#1629     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     The predator waited with the patience of the hunter until the sounds of lovemaking coming from the transport stopped. He grinned. He’d enjoy the girl himself before drinking her and moving on. He had a long way yet to go to get out of this wilderness and meals were few and far between.

#1631   [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Jasmine stepped out into the night and looked for the source of the sound. The moons were out and it was fairly easy to see. There! She heard something near the front of the transport. She walked around to the front of the transport and peered into the darkness. Behind her, the predator rolled out from under the transport and rose up behind her.  He grabbed her from behind, one arm pinning her arms to her sides and the other hand over her mouth to stifle her screams. Then he carried her, kicking and struggling futilely, away from the transport. He had no intention of having his fun interrupted by  the appearance of her lover. Killing the man would definitely put him out of the mood and it had been really too long since he had been able to really enjoy a woman.  From what he had overheard coming from the transport, this girl was no shy maiden and he fully expected to be both satisfied and well fed when he left this camping spot. He reached the spot that he had prepared while waiting for them to fall asleep. The girl was still struggling fiercely. Good! He liked it when they resisted, it made the tears that came later all the more satisfying. He would teach her who was master first, then she would attend him.  He shifted his grip from her mouth to her throat and with expert precision, cut off her air just long enough for her to pass out.  Working quickly, he bound her wrists and ankles to stakes deeply driven into the hard soil and gagged her. Then he waited with a cat’s patience for her to wake up. He knew when she woke up and realized that she was bound and helpless. Only he heard her stifled scream. Heard her call for the lover that could not hear her. Then he smiled, showing his fangs, and parted her robe, revealing her body to him. As she screamed and pleaded into the gag, he ran his hands over her, exploring her body. When the tears and begging started, it was time. He took her, hard and fast. He reveled in her cry of pain and used her mercilessly. She continued to struggle, trying to escape and that excited him more. He would take his time and enjoy her thoroughly before he fed on her and took cover before dawn. It was really too bad that he couldn’t take her with him but there would be others on the road to serve his lusts. He laughed, low in his throat, while Jasmine screamed.

#1633   Penthesilea

Meanwhile, back at the Castle..

     Yawning hugely, the Keyholder leaves her people to their party and retires for the night.  She checks to see if Michael has left a message. There is none, not that she was expecting one before morning.  She also checks for messages from the Lord Marshall and again comes up empty. She seeks her bed, vowing that if her uncommunicative Lord Marshall doesn’t get the lead out of his butt and let her know what is going on, he was going to find her on his nonexistent doorstep in short order!  The thought made her smile and as she drifted off to sleep her last thought was a wish “good night and be safe” to her Lord Marshall.

#1635   [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     The gremlins in the Castle’s Transporter Room had sent for an Emergency Medical Team immediately upon receiving Michael’s signal for an emergency medical evacuation and the team was hitting the Transporter Room door with a gurney just as Michael and his unconscious burden fully materialized.  Michael laid her down on it and as they rushed to the elevator to take her up to the Infirmary on the Second Floor he gave them what information he had. Once they reached the Infirmary, she was rushed into emergency treatment.

#1637   [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     In the Emergency Room, the Healers worked quickly to replace Jasmine’s lost blood and restorative spells were cast. Both measures were effective and within an hour of reaching the Healers, Jasmine was awake and able to answer questions.

#1639     Penthesilea

     The Keyholder returns from her visit to the Nightkin, having determined that the vampire that attacked Jasmine is unknown to them. Then she has a quiet word on the subject with her knights and the Castle Guard commander. Equally quietly, changes are made in the Castle’s security arrangements.

#1641     Penthesilea

     The guard rushes the note to the Keyholder who reads it and then goes to brief her Spy Master.

#1643     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Jasmine takes the first horse she sees from the stables and rides to Paradise Valley. Once there, she throws an extraordinary tantrum even by her standards and orders a meal of rare steak and red wine. She is possessed by a desire that she has neither the will or the ability to resist.

#1645     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     After the girls leave, Penthesilea receives a message from the Head Healer and she goes at once to the Infirmary. The Healer fills her in on Jasmine’s condition, her erratic behavior and the results of the tests done on what little of Jasmine’s original blood they were able to draw.  Penthesilea listens to the report with growing alarm.

#1647     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

    Michael tells Penthesilea everything he knows. “I regret having to abandon the mission you gave me but Jasmine needed immediate attention. I’ll be heading back out to the transport immediately.”


Post # 10,200

#1649   Penthesilea
     
     The Keyholder and Sir Michael stand before a double wide, full length mirror that, for the moment, reflects their images.

Keyholder: Jasmine has slept under my roof and pledged her service to me. This spell should work because of that.
*Addresses the mirror*

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall!
Show me Jasmine of this Hall.
Where she is or soon will be,
Show me now what I must see!

*Images begin to form in the mirror.*

#1651   Penthesilea
           
The Keyholder's Magickal Workroom

They watch Jasmine in the mirror with the intention of discerning her location and direction of travel. Finally, they have it.

Keyholder: So that's where she is!

Sir Michael: I must go to her.

Keyholder: We will go after her but not until you have some protection! Can't have you being the main course at a vampire feast!

The Keyholder's hands being to glow like small suns. She fixes her gaze on Sir Michael and begins to chant!

You are the Warrior
Born in the Web!
Your blood makes the undying
Permanently dead!

     The Keyholder lowers her hands. The sunshine glow spreads over her body and she chants again!

I am the Witch
Born in the Web
My blood makes the undying
Permanently dead!

Keyholder: I think that it is time certain vampires learned that there is something worse than a DemonSlayer! *She grins.* Me.

#1653    Penthesilea
     
The Keyholder's Magickal Workroom

     The Keyholder and Sir Michael stand before the mirror armed for battle. The Keyholder carries her favorite sword, the unbreakable, God-forged Hellion. Sir Michael also carries a sword and a double headed battle-ax in his off hand.

Keyholder: Ready? *Sir Michael nods, grimly.* This spell sounds awkward in the Common Speech but it works! *The Keyholder raises her free hand to the mirror.*

Shining surface, carry we
To the time and place we need to be!

     The mirror's surface blurs. The Keyholder and Sir Michael step thru.