Frozen Fire

The snow fell in goose down sheets. A soft blanket began to form on the ground, despite its final, desperate protests. It too would freeze soon enough. As gray dusk gave way to black evening, the predator with a long frozen heart glided through the empty paths in blood thrall, searching, needing, desperate. A hint of warmth wafted over the icy breeze to the predator's searching nose. Life!

Unbidden, an already icy tear of saliva froze at the corner of a slightly open mouth. Elongated canines indented blackened but otherwise perfect lips. Her flawless breasts rose in rapid succession under her tight leather hauberk and betrayed her excitement.

Many evenings had passed without a kill in this desolate land. Driving from her former prosperous home by the remnants of a decimated village, she had searched for a new, perhaps slightly more welcoming place for many moons without success. This hint of life was slight, but where there was one, there were sure to be more in the near vicinity.

She paused a moment, quivering, seeking to quiet her ragingly hungry body. The time without a decent meal had long begun to show on her once beautiful form. Her black veins spider-webbed across taut, ivory, nearly iridescent skin. Her blood sludged through her famished veins with ever-growing protest. Her formerly endless energy came only in spurts now, and whispered in her ears that it was almost time... almost time to be free... almost time to die. What was her life now? It was almost over, thats what. But somewhere deep within her, a desire greater than lassitude kept her trudging through the now ankle deep snow. A desire for blood.

The vampire's night vision was as sharp as a feline's, and in the distance she began to perceive a dim light in the distance. It would be a cabin, on the edge of town. Perfect. Perhaps a small family, enough to feed her for a few weeks as she began to survey the nearby area. The thickened scent of smoke lingered in the breeze contradicting the icy bite of the wind.

She drifted as silent as death through the looming evergreens to the side of the log cabin. Her incredibly sharp hearing told her that the heart of one soul beat in this dwelling, but that it was strong, full of searing hot blood. It screamed her name.

"Acacia.... Come to me... Now!"

She trembled against the frigid wall, but it was not from cold. She never felt cold anymore. She couldn't even remember what the sensation was like. This was barely contained lasciviousness near to fruition. Just on the cusp. Just a second longer.

She burst into the house. The man was sitting where she expected, but she did not expect him to be crouched in wait. As if she were the prey. Only momentarily startled, the blood lust overcame her trepidation. Her newly erupted finger nails raked across the man's chest before he even reacted to her movement. She pivoted to move in for the death grip and the kiss of death she was so infamous for. So easy. Relief flooded her through her brain as the seconds crept by in her adrenaline charged state of mind.

Just as she was about to sink her teeth in his neck and receive desperately needed release, the man's right hand snaked up and tightly caught her by her narrow neck; it was as effective a death grip as her own. Normally a human, a mere mortal, would be no match for this adept and stunningly effective predator, but in her hunger weakened state, she was so match for this man. He was very strong, she noticed. Tousled sandy brown hair with slight curls, and streaks of blond from days spent in the sun. A lithe body with muscles twisting under taut, tanned skin. Fiery passion in glowing green eyes flecked with gold. All this she saw in a second.

"Just a few moments more. Just hold on..." The words beat in her head, even as the world slipped into darkness

***

When Acacia awoke, she was tightly bound. And naked. The air reeked of blood. She struggled against her restraints, starving and reminded of her recently missed opportunity. Memories flooded back into her hazy mind, and she realized that this was not a good position to be in. Her screams were primal, and pierced the snowy silence. The snow was no longer falling, and the ever so slightly lit sky told her that dawn was quickly approaching. This meant, of course, that an agonizing, searing death was impending as well.

Abruptly, the man leaned over her and instantly silenced her screaming. She hissed at him in feral rage and writhed in the grip of the chains that held her. Her arms were stretched over her head, and her legs splayed far apart with a thick, heavy chain wrapped around four conveniently placed wooden posts. Chains were also wrapped tightly around her torso, just under her ribs. Though the cold did not effect her, her dark nipples pierced the air over her heaving chest with razor sharp promise. Terror does strange things to the body.

"I have been waiting for you," the man breathed into her ear as he traced his fingers around her tight round breasts. Rage was replaced by terror as she caught the scent of garlic in the air.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked quietly. Though she knew it was something that could hurt her, the gnarled two foot staff brought no understanding as he held it over her frozen form.

