Clarion finished her narrative and smiled with warmth and immense love for the woman at her side, who sat with her eyes closed. Clarion did not need to wonder at what Yoshi was imagining behind her eyes. With a smile she reached out towards Yoshi and pushed away wayward tendrils of blue-black hair that had no intention of staying behind her ear. Yoshi still kept her eyes closed as she leaned into Clarion's touch and allowed her to caress her cheek. "You okay in there Samurai?"
Blue eyes opened and met Clarion's gaze. She removed Clarion's hand from her cheek after kissing the palm and held onto it as she answered. "You know if they would have told us the story like that in school I might not have failed those tests."
The room filled with the warmth of Clarion's laugh and Yoshi joined her. A squeeze to Yoshi's hand caught her attention and she found herself caught in the vortex of Clarion's heated green gaze. "Kiss me?" The statement came out as a question.
Yoshi gave her a lopsided grin. "Only if you finish the story."
"I'll give you the details." Both women smiled and leaned over the arms of the chairs to meet each other in the middle. The pace at which they began the kiss could almost be considered hesitant, but it seemed that the women knew very well where it would lead to if they threw caution out of the window. It was Clarion that pulled away first, taking in that much needed breath of air. She stayed focused on hazy blue eyes as she traced a finger down Yoshi's jaw. "You really do love me don't you?" It was an odd thing to ask at the moment, but Clarion felt the need reassure herself.
Yoshi ducked her head in a moment of embarrassment, but she did managed to nod a the grinning redhead and hold her gaze once again. "I do." She blinked slowly and looked down at their hands before the whisper of her voice broke the comfortable quiet. "D-Do--
Clarion finished her thought with a wide smile and a nod of her head a second before she leaned in and proceeded to show Yoshi what she couldn't find the voice to say. It was only the betrayal of their lungs that prompted the women to part from one another.
Yoshi licked at her lips that still lingered with the taste of Clarion and Cognac. With a deep husk enveloping her normal alto she said, "can we do naked time now."
Clarion nuzzled her nose against Yoshi's cheek as she burst into laughter. Innocent blue eyes looked at the laughing Clarion. "I thought you wanted me to spill the beans?"
"Is the story going to change in hour or so?"
Clarion wiggled her eyebrows. "It hasn't changed in hundred years or so, so I know it won't." Yoshi leaned in happily towards Clarion only to be stopped with a hand to her chest. "But!" Clarion removed her hand when it seemed Yoshi was going to stay put. ", If we don't get through this I may never make it, so suck it up and I'll try to make this fast." With more thought than she cared to admit, Yoshi let her bottom lip poke out. Clarion just shook her head. "Put that lip away and just get comfy so I can finish this please."
Yoshi frowned slightly and then held out her glass for a refill. "So tell me how you got the sword."
Clarion chuckled as she thought on how she had ended up with the sword. "I was getting there." She grinned at Yoshi and took a healthy swig out of her glass. "It's really quite odd how I found this sword, or really how it found me, and I mean that. The first time I came across the sword was in 1814. I had hitched a ride on a boat leaving France headed to the New World." Clarion wiggled her eyebrows mischievously. "Yes, I was stowed away, but that was only because my real reason for being on the ship was in the cargo hold. Some or Earl or Duke or whatever had a really nice collection of paintings and a few jewels that caught my eye when I saw them on his wife." Green eyes glazed over at the memory. "I decided that I should have a matching set."
Yoshi coughed. "She gave them to you I'm sure."
"She just couldn't bear for me to leave without having a little something of her." She looked at Yoshi knowingly. "Anyway, I was in the hull looking at what I was going to take and I fell over this long wooden case. The case itself was probably worth a lot by itself and actually looked like it would make a good carrying case, so I opened it. As soon as I opened it, I slammed the case closed on account of how bright the blade was. I mean there was no sun for it too catch, but apparently this thing had been shined to a glaze. I eventually eased it back open and at the time I was getting into this weaponry kick so I figured I'd take it too. I touched the blade and lost fingerprints due to the searing heat it emitted."
