Torn Asunder

A/N: Pic to the side is Lucretia, played by Aishwarya Rai. Don't let the innocent look on her face fool you.....

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Fear danced down my spine as I watched the monsters frown at me out of the corner of my eye. They were starting to figure it out; it was inevitable that they suspected but I thought I'd have more time. Despite my careful work to wear this body as if it were my own, to embrace the need to Feed and vent the lust of the Master-Childe bond, I could tell by the way they looked at me now that they knew I was lying to them.

All those vampires in the den were oh-so-happy for me being Lucretia's newest pet. Though Isabeau and a few others were still grumbling because apparently it is VERY bad manners to take someone's first Childe like that, there was nothing they or anyone could do. I wondered briefly how this change in the bond would affect whatever plans Caleb and the Mercy had to rescue Dante, well at least the body part of him. All of this would be a moot point if these creatures discovered that I wasn't the man they thought me to be. And I knew now that it was a matter of hours, not days before this entire situation turned a lot more deadly for me.

My first mistake was with those people Dante had once considered friends. I had met them once, at the airport as Dante left us. So when I saw them here, vamped out as well, I figured out that these monsters had gotten a group rate. It made me wonder what would have happened had I gone on this trip like Dante had wanted. Would I have been able to protect us or would I be like them all too? I felt a small, mocking smile curl my lips as I realized that I would have been worse than useless in this world had I been with my Dante from the very beginning. I was still mostly useless and that was after I’d started growing a back bone. I’d forgotten the female friend’s name. It’s a simple, small detail and after everything I’ve been through, completely understandable. But I simply could not recall her name, and it was my first slip up.

The second mistake I made was a whole lot bigger and a whole lot harder for me to hide from the others. Lucretia wanted me to Hunt with her at my side, and Isa had told her all about how my Hunts have been in the past. There’s just one problem; they weren’t MY hunts. They were Dante’s and I had no clue what to do on my own. So when the time came for me to start my Hunt, I dithered. I suggested that my ‘friends’ should Hunt first, that I had already received so much special attention. The three other new vampires were very excited with that idea and took off as soon as I said it, leaving me to follow after them and watch.

I couldn’t figure out why it was that Dante’s body was handling this strange dichotomy so well when I knew my own body had been battered by it all. Even with Hunger burning in my gut, demanding human blood, I could shrug it off. It was uncomfortable, and if I did it for too long I suspected that I would quickly succumb to it, but for right now I could ignore it. I took advantage of it so I could watch these people who were supposed to have had my Dante’s back Hunt. I  was pushing my anger and resentment for them to the back of my mind, but it was just making the Hunger burn hotter in my belly. I swear that being a vampire is all about the violence, sex and blood; there’s not a single freaking sparkle in sight! If I was honest with myself, I knew that this was the kind of world my Dante was born for, was made for. And it was the kind of world I was most definitely NOT suited for. I felt the fangs in my mouth descend as I glared after my ‘friends’, aware that if they hadn’t brought my Dante with them, he would be with me, safe at our parent’s home. Distantly I heard Lucretia called Dante’s name, trying to calm me but the growl that was rumbling in my throat was getting louder and louder.

The body I wore shook with barely withheld anger, my desire to rip these bastards apart nearly making me murder them all when their backs were turned to me. If they had just left my Dante alone, I wouldn’t have been forced through the worst times of my life. I would still have my virginity, I would still have my dignity, I would still have my Dante, but instead here we were. To add to the whole messed up situation, Lucretia tried to ‘leash’ me. I felt fear wrap around me, fake and brittle and obvious from the vampire queen. It snapped my control and I lunged, but not at the friends that had gotten my twin into this mess. Instead I tackled Isabeau to the ground, fingers digging into the skin of her throat. In my own body, my nails are hard and sharp, good weapons of pain. Dante’s fingers were bigger, blunter and not as effective at scratching. As I tore out her trachea, I realized that sharp wasn’t necessary, I had the strength to rip her apart in my hands and I was angry enough to use it.

Under my grip, Isabeau thrashed, trying to buck me off and defend herself. As an older vampire, she should have been able to but the fear and anger was driving me to be stronger than even Dante was supposed to be. I had attacked Isa because she had been the one to Turn my Dante, but as I tried to rip her spine apart with my hands, I knew I was attacking her in lieu of all the people I hadn’t defended myself from before. My buried resentment at my parents for always choosing me last, my hurt that I wasn’t sure Caleb would be here helping me if it wasn’t for the sex, my possessive and jealous rage that anyone else had touched my Dante and my utter helpless and hopelessness over this entire situation was powering my attack. I felt the slickness of bloody and exposed bones under my fingers before anyone tried to haul me away.

