Deep Dark Woods

Val Bregaglia, Italy circa 800ad 1

Keir stood over the valley watching for sicari (vampire hunters). He grumbled at this job as he seemed to always be stuck with it. His place was by the King's side, advising. He was not suited to boring lookout duties. Yet the King had ordered him and thus he was here. In reality it wasn't that bad. The valley was green and lush. Harmless animals slept under the safety of trees. The bright full moon even reflected off of the lake in the distance. It was somewhat serene. It gave him time away from the others to think. 2

It's been hard for them lately, not having a home, having to feed off mostly animals as there was no village nearby. God how he'd love to get his teeth on a freshly scared, voluptuous teen. He loved their high-pitched screams and he licked his lips as he felt himself hardening at the thought.3

He considered abandoning his post to find a farm that may have a girl on it, yet knew the consequences if he did so. He wouldn't have even considered it had Sophia still been around. She could always satisfy his cravings and she never even screamed... Well... Not in fear.4

He smirked at the thought and glided through sweet memories so realistic they were like she was here with him. He missed her whispering into his ear, how to take his prey and what she would do to him if he failed. Her punishments were almost as delicious as her praise. She taught him everything. He missed her teeth the most, how they shone and perfectly sharp as they pulled on his lips. He would have followed her even into death, and tried, but failed her in that as well. 5

He hated himself for his failures and poor attempts to make it up to her. He'd take his own life just to be with her if he didn't know it would only upset her. 6

His reminiscing was cut short by some odd movement about a mile out among the tree line. It could have been just an animal. Keir concentrated. There were humans living isolated lives down there and so he had to take them into account, but even this seemed strange. Keir replayed the memory, it was human and it was crouched. This could be a sicarius or it could just be someone hunting deer. 7

Keir let his mind wander freely over the forest touching anything that seemed alive. The primitive feelings didn't concern him. There were thousands of those, all dumb animals. There were maybe a dozen complex thought patterns, those were the ones he concentrated on trying to find the one he'd seen ducking into the forest. He expected to find thoughts of a tracker, someone looking for signs of an animal (or vampire) passing through the forest. Instead the mind he touched pondered philosophy, God, the existence of animals; passed by signs of a bear without nary a glance, there seemed to be a sense of spite or revenge. Maybe they were looking for a way to set a trap?8

The thing was the thought process was so familiar. Too familiar. Could it be?9

Sophia? It couldn't be. She was dead. He'd watched her die, those damn knights, that... Kristen, ripped her apart. Never to be reborn. At least he didn't believe she ever would come back. 10

He must be projecting his thoughts onto that person since he was just thinking about her. Or maybe he was thinking about her because he subconsciously touched that mind? How could it be? Yet he had been bound to Sophia for centuries. He would know that she was there if he felt her.11

He felt her! 12

He watched the forest intently. She was there, somewhere. He needed to see her, needed to be with her. It'd been so long. His heart pounded against his ribs trying to get out to be with her. She had given him his life back and now he must do the same. He had to have her. He would find her and not let anything take her from him again.13

The closest Keir could figure, why he never saw an incarnation before now is they had been traveling Northern Europe most of these years. Sophia was Grecian and so most of her decedents were still down here in Italy and Greece. Only now that they had traveled so far had he come across an incarnation of hers. How many lives had she gone through before he found her? How many more would she go through before the King would let him have her?14

Locked on now to that mind he sped through the trees keeping to the darkest part of the forest. He paid no heed to branches that slashed him or animals that scurried away. Only one thing mattered. Only her. He slowed as the feeling of her presence grew stronger. He looked about for something that seemed to be like what she was looking at. Nothing looked familiar so he wasn't very close to her yet. He walked slowly now listening to the woods. The animals to the North were a little disturbed. He turned that way.15

Quickly enough he was close enough to find her easily as he stayed in the shadows he watched for movement. She found a serene clearing where she cleared her mind and also seemed to be listening to the forest. Keir slowly approached the clearing staying hidden and silent as to not startle her. He peered around a tree once he was close enough and had to look twice. He did not see a maiden in a dress as he suspected. Instead it was a man in thick leather with a short beard and long, curly, red hair (not too unlike Sophia's).16

"No!" Keir snapped and quickly shut his mouth as the man bolted to his feet. He instantly felt Sophia in fear. This wasn't right. Something was wrong. Where was Sophia?17

The man was scared. Keir could see that plainly enough as his eyes darted, searching the trees. Keir moved about trying to examine this man in his white shirt, brown leather tunic and pants. There wasn't much Keir could see of his face covered in the red hair but he could make out the square jaw and large green eyes. He had large thick hands, strange for a man of slender build, but no doubt developed over years of hard work. Keir could imagine him sweating as he cut wood or other laborious deeds. It took him a moment to shake those images from his mind and concentrate on the man now.18

The trees rustled as Keir moved quickly from one to the other stalking and observing the man from every angle. This man's build was not overly slight but still could be thought of as a little feminine though his face was covered in hair. As Keir moved about the man jerked this way and that his spear at the ready.19

