Chapter 19: Nothing Is, But What Is Not

Lalo stood very still, almost statue-like. She was barely aware of the naked women that circled around her incessantly. Without trying Lalo could reach out with her mind, reach outside the castle and its stuffy dungeons. Her mind raced free careering across open countryside and wide waterways alike.

Unblinking she saw her home, at first it was just a glimmer in the distance, seconds later Lalo was pressing against the shutters. The shutters were unrecognised, as was the luminous tape. 'Police crime scene - do not cross.' The yellow band twirled and twisted in the light south westerly breeze. A sudden chill hit the girl's heart. Here, there had been something here. The emotions swept through her and were gone, laughter and love - things of the past. Gone, forgotten.

A stronger emotion pulled her back, back to the castle, an emotion she recognised and would grow to love. Fear. Fear was good, almost as good as feeding. This fear was luscious in its intensity, and so close. Lalo became animated.

"Stop her! Mika prevent this outrage, the virgins are reserved for me."

Mika snarled.

"Do not presume to order me child, I outrank you."

A hush fell on the room, partly due to fear, partly to anticipation. Maldea spoke.

"Lalo be careful, Mika has powers..."

Her words were cut short.

"Mika has powers," Lalo threw back her head and emitted a crackling laugh, "I have powers. I am an orphaned Wampyr - none have greater powers!"

The only sound was the catching of Mika's breath in her tightening throat.

A dull crimson light pulsed around Lalo's teenaged body; rapidly it coalesced into a bright energy ball two feet in diameter. Without warning the ball flew across the room and slammed into Mika. She was thrown backwards and pinned against the soiled wall. Her chest opened appearing to split in two, and her dark heart slowed visibly in its fevered beating.

"Now do you stop Jeff? Or should I do that after I dispose of you Mika?" Lalo asked, unduly sweetly.

"I-I, I will, my apologies Mistress." Mika groaned.

"Good, and so polite," Lalo closed her eyes briefly, and in that instant Mika's heart stopped, "Now remember who outranks you. Thank you."

Mika's exposed heart trembled, and finally beat once more. The assembled women watched in awe as her chest closed with a resounding slap. Mika fell stone-like to the ground, legs akimbo, but even as she laid there dishevelled, her lips formed the words of the spell to halt her thrall.

The room exploded into excited chatter, all present realised they had witnessed the beginning of a new order. Lalo had staked her claim to the coven.

To Gwen's relief the apparition stopped just in front of her. The glistening clitoris tip dangerously close. Its eyes clouded for an instant, and then the whole face lit up with a beautiful smile.

"It seems my Mistress, my lover wants me to wait. Maybe she wishes to sample you for herself..." The confident voice faltered, and a trace of fear marred the relaxed expression. "No there is another, it cannot be! I do not understand, how is this possible?"

The hermaphrodite-being shuddered, and then retreated back to its coffin, once there, it crouched in seeming confusion.

"What do we do now?" asked Gwen, through clenched teeth.

"Not much we can do love, just be grateful 'thingy' over there got turned off."

Almost immediately the cell door behind them scraped open. Both Gwen and Cyn jumped and then turned towards the sound. Leanne's face appeared through the widening gap.

"It is you, come on, quick I have found a way out!"

Gwen moved forward, she only halted when Cyn's hand gripped the top of her arm.

"How do we know we can trust her any more?" Cyn whispered desperately.

Gwen flicked her eyes towards the coffin. "You trust that more?"

Cyn blinked. "Point."

Bill sat staring blankly into his empty coffee cup, finally he spoke. "What is the point, it's all gone to hell, I might as well go home and gas myself. Bob thinks I'm a lunatic, said so before he left. Now I wonders if he wasn't right." The big man shook his head in disbelief.

"Listen Bill you don't know the half of it yet. We have to save Cyn and the others from this - madness." Jolene protested.

"Why should I want to save her? The little madam has been on drugs or something and gone crazy. Now she rushes around Bristol sexually assaulting other women. What would I do with a crazed lesbo teenager?" Bill spat out the words with disgust.

