Vampire Heart 18

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Scroll 19: The Elementalist
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this..." Vicente grumbled. He threw his bloody T-shirt to the ground and stood with his back to Naoko as he leaned over the bathroom counter.
"You were shirtless in front of me before, so what's the difference now?" Naoko asked as she dabbed peroxide on a cotton swab.
"It's not the shirt thing. I'm only in boxer shorts here..." Vicente muttered. He tensed up when the cold cotton swab hit the slash marks that lined his back, shoulders, sides and legs.
"So? You're covered..." Naoko muttered as she continued dabbing the cold peroxide on his wounds.
"Not the point..." Vicente muttered as he gripped the counter harder.
"Are you that embarrassed that Dameon's in here, too?" Naoko asked.
"Believe it or not, the rapist isn't bothering me, other than being able to exist," Vicente replied calmly.
"He can take any wounds that most would call mortal wounds to the flesh and bone," Dameon commented.
"You're damn right I can. That's what blood vampires do," Vicente replied.
"But, his pride is wounded..." Dameon added in a mocking tone.
"Why would his pride be wounded?" Naoko asked.
"Because his handsomeness isn't used to wounds being treated...especially before the person he's supposed to protect," Dameon whispered, just loud enough for Vicente to hear.
"He should know better than me thinking of him as weak and vulnerable," Naoko whispered in reply.
"But, he's stubborn," Dameon noted.
"You figure he'd be pissed that you were here," Naoko rolled her eyes.
"No, he wants me to see exactly how bad of a beating he can take since he's the alpha male type," Dameon replied.
"You know, I love how you're talking about me as if I weren't even here," Vicente cut in in a growl.
"Turn," Naoko ordered with a sigh. Vicente glared down at Dameon who was sitting Amerindian style on the toilet lid. Naoko continued to clean out the gashes that would have caused any human to bleed to death almost instantly.
"I think he might like to show me how scrawny I am in comparison," Dameon thought aloud.
"You mean build-wise?" Naoko asked.
Dameon nodded, "Since I'm maybe one hundred pounds after swimming, this seems like a convenient way to brag."
"Okay, you're making me out to be some ravishing prince charming type with the perfect build and what every woman in the world wants, except with foolish pride and a horrible attitude," Vicente cut in again.
"You are built very nicely," Naoko admitted.
"Thanks..." Vicente blushed.
"Yeah, look at his muscle tone," Dameon agreed, his tone was serious. "He's built strong, but he still manages to be lithe and agile...completely light on his feet."
"He is amazing," Naoko agreed as she knelt down beside her guardian to clean the gashes on his lower hip and lower leg.
Vicente blushed, "Can we change the topic, please?"
"Well, am I wrong about your pride?" Dameon asked.
"Very," Vicente hissed.
"Other side real quick," Naoko muttered. Vicente turned around and let Naoko clean out his wounds. "Why did you refer to yourself as a blood vampire earlier?" Naoko asked.
"Because I was changed into a vampire by a vampire, most likely a new born, drawing my blood and drinking too much of it," Vicente replied.
"There's more than one way to become a vampire?" Naoko asked.
"It depends on if you survive the vampire and what type changed you," Dameon replied.
"So blood vampires are the ones we most commonly hear about," Naoko muttered. "Turn again."
Vicente glanced down to face her, "Yes, they are."
"Well, at least I know that I'm not that much of an appetizer for blood vampires," Naoko replied.
"Actually, chances are really good that most of them who pursue you aren't hateful toward Vampire Heart. Most of them probably think it's just a legend," Dameon said simply as he rocked back and forth.
"How did I smell before you became my guardian?" Naoko asked as she applied more peroxide to a cotton swab.
"Fruity," Vicente replied.
Naoko smiled, "I mean my blood, not my perfume."
"I couldn't smell your blood," Vicente admitted. Naoko dabbed the slash marks that lined his chest in silence. "I could only smell your perfume..."
"Why would you not be able to smell my blood?" Naoko asked.
"She doesn't know?" Dameon asked.
"Know what?" Vicente asked.
"And you don't either? This is too precious," Dameon laughed.
"What?" Vicente demanded.
"You were meant to be her guardian. You couldn't have fed on her no matter how hungry you were. That fit of blood lust you felt was from the other humans in such a close proximity to you," Dameon replied.
"What?" Naoko quirked her eyebrow.
"He can feed from you, now, with your permission, of course," Dameon replied. "I mean, if the sadistic nature of a blood-thirsty vampire appeals to your hormones, then let him feast."
"Feeding from their blood is much better than raping them," Vicente hissed.
"Vicente," Naoko stood up and wiped the cotton swab along the slash mark that stretched from his abdomen, up to his chest, and up to his neck. "What have I let you do?" she sighed.
"I'd do it all again, and ten times worse for you," Vicente grinned.
"What about eleven times?" Dameon asked.
"Please, I'd do anything it took to protect her," Vicente replied confidently.
"Obviously," Naoko whispered as she wiped the dried blood from his neckline. "How bad did this hurt?"
"I don't even remember, honestly," Vicente replied, abashed.
"How's your head? I heard you thud to the ground," Dameon whispered.
Vicente rubbed the knot on the back of his head, "It's just a knot. No major damage." Vicente moved his hand and wiped the blood on his boxer shorts.
"You're still bleeding," Dameon pointed out.
"You're only pointing out my injuries so she'll take care of them..." Vicente growled.
"Oh, curse Dameon for showing some concern since you won't tell me where you're hurt," Naoko rolled her eyes.
"It's just the pride again," Dameon muttered.
