Strangers In The Knight

By Cheezey

Part Four

Desire and Danger

 

Thirty minutes after Snarf had first come into the Cat’s Lair control room to tell Panthro and Cheetara the news about Bengali and barely that long before the dawn would come over the horizon, the room was abuzz with worried talk and concern for the Thundercat-turned-vampire.  Lion-O, Tygra, and the Thunderkittens had joined them, awakened early from their sleep by Snarf at the suggestion of the others.  They had thought it best that they discuss what had happened while Bengali spoke with Nick, and work out possible courses of action for whatever Bengali and Nick would tell them when they came out of Nick’s guest quarters.


Cheetara had filled the other Thundercats in on the troubling details of her dream, of the tormented face of their fellow Thundercat as well as the possibility that Janette had made Alluro—and by extension, the possibility that she could do the same to the other Lunatacs or Mutants—into a vampire.  The Thundercats were understandably concerned, and after a brief discussion had called over to the Tower of Omens where they learned that Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Snarfer had all had a similarly restless night.  They were relieved to hear that Bengali was all right thus far, but were also understandably disturbed by what Cheetara had dreamt.  The cheetah’s sixth sense was rarely unreliable, and their trust in its accuracy was only slightly less than that of the Sword of Omens’ sight beyond sight.

 

The conversation between the Thundercats of Cat’s Lair and the ones of the Tower of Omens was still in progress when the doors to the control room in Cat’s Lair slid open, and everyone present as well as on the other side of the monitor fell dead silent as Bengali and Nick stood in the doorway.

 

“Bengali!” Pumyra exclaimed, relieved to see the face of her lover, notably calmer than it had been earlier, on the video screen.  “Are you all right?”

 

“I’m better than I was before,” Bengali told her with a smile.  “I’m sorry for earlier.”

 

“It’s all right,” the puma assured him.  “I’m not mad, I was more worried than anything else.”

 

“We were all worried when we heard,” Tygra added.

 

Lion-O nodded in agreement and regarded the two vampires inquisitively.  “Were you able to work things out?”

 

“To an extent,” Nick told the Thundercat Lord.  “Becoming a vampire is not an easy change to get used to, especially in circumstances like this.”

 

Panthro looked up at the once human vampire.  “It wasn’t like this for you when you got changed—brought across—I take it?”

 

Nick shook his head.  “No, I had a little more idea of what I was getting into.  I was told about what I was being offered and agreed to it, although perhaps a bit hastily, I at least knew what was coming to an extent.  I also had LaCroix and Janette to help me with it,” he explained.  “It was thrust upon Bengali as a complete surprise—something he didn’t ask for or even understand.”

 

“Something we chose for him,” Cheetara said softly.  “To save his life.”

 

Bengali offered the cheetah a rueful but reassuring smile.  “I don’t blame any of you for that, or Nick for what he did.  The only one I blame is the one who tried to kill me—LaCroix.”

 

“And he had the nerve to ask you to go away with him,” Pumyra muttered.

 

“That is pretty arrogant,” Panthro agreed.

 

Nick smiled knowingly.  “That’s LaCroix.”

 

On the other end of the monitor, Lynx-O’s ears twitched as he faced the direction of the display.  “How are you feeling now, Bengali?  Do you have a handle on what it was that upset you earlier?”

 

“I feel a little better,” Bengali told the elder Thundercat honestly.  He left off the fact, however, that Nick had shared a bit of blood that he had kept in his room—an extra bottle of what had been collected earlier for the tiger vampire when he had first awakened—to help calm his raging urge to feed.  “But I still don’t feel comfortable around most of you yet.”  He looked specifically to his closest friends in the Tower of Omens with an apologetic look.  “The fact still remains that I tried to attack Snarfer and I came dangerously close to doing it to Pumyra earlier.  I don’t trust myself with these urges yet, and I think I need some time away to adjust to them without putting any of those I care about at risk.”

 

Lion-O approached the white tiger and put an arm on his shoulder.  “If you think that’s best, Bengali, then do what you have to do.  But are you sure it’s a good idea to spend that much time alone right now?”

 

“He won’t be alone,” Nick interjected.  “I’m going to go with him.”

 

“Go where?” WilyKit asked.

 

“And how long?” Pumyra added from the other end of the transmission.

 

Bengali shook his head.  “I don’t know.  As long as it takes, I guess.”

 

“Are we talking days… or weeks?” Tygra questioned softly.

 

Nick regarded the other Thundercats with a thoughtful look.  “Maybe days, if things go well,” he theorized.  “Hopefully not longer than a month, although a lot depends on circumstance.  We were hoping to leave tonight.”

 

“So soon,” Cheetara said softly.  “We had hoped to at least have you here to answer our questions, Nick.  There’s so much we don’t know about your kind yet.”

 

“Where will you stay?” WilyKat asked.  “What about the sun?”

 

“Shelter can be found almost anywhere, I’ve learned that in over eight hundred years of waking experience,” Nick assured the Thundercats.

 

“We’ll also be back if needed,” Bengali added.  “If I see the cat signal I’ll be here.”

 

Lion-O stepped forward to put a hand on Bengali’s shoulder.  “I guess that’s that, then.  Good luck on this—sabbatical—then, and take care.  Both of you,” he added, glancing meaningfully at Nick.

 

“Thank you, and stay safe,” Nick replied.  He turned to Bengali.  “Are you ready?  We don’t have that long before dawn.”

 

Bengali nodded.  “Yes.”  The tiger vampire looked over the sober and worried expressions of the other Thundercats, both in the room with him in Cat’s Lair as well as those on the screen in the Tower of Omens.  His gaze lingered upon Pumyra for several long moments and he smiled to her in a mixture of regret and reassurance.  “Goodbye,” he said to everyone present, although his eyes never left the face of the puma that meant so much to him.  He then turned around and walked with Nick out of Cat’s Lair and into the fading night.

 

* * *

 

Two relatively quiet weeks later very little had changed across Third Earth.  While Bengali and Nick had not returned to Cat’s Lair or the Tower of Omens, things were only deceptively inactive with the Thundercats’ enemies.  Mumm-Ra rested, spending his nights and days recharging and planning and thinking, while LaCroix remained in the demon priest’s domain during the daylight hours and fed upon the unlucky peoples in his path during the night.  Of course the Thundercats were asked to investigate these murders, but the result was always the same—a vampire attack.  The Thundercats assumed the culprit to be either LaCroix or Janette or even the suspected-but-not-yet-proven vampire Alluro, although they had seen neither hide nor hair of the Lunatacs to confirm that suspicion. 

 

Deaths were reported in all of the established villages other than the mechanical robear Berbils.  Warrior Maidens, Wollos, Balkans, Tabbots, Brutemen, even the coastal Tuskas were not spared, although the humans of the Tree Top Kingdom suffered the most frequent attacks.  Queen Willa had become increasingly defensive and distrusting, especially as the rumor began to circulate among her people that perhaps the reason the Thundercats had been unable to stop the attacks was not because the Thundercats could not predict them, as they claimed, but because they were unwilling—because two vampires walked among them.  Bengali and Nick not being there to speak for themselves only seemed to further their suspicions.

 

The reason the Thundercats had not seen the Lunatacs at all and very little of the Mutants was largely because they were keeping to their bases for the most part.  The Mutants were involved in a few incidents, mostly harassing and robbing the Berbils, but those were fairly routine for the Thundercats to deal with and were of little serious concern as they were simple to handle and it was obvious that those attacks had nothing to do with the rash of vampire attacks upon the people of Third Earth.

 

The Lunatacs on the other hand remained on DarkSide for the most part.  Luna was in the midst of planning a strike on the Tower of Omens, but given the recent setbacks they’d had lately she had wanted to ensure it went well and made sure they took the time to plan it right.  The other Lunatacs did their part in participating in the planning process and went about their usual business.  There was a subtle shift in the mood of Skytomb over those two weeks however.  Janette began spending increasing portions of her nights away from Skytomb altogether—hunting, as she told Luna and the others—and most of her days were either spent alone in her guest quarters or in conversation with one of the other Lunatacs, usually Alluro.

 

Alluro spent much of his own free time with the once human vampire.  The primary motivation for that was a purely selfish one—he wanted the dark and seductive gift of eternal life that she had to offer and befriending her was the best way to ensure that he would get it.  The more time he spent with Janette, however, the more he came to genuinely enjoy her company.  Not only was she pleasing to look at, but Alluro had always considered himself to be rather cultured and full of class and fine taste, even if he was as full of himself as he was with the aforementioned attributes, and Janette too possessed those qualities.  While he could not say the others in Skytomb were not interesting to be around, he could hardly call them classy or sophisticated.  Luna might have been born into nobility, but there was little refined or enjoyable about her company as far as Alluro was concerned.  Even the beautiful and deadly Chilla, who in Alluro’s esteemed opinion was by far the best companionship to be had among the other five Lunatacs there, was rough around the edges and had little patience for things like indulging in a fine wine over a long talk.  Janette on the other hand was well suited to and enjoyed such activities, even if her wine was cut with a large proportion of hemoglobin.