This man was ready to kill, he came prepared to kill a wolf, or if he had to a bear. He wasn't expecting another human and now his mind was trying to reason whether or not he heard a human voice or an animal's. He knew something was there now and certainly was expecting a wolf to pounce him.20

Keir had doubt but there was no other explanation. There was no one else around and the one he sensed to be Sophia was right here near him. All this time he had sensed her, not a man. Could his mind have tricked him? Was this man...? No, couldn't be. Keir would not accept that his love had been reborn a man. Yet the eyes, yes, there was something very familiar in them. His thought pattern's too, from what Keir could tell, his personality was similar to Sophia's. Keir touched his mind and knew it felt like Sophia's and seeing through his eyes connected the two. But how could it be?21

Somewhere deep inside, Keir accepted it. He knew Bram's lover, that bitch, Kristen had been reborn as a male once, though they didn't bother to see how close he was to the original. Now as he studied this man in his fear, there was strength there too. He had to get closer and see if Sophia really was inside there somewhere. Keir lowered himself to the ground and slowly as not to scare him off rounded the tree talking in a voice that would charm a snake.22

"Stay calm, I won't kill you." The man looked at him strangely and Keir rolled his eyes as he realized the man spoke a different language. It wasn't that difficult for Keir to switch to the new language even though he'd never spoken it before. He'd heard enough from the locals and what he didn't know he could grab from this man's mind. He spoke slowly at first feeling the words. In Italian he said; "Peace, stir not."23

The man stopped and looked at him strangely. Now that he knew he was safe from wolves he started to relax some. He was in shock that this "Moor" could talk a civilized language and the look in his eye was so familiar to Keir. 24

That twinkle in his eye and viscous grin, even under the whiskers, it was hers. He'd know it anywhere. Even what was behind the grin: the feeling of superiority. This man truly believed he was better than Keir because of the color of his skin. Keir would show him who was superior.25

He grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him against the tree. Shock and surprise were on the surface but a bit of laughter was underneath in the man's mind. He liked Keir's aggressiveness. 26

"Who are you?" Keir growled.27

"I'm Levi."28

"No, who are you really?" He expected the man to know. Kristen's decedent had figured it out; that old, rune reading hag. She remembered, why couldn't he?29

"I-I told you I'm Levi." All his smugness disappeared, and he shivered now under Keir's power.30

As Keir stood so close, the man's scent filled his nostrils. It had a musk odor but somewhere in there, the pheromones, maybe, was hers. They did the trick however and Keir felt something he'd never felt before. He wanted to either crush this man's head against the tree or kiss him. The latter didn't repulse him as much as he thought it should. 31

Standing so close their bodies nearly pressing together, Keir found new impulses tingling his skin. 32

"No!" he roared pushing away. Keir slammed his fist into a nearby tree cracking it like thunder. "You can not be Sophia!" Keir pointed a thick finger at the man.33

"I'm-I'm not. I'm Levi."34

Keir shook his head. This man didn't know. He didn't realize that underneath the hair and muscles lay the heart of his true love. Keir sighed and took a couple of steps away trying to think and sort it all out. Levi in the meantime fell to the ground happy he was still alive, but scared of what he believed to be an insane man. Yet he seemed to feel sorry for Keir. 35

"Are you ok? Is Sophia somewhere in this forest? Maybe I can help you find her?"36

"She's right here," Keir whispered. He gave up fighting it. He knew the truth. 37

"I don't understand." Levi rose to his feet now cautiously approaching Keir.38

"No, how could you," Keir grumbled and turned away from him. "She died hundreds of years ago. You wouldn't know what it was like to live for that long without the one you love. Watching others gain and lose their loves several times over never once seeing your own until..." Again Keir gestured at the man hopelessly.39

"Hundreds-?" 40

"I'm a vampire, Levi, could you live with that?" Keir said it so matter of factly that he felt Levi nearly accepted it, but not for long.41

"What is a vampire?"42

Keir sighed and searched the man's memory for the closest legend they had here. "Like a strix." 43

"You are no bird and there hasn't been a strix here for centuries. They're only stories."44

"We are human, but we drink human blood. There's more of us than you know."45

"And you're one?" Keir nodded in response. "You're not so scary." Levi moved around him to face him. "Put a beard on that face and you'd be handsome."46

Keir fought the smile that threatened to show through. She always liked to see him in a beard.47

"Are you going to kill me for my blood?" Levi asked.48

"I haven't decided yet." Keir was serious but Levi smiled at this. He liked Keir's deep voice and felt it was somewhat gentle for the large man. Levi gained back some of his confidence and put a hand on Keir's shoulder. 49

"You're not going to kill me. So why don't we go back to my hut and-"50

Keir lashed out pushing his back against a tree again. Keir wasn't sure if it was out of anger or something else. Levi groaned in pain. Something snapped inside Keir's head and he looked at the hurt expression under all those whiskers. It happened and he didn't even realize it happened until the whiskers were tickling his nose. Keir's lips pressed firmly and hungrily against Levi's. Keir moved his lips trying to elicit a response of some kind, he was half way hoping for disgust, but got the other half of what he was hoping for.51