It just goes to show just how seriously fucked up vampire society was, I had all but ripped Isabeau’s head off before anyone tried to intervene. Before that, it had been good old fashioned fun. Disgusting. I snarled at the hands grabbing me away, fist slugging someone across the jaw with a snap of bones. A frenzy seemed to hit me after that; I couldn’t stop myself from lashing out and attacking whoever came close to me, be they supposed friend or master vampire. Even the Master bond Lucretia had wrapped around my Dante’s body wasn’t able to calm me down from the murderous avarice that was driving me. I needed to feel Isabeau die under my hands, it was physically painful to be denied that as six vampires tried to hold me in place.

When I was wearing my own flesh and female body, Luka and some of my friends had shown me a few basic self defense moves if ever I was jumped by a group of people. They never expected me to need it while surrounded by a group of vampires, but I was astonished to see that the concepts applied here. I jerked one of my arms up sharply, and then pulled down and away, breaking my arm free of their grip. With one arm freed, I balled my fist and broke another vampire face. Fang sunk into my flesh and I bellowed, a loud, manly sound with an underlying scream of pure panic. I felt my body shudder as my fear and anger lashed out and struck at my twin. I never, ever wanted to be the one to hurt him and yet I was. It was that thought and that thought alone that allowed me to pull it all back inside. I was still helpless to keep my body from struggling and fighting, desperately trying to get back to Isa and kill her once and for all, but I was calming down.

The faintest sound behind me had my body whirling and I struck out, the surprised look on Lucretia’s face saying louder than words that I really shouldn’t be able to attack her as her Childe. But with me piloting my Dante’s body around, I got to bend all kinds of rules. That didn’t stop me from then getting my ass kicked by a beautiful, tiny and pissed off queen vampire. The other vampires all backed off, most of them injured, all of them confused and angry, and watched as my Master Lucretia beat me into a bloody pulp. Her first blow slammed my entire body down against the pavement, making something in my arm snap while I screamed. She hadn’t even physically touched me to do it either, the bone sticking out through my flesh in a horrific display of her advanced abilities. I screamed again as my body was forced to endure every injury I had ever suffered all at once.

Strangely enough, they were my own injuries, not the ones that Dante had experienced. He’d never had a compound fracture before but I had, in my own body. I strangled out curses as my body bled and bucked, pain twisting my skeleton into a macabre tableau. Still Lucretia stood over me, her eyes glowing red tinged gold as she tortured me with fear and pain.

“I’ll kill you!” I screamed out at her, hearing a guttural, almost wet sound in Dante’s voice as another wave of pain hit me. It’d never occurred to me before that I get hurt a lot, but having to relieve every injury, all at once was telling me that I REALLY needed to take better care of myself. I could only hope to whatever stone hearted god was out there that Dante was doing a better job protecting my body than I seemed to be able to do for either of our bodies. At least we’re good at division of labor; he protects the flesh while I protect the soul.

“You’ll wish you could kill me. But once I have you and your twin as my pets, you will do anything and everything I could ever ask to make me happy.” Lucretia replied her voice calm and the anger gone from her face.

It was like watching an actor take off a mask, one second undeniable rage, the next calm and faintly amused smile. She was absolutely nutters and I was going to be stuck with her for eternity. Oh joy.  I wheezed, feeling the air being squeezed out of my lungs and struggled even though the body didn’t actually need air. I had never collapsed a lung, so I knew this wasn’t my own injuries haunting me. While I gasped like a fish stranded on land, Lucretia watched me and smiled, petting Isabeau’s blood and gore soaked hair. As I felt my body start to stiffen into a full seizure, Lucretia released whatever hold she had on me and I sucked air in.

My Dante’s old Master glared at me, eyes showing her hurt and confusion at my sudden attack. And just like that I felt like a bad guy. “My twin dislikes you. She feels you are responsible for all of this…” I gestured around, trying to give the damaged blonde woman an explanation. My voice was hoarse, sounding like my Dante had a three pack a day smoking habit and liked to gargle nuts and bolts.

“I’ll turn her myself and then she and I can rip each other to pieces once we get her.” Isabeau replied with a hate filled sneer.

“No one touches my twin but me.” I growled, feeling the anger from earlier returning. I had no strength to resist another murderous rampage, but I never got the chance to lose it again. Lucretia stroked her hands into my short hair, grabbed a handful and hauled my head back, baring my throat.

“I’ll touch the two of you all I want. You are my pets.” Lucretia warned. I struggled but my body was locked in place, once again under my Mater’s control. “Feed and recover.” Lucretia commanded Isabeau.

The blonde vampire that had started us down this path to damnation slid over to me and snapped her fangs into my throat, tearing the flesh roughly and Feeding while she hurt me as much as possible. I wanted to hurt her in return but was helpless to grunt as she sucked in mouthfuls of my cold blood. I hated them all and I would revel in the chance to kill each and every one of these damn monsters.