Supernatural Earth Pt. 01

Mika slipped her arm into James'. "Come on, the Prince is waiting for ye."

"Hooray." James said, mentally postponing his liaison with his undead girlfriend. "You're awfully brave walking me in like this, ya know?"

Mika's green eyes danced with amusement. "I like to live on the edge."

"Is there any medication that y'all are on that I, as the Vampire Hunter, should be made aware of? Something for Vampire BiPolar or anything?"

Mika snickered. "Do I look like one of the crazies to ye?"

"No, but you do keep enough bondage gear on just your outfit alone to make me wonder," James smiled at her as he indicated the coiled leather whip at her side. The way she dressed made him think that Xena mugged Indiana Jones for his fedora hat and bullwhip. Mika just chuckled as she ushered him into the Prince's chambers and shut the door behind him before taking up a position to guard next to one of her male counterparts.

*

Outside the door, Cade narrowed his eyes as he overheard James' report to the Prince. His mistress would not be pleased with this news. He looked over at Mika, who was idly lounging in a chair on the other side of the door. "Hey, I'm getting thirsty standing here. Cover me while I go get a drink?" he asked.

Mika idly waved a hand at him, "Ya, whatever. Bring me back a bottle, would ye?"

"Sure," Cade said, quickly walking out to the main area while sending out a mental summons to his dark lady that they needed to meet. He bypassed the buffet and went straight to his mistress' room where he closed and locked the door behind him before relaying what he'd heard to her in the darkness of her room. She always kept her face hidden and her voice muffled. It was safer this way as it gave them both plausible deniability of the other.

The dark woman swore under her breath in her native tongue a few times before regaining her composure. "We will have to step up our timetable. Excuse yourself from court for the evening. Tell the wolves to take Ashley out tomorrow night."

"Why not tonight," Cade asked.

The dark woman snickered. "Do you really think that she's going to pass up the opportunity to fuck her human pet now that he's back from hunting?" She waved a dismissive hand at him. "Relax. There's nothing wrong in granting the condemned on last night together. It will make it that much more rewarding when we skewer her and break him."

*

Ashley gave James a pouting look by the time that he got home later that evening. "It's almost sunrise, I thought that you'd never get here." She said as she lounged on his bed in the master bedroom. In the time that they've been dating, James had invested in many upgrades for his house which included electronic smart windows that were programmed to close as the sun rose. For that added degree of safety, he'd replaced all of his windows with auto-tinting glass just in case someone had a burr up their butt and tried to rewire his shutters.

Hey, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're not out to get you. James found that out first hand earlier.

"Sorry babe," James said as he dropped his gear and his trench coat on the chair by the door. "If I'd known that you were here waiting for me to get back I would've come here first."

"Well, you'd better get in this bed soon or else you might not be able to come at all, mister." Ashley gave him a sassy look, shrugging one shoulder out of the spaghetti strap of the dark green nightie that she wore.

"Your wish is my demand," James said, stripping his shirt off and crawling up between her legs. He started kissing her ankle and moved all the way up her leg to her inner thigh where she squealed with erotic glee. "I don't even know why you bother wearing these," he commented, hooking a finger under the strap of her silk panties before yanking them clear off of her legs.

"I like making you work for it," Ashley sighed, running her hands through his hair. She let out a moan of pleasure as his mouth then found her bare mound and his tongue started working up and down her slit. "Oh, god...yes...that feels sooo good," she purred, clenching her thighs slightly around his head.

With his cock becoming engorged at just the scent of her, James slid his way up her body, pausing only to give her perfect round tits the kind of attention that they deserve. Ashley was tired of being teased while feeling daylight approach, so she hooked her legs around James' waist and rolled them both so that she was on top the moment he plunged into her. He gave her an annoyed looked and she just smiled down to him while waggling her eyebrows. "Sorry, love," she said, kissing him quickly, "but dawn approaches."

Ashely slid her hands down from his shoulders to his chest and rode him hard and fast. James indulged her need for a hard and fast fuck by grabbing her hips to pull down while he thrust upwards into her, his hips meeting hers in perfect sync. Ashley threw her head back and moaned as she felt her climax rapidly approach. The passion then washed over her and she scream while she came, her pussy gripping her lover's cock hard.