 

During the time Alluro and Janette spent together, much of it was spent chatting with her casually about this and that or exchanging his stories of the Moons of Plundarr for hers of the now long gone First Earth.  Sometimes they shared the company of some of the other Lunatacs and others they remained alone.  Other times, more often alone with her than not, he talked to her on a more serious level about Luna and the others.  Then there were other times that Alluro was with Janette when either hardly spoke—something that the other Lunatacs found a tad unnerving and that some, Chilla especially, found outright annoying.

 

Janette meanwhile was growing restless with each passing night she was in Skytomb.  While she enjoyed Alluro’s company well enough during the days, TugMug’s constant obnoxious leers and innuendos coupled with Luna’s increasing comfort in planning her nights for her made her want to find a new living arrangement and quickly.  She disliked taking orders from anyone, and Luna was quick to bark them disguised as requests or favors, always in exchange for her hospitality.  On one of her nights out she finally found an abandoned structure on the other side of Fire Rock Mountain and not far from the woods full of human warrior women that, once she scouted it, decided would be her eventual home—the trap-riddled stone tower that once belonged to robber Baron Karnor.

 

For one that could levitate, Janette quickly discovered that the top suite in which the Baron had once lived was still plush and full of treasure after all those years.   Once it was cleaned it had been transformed into a cozy haven with adequate protection from sun.  The traps that led to the top would keep nosy mortals out for the most part, making it an ideal place to live for a vampire such as herself.  After a few nights of preparation she had it ready, and all that remained was to break the news to Luna—which she planned to do as dusk fell over DarkSide that night.

 

When that time came, Janette strode confidently into the control room and approached the console where all six of the Lunatacs were gathered.  “Oh good, you’re up,” Luna greeted her as she entered.  “I was about to send one of the others to wake you.  Tonight is the night.  Are you prepared?”

 

“The night?” Janette repeated, and then remembered the plan that Luna had been babbling about for what felt to her like weeks.  “Oh yes, your raid on the Tower of Omens,” she said with a nod, and glanced at the monitor.  It was filled with technical information, glyphs and coordinates that RedEye was working with on one of the keyboards.  “What exactly are we hoping to accomplish with this, anyway, other than taking control of that particular Thundercat base?  Is there some other purpose behind it?”

 

Chilla looked up at the vampiress and narrowed her eyes irritably.  “To knock off some cats and weaken them by taking one of their strongholds isn’t reason enough?”

 

Janette turned toward the ice woman, her lips drawn into a flat expression at the condescending tone.  It was hardly the first time Chilla had shown her such an attitude.  She had been guarded around her ever since the night she had given her the dress that she now wore, after she had asked her about Alluro, but in the last several days her rudeness had escalated.  Alluro had theorized to the vampiress privately that Chilla was jealous of the time they spent together, but Janette had dismissed that as merely wishful ego blustering from the psi.  Although Janette was aware that the two Lunatacs shared a loose, somewhat undefined and rather complicated—for mortals anyway—relationship, Chilla had struck Janette as a direct type that would simply ice a man or woman she had a problem with.  Besides, Janette did not seek to undermine whatever it was between the two Lunatacs; only to eventually grant the psi’s wish to become a vampire.  While she and Alluro would share a bond afterwards, it hardly meant that Alluro would forever be with her and her alone.  If that were the case, she would still be with LaCroix.  She hardly wanted to take the time to explain that to Chilla, however.  For one, she doubted that Chilla would listen anyway and secondly, with how snippy she had been toward her Janette did not feel as though she deserved any explanations.  Perhaps there was less ego and more truth to Alluro’s assessment than she thought.  Let Chilla stew in her childish mortal jealousy.  “For one who detests felines as much as you do, Chilla, you do a remarkably fine job at being catty,” Janette stated before returning her attention to Luna.

 

“Ignore her, she’s just in a mood,” RedEye interjected, not taking his gaze off the screen.

 

Chilla’s ire shifted from Janette to the darkling.  “I never realized you were such a psychological expert,” she said sarcastically.

 

“You’ve been bitchy all day,” TugMug pointed out, wheeling from one console to the other while he finished a calibration of the moon cannons.  “If I didn’t know better I’d say you’ve been hanging around Luna.”

 

At that insult their petite leader whirled around on her seat atop Amok to face TugMug.  “Shut up and get back to work, you fool.”

 

Chilla on the other hand fired a heat blast at the base of TugMug’s wheels.  “I’ll show you ‘bitchy,’” she growled menacingly.

 

Luna sighed in audible aggravation.  “You aren’t helping matters, Chilla.  Calm down for Moons’ sake!”

 

Alluro brushed one of the long strands of hair that fell across his shoulders behind his back as he straightened from bending over the console and regarded Chilla with a raised eyebrow.  “Temper, temper,” he murmured, his suave voice not without a noticeable dose of sarcasm.  “Your tantrums are rather amusing, but we are gearing up for a raid.  Please put your jealousy of Janette and I aside for the time being if you don’t mind.”

 

The icewalker’s eyes filled with outrage at the psi’s arrogant remark and she spat an arctic blast at his feet.  She would have iced his neck if she could have, but she figured Luna would just intervene and make her melt it anyhow.  “Jealousy?” she hissed icily.  “Hardly.”

 

“Call it what you will then, but you’re the one carrying on like a child and instigating things,” Alluro replied, stepping carefully over the ice in front of him and shaking the frost off of the leather of his footwear.

 

“That’s enough,” Luna cut in with a shriek loud enough to overpower the argument as well as make everyone else in the room wince.  “Do you have any idea how tired I am of all of this ridiculous bickering?”

 

“About as tired as we are of you,” TugMug muttered from the other side of the room.

 

“No one asked you,” Luna snapped angrily.

 

“I understand it quite well, Luna,” Janette said, approaching the tiny leader and her brute.  “And it is what I would like to talk to you about before we leave on this raid of yours tonight.”

 

Luna frowned curiously at the vampiress.  “What do you mean?”

 

“I’m leaving tonight,” Janette announced.  “I have found a place of my own and will no longer require your hospitality here.”  She glanced at Chilla.  “I’m sure that will remedy some of the problems.”

 

“You’re severing our alliance?” Luna said, clearly surprised and not at all pleased with what she was hearing.

 

“No,” Janette said, shaking her head.  “I will still help you if you require it as a courtesy for your hospitality, and of course honor all that we agreed to previously.  But as of tonight, I will no longer be living here.”

 

“I see.  Very well then,” Luna replied.  “We will keep in touch with you, assuming you tell us where it is you’ll be staying?”

 

Janette nodded, suddenly glad that she had chosen a home not in DarkSide and consequently not next door to the Lunatacs.  “Certainly,” she answered.  The vampiress felt the intense weight of Alluro’s gaze upon her as she finished her short explanation to Luna, and she turned in the psi’s direction.  As she had sensed, his luminous eyes were fixed upon her.  “You’re leaving us?” he asked, disappointment evident in his voice.  Janette then heard the hypnotist’s voice echo in her mind with a non-verbalized addition to his spoken question.  You never mentioned that to me.

 

I thought it best to keep it to myself until I was sure it would work out, she replied telepathically.  Aloud she said, “I need own space.  I’m sure you can understand that.”  She gave him a pointed look.

 

Alluro nodded back silently, but responded to her further in mind speech.  I will miss your company, then.

 

My doors will be open to a visit from you any time you wish, Janette assured the psi with a light smile, one that he returned subtly as he heard her reply.

 

Tactful as ever and unaware of the telepathic conversation going on between the two, TugMug heard the disappointed tone in Alluro’s voice and made an exaggerated and melodramatic face.  “Poor Alluro, all that wine wasted and you didn’t even get laid before she left.  I’d be upset too, especially because that wine you drink sucks.”

 

The hypnotist spun around and glared at the graviton contemptuously.  “Your crassness knows no bounds, does it?”

 

“If it has a limit, I haven’t found it,” Luna said, turning Amok around to face TugMug and pointing her riding crop at him.  “To borrow an expression from Chilla, you’re treading on very thin ice this evening, TugMug, and you’re trying my patience to its limits.  I’ll be blunt, TugMug—cut the crap or else.”  Mirroring his mistress’ mood, Amok thumped his fist against the floor for emphasis. 

 

“That would be a first, wouldn’t it?” Janette added, narrowing her eyes at the graviton as well. 

 

“Indeed it would,” Luna agreed.  “Now if we’ve got all of this chatter out of our systems, let’s get down to business with this raid, shall we?”

 

* * *

 

In the dark confines of the Black Pyramid, the vampire LaCroix strode into the center chamber holding a bag, presumably having walked in from the lower entrance rather than flying in and out of the top of the pyramid as he usually did.  He tossed the sack unceremoniously onto the floor in front of Mumm-Ra.  “Don’t say I never gave you anything,” he said with a raised eyebrow as he leaned against one of the cornerstones of the cauldron.

 

Mumm-Ra, up and about in his mummy form, bent over and collected the discarded piece, a suede satchel with contents that clinked and jingled as it was lifted.  “And to what do I owe this unexpected surprise?” the demon priest questioned.

 

“I ran into a Tabbot trader on my stroll out at dusk.  He was on his way to see you, and said that he had business to deliver these things to the ‘Mighty Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living’ in exchange for gold.  I delivered them for him, as he was unexpectedly delayed,” LaCroix explained.

