Stolen Soul

Marcus left Harrods after purchasing the hamper for his neighbours and then headed home.

He hated the crowds of Christmas shoppers…in fact, he hated Christmas. He had seen so many in his lifetime that the season held no surprises for him anymore.

He was almost home when he felt an unmistakeable presence and his fangs instantly distended and he turned around.

“Claudette”, he growled, his voice low as he referred to the vampire that had controlled him for two hundred years of his life before he had managed to break free from her entrapment and torturous ways.

In his bid for freedom though he had killed Claudette’s lover, James and he had often wondered when and where he would encounter the bitch again as he had no doubt that she wanted revenge for what he had done.

As he expected his rival was nowhere to be seen but he could feel her.

‘She may have only just entered the city’, he thought as he continued on his way back home and he knew it would only be a matter of time before they met.

Once inside his house he secured it and decided he would not go out anymore this night. He needed to think of a plan for when he did see Claudette again and so his hunger would have to wait for now.

-----

Maddison woke up with a start. She was breathing heavily and as she looked down at herself she realised that she had wriggled free of her nightgown and she shivered as the cool air around her hit her sweat-slicked skin.

Her cheeks flamed though as she recalled the vivid dream that she had just had about Marcus.

They had been on his bed and Marcus had begun to undress her, his strong hands cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples until they hardened into painful pebbles and she had cried out as heat pooled between her thighs….

Gasping she tried to push the image to the back of her thoughts and she grabbed her nightgown and pulled it back over her head.

She snuggled back under the covers and tried to relax. These erotic dreams were beginning to feel a little too real for her liking. Maybe she should help Marcus again and then she might just be able to get him out of her head.

----

Marcus sat upright in bed as he heard Maddison cry out in ecstasy and he could still almost feel her breasts in his hands and he actually looked down at his palms to make sure that they were empty.

Growling he sank back onto his pillows and closed his eyes.

He had to get Maddison to help him…he had to put an end to his bizarre dreams once and for all.

-----

Maddison was dreaming again. She was in a club and she knew that she was searching for Marcus. She looked around in the dim light, trying to see the name of the club on a wall or anything that would give its location away but there was nothing and it was definitely not The Awakening, the club where she had first met Marcus.

She moved around the bar area, her eyes still searching him out.

The more she looked around the more it became apparent that the club was actually inside what looked to have been an old church. The stained glass windows were still intact and the alter was still there but of course it now had seating and tables on it.

‘How ironic’, she thought, ‘That vampires would come to meet their victims in what was once such a holy place’.

Finally she saw Marcus sat with a blonde, sophisticated looking woman and she tried to ignore the stab of jealousy that shot through her as the woman leaned in closer to Marcus.

And that was when Maddison saw the dagger that the woman held under the table and it was dripping with what appeared to be water….

Fear gripped Maddison as she realised that it was holy water and that the woman was there to kill Marcus.

“Nooo!!!”, she screamed as she moved forward and then abruptly fell out of bed and woke up.

She sat up and blinked at the morning light.

She had to find the name and location of that club and she had to go there tonight, Marcus’ life could depend upon it.

She got up and showered hastily. Opting to skip breakfast she made her way to the mansion’s library and sat in front of one of the computers. Logging on to the internet she put in ‘Nightclubs in Abandoned Churches in London’ and waited to see what turned up.

The search results came up and there were only three that matched her description.

She clicked on the first, hoping for some interior pictures so that she could match the place to her dream. Unfortunately there were none and there were none on the second too.

Holding her breath she clicked on the third and sighed in relief when she saw the club from her dream. She laughed shakily as she saw that it was called Stolen Soul another ironic fact about this whole situation.

She jotted down the address and then realised that she was going to have to think of a way to give Michael the slip later that night.

Maybe if she feigned illness and went to bed early and then she could sneak out.

It was worth a try.

-----

Marcus entered the bar area of Stolen Soul and glanced around, an uneasy feeling settling in his chest.

Claudette was close, he could feel her.

He got a drink and sat in a booth and it wasn’t long before Claudette slid into the seat beside him.

Marcus’ fangs distended as he looked at the woman who had made his life a misery.

“Claudette”, he said and his rival smiled at him even though it did not reach her eyes.

“Marcus”, she replied.

"What brings you here Claudette?", asked Marcus

"You of course, you’re very hard to find. But shall we say that your recent activities are drawing attention to you", smirked Claudette.

-----

“Michael, I’m not feeling well. I’m going to go to bed early”, said Maddison after she had finished eating her dinner.

“Do you want me to get you anything?”, asked Michael as Maddison got up from the table.

“No thanks Michael, I just need to get some rest”, said Maddison.

“Ok, I’ll see you in the morning”, said Michael as Maddison walked out.

Maddison walked to her room as if nothing was wrong, knowing that Michael was most likely following her.

She turned into her room and shut the door and she quickly slid under her sheets and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. A few minutes later she heard her door creaking softly. Straining her ears she heard soft footsteps on the carpet, after her door creaked again she opened her eyes warily.

She looked around her room and found nothing out of place but decided to stay a few minutes longer. When Michael didn’t return she slowly slid her window open and stepped onto the window ledge, slowly again, she grasped the window frame and slid it back so there was only the tiniest gap, just large enough for her to fit her fingers in when she returned.