James let out a long, languorous groan as he pumped his hips once more and felt his cock release its hot fluid deep inside of her. His hands dug into her flesh while he joined her in the moment of bliss. Ashley's eyes fluttered and then closed as she let out a sigh of relief while she sank down to rest her body on top of James' chest. Moments later she was claimed by the death sleep with James still holding her close.

Still holding her close, James gently kissed the top of her head before drifting off to sleep himself.

*

Ashley's back arched violently as her lungs suddenly filled with air as she emerged from her death sleep. After a few calming breaths, she sat up slowly to find James already up, dressed, and getting ready for battle. "Is something the matter?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"Probably nothing," James said as he finished loading his weapons and slinging them over his shoulder. "Everyone over at the towers woke up first," they usually did since the Vanderheim Towers were further east and therefore hit darkness just slightly before James' house. "Zoe told me that one of her guys had a tip about a suspected renegade den over on the other side of the city. I'm going to go check it out, maybe have Michael meet me there."

Ashley got out of bed, letting the sheets fall from her naked body. She planted a big kiss on him. "Don't take too long to play with the puppies, okay?"

"James smiled at her," you know me."

She cuffed him on the side of the arm and gave him a sour look. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about." They kissed again and then he was out the door. Ashley showered before putting on her usual clothes consisting of the black velvet corset and panties and her black, thigh-high 'fuck me' boots. She was ready for her night out on the town.

Ashley didn't drink from other mortals much these days but she still enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. James was still her primary source of blood. She was happy that he had his blessing to 'snack' on other mortals in order to vary her 'diet', as he'd put it.

Sadly, the night life seemed to be totally dead this evening. It was almost like people were intentionally staying off of the streets and away from crowded areas. She found it odd as she left what must have been the sixth club that night that barely had anyone inside. Ashley started getting an ominous feeling in her gut and decided that it was probably time for her to retreat to the safety of either James' house, or the towers. Unfortunately, her wandering tonight left her far away from both.

Her feeling of doom then escalated into a feeling of dread as she got the distinct impression that she was the one being hunted. There was a howl of a dog off in the distance that didn't help the mood any. She then saw the distinct form of glowing lupine eyes staring at her from a darkened alley. Her eyes narrowed as she couldn't believe that a werewolf had the gall to be this far into the city.

Ashley dashed across the street into the alleyway just as the eyes vanished. She tore down the narrow corridor between the buildings, running breakneck down the twists and turns chasing her quarry before she came to a dead end with the beast hulking in the corner.

It was smiling.

Her feeling of doom hit new heights as she heard the clacking and snapping of werewolf mandibles all around her and above her. Ashely looked around to find a whole pack of the fleabags almost totally surrounding her.

Her cell phone rang and she nearly jumped out of fright. The werewolf that she'd been chasing laughed at her as he pointed with one claw towards her. "You will want to take that," he said.

Ashely swallowed hard, trying to retain her composure as she answered the phone, "Yes?" she asked in a hollow voice as the werewolf stepped forward, squared his shoulders, and saluted her. Her eyes went wide with fright at the recognition of a challenge.

James was on the other end. "My lead was a trap, when I got here all that was here was a note saying to call you. What is going on? Where are you?"

"J-James, you know how I told you to be careful?" Ashely asked, swallowing hard. "I guess that should've been the other way around. "I-I'm surrounded somewhere downtown."

"Then get out of there!"

Ashley managed to stifle a sob. "I can't. James...I've been challenged."

There was a long pause on the other end while James thought things through as fast as he could.

"Have you accepted?"

"What?"

"Have you formally accepted the damn challenge yet?"

"No," Ashley was confused now.

"Good, then they can't hold you to it. Then you know that church that I go to every Sunday? Run, and meet me there." James said.

Ashley took a moment to look at the phone in disbelief. "You do realize that my kind is not exactly welcomed on holy ground, right?"

