, or do you?” Cameron teased as he and Rhett shifte
Rideten, Present TimeSamuel’s wing sails caught the air with a whoomp. The guard heard it, looking up in astonishment a moment before Samuel seized him. In the old days, Samuel thought ruefully as he carried the struggling man up into the air again, he would have just let the man go and let gravity take care of the rest. However stealth was required in the current situation and now that he had the man, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him, other than sate his thirst.It had to be something that wouldn’t be noticed immediately, Samuel concluded as he sank his teeth into the struggling guard’s neck. Whatever he did with him needed to have a visual impact, as the Emissary had been clear that part of the reason for the attack was psychological - to show the enemy that they weren’t even safe in their own headquarters.He saw a flash from the corner of his eye as Ember spread her wings, slowing her descent as she targeted another guard - but only slowing enough to prevent her from i
Rideten, Present Time“And here I thought you’d achieved the most outrageously jaw-dropping appearance the last time you walked into my bunker Mr Gale,” Victor observed dryly as he closed the meeting room door behind them. “Look at you,” he added gesturing at the three of them.Heath slid a look at each of his mates. Talen raised his eyebrows. Of them all, their vampire hybrid mate had escaped the massacre with only a few blood splatters in his beard. Seeing Heath’s look, he raised his hands to show that they were as bloody as Heath’s own, which made Heath feel better. He scratched at his jaw feeling blood flake away under his nail.“This is what war looks like,” Aislen replied snidely. “Something you might find unfamiliar from a bunker, Victor, but true nonetheless.”Victor shook his head as he crossed to a cupboard and pulled out a decanter. “Whiskey?” He offered them.“I will,” Talen said.“Not us,” Heath declined regretfully. Whiskey would have gone down well after the night in th