Who Is the Monster and Who Is the Man? (5/?)
Author: Rebecca
Pairings: Implied James/Jason
Ratings: R
Archiving Permission: here and my site; anyone else please ask
Disclaimer: Nope never happened but it would make a freaky movie ;-)
Summary: Cliff is a master vampire. Enough said.
I quietly stepped into the small dark room and smiled at the sight before me. Jason had left for his own hunt, leaving Randy under Kirk�s watchful gaze. Randy had curled up against Kirk�s left hip and was watching as Kirk made small crystal animals dance on the floor in front of them. I couldn�t help but smile as I sat with them.
Kirk could always help not only broken bodies but also the most wounded of souls.
A STRONGER KIND OF MAGIC
We were finally able to make up for lost time on the road. James was able to withstand the bright rays of sunlight as I could. Therefore, we took turns driving the creaking wagon down winding bumpy roads day and night and in about a week we were at the castle.
�Explain to me again why we are here,� grumbled James as he carefully drove up the road to the imposing castle. Jason�s hand shot out from the canvas of the wagon and poked James in the back; in turn, James yelped in both surprise and pain.
�That�s why you stubborn bastard,� muttered the younger vampire. �You still haven�t healed all the way and you need to before we can go anywhere else.� I couldn�t help but laugh at their constant �fighting�. However, for all their snipping they did care for each other. More than once have I seen James helping Jason make a kill or showing him how to handle a weapon; and once in awhile I saw them in positions that I thought James would never be physically able to get into. Who would�ve thought that James could get his legs up and over Jason�s shoulders like that?
Before James could snap back and threaten to slap Jason upside the head, the wagon entered the quiet courtyard. The few people, who were working, stopped and watched as James and I climbed down from the high seat.
�Jason it will be a few more minutes before you can get out,� I whispered to the young vampire as he looked out from under the canvas. I chuckled when I heard Jason mutter oaths under his breath. He hated having to stay under cover during the day, but he also knew it was for his own good.
A tall surly tempered man came towards me and growled, �Who are you and what is your business here?�
I sighed softly and then chuckled when I heard James snarl under his breath. I knew, even without looking at him, that he was fighting the urge to bare his fangs and kill the stupid fool before me. Both sets of fangs I should say. After the second feeding, he gained a lower set of fangs. Now when he roars he looks even more like a lion.
However, the man could not see him. I looked him in the eye and said, �My name is Cliff and my business is with the sorcerer not with you.�
�What if *he* does not wish to see you,� came the response as he took a step closer. I knew at this rate if I didn�t defuse the situation soon, James would rip his head off and spit down his throat.
�I would suggest��
�I would suggest Michael that you continue on with your work and leave these visitors to me,� said a new voice. I turned and smiled at the sight before me. This new man was almost a head shorter than me, with ink black curly hair, and had a warm complexion. He was dressed in flowing robes, covered with ornate, yet subtle, embroidery designs of suns, stars, and mystical symbols.
And those eyes, those beautiful dark eyes.
�Can I assume you are the one I�m looking for,� I asked softly as I continued to stare into his eyes.
�It all depends who you are looking for,� he answered as his gaze shifted from me to Jason who just hopped of the back of the wagon and joined James standing near me.
�My friend,� I said nodding to James � is in need for someone to help him heal some wounds.�
�I thought vampires didn�t need outside help for healing.� I wasn�t surprised that he knew what we were. It wasn�t unheard of for those with magical abilities to be able to distinguish between human and vampire.
�Some people wouldn�t say that too loudly,� I whispered, �because talk like that has been known to upset the wrong people.� Kirk looked over to where James was standing and took an involuntary step back. This time James wasn�t hiding the fact he was getting pissed off and bared his teeth. �Don�t worry,� I snickered, �lately his bark has been a lot worse than his bite.�
Kirk glanced at me with a worried look and then back to James. He suddenly gave orders for our horses to be stabled and then lead us through his imposing home. �What happened to him,� he suddenly asked. I gave him a detailed account of what happened and he winced in sympathy. �He was lucky he wasn�t killed,� he murmured as we ascended into a tall tower.
