Sings the Nightingale

BY: Kash

Disclaimer: Okay all the normal jazz about me not owning the characters from the Anita Blake books. I don't. Wish I did...and they are still on my Christmas list...anyone know where I can get a slightly used werewolf or vampire? Oh and I'm not making any money off this. Well that wraps it up...I think...If I missed anything...ignore it and pretend I covered that too.

Asher looked away. She was close to tears, even in the darkness he could see the glimmer of them in her eyes. He could smell them as well, the tangy scent of salt. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be in this position, but there was very little he could do about it now. He had a choice. He could watch her die slowly before him, knowing how she felt, or he could do as Reagan had demanded. He didn't want to do that, if he complied then she would believe she had won, but he did not care for the alternative. At least this way he had an ally. Maybe between the two of them they could manage to get themselves out of this situation.

"We seem to have very little choice, I can't let you die." He said very softly next to her ear. This was a ritual he had never participated in, but he knew how it was done. Belle had performed the 'miracle' as she called it with him on occasion. She had loved to have them share the fledgling. She would offer up her blood and he would offer up pleasure. It was his gift to give others pleasure. Jean-Claude fed off that sexual release while he supplied it. When they and Julianna had been together...there had been many magnificent nights. He gathered her close in his arms. "Do not be frightened mon fluer, I shall be gentle." He said softly.

Chrys had no prior experience with vampires. She wasn't that kind of girl. She was ready to be made a vampire...she knew it required the exchange of blood, but she hadn't been expecting him to go all intimate on her. Intimacy was something she wasn't entirely comfortable with...heck she wasn't at all comfortable with it...probably cause she was very very rarely intimate with anyone. She perfered her books...books were nice and safe, books didn't forget to return your phone calls or sleep with their ex-girlfriends while you were out of town...no books were nice. Men...men she didn't trust...at all. Now this big hunk of male flesh (a very attractive hunk) was all snuggled up next to her. She didn't trust that either. "I...uhm...what...what exactly are you going to do?" She asked trying for a firm voice, but getting one that was a tad squeaky around the edges.

Asher sighed. "I have to draw blood, if you do not relax it will hurt a great deal." He could perhaps roll her, but it was rather dark, and making himself glow was not a sensible expenditure of power while he was in such a weakened state. He was going to feed, however, so perhaps it wasn't such a foolish idea. He looked down into Chrys' face. He rather thought she would not apperciate the effort. "I could roll you first." He offered, waiting to see if he was right.

Chrys jerked back. She'd heard about rolling and she wanted no part of it, thank you very much. Her mind was her only haven from the world she didn't want him or anyone else invading it. "That's okay." She said rather sharply. No, he could keep his mind tricks to himself. Her mental processes froze for a moment. They'd be her mind tricks in three days. She gave her head a shake. She was actually going to do this...sacrifice her immortal soul to be a vampire. Second thoughts were terrible things to be having...but it was in her nature. Better they just get this over and done with. "Don't worry about the pain, I can deal." She said steadily. Pain didn't bother her...doubts did.

Asher nodded. "Of course," he replied. She instinctively tilted her head to one side exposing her neck. Biting her there was going to hurt her a lot. However, as she said she could 'deal with it'. He drew her up along his side, in these tight confines it was better she be level with him. He buried his head in the bend of her throat and bit down quickly. She flinched and bit back a scream, making a harsh wimpering noise in her throat.

Her blood burst sweetly over his tongue and he quit considering what she was feeling. The sharp metalic tang was strangly strong in this one he noticed. Contrary to what most people thought each person's blood has a unique flavor. Perhaps this was because each person's diet is unique. A vampire could actually taste the small differences, from the amount of iron to the content of white cells versus red cells. A person who ate a lot of red meat had a thicker heavier taste then a vegatarian, for instance. A sick person's blood tasted differently then that of a healthy persons. He supposed it all depended on what went into the blood.

