Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

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francis
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Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

Post by francis »

Finally, the drought is over. This one is fresh from the freezer - ahem, beta. Thank you so much to redwinter101 for looking through and encouraging me.
The usual disclaimers still apply.

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link back to chapter 21:
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=4307&p=97443#p97443

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Twists of Fate Chapter 22

I had a rough night after all that had happened. I couldn’t sleep, thinking about Lola and Morgan, Mick and Beth.

I knew now that Morgan was a vampire, but did Beth know? Did all the vampires know each other? Did Mick know Morgan? If her real name was Coraline, did she use different names all the time? How old was she? Where did she get the blood she needed? Where did Mick get it? How many vampires were there in L.A.? Did Lola really die in the fire and would she be gone for good?

In the morning I called Beth. It went straight to voicemail but I asked her to meet me as soon as possible. I really needed to talk to her.

Afterwards I called Morgan. She didn’t pick up either. Seems the women in my life were dodging my calls. Well, she was probably sleeping. Didn’t vampires sleep in the day? It made sense now that Mick was so annoyed when Beth and I went to see him early in the morning.Where did vampires sleep, anyway? I couldn’t see them using a coffin. Maybe a light-proof room, a safe hiding place.

At work I got a good lashing from the boss for letting the drug manufacturer get away. I tried to explain it wasn’t my fault, but he wasn’t buying it. Even if he did, he still needed someone to carry the can.

I had a crazy idea that maybe the drug was made out of blood. It might have been the vampire connection that made me think of it, the medical equipment added to it, but I couldn’t tell Carl about it, could I? It made no difference anyway, Lola was gone and the drug was gone, the case would be closed soon.

The rest of the day was pretty mundane and I was glad of it. It was hard, second guessing all the time what someone else might or might not know, how much to reveal about what you knew. How did Morgan cope? She lived with a secret, led a double life as photographer and vampire. What bothered me most was the question of what she wanted from me, and from Beth. It seemed to me that Morgan had tried to get between us and seduce me, but I had no idea why. I needed to keep my wits about me where she was concerned.

A second call to her went through. „Hello?“

„Morgan, this is Josh. Do you have time to talk?“

„Yeah, I’m free till afternoon. Could we meet for lunch? I’ll come to your office.“

I cringed. „Let’s meet at the bistro around the corner. The office is kind of busy today.“

„Okay.“ Her tone was neutral. There was no passion, no emotion, no connection. It was as if yesterday hadn’t happened.

When she walked into the bistro an hour later, she greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. She sat down and ordered coffee and a bagel. She told me that she had been working on the portfolio about night time L.A. and she was very energetic. When she started eating, I watched her closely.

„What’s the matter?“ she asked lightly.

„You’re eating,“ I said. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

„Hey, why shouldn’t I? Do you think I’m fat or something?“ she laughed. I moved forward and whispered, „You were a vampire yesterday.“

„A what?“

„You told me. And you had fangs. I saw it. When we made love yesterday, before the raid. You came to me to talk, and then you explained to me that you were a …“ I stopped because she was looking at me with a mixture of
concern and derision.

Leaning in, she spoke in a very low voice, „Josh, be careful. Don’t talk about that in public. Just act natural. I took something to mask my condition, because I can’t let anyone know. Do you understand?“

I nodded. „So it’s possible to become human again?“

„Only temporarily. I have to be careful because someone is after me.“

„Sorry, Morgan. I have so many questions. And I need some answers.“

„Fire away,“ she smiled.

I wasn’t sure where to even begin. „Why did you tell me about it? Why me?“

She relaxed into her chair and took a sip of coffee, taking her time.

„First of all, it’s not easy to keep the secret at all times. I thought you would be someone I could share it with. Second, I wanted to make love to you, and arousal brings out the vampire. I thought I needed to tell you before I shocked you. And third, I need your help.“

Oh, of course it would be something like that. I thought about her words. „Is it true what you told me about Mick?“

„It’s true, but I wouldn’t go and talk to him about it.“

„Of course not. Do you know about Lola? Is she dead?“

„I’m not sure. It’s possible that she escaped, but I don’t know. She hasn’t contacted me at all.“

„How many va-, sorry. How many are there?“

„Not that much considering the overall human population, but there might be a few hundred in the US, concentrated mainly on the east and west coast. In Europe, there are more. On other continents, they are more spread out. It’s easier to keep the secret in an urban environment.“

„A few hundred? That’s impressive.“

„Okay, one more question, then I need to get going.“

„How did you become one?“

She smiled uncomfortably. „Every one of us has been killed and turned by someone we call our sire. In our circles it’s kind of rude to ask about it. Maybe I’ll tell you some day, but not now, okay?“

I nodded. She had given me food for thought, but not much substance.