 

“Delayed?”  Mumm-Ra’s scarlet eyes glowed inquisitively.

 

A mischievous smile spread across the ancient vampire’s features.  “Did you know that Tabbot blood is surprisingly salty?  It almost reminds me of cured meats, although admittedly that memory is quite distant to me now.”

 

“You fed upon him,” Mumm-Ra stated.

 

“Don’t look at it as losing one of your merchant traders, look at it as saving yourself the gold of paying for his wares,” LaCroix replied with a grin.  “Besides, I did ensure that his goods were delivered to whom they were intended.”

 

Mumm-Ra eyed the contents of the bag, and finding them all accounted for, set them within his sarcophagus for the time being.  “I realize your appetite is considerable, vampire, but I would prefer it if you did not carelessly dine upon the mortals I do my business with.”

 

LaCroix regarded the mummy impassively.  “I have left your henchman Mutants and Lunatacs alone, as you requested.  You never said anything about the bipedal swine.”

 

Mumm-Ra narrowed his gaze.  “I suspect, LaCroix, that you let the Lunatacs be more out of professional courtesy to your vampire daughter and the Mutants because you find them distasteful more than anything else.”

 

LaCroix shrugged.  “Nevertheless, I have not killed anyone you specifically asked me not to, have I?”

 

“No, you have not,” Mumm-Ra agreed.  “However you also have not killed some that I specifically have asked you to.  I studied the waters of my cauldron today.  It seems that the Thundercats are rather healthy these days, and missing the company of your son and their own vampire.”

 

“Nicholas took him away?” LaCroix asked, surprised.  “That’s a promising development.”

 

“They left a number of nights ago, apparently.  It surprises me that you have not been by to check up on him.”

 

LaCroix sighed.  “The Thundercats don’t appear to be very fond of me—I can’t imagine why,” he added with sarcastic drama before continuing, “And Nicholas is not speaking to me these days.  When he gets like that, I give him the luxury of space for a week or two before I try to talk sense into him.  Any sooner than that is like trying to reason with an unruly child.”

 

“It would seem that your unruly child’s absence makes for an opportune time to strike at the Thundercats, then, without him or the night-cat to defend them.  What would you say to a visit to the Tower of Omens tonight, LaCroix?  A rematch?”

 

“That could be interesting,” LaCroix agreed with a nod.

 

Mumm-Ra smiled, showing his mummy form’s jagged teeth.  “Good.  Join me,” he said, beckoning for LaCroix to come to his side.  When LaCroix approached he directed the vampire’s attention to the scrying waters where a vision was taking shape.  “The Lunatacs are planning an assault on the Tower of Omens from their small vehicles.  As you may or may not know, the Tower of Omens was built to monitor their Skytomb’s movements in and out of DarkSide, and as such, it is constantly on alert for any sign of their mobile fortress in the area.  Because of that, attacks against the building of that nature have failed in the past.  This time, however, they are leaving Skytomb at the edge of DarkSide and bringing in the Lunattacker and Ice Runner separately in the hopes that such a small movement will not be noticed by the Tower’s sensory equipment.”

 

LaCroix studied the vision in the waters.  “The Lunatacs… Janette is with them, I presume?”

 

“Yes,” the undead mage affirmed.  “If you are game, you and I will surprise them and join in.  Would you be game at a chance to fight alongside your vampire daughter and dine on feline blood once again?”

 

“Oh yes,” LaCroix said with a wicked grin.  “Quite game.”

 

* * *

 

About an hour and a half later over in the Tower of Omens the Thundercats there were unaware that they were the target of an impending Lunatac strike.  The beautiful light of the full moon shone in through the large plate glass windows, illuminating the deck outside as Pumyra absently stared out the door onto the landscape outside.  Her thoughts were of Bengali and to a lesser extent Nick, wondering where they had been and why it had been so long without so much as a word from either of them. 

 

The knowledge that LaCroix had filled Bengali with doubt and extended an offer for him and Nick to leave to be with him, with their fellow vampires, the night before Bengali and Nick departed had not left her with much comfort either.  Although she had been all right with things—at least relatively—when the decision had first been made, after nearly a week had passed the doubt began to seep into her thoughts in earnest and she had a harder time brushing it away as each night came and went with no new news.

 

Pumyra turned around when she heard someone come into the control room behind her, and saw Snarfer holding a snack tray which he went about setting on the console next to Lynx-O, stationed at the Braille board.  “How’re things going, snarfer snarfer?” he asked as he hopped up on the edge of the console and helped himself to one of the cookies he had brought in.  “By the way, these are fresh, yup.  I made them from Unc’s recipe.  This time I didn’t even burn them!” he announced proudly.

 

Lynx-O helped himself to one of the baked treats and smiled.  “Very good, Snarfer,” he praised.  “As to your question, things are very quiet.  I did pick up on some activity near the entrance to DarkSide, but it’s nothing as large as Skytomb so I don’t think we need to be alarmed just yet.”

 

Snarfer stuffed another cookie in his mouth.  “Oh, no word from Bengali I guess?”  As soon as he spoke the question, Pumyra turned around sharply, her attention caught by the mention of the tiger’s name.  Snarfer saw the look on Pumyra’s face and instantly regretted being so blunt, his ears flattening slightly against his head.  “Sorry, snarfer snarfer.  I didn’t mean—”

 

With a final glance at the quiet southern landscape, Pumyra straightened and offered Snarfer a wan smile.  “It’s all right, Snarfer.  No, we haven’t heard anything.”

 

“It is somewhat troubling,” Lynx-O agreed with a sigh, his attention to the console lapsing for the moment as he faced his two companions.  “Two weeks is a long time to hear nothing.  I only hope that he is all right, wherever he is.”

 

“I just hope he hasn’t changed his mind to the thought that being a vampire precludes being a Thundercat—or that it’s preferable to it,” Pumyra said softly.  “I wanted so much to believe him when he said that he would be back.”

 

Snarfer blinked.  “You don’t?”  A note of worry and sadness had crept into the young snarf’s voice, hinting that perhaps he’d had the same thought but had been afraid to say it.

 

“I did, and I still want to believe it,” Pumyra said, strolling over to join them by the cookie tray.  She picked one up and nibbled at it a moment.  “But like Lynx-O said… it’s been two weeks.  After that much time with no word at all, I know I can’t help but wonder…”  She sighed.  “I wish I knew what LaCroix said to him to make him doubt himself like that,” she said darkly. 

 

A resounding crash and a jarring sensation that shook the entire Tower of Omens prematurely ended their conversation.  “Yikes!” Snarfer exclaimed, scrambling to the console.  “What was that?”

 

Lynx-O stood from where he had been knocked over and began typing furiously on the Braille board.  “The Tower has been struck,” he said, and had no sooner gotten the words out when it happened again.  That time the shock was more intense, and the lights flickered.

 

“Arming the defense systems now,” Pumyra said, flipping switches and bringing up the defense system screens.  “We’re under attack!”

 

“Yes,” Lynx-O confirmed.  “The Lunattacker and the Ice Runner are outside and firing upon us.”  The lynx Thundercat sighed as he realized those were likely the activity he had picked up on a few minutes before but dismissed due to their size, and berated himself sternly for that assumption given how it had backfired.

 

“The Lunatacs,” Pumyra stated, just as a searing burst of laser fire from the Ice Runner shattered through the glass of the east window, missing Snarfer by inches and scarring the metal floor.  Working feverishly on the communications console, Snarfer sent out an electronic mayday signal to the Cat’s Lair and then manned one of the manual guns.

 

A third blast shook the besieged Tower of Omens, causing all of the lights and power to go out and the normally calm and reserved Lynx-O to mutter an expletive in aggravation when the Braille board stopped responding.  “Are you guys all right?” Pumyra called out.

 

“Fine over here,” Snarfer answered from underneath one of the consoles.

 

“As am I,” Lynx-O confirmed.  “What is going on?  Is the power out?”

 

“Yep, that last blast did it I think,” Snarfer said anxiously.

 

Lynx-O’s ears twitched in the darkness as he heard the hum of the Ice Runner approaching and then the metallic scrape signaling its landing on the roof.  “We should prepare for company,” he said, arming his light shield.

 

“Most of my marbles are in my room,” Pumyra muttered in aggravation.  “But I have my belt at least,” she said, just as she heard another crash and the ominous sound of the hangar doors below buckling.

 

“The Thunderstrike!” Snarfer exclaimed. 

 

“We can’t worry about that now,” Lynx-O said.  His ears twitched as he sorted the sounds of subsequent crashes and weapon fire and realized that their primary vehicle had probably just been damaged beyond use—likely to prevent their escape.  “Did you get through to the Cat’s Lair before the power went out?”

 

Snarfer let out a small and nervous whine.  “I think the transmission finished… I hope so anyway.”

 

The shrill and mocking voice of Luna sounded from the lower hallway.  “Come out, come out, where-ever you are!”

 

“Luna,” Snarfer whispered.  The young snarf was standing upon the edge of one of the console counters, gripping a broom handle much in the way he would have a bat.  In the darkness he could not find much else to pass for a weapon, but he could smack the short Lunatac off of Amok with it if nothing else, or bean one of the larger Lunatacs in the head. 

