Decisions, Chapter 10

Cara closed and locked the door behind Godric, then turned around and immediately slid down to the floor.  A whirlwind of thoughts blurred through the chaos in her mind, but two things stood out:  she’d invited into her home a vampire who she’d only met that evening, and she wasn’t the least bit sorry.

He was just as interesting and attractive, if a little young-looking, and charming a conversationalist as she’d thought from his speech, but was even wittier and more disarming in person.  Sometimes his logic seemed a bit unusual, but she attributed any anomalies to his vampirism and his great age.

So many things he had seen!  She was absolutely certain he hadn’t told her even one percent of his history, but still, the few things he had chosen to share with her were amazing…just like his eyes.  And his smile.   Too bad he hadn’t kissed her again.

At first, though, she didn’t know was going on with him, but she knew that something big was happening with the cute vampire.  It seemed for all the world like he was having some sort of mental breakdown, yet he looked so…lost.  He looked lost and sad, almost bereft, and while she had no idea what was going on in his mind, much less what had triggered it, there was no way she could let him suffer, either.  And he truly had been suffering.

It was almost as if she had to go to him, as if her arms needed to hold him close and give him whatever comfort she could.  There was no way she was going to let him suffer, not when she could do something, anything, to help ease whatever the hell it was that was going on with him.

At one scary point it seemed as though he perched on the edge of something huge, but she had no clue what any of it was about.  She wasn’t even sure how she knew the little bit she had figured out…

She thought about it all for a minute, then…  Bah!  There was no way that she somehow magically knew what he needed.  She was just really good at figuring out what people needed emotionally, that was all.  And what person didn’t need a hug now and then?

She tilted her head as far to the side as she could to catch the slight bit of his scent that still lingered.  Eyes closed, she inhaled deeply.  Something fresh and green blended with something else that was old and peaty and faintly musky…  There was another scent, maybe two, that she wasn’t certain about…she guessed she’d just need to re-smell the old guy to be sure.   It wasn’t like he minded receiving the hug she certainly hadn’t minded giving him, after all.

Hell, she’d vertically snuggled with a 2,000-plus year old vampire not five feet from where she now sat on the floor…and saw not one thing wrong with it.

Her mind skipped to the part where he’d said that he’d see her soon, and couldn’t help but wonder what his definition of ‘soon’ was.  While she didn’t want to become romantically involved with him, or any vampire for that matter considering the whole ‘pet’ thing, there was just something about him…and kissing someone didn’t necessarily mean you were romantically involved with them, did it?

Surely not.

She covered her face and giggled helplessly for a long minute, then resolutely got up and started getting ready for bed.  After all, she had work in the morning, and come what may in the form of ancient vampires or not, she still had bills to pay.

Although it was hard to brush her teeth while grinning like a mad woman, she finally achieved that goal.  The smile never left her face that evening, not even during her shower.  Eventually she fell asleep…grin still firmly attached.

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Eric worriedly paced the confines of his spacious day shelter.  Suddenly feeling Godric’s call had shocked him badly, and even if he’d never admit it to a soul living or dead, his nerves were still shaken.  It had been centuries since Godric had called him for anything; fuck, after his baby vamp years, even commands were rare.  Yet just half an hour ago, he had felt that beloved, mystical tingle crawling up his spine and into the back of his head.  He shivered once again at the shock and the memory.

Godric

Even though it had been so long, too long, since he’d felt it, once a baby vampire knows the feel of their Maker’s call, they can never forget it – it simply wasn’t possible.  And during his first decades as a vampire, he had learned to differentiate between the different tones of a call.

Every call had a tone, and each tone had a meaning.  Being able to attach a specific meaning to a call was, in fact, a gift specific to his Master’s lineage as he could do the same with his own progeny.  He knew of no other line that had such a useful gift.

