Vampire Heart 23

---

Scroll 24: Protect
Claude stood up immediately and headed toward the door, "Get Naoko and Vicente!"
Dameon nodded, "Alright, are you sure you'll be okay?"
"I'm positive..." Claude shooed him away before stepping toward the splintering door. He unlocked the door and opened it to reveal four ravenous vampires.
"Mistress! Mistress!" Dameon called as he scrambled up the stairs, attempting to remain on his feet.
Vicente opened the bathroom door and stepped out, "What?"
"We've got company..."
"Where's the psychic?" Vicente asked.
"Holding them off," Dameon explained.
"Go help him. We'll be right down," Vicente quickly reappeared in the bathroom and began rushing Naoko.
"I can do this..." Dameon bared his fangs and snarled as he leapt from the landing on the stairs and slammed one of the vampires to the ground. "They want..."
"What do they want?" Claude asked before dodging a lunge.
"Vicente?" Dameon asked. "All four of them..."
"You must be an incubus..." the only female vampire grinned.
"What of it?" Dameon asked as he stood.
"Then you know that I'm here for my mate..." she replied.
"Mate?" Claude asked.
Vicente appeared at the bottom of the stairs with Naoko's hand in his. His eyes widened as he recognized the woman vampire. "What are you doing here?" Vicente snarled.
"I'm simply here to retrieve my mate..." the woman replied. "Have you missed me?" she flashed Vicente a cocky smirk.
"Like I need some more fangs," Vicente hissed.
"Oh, temper, temper..." the woman chided him with a waving finger.
"She's the one who changed you," Claude muttered, understanding Vicente’s emotional turmoils.
Vicente nodded, "She only wanted to see my looks live on forever."
"I'm not leaving here without you," she smiled, her long red hair was as fiery as Vicente's temper.
Naoko released Vicente's hand and stood in front of him as he had always done for her, "That presents a bit of a problem since he's not leaving and you're not staying."
The woman stopped smiling and she grimaced, "Vicente...she's human..."
"You were at one time, too," Dameon reminded her.
She hissed at him, "No, I was born a vampire."
"Alright, Vivian," Claude diverted her anger, "Naoko isn't just going to let Vicente leave."
"He has his own free will..." Vivian snapped.
"No, I don't," Vicente replied/ "No, he doesn't," Naoko replied.
Vivian's face lost all expression, "You're going to let her just boss you around like that? She's a human..." she pat the last word with a bit of anger.
"I guess I'm a glutton for punishment," Vicente shrugged.
"Stop playing. We're leaving," Vivian seized Vicente's hand, but Naoko clasped her hand around Vivian's wrist.
"You didn't hear me. Vicente is staying and you are leaving. This is your last chance," Naoko said too calmly.
Vivian studied Naoko's face, "You don't actually think you can take me on, do you?"
Naoko shrugged, "Why think when I know," Naoko shoved Vivian's hand back at her. "Dameon, kill Vivian."
Dameon's red eyes glowed the same emerald color as Naoko's as his fangs were bared again. The incubus dove at the slender woman, knocking her to the ground with ease. She struggled against him as he bit into Vivian's neck and injected more toxins into her bloodstream.
Vivian released a guttural sound as she threw Dameon to off of her. She flinched as the pain seeped from her wound and began slowly migrating through her body. Dameon dove at her again, she moved from his path, giving him full recoil from the thud. She dove on Dameon and tried collapsing his windpipe with her left hand, her right hand keeping her poised over him.
“Dameon, I said to finish her,” Naoko chided the vampire for taking too long to carry out an order.
“Why won’t you die?” Vivian asked, her hand shaking around Dameon’s throat.
“Some vampire you are,” Vicente spat. “You can’t even distinguish between types of vampires.”
“T-types?” Vivian asked before Dameon threw her.
Dameon snarled as he towered over Vivian, “I can’t die like a mortal man,” he said before biting her several times on her neck.
She cried out in agony as Dameon wiped his mouth and his eyes faded back to red. Immediately, Vivian dropped to the floor, dead.
"N-Naoko..." Vicente stammered.
Naoko turned to face him, "What is it?"
"Why...how..." Vicente shook his head in disbelief.
"He vowed to be my servant," Naoko shrugged. "I figured that two types of venom in a vampire is poisonous to them too."
"And you stood protectively before Vicente without question," Claude added.
"Say, aren't we missing three vampires?" Dameon asked.
"They scurried off when I threatened Vivian. They're more worried about surviving than anything," Naoko replied.
"Why would you be so protective of me?" Vicente stammered again.
Naoko smiled, "I told you before. You're mine."
"You aren't worried about the vampires coming back?" Dameon asked.
"No, since they're too afraid to," Naoko replied.
"Naoko, do me a favor and..." Claude finished the sentence telepathically; Keep your lustful thoughts quiet about Vicente until I'm not drinking and going to choke...
Naoko tried to mask her mortification, "Sorry about that."
"No, you're not sorry, yet," Claude replied.
"Na," Naoko grinned sheepishly.
"What did I miss?" Vicente scratched his head.
"An inside joke," Dameon replied.
"We at least know that all vampires use the front door now," Claude tried to quibble.
"Yeah, and that is peculiar. Only myself and Naoko's first vampire assailant used a window," Vicente commented.
"But, at least we know she can protect us, too," Dameon mussed Naoko's hair affectionately.
"Hey, rapist...I thought I told you not to ever touch either of us ever..." Vicente hissed.
"Here we go..." Claude sat down at the table and continued sipping his tea.
"What should I do about Vivian's cadaver?" Naoko asked. Naoko and Claude ignored the hisses, snarls and insults that Vicente and Dameon were throwing back and forth at each other.
"The sun will turn her to ash since she's not wearing the sunstone cloth," Claude assured her.
"Is there anymore tea left?" Naoko asked hopefully
"An entire pot," Claude replied.
"Do you have a cloth?" Naoko asked. She grabbed a coffee cup and filled it with sugar and honey before pouring a generous amount of tea in her cup.
"That's what the cloak was that I was wearing as a parka," Claude replied.
"Do you think we should protect them from each other?" Naoko stared over at Vicente and Dameon.
"Dameon is immortal and not strong enough to kill Vicente, so they'll be fine," Claude replied.
"Thank you for being normal," Naoko grinned.
"I just don't have a clashing personality," Claude replied.

---

Vampire Heart 25