Chapter 15: Feeding the Hungry Mistress Part 1

“Laura...,” the whispered words could be heard in the Laura’s room.

It was at night. Laura’s room showed the hint of the peering moonlight that radiated through the closed blinders.

Laura stirred in her bed. She had not awakened yet. Her eyes remained closed, yet a familiar sense filled the room. The cold mist filtered the scene.

Through the darkness, Laura’s body was completely naked, exposed to the cold elements, the blankets nowhere to be seen.

“Laura...,” the whisper filled the room.

Laura’s mind swore she heard something, but her body refused to budge. It was as if some invisible force was blocking her from doing it.

Assuming this was a dream, there was something different this time. The cold mist moved closer and closer to the bed. Laura’s heartbeat was heavy. Yet, her eyes remained closed. The sense of danger was present.

It was as if a hungry predator had found her prey. It was closing in on her. Willpower was not enough to overcome whatever it was that held Laura’s eyes shut. Her deep slumber was unending.

Her breathing intensified. Laura’s feet moved a little. She gripped her hands to the bedsheets before letting it go.

“Hello, Laura...,” the voice said. This time, the whispering sounded more feminine. It was more solid.

Before Laura knew it, there was a warm hand touching her leg. Immediately, her body started to relax a little bit. She fell still as if she was calming down.

“So ... beautiful...,” the unknown voice said. “So ... perfect...”

The warm hand flowed up Laura’s leg. It climbed its way where it touched her stomach. The mist gave a slight representation of a woman, but it was only brief. The silhouette’s hand began to caress Laura. One hand seemingly touched her chest and another across the blond public hair of her nether regions.

Laura shuddered some. Her eyes continued to remain closed. One hand danced across her neck.

“Yes...,” the voice continued. “Delectable and delicious. The sweet innocence. How I love thee...”

Laura continued to feel the tender hands of the unknown figure. Encapsulated in lust, Laura held one hand out before the invisible force gently lowered it.

“The succulent flower must be consumed ... a bee that does not find it will watch it die. She must seek it out.”

A series of gentle, warm kisses could be felt on Laura’s body. A kiss finally found its way to her lips. Then, there was the stir of her body. It jolted away in shock. Perhaps it was fear.

“Ah ... ah...,” Laura grunted in her sleep.

“Shhh ... sleep well, Laura,” the voice echoed. “I know how to keep you happy...”

There was a pause as the mist moved closer to her crotch. It didn’t take long before Laura’s legs shifted a little bit. It gave prime entry for her crotch.

Within a few seconds, manipulation was applied to her nether regions. Laura’s body began to relax more and more. A sensation of pleasure seemed to ride through her. Her mouth fell agape.

“Yes ... just like that,” it whispered. “You know what pleasure is, don’t you?”

Laura’s spread legs fell into sheer relaxation. Her vaginal entrance showed signs of saliva and fluids that slowly fell down to her anus. Her breathing fell into a composure of being pleasured. It didn’t take long before she started to moan quietly.

“There ... the greatest peak ... when the blood flows most succulent...”

Laura remained in position as her eyes remained closed. It didn’t take long before two sets of invisible fangs gently pierced above her vaginal cleft.

“Ah...,” Laura reacted in pain. However, there was also a sensation of a hand caressing her stomach.

Her brain was reacting to this hidden danger. Finally, it screamed to do something. It was being attacked. Sheer willpower strove her to do something. She had to do something.

“AHHH!” Laura screamed as her eyes opened.

She sat up on the bed. Her panic came to a screeching halt as she looked at herself. The blankets were firmly covered over her, and her nightgown was still on. There were no signs of any foul presence.

Yet, the imagery lingered in her mind. It felt like an echo. The woman’s hand slowly reached down to her vaginal entrance. It was wet, but she heard the sound of a knock on the door.

“Lady Laura!” the guard reacted outside the door. In seconds, it opened, and an armed man peered inside.

“It’s all right...,” Laura replied as she calmed down. “I ... just...”

