Blood Proxy Read online

  Chapter Three

  With every visit to her, Naccar looked more and more excited. He was living in the barracks and had made several friends with the Tival adolescents. They were around the same size and enjoyed all of the things that he did. With the exception of poetry and dance. Those were talents that he was sharing with the female contingent of the multi-species colonists.

  Apparently he was becoming quite adept at certain country dances and they admired his control and grace. She smiled at him from behind the mask. He was truly blossoming with the freedom from his duties and rank.

  She could feel the changes burning along her nerves, moving through her bloodstream and even altering her teeth. She now had the canines of a Vimpyr woman, and her skin had gone from pale to chalky with the nanites rebuilding her with the information from Naccar's blood.

  As her hair floated past her she noted the darker strands in the cloud and sighed in resignation at the loss of her blonde locks.

  Time crawled, and the doctor took to chatting to her tank while she was in there. Finally the week completed, and after a final check she was decanted. Hauled out by medical assistants, naked and wet, to lie on an exam bed until the doctor could remove all of the umbilical attachments.

  She was swearing with impatience as he finished sealing the last of the holes that had been drilled into her to give her nutrients and the nanites.

  She didn't feel much different, a little thinner, and a little taller. It was only when her Doctor leaned over her that she felt the first stirring of hunger. She could feel his blood call to her and she only needed to reach out and take it.

  Just as she was extending her hand to grab the Doctor's neck a hand stopped her by grabbing her own.

  Her head whipped around and she saw a sight that she thought to never see again. "Matias!"

  He looked worn and there was a new scar running down his cheek, but it was her beloved Commander and she had never been so happy to see anyone.

  Without another thought she leapt from the table and into his arms. His mouth took hers in a greeting as fevered as her own and it was only when he broke the kiss that she realized that she was still nude and dripping wet.

  "How did you find us?"

  "A data burst for my eyes alone. It told me that I had to come to you alone, but that you were safe." His hands caressed her damp hair from her features and she trembled at the warmth of that smile. "And your 'son' Naccar is safe. He is training well with the Tival but another Vimpyr to spar against will be welcome, I think."

  She leaned her forehead against him and relaxed for the first time since the missive about the murder of Chars Hala, king and father.

  His arms came around her, and stroked her back and spine soothingly. She trembled and pressed her body more firmly against him, coming into contact with leather armour and cold clasps. "I think you need to get dressed Eleanor. You are attracting some attention. I brought you some clothing."

  On the exam table nearby, there were the formal robes of a Vimpyr woman. She shrugged them on, layer after layer until she was swathed in the fluttering silk.

  "Shall we go to see Naccar?"

  "As soon as you put on your shoes."

  Muttering under her breath she hardly noticed when he turned to the doctor and shook his hand, she saw the glint of a payment chip and pretended that she had seen nothing once her sandals were in place.

  "How long have you been here?" She paced him as they left Medical and followed his lead.

  "Two days after you arrived. The message had been sent on a time delay. So by the time we arrived, you were in the tank. Your transformation was underway."

  He seemed to know his way around the ship and he offered her his arm as they progressed over a catwalk. It was a relief to engage in contact, her new body was shaking with fatigue, so she let him take on more of her weight that she normally would have.

  "Your hair is darker, but still has glints of gold in it. You look beautiful, as always." His voice was matter-of-fact but she couldn't help but be warmed by his notice.

  "Thank you, I haven't had a chance to see myself yet. The Medical bay is lacking in reflective surfaces. But your compliment is welcome."

  He steered her through a doorway and into an atrium in the center of the ship. They were on a balcony looking down into the heart of it when she noticed Naccar. He and another youth were sparring with the double blades that she favoured. She watched him closely, noted his feints, thrusts and parries. "Hmm, he over lunged on that one. Lucky that his opponent didn't take advantage of it."

  "He has learned remarkably quickly for a prince who was never allowed to practice combat." Matias' voice was amused. She grimaced. He had figured it out. "So, how long were you training him in hand to hand combat?"

