True Companion Chapter 36
Lyric sliced through the girls flesh and listened to the screaming change pitch, soaring ever higher. The terror now had a pretty silver wash of raw pain in it with just a dash of desperate hope. She reminded him of Wagner. That final terrible crescendo. The clash of imagined steel, the bruin Hilde soprano clawing out her lovers eyes in payment to the merciless Gods.
He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. That was so much better. He should have thought of this earlier. In order to face the simpering Dream Walker he had decided he needed some release. If he had taken the girl earlier he could have tortured her a little. Watched the lash kiss her pale skin and leave scorch marks. He would have sat patiently, entirely at her disposal and listened to her compose a simple sonnet just for him made up of muffled gasps and panicked moans. He would have applauded her as she built the delicious tension of the First Act (entitled Desperation) before finishing with this marvelous dramatic operatic final death.
Still. You took pleasure where you found it. He shouldn’t be greedy. The girl drummed her feet desperately against the brick wall as she struggled, her scarlet blood gushing glistening down her body.
Lyric smiled and leaning forward whispered lovingly into her ear “You would have done wonderfully on the stage my dear”
With a twist of the knife and a strangled cry she died. Lyric watched her body slowly grow cold and arranged her silky soft hair prettily into soft waves around her shoulders. Why were women so much more attractive when they were dead?
Lyric tugged at his sleeve and sharpened his collar, checking carefully to make sure there wasn’t a single drop of blood on his clothes. And now he was ready.
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Abby tried to be confident as she swept through the night in her black velvet gown. She was possibly a bit over dressed but she wanted to make the right impression. The dress hugged her curves and swirled around her feet as she walked showing the scarlet pieces that were worked into the skirt and sleeves of the dress. Intricate embroidery in scarlet thread was worked throughout the dress catching the eye in the most unexpected places.
She felt the cool evening breeze through the ancient trees above her and she shivered as the moonlight touched her with its harsh cold light. It shouldn’t be unusual that Lyric wanted to meet in a graveyard. Graveyards were fine. Normally she had no problem with them. In fact she had taken Tony and McGee with her to that party they had in a graveyard…..Abby trailed of as she realized that night was the night McGee had met Dante and changed both of their lives forever.
Would she look back on tonight the same way?
“My lady love” His perfect voice crooned longingly through the chill still night and Abby halted in surprise. She turned and looked in every direction only to find she was alone.
“I know how much you love to play. Come and find me my perfect one”
Abby laughed and picking up her skirts, she ran through the gravestones under the moonlight, her heart racing she frantically searched for him. Stone winged angels and Celtic crosses cast strange dark shadows across the ground as he teased her as she laughed and ran. Suddenly she found herself swept up in strong arms and whirled around, her velvet skirts tangling around her legs. Panting, her heart pounding she found herself in Lyrics strong arms as he laughed delighted down at her.
He was so beautiful, his eyes soft and warm. Abby felt her heart almost stop in anticipation of the moment as they started at each other face to face for the first time.
I have waited so long.
Lyric slid his hand around behind her head through her long hair and she could feel his incredible strength as he pulled her closer. He leaned in and kissed her softly at first and then with a longing born of ages.
Abby closed her eyes and succumbed to the fierce desire that scorched her veins as he possessed her mouth with his cool lips and exploring tongue. She felt herself go limp in his arms and he simply held her tighter.
You are my everything he whispered into her mind as her blood sang its completion.
Finally she pulled away simply to gasp for air and she flushed red and panting in his arms. She didn’t.. she couldn’t…he was… Abby couldn’t put a single thought together in her mind as he smiled down at her and swept her hair back over her shoulders.
“You have such pretty hair” He whispered gently to her, nuzzling her sensitive neck and Abby shuddered in his arms. She looked over his shoulder and paused for a second before looking down. Suddenly she panicked and grabbed Lyric tightly.
She was up in the air! Lyric was holding her ten feet up in the air! And she hadn’t even noticed!
Lyric smiled his eyes warm and his handsome angular face pale and perfect in the moonlight.
“Oh I’m sorry my sweet. It is simply how you make me feel.”
Abby looked into Lyrics dark eyes as he slowly lowered them to the ground and she felt the slight crunch of gravel beneath her feet again.
“That’s ok. I just..was… surprised that’s all” Abby whispered breathless
Lyric slowly stroked her hair with an almost absent minded look.
“And so we meet. Is it all you would hope for?”
Abby nodded, her heart still pounding out of her chest and adrenaline singing in her veins.
Suddenly Lyric sniffed the hair and stepped away from her. The move was so sudden Abby almost collapsed to her knees.
“What’s wrong?”
Lyric turned to her a look of concern and worry etched into his marble features.
“A friend of yours is in danger. The one known as Tony. Another vampire has him. I have been watching what belongs to you to keep you safe. We must be quick to save him. Will you allow it?”
Abby’s mind scrambled at this rapid change of events as she stared at beautiful Lyric in the white moonlight.
“What? Tony? Another Vampire? Will they kill him? Go to him! Of course I don’t mind”
“Come with me”
Suddenly Abby found herself swept up in a dark dizzying vertigo and an instant later she was gone from the graveyard and instead she found herself in dimly lit car park near some of the more popular bars and nightclubs.