She walked across to the gutter pipe and slid down careful to not bang the pipe. She jumped off and hurried away, finding a torn section of fencing she pushed it out and climbed through the hole, quickly replacing it.

Maddison made her way through the busy streets, walking towards the old church bar. When she approached the church she saw it looked rather out of place amongst the newer buildings and she noticed the fact that it had a small sign with the clubs' name ‘Stolen Soul’ above the arched entrance.

She walked inside and saw that there were no lights, only candles glowing against the stained glass windows generating a warm but dim glow. She surveyed the tables looking for Marcus. A cold chill went up her spine when she spotted him sat with the same woman from her dream who was intent on killing him.

In her haste to get over to their table she tripped over a chair that was being pushed out.

She got up quickly when she saw that Marcus and the woman had gotten out of their chairs and as she was rushing up to Marcus as she heard Claudette say,

“This is for James!”.

Maddison screamed,

“Noo!“, before she tackled the woman.

Marcus yelled in pain as the woman missed her target but sliced through his chest with the dagger laced with holy water.

The woman turned to look at Maddison and her, face said it all ‘How dare you!’

Maddison was blasted off her feet as a searing surge of pain smashing through her. She heard the sound of fingernails down a chalkboard, which only she could hear. She writhed on the floor in agony as the terrible sound ripped through her.

Marcus tackled Claudette, disrupting her channelling and then he picked up Maddison’s unconscious form and hurried out of the club.

-----

Marcus carried Maddison’s limp form up the stairs in his house. He laid her down on his bed and he flicked the lights on and moved over to her. He pulled her eyelids open, feeling relived that her eyes responded.

Marcus groaned and fell against the wall when he was hit with intense sensations of pleasure, he could see in his mind being naked in bed with Maddison and she was grasping him and stimulating him.

He groaned as the sensations got stronger. Just when he felt that he couldn’t hold it any longer, the sensations fled as quickly as they came, leaving him feeling quite empty.

He staggered into the bathroom,

“This cannot be just because I bit her”, he muttered.

Unknown to Marcus a ghostly apparition was behind him, giggling. When Marcus turned it vanished and he walked back into the bedroom with a first aid kit. He began unbuttoning his shirt and he winced as he slid off the fabric which had been beginning to stick to his wound.

He sat next to Maddison who was still unconscious and he growled in pain as he wiped the blood off his chest. Knowing that he’d now have a scar where Claudette had slashed him with the poisoned dagger, he pulled out the bandages from the box to staunch any further bleeding. He slid his shirt back on but didn’t bother buttoning it.

‘I hope I’m strong enough to do this’, he thought as his hands reached for Maddison’s face.

He pressed his fingers against her temples and closed his eyes. He focused his mind on searching for that one sound that was critical for this to work. He groaned in discomfort as he found the ear-splitting sound and he used his mind to reach out and grab it.

Surrounding the sound with his presence, he yelled out in pain as the ear-splitting sound began tearing up inside of him.

He fought to keep his fingers against her head as the screeching began trying to deafen him. He groaned in agony as the screeching began to get more fierce. He gathered up all of his strength and energy and grasped the ear-splitting shrieking with his mind and began to squeeze it tightly. Gradually the screeching began to lessen. With the last of his energy he crushed the sounds, expelling them.

He pushed himself away from Maddison, exhausted just from the effort.

Maddison opened her eyes and gasped as she looked at Marcus’ strong muscular chest through his unbuttoned shirt. The bandages were slowly turning pink as more blood began to seep out of the wound on his chest.

Marcus collapsed on the bed next to Maddison and he looked to her and rasped,

“I.. need.. blood”.

Maddison looked at him and saw the desperation in his eyes as his fangs extended.

“Su.. sure”, she stammered as she pushed her wrist against his mouth. He gratefully accepted it, biting his fangs into her veins.

She moaned in pleasure as the strange but pleasurable pulling sensation travelled up her arm.

Marcus took one final big draw of blood from her wrist before running his tongue over the marks sealing them over.

He dropped his head against his pillow totally exhausted and Maddison, still having not recovered, laid her head down on the nice silky pillows and closed her eyes, deciding to rest for a moment before heading back home.

------

Maddison knew that she was dreaming because she couldn’t control her body, she was lying next to Marcus undressing him hurriedly who was also undressing her hurriedly. She dragged a fingernail along the pale scar that had yet to form on his chest, causing him to shudder.

He grabbed her hips and entered her swiftly, they groaned in pleasure together as their bodies moved in sync with each other. Their passion exploded across their senses

“Damn it not again”, muttered Maddison as she woke abruptly. She looked at Marcus’s clothed body sleeping and sighed.

“Crap! 6:30! I need to get home”, she muttered as she slipped off the bed and hurried out of Marcus’ house.

------

Once he heard his front door shutting, Marcus groaned recollecting yet another erotic dream. This one the most intense yet.

“This has got to stop..”, he moaned before dropping his head back onto his pillow.

------

Maddison made it home with minutes to spare.

She had just climbed under her covers when her mother walked in and dropped a pile of clothes on her table. She leaned over her and kissed her forehead and walked out of the room, closing the door softly.

Maddison breathed a sigh of relief when her mother was out of earshot and thought,

‘That was a close one’.