"Yes, I was scared out my mind and also doing my best not to howl out in pain at my singed flesh. I remember reading some of the etchings on the blade and while the words looked a little familiar I hadn't translated enough of the Aramis books to know what they hell it said, so I closed the case back and decided to leave it be. Three months later, I'm out in California swindling some fat cat s.o.b. for his gold and come to find out he's sitting on a shitload of literature, and not your classics of the day. I remember wondering for a brief moment if this guy wasn't who I thought he was, but when I saw how the two tomes were wedged in between the dime stories and dirty letters, I figured this guy didn't know what they hell he had. Needless to say, I took off with the gold and the two books.
"I hopped another boat across the Atlantic, and yes this time I paid." She grinned at Yoshi and continued. "I did a lot of reading and that's where I learned about Magnus and Pilas and all about the sword. Suddenly, I realized that the reason why the blade burned and all, was because it belonged to a Hunter. Unbeknownst to the gentlemen in question, I had befriended a couple of Hunters and we got into this animated and drunken conversation about Magnus and Hunters." Blue eyes grew large. "Go ahead and ask?"
"Colin?" Clarion shook her head. "A guy named Hamish?"
"Nah. Actually some dude name Sergei."
Yoshi nodded her head in understanding. "Ahh yes, Golgo. He didn't last very long I'm afraid."
"Yeah well, he had a tendency not to pay attention to his surroundings a lot and he was cocky."
"That he was."
"I went with him to Russia and lost him somewhere in Siberia." She waved a hand through the air. "Two months later I'm standing in the grand ballroom of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, charming the pants of Alexander I, so I can go take a walk through the palace." Clarion touched a hand to her chest as she spoke. "Now, I assure you I had no intention of stealing anything, because honestly, the corset I was wearing was too tight for me to even breathe let alone slide anything up under it." Yoshi smiled and Clarion chuckled. "I wandered into what I thought was his library but it turned out to be this magnificent armory. I remembering being awed by all the swords and armor and weaponry, when my eye caught the impossibly bright glint of steel. The damn thing was in the middle of the room on a pedestal and it was absolutely magnificent. I forgot that this was Magnus's sword and thought of it as just simply a masterpiece….that I had to have."
Green eyes twinkled at the memory and Clarion just let out a small breath. "Needless to say, it took a little work, but security was nothing in those days and I had a few tricks up my sleeve, but I got the sword. I caught the next boat back to Louisiana dropped the thing off and it's been sitting in the library ever since then."
Yoshi ran a hand through her hair as the story settled. "So, when did you find out what its purpose was?"
Clarion shrugged. "Well the more I read, the more it became obvious, and yeah it became obvious to me that I personally figured into everything."
Yoshi grimaced and then found her words. "Don't take this the wrong way, but how come you didn't do anything about it. I mean you knew what the sword meant and you knew what your role was, so why not stop the master before he got started."
Clarion guffawed. "Now be honest Yoshi, but when's the last time you put stock into anything you were taught in Athens?" The dark woman could only furrow her brow in lieu of an answer. "Yeah, that's what I thought. But the difference is, at one point you cared and maybe that makes you better person than me, because you lost your way and all. But the truth is, I never gave a rat's ass about all that prophecy and ritual crap." Yoshi's furrowed brow became a deep scowl as she regarded Clarion. Clarion nodded as she sensed Yoshi's disapproval. "I know, I know I'm an asshole but I've worked for more than 200 hundred years to get this way."
Clarion sat forward in her chair and locked eyes with Yoshi. "I'm not going to lie to you, I'm a thief Yoshi. Always have been, probably always will be in some respect. I'm selfish and yes I'm a big kid." Yoshi couldn't help but smirk as she remembered her conversation with Mama D. Clarion smiled, immediately knowing why Yoshi grinned. "I know she told you that and it's true. I do not profess to be a saint and I have never had the desire to be one. I like what I do, I like what I've done with my life, and I'm not ashamed of a thing. A few regrets maybe, but for the most part I've done my best to enjoy my life and I won't apologize for that."