  "For the last three years." A cheer went up and Naccar was congratulated by the group, including his opponent. A maternal flutter of pride ran through her. He had friends, and judging by the girls fluttering around, a female courtship was quite possible.

  "I thought as much." Matias took her hand and tugged her away from the view of her charge in a group friends and well-wishers of various races. "When I looked into your records with the idea of taking you in an intimate companion contract, imagine my surprise to find out that you had never engaged in such a contract before.

  "Naccar had put it about that you were his concubine and my heart ached at the thought of you with him." He was moving rapidly down a corridor, and the increase in his circulation was making her mouth water. "I looked up your specialties and found only languages, etiquette, dance and of course, combat training. Only the standard training in the sensual arts."

  They were practically running now and her hunger was taking over. She wanted Matias, his body and his blood. This craving was new, sudden, and took her over in a matter of seconds.

  She tried to stop and he simply swept her up in his arms and kept going. His pulse was hammering in his throat and she reached up with one hand to caress that heavy beat.

  "Eleanor, your transformation has woken your hunger. Wait a moment, love, you will be able to satisfy it." He seemed to know what was going on, so she simply let him take her to his quarters.

  The door hissed open and he closed and locked it after them. "Breath deeply, Eleanor. Relax, I am not going anywhere. You will be able to feed."

  "Feed?" That would explain why her mouth was watering at the sight of him stripping off his armour and tunic. No, it had done that before. The first time she had seen him, she had been swallowing heavily and trying to breath. Aside from her body, nothing had changed.

  His boots were next, making heavy thunks as they hit the floor. His trousers were next and her breath caught in her throat at the erection that was unveiled with short and choppy movements.

  She paused in her worshipful perusal of him when he pulled a dagger and began to walk toward her. He stood nude in front of her and raised his hand. With a sharp motion he made a deep cut in his left thumb, causing a well of need to rise in her as she watched the dark blood that ran down his arm.

  "Drink, Eleanor. You will be calmer." She moved as if in a trance, her tongue flicked out to lap up the trail of blood, sucking and licking her way to the wound he had opened. She clamped down over his digit and flicked her tongue back and forth across the coppery well.

  Both of her hands came up to grasp his and she absently felt tugs at her shoulders and wrists while she fed. Her eyes rolled to meet his, and she welcomed the passion and sensuality that gave his features the stamp of cruelty.

  The skin under her mouth sealed and she cried out at the loss.

  "Your saliva closed the wound, to get more you will have to use your teeth." He drew her back to the bed and she found that her only clothing was the shoes she had put on in Medical. So that was why all the tugging and pulling. He had stripped her while she drank.

  Sneaky.

  He fell back onto the bed, his body pulling hers like a lodestone. A slick gathering of moisture coated her thighs and s
he crawled over him, rubbing her body against his as she went. She licked at his lips and was rewarded with a ravenous kiss that left her shaking with hunger.

  His hands were waking her body, stroking her breasts and thighs in a fevered manner. When one hand worked its way to her core and a finger thrust inside, she gasped, arching her back and exposing her teeth. "More." She nibbled at his neck and stroked his body with one hand while she rode his hand.

  The thumb that pressed against her clit made her mewl and her hair flowed around them in a curtain of midnight and daylight. His hands gripped her hips and he positioned her over his cock, slowly lodging the flared head in her hungry flesh. Her hips thrust back as his moved up and his hands pulled her down.

  She began to ride him, his hands on her hips guiding her rhythm. When she came apart around him, her orgasm exploding throughout her newly sensitized body, he gripped her head and pulled her down to his throat. "Drink."

  Without a thought, her body still pulsing, she bit down on his neck, blood flowing into her mouth in a hot spurt. He grunted with the pain and said, "Good aim," before rolling her onto her back and thrusting shallowly so as not to disrupt her grip.

  The wounds began to close and she licked them clean, then looked up at Matias with shining eyes. As she withdrew, he groaned with the self-control he had been exhibiting and pounded into her with mindless enthusiasm.