 

“It’s so dark in here I can hardly see anything aside from what the moonlight gives us,” Pumyra grumbled, assuming a defensive stance.  “If we hadn’t had the screens down when the power went out we’d at least have half again the amount of window to let the light in.”

 

“But they will be in the darkness too, and that puts us on somewhat even footing—and the darkness is no hindrance to me,” Lynx-O reminded them.  “Do your best and stand your ground.”

 

The sound of glass shattering behind them made them all jump in surprise as TugMug crashed through the window behind the main screen and through black screen itself, destroying it completely, but letting another beam of the full moonlight spill into the room for a little more light.  A dark flash flew in behind him and landed several feet away.  When it straightened, Pumyra and Snarfer recognized her as the female vampire Janette.

 

“Poor Thundercats, all alone and defenseless,” TugMug mocked as he landed.  He raised his carbine and fired on Snarfer, causing him to float into the air helplessly, swinging his broom madly for a moment before the floating sensation caused him to flip head over heels and drop it with a frustrated squeal.

 

“You will not take the Tower of Omens while we live to stop you,” Lynx-O informed the invaders coldly.

 

“Your death can be arranged then, old man,” Janette hissed.  The vampiress flew across the room and pounced on Lynx-O with her fangs bared, slamming him hard against the central control unit on the impact.

 

Pumyra growled in outrage when she saw Lynx-O accosted in the same way Bengali had been, and felt the very real fear that she might lose one of her oldest friends in the same way she had seemingly lost Bengali.  There was no way on Third Earth that she would let that happen.  “Get off of him, you immortal bitch,” the puma snarled with uncharacteristic venom, lashing the lariat around Janette’s throat and pulling hard to break her free of Lynx-O.  The vampiress choked and tore at the weapon and threw it aside while TugMug, seeing that Janette needed assistance, took aim at the puma.

 

“That’s a bad kitty.  You need a spanking,” TugMug sneered, and fired his gravity carbine at Pumyra.  He used the heavy setting, and the beam struck her squarely in her rear end, instantly knocking her to the floor on all fours for a moment and then flattening her against it in spread-eagled heap, her lariat uselessly pinned down beside her.  He then shot Lynx-O with the same beam, pinning him to the edge of the console and against the floor.

 

From her helpless position on the floor Pumyra fought back a rising feeling of dread, especially when she saw Janette’s hungry gaze turn toward Lynx-O.  “Leave him alone,” Pumyra cried out, her voice both angry and desperate.  “I won’t let you do to Lynx-O what LaCroix did to Bengali!”

 

Janette stared coldly at Pumyra, her eyes aglow with the dark vampiric spirit inside her.  “Unlike LaCroix I will have the time to finish the job, and there will be no such option for him.  Unless you would like to take his place?”

 

“You’d kill them both anyway,” Snarfer accused angrily.

 

“Silence, furball,” Luna said, swatting him in the back with her riding crop as Amok took her past him

and into the center of the room.  Chilla, RedEye, and Alluro came in behind the other two Lunatacs with satisfied and smug expressions on their faces.

 

“That was easy,” Chilla gloated.  “You three are pathetic.”

 

“Indeed,” Alluro agreed, leaning arrogantly against the console.  “And now all that remains is to decide what to do with you.”

 

“I was thinking dinner, myself,” Janette said, eyeing Pumyra with hungry intent.  She took a few steps to where the puma was bound to the floor by gravity and knelt beside her.  The once human vampiress ran her fingers teasingly through the restrained puma’s mane and down to her neck, feeling the edge of her golden choker.  “Yes, young and vital blood will do so much more for me than that of the old one.” 

 

A familiar growl filled the skies outside, spilling a scarlet light into the room and filling the defeated Thundercats in the room with a surge of hope.  The Thundercat signal was lit above them—Lion-O had gotten their distress call and was on his way.  Lynx-O struggled to move in the gravity force field but was still unable.  “Your battle is not won yet, Lunatacs.  The others will be here to fight your evil.”

 

While Janette unfastened the clasp on Pumyra’s necklace, RedEye ran a gloved hand along the burned out console in the center of the room until he reached the main part of the Braille board—and promptly slammed his Sidewinder into it, damaging it beyond repair.  “Your Thunderstrike is destroyed as is your entire little spy tower,” he informed them with a cruel smile.

 

“Our little spy tower now, I think,” Luna gloated haughtily.

 

The sound of dark and maniacal laughter filled the demolished control room as Mumm-Ra and LaCroix flew in the broken window through which TugMug and Janette had come in early.  “But yours only because Mumm-Ra needs no spy tower,” the demon priest informed the conquering Lunatacs.

 

“Especially not in this state,” LaCroix mused, eyeing the extensive damage.  “Impressive,” he remarked, his eyes landing on Janette beside Pumyra.  “But not nearly as impressive as your catch there.”  He was at his vampire daughter’s side in a flash, leering hungrily at Pumyra.  “She will be quite tasty for you, my dear.”

 

“You may have the old man and the furry thing if you wish,” she told LaCroix as she drew a finger along Pumyra’s now exposed neck, savoring the pleasant feeling of anticipation before feeding.

 

“I’m a snarf,” Snarfer piped up indignantly. 

 

LaCroix eyed him in dubious amusement.  “Whatever you are, you are little more than an appetizer, I’m afraid.”

 

The sound of another vehicle approaching the railing outside caught the attention of the invading Lunatacs, vampires, and undead inside and Mumm-Ra’s eyes went wide in aggravation when he saw Lion-O and Cheetara hop off the sides of the ThunderClaw, piloted by Tygra.  Both Thundercats came in with their weapons drawn.  “There will be no appetizers or meals for either of you blood-sucking demons of the night,” Lion-O asserted coldly as he raised the sword.

 

Both LaCroix and Mumm-Ra laughed heartily at Lion-O’s bold proclamation.  “Why Lion-O, that’s a very prejudiced statement, don’t you think?  How would your night-cat feel if he heard you say that about him?” he mocked.

 

“Because that is what he is, and what Nicola is,” Janette hissed coldly.  “Whether they are willing to admit it or not.”

 

Lion-O narrowed his eyes at the undead ones.  “The Sword of Omens does not call them evil, but it will easily strike at your dark hearts,” he asserted, and with a faithful shout of “Ho!” fired an energy beam directly at LaCroix.  Mumm-Ra in turn let loose a flash of red lightning on Lion-O, and the battle was on. 

 

Chilla and TugMug both went for Cheetara, Chilla spitting ice and TugMug firing at the cheetah with the gravity carbine.  She narrowly dodged both with her natural speed and grace. 

 

In the heat of the scuffle, Lynx-O vaguely heard the sounds of others coming in from below, and he felt a renewed sense of hope as Tygra and Panthro came in, evening the odds against their enemies further.

 

Frowning, Alluro cast his psyche club over the two Thundercats.  “Stop right there, Thundercats,” he asserted hypnotically to the red tiger and panther.  “You are too late to do anything now, too late to help your friends.”

 

“Too late…” the pair repeated in dazed unison, caught in the hypnotic lure of the psych club’s aqua green light.

 

“You are no match for us.  You will drop your weapons and surrender.”

 

The nunchuks and bola whip clattered uselessly to the floor.

 

“No!” Snarfer cried out desperately.  “Schneearfer, fight them, please!”

 

Janette decided her puma meal could wait until the new invaders were taken care of and used the same tactic Alluro did on the lion wielding the infamous magic sword.  “You too, lion,” she stated firmly, staring intently into his eyes.  “You will drop your weapon.”

 

“No,” Lion-O protested weakly.

 

LaCroix stood behind his vampire daughter and drew on his own mesmeriziation abilities.  “Yes,” he added.

 

“Lion-O, don’t do it!” Cheetara called out, swinging her staff at the rapidly advancing Luna and Amok, and eventually pole-vaulting over them as TugMug fired another shot from the gravity carbine at her.

 

“Don’t give in!” Lynx-O called out.  “You must fight their will.”

 

“Surrender the Tower of Omens and we will spare your lives,” Alluro pressed, speaking to all of the suggestible Thundercats.  “Admit to your defeat and concede to us as your masters.”

 

“No!” Pumyra shouted. 

 

LaCroix turned toward the helpless puma with a predatory smile.  “And what a little fighter you are for such a sweet face,” he mused.  “If my Janette will not finish her food like a good girl, perhaps I should do it for her.  After all, there is plenty to go around with all of your friends here, is there not?”

 

“By all means, LaCroix, please do take one more Thundercat out of the way,” Mumm-Ra laughed coldly.

 

A new and familiar roar sounded in the open doorway and tackled LaCroix in a flash—a black and white striped flash that knocked him clear off the helpless Pumyra.  “Like hell you will, you bastard,” the growling voice of a furious Bengali said as he closed his powerful hands around the elder vampire’s throat.

 

The second figure that had been in the doorway was through the air equally swiftly, and sent the glowing orb of Alluro’s club flying out of its floating position to smash into a million shiny pieces against the wall, sparkling brightly like a firecracker for a moment before the light went out.  Alluro’s face twisted into an outraged scowl when he saw the one responsible for it, but it was no match for the fury and indignation on Janette’s.

 

“Nicola,” she spat disgustedly.  “I should have known.”

