Twice Bitten ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 14 ~ Allies

When Harry and Ron arrived, Severus and Hermione were standing in front of a heavy wooden door, bound in iron with a skull with elongated eyeteeth in its body face.

”Well, that looks promising,” Harry said, frowning at the door.

”Are you sure we want to open that?” Ron asked Snape.

Snape studied the door.

”As Mr. Potter said, it looks promising. Wands out. Miss Granger, stay close behind me and be ready to cast your Aquis Orbis spell the moment we are clear of the passageway.”

”Right,” Hermione said, her heart beginning to pound.

”Now is not the time for fear, Miss Granger. You’ve walked into the Unknown many times before this. Courage, Gryffindor,” the wizard said. “Calm yourself.”

Immediately, Hermione calmed. Snape’s powers really came in handy. He placed his hand on the door’s pull ring.

”Wait!” Hermione cried, opening her satchel. She pulled out her night goggles and put them on. Snape looked at the ridiculous things sticking off her face.

”What . . . are . . . those?” he asked her tightly.

”Night vision goggles. I’ll be able to see in the dark with them. They amplify light. I don’t want to be the only one who can’t see,” she said, raising her head slightly and oogling the wizard.

”They look ridiculous,” Snape said, then opened the door.

As expected, there was a long, rather damp corridor, sparsely lit by torches. It smelled moldly. Snape advanced, followed closely by Hermione, Harry and then Ron, who let out a shriek as a spider dropped on him. Frantically he flung it off him.

”Some vampire you are Ron,” Harry said with a grin as Ron felt himself gingerly for more spiders.

”Shut up, Harry,” Ron replied.

”Come on you imbeciles!” Snape hissed back at them.

The two wizards caught up and they made their way through the corridor until they came to another door with a skull on it. Snape drew his sword.

”Prepare yourself,” he said, then pushed the door open. It swung out heavily, opening up on a large room.

Everyone blinked, staring at it.

”Is this right?” Hermione asked, removing her goggles as she stared into the brightly lit room.

Pink and lavender silk draperies covered every inch of wall, and rich shag carpeting covered the floor. Cushy armchairs, sofas and frilly cushions abounded. There was the distinct scent of potpourri in the air, and candles abounded. There was a large dining table across the room, covered in a white silk tablecloth, and on it sat a clear pitcher and two long stemmed glasses

It was full of what appeared to be Blood.

”Yes, I think this is the place,” Snape said, eyeing the pitcher.

He stepped into the gaudy room, followed by Hermione, Harry and Ron.

”It looks like a brothel,” Ron said in a low voice.

”I can’t imagine Lilutu’s lair being so . . . colorful,” Hermione said in a near whisper. “In the Pensieve, she just wore black. That would be out of place here . . .”

Suddenly, they were confronted by a very pale blonde man, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, and he was snarling. With fangs.

Everyone froze. Not only did he have fangs, but he was buck naked.

”What are you doing here?” the vampire demanded. “Who are you?”

Snape brought up his sword defensively.

”We are here for Lilutu,” he said to the naked vampire.

Hermione peered around Snape at him. He was very muscular, with tight abs, cut arms and quite a cock, surrounded in curling blonde hair. Good gods, he was gorgeous.

The vampire stiffened when he saw Hermione.

”A mortal!” he hissed, starting forward.

”Stay back! I warn you!” Snape growled at him.

Suddenly, the vampire froze in place.

”Shit,” he hissed. “You’re one of them.”

Snape blinked at him.

“One of what?” Ron asked, trying not to look at the wizard’s body and wanting to cover Hermione’s eyes.

”A Primary,” the vampire hissed.

Suddenly a rather effeminate voice rang out.

”Victor? Victor! Get your delicious little buns over here! I didn’t say I wanted to play ‘Hide and Go Get ‘Em!’ “

“We have intruders, my Queen,” Victor called back. “One of them is a Primary. I can’t move.”

”Ooh! Company! Hold on to your goodies! I’ll be right there!” the voice sang out.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. What the hell was going on here and who was that?

Presently, a chubby little vampire with spiky brown hair and black eyes wearing floppy bunny slippers and a pink silk housecoat covered in red roses appeared from behind one of the many silk hangings. He flounced up to the rather shocked little group, his eyes falling on Severus immediately.

“Well hello tall, pale and bitable,” he said to Snape, batting his eyelashes at him, “My name, Precious, is Adam. Adam Sweetmeats. But you can call me ‘Sugarcheeks.”

Victor let out an audible growl at Adam’s flirting. Ron and Harry sniggered uncontrollably as Snape lowered his sword and glowered at the vampire. Adam looked at Victor, pretending to be shocked.

”Now Victor, why are you showing off your baubles? I swear you are such an exhibitionist. Shame on you. You’re going to make . . .”

Adam peered at Harry, Severus and Ron’s loins, apparently seeing through their clothing. He covered his hand with his mouth for a moment as he looked at Snape, who was still glowering. He recovered and finished his train of thought.

