Chapter 40

Eliza realize there was a warm hand on her breast.  She almost purred, it felt so good.  She snuggled into the warm body at her back and drifted.  Her eyes flew open.  She hadn't seen Jesse for weeks!  Soft breasts with firm nipples pressed into her back jogged her memory and she relaxed as she remembered Christa's return.  It felt good to not wake up to an empty apartment.  Christa's breathing had changed and Eliza realized she was awakening.  She sighed.  She could have spent all night in bed but if Christa was awakening, she guessed the nice warm snuggle was over.  Christa's hand moved and slowly traced it way down her belly, making her stomach muscles quiver with excitement.  She realized she was holding her breath as Christa rubbed her soft shaved pubic mound and caressed her inner thigh.  A sharp nip on her neck made her squeak and made her very sure that she wanted more, a whole lot more.  She squirmed onto her back, and moaned with ecstacy as she felt Christa's cheek on her thigh.   She put her arms around Christa's slim waist and hugged her tightly, relishing the feel of Christa's hot nipples on her stomach.  Christa gasped as tiny fangs pierced her stomach, moaned as Eliza licked the trickle of blood and nipped lower.  Carefully licking every trace of blood, they returned each nip and lick with one of their own.

Christa had Eliza's old robe thrown over her shoulders.  It was for warmth, not modesty.  The way she was sitting, sipping the coffee, no one would have accused her of modesty.  Eliza had slipped into a worn pair of leather shorts.  She had turned the heat up considerably from her normal comfortable 61 degrees but Christa liked it close to 75 and Eliza felt she would roast at that temperature so they had compromised 68.  Eliza was comfortable wearing almost nothing, and Christa was comfortable with a wrap.  The were still tingling from their sexual encounter and just didn't feel like covering up their bodies.  Both of them were enjoying the naked companionship and the occasional leer, innuendo or touch.  They were having fun.

The knock at the door surprised them both and they jumped.  Then the looked at each other and giggled.  The knock sounded again.  "You gonna answer it?" Christa asked.

"Like this?" Eliza responded pointing at her bare breasts. 

Christa laughed.  "It's your apartment.  Dare ya!"

Eliza got up and headed towards the door.  Half way there, she turned and stuck her tongue out at Christa who gave her a thumbs up sign and giggled.  She got to the door and opened it all the way.  Adam was standing there, hand raised, about to knock again when the door opened.  His descending hand would have struck her in the forehead but his reflexes were good.  He looked at her smiling up at him and then he looked a little lower.  He looked even lower, carefully taking in every detail and grinned.  "Oh, I do hope I'm interrupting something."

"Oh no, not at all.  We're done for the moment.  Please, come on in an meet Christa.  You two sorta met earlier."

Stepping in, he tore his eyes from Eliza's delightful form and then he saw Christa.  The ratty robe was no longer on her shoulders and she was determined not to be outdone by Eliza.  Her face was rather pink and the blush went down between her breast and across the tops of them.  Adam made no pretense of not noticing, much to Christa's discomfort and pleasure.  He held out his hand.  "I'm very pleased to meet you under much more pleasant circumstances." 

"Oh, he's clever," Christa thought.  He had extended his hand just at such an angle that she had to stand to shake hands.  She was not going to lose control of this situation.  Standing, she took his hand.  "Yes, it certainly is much better . . .  Eliza, would you please close that door.  You are going to freeze me to death!" 

Eliza grinned and closed the door.  Adam took the opportunity to enjoy the sight of the totally nude Christa.  He grinned.  "I feel sort of strange here.  I seem to be the only one dressed.  Maybe I should get naked too?"

Eliza laughed and Christa blushed even more.  "Adam, do you think you really want to try two of us right now?"  Eliza asked.

Adam looked at them and smiled.  They seemed so comfortable together and so at ease, he realized they were more than just friends.  He suspected they'd just had sex but that wasn't really what he was keying in on.  Long years of experience had sharpened his perceptions and it was obvious to him that these two were closer that some sisters.  Grinning, he responded, "No thank you!  I'll let you two wear each other out and then I might stand a chance."  They looked at each other, and now, both of them blushed.  How could he have known?  "But on a more serious note, I really do need to talk to you Eliza."  He turned so that Christa could not see, and mouthed "alone" to her. 

Eliza got a perplexed expression on her face.  "Adam, I really don't have any secrets from Christa.  I've told her about you."  She saw from the expression on his face that he'd already realized that and wished she hadn't but was resigned.  What was done was done. 

Adam sighed.  "Would you two mind getting some clothes on?  I do need to talk to you, Eliza, and I sure as hell can't concentrate with you two naked girls distracting me!"  He made shooing sounds and motions, and giggling, they ran to the bed room.  Adam shook his head and smiled.  "Some things you never get tired of," he mused. 