Chrys gritted her teeth, okay so it hurt...a lot. She could still deal with this and the horrible sucking noises he was making. Sure she could...where had she left off in that poem. She couldn't recall, oh well. There was still the witch's brew from Macbeth. Thrice the brinded cat hath meowed, thrice the one hedge pig had whined. What was a brinded cat...or a one hedge pig for that matter? See much better just distract yourself from what was happening and it all sorta faded away. Except maybe the sucking noises. They were just plain icky. She gave a tiny shuddered...for the rest of her afterlife she'd be making those awful sucking noises, all wet and gross. She closed her eyes. Harper cries tis time tis time, round about the cauldron go in the poisoned entrails throw. Wasn't he done yet? She wasn't sure how much more of those noises she could take. Pain was one thing. Sick wet noises that filled your head with images of equally sick wet things, were out of her league. Toad that under cold stone days and nights hath thirtyone, sweltered venom sleeping got, boil thou first aye the charmed pot....

Asher was enjoying his meal. Certainly her blood did not have the power that a lycanthrope's did, he was used to feasting on werewolf blood come twilight, but there was something to be said for the blood of human, especially the blood on an untried human. So much a of a person resided in their blood, enough that it gave a vampire great power over their victim with a mere taste. If one knew how to read a person's blood they could find the story of a life there. Her story was not all that interesting. Lonely childhood, lonely adolesence, lonely adulthood. She'd turned to books, he could almost taste the stale flavor of them in her blood. A strange flavor for one so young, perhaps she would do as a vampire. Perhaps.

He finally stopped she noticed about halfway through Lady of Shallot. That was a very good thing. She'd thought she was going to loose her lunch...well except that she hadn't had lunch. She shook her head and turned to peer up at him. "So...that's it?" She inquired rather softly. Maybe she was weak from blood loss. More likely it was because she was still arguing with her stomach about the wisdom of emptying itself all over him.

Asher smiled grimmly though why he bothered he wasn't certain, it wasn't as if she could see his effort in this darkness. "No, I'm afraid not, you have to return the favor now." He replied trying for a hint of lightness. He somehow knew she wasn't going to like this, the abrupt stiffining of her spine and her utter lack of breathing reinforced the notion.

"Really, are you sure that is entirely necessary?" She asked after a long loaded silence. Now...now she thought panicked. She was going to have to make those horrible noises now? The idea of drinking blood wasn't exactly at the top of her 'to do' list, but like a lot of people she sucked on her finger when she managed to prick it on say a thorn....excuse the idyllic image. To drink someone elses though...can you say "eww"? She certainly could. She was probably much too sqeaumish to be a vampire. She steeled herself, she didn't have a choice. Reagan was somewhere outside of this box, and she was severly in need of being dead. She took a deep breath. "Okay..." she said and it sounded extremely miserable so she tried again with more cheer. "Okay I can do this....how exactly?"

He really wasn't sure what to make of this girl. She was something of a puzzle...perhaps it was just all females who were of the librarian persusion. He gave his head a small shake it wasn't really of importance at the moment, they'd have time later. If they were lucky. He brought his wrist up to his mouth and bit into it, not exactly the most elegant of gestures, but it would do for the time being. He held done in front of her mouth. "Drink." He said simply.

Her mouth went very dry. Drink, just like that? Was he insane? She reminded herself that she could do this. She could smell his blood, the metallic bite of it in the close confines, it didn't help at all. She leaned up to where she knew his wrist must be. Well at least she wasn't going to have to suck on his neck. She didn't suck on anyone's neck on the first date...course it might help if she ever went on dates. She licked his wrist. It was just blood, no big shocker, not like it was the ambrosia of the gods. She could do this, she was almost certain that she could. She applied light suction to his wrist, why everyone in Hollywood insisted on portraying this as a sensual act she'd never understand. She was drinking the blood of another creature...well technically it was her blood...it was just in another creature...now what was sensual about that?

He'd felt the gentle tickle of her tongue on his wrist and wondered briefly if she was going to start teasing him. If she was, it was a good start, blood and a tongue lapping at his wrist, not at all a bad way to begin. The gentle suction wasn't much of a help, maybe it was knowing that the only other thing she'd ever sucked on was a straw...or maybe it was just that she was sucking so very carefully where others had only ever tried to draw the very essence from him. Peculiar. He didn't think she was enjoying it quite so much, however. The way she carefully held the rest of her body as far away from him as possible was a good indication. She didn't drink very much. It wasn't necessary that she do so. They'd have to repeat the process tomorrow and the next night before she'd become a vampire in any case.



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