Yoshi eased the tension in her face. "I'm not asking you to."
"Good, I'm glad." Clarion gave Yoshi a small smile. "At the turn of the 20th century I was very well aware of how important I was or am. I threw myself into reading and research. I wanted to at least know the signs and know what to look out for, in case I needed to be prepared. Every time I felt like I was ready to make a breakthrough and go seek out whomever I was supposed to find, I got caught up with life." Clarion raised her hands in the air and sighed wistfully. "I mean there were the twenties, and there was Harlem and there was Europe, the birth of jazz and the end of World War I. I was riding shotgun with gangsters and spending my nights listening to Bessie Smith." Clarion shook her head lost in her own memories barely registering the wide smile of remembrance that was plastered on Yoshi's face.
"I went back to living as a man and joined the war." She only grinned as Yoshi arched a sculpted eyebrow. "I spent the fifties over-seas and thought I was going to have some down time and then before I knew it, it was 1961 and I was hitchhiking to the West Coast from the East Coast and back. I was insane back then and loving every minute. Before I knew it, flower power was gone, disco was dead, the ME era was over, and I still looked young enough to be considered a part of Generation-X. What can I say…saving the world slipped my mind." Clarion gave Yoshi a weak smile, that became a larger one as the quiet woman leaned over the arm of her chair and kissed her forehead.
"I almost wished you would have found me sooner."
Clarion's breath hitched as the sentiment of Yoshi's words pounded into her chest. She ran a small hand down Yoshi's cheek. "Baby, I'm not going any where."
Yoshi pressed her lips into Clarion's palm and they sat quietly for a small while simply appreciating each other's presence. It was Yoshi's voice that broke the stillness. "Are you really willing to do this Clarion?"
Clarion combed her fingers through Yoshi's hair and grinned. "Disregarding the fact that I no longer seem to have a choice in the matter, I'm not resigned to losing you over something I can possibly stop. At heart, it's really quite selfish so I'm still being true to form." She gave Yoshi a cheesy smile that made the dark woman laugh. "Seriously though, I've put this off and look where it's gotten me. All though if you take into consideration that I'm hopelessly in love with an Amazon goddess who makes my toes curl up when she looks at me--I think I managed to luck out."
Yoshi just laughed. Once she quieted, warm blues eyes met with grin that were beginning to darken with desire. "You think you can teach me how to be selfish?"
With a giggle Clarion left her seat and sat down in Yoshi's lap. "Mon dour, selfish is my middle name."
"I thought it was Giselle?"
"Oh yeah, but in between Giselle and Olathe is Selfish." Clarion glowed with mirth. "You sure you can handle this Samurai?"
Clarion's voice teased at Yoshi's insides like it was her tongue. The tall woman stood up with Clarion in her arms. "Am I doing okay?" Clarion's warm lips on her neck were answer enough. "Slow down there or I might not make it to the bed."
"I could live with that."
Yoshi chuckled as she walked down the corridor. "Can I ask you one favor?"
Clarion removed her lips from Yoshi's neck and pursed her lips. "No I will not play farmer and the milk maid."
Yoshi almost dropped her package as she laughed. "No, goober, I want to give Colin a call."
Clarion sighed. "Must you always think of Colin when we're about to do the naked tango?"
Yoshi made a sour face as she entered the bedroom. "I promise you I do my best not to think of Colin…seeing as how I've buried those memories some…" Yoshi was cut off by a swat to her shoulder.
"Eww, please don't tell me you and Colin did the forbidden dance?"
Blue eyes looked to the ceiling and full lips creased into a grin "As long as you don't ask then I won't tell."