”. . . you’re going to make two of them feel very inadequate,” Adam finished, pulling out his wand and flicking it at Victor, dressing him instantly in a tailor-made blue suit and tie.

”You’re a wizard,” Hermione gasped, stepping from around Snape fully.

Adam blinked at her.

”And you’re a little blood bag,” he responded, “Victor hasn’t had blood straight from the source in ages. Come over here.”

Hermione was suddenly compelled to walk toward the wizard.

”Stay here, Miss Granger,” Snape said in a low voice.

Hermione stopped, a grateful look in her eyes as she moved closer to Snape.

Adam’s eyes narrowed.

”Well then, you come over here, you yummy bit of beefcake,” he commanded.

Snape stood there and looked at Adam as if he were crazy.

Adam sighed and looked disappointed Snape didn’t obey him. That could only mean one thing.

”It figures you’d be a Primary. I don’t have any fucking luck. The witch . . . is she yours? Have you marked her?” the chubby vampire asked, eyeing Hermione, who blushed.

”Yes,” Snape replied.

Ron and Harry both scowled. Marked her? What did he mean he ‘marked’ Hermione? And why was she blushing?

Adam shrugged at the blonde vampire.

”Sorry Victor. The mortal’s taken. You can’t indulge yourself. Vampire etiquette and all that,” he said to his lover. Victor snarled in disappointment, still eyeing Hermione.

”So, what do you want?” Adam asked.

”I’m looking for a vampire named Lilutu,” Snape said to the vampire.

”Lilutu? That poser bitch? Oh, I’d love to pull out her eyeteeth with a pair of rusty pliers,” Adam said, frowning at the thought of the Mother. “Her name isn’t even Lilutu. She just took it on to make herself sound more important, the status whore. Her real name is Vashti. The Queen of Blood. Why are you looking for her?”

Snape considered the vampire. He clearly didn’t like Lilutu, or Vashti, if that were her real name. Maybe he found an ally.

”I want to kill her,” he said shortly.

Victor and Adam looked at each other for a moment, then both of them smiled, Victor revealing short fangs and Adam pearly white and normal teeth.

”Well, just don’t stand there! Come in, come in. Make yourselves at home. Anyone that wants to kill Vashti can hole up here indefinitely!” Adam gushed.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, as did Snape and Hermione. Slowly, Snape put his sword back into his scabbard, eyeing Victor, who watched him with a slight frown. He was the same height as Snape, but heavier. Still, Snape could control him. He wouldn’t be a problem.

The group followed Adam over to the big dining table and sat down, Hermione sitting close to Snape. She didn’t like the way Victor was looking at her.

Adam conjured three more tall stemmed glasses for Snape, Ron and Harry.

”Fresh blood?” he asked them politely, “Drained only an hour ago. I keep several mortal women for that purpose. I take care of them and milk them every other day or so. It’s a fair arrangement we’re all happy with. It’s virgin blood too, though I have to keep an eye on Victor to make sure it stays that way. He’s a slut.”

Victor gave him a little smirk, then his eyes fell on Hermione again, who blanched.

Adam poured three glasses of blood and offered it to the vampires as Hermione looked on, slightly disgusted.

Not wanting to insult his host, Snape took a glass as did Ron and Harry. They drank.

”Wow! This tastes great!” Ron exclaimed, draining his glass. “It’s so . . . sweet. Better than Replenished blood!”

Then he looked at Hermione.

”Sorry, Hermione. I mean, your blood’s tasty . . . it’s just . . . well . . . lacking something,” Ron said apologetically as Hermione frowned at him.

”Shut up Mr. Weasley,” Snape snapped at him.

Harry drained his glass as well, silently agreeing with Ron but knowing better than to express it.

”Thank you, Mr. Sweetmeats,” Snape said.

”Call me Adam,” the vampire gushed, waggling his eyebrows at Snape in a disturbing manner. “And who are all of you?”

”I’m Professor Severus Snape,” Snape said, then gestured around the table as he introduced his companions.

”This is Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley,” the dark wizard said.

”A pleasure,” Adam said dryly, clearly only interested in Snape.

”I take it you’re quite familiar with Lilutu,” Snape continued.

Adam rolled his eyes.

“It’s Vashti, not Lilutu. Oh yes., I’m familiar with her all right. That’s the bitch that turned me,” he said to Snape, who looked at him a bit incredulously. He couldn’t imagine Adam fucking the sexy vampire. Adam seemed to divine his thoughts.

”Oh, she didn’t do it in the normal way. I couldn’t even be compelled to get wood for her if I wanted to. But I didn’t want to. I don’t do snatch,” the vampire said, looking at Hermione rather disdainfully. “But she turned me anyway. You see, I’m her hair dresser. Have you ever seen the ‘blowing in a non-existent wind’ effect?”

Snape and Hermione nodded.