�Lucky is an understatement,� I answered as I looked around the tower room. It had a high vaulted ceiling with ornate stain glass in all of the high windows. �I thought that all sorcerers worked in the lower levels of their castles,� I asked as I looked around the surprisingly well-lit room.
�I think we were both misinformed at one point or another,� answered Kirk with a slight smile. His eyes followed James as my lion stalked around the room. �If he was that badly injured how is it that he has now healed as well as he has?� I told him what I had done not long ago and he was surprised. �He was twice blessed,� he said in a surprised vice.
�Or twice cursed,� I answered darkly.
�And the other one,� he asked as he nodded towards Jason who stayed a step behind James, �who is he?� I told him about Jason and then why we had traveled so far from my usual hunting grounds. �So is James always that bull headed or was he just in a pissy mood,� asked Kirk as he started to put seemingly random plant parts into a mortar and started to grind them with a pestle. James had heard what he said and gave a sharp growl.
�Both actually,� I answered with a smirk directed to James, who rolled his eyes and went back to investigating the darker corners of the room. Kirk�s smile should have easily light up the darkest hour of night as he mixed some sweet wine with the concoction in the mortar. Then with the use of a small strainer he sieved out the plant parts as he poured the liquid into a goblet.
�Here,� he said to James holding out the goblet, �drink this.�
�What is it?� ask James as his nose crinkled at the smell.
�A potion that will stop most of the pain.�
�I�m not in any pain.�
�Really? If you are not in pain then why does your �brother� continue to help you support your weight?� Kirk was right, James still had some trouble walking and it wasn�t unusual for Jason to help him move around if he got tired. James� eyes locked on Kirk�s as he snarled again.
�James,� interrupted Jason as he gently stroked the other vampire�s arm, �please take it. You still are in a lot of pain.� James looked at me for some back up, but I just gave a nod to the goblet in Kirk�s hand. James mumbled some unholy oaths under his breath as he grabbed the goblet and drank the potion in one gulp.
�Never go into the business of a wine maker,� said James as he handed the goblet back to Kirk, �because you would so suck at it.� Kirk smiled again as he put the goblet back on the table.
�It will make you feel sleepy,� said Kirk as James went back to wandering around the room. �So you�ll want to take a easy for a few hours.�
�I wish you told me that *before* I drank it,� he muttered, �How am I going to hunt if I�m half asleep?�
�It alright James,� I said, �We�ll find something easy for you to get.� I then noticed that Kirk looked uncomfortable at our talk. �I think I have no manners any more. What is your name?�
�Kirk.�
�Kirk it the only way we can live.�
�I know but��
�And we are careful not to kill an innocent,� added Jason as he looked at the human.
�How do you know who is an innocent and who isn�t?�
�We can smell them out,� explained James as he tried to stifle a yawn. �Their guilt taints them so much it affects their bodies so we can just smell them out.�
�But their sin has to be so great it makes them feel guilty. We never go after those who steal bread to feed their families or those that have killed in self defense, just those who murder for no reason or for profit,� I said as I watched Kirk mull over something in his mind.
�When people are found guilty here they are put into my dungeon for execution,� Kirk said suddenly with an evil glint in his eyes, �and I�m sure the magistrate wouldn�t mind you feeding off of them. At least then James won�t have to try to hunt half asleep.�
�You are a sneaky bastard Kirk.�
�Why thank you Cliff. That the nicest thing I heard all day.�
So, we stayed there for over a year feeding off prisoners that would be put to death and letting Kirk heal James.
James started to hate having to stay there. It seemed every healing session was a new way to cause him agony, but that was the farthest thing from Kirk�s mind. In fact, he tried to put James into a deep sleeping trance before starting to work on him but they never held him very long. One day James snapped and nearly sent Kirk though one of the tower walls. Jason tended to Kirk while I tried to calm my first born down, which was easier said than done. From that point on either, Jason or I were always with James during his sessions and he was strapped to the table when Kirk worked on him.
TBC
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