"Consider this an invitation then. Get your pretty little ass there and I can get you out of this. I've already put out an alert to Zoe and Mike so they'll get there around the same time," James said, the desperation mounting in his voice. "Dammit, Ashley! Don't go all fucking noble on me now!" he snapped. There was a pause and Ashley heard him sigh. "Do you remember what I told you back when we first started dating?"

Ashley chuckled ruefully. "That I didn't have to be Rambo and that I should let you help me," she said, recalling the event.

"Right, so let me do so. Swallow your goddamn pride and go to where I told you. They can't force you into a challenge." James said, his voice becoming insistent. "GO! Now!"

Spurred by the urgency in her love's voice, Ashley weighed her options and then did the only thing that any sane person would do in such a situation; she ran for her life.

The chase was now on.

***

Chapter 7:

*

A/N: Originally published 08/24/14 under my former screen name.

*

Part 1:

"It's not the one 'with your name on it' to be worried about. It's the one addressed to 'to whom it may concern' that you've got to think about."

-Murphy's 60^th Law of Combat

*

Ashley ran faster than she'd ever had in her life; undead or otherwise.

The pack of werewolves caught up every so often, scratching her, biting her, generally nipping at her to bleed her out. The more she ran, the more she felt her life force ebb slowly away. At one point she heard a howl of triumph come up from the wolves and she came to the conclusion that the huge pack of fleabags were actually fucking enjoying themselves.

She was getting close to the address that James had given her so she poured on the speed, leaving the werewolves in the dust. When she got to her destination as James had indicated, she skidded to a halt and looked up at the massive building that loomed before her. "Of course," she muttered.

Sunday night...in a Church. And it wasn't just any church; it was a fucking Cathedral. Ashely sighed. The howls of the hunting werewolves behind her told her that there were worse things to endure than the pain of being one of the damned crossing a holy threshold. She squeezed her eyes shut, prayed to whatever god there was up in the heavens for forgiveness, and ran full out for the front door. Her body felt like she'd just been slammed into a brick wall the moment she crossed the property line, but she was through.

It wasn't a moment too soon. Her pursuers used her moment of hesitation to close the distance. The first werewolf leaped for her and then was thrown backwards as if he'd hit a barrier and was flung away. The second, third, and fourth wolves also were knocked back, but not to the same extent. The rest of the slavering pack kept on coming and eventually the strange invisible wall that was keeping them from their prey fell to allow them passage.

Ashley was fatigued by the time she reached the massive double doors of the Cathedral. She wondered what it would feel like; dying for the last time. Her first death that had led to her becoming a Vampire in the first place was rather peaceful. Would this time be different? She'd seen others of her kind ashed before. There was a moment when they were there and then they were gone. Did they feel anything in that brief moment? Ashley drug herself up to the doors and pulled.

The doors flew open and there was James standing there looking as badass as ever. The pump shotgun in his hands contributed to the imagery. Without a word, he grabbed Ashley by the shoulder to haul her inside before firing off a succession of rounds at the oncoming pack. Werewolves fell down dead at his feet from well-placed head and upper torso shots. The rest of the pack backed up to consider their options now that they faced the legendary hunter himself.

James closed and locked the doors before checking on Ashley, who was lying on the floor weak. He knelt beside her and brought his wrist up to her lips. "Come on, honey, drink up." A second later there was a sting and the warm, euphoric feeling as Ashley drank his blood. She took a couple of big mouthfuls before licking his wrist to close the puncture point. She gave him a whisper of thanks and he kissed her passionately on the lips.

They both jerked when high pitched screaming outside, howls of werewolves, and shutters banging open in the rafters told them that they were far from safe. "Looks like the party's coming indoors." James quipped as he quickly reloaded his shotgun and gave it to Ashley. He pulled his bolt repeater off of his shoulder and did a second check to make sure that it was ready. They were then on their feet ready to make whatever final stand they could together.

*

With the church's holy barriers down, the Dark Lady rushed in behind her minions of wolves. She used her Vampiric strength to vault herself up to the roof where she directed more to start going in through whatever opening they could find. She made herself a hole and crouched down in the shadows of the rafters. As her werewolves stormed the sanctuary, her eyes went wide when she saw who was in there with her target. "Conneries!" she swore, almost loud enough to the point where she was screeching like a banshee. What the hell was James Parker doing here? He was supposed to be miles away and yet now he was here screwing up her best laid plans. She would kill Cade for this the moment she got her hands on him. "Don't just stand there waiting for him to shoot you, get them you fools!" she called out to her wolves as they started leaping down to engage the couple.