”My work. See, I came over here from England to meet a young man I had been corresponding with for quite a while. His name was Yusef and he was drop dead gorgeous. Just gorgeous I tell you,” Adam said with a sigh, then his face fell.

”When I got here however, I found out Yusef had been publicly executed because of his sexual orientation. They aren’t big on gay rights here. They got a gander at me when I arrived at his house and immediately tried to take me too. I mean, I’m not the least bit butch. But I managed to get away from them, but lost my bearings. I didn’t know how to get back to the Port Key point and became lost in the desert. I wandered around a while, then walked through a patch of plants. That’s when that bitch appeared, wanting to know what I was doing in her garden. I shined my light on her and saw she had the most beautiful ebony hair. But it was lank and lax. I told her she needed to let me get my hands on it. So the cow bit me, and I’ve been serving her ever since. Ooh, I hate her,” Adam said. Then he looked at Victor.

”I got Victor one night when I came to do Vashti’s hair. She was scratching him and torturing him. She always liked the tall pale type,” Adam said, looking at Snape admiringly, “But she had stopped creating Primaries because she saw a couple of her own with their Secondaries kill another Mother, newly risen. Female Vampires are very territorial. They drained the intruder’s blood and killed her. After that, Vashti became very paranoid concerning Primaries and Secondaries, and lured her own into a trap one night . . . leading them to the banks of the Euphrates river. A groove had been dug in the sand around the spot they stood and she released water into it, trapping them behind it. She left them to die at sunrise, the heartless bitch. They had loved her.”

Here Adam sighed, then continued.

”So she was going to drain Victor and let him die. He was gorgeous and I asked her if I could have him. It took a while but I convinced her. After she drained him, I turned him and brought him here to my lair. He’s been with me ever since,” Adam said, looking at Victor fondly.

Victor was still looking at Hermione however, hardly listening.

”Where exactly is ‘here?’” Hermione asked.

”Oh, this is one of the underground palaces. There are hundreds of them. Cities have been built on top of cities in this area. Vashti has her own underground palace too. A dull, dreary place. She has no sense of décor or fashion. Basic black went out of style ages ago. Someone should kill her. She’s been murdering fashion for years,” Adam hissed.

“Can you tell us something about her history, Adam?” Hermione inquired.

”Oh yes. She’s a nasty one. When she ruled, the city of Babylonia was under siege for three years. But she always had meat on her table when everyone else was starving. She used to have lavish meals, claiming she had her own private stash of slaughter animals. But she didn’t. Vashti would periodically send her soldiers out to collect children between the ages of three and six, telling their parents they were being trained to serve in the palace, a great honor . . .”

”Oh no,” Hermione gasped, covering her mouth.

”Oh yes, dearie. She was serving veal, if you know what I mean. All of her cooks were illiterate and had their tongues cut out so they couldn’t reveal what they were preparing for her meals. There was braised child, smoked child, fried child, child chops, child smothered in onions . . .”

”Oh, please stop!” Hermione exclaimed, turning green. Now she understood. Vashti had indeed taken children, when she was alive.

”When she died, she was full of so much evil that she rose again as a vampire,” Adam said, “She has human followers that she picks her meals from. Like me, she keeps her victims alive until she decides she wants a new one, then slaughters them. I just obliviate them and send them back to the surface along with a few jewels so they can have a good start in life. I haven’t turned anyone other than Victor.”

“See Harry, it’s possible to live as a vampire and not kill people,” Ron said to Harry, who didn’t respond.

“Adam, do you know exactly how to kill Vashti? Exactly?” the wizard asked.

”I know it takes at least two Primaries and two Secondaries,” Adam responded, looking at the wizard with interest.

”Explain Primaries and Secondaries,” Snape said.

”Well, Primaries are vampires created directly from the Mother, or Vashti. They are independent in nature and have strong powers, though not as strong as the Mother’s powers. They can resist her commands if strong-willed enough. Secondaries are vampires created by Primaries. They aren’t very powerful and can be controlled by Mothers and Primaries, though if the connection between Secondary and Primary is close, the Mother cannot override the Primary who created him or her. Secondaries create Minions which are animal-like vampires. They can be controlled but have very little mind and next to no powers. They are the most dangerous because they attack without hesitation or thought. They’re like vicious muggle dogs. Luckily, there are no minions around here, because I am the only other Primary in this region and Victor the only Secondary. Vashti believes I’m too soft to try and kill her. It’s not the first time I’ve been underestimated. I just knew I couldn’t do it alone,” Adam said, his eyes narrowed. “If you need help, Victor and I would both be willing.”

Adam didn’t even ask the reason why Snape wanted to kill Vashti. Hell, she was such a bitch, he felt no reason was necessary.

”Thank you, Adam. I believe I will take you up on your offer,” the dark wizard said.

Adam nodded and smiled, this time showing his lengthy and frightening fangs.

”I’m here to please,” the vampire purred.

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A/N: Thanks for reading.