The aroma of brewing coffee filled the space and made it feel comfortable and very homelike.  Eliza put down three steaming cups and joined Christa and Adam at the small table.  Christa giggled, "Isn't this cozy," and bumped Eliza and Adam with her knees.

"Oh behave yourself," Eliza said in a firm voice, but Adam glanced at her and lifted one eyebrow.  Eliza took a deep breath.  "So, what do you have to talk to me about, Adam?  You made it sound so important but it's been some time."

Adam nodded.  "I did, and do, think it's important, but there were some things going on that I had to attend to.  Even so, on second thought, I'm not sure I know what to tell you.  Some very strange things happened that night, things that no ordinary mortal could be subject to."  He paused and looked at her and then looked at Christa.  "But," he continued, "you're not really ordinary or mortal, are you?" He smiled and carefully observed Christa to see what effect his words had on her.  Both of the girls were shaking their heads.  "Ok," he thought, "Christa knows, but she just doesn't look like a vampire.  She hasn't the pallor or the leanness. " Adam sighed and looked at Christa.  "Ok, Christa, how much do you know?  Do you realize the sort of jeopardy you could be in knowing too much?  I'm sure you know Eliza's a vampire and she told you that I'm an immortal."  He shook his head.  "You are in world of trouble, you know." 

Christa smile, she couldn't help it.  "Adam, Christa is not a normal human, either," Eliza blurted out. 

Adam cocked an eye at Eliza and shook his head.  "Ok, tell me," he said.  "After meeting you, I'm not going to be surprise by anything." 

Eliza and Christa exchanged glances and Christa nodded.  "Ok, Adam, she's a were-cat."

"A were-wolf?" Adam asked.

"No!  A were-cat," they said together. 

"Ah!"  Adam looked at the ceiling, wondering what to say next.  Christa stood up and removed her shirt.  That attracted Adam's attention instantly but before he could make any sort of comment, his eyes widened at the change overcoming her.  Her breasts seemed to become smaller, her shoulders wider, her cheek bones seemed to shift and become higher and her face subtlety altered in manner that allowed very feline incisors to be seen.  A sleek golden fur became visible as her arm became thicker and more powerful and her hands terminated in long powerful claws.

"Oh shit!" Adam breathed sliding the chair back, almost as if to get distance between himself and the changeling in front of him.  Eliza couldn't help herself.  She giggle. 

Christa looked at Eliza and said, "And some guys call you catty."  Looking at Adam she asked, "Want to pet the kitty?"

Adam stood and walked over to her ran his hand down her powerful arm, feeling the muscle and silky fur.  He looked at her, her muscular, trim body with high firm breasts, covered with the short golden fur.  He seemed to be at a loss for words.

Coffee cups had been refilled and everyone was relaxing. Adam occasionally glanced at Christa with a slightly skeptical look, but since normalcy had returned to all, there was no sign of the metamorphosis he'd just witnessed.  He'd explained that no one knew where immortals came from, but at one time, all immortals were apparently normal and showed no signs of their incipient immortality.  An immortal could sometimes get a glimmer that the change might occur by a faint sensation similar to the one by which they could recognize each other.  Adam had described it as a faint feeling of dizziness and nausea that would pass quickly.  Sometimes it could be recognize, but not all of the time.  Adam insisted 

"What I saw looked like when one immortal takes the head of another.  There was the electrical display, there was the emanation, and then, there was your reaction." Eliza could feel her face flushing as she remembered.  She realized that Adam knew exactly what had happened.  She took a sip of coffee to cover her embarrassment.   Adam smiled and continued.  "But I still don't get any feeling that you're an immortal!"  He sighed.  "I just don't know what to tell you.  As long as another immortal doesn't sense you as immortal, you won't be part of the game and no one will be hunting you." He laughed.  "If I remember correctly, it was you who was really hunting me, anyway!"  Eliza snickered and took another sip of coffee.

"And you," he said facing Christa.  "I definitely want to get to know you better!"  Toby uncharacteristically jumped into Adam's lap, arched his back and purred when Adam petted him.  "Cats and I seem to drawn to each other, you know." 

Christa pinked and licked her lips.  Her grin seem shy, but somehow, inviting.

At the look on Christa’s face, Eliza chuckled and choked on her coffee at the same time.  Laughing as she got her coughing under control, she said, “if you could only have seen your face, Christa.”

With a fake growl and a feline leer, Christa made a face at Eliza.  They both broke up into laughter. 

Adam sat and watched them with a perplexed look on his face which made them laugh all the harder.

“Ok, ok, you two are just to weird.  No suppose you tell me what is so funny?” he asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” Eliza answered in between laughter. 

Calming down, they both knew it had been a release of the tension from the previous conversation, from before Adam had arrived.