Clarion squirmed in the strong arms that held her. "You don't ever have to tell me that story."
"So, you can seduce rich women and tell me about it, but I can't talk about a friendly experience?"
Clarion covered her ears and waited until Yoshi stopped talking. "I just assume you were a virgin until you met me."
Yoshi let out a healthy laugh as she dropped Clarion onto the bed a little harder than she intended. "I'm sorry, but uh, that was too funny. I hate to say this Larieux but you're doing a lot of wishful thinking."
Clarion stuck out her tongue at the smiling woman. "Perhaps, but I did mention that I was extremely selfish and that does extend to you."
Yoshi leaned down onto the bed and gave Clarion a soft kiss. "How about you let me make this phone call and then we can take turns seeing who makes a better virgin."
Clarion's eyebrows raised high and green eyes burned anew with desire. "You got five minutes chick."
Yoshi nipped at Clarion's nose. "I'll make it two minutes."
"Is that enough time?" Clarion was genuinely curious.
Yoshi shrugged as she stood in the doorway. "Colin was always pretty quick." She wiggled her eyebrows as Clarion collapsed onto the bed in a fit of laughter and then disappeared into the corridor in search of the phone.
Clarion had barely gotten comfortable under the covers when she heard Yoshi bellowing down the hallway. "Don't you fucking get mad at me! How the hell was I supposed to know!" Clarion was out of the bed and down the tunnel towards the den in a matter of seconds. Her dark lover was all shadows and anger as she yelled into the cell phone. Without hesitation Clarion found a small opening in her wandering arms and snatched the phone from Yoshi's hand.
She twirled away from the stunned Hunter and plopped down on the sofa. "Well hey there sugar, long time no hear from." She was as chipper as morning sunshine.
Colin clipped off his rant when he realized who it was. "H-hey, hey! It's the wee fireball, how are you girl?"
"Quite fine, but having trouble sleeping on account of all this yelling." She stood up as she saw a still scowling Yoshi standing in front of her with her hands on her hips breathing hard. Clarion bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Oh you should see her Colin, she's all huffy and puffy and red…and so cute!" She poked at Yoshi's side, causing the taller woman to flinch and eventually smirk. Clarion found herself getting a little carried away as her jabs became caresses and both of them let out small growls. Colin cleared his throat. "Oh, sorry anyway." She chuckled. "If I give her back the phone do you two think you could talk in a civilized manner." They both grunted and Clarion handed the phone back to the grinning woman.
Yoshi allowed Clarion to push her down into a seat, where the red head proceeded to sit down in her lap. Yoshi wrapped her arm around Clarion and rested her hand on the firm thigh. "Okay Colin, we're listening." She adjusted the phone so that the speaker faced out between them.
Colin took a breath. "So like I was saying, they're all gone, the lot of them, vanished." His cadence was metered and clinical.
Yoshi mimicked his tone as she spoke. "I got that. Now who are they and what's the problem?"
His voice was natural now. "Problem is that from the tips of Canada to the Great Barrier reef the Vampires are clearing out." He didn't wait for Yoshi to respond. "I've talked to Hamish, to Zibu, Chandler-- all of them. Aside from a few scrappers, the dens are empty and they're on the move."
"What!" Clarion managed to get up before Yoshi displaced her as the tall woman shot out of the chair. Clarion had heard exactly what Colin said and had no clue what to say or do except wait and watch. "What the hell do you mean gone!"
"Like ghost."
Yoshi sighed and ruffled her hair in desperation. "Okay, okay. Uh, uh…" Wide blue eyes met concerned green and Yoshi held out her hand. Clarion took the hand and they both sat down on the couch, not releasing their hands. "Tell me what you know."
Colin laughed. "Not much of anything, really. I mean after you left, I figured Clarion had gotten away and you ran off to nurse your wounds, so I wasn't worried. I went home just to say hello and places were deserted. It was unreal. It was like after the Exodus, only this time it was them cleared out."