 

Panthro, Tygra, and Lion-O snapped out of their trances and picked up their weapons quickly.  “Boy, do we owe you two one,” Tygra said approvingly to Nick as the vampire landed behind him.

 

“We saw the cat signal, and Bengali told me what that meant.  We came here as fast as we could.”

 

“These feline friends of yours mean more to you than LaCroix and I then it would seem,” Janette said coldly, ducking instinctively and twisting to the side and out of the way as Cheetara swung her staff at the vampiress.

 

“You haven’t won yet,” Luna screeched, feeling more optimistic than she felt, especially as she saw Lion-O’s loathed sword making extraordinarily lucky hits against the weapons of her own crew and fending off Mumm-Ra’s dark magic with alarming ease.

 

“I wouldn’t count on that, Luna,” Panthro said, throwing his nunchuks to wrap around Amok’s tail—and subsequently yanking it, tripping the brute Lunatac and sending their squat leader flying onto the floor just underneath Snarfer.  The indignant floating snarf took a swipe at the short Lunatac leader’s head, raking his claw against her forehead and tangling in her hair.  He yanked hard to break free, pulling it painfully, and making her shriek even more painfully—especially in the ears of the others in the room.

 

LaCroix managed to throw Bengali back against a wall while Tygra used his whip to pull Lynx-O free of the gravity field.  Once the elder lynx was freed the two released Pumyra. 

 

The tide of battle turned and soon the Lunatacs, the vampires that fought with them, and Mumm-Ra were all cornered against the broken glass window and monitor on one side of the room.  Lion-O pointed the Sword of Omens at his foes threateningly.  “Leave now,” he growled angrily. 

 

When a retreat was not instantaneous, Lion-O fired once, right at the heart of who he considered the most dangerous of his enemies—Mumm-Ra.  The blast of righteous magic from the Sword of Omens struck him squarely in the entwined serpent insignia upon his chest and caused him to roar in pain and fury.  He flew backward, morphing back to his mummy form for his own protection, and LaCroix flew back to block his fall.  It was not so much out of a true desire to help him as it was to honor his partnership with the demon priest.

 

As LaCroix and Mumm-Ra stepped back toward the window, LaCroix glared icily at Nick.  “The depth of your contempt and betrayal pains me deeply, Nicholas.”

 

“This is not over,” Mumm-Ra rasped ominously, his voice cold as death itself, before he and LaCroix vanished together into the night.

 

Bengali clenched the Hammer of Thundera aggressively, his now vampiric eyes glowing menacingly in the darkened and demolished Tower of Omens control rooms.  “I suggest you get out while the getting is good, before Nick and I drain your evil blood dry, Lunatacs.”

 

“Nicola?  Do something so against his precious humanity as kill in cold blood?  Oh, I hardly think so, night-cat,” Janette sneered contemptuously. 

 

“How could you attack them, Janette?” Nick growled angrily, his eyes also aglow an angry vampiric green.  “You knew that I care for them.”

 

She faced Nick, shaking her head in disgust.  “You care for mortals more than your own kind.  If there was any betrayal here tonight, Nicola, it was made by you and your fledgling against us, against LaCroix and I.”  She whirled toward Luna, settled back onto Amok after her brute had picked her up.  “You know where I will be.”  With that Janette then spun on her heels and took off into the night.

 

“Janette, wait,” Alluro called out.  “I’ll go with you!”  The psi climbed through the part of the window that led onto the outer deck of the Tower of Omens.

 

“Unless you can fly, you better take the easy way down,” TugMug remarked, and grabbed Alluro by the back of the belt with one hand and without asking, Chilla with the other.  He leapt out the window, taking them both safely to the ground.

 

“The Ice Runner is on the roof,” RedEye growled to Luna.  “I will climb up and retrieve it.”  The darkling then exited through the window and climbed up, while Amok carefully climbed out onto the deck and made his way up from there.  Moments later the Ice Runner and Lunattacker could be heard taking off in a retreat, while the Thundercats were left to survey the damage of what was left of their base.

 

Lynx-O approached Lion-O gratefully.  “You do not know how close a call that was that you arrived when you did,” he said with a somber shake of his head.  “Thank you.”

 

Pumyra immediately went over to Bengali and pulled him into a tight hug.  “You came back,” she said with happy tears, murmuring into his fur.  “Thank Jaga.  I was so worried about you.  I missed you so much.”

 

Bengali smiled gratefully and held her close.  “I missed you too, Pumyra,” he said, his rough voice spoken tenderly to the puma.

 

“Sorry we couldn’t hold the Tower better, snarfer snarfer,” Snarfer said apologetically, glad to be down out of the gravity field.  Tygra had pulled him free the same way he had Pumyra and Lynx-O, and he sat sadly on the edge of the ruined console.  “It will take weeks to fix everything.”

 

“Not to mention the Thunderstrike,” Panthro said with a sigh, kicking some broken glass out of the way.  “I’m glad no one was hurt, but those Lunatacs crippled us but good.”

 

Cheetara glanced nervously out the window at the inky sky in the direction of DarkSide.  “Not to mention until we get this place fixed, we can’t monitor Skytomb’s comings and goings.  And with all the vampire attacks we’ve had to investigate—”

 

Both Nick and Bengali looked up at the mention of the vampire attacks.  “What attacks?” Nick questioned.

 

“Killings in the villages,” Lion-O said, sheathing the Sword of Omens in the claw shield.  “Warrior maidens have had the most, but the Balkans, Tabbots, Wollos, and even the Brutemen and Tuskas have had them.”

 

“LaCroix and Janette?” the once human inquired, his tone weary but not surprised.

 

Tygra nodded.  “We assume so.  And we had thought it might be Alluro, but—”

 

“Alluro?” Bengali repeated dubiously.  “Why?”

 

“The night you two left I had a dream that showed Janette biting Alluro, hinting that she had brought him across,” Cheetara explained to the two vampires, realizing that she had not had a chance to fill them in on what she had dreamt in all the confusion that night.  “But he was obviously mortal tonight, so I guess it didn’t happen.  At least that’s one concern we can lay to rest.”

 

“I’m just glad you two made it back here tonight,” Panthro said with a shake of his head.  “We were in over our heads there for a minute, and I was thinking the Thunderkittens and Snarf might have to come and bail us out and leave the Lair unmanned.  It didn’t look good for us at all.”

 

“It still doesn’t look great,” Snarfer quipped, tapping the broken view screen.  Several more large chunks of glass fell out of it and shattered on the floor.  He winced at the inadvertent crash and offered a sheepish grin.  “And looking worse all the time, snarfer snarfer.”

 

“I saw the cat signal,” Bengali told them.  “But more importantly, I felt it.  Vampire or not, I’m still a Thundercat, and I had to return to help.”

 

“As did I,” Nick added.  “I may not be a Thundercat, but you have all been very gracious to me, and it was the least I could do to help you when you needed it.”

 

Cheetara smiled and put a hand on Nick’s shoulder.  “Well Nick, you may not be Thunderian, but you’ve certainly done enough to earn an ‘Honorary Thundercat’ status in my book.  As far as I’m concerned I would defend and fight with you as readily as I would any Thundercat.”

 

Nick smiled warmly at the cheetah.  “I’m honored you hold me in such high regard.  Thank you.”

 

“We all do,” Lion-O stated sincerely, and then turned toward Bengali.  “I hope that the silver lining in what happened here tonight is that you’re back with us to stay?”

 

Bengali looked from Lion-O over to Nick, who gave him a slight nod, and then down to the smiling and hopeful face of the puma in his arms.  He stroked her back gently as he held her and smiled, first at her and then at Lion-O.  “I think so.  I’ve been able to learn—and control—a lot.  As long as I have enough of my own space as I get used to things, and as long as I’m not a burden—”

 

“You could never be a burden, Bengali,” Pumyra assured him.

 

“Never,” Lynx-O agreed.  “We have greatly missed you, and welcome you back wholeheartedly.”

 

“That goes for you as well, Nick,” Lion-O told the once human vampire.  “You’re welcome to stay in the Lair as long as you need to.  In fact,” he continued, eyeing the trashed control room again, “you may all need to stay over at the Lair until this place gets fixed up.”

 

“Thanks,” Nick told Lion-O, and then he smiled.  “You know, it’s funny.  Back on First Earth, in the last identity I held there among the humans, I worked with them as a law enforcer.  I believed that doing the right thing by bringing human criminals, especially killers, to justice, was one way I could help to repay the debt of the lives I took over the years when I still fed on humans.  LaCroix hated it,” he told them, “and I can only imagine what he would think hearing you grant me honorary status among your people.”  He shook his head.

 

“From what I’ve seen of him, I’m sure he would suitably thrilled,” Cheetara agreed with a grin.

 

Bengali released Pumyra and walked around the ruined control room.  “You know, I think I’m going to stay here tonight.  For the most part, the living quarters weren’t damaged by the fight.  It might be good to make sure they don’t come back.”

 

“If you want, but leave your communicator on at least, and let me help you get the power back on,” Tygra offered.

 

“I’d like to stay too,” Pumyra volunteered.

 

Lion-O nodded, realizing that she probably wanted time alone with Bengali to talk things out.  “All right, but please call us if there’s any sign of trouble.”

 

“We will,” she agreed readily.