It had taken some practice with his sire, but eventually Eric could correctly both send and interpret any call as to its brief meaning, be it danger, come home, go to ground, or any of the other succinct directives.  This call had taken the tone of a gentle homing edict, and as soon as he had recovered from the shock, he had closed his office at TSO and gone immediately to his most secure residence in the Shreveport area.  He didn’t know why Godric had issued such a call, but knew there was never such a thing as being too secure.

He needed to be ready for whatever may happen, and knowing his Maker’s current state of being…

Maybe Godric had slipped and bitten that girl and needed a safe location for her turning?  Eric shook his head; sadly, he could truly see it happening.  Godric exhibited his self-control in a much …different… manner than before.  Hell, who was he kidding – the calm, cool, collected Maker of years gone by was apparently no longer in mental residence…anything was possible these nights.

He sighed and subconsciously paced faster.  He couldn’t decide if he hated this damn Cara or owed her a debt of gratitude for the power she held over his Maker.  Her existence did seem to provide an odd bit of focus for his sire. Yet the power she unknowingly wielded was too great to be easily allowed, either.  He thought briefly, once again, about just killing her and being done with the whole aggravating situation, but, once again, decided against it.

As long as this Cara kept his Maker happy and sane, hell, he’d kidnap the bitch himself for Godric.  Maybe he should just kidnap her…take her and deposit her at the home Godric didn’t know he was quite fully aware of? Although the thought gave Eric a certain joy, he knew that wasn’t the wisest course of action…not yet, at any rate.  His sire was still enjoying ‘the chase’, whatever that was, too much as of yet.

Subconsciously keeping tabs on the bond, he pondered this ‘chase’ he had heard about from other men, then vampires, during his long existence.  Apparently other males had to ‘chase’ their females, buying and giving them things to get them into bed.  He never understood it, but then, if he happened to want a woman, all he had to do was blink and she’d be on her knees or spread-eagle on his covers.  Well, except Sookie, but he was certain his charms would win her in the end.

He shook off the odd aggravation he felt when he considered the situation with the little blonde telepath and refocused his attention back to his slowly approaching Maker.

All in all, according to the bond he shared with his sire, the meeting with the girl seemed to have gone well, but there for a long moment said bond had been in lock down, and he hadn’t felt a thing.   The sudden blocking had been quite uncomfortable, but certainly not unheard of during their long history.

Later, when the bond had been reopened, he could tell that something big had happened, but of course there were no clues as to what it might could have been.  He wondered just what that girl had done – Godric’s emotions were scattered all over the place.  Guilt and pleasure had warred with despair and hope.  The convoluted mess made no sense whatsoever.

Just as he was leaving to go check on his beloved Maker, the emotions coming through the bond settled down into humor, arousal, and simple joy.  Relieved, he cautiously returned to his evening’s chores.  Business completed, he began an impromptu quality check walk-through of various sections of TSO, but his mind wasn’t on task.  Instead, he was thinking back over the events of the evening.

Although he was vastly relieved that Godric hadn’t killed the fool, well, at least he hadn’t killed him in front of human witnesses, he still couldn’t stop a snicker.  While he missed his old Maker inordinately, this ‘new’ Godric was definitely full of surprises.

Indeed, he wasn’t at all surprised when Godric had attacked the idiot, but he hadn’t expected him to stop before killing him.  Instead, to his utter astonishment, his sire had glamoured the repulsive man and sent him off!

Then there were the classic “first date” nerves and jitters Eric had heard about (but had never actually experienced firsthand) that Godric had displayed before the short lecture.  He would gladly have laughed at his Maker’s antics, but he knew too well just how close to the brink Godric really was.

Once again he thought back to that old legend he’d come across only once in all his years and travels.  It was something about a dissonance between the magic and the ‘something else’, a thing which was not understood.  The language in which the rumor had been told was not one he knew well at the time, so he was certain he had missed portions of it.  The fact that he was eavesdropping prevented him from asking for more information, but the bit he’d overheard had stuck with him all this time.

Could Godric truly be experiencing a form of dissonance in the magic that made him vampire?  Was there something wrong with the magic? With his blood?  He paced faster in frustration.