She got up and collected her purse. „Let’s meet tonight, Josh. Would you come over to my place?“

„Okay.“

She smiled, kissed me again and walked out.

I hoped the thing she needed my help with wasn’t something illegal. Whatever it was, it was important enough to her that she risked telling me her secret.

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When I knocked at Morgan’s house she came to the door wearing a flowered, black, silk robe. Her hair was up, secured with chopsticks. She looked classy, like one of those old movie stars of the 40s. Soft music was playing on the stereo, and a bottle of red wine was already opened.

„Would you like something to eat? I have the fixings for a roast beef sandwich in the fridge, and we could have a salad with it.“

„Yeah, that would be great. Do you enjoy eating when you get the chance?“

She laughed, throwing her head back. It made my heart swell. „Exactly. I haven’t been eating for over 200 years, and I love it. You know, when I’m a vampire things taste like cardboard, and I can’t digest anything.“

„Just blood?“

„Yeah. Everything else comes back up.“ Unfazed by the image, she started fixing the sandwiches while I cleaned the lettuce and cut up an onion.

„What does blood taste like?“

She hesitated. „It’s hard to explain. It doesn’t taste as coppery as when you’re human, it has a lot of flavor to it. You can discern the blood types and what a person has been eating. Not exactly the meals, but if they have been eating healthy, or if they smoke, or take drugs. It’s all in the blood.“

„So what kind of blood tastes best?“

„Always the one of your own blood type. Which would be A negative for me. People who eat healthy, who exercise, younger people taste better. What’s your favorite food, Josh?“

I thought about that for a moment while we settled at the table with our plates. „I love Italian food, and just the plain homecooked things, like mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables. My mum used to cook and I spent a lot of time helping her.“

„Where’s your family now?“ Morgan bit into her sandwich with abandon, but seemed genuinely interested in what I had to tell.

„I grew up in San Diego, that’s where I still have relatives. My parents died in a car crash when I was in law school. I have a sister in Oregon, she’s married with kids. What about you?“

She took a napkin out of a holder. „I was born in France in the 18th century. Was turned at 23. I came to the US during the Civil War. Settled in California around 1940. We have to move around a lot, you know. The younger the vampire, the more difficult it is. Ten years or so, and people start to notice that you don’t get older.“

I hadn’t thought about that.

We worked together to clean up the kitchen. It felt domestic, almost routine. It was even more domestic than with Beth, because she always left the dishes for me, running to her laptop to work on something.

We settled on the couch and Coraline started to stroke her hands down my back, kneading my shoulders, nuzzling into my hair. We kissed, and the desire to have her grew. I undressed her slowly, kissing the skin I revealed. She opened the buttons on my shirt and ripped it out of the pants. When we were both finally naked, she stood up and took my hand, leading me
to the bedroom.

This time we went slow, tenderly stroking each other, finding places that felt good. She moaned and arched, and I waited for her eyes to pale, but it didn’t happen. When I entered her slowly she smiled up at me. „Josh, please. Make love to me.“ After the experience with Black Crystal this was different, more subdued, less frantic.

Afterwards we held each other, and this time she felt warm in my arms. She pulled close, mumbling into my neck. „I wouldn’t have thought I would enjoy this so much. Being human is kind of lame, but I didn’t have to be careful today.“

„Why would you need to be careful?“

„I could have hurt you, badly. Not only by drinking blood and draining you; a vampire is strong enough to break bones. But maybe you liked it better then.“

„I liked it both ways. You know, it’s nice to give up control once in a while, but I didn’t know you could be so tender.“

She smiled. „There’s a lot you don’t know about me.“

We fell into a gentle silence and I drifted to sleep. I woke with a start to find Morgan sitting on the bed wearing her black silk robe again.

„Sorry to wake you, but I really need to talk to you.“

I sat up against the headboard and pulled her onto my lap.

She relaxed into my arms. „This is about Mick. I’ve been his wife, and I loved him, so I turned him into a vampire. But I made a huge mistake and didn’t tell him beforehand, and he’s been hating me for that ever since. At one point he tried to kill me. He drove a stake into my heart and set the house on fire. I was lucky and escaped. He doesn’t know I’m alive. That was 22 years ago.“ She stopped.

I was perplexed. That wasn’t the Mick I knew, but maybe what he had done had changed him. Still, he had murdered his wife. Morgan had told me the story so matter-of-factly, as if there were no emotion involved, like a police report.