"Why not just swallow your pride before you choke on it?" Naoko asked. She pecked his cheek before she wiped the cotton swab along the gashes in his shoulder.
Vicente blushed as Naoko's weight pressed against him. He set his hands at the small of her back, "I don't have foolish pride."
"Right..." Naoko shook her head.
"Aren't you perverse?" Dameon asked, motioning toward the placement of Vicente's hands.
"No, he's fine." Naoko replied as she started swabbing the wounds on his other shoulder.
"Why did you place your hands there?" Dameon asked.
Vicente shrugged and flinched as the cold peroxide hit his skin, "No reason, really. It's just habit."
"He always puts his hands around you like that?" Dameon asked.
"Not always, but when I'm doing something like this he does," Naoko replied.
"Why did you kiss him?" Dameon asked.
"A token of affection," Naoko replied.
"Affection?" Dameon quirked his eyebrow. "Like...love?"
Naoko and Vicente both blushed and exchanged glances before turning back to Dameon. "Why are you so curious?" Vicente managed to ask.
"I can't experience love and live to tell about it," Dameon reminded them.
"That's actually really sad," Vicente replied.
"You don't have to answer me. I can read your desires, even though I don't know how you justify them," Dameon whispered before leaving them in the bathroom, seemingly distant.
"He thinks that we..." Naoko muttered.
"I know..." Vicente smirked.
"I'm done cleaning the wounds on your chest," Naoko whispered.
"Oh," Vicente released her from his grasp. "Sorry, I'd like to change."
Naoko sat on the bed and watched Vicente slip into a new pair of jeans that wasn't tattered by shadow claws and felt sad when he threw on another plain white T-shirt. "You do have a great body..." Naoko whispered.
"Hmm?" Vicente asked.
"Do you think the shadow claws were the work of a vampire?" Naoko asked, blushing.
"Most likely," Vicente replied. "Do you want to head back down stairs?"
"Right," Naoko nodded and hopped off the bed. She held Vicente's hand and headed down the stairs.
"I feel off..." Dameon admitted when he saw Naoko and Vicente.
"I smell something..." Vicente sniffed at the air.
"Yeah, it's...a vampire..." Dameon replied. "An experienced one, too."
"How can you tell?" Naoko asked.
"If we can smell it, it's an experienced vampire," Vicente replied. "Newborns have the advantage of stealth through smell."
"That's why you couldn't smell the vampires at my house?" Naoko asked.
"That's exactly why," Vicente said simply. He gripped her hand and pulled her behind himself and faced the front door.
"That's where all of the vampires have entered to date," Naoko remarked.
"That would mean that they are growing more human," Dameon joked. "It wants the necklace. That's what it wants most."
"It's powerful through magic," Naoko whispered.
"How do you know?" Dameon asked.
"Because it makes you uncomfortable, and it wasn't raining a minute ago," Naoko replied.
"Great," Vicente rolled his eyes.
"Why hasn't it come into the house yet?" Dameon asked.
"It knows that we're aware of it," Naoko replied. "It wants to take us entirely by surprise. See? The rain stopped."
"So, if we want to spring a trap..." Dameon muttered.
"We have to go to sleep," Naoko whispered.
Naoko slipped off her shirt and jeans and turned toward Vicente who was still facing the other way. She smiled at his respect before removing her bra and slipping into a nightgown. She kicked her clothes beneath the bed and plopped down. "You can turn around now."
Vicente turned around and climbed beneath the comforter. "Was it really necessary for me to slip into just my boxer shorts?"
"Most men sleep in just that, so yes," Naoko hurriedly replied.
Vicente stared at her suspiciously, "Alright, but, it's ten o'clock in the morning. Most people are awake by then."
"Who said vampires are modern?" Dameon asked as he opened their bedroom door. "I figure that leaving each door ajar will give us some advantage."
"Well, anyway, let's get to sleep," Naoko replied. She slid beneath the comforter and snuggled against Vicente who was more tense than usual. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Vicente whispered before he closed his eyes.
Dameon slipped into his bed in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts as well and nodded to them. He closed his crimson eyes and accidentally nodded off to sleep.
Sensing no movement in the house she opened the front door and crept around the corner. "It definitely reeks of vampire." She stroked her long blonde hair as she pushed the loose pieces of it behind her ear. "That girl has to be the one who owns the necklace."
She floated up the stairs and went to the next set of stairs instinctively, sniffing out the vampires. She too, was a vampire, but she possessed far greater power than any single vampire had ever hoped to possess.
She entered a small room where the stench of blood from a vampire was over-powering. She picked up Vicente's soiled shirt and sniffed it once before dropping it in disdain and making a disgruntled expression, "There's a blood vampire here. And he's injured pretty badly. I suppose that my shadow vampires did well before they were vanquished--although I don't know how she was able to vanquish them."
She continued up the stairs and matched Vicente's scent with that of the blonde man who was cuddled next to a human in the master bedroom. "He's handsome..." she muttered before glancing behind her.
She saw an almost equally handsome man with flowing black hair that smelled similar to Vicente. "I don't know what kind of vampire he is...but he's not a blood vampire. But, he's sleeping here, so he might have half of what I seek." She moved the blanket from Dameon and found no pendant.
She turned around swiftly and saw no difference in how Naoko and Vicente were sleeping. She stepped into their bedroom again and stepped toward Naoko. She spotted the pendant dangling from her neck and reached toward her treasure.
She inched her hand toward the pendant, careful not to stir the blood vampire who slept beside his mistress. She froze in place as Vicente's hand clamped around her wrist and his icy eyes snapped open.

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Vampire Heart 20