“Stay here my perfect one. For your own safety.” Lyric gave her a worried look and then kissed her again, urgently so that Abby almost swooned at the loss of his touch.
And then Lyric strode off into the darkness, smiling to himself. She would trust him with everything after this. She cared for her friends too much. It was her weakness. He on the other hand cared for no one.
Abby strained her eyes to see what he saw. A shout, a voice answering and then she saw the other vampire. For some reason she had been expecting a man but when she saw the creatures exquisite beauty and hard porcelain features she understood why the vampire would have had no trouble enticing Tony from the packed bar. Her red hair flamed even under the dim light and the green slinky satin dress she wore stopped at mid thigh. She stood straight and tall while Tony stood slightly drunk and seemingly confused at her side.
Lyric strode towards the waiting Antonia who was exactly where he had told her she must be. She was a blunt tool but a tool none the less. He was going to enjoy killing her. She always was too sure of herself and her beauty. Besides she reminded him of Jane the red headed vampire that had made him into the empty creature he was. Jane he had killed too quickly in an all devouring rage after seeing the cold body of Myra splattered across the cold cobblestones. Myra his perfect and only love had thrown herself off his high stone tower when she had heard of his death
Only he hadn’t died. Not quite. He had simply shifted into a living hell.
Well tonight Antonia’s foolish obedience to him would be answered. It was a shame really that he wouldn’t be able to take his time with her death. He couldn’t appear too blood thirsty. But still it would serve a purpose.
Lyric smiled as he grew his razor sharp claws and flexed them in the dark as he walked towards her.
“What are you doing here? Let him go”
Lyric shouted angrily and started running towards Antonia making sure his words carried to the waiting, anxious Dream Walker.
Antonia’s beautiful eyes narrowed appraisingly and she took a quick step back before dropping into a perfectly balanced predatory crouch.
She waited, her eyes afire like hard green emeralds, watching to see her Masters plan.
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Tony knocked on the door and waited. He felt freezing cold and numb like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head. Numb was good. Numb was better than terrified. He sucked in a deep breath and held it until his lungs started to hurt. He was going to do this. He tried not to think about exactly what he was going to say. He was just going to do it. If he thought about it too much he was going to turn on his heel and practically run back to his car.
Not this time.
Ziva opened the door and her eyes opened wide with surprise and alarm.
“Tony! You….”
“Ziva. Please. Don’t say anything. I’m going to tell you something very important and if you interrupt then I don’t know if I will be able to keep telling you. And I need to. It has been eating away at me for years and every time someone gets close to the truth I just leave because I’m afraid. But you mean more to me than that. Or you could mean more. And I want you to. Ok?”
Ziva opened her mouth to respond and Tony just held up his hand.
“Please Ziva. Just stand there and listen.”
Ziva looked at him with worry in her rich brown eyes and simply nodded. She was barefoot, her dark hair spilling down around her shoulders as she stood in the bright puddle of light. Tony thought she looked beautiful wearing her soft pink yoga pants and a rather stretched white t-shirt as she stood in the open doorway.
“When I was nine I was…..repeatedly sexually molested by my Fathers Assistant. My Father did a lot of work from home when he could and HE was around a lot. HE would stay with me when my Father went away. I tried to act out to get my Fathers attention and later when I got older I started to run away. HE told me that if I told anyone no one would believe me over him. The flaky spoiled single child over the trusted right hand man. I believed him and I never told anyone. When I was older I used to run and try and get strong so that no one could ever do that to me again. I would stay outside and practice shooting hoops over and over again because I didn’t want to go into the house and see HIM looking at me. I made it onto the basketball team and I was happy not because of the team but because it meant I had practice after school and wouldn’t be home until after HE had gone.”
Tony sucked in a deep breath and tried to still the trembling that was threatening to overwhelm him before launching into it again. He couldn’t stop, not now. He reached out and gripped the railing beside him, wishing it would lend him strength.
“I admit I screwed around with a lot of girls growing up, mostly to try and wash him off me somehow. As if I could re write my history so I never had to think about what HE did to me. I have got very good at not letting people close to me in case they figure it out.”
Tony looked up at Ziva, tears starting to sting his eyes and he blinked them back.
“But I’m tired of being ashamed Ziva. I’m tired of being alone. I… I don’t know what you’re going to say and frankly I’m scared shitless that you’re going to slam that door in my face. But I just want you to know that if you’re willing to help me with this I would like to try for a real relationship with you. To hell with Gibbs, your Father, everyone. I’ll get some counseling, I’ll do whatever you think I should do. Just please don’t shut me out now. I know I haven’t treated you the best at times but I …..I don’t have an excuse, not really.”
Tony studied the pavement for a moment, feeling the tremors starting to shake his hands again. The numbness was starting to wear off and it was being replaced with a sort of violent pins and needles that prickled at his head. He looked up.
“Ziva? What do you say? I know I’m not a great choice and I’m pretty bit messed up but could you love me? ”
Ziva looked at him with confusion and consternation in her eyes.
“Tony, please you are covered in blood!”
Tony heard the rushing in his ears just before the nauseating blackness overwhelmed him and he passed out.
The last thing he saw was Ziva desperately reaching for him trying to catch him as he fell.