Yoshi sighed and pressed her fingertips into her temple. She readjusted the phone and then spoke. "Do we know how long?"
"No. I've got the boys working and Gregor and everybody else as well, but nobody's really sure. All though, I'm one to believe that this has been happening for a while."
"Out of the loop again are we?"
"Let's be honest Yosh, we've been out of the loop for some time now, things are just coming to head."
"I know, I know. What's next?"
"Well, we all need to meet, but I know we couldn't do that without locating you. Other than that, we need to figure out what we're looking for. Do you think Clarion knows?"
Yoshi turned to Clarion and shrugged. "Ask her?"
Clarion took the phone in her free hand. "Talk to me."
"Do you know any reason why the Vamps would gather?"
"All of them you say?"
"Uh-huh."
"The only thing I ever read about involved me. I mean, I know there used to be festivals and gathering times of the year, but nothing specific."
"Something about the millenium maybe? Some holidays we don't know about?"
"Feast of Aramis is in March around All Souls Day. Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday and the Holy week thing leading into Easter."
"This isn't a gathering for the bunny hop."
Clarion chuckled uneasily. "Um, I think it's Jubilee though, maybe that."
"Jubilee? Jubilee? Sounds familiar what is it?"
"Well my Catholicism is rusty, but I think this year is like the Jubilee year."
"What's it mean?"
"Man, I can't remember the Ten Commandments that well, even considering I've broken them all, but I'm afraid I've no clue, but I can find out."
"Do you think he's found another way?"
"To become Master you mean?"
"Yeah."
Clarion sighed and looked at Yoshi who was in deep thought. "I can't imagine how or what he would need for it, all though I might have a way of finding out."
"Good, good. We're over here reading till our eyeballs start bleeding." He chuckled. "Let me talk to my fearless leader." His tone was light.
Yoshi's voice was dry. "I'll want you all here."
"That's cool, but look this line is crap and I'm on my way to the airport to get to Athens. Meeting Porthos in the library. I'll call from the air and you tell me where you are and I'll be there."
Yoshi nodded. "Done. Blessings to you Hunter."
Colin sighed. "Aye, so it's come back down to that."
"I fear the worst here."
"As do I." He paused and cleared his throat. "Blessings to you and yours and I pray that Khoikhoi kisses us all tonight."
Yoshi hung up the phone and regripped Clarion's hand as she laid her head down in the small woman's lap. Clarion took her free hand and drew her fingers through the sable locks fanned out across her thighs. Yoshi took a deep breath and breathed in the woman she loved, the good and the bad, and surprisingly she felt warm and calm. "Clarion?" She whispered.
Clarion removed her fingers from Yoshi's hair and made the woman sit up as she stood from the couch. "We won't talk about it tonight." As much as Clarion's words were a command they were a request for trust. As much as Yoshi saw desire behind green eyes she saw the need to surrender in this moment. Normally she would have flogged herself into submission with searching for blame and strategizing, but as she took hold of the small hand held out to her, she knew that now was not the time. Once again, Yoshima found herself sloughing off her hard exterior in exchange for the warm cover of light that was Clarion.
CH 8: Dysfunctional families 101
Green eyes rimmed with an iridescent red, opened with a snap as Clarion awoke. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and opened them slowly as she slowed her breathing. She turned her head to the right slightly and came face to face with the relaxed features of Yoshi's face. She couldn't help but grin as she began to ease herself out of the Hunter's embrace. With less lifting of Yoshi's arm and more sliding on Clarion's part, she managed to extract herself from beneath Yoshi without so much as a grunt of protest from the still slumbering woman. Clarion, wrapped in one of the sheets that had been torn from the bed in the heat of their frenzied love making, walked to the corner of the room. Upon which, she just stood, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light of burning candles and watched the rise and fall of Yoshi's chest.