She felt lightheaded. She was tired and practically passed out. Her eyes almost fell shut.

“I’ll get help!” The guard cried out.

“Uh ... ugh...,” Laura shifted from her bed. Her eyes opened up. She could see her father looking over her. A warm towel was placed over her head by one of the maids.

“Laura?” Felix called out. “She’s awake...”

“Dad?”

“Are you all right?”

“I ... I think so. I just ... feel so tired.”

Laura looked at the windows. She could tell it was morning due to the light trying to enter her room. She slowly sat up, cringing along the way.

“Easy, easy, young one,” her father responded.

“I feel so ... weak,” she grumbled.

Her skin remained pale. However, there was a hint that her body was more amalgamated due to the blood loss. A fellow maid put her back to her.

“What happened?” Felix asked.

“Oh ... it was just a dream.”

“A nightmare?”

“I ... I don’t know. It ... felt different. It was ... It was just a dream.”

“How do you feel?”

“I felt better before I fell asleep,” she explained. “Now, I feel weak again.”

“What foul wickedness has befallen my daughter?” Laura’s father turned his attention outside the room where the guard was. “Guard, I need to know if there was anything afoot last night.”

The guard stepped into the room. “Sir, I saw nothing come into this room.”

Laura sighed. She put her hand to her head as if she was trying to make sense of what happened.

“Lady Laura, you should continue to rest,” the maid directed her.

“I’m tired of being bedridden,” she complained as her father talked to the guard. “I would understand if I were sick, but this feels like no disease. Even the Doctor knew that it wasn’t.”

“What do you mean you were gone from your post!?” Felix cried out. Laura could hear him yelling at the guard.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the guard replied. “I had no relief and needed to shit.”

“How long were you gone from your post to relieve yourself!?”

“About five minutes. Laura’s door was locked, sir, and I was close enough to hear anything that would have tried to come in.”

“It’s not his fault, father!” Laura yelled at her dad. He turned his head to her.

Felix nodded and grumbled before nodding to his guard. “So be it,” he said before he waved his hand to the floor. “I need more guards. I’ve let this estate be too undefended. Something is afoot and is trying to harm my daughter. I need...,” he closed his fist. “I need Doctor English. He knows more than he leads on.”

Laura remained quiet. She knew that what her father just said was an understatement. She wished that English was present. The trepidation and lack of control were evident, but the Doctor seemed to keep everything calm, much like his personality.

“Father,” Laura said. “Can I have some privacy with the maid?”

“Of course,” Felix said. “I will make sure to have the Butler fetch a meal for you.”

“Thank you,” she smiled at him. The smile seemed to be contagious as he nodded his head in approval.

Felix left the room and closed the door behind him. The maid remained behind.

“I need you to do me a favor. The Doctor believed that I had lost blood yesterday. I need to check if my period has arrived sooner than expected.”

“Madam,” the maid responded in an Austrian accent. “Your last period was two weeks ago.”

Laura nodded. “I know. But I need you to help check for me.”

“Of course, Madam. I’m at your service.”

“Thank you.” With that, Laura slowly pulled the blanket off her. The maid provided assistance, gently pushing it off her. Then, Laura spread her legs a little bit as the maid carefully applied her hands near her nightgown. The maid looked closely.

“I see no blood, Madam. There is no ... eek!”

“What?” Laura replied, hearing a chirp from her maid.

“Madam, you have been bitten!”

It was Laura’s fear come true. She had been reminded of the two bite marks on her wrist. As she raised her nightgown this time, the maid pulled back to point at the location. Just below her panty line was a pair of two laden bite marks. They were identical to the other ones that she received.

“No...,” Laura replied in resentment. “No...”

The Doctor walked in broad daylight up the laden path. Beside him was his dog, which stepped in stride. The German Shepard didn’t seem tired from the stroll, and neither did English. Unlike the previous day, it was clear and sunny. Only a hint of a few white clouds filled the sky.

