That is not dead which can eternal lie (Ele & Qedesha)

[Qedesha]

The taste of vampiric blood was almost as addictive as its supernatural effect. The first, startling tang of copper was washed away by a sort of sparkle on her tongue, warm and tingling, as if she'd somehow taken a mouthful of the gleam of light from a pile of gold. She swallowed reflexively and then arched as the warmth cascaded through her.

She wasn't aware of the shift, but it was there... the subtle adjustment of the world around her, the way everything faded ever s slightly into the background, somehow lesser than the woman cradling her. The supernatural blood spread through her rapidly, she could almost feel the power charging her despite the languid drain she'd been subject to.

Under the heightened senses of the first taste of vampiric blood the touch of her already sensitive nipples was enough to stop her breathing for a moment. The gentle instruction, heightened by the aftershocks of the erotic touch and the warm, seductive tones of her voice, was irresistable. She found herself fumbling at her jeans, pushing them and her underwear down, the cloth bunching around one ankle as she stepped out and left herself naked.

 

[Elehina]

Annemarie had not wasted the time her dazed plaything spent getting undressed. She slipped out of her own, slightly too small, clothes and tossed them negligently n the ground, before pulling Rain back to her. The dawn was upon them, and Annemarie guided Rain into the back of the car, closing them in a world of total darkness, save for the faintest hazy gray that showed through thinner patches in the tarp.

She stretched out on the backseat, and pulled her new pet to her, wrapping her arms around the women protectively. As the dawn claimed her consciousness she murmured, "Sleep, pet. The evening will be on us soon."

~~

Fifty kilometers away and four hours later, Detective Martin Vercelli stood looking down at the bodies of a student archaeological team. all of them apparently killed in the same manner. He looked askance at the medical examiner, "Say that again?"

The woman shrugged, "They are all, without exception, drained completely of blood."
The detective looked at her, still a bit disbelieving. "How do you drain," he asked, checking his notes," fourteen human bodies of blood without leaving a mark on any of them?"
"The better question, Detective," the coroner countered, "is what happened to all the blood?" She left him with that puzzle and went back to work.
"Martin?" His aide approached, a sturdy, solid man named Franco that Martin had worked with for several years. "We're missing one."
"What?"
"Since this group is from France, we pulled the border records. There were fifteen people in this group, not fourteen. And there's a car missing."
Martin glanced at the photo his partner handed him. "Pretty girl. You sure she's not here somewhere?"
"We're expanding our search, but so far nothing."
Martin nodded, with a sigh. "This was easier when we thought they were all dead."
"Tell me about it."

~~

In Paris, another group was receiving similar information. "Someone woke her up, it would appear."
Pierre Legrande was a tall man, with dark hair and blue eyes that held approximately the same warmth as a pair of ice chips. He looked down at the report that had been handed him, and then back at the other man. "Have you shown this to anyone else?"
"No sir. I felt it should go through you, before the council was informed."
Pierre nodded, "Very well. And Luke?" he added, as the other turned away.
Turning back expectantly, Luke's eyes shot wide open as Pierre plunged a knife deep into his chest, piercing his heart. "Let's keep just between us, shall we?"
He waited as the other man collapsed to the floor, the light fading from his eyes. "Clean that up," he said indifferently to the pair of security guards waiting by the door. As they moved forward, he turned back to his desk, considering his next move. If Annemarie was indeed awake, it was going to seriously disturb the balance of power in Western Europe. He would have to act to prevent that.