 

The other Thundercats went back to the Thundertank, while Tygra stayed behind and helped Bengali get the power back on.  Lynx-O and Snarfer packed up a few things from their rooms for a day or two and left on the ThunderClaw with Tygra once the power was restored, leaving Bengali and Pumyra alone together.

 

“You didn’t have to stay,” Bengali said to her as the two made their way back to her room.  She had picked up her gold choker off of the floor and was polishing it against the side of her dress as they walked and entered her room, thankfully undamaged in the assault the Tower had suffered earlier.

 

“I wanted to,” Pumyra told him, settling in on her bed.

 

Bengali smiled.  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did.”  He looked away for a moment.  “I guess I’m just nervous… because of what happened last time.”

 

She laid a warm hand on his thigh.  “I still trust you, Bengali.  I never stopped,” she assured him.  She glanced down at the sheets for a second, and then met his gaze again.  “I admit I worried that you might not come back, especially after how long it had been, but that was never because I didn’t trust you.  I worried that LaCroix had somehow gotten to you.”  She met his gaze earnestly.  “When were you and Nick going to return, if you hadn’t seen the cat signal tonight?”

 

The tiger vampire put his arm around her shoulders.  “I don’t know, Pumyra.  Soon, probably.  We lost track of time.  There’s so much to learn, and Nick knows so much.  I guess when you’ve lived eight hundred years, it makes two weeks seem pretty short by comparison.  He probably didn’t realize he was keeping me that long.”

 

“As long as you’re back to stay now,” she said, gazing into his eyes.  They were the same blue feline eyes she was used to at the moment, and she had trouble imagining that any real darkness could truly lurk behind them.  She leaned forward and kissed his lips gently.

 

Bengali returned his lover’s kiss gently and hesitatingly at first, thoughts of what had happened the last time they were together nagging at him, but they were soon extinguished as he became overwhelmed with his feelings for her, and the delightful feeling of closeness with her.  He realized how much he had truly missed being so close with her in those weeks he had been away, and suddenly the vampire within him was as far from his mind as it could be. 

 

The passion in their kiss escalated, and they leaned back on her bed together, holding one another close.  His hands began to smooth themselves along her gentle curves as readily as his tongue explored her mouth, and a soft purr grew inside the puma as she yielded to her lover’s embrace.  When their kiss broke, she nuzzled against him, yearning for his touch to give way to more intimate contact, and the tiger did not keep her wanting.  As he kissed his way across her jaw and cheek, down to the base of her ear, she could feel his fingertips slowly reaching inside the holes on the side of her dress, caressing the softly furred skin of her back beneath.

 

Just when Bengali had all but forgotten there had ever been a vampiric lust within him, the dark nature within him overcame all of his senses with a vengeance.  He felt overwhelmed with her scent, light and inviting, almost teasing.  He could hear the hot rush of her blood beneath her skin, and his fingertips buzzed with the rush of its delicate heat radiating beneath the skin and fur.  As his lips closed around the base of her ear, moving gently down to her neck, the kisses became nips, and his fangs descended to make those nips more than just playful love bites.  Almost lost in the rapture of the act, he caught himself just in time, as he threw his head back to bite her in earnest.

 

The tiger vampire let out an unintelligible roar of anger and frustration and withdrew abruptly, leaving the stunned Pumyra blinking in surprise on the bed not unlike he had two weeks earlier.  “Bengali?  What—”

 

“We can’t do this,” he growled angrily, more upset at himself than anything else.  “I almost bit you again, Pumyra.  I can’t be this close to you.  Not yet.”

 

“It’s all right,” she said, still shaken, but sitting up and leaning over to him.  “It’ll just take some time.”

 

“Two weeks should have been enough time,” he said, clenching his fists.  “I’m still a danger to you.”  He stood, still unable to look at her.  Knowing that he had hurt her was bad enough, but actually seeing it on her face would only make it that much worse.  “I have to leave.”

 

“No, not again, Bengali, please,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion.  “Whatever it is, we can work with it.  I’ll take my chances.  I can give you your space, just please, don’t disappear again.”

 

He stiffened, but did not take any further steps toward the door.  Leaving was the last thing he wanted to—well, actually the second last.  Harming Pumyra was the very last, and he would see to it that it did not happen because of him.  “I don’t know how much space is enough, Pumyra.  And I don’t trust myself to stay far enough away from you when we’re alone like this to keep me from hurting you.”

 

“You taking off into nowhere for days on end hurts me,” the puma countered, also rising off the bed.  “Far more than any bite you might inflict with your vampire teeth.”

 

Bengali whirled around and faced Pumyra.  His eyes had reverted vampiric and were aglow with the blood-lusting urges inside him.  His lips were drawn back in a menacing snarl, baring his fangs to her.  The sight was frightening, and although Pumyra loved and trusted Bengali implicitly, seeing him like that still startled her visibly.  “Look at me, Pumyra,” he asserted in a dangerous growl.  “I’m not who I used to be anymore.  Is this what you want to be close to, really?  Is it what you want to end up like, or even worse, not even able to be like this because I took too much of your blood in the heat of the moment instead?  Is that what you want?”

 

“I know you wouldn’t…”

 

“Wouldn’t what?” the tiger vampire demanded.  “Bite you?  Kill you?  Don’t be so sure!  I can only resist a temptation so long, and so many times.  That is one mortal flaw I still have.”

 

Pumyra bit her lip and steadied herself.  “I can’t believe you would be able to do it.  You might think about it, that dark part of you might even want it… but I don’t believe you, Bengali, could do it.  That’s why I trust you.”

 

He leaned forward and grabbed her roughly, shaking her lighter frame easily with his vampiric strength and superior bulk.  “Don’t.  I don’t trust myself and you shouldn’t either.”  Bengali drew back his lips in an aggressive hiss and stared hungrily at the tender flesh of her neck.  She gasped audibly, and he caught the distinct scent of fear and adrenaline in her blood. 

 

“You’re afraid of me,” he growled.  “Good.  You should be.  Now use your common sense and get as far away from me as you can.  Go back to Cat’s Lair before I do something we’ll both regret.”

 

Pumyra stood there silently in numbed shock for a moment.

 

“Do it!” Bengali roared.  “Go!”

 

Her eyes filling with tears, Pumyra took one last long look at him, and then turned and fled the Tower of Omens without a word.

 

* * *

 

The mood was equally sour, although for a different reason, over in the old stone tower that once belonged to robber Baron Karnor and that had now been claimed by the vampire Janette as her home.  As she landed on the balcony, she threw open the heavy doors that led into the suite at the top and lit the candles and braziers that served as lighting in the ancient place.  Soon the plush room was alit with the glow of candlelight, and she stretched out on the plush velvet bedding of the large wrought-iron framed bed feeling incredibly aggravated.

 

“Once again the evening ends in disaster and I get to hear yet another whining speech from Nicola,” she muttered, although she knew that there was no one there to hear her aside from perhaps the ghost of Baron Karnor himself.  But if he was there, he certainly was not answering and Janette thought bitterly even that if he might have been, he would probably think the do-gooding blond vampire was a fool too.

 

Janette lay there for several minutes feeling sorry for herself.  Her justification for doing so was that even if she spent all night doing it, it would still never hold a candle in comparison to Nick’s time spent at it over the years.  Eventually, however, she heard a voice outside that shook her out of her self-pitying thoughts.  “Janette!” the distinct and suave voice of the Lunatac Alluro called out.  “Are you there?” 

 

As she got to her feet she heard grumbling, presumably Alluro attempting to find an entrance into the stone tower.  She had told the Lunatacs where she was staying, and she hoped that Alluro was the only one who was present.  She did not mind his company, but she was not in the mood to hear Luna whine about being defeated or to hear any of the nonsense from the others.  “I’m up here,” Janette called down, standing against the edge of the balcony.  She saw Alluro standing alone at the base of the tower.  “I don’t think you should go in by any door down there, presuming you even find it,” the vampiress warned.  “I have no idea yet how to deactivate the, shall we call them, security features of this place.”

 

Alluro smiled up at her.  “I don’t suppose I could trouble you for a lift, then?”

 

The Lunatac was still waiting for her answer when she was at his side.  She circled her arm around his waist, and before he knew it, he stood beside her on the stone balcony at the tower’s summit, even with the tallest trees in the forest and above the majority.  He glanced down at the comparatively petite formerly human vampire and smiled.  Even though he knew rationally that it was her immortality that granted her the strength, it struck him as odd that someone so much smaller than he could maneuver someone his size so easily.  “That is so convenient,” he remarked, and peered into the reclaimed suite.  “Very nice… and private,” he murmured a shade of envy in his tone.  Despite the immense size of Skytomb, given the nature of his fortress-mates his home was anything but.

 

“So what made you decide to visit me here rather than returning to Skytomb with the others after that little fiasco?” Janette questioned, walking inside and inviting him to take a seat on the edge of the bed. 

 

Alluro accepted the invitation and sat at the head of the bed, resting his back against the pillows and his arm on the ornately designed iron headpiece.  “Partly frustration, but mostly not wanting to hear Luna blame it all on us or Mumm-Ra, and bitch about it for hours,” the psi replied honestly.

 

“She is quite trying,” Janette agreed, and sat beside him.

