Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – The cave
He woke with the memory of fire. It was dark around him, and he could not move. Was it night already? Something kept him in place, standing with his back against a wall. His hat was gone. He breathed in slowly, gathering strength. He was thirsty.
“Hello”, a voice interrupted. A hint of light came into his focus from the side. “Good to see you’re awake. Sorry for the hat. You’ll get another one.”
A woman stepped out of the shades, carefully keeping a distance despite the fact he wasn't able to move. Yet. So maybe the restraints wouldn't hold for too long.
“Who are you?” he hissed, lowering his voice even more than it usually was. It made him sound even more dangerous, he knew.
She didn't seem impressed. “In a way, I am like you. And I want to offer you a deal.” She came a little closer, but not quite in reaching distance. “Do you want me to answer some questions first or shall I proceed with my offer?”
“Proceed.” He pulled at whatever it was that kept him in place, but got distracted by her next move.
She took something from her clothes. It was a cup with a broken handle. With a slow motion, very well knowing he was observing her every move, she pulled back her sleeve and grazed the skin on her wrist with the sharp edge until it drew blood. Opening and closing her fist, she let some of it flow into the cup, until she decided it was enough. Licking the wound swiftly, she stopped the bleeding.
“You must be thirsty”, she said. “My offer: Blood for you, sex for me.”
Silence held the place for a moment. Whatever he had thought she might offer him, this had not occurred to his mind.
“I am no human.”
“I know that. But you still have enough blood circulation for that.” She got closer, with the cup. The smell of her blood was very much present in his senses, and he could also hear the rest of it rush through her veins.
“Alright. More information you need. A vampire's diet is made of blood, a succubus' diet is made of sexual energy. So, in a way, we are alike. We both live off human prey, but if we take too much, they die. And although I cannot infect people the way you can, it's not easy to live amongst them. Always being careful not to take too much, because if too many die, the rest will search for the cause.” She gave the cup into his left hand and suddenly this one restraint was gone. He drank.
“So... Living amongst them is a very test for self-restraint. I don't like that. And since you have been more than an average human being even before your transformation, you will not die no matter what.” She came closer, snatching the cup from his hand, and the restraints were back in place.
“And vice versa, I will not be infected by you, for I already am no human.” She gave a content smile. “What do you say?”
“Why the restraints?”
“To make sure you listen before attacking. You're bright, but your hunger might have been too much.” He kept quiet for a moment, pondering the situation. She knew what he was but hadn't killed him. Whatever that said about her.
“How did I get here?”
“When the train went up, I caught you out of the blow. Lost your hat in doing so.” She looked him up and down. “You're not fireproof, I guess. I've never met a creature that was.”
“And this place?”
“A cave about twelve kilometers from the destruction site. Underground. I followed you from Jerico.”
“There was no one left alive in Jerico.”
“Not above ground.”
A curiosity rooted deep under his training and life's adventures claimed to be heard, thinking about her offer. But there was something more he needed to know.
“Twelve kilometers.”
She nodded. “Quite exhausting.”
“How long?”
She nodded, slowly. “A day since the train went up. The vampires aboard are all gone. The others survived. The priests are roused, but the church remains stupidly dormant. To not scare their people. This cave is unknown to them all.” She paused.
“If you're not interested in the deal, I'll still relieve you. But you'd be missing … fun.” she promised then.
The curiosity within meanwhile had realized that there was more interesting about her than the smell and taste of blood.
“I am”, he growled.
“Great”, she said with a purr in her voice that vibrated through the air. She came closer, taking in his face, then brought up her hand to it. Close to his ear it passed, and tangled into the short hair in his neck.
And the world toppled.