The grass hillside depicted the various homes and shops of Ehrenhousen. While the great cities of Europe seemed to dominate the political spectrum, the rural countryside showed the pristine beauty of 19th-century Europe.

A wagon with a single horse and driver slowly approached ahead of the Doctor. The dirt road wasn’t bustling, but it wasn’t without some form of traffic and commerce. On the wagon was something covered up with a large white blanket. English remained on the path, unending in how he walked alongside his dog.

The driver, a tired bearded man, tipped his hat as his wagon slowly approached English. The doctor reacted similarly by tipping his hat slightly. The driver had very little interest in the walking individual and his dog and would pass by.

However, the moment the wagon rode past the doctor, somebody emerged from the other side of it. It happened so quickly and out of the driver’s point of view that he didn’t notice it. It was a woman with a pale face that walked in parallel with the doctor. Her hair was red, and she wore a black dress that shimmered down her sides. Her walk and stride were almost similar to how the doctor walked.

“Mother,” English responded without looking at her.

“Son,” Lilith replied to him. She glanced over at him.

“What brings you to Ehrenhousen?”

“Do I need a reason to come and see my son?”

“I’m investigating...”

“I know ... Empusa.”

Lilith looked over at the dog. The animal gave a glance at her and only gave a slight hiss to her in response.

“There’s a reason for you stopping by to see me, isn’t it?” English remarked. They all stopped to look at each other.

Lilith looked down a little bit. “I heard what you’ve been looking into, and I needed to know.”

“The Coalition assigned me to investigate this ... not you.”

“I have the right to investigate this too...” Lilith almost stomped her barefoot to the dirt.

“Very well,” English stepped forward to Lilith. “Are you involved in the murders of Ehrenhousen?”

“You accuse your own mother of vampirism?” The hint of anger appeared in her voice.

“Why else would you show up next to me?”

Lilith frowned. “It’s never been the same with you. Since Danek ... since your father passed away.”

English turned to his intended path and resumed his walk, almost ignoring the comment. Empusa turned her head and looked at the countryside as they walked. Lilith stood back but continued.

“It is a fact of life,” English calmly said. “Nothing more. Let me resume my investigation in peace.”

“Why not just teleport to your destination?” Lilith asked.

“Because I’m investigating the path a wagon once took to reach an estate. A place with a victim from suspected vampirism.”

“Even after we joined the Coalition,” Lilith said. “Even after they let me take my human shape once again, they let the vampires hunt the vampires.”

“It is the way of things, something that I know you prefer.”

“Yet, the others try to hunt for crystals ... and are glorified when they find one.”

“Not all.”

They continued their walk uphill. The path started to deviate to the distant small castle up the hill. More and more trees could be seen beside the windy path. Meanwhile, the hint of wheel tracks splayed out on the sandy road.

“How much do you know of dreamscaping attacks?” English asked her.

“Attacking a person through their dreams?” Lilith questioned. “It’s ... not supposed to be possible. I’ve never learned to do it. Not even most of the gods have ever achieved it. Perhaps a few spirits, but nothing more.”

“But can a vampire truly do it?”

“If it was. I suppose it would have to be done in a very specific way. Do you know of the adage ‘A vampire cannot enter a home unless invited?’”

“Yes, but the concept is a false myth, much like garlic is supposed to repel vampires.”

“No, but I believe the term more appropriately fits as ‘The home is your mind.’”

“In other words,” English commented. “A vampire can enter a mind if invited?”

“I think so, but I never heard of it applied in practice. We can achieve many abilities, but we’re not gods either.”

English saw a deviation of the wheel’s trail. He pointed his hand at the road.

“What?” Lilith asked.

“Take a look at the path of the wheel. His finger followed the trail. I’ve been observing the horse prints made by the carriage of our supposed perpetrator. The rainfall has sullied much of the evidence, but there is enough to suggest credence of the supposed perpetrator’s claims.”

“What claim? What perpetrator?”