„What do you want to do? Have you seen Mick again?“

„No, I’ve avoided him. It wasn’t easy once he started visiting Buzzwire. I don’t know yet what I really want. I want him to see how much he hurt me. I want him to be sorry. I want to hurt him.“ Her voice was getting louder, but cold and flat.

I didn’t like this. She had revenge in mind, and she probably had a plan. What did she need me for? „What’s your plan?“ I asked softly.

„I’ll come back into his life, but as Morgan, not as Coraline. He will be confused, he doesn’t know about the cure to become human. I will plant clues for him and see how he reacts. He’s smart, he will figure it out. It will make him relive what he did back then. And once he gets that I’m Coraline, I’ll see what I’ll do then.“

„Do you want him back?“ I just had to know. Did she want me only as a plaything?

„I’m not sure. In a way, I’m still in love with him. But he’s hurt me too badly, and then there’s you. I’m just not sure.“

Seemed like an honest answer. „So, what do you need me for?“

„I want to recreate the fire. I need you to back me up so the police doesn’t investigate.“

„I can’t do that. You can’t go and burn down a building, and ask me to circumvent an investigation. That’s not in my power, and I wouldn’t do it.“

She sighed. „I didn’t mean to burn down something valuable, just some old shack. If you don’t help me, I’ll have to make sure I don’t get caught. My problem is, how do I get Mick to take notice that the fire is about him?“

She jumped out of the bed. „I have a great idea. Let’s make a photo of you and me. You look a lot like Mick, in a way. I’ll fake a photo that shows us in a fire, and photograph the next fire that happens in L.A. Then I will put the photo into the gallery and make him see it. That should get his attention.“

„Won’t he recognize me?“

„That’s the trick. It will confuse the hell out of him, knowing that it can’t be you, because you aren’t burned, and I’m not either. But it will look just like our fight back then.“

She asked me to put on my clothes and stand against the white wall of her bedroom. Reluctantly I agreed. She put on an off-white flowing dress with long sleeves, then brushed and blow-dried her straight hair into some waves. She put on make-up and set up her camera on a tripod.

„Now pretend you’re choking me from behind. Try to look angry.“ She set the camera timer.

Somehow I'd let her suck me in and now it was too late to back out. When the camera flashed I think I looked more scared than angry.

I just hoped all of this wouldn’t end up with someone getting hurt.

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link to chapter 23:
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=5307
Last edited by francis on Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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wollstonecraft61
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Re: Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

Post by wollstonecraft61 »

francis, I love your evil Morgan/Coraline. You have her pegged. Great job! I believe Josh is in for a world of hurt, both physical and emotional. He better take care with someone like Morgan. He may end up dead.
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NocturneInCMoll
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Re: Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

Post by NocturneInCMoll »

Wow--Twists indeed, Francis! At least Josh is smart enough to be wary, but he's still dangerously involved. Can't wait to see where this goes!

P.S. Glad your muse on this is back. :biggrin:
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Re: Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

Post by VampFan5 »

Wow Francis. Finally an update. She is really pulling Josh into her web of deceit but I have to say I really like the sweet side of Coraline . She seems genuine and I like how tender they were with each other. In a way she's better for Josh than Beth but I'm still worried this relationship will lead to his death. I love this story.

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mitzie
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Re: Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

Post by mitzie »

Wow!! Josh is definitely not fully aware of what he is getting into here and he is hooked on Morgan/Coraline and her shifts in mood and personality traits. Yes she can be tender, but where will that get him??!! He's crossing a line here that he doesn't even know exists. I love this story and can't wait to see what happens next(glad your muse is back)... :yahoo: :yahoo: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :hyper2: :dizzy: :eek2: :devil: :sigh: :nosee: :nails: :yahoo: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :thud: :thud: :thud: :thud: :notworthy: :hearts: :flowers:


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francis
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Re: Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

Post by francis »

Thank you, woll. Yes, Morgaline knows just how to get to poor Josh. He’s taking care, but he doesn’t yet believe that she’s really planning something evil.

Thanks, Nocturne. Josh begins to be more involved and it’s gonna end badly, probably. I’m glad my muse came back.

Thanks, VampFan. Coraline has a tender side, she’s really looking for love and Josh has some traits of what she loved in Mick. I hope she doesn’t spoil him.

Thanks Mitzie. Poor Smilies, they seem to be worried in there. But don’t worry, I’m a sucker for happy endings. Still, Josh has crossed from observer to witness to being involved, and he doesn’t even know in what.
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Re: Twists of Fate Chapter 22 (PG-13)

Post by jen »

This is huge!!! Coraline seems to be honest with Josh. That is exactly what she did. If Josh would willingly decide to enter her world, be turned knowing what is coming, this could work out entirely differently.

Off to read more!

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