"This is a stalk of garlic cured for exactly this purpose. It has been aged and strengthened through dark magic, as dark a magic as your own. This is what beasts like you deserve. If you behave yourself, formerly fair maiden, after I'm through repaying you for your sins against my kind, I'll not leave you here to die. No," he continued, as if to himself, "I shall cure you of your foul disease." He paused for a moment, his gaze lingering hungrily on her exposed form. "If you do not obey me, however, this evening will be all the more interesting to me. It will not end well for you, though."

The man moved slowly alongside Acacia, down between her feet. His gazed drenched her body, and he licked his lips in anticipation. Her legs were open, as if in invitation to him-- an invitation to cure her evil. He knelt down and prepared himself for the intense ecstasy of this purifying ritual.

In a long moment, the man pulled back his hand in which he held the garlic staff, and plunged it suddenly between her thighs. Her scream was welcome to his eager ears, and the stench of burning dead flesh an eagerly awaited aroma before the taste of a robust wine. He plunged the staff deep within the vampire, and an agony she never thought possible poured into her abdomen. It ripped into her, tearing through her body in agonizing ripples and he pumped the staff in and out of her tight orifice.

For several minutes, her screams mounted until she became hoarse. Soon, a soundless scream tore from her lips, and tears iced at the corner of her dark, thickly lashed eyes. Despite the agony, moisture formed around the staff, lubricating the long cudgel as it rammed deep inside the vampire. As it seared her tenderest skin, Acacia became aware of a growing heat in the pit of her stomach.

Despite the pain, or probably because of it, she was getting close to an edge she had never been to. Regardless of her teenage appearance, she was over one hundred years old. She had never known the touch of a man before she was turned. She feared this was the end, that this intensifying fever pitched fervor was the prelude to her demise. Another moment on the edge... She took a deep breath, what she thought to be her final one. Suddenly, orgasm crashed over her, contorting her body, pulling the chains tight, so tight they tore into her body and nearly black blood seeped out of her wounds. Acacia's whole body convulsed for second after second for nearly a minute, until she collapsed, completely spent, her terror finally chased away by sweet release. The burning stick was slowly drawn out of her.

The man looked down at the near death vampire, amused puzzlement and comfort in his supreme power in his flashing verdant eyes.

"This I was not expecting, darling. I may be able to forgive you for denying me the pleasure of your death if you serve me well." With those words lingering in her ears as she slipped in and out of consciousness, Acacia felt warm blood on her lips. Metallic notes danced on her tongue as she hungrily gulped down life giving blood. As her strength slowly returned, she noticed the flavor was not one she was used to. Her sight finally clearing, Acacia finally noticed the yearling pig over her head, its neck partially severed, pouring sweet, life giving blood into her eagerly awaiting mouth.

"This will give you some strength. Strength I think you're going to need." In the man's husky voice the vampire heard a promise of enduring pain. It was something she oddly looked forward to.

***

It was approaching midnight many moons later. The snow had all melted, and its place wildflowers had grown and now withered, and only the golden grasses remained. Acacia knew Aadinatha would be returning soon. He had been tracking a vampire, another female, for some days now. Tonight would be the final healing ritual so Acacia could walk the world of the living again. She would have to conduct the same ritual she had endured (with pleasure she had only recently come to understand) on another to finally be free of her curse.

In the time she had spent with Aadinatha, Acacia had fallen in love with her captor. His brutality was only occasionally evidenced in his behaviors. Usually she found some way to twist it to her advantage – she was also learning how to become a woman. She had undergone many torturous rituals to be free of her curse. Aadinatha was a skilled shaman of considerable power. He had discovered the method to cure vampires in his childhood travels but, until he caught Acacia, had not had a chance to prove their veracity. During their time together, Acacia showed many signs of improved temperament, and her body occasionally burned with real heat, though it still caused her considerable pain. Tonight she would be free of the pain, unless she wanted it. Which she definitely still would.

Sometimes Acacia grew so impatient with Aadinatha he was forced to used the garlic staff to burn her into submission. In the beginning, her submission was short lived at best. In the time they had spent together, Acacia had accrued many scars and bruises in a variety of interesting places. If she had been feeding on human blood, these would have healed almost instantaneously. But Aadinatha kept her on a steady yet meager diet of pigs blood. This was not the nourishing blood that her body needed, but among the many things he taught her, above all Aadinatha educated Acacia in the world of shame. She felt shame every time she fed, every time she lusted, every time she looked in the mirror. She knew now what she had become and how she had deserted her humanity. She knew when she looked at Aadinatha that she was falling in love, and in doing so, casting off the final vestiges of her former, wanton self.