It was not a fluke of Clarion's internal clock that awoke her or even some spastic nightmare, but it was an urge. It was not the urge of hunger pains or even the urge to relieve herself, but like several nights before it was an urge that she cursed. Clarion wrapped her arms about herself and squeezed as she let out a deep breath. She let her head loll back as she felt the familiar tingle in her teeth. Clarion was beginning to sweat as she fought hard not to grimace at the small cramps gathering in her stomach. She drew her eyes up and down the tall frame of Yoshi's body and she felt her knees grow weak as she could hear her lover's steady pulse fill her ears. Clarion bit back a growl of frustration and left the room in a flurry of motion. After a pit stop at the bar Clarion made her way through the tunnels to the shower.
The shower was actually a large room that served as a sauna when she turned on all the heads and let the tiled room fill with steam. When she had first put this place together the large shower room seemed practical because her home often served as a haven for wayward vampires, demons, and the other undesirables that often found themselves on the run. Clarion dropped the sheet onto a tiled bench and walked to the right wall where she turned on three of the shower heads. She stood under the spray of the middle one and braced her arms against the wall, as she let the near scalding water rush down her back. The redhead shook her head in disbelief and discomfort at her actions. She was confused by the messages her body was sending her--seeing how it was no where near time for her to feed. And in truth she knew it had nothing to do with feeding and everything to do with feasting. Clarion knew she had the tendency to be a dilettante, a spoiled brat, and even a hedonist, but unlike everything else in her life, she had never fed for pleasure.
The thought of draining the life out of a human just to watch the calm of death overtake their frantic eyes was repulsive to her. She had had her fill of the Vampires who thought themselves superior to humans and only looked to them as chattel. It wasn't that they didn't accept her into their world; she just wanted no part of it. She shook her head as she pushed back from the wall and let the heated water race down her upturned face. She rested her hands on her neck as she felt the urge began to subside. She was sure her eyes were back to normal and the tingle in her teeth was gone. She touched her tongue to her upper canines just to make sure that they had not lengthened. She let out a sigh as she smoothed back her hair. She was unsure of why she was having the urge to bite the Hunter, but the yen was becoming monstrous as the days went on.
At first it had just started as a small pinprick in her mind when they would wrap themselves around each other in a warm embrace meant for nothing other than comfort or even a hello. Clarion would stand on her tiptoes and bury her head in Yoshi's neck causing the taller woman to giggle at the sensation of Clarion's hair tickling her throat. As the days passed Clarion found herself drawn to Yoshi if only to hear her the strong rhythm of her heart. She could close her eyes and follow the flow of blood through the woman's body. That was how she hunted. Latching on to the sound of a steady heartbeat and following it, only to stop the sound. But now Clarion often found herself wrestling her instincts when she and Yoshi were in the most intimate of embraces.
Earlier in the night, she had found herself straddling the prone form of her lover as she lay on her stomach, drawing her blunt nails up and down the sculpted expanse of Yoshi's back, leaving paths in the sticky sweet sweat. Clarion stretched, molding herself to Yoshi's back, brandishing the strong shoulders with her kisses. Neither one cared who started it first, but they easily matched the movement of their hips. Their fingers entwined as Yoshi clutched the remaining sheet and they moved together at a feverish pace as a shared climax began to overtake them both. And there, at the height of their orgasm, Clarion felt the pull--she felt the urge. The rapid beating of Yoshi's jugular vein was all Clarion could see or hear. The vein itself was mere millimeters from her lips and it was all she could do not to give into the want to sink her teeth into the strong neck beneath her. When Clarion's orgasm tore through her body she screamed not in elation to the release, but at the horror of her impulses. Clarion didn't know if Yoshi understood her shivering as just being spent, but she feigned sleep anyway just to avoid Yoshi's inevitable questions of concern.
Дата добавления: 2015-11-04; просмотров: 29 | Нарушение авторских прав
| <== предыдущая лекция | | | следующая лекция ==> |