Jolene went to reply, but Fizz raised a hand. His mellow tone was distorted by swollen lips, but he could still exude authority.

"I know my present appearance may not suggest it, but I am a medical doctor with years of experience in the problems of adolescents. Whatever you think of your daughters actions, I can assure you, it is not her fault. This madness, lets call it a virus, it infected her at the concert. It is now controlling her actions."

The big man blinked, as tears filled his eyes. "Virus, so she's ill, not mad? Tell me doc, man to man, is she going to, to, die?" Deep sobs welled up from his chest.

"Not if I have anything to do with it. But we have to find her, and the more of us the better. These infected girls' gather together." said Fizz.

"What sort of virus makes them group together?" asked the puzzled father.

"A very odd sort of virus, but one we can cure."

"OK, I'm in - lets save these kids."

Jolene smiled at Bill's response, she lent against Fizz and whispered "Well done, you convinced him!"

Fizz kept his feelings to himself 'I wish I was as convinced myself.' However he now diverted his attention to the fragments of blotchy loo paper. He frowned, try as he might it made no sense.

'xxxxxxilly xxxxle, it's between Van and Bedwas. Under it thexx xxx xxxxxxns. Go on train to xxxdifx it's not far xxxy.'

Jolene had a stroke of inspiration. That could say Cardiff! "Look, go on the train to Cardiff it's not far away."

Bill perked up, "Wales, they are in Wales? Let me look I knows Wales. His eyes hungrily digested the smudged words. "Caerphilly Castle they gone to Caerphilly Castle!"

Fizz and Jolene looked at each other in astonishment. Both of them asked the same question simultaneously. "How the hell do you know that?"

Bill suddenly looked sheepish. "Well I has two hobbies, crosswords and buildings, big buildings like castles. I was just a kid when I got into castles."

Jolene lent across the table and kissed Bill on his lips. As she pulled away she said, "Don't you apologise for your hobbies, don't you dare apologise. You and your hobbies are hero's, just brilliant!"

Bill turned beetroot.

"Right, now all we need is a plan." Fizz smiled, "Only a minor detail of course."

Gwen followed Leanne, leaving a small gap between the two of them, just in case. Cyn was even more cautious, her eyes darted left and right scrutinising the shadows. All seemed calm however, and their route was gradually ascending. Gwen began to think they could re-group and discuss their strategy. Wandering around blindly seemed a little too vague and dangerous. Cyn whispered to Gwen, "Don't get too relaxed, we should be ready for anything". As the final word left Cyn's lips, Leanne faltered in her step and then sunk to her knee's.

"Leanne!" Gwen rushed forward to her stricken friend. Cyn paused, confusion showed in her bright blue eyes. Her eyes widened with fear as a door in front of Gwen and Leanne opened, and women filed out to fill the corridor.

"Fuck! Gwen leave her, run," said Cyn as she spun on her heels. Seconds later she vaulted around a bend in the corridor and into the arms of another group of women. A young girl spoke.

"Excellent, you are just in time for the ceremony. The more the merrier."

"Oh, shit," muttered Cyn, "Leave me be, please."

"Now where would the fun be in that?" Asked a woman who resembled the girl closely, "Don't worry it won't hurt, at least not in a bad way."

The group guided a crest-fallen Cynthia back towards her friends, eventually the two groups met and swept the trapped women into a large hall. Together Gwen and Cyn were hustled towards a raised central dais. The plinth was covered with a red cloth, the cloth was not clean, but smeared with the emissions of many an urgent coupling.

Gwen looked at Cyn, it was suddenly abundantly clear what they were being asked to do. Some sort of performance was planned. Both the young women paled.

The van shuddered violently as it hurtled along the crowded motorway. Fizz bounced uncomfortably in the rear, his eyes were fixed and staring. Normally he would have complained at the breakneck speed, particularly as the less than aerodynamic van protested so violently.