Vampayre Love Trick - As told by Morgana

Okay this is a bit crazy but Cairn turned me into a cat. Oh, I'm gratified that I am a beautiful, silky-haired, green-eyed bombshell.  Still, I'm a cat.  He said that I didn't have the self-control to resist the two deadly t's - tweeting and texting.  I admit that he lavishes love on me and now considers my chin an erogenous zone, which I must sayit is.  I sleep sprawled across his sexy chest and I do lavish kisses on him with my dainty cat tongue, but I want my human form.  I've conscripted a terrified Morgana to write this so that you don't worry unnecessarily.  Naturally there's no cause for alarm since I am fine.  It's just that I am a buxom, voluptuous, roundly rounded Persian cat!

To catch you up, Cairn and StormRider come from deadly rival lines.  StormRider came into my life through Morgana who contacted me to tell me about her relationship with a supernatural.  StormRider knew about my connection with Cairn and used me to avenge himself.  Not too complicated.  Only that StormRider is a particularly vicious and carnivorous Vampire whose line had originally been destroyed through a woman's deception.  So they are more or less totally misogynistic.  Hence his fierce attack on Morgana and his vow to kill me and Cairn and probably, Morgana.

I won't dwell on this as she just blanched and looked a little faint.  I am able to communicate bodily and telepathically.  Frankly, I'm terrified.  Cairn should just turn Morgana into a brutal dog or something so that we can get back to our lives.  Ooo, almost just took a little cat nap, pardon the obvious pun.

I can't reveal our location but we managed to get to a broken down pub that would allow a cat to enter.  Their computer is positively ancient but it's getting the job done.  And Morgana managed to bribe the proprietor to scramble our location - something technical - but he took the cash.

Seriously send us positive energy and light this is very precarious situation in which to find one.....

Cairn is looking for me, I can feel it.  Have to run, as much as I can.

Escape at the Violet Hour - A Supernatural's Deadly Revenge

StormRider's visage filled my computer screen.  I'm guessing that he looked different when he first appeared on Morgana's PC.  For one, his fangs looked deadly and he was crushing a woman's neck.  I looked more closely and saw that it was Morgan's face shrouded in the inadequate lighting. Clearly she wasn't expecting his attack,but love. Had he captured that hideous moment and sent it to us as a warning?  Cairn carefully took the computer away from me and held me silently, though I heard his heart slamming against the supple black cashmere sweater that he wore.  I inhaled his sensual scent and tried to regulate my breathing.  He was poised for an attack and I didn't want to escalate his rage.  But I was scared, God knows that I was.  Only Cairn's arms kept me upright.

Cairn researched StormRider's lineage on my Mac.  He concentrated on the hair-raising image until it disappeared.  I was still learning about his powers and they exhilarated me even as they frightened me.

"I knew it.  He's from a lethal and vicious lineage that have been our enemies for years."
"Please define "our" for me." I said.
"I will, cara, I promise, now is not the time.  I am more than human and I have some extraordinary powers."
"I know," I joked, but his eyes were serious, I could tell because they turned a darker green like soft moss that you'd find underneath a stone in Ireland.  He stared at me with such intensity until the nervous laughter languished in my throat.
"Know that I love you and I will never allow anyone or any creature to harm you. By the way, you might want to stop this interviewing of women who've been contacted by supernaturals.
"Stop?  This is my work now.  I'm just about to give up my job as a journalist, so that I can write the stories that I need to investigate and tell.  This found me." I added obstinately.

Cairn's look just silenced me.  It had enough determination and ferocity to convince me that I should fight this battle after we were safe.  But when would that be?  I became alarmed.  We really were in danger.  This wasn't some romantic escapade.  It was real and it was possible that we wouldn't survive.

Morgana shuffled into the room looking as though she'd aged a few centuries.  My heart rammed against my lungs.  I went to her and gave her the most encouraging hug that I could muster.

Then Cairn's dark commanding voice filled the few spaces that weren't dominated by fear.

"It's time, ladies.  We have to go."

Souls Between States Walking and Loving Among Us

"So did you freak when he took you to the cemetery to meet his family?" I asked Lila.
"Well I just assumed that I was going to meet his parents, that wouldn't be so unusual.  Right?  But  the stone was like decrepit and then he started sobbing.  I didn't understand why he was freaking over someone he never met."
"Death sucks, and part of it is because our culture continues to see it as an end and not a transition and transformation." I chose that inappropriate moment to air my views about death.
"Yeah sweetie, but I need to finish."
"Okay, sorry," I amended.

Lila lit a cigarette and continued, "I hated to see him suffering and that's when it hit me that I love him.  I mean I've fallen for him.  Everything about him resonates, you know?"
"So when did you realize that he was grieving his wife who's been dead for over three-hundred years?" I asked.
"I thought it odd when NightShade knelt down to put a small piece of lace at the grave site, so I looked at the engraving which had grown faint."
"When did you realize that she had been his wife?"  I prodded. Then my doorman buzzed, our grilled chicken salads had arrived.