Levi parted his lips taking Keir's lower lip in his and sucking on it slightly. The arousal in Keir was like a thunderstorm with the dark clouds in his brain rumbling until the lightning struck in his groin. He pushed up harder into Levi who took Keir in his arms moaning as the sharp bark of the tree scratched his back.52

"I've never felt this way before," Levi whispered into Keir's ear. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I think I like you."53

Keir didn't say a word only responded with actions as he took the man's head in his hands and kissed him hard. He slipped his tongue in this time and Levi willingly accepted it and scraped it with his teeth. Goose bumps spread through Keir's skin. He kissed Levi on the cheek sucked on his earlobe and nipped at his throat. The thick skin wasn't unusual for him, he'd bitten men many times before, but to caress it with his lips and tongue now, while strange, felt natural.54

"You said you're a vampire?" Keir read in his mind that he really wanted to experience Keir's bite. Keir laughed softly like the rumbling before a storm. 55

"In time." He wasn't going to give it to him that easily. Keir's hard erection rubbed up against his pants and he had to remind himself also to take it slow. It was hard though because he could feel Levi's bulge against his own. Usually he was a fast, cruel lover, but not with Sophia, and not with Levi.56

Keir let his lips slip over Levi's Adam's apple rounding it and barely touching it with his tongue. Levi sighed and made the bump vibrate under Keir's lips which only excited him more. God he was hungry!57

His hands worked at Levi's clothes and when they didn't unbutton easily enough Keir ripped the cords from their knots. The chilly mountain air played across Levi's chest hair standing them on edge and Keir ran his hands through them. So unusual, this was one thing he never did with his food and never thought he would enjoy the feel. However, the strands tickled his palm roughly and he clenched his fist in the hair pulling slightly. This brought out a wonderful sensation in Levi especially when Keir's hand rubbed against his nipple. 58

A very quiet part of Levi's mind was saying "You're going to hell for this," a very loud part was saying, "It's worth it." That's when Keir's eye fell upon the gold cross hanging on a string around Levi's neck. Levi thought of it at the same time and wondered what it would do to the vampire. Apparently nothing as Keir moved it to kiss the hairy pectorals.59

Keir didn't take the time to admire Levi's body. He was far too hungry as he removed Levi's pants and brushed his calloused hand over Levi's hardness. He liked what he felt but didn't want that right now. He wanted to feel her soul again. He wanted to feel her as he used to; inside and have her, or rather Levi, feel him too.60

With a growl Keir turned Levi around making him hug the tree. He slid his hands down Levi's sides exploring the hard muscles. He was beginning to appreciate this man for more than just who he is.61

He felt it: there was no doubt, no fear; just pure love. God, he loved this man, and not just the soul in his body. Levi turned his head trying to snatch a kiss from Keir and he obliged. "You are Sophia. But so much more." He said as he felt the bond between them fuse. He held him there like the lion did the lamb. 62

Keir made beautiful love to him. He didn't think of it as anything else. It didn't feel like anything else. He never did bite Levi, he couldn't bring himself to hurt him that way and so Levi never believed he was the monster he said he was.63

"Come back with me," Keir said later as they sat watching the moonlight. 64

Levi looked away.65

"You can't can you?" Keir asked softly. Levi shook his head. 66

"I have a wife and children. They need me."67

Keir wanted to kill him or maybe his family. It wasn't fair! He could not have his love despite all he did. He contained his anger as much as he could but stood up and walked towards the trees. 68

"Where are you going?" Keir felt the anxiousness in Levi.69

"I must leave, dawn is coming."70

"But- I'm staying in the forest for a few days. I-" He hesitated, he stared at Keir and Keir knew what he wanted. "I'm supposed to find food for the family."71

"You will," Keir said quietly, "I will come back to you before you are finished." Keir sped away before Levi knew he was gone. Keir didn't want to hear him speak what was nearly coming out of his mouth. It was in his head, that was enough.72

He kept his word as the next night he found the biggest buck in the forest, killed it swiftly and brought it to Levi. He was astounded as Keir lightly dropped the stag before him.73

"You did this for me?" He asked with tears in his eyes.74

Keir shrugged. Levi ran to him and gave him a big furry kiss. "You are wonderful."75

"Now go, take it home. Be with your family."76

"But-"77

Keir placed a hand on his cheek and it nearly covered his whole face. "You are mine, remember that." Levi nodded shakily. In those moments Keir was already making him forget. He'd been years without Sophia and while it felt right with this man, he knew it wasn't time. This man already had a life; he didn't need Keir destroying it. "Live happily." Keir kissed him gently one more time while his eyes were glazed over, then disappeared into the darkness. He never said the words he wanted to, never let Levi say them, but it didn't matter, they both knew and despite Keir erasing his memory, Levi from that day forward always felt an empty spot in his heart and knew there was someone in the forest waiting for him.78

Keir did wait in the forest. He even had a few more nights in ecstasy with Levi when he managed to find his way to the clearing no matter how much Keir made him forget the path. No matter, Keir would always treasure those nights, especially the first. They were the only time he felt complete and not alone; happy for once, even if it didn't last forever, the feeling would.