 

“We could have won that fight,” Alluro said resentfully.  “We had won that fight, at least until Nick and Bengali showed up.  If we’d had just a little more power, we might have been able to best them anyway rather than wind up running away from that damned sword in humiliated defeat.”

 

Janette nodded.  “I must say, I’m starting to truly understand why you detest that lion and his magic sword so.  Does he always spout that self-righteous nonsense in the heat of battle?”

 

Alluro let out a bitter laugh.  “Always.”

 

“I probably shouldn’t be surprised that Nicola chooses to spend his time with someone like that,” the vampiress said with a shake of her head.

 

“I know you and he go back a long way, but by the Moons, Janette, he is so annoying.  Having my orb broken by someone like him or Lion-O and having it make me lose my hold over those I have in a thrall makes me even angrier than it would if it had just been shattered as a battle casualty.”

 

“You can replace that, right?” Janette inquired.

 

The psi nodded affirmatively.  “I have plenty of the crystal back at Skytomb, and it’s easily enough found in DarkSide if you know where to look for it.”  He sighed and glanced out at the night sky beyond the open double oaken doors.  “My powers are strong, the strongest on Third Earth or the Moons, but I can’t help but think if they had been just a shade stronger… I would not have needed the additional boost of my crystal to maintain my mental hold on them.”

 

Janette picked up on the Lunatac’s train of thought and eyed him curiously.  “You’re thinking that perhaps if Chilla and Luna had not interrupted us that night in the forest that the tide of battle might not have turned so easily once your orb was broken?  That if you had been a vampire like LaCroix and I, the odds would have been improved?”

 

Alluro’s gaze shifted from the sky to the vampire woman on the bed beside him, pleased to see that she was on the same wavelength as he.  “Yes.  I am convinced that the innate mesmeriziation abilities that come with being a vampire will magnify and intensify my own to an incredible degree.  I may not even really need my psych club any longer, or with it I may be better at it than should be even possible.”

 

“That could be… and it is a shame that we were interrupted and did not have the chance to find out.”

 

“We still have the chance,” he hinted, leaning forward meaningfully, “if your offer to bring me across still stands, that is.  We may not be able to change what happened tonight, but next time could be an entirely different story.”

 

A dark smile crossed Janette’s features as Alluro leaned in closer to her.  The scent of the Lunatac’s willing blood that she had once tasted called to her again, and it occurred to her that unlike that night in the woods, here in her suite and far from Skytomb and the others, there would be no interruption if she chose to take him.  She brought her hand to the side of his face and trailed her finger along his jaw.  “The offer most certainly still stands.”

 

He gazed into her eyes, still human in appearance, but intently fixed upon him.  “You and I would make an incredible team… my mind powers amplified and my vampire ones honed to perfection by my beautiful teacher.”  He closed his long fingers around the delicate wrist of the hand that touched his face and smoothed them down her arm suggestively.

 

“And mistress,” Janette added, resting her fingertip on the tip of his jaw for a moment before sliding it gently down the side of his neck.

 

“And mistress,” he echoed in acceptance.  Although he did not fully understand the intricacies of a vampire’s bond to the one that brings him or her across, he knew it not to be entirely unpleasant.  Such a bond with someone he could be fond of was not an altogether bad thing, and however it worked, it had to be better than being mortal and answering to someone like Luna.  Besides, the word “mistress” had several connotations, and Alluro figured that exploring them all might prove quite exciting if the lusty embrace they had shared that night in the woods was any indication.

 

Moving with deliberate grace and seductiveness, Janette climbed into his lap and snaked her arm around Alluro’s shoulders.  A pleased smile of anticipation on his face, the psi drew his arm around the vampiress and settled back against the pillows with her until they lay comfortably in the plush bedding together.  He felt her lips brush against his skin and he closed his eyes, stroking her back lightly with his hand. 

 

“You’ve thought this out?” Janette whispered softly, breathing lustily against his warm skin.  “Drinking the blood, killing, never being able to see the sun again except for a brief and painful glance, or through a mechanical monitor?”

 

“Yes,” Alluro murmured contentedly.

 

“And your friends, you understand that you will watch them age and die while frozen as you are in time, still in your prime, strong and healthy,” she said, her voice soothing his thoughts in a silken purr.  “You’re ready for all of this?”

 

“Very.”  There was not even the slightest bit of hesitation in the Lunatac’s voice as he spoke the words, only anticipation and more than a small bit of arousal.

 

Alluro’s answer was all the confirmation Janette needed to indulge in that which he willingly offered her.  She kissed the underside of his jaw sensually and slid her legs across his prone form until she lay on top of him.  She felt him slide his hands slowly along her torso and back, that time not hesitating when they circled around her backside.  Instead they deliberately traced the soft curves to the hem of her dress. 

 

Enjoying the suggestive caress, Janette leaned in and kissed the Lunatac’s lips lightly.  “I was going to tell you that there were two ways we could do this—the quick and dirty way or the more thorough and intimate way… the fun way,” she finished after a moment’s pause.  Janette shifted slightly backward, her lithe body rubbing teasingly against his as it lay beneath her.  The vampiress could feel the hard evidence of Alluro’s desires straining against the confines of his clothing and nudging at the inside of her thigh, and a sly and knowing smile crossed her lips.  “But I don’t think I need to ask which way you would prefer to be taken, do I?”

 

The Lunatac mirrored her flirtatious amusement and dipped his fingers beneath the line of her dress.  He inched them upward slowly, savoring the smoothness of her skin beneath as he went.  “You may have me any way you want me,” he assured the vampiress with a grin.  “And for as long.”

 

Janette kissed him lustfully on the lips.  “For eternity?” she murmured in a husky whisper.

 

“Especially for that,” the aroused Alluro panted, and kissed the immortal atop him hungrily.

 

The lustier drives of her vampire nature surged within Janette as the mortal and willing Lunatac beneath her ignited the flames of her desire.  The taste of his kiss hinted at the richer taste of his blood that lay beneath the skin and the pleasing caress of his fingers, now gently kneading her backside beneath her clothing, left her wanting more.  She wriggled invitingly on top of him as the kiss intensified to its peak.  When it ended she sat up straight, straddling his torso and resting her hands upon his chest.

 

Alluro grinned at the lovely seductress above him and used the opportunity to slide her burgundy velour dress that he had gathered about his wrists from fondling her buttocks upward and then over her head in a smooth motion, only having to lean up for a moment before tossing the garment to the floor beside them.  The Lunatac was quite pleased to see that the dress was quite literally all the vampiress wore.  He had already been pleasantly surprised with the lack of underwear on her bottom half, and he supposed that perhaps she had not found any in the time she had been free or that she was simply one of the women who did not mind going without.  He was not going to ponder the matter too deeply, rather simply enjoy it instead—and he enjoyed the view of the nude and alluring vampiress on top of him quite thoroughly.

 

Sliding his hands around from her rear to her front, Alluro then smoothed them along her silken skin in a gentle caress across her abdomen and ending upon her breasts.  Her ivory skin looked flawless in the soft glow of the suite’s candlelight, and it felt even more delightful to the touch, especially as she breathed with obvious pleasure when he did touch her.  Suddenly the psi’s own clothing felt incredibly restrictive and he wished she would take it off of him, or let him free himself of it, so that he could feel her inviting softness against him completely.

 

“Such sensual creatures, you vampires,” Alluro whispered approvingly, admiring her feminine assets with both his eyes and his fingertips.  “And with endless time to enjoy it.”  He savored the soft curves of her bared breasts for a few more moments before he could stand the temptation no more and grasped her firmly—but not harshly—by the torso and rolled over so that he was on top of her.  Although he was perfectly content to be seduced and enjoyed by a strong lover, Alluro was not content to take a completely passive role in his lusty play.  All Lunatacs liked it at least a little rough and the psi was no exception.  Alluro then leaned up, admiring the sight of Janette pinned beneath him and the pleasant sensation of her legs wriggling out from beneath him and snaking around his midsection. 

 

Further excited by his aggressive display, Janette used her new position beneath the Lunatac to her advantage to tease him further.  After a moment of allowing him to look upon her beauty, she sat up to press her naked body against him, circling her hands around the back of his head for support.  Her mouth found his neck once more, and the vampiress felt the hot pulse of the Lunatac’s mortal rushing blood against the skin, tempting her to taste it once again.  Janette opened her mouth and bit down lightly, enough for sensation but not enough to break the psi’s skin, eliciting a pleasured grunt from him.  She wanted it so strongly, that hot rush of ecstasy, but she would not take it yet.  Instead she kissed Alluro again and then leaned back against the covers, drawing her hands down to his shoulders as she did so.  On the way her fingers found his shoulder straps, and she slid them down his arms along with her fingers.

 

Alluro was more than willing to help his vampire lover relieve him of the restraints of his clothing.  The Lunatac slipped his arms free of the straps and reached to undo his belt while Janette trailed her fingers along his bare chest, placing small and sensual kisses upon random spots.  Alluro had no sooner dispensed with his belt and the attached straps and breechclout to the floor when one of Janette’s hands found and began to fondle his very clearly aroused manhood through the fabric of his remaining pants.  “And to think when we started, I had wondered briefly if Lunatacs were compatible with human bodies,” Janette remarked, stroking her fingers sensuously along his generous endowment.