  She was climbing the sensations of arousal once again as he climaxed, thrusting into her with a ferocity that almost frightened her with its intensity. As he howled with his orgasm his burning eyes met hers, and his own head darted forward to close on the joint between her neck and shoulder.

  She would have writhed against him, if he hadn't held her in place with his jaws. The pain blended with her building pleasure and she squeaked as he began to feed on her body in the same manner as she had on his.

  With every stroke of his tongue and suction on her flesh she climbed in the same manner as when he had been pounding into her. She climaxed again with a shudder and a groan as his mouth worked at her and his body throbbed within her.

  Her body closed off the scarlet fountain that was feeding her lover and he withdrew his mouth from her neck to kiss her deeply once again.

  "Do you want me to explain the mating habits of Vimpyrs?" He nibbled and nipped at her lips, his cock still hard within her.

  "Was the hunger I felt normal?" She unwrapped her thighs from the death grip she had on his hips from somewhere in the throes of their coupling.

  "For an adult female that had not mated before, you were more restrained that I would have imagined." A shallow thrust made her eyes flare in heat.

  "How long are you going to stay like that?"

  "Like what?"

  "Um." Her back arched her against him for complete contact, "Hard, moving."

  "Ah, as long as I wish to. Unlike females, male Vimpyr can control where the blood in our body is." His smug smile made her want to smack him. He moved again. Maybe not.

  This time was slow, the pleasure building between them until they both moaned in their releases. He tucked her against him and stroked sweaty strands of hair from across her eyes. "How long will you run with Naccar, Eleanor?"

  She snuggled into his body with repletion, "Until I can regain his throne, or make sure he is safe."

  "Then I will run with you."

  She smiled into his chest then looked up to meet his eyes, "I was hoping you were going to say that."

  Chapter Four

  Naccar was thrilled at Eleanor's new appearance, and acted every inch the protective son as he asked Matias what his intentions were.

  "I will have her if she will have me," was his reply. He was back in his guardsman armour and smiling at both mother and son.

  Eleanor was stumped. "I still have a year left on my companion contracts. I would gladly have you, all of you." Her brows wagged lasciviously. "But I have a debt to the Alliance to pay." She sighed and rubbed her temples.

  Matias and Naccar didn't look pleased, but there was nothing that they could do.

  Her hunger had been satisfied, her body was sated, and she was suddenly in possession of a family. They would definitely fit right in with the colonists.

  The klaxon rang to indicate that they were nearing the jump point, and they all took seats to brace for the jarring wrench. It happened a minute later and Eleanor removed the hand that she had used to clutch at Matias the instant that the all-clear was sounded.

  Her pale cheeks flushed lightly at the knowing look that he gave her.

  A crewman knocked on the door and delivered three ultra violet suits. "You will be shown to your assigned place in the colony which is in a protected area of the planet."

  "Protected how?"

  "They will explain it when you arrive. You will be given orientation after planet fall." He left, and they climbed into the suits. Eleanor changed in the sanitary chamber and left the males to the main room. The UV suit was extremely snug and left nothing to the imagination. She tucked the robes away and put on the boots that matched the suit.

  She had no exposed skin, and a loose hood kept her hair safe and a scarf covered her face. She checked out her reflection and then put the sunglasses in place.

  Sliding back the door she returned to the main room and saw the men waiting for her. She could easily distinguish between her lover and her son, strictly by the width of his shoulders. They were geared up as she was and with the planet-fall alarm going off they moved to the shuttle that they had been assigned. The shuttle seats were full of others dressed as they were, the UV suits removing any trace of species, and only the form fitting properties hinted at gender.

  A few more colonists took their places in the drop ship and at another alarm, they felt their stomachs rise as the shuttle released from the belly of the jump ship and then they were falling through space.

  As they left the artificial gravity of the ship their bodies stabilized. Eleanor began to suck in air, she hated drop ships.