Lila picked at her salad and I could see that she needed to talk.  Honestly I was too distracted to eat, so I made us two cappuccinos and waited for Lila to calm down.

"I asked why he was so broken up about someone who lived more than three-hundred years ago.  Then he looked at me with such exquisite pain and told me that she, the bones or whatever, had been his wife."
"How could you process that?" I asked.
"I got really dizzy and felt like I was blacking out.  Then he explained and I think I did lose consciousness for a few minutes."
"What did he say, honey?"
"That he was a form of the undead known as a Purgatorian.  They can't move on after death because they are tied to someone or something on this earth plane.  They've evolved sufficiently to be able to interact and live as humans, only they're not.  They continue to grow and develop skills, like NightShade was passionate about music before he died.  WHen Jazz came around he was hooked and became an incredible jazz musician.  You remember, I met him that first night when he was playing at the Blue Note."
"Yes," I said trying to hide my alarm at hearing about a new kind of supernatural.
"The only thing is," Lila started to cry then.  I just rubbed her shoulders and tried to make comforting noises.
"What is it?  It's okay, tell me."
"Once they achieve their desire, they die. They don't get to stay and enjoy it no matter how long they've waited."
"Well it seems like you have to hinder his progress.  What is his desire?"
"To love another woman the way that he loved his wife and to have her return his love."

I reached for another tissue and avoided the urge to cry for my heartsick friend.

Supernatural Love Bait and Uncontrollable Guilt

I was worried about Sofie.  Doubting a supernatural's virility was like issuing an imperative invitation.  They can't resist that.  I was thrilled about Sofie's fab review.  But I felt that I had put her in danger.  I shouldn't have tried to steer her towards developing a more flexible attitude. Now Sofie was basically supernatural love bait.

I took a sip of frothy cappuccino from my classic white coffee cup that was part of a set I'd bought in Amsterdam.  I didn't taste as frothy as it looked, probably because I was channeling some serious guilt and worry.  Sure Sofie could get a good one like Cairn, but what if someone like StormRider reached out to her?  That reminded me that Morgana had not returned my last three calls or texts.  Her situation was getting more tenuous by the moment.  What had I started?  Then I realized that I wasn't in control. I was just the gatekeeper for some very interesting information. Just because I'd burned out on relationships with mortal men didn't mean that I had started a trend.  Right?  Then what I feared happened, naturally.

"Hi Sofie.  Listen I loved the review.  Really excited.  Yes.  Well, thanks."  I couldn't get a word in.  At least not the right ones.
"What?  No, Sofie, you're just having fun with me. But you don't believe in any of it, it's just good publicity right?  A date?  When?  Where are you, I'm coming over, I have to see his picture and see if I can pick up anything from his profile."

"Look you probably hired an actor.  I don't know how you did the mystery website thing and you don't have my personal email address, but I'm game for a good joke.  Blind date with a supernatural.  Only you would have thought of that."

"Sofie, I have a sense of humor and love practical jokes, but I promise you this wasn't my doing."

"Okay stay in character. It's good for the book launch.  But don't worry about coming over, I have a meeting soon."

"Sofie, please.  I'll only stay long enough to look at the profile."

"You are good, aren't you?  You really sound concerned.  Okay, come up to my office, but we have to keep this quiet."

"Done."  I clicked off and sped through my apartment to find some jeans and a sweater.  I needed all of my intuition and SPNdar to assess the situation.  My phone jingled a hip hop tune which I almost ignored because I thought it was Sofie and that she had changed her mind. I glanced at the cell just to be sure.  It was Morgana.  This was turning out to be one hell of a morning.