 

The psi experienced a fresh surge of desire at the erotic touch that doubled as he glanced down to watch her nimble fingers doing it.  “It looks like it to me, but you’re the one with thousands of years of experience, so you tell me what you think,” the Lunatac teased back.  He ran his fingers through the vampiress’ wild dark hair and tilted her face up toward his, shifting his gaze to her eyes. 

 

“My experience lies exclusively with human men or vampires that were once human men,” Janette told him, releasing him for a moment to pull his loose brown pants down to his knees.  She broke their gaze to admire what sprang free as she did so, and then smoothed the fingers of her right hand along his erection.  As she did so she gave him the answer.  “But I will say that I think it is very fortunate that immortality makes us quite flexible,” she stated coyly. 

 

While Alluro’s ego basked in the complement and before he could respond she surprised him by suddenly pushing upward against him, knocking him onto his side against the plush bedding of the mattress.  Janette quickly circled her nude body around and partially on top of his, and used her foot to push his pants from his knees to his ankles and then off onto the floor on the far side of the bed.  As her hand found its way back to his manhood his in turn found its way to her more intimate places, traveling there in a soft caress that did not end and only intensified into a gentle rub when it reached its goal.

 

The passion between the pair of vampire and mortal Lunatac mounted in the erotic embrace, both driven to a higher level of desire by the ministrations of the other.  Alluro kissed Janette again, this time with more demand and ardor while his fingers subtly delved more deeply into her moist softness with each stroke.  As the kiss finished he nipped at her neck much in the same manner she had at his earlier, guessing that vampires would find their bite as erotic to receive as they did to give it.  He was pleased to learn that his instinct was right on the mark when Janette inhaled sharply and in audible pleasure as his teeth made rough contact with her skin.  “You like that,” Alluro murmured, whispering in her ear with a smug smile on his face.  “I’ll remember that.”  He kissed her softly on the site of the bite as if to reinforce the statement.

 

Janette let out a seductive laugh and momentarily wriggled out of Alluro’s grasp, catching the Lunatac by surprise with the speed and grace by with which she did so.  Before Alluro could react, the vampiress flipped him completely onto his back in a swift motion.  His eyes lit up with anticipation and excitement as she climbed over him on all fours, her head hovering teasingly over his waiting erection.  He pulled back his leg and bent his knee to make plenty of space for his vampire mistress, and as she bent over and traced her tongue along his waiting length he threw his head back for just a moment and rubbed against her encouragingly with the side of his knee.  When she took him fully into her mouth, he groaned audibly in pleasure.  “I’d tell you to mind the fangs, but it’s clear you need absolutely no instruction,” the psi said with breathless excitement and thrust ever so slightly into her mouth.

 

Alluro gripped the sensual velvet of the vampire’s bed in ecstasy as her lips and tongue teased and tasted him in all the right ways.  He felt the desire inside him mounting, and the hold on his suave veneer became more tenuous with each passing moment.  Janette could feel the rising passion in the toy within her grasp.  Her keen vampire senses could smell it in the scent of his rushing blood and taste it upon his hot and aroused skin.  She teased him for as long as he could stand, bringing him nearly to the brink, and then pulled her head away all at once. 

 

As Janette looked up at Alluro at that moment where she left him flustered and unspent, she found herself quite amused by the uncharacteristically wild, excited, and annoyed look upon his normally composed features, entirely stripped of their charming façade by uninhibited lust.  The vampiress flashed the Lunatac a promising smile and then bent down low, pressing her naked skin against his.  The flash of frustration Alluro had felt ebbed and gave way to a more contented desire as Janette then teased him by seductively crawling upward, leaving his waiting maleness to brush against the silken skin of her face, her neck, the valley between her breasts, her torso, and finally what lay lower until they were properly aligned.

 

A shiver of anticipation and excitement ran through the Lunatac as he felt her deliberately brush her sex against his.  He eyed her with heavy lust, eager to have her and unwilling to indulge in any further foreplay unless she decided otherwise with a display of immortal assertion.  Alluro slid his hands up the soft skin of Janette’s thighs and grasped her waist firmly with a lusty growl.

 

Take me, her voice echoed in his mind as she spoke to him telepathically, their eyes locked upon each other.  Alluro noticed that her eyes were no longer the lovely calm ones of her human façade but had reverted to the wild and beautiful ones of her dark vampire nature.  Take me so I can take you. 

 

The Lunatac needed no further prompting, and entered her forcefully, eliciting a mutual gasp of delight from them both.  As Alluro then began to take his pleasure thrusting within her willing body, Janette arched her back excitedly, resting her weight upon her knees as she straddled him.  Her dark hair flew wildly against the shadows of the candlelight and made a stark contrast to her luminous skin and glowing eyes as she writhed upon his body, her breasts bouncing with each thrust and buck.  The lusting Alluro enjoyed the visual show of the seductive vampiress enjoying him as much as he did the erotic sensations of the act itself.

 

As the intensity of the act mounted, Janette smoothed her fingers teasingly along her body as much for her own enjoyment as his.  She started on her neck and drew them down to her breasts, moving slowly and deliberately across them.  One glance at the psi’s grinning face was enough to confirm that he delighted in the show, as if the quickened pace and deeper penetration of his thrusts was not enough indication.  After lingering for a moment she lowered her fingers from chest to her belly, until they settled upon the Lunatac’s strong hands, still upon her hips to guide her motions in time with his. 

 

Janette caressed the psi’s long fingers for a moment before snaking her own beneath them, taking his hands in hers and drawing them upward and away from her body, giving her more freedom to writhe and bounce with his powerful thrusts.  She continued to lift his hands up, and then instead of smoothing them along her skin as he expected, she shoved forward forcefully with her vampiric strength, pinning the Lunatac tightly against the bed by his wrists and burying him deep within her. 

 

Instinctively Alluro wriggled beneath the vampiress and tested her strength with playful rebelliousness.  Not that he minded being pinned beneath Janette—if anything, his ego swelled at her obvious desire for him—but it did catch him by surprise, especially since she had him held fast.  As a result he did exactly what she had hoped—shoved his hips upward in hard and rough protest, driving himself into her with force.

 

Janette bucked feverishly on top of him, riding him hard and intensely and escalating the pleasure for them both.  Alluro found himself naturally straining against her grip, not to stop her—by the Moons, not to stop her, the aroused psi thought, but simply out of unspent frustration.  His entire body ached for the pleasure of release and he worked hard for it, much to the erotic delight of the vampiress on top of him.

 

As her own lust raged and she sensed the mortal Lunatac beneath her nearing his release, Janette lowered her head to Alluro’s neck once more, kissing it in anticipation while she rocked her body in perfect rhythm with his thrusts, coaxing him to his craved release so she could take him as she intended at that golden moment when his blood would taste the sweetest.  She did not have to wait long.

 

Sent over the edge by her wild and slithery movements on top of him in combination with the teasing nips and kisses upon his neck, Alluro felt his entire body tense and then release in one powerful snap.  He buried himself deep within Janette for one final time and just as the sweet sensation of his climax filled his senses, he felt the sharp sensation of her fangs tearing into his neck.

 

Alluro groaned in indescribable ecstasy as he felt his hot and coursing blood flow through his veins and into the lusting vampiress’ waiting mouth as easily as his seed did into her willing body.  He gasped in heady and orgasmic delight for a moment, feeling a strange lightheaded sensation as she took him even stronger than what he had felt the first time she had bitten him in the woods all those nights ago.

 

Janette drank from her willing mortal with shameless pleasure.  The rewarding and rich taste of his exotic Lunatac blood, dark and satisfying, filled her senses with an intoxicating delight that only enhanced the orgasm she experienced from the sex they had shared.  As she continued to take him, she stretched her limber body fully against his prone one, releasing the tight grip she had on his wrists in favor of a more intimate and gentle caress for the final moments of the act.  She savored every mouthful of his willing blood until she dared take no more, lest she risk killing him, and parted from him with a sensual kiss upon the two prominent puncture wounds on his neck.

 

The exhausted and quite literally drained Alluro rolled back limply against the pillows, his breath shallow and growing weak as Janette withdrew and licked her lips, quite satisfied.  She traced a finger across his face and smiled down at him, Alluro looking back at her with eyes that already had started to glaze over.  “It will soon be done,” she assured him softly, and got up from the bed.

 

A moment later she returned holding a silvery dagger with a gold and jewel encrusted handle, one of the former Baron Karnor’s many hoarded treasures.  Wordlessly she sliced it into her wrist, spilling her unnatural vampire blood, and sat beside him, pressing the wound to his lips.  “Drink,” she instructed.  “Take my blood into you and come across.”

 

Alluro did as Janette bade him and swallowed the rush of blood that entered his mouth, at first hesitatingly and then hungrily as the vampire spirit in her blood took hold within his own.  Janette allowed him to drink for several moments, until she was certain that he’d had enough and had come across, and then withdrew her wrist.

 

She leaned down and kissed his lips gently.  “Sleep now, my fledgling Lunatac,” she whispered, and flicked a lock of his hair off of his chest and onto the pillow beside him.  “And when you wake you will be a vampire.”

 

 

Continued

 

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