“Adam, isn’t it true that you don’t officially, for want of a better word, become immortal until the your first death?  Isn’t that what you told me before?” Eliza asked. 

Adam answered that, that was true. 

“Well then, maybe that is the answer.  Since I took Kristo’s head, I haven’t ‘died’,”
Eliza told him.  She went on explaining that they had come upon her in the park just after she’d taken his head and that they had each returned home. 

Looking at Adam, she asked if the reason could also be that since she was a vampire and had already “died” on several occasions, would that change anything?

Adam replied that he just didn’t know.  This had never happened before in his experience.  There were just too many things he wasn’t sure of.

“Well I guess there’s a first time for everything,” Christa piped up.  “If you haven’t experienced it in your many years, this is well and truly a first,” she teasingly said.

“Are you calling me old?” Adam asked with a smirk.  “I’ll show you old,” he told her.  “Seriously though, I have never come across this before.  You are right though, Eliza, immortality seems to be given after the first death.  Your being a vampire may just put a new twist on things,” he said.

“Whatever, that’s all I need.  Hunters on one side and immortals on the other.  All trying to do me in.  Just another day in the life of a poor little vampire,” Eliza grinned, showing a little fang.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” they all said in unison, which sent them all off into another round of giggles.

~~~~~

In another part of the city, there was a gathering of men and women.  This gathering was not of immortals, vampires, were-creatures or any such thing.  These were the hunters.  Gathering again for the first time since the decimation of their group.  Larger, stronger, they were in search of the thing or things that had been causing such panic in the city.

Talking amongst themselves, the voices rose in volume until they all were almost yelling to be heard.  Finally one man stepped to the podium and called for quiet.
When it was indeed quiet, he began to speak softly.  In contrast to the yelling that had just been quieted, his soft voice was more compelling and everyone listened.

Looking out over the people assembled, Victor got right to the point.  “As you all know, there have been quite a few killings in our fair city over the past year.  We all know that there is a vampire at work here.  It seems that there are other creatures at large also.  We know that it definitely is not the vampire doing all the killings as the bodies differ so greatly.  Without trying to gross out the ladies present, he nodded to several in the audience, I must state that some have been ripped to shreds, some drained and some partially eaten.  This, indeed shows there is more than one person, thing or whatever you want to call them, at work here.”

Pausing for effect, he looked over the assembled people.  “We must rid our city of these creatures and it seems its going to be our job to do so.  The police haven’t done anything other than investigate.  This cannot, I must stress this, cannot be done on a one on one basis.  We must have groups and more that one or two to a group.  We saw what happened to our brothers when they came in contact with the vampire.  I want you to break up into groups of not less than 5 people.  You will each cover a part of the city.  Once your groups are formed, I will give you the section of the city that is yours to cover.  You will work as a group and never try to do anything on your own.  You are less easily caught when you are all together.  If you wish to back out, do it now.  There will be no hard feelings, but don’t decide later that you have no wish to be here, it will be too late.”

“All right, now for some background.  You all know it will soon be the full moon.  It has been fairly quiet recently.  I have this feeling that now things will heat up as the time of the full moon draws closer.  You all know the characteristics of the vampire, now though, we seem to have a new element or elements and details are sketchy.  One person, who was an eyewitness, although drunk at the time, says that two of the combatants looked like a humanoid dog and cat.  Humanoid, in that they walked on two feet, but had the characteristics of dogs and cats.  This I have no experience with nor does anyone else that I have spoken to.  All I can tell you is that be watchful of everyone you come in contact with.  You will not know, until the full moon, if any one person is that which you seek.”

“Are there any questions?  If not then please choose your groups.”

Listening to them talking amongst themselves, he watched as they chose their friends and made up their groups.  No less than five but more if they wanted.  He watched as this one group stood there talking furiously.  Tempers seemed to be getting out of hand there. 

Leaving the podium, he walked down the stairs into the room.  Making his way quietly toward the small group that was arguing so fiercely.  Standing just behind them he could here a little of what was said.

“You don’t know it was her, you haven’t seen her in a long time, through no fault of hers.  You can’t just assume things like that.  You need facts, cold hard facts and you don’t have them,” the man told the young woman.

“What seems to be the problem?” Victor asked them.

“Umm no problem Victor, none at all.  Just a slight disagreement is all,” the young man said. 

“Ok, if there is anything I can answer, please ask.  That’s what I’m here for.  I know that the details that I can give are very sketchy but that’s all we have at this time.  If you suspect anyone at all, please arrange to have backup.  I don’t want to lose any more of my people.  We’ve lost enough already.”

“It’s ok Victor, we will indeed,” the man said.  “It’s really just a difference of opinion, not anything definite.”

With a smile Victor moved away and left the small group standing there.

As he left, Jimmy turned to Vicki and hissed, “see what you almost did.  How can you think Eliza is one of the hunted ones?”