Supernatural Nonsense and General Disbelief

"You don't really believe it do you?  These stories that you say people are telling you."
"And why shouldn't I?  I've seen the marks, the bites, their faces...they're as real as you are."
"C'mon.  It's good for a story but real life..."
"What do you know of "real life."  It's only a framework for your limited experiences.  Sorry, but that can't encompass all that's in the universe."
"Well why now?  Why are there more supernatural couplings now?"
"My theory is that humans have made a hash of love and now supernaturals are here to show us how."
"Not likely. I mean, really."
"How many women do you know, I mean fulfilled in love."
"I mostly know single women."
"Single huh?  Any married women."
"I know a few."
"And are they happy?" I asked.
"Generally not, I guess. They're overworked.  They feel under appreciated.  I guess not."
"So why shouldn't we be happy.  If men can't or won't cut it, why not be open up to something else."
"Because it doesn't exist.  Look, I've read Twilight and watch True Blood.  They're stories for public consumption.  That's it."
"And where do stories come from?"
"The imagination."
"Wrong," I said.  "The first stories were our way of documenting our history.  They were passed down through the ages to teach those who would come after us. It was a way to document our time here."
"And this supernatural website that just mysteriously appears, how do I get to it."
"You don't," I answered, "it finds you."
"Convenient."
"Look, I'm not asking you to believe, I'm just doing what I'm doing." I was blowing my first interview for my book The Violet Hour.  But what could I do.  I only had the truth to offer and she wasn't buying.
"It's good publicity, but that's all it is."
"Whatever you say." I snorted this time.
"And Jasmine and Luca, they exist, you know them?"
"Intimately," I said.
"Well I have all that I need.  Thank you."
"I'm not asking you to believe," I said softening momentarily,"just be open."
"I've been open my whole life.  I have two divorces, one child and a lot of heartache to show for it."
"It's not too late." I said.
"For what, my supernatural lover."
"Perhaps."
"I'll stick with men, or without them.  Frankly, I'm done."
"That's how I felt.  Then I met Cairn."
"Yes the famous romance with, what is he?"
"A Vampayre, half man- half angel."
"That's convenient."
"Sometimes it isn't."
"Well then, good luck.  By the way, the book is very good.  I really did enjoy it and I'll review it well. As for being real."
"I'm not asking you to do anything, just stay open."
"Okay then," Sofie said and left to write the article for Vanity Fair.

Full Moon Madness and Dreams of Home

My mother was conscious. I knew it.  I could feel her consciousness intertwining with my mind and mingling with my dreams.  I wasn't going to make the same mistake.  I wouldn't wait for tomorrow.  I kissed Cairn's arm and slipped from beneath its muscular weight.  I was going to see my mom.  I was, however briefly, going home.  Cairn seemed to shift as though awakening but then he fell more deeply asleep, or so I thought.

I dressed quickly and took my keys from the gentle green and gold embossed bowl that I'd bought in an antiques store in Bath, ages ago it seemed.  As I turned to open my front door, Cairn stood before me in his naked brilliance.  His eyes glinted like green diamonds in the darkened hallway.

"I would have come with you." Cairn's brow was creased and the dimple on the right side of his full mouth made me weaken.
"I have to see her.  She's awake."
"I know." He said.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I did," he said.
"Oh," I was embarrassed.  "Thanks for that."
"I don't want you going alone, Not in your state."
"I'll be fine." I managed.

He saw the trails that unruly tears had worn on my cheeks.

"Yes, thank you.  I want you to be with me." I amended

He was already dressed.

"You can drive," he conceded, "but I'd prefer to.  Up to you."

I already knew that look in his eyes.  He'd suffer my driving but we'd both have a better trip if he drove.  Well, I preferred to have him drive.  I was in a state.

"If it's okay with you."
"I offered," he said and then his mouth was on mine.  I gathered comfort from his solid body and I knew that I'd have time for the conversation with my mom that I'd waited my life to have.
The one that acknowledged me.  The one where I forgave her and myself.  And Cairn was making it possible....

It was he who had awakened her so that we could have this time.

Vampayre's Valentine's Eve Kiss

We laid on my pastel oriental carpet surrounded by dancing candle flames and burning sage.  The sage was to dispel any negative energies that had accrued during our separation and to clear the path for our future.  The candle light was well - for us. I'd remembered his wide, rower's chest well.  His dark chest hair mapped a location for me - home.  He looked into my eyes, mountain lake green on cinnamon, and told me that he'd missed me.  They were the only words that we'd spoken in the first hour we'd spent together. Cairn was with me again.  And instead of stars as our canopy, we stared at the moon that framed the Robert Kennedy Bridge like a giant, glowing star.

Cairn's kiss was deeper this time, if possible.  I felt as though I were wrapped in his being with that kiss.  Either a candle had fallen and set me on fire or I was in serious trouble.  My reaction to his touch was electrifying.  I was burning at about 1000 watts.

"It's better that we waited," his dark voice murmured in my right ear.
"Why, why live without this for more than a year?" I managed.
"You weren't ready then," he purred.
"But I am now?"
"It's time that you were." And then he fell silent, exploring my mouth with his.

I felt my breath in my throat then a moment when I couldn't breathe.  I wanted to break away  but I couldn't.  When Cairn lifted his head, I was trying to casually regulate my breathing.

"There's much that you need to learn about me," he said.
I was too love dazed to pay attention and murmured something like plenty of time for that.

Then he sat up gracefully and with precision.  His dark hair obscured one of his piercing green eyes.

"I can't risk harming you."

I wasn't feeling particularly in danger of anything except possibly exploding with happiness.

"What are you saying?  We can discuss it later."
"No," he crouched easily behind me and cradled my head in his lap. "I have to trust myself first.  I won't lose you again."

Okay I thought, so don't lose me.  Frankly he couldn't pry me loose with the jaws of life.   But something in his tone cautioned me not to joke.  I held my tongue and waited for him to continue.  I wish that I hadn't.