Below in the pulpit, James froze in horror when he heard the Dark Lady screaming. He'd heard that distinct voice and accent many times before. One typically reverts to their native language and accent under periods of high emotion or stress, especially when it comes to swearing. He looked up and saw her amongst the shadows. "Sonofabitch..." he breathed as he couldn't believe who he saw.

The two of them locked gazes. Both of their eyes narrowed as they both knew what had to be done. It was the Dark Lady who recovered first as she mentally switched gears to her next backup plan. "Kill him!" she said, abandoning her plans of having him captured. Now she vowed that she'd make Cade suffer. Final Death was now too good for him.

Hearing his own death ordered, at least this time it was blatant, James recovered enough to bring his weapon to bear on the Dark Lady. He took aim and fired out a stream of silver bolts. The Dark Lady darted to her right but not before a few of them grazed her left side. She howled in agony as the silver singed her beautiful ivory skin. James continued firing, tracking her around the rafters until she finally dove out the upper ceiling window she'd used to enter the church.

The Dark Lady soon became a moot point as a werewolf was now tackling him. James' rifle went skittering away across the church's tiled floor. James brought his gloved hand around to grab the werewolf's massive maw before he had a chance to chow down. "I'll kill you for harming my mistress!" the wolf yelled at him between snaps.

"Get in line," James snarled, bringing one of his boots straight up between the wolf's legs. The werewolf's eyes bugged out as he was kicked square in the groin by steel and silver tipped boots. He ceased his attack, rolling off of James to whimper while holding his bruised testicles. James rolled backwards to his feet and scooped up his gun. He barely took aim as he fired a bolt into the werewolf's skull.

"How many fucking wolves followed you here?" James called over to Ashley, who was busy snapping the neck of another wolf. James started picking more and more off as they swarmed in. "and where the fuck is my backup at?"

*

Michael Gurley slammed on the brakes to his SUV as a woman in a white toga limped out into the street ahead of him. He was about to lean out the window and let loose a sting of curses when he noticed that the woman in question was Zoe and that she was bleeding something awful from her left side from what looked like claw marks. Instead, he jumped out of the vehicle and caught Zoe right before she collapsed. "Dang girl, what the fuck happened to you?"

"Werewolves...out in force tonight," Zoe panted. "Was mobilizing everyone...to...to help James out and I ran into a couple. They're all heading for the church."

"Yeah, he'd just called me as well," Michael said, cradling her head while examining her wounds. It looked like she'd been nearly scratched to death. "You going to be okay?"

"Need...blood," Zoe gasped, reaching up to paw at side of Michael's head.

"Yeah, no problem," Michael leaned down and cocked his head to the side. Zoe's mouth clamped down right onto his jugular and she began to drink. Michael was lost in the eroticism that came with a Vampire's Bite that he soon forgot why he was in a rush to begin with.

*

Blocks away, Cade listened in to the radio chatter and added in his own call outs to further confuse the responders while he sat safe and secure in his own little apartment downtown. It was a quaint little one that was on the corner and high enough for him to watch the action. Below, werewolves; the so-called 'renegades' as that asshole of a hunter called them, were still piling into the cathedral in droves. He found it odd that they were still going in. How many of them did it take to kill one damn vampire?

The door to his apartment burst open and there was his Dark Lady standing there bleeding out of her left arm and left side. The distinct flash of metal in the moonlight streaming in told him that she was still skewered by some silver bolts. He gasped at the sight of her and rushed to her aid. "Mistress! What happened?"

"Conneries," Jezelle the Mistress, let out a string of curses in French as she placed a hand on her wound around the bolt. Her hand sizzled as if burnt. "Zat hurt. That fucking bastard was there and he's a better shot than I thought he was. I knew that he could shoot the mangy mutts but I didn't know that he was fast enough that he could get us Vampires as well."