The now precious legend, more rumor than implied fact, suggested there could exist a schism of sorts that could lead to insanity for the affected vampire, then death could soon follow…if the vampire were lucky.  The only other information he could recall from then was that this strange dissonance could only affect old vampires.

Perhaps, he thought as he shook his head in irritation and regret, perhaps he should look into this more.  Unfortunately, the rumor had been heard centuries in the past while he was somewhere in Asia.  Maybe he could find out the name of Dr. Ludwig’s boss or mentor.  He certainly didn’t want that evil little troll to know that he was even thinking such things about his own Maker.

Eric felt his sire approaching, and resolutely cleared his mind of such disturbing thoughts.  He refused to think that there was anything truly wrong with his beloved Master.  He was simply a little…unwell.

Moments later Godric entered the home and quickly located his progeny at the lowest level of the structure.

Upon entering the secure underground area, he paused as Eric blurred to kneel before him.  He shook his head as he placed his hand atop his child’s head and caressed the soft, blond hair.

“Ah, my child, you know I do not require you to kneel before me,” he began, his quiet voice filled with love and affection.  His child, his strong-willed, opinionated, delightfully arrogant child who was loyal to a fault…  “We have endured and enjoyed much together, have we not,” he asked rhetorically as he threaded his fingers through Eric’s hair, enjoying the silky texture as his child leaned forward slightly to rest his head against his Maker’s chest.

Through the bond, rarely so fully open, Eric finally felt his sire’s elemental need for the comfort that only a shared physical and emotional intimacy could bring, the need to reconnect to his progeny on a fundamental level.  Blood tears rose to his eyes.  It had been so very long, far too long, since he and his Master had shared such a tender, binding closeness.

Unbidden, Eric bared his neck to his sire.

“Alo filius,” the ancient vampire intoned, “Rise, and take me into you, as I take you into me.”

Shock once again filled Eric’s soul that night.  A true exchange…his Maker wanted a true exchange! It was rare enough that a Maker would feed from their child, but being allowed to feed from one’s Maker after the first year was a tremendous honor and privilege.

The Blood was sacred, and after turning the child, a Maker would only allow their progeny to drink from them either in an extreme emergency or as a reward for some unusually difficult or meaningful service since the act would strengthen the magic between them.

Eric raised his head, shock and joy clear in his deep blue eyes, and a bloody tear slowly streamed down his cheek.  “Master,” he whispered, “you honor me.”  He rose fluidly and, with utmost tenderness, took Godric into his long arms and held him close.   Due to his greater height, he gladly bent down until they were even, then once again bared his neck to his cherished Fader.

Godric slipped his fingers through his son’s blond hair and held his head at just the right angle needed for them to both feed.  He then drifted his nose along Eric’s throat, taking in his child’s much beloved, long familiar scent, and groaned when he felt his child doing the same.  Each clutched the other as, in unison, each kissed, licked, and sucked their chosen spot in preparation for the bite soon to follow.

Of one mind each struck deeply, gently seating their fangs with expertise.  They began drawing slowly, each savoring the precious flavors of the other, then swallowing to feel their combined strengths flowing through their bodies joined by both magic and fang.

Then, with heightening satisfaction, they repeated the age old process, drawing and savoring and swallowing, again and again, until all parts of their bond were repaired, healed, and renewed, and the combined base of their existence was once again reaffirmed.

Dazed, swathed in the pure joy of belonging to the one closest to their soul, they each held to the other long after the sun’s rising, long after their exchange was complete, neither prepared nor willing to release the other as both took pleasure in the blood-deep power of their bond.

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**A/N:  Ok, folks, so what did you think?  I know that SOME of you (you know who you are…) were pulling for something of a bit more…sensual…nature to happen between Godric and Eric, but the need for a more emotional, more fundamental, closeness was screaming too loudly for me to ignore.  Plus, I’d probably suck at trying to figure out how to write about boy parts going into other boy parts…  I just hope you weren’t too disappointed!  Reviews are always appreciated, so let me know what you think.**

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