“How much do you know of the mysteries that are occurring here in Ehrenhousen?”

“I’m not on the same path as you. I know nothing.”

English stopped and took a knee to observe the horse prints. “Take a look at this. The suspect claimed that her carriage’s horse lost control. It was spooked, and the entire carriage drove off the road...” he stood up and followed the wheel tracks. “Where it would smash its wheel against the nearby rocks.”

There was a steep decline on the right side of the road. A few jagged rocks protruded to hint at the indication of an impact.

“What is it that you are trying to conclude?” Lilith asked.

“So far, her claim holds more validation,” English continued. “The carriage’s wheel impacted the stone and damaged it. She was at risk of the entire carriage being flipped over onto its side. But there is one flaw in her story...” He returned back to the horse prints. “Looking at the deepest prints in the sand, this was the part where the animal was startled. The horse was perfectly fine this entire trip. The weather was not particularly hostile to promote it to do that.”

Lilith decided to entertain his investigation. “There are ways to scare a horse.”

“Indeed. I see no indication of a passing cart, no signs of any animals or wildlife that would promote fear towards an animal such as a horse. This was a normal operating working steed. The prints show no sign of extraordinary wear on them. It was completely startled. It lifted its front legs high up into the air before it charged forward. Quite an achievement for the driver to regain control after such an event.”

“I remember when you were a child, you were able to scare a horse from a distance,” Lilith explained. “It’s the oldest trick for a vampire to do.”

“Hmmm ... indeed. The perception of these animals is quite good, although mules are usually more perceptive.”

“Arf!” Empusa barked. Her tongue began to hang out as she panted. She was gesturing toward something on the grass. It grabbed English’s attention as he walked over to the grass. He leaned over and picked up a small wooden object.

“There...,” English said. “Damaged wheel spoke, fallen from the wheel careening into the rocks.”

Lilith looked at Empusa. “Trying a little hard in playing the bitch, aren’t you?”

The bronze-legged dog closed her mouth and gave a meaningful look at Lilith in response. English stood up, put the object into his coat, and faced Lilith.

“A far more loyal partner than you think,” English responded to her mother.

“Arf!” Empusa barked, giving a sly look at Lilith. Lilith’s response was to shake her head.

“What does it prove?” Lilith asked.

“It proves that you are a less likely suspect,” he replied.

“Stop trying to imply that I did anything.”

“Mother,” he looked at her. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose. “I have an important question to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know of any vampires, creatures, or gods that go by the name of Mircalla?”

Lilith grew silent. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the road. It was such a confounding question that she folded her arms to her chest. The doctor was waiting for her answer.

“I thought there was a ... sense of familiarity with such a name,” she said before she looked at English. “But nobody that I know.”

English dropped the leash on Empusa as he slowly approached Lilith. “Yes ... you do.”

“No, I don’t,” she was adamant.

“Why are you lying to me?”

Lilith gave a hint of a snarl. “Why would I lie in saying that I didn’t?”

“A rogue vampire is on the loose, one that we haven’t encountered since finding the Estrees 70 years ago.”

Lilith waved her hand in the air. “What would I gain by lying to you?”

“That ... I’m trying to answer. Your arrival suggests something.”

“I see...,” she turned away from him. English turned around and picked up Empusa’s leash. They resumed their walk up the path.

“And what happened when the Estrees were found?” Lilith questioned him.

“We both know that answer.”

“The Coalition of Deities does nothing but tag us ... like animals ... like we are a menagerie of forgotten relics.”

“Relics with a past...”

She glanced at him. “Yes.”

“And now there are dead mortals to contend with.”

“ ... I know.”

“Then you know that I’m doing this for more than just the Coalition, but for others as well, and I’m not talking about the humans.”

Lilith remained quiet for a minute. She looked at the estate they were slowly heading to.

“The second time you’re heading to this place?” Lilith commented.

“And proof that you’ve been monitoring me,” English replied.

“Does a mother need a reason to check in on her son?”