  A solid hand gripped hers and squeezed it. A hand to her other side did the same. She held on for dear life as the shuttle shook and blasted its way through the atmosphere. When the shuttle rounded the planet and the sun struck her fully for the first time, she almost hissed in fear.

  The suit kept her safe, but she couldn't fight the new instincts that were running through her. Her body shook with panic; she just knew that the sun would burn her.

  "It's alright, Eleanor, the suits have protected us for years. It won't hurt you." The soothing murmur in her ear calmed her somewhat, but it was the hands that kept her anchored to her seat when her body would have fled.

  The landing was anticlimactic. It was smooth and direct to the ground with hardly a bump. A shaded skimmer was waiting for the shuttle occupants and they filed out, carrying their baggage to the waiting transport.

  The skimmer took them into a valley and immediately the fear of sunlight abated. There was a mist hanging over the valley and it formed a heavy veil that filtered the sun.

  When they arrived, they were escorted to a large building and given their assigned quarter numbers. It was explained that the valley that they were in had an inert gas cloud over it provided by the local flora. It was perfectly safe for species sensitive to ultra violet radiation. When they called Herun Matias she looked over at him in surprise. He gave her an inclination of his head and went forward to pick up the keys and a bag of supplies.

  "Um, why did they call you Herun?" She walked with him out the door and down the long path to the living quarters that they had been assigned.

  Naccar skipped ahead, then stopped and laughed when he heard her question. He kept up his snickering the whole way to their new home.

  Matias waited until they were inside the Alliance built home to answer. "It is my first name."

  "Oh." She watched them strip out of their headgear and she hung back, waiting for her blush to fade.

  "If you are waiting for your embarrassment to fade, you will have to wait a lit
tle longer than a day. I don't plan to let you forget that in your mind, my first name was Commander." His eyes were twinkling and she quickly began to look around the house. She went in search of her room and only found two. One with a very large bed. Crud. Fortunately, they were on opposite ends of the house.

  She heard another snicker behind her and looked to find Herun leaning against the doorway. "There is a data burst on the communications console. It's from Torgny and it has an Imperial encryption on it."

  With a heavy sigh she peeled off the hood and scarf, tucking the lenses into the back of the hood so she wouldn't lose them. "Alright, show me the console."

  The message was clear and it was from Empress Amanda Tyrell, Terran Representative. "Hello, Eleanor. By this time you are at the colony site and will have already have completed your transformation. The amount of people that I have had to bribe to bring this about is surprisingly small. Everyone was only too happy to help a pair of star crossed lovers and their son escape from the horrors of arranged marriages." She chuckled into the monitor.

  "It was mostly true. You have no duties at the colony. You are a new family and are on your honeymoon. This will allow Naccar and Herun to train for the return to their home world."

  "I have found a formal challenge that must be accepted in the Vimpyr archives. Well, Kyra found it. You have six months from the time of King Chars' death to challenge Murron to trial by combat. The winner will be declared the heir by virtue of superior strength."

  "The problem here is that Naccar will need to be at his peak strength for the challenge, that means the accelerated growth that will come from your blood, Eleanor. But he has to be willing to take it."

  Naccar was pale, paler than normal at the information that was being baldly given by the pre-recorded image. It was his worst fear. That his accelerated growth would drive him mad.

  "He has to be ready to take the throne. If not, he can abdicate and be sterilized. This is a one shot deal. Murron is noted to be incredibly quick in battle and Naccar will need to be ready. Send me a data burst and let me know what he decides. I have left the routing information in a separate encrypted file. Remember, you only have a few months for this. After that, they will simply kill Naccar on sight." Amy sighed into the screen then smiled, "Oh, and if you haven't discovered it yet Eleanor, you and Herun are sharing a room as a couple. It is about freaking time. He has been after you for years." She looked behind her and sighed heavily, "Okay, have to go. Palden is trying to untie himself, and it looks like he is almost free. Good luck and keep in touch!" A masculine snarl from off the screen emanated and she squeaked and the screen went black.