The Awakening (3 page)

             
“You are enjoying the celebrations?” he asked, his voice low.  He was finding it hard to concentrate as the night called out to him and stirred his spirit.  Across from him he saw
Vardra
shiver at her own desire reflected within his eyes, and he immediately felt his body grow hard with the need to carry her away from this place and get lost within her.

             
“Oh yes!”  Thais answered breathily, oblivious for the moment to the growing heat between her companions.  “There is so much love here, so much purity of heart and thought.  I don’t think I have ever felt such a
perfect
blend of souls.”  She reached over for the cask of wine that sat to one side and Dominic was immediately pulled away from the intensity of his growing need to possess
Vardra
, reminded
of his
duties until Aramis arrived.

             
“I would recommend going easy on the wine,” he cautioned with a smile as she looked up at him.  Her face was flush and her eyes round and warm, and just being near her seemed to sooth one’s soul in some odd way he could not define. 

             
“Where I was raised, children are given wine at an early age.  Watered, true, until they are older, but wine, none the less.
”  She pushed the hair back from her face and crinkled her nose as she teased.  “Unlike most, o
ur kind does not suffer to any great degree the effects of wine and spirits, except perhaps to help our mother
s’
mothers sleep
better
at night.”  She smiled at him with the early stages of genuine affection, and he laughed at her easy rebuff.  She was not so timid as she appeared, he thought.  Perhaps she would be well-suited to their Lord after all. 

             
“As you wish,” he replied and took up the large bottle of wine himself to refill her glass. 
Vardra
watched him with doubtful eyes.

             
“Thais,” she said, “The wines here are not like those of your home.  Our wines are made to grace the halls of the Gods.  The fruit is cousin to Ambrosia, and the process of fermenting can make it just as potent.  Perhaps you should listen to Dominic.”

             
“Will you dance with me?”  Thais said, as if
Vardra
had not spoken at all.  It was not rudeness or disrespect but rather the effects of the wine she’d already consumed, and her jubilant excitement of experiencing so much so quickly. 
Vardra
laughed with genuine fondness and shook her head, then stood up.

             
“I would be honored,” she answered, and grabbed Thais’ hand.  “If it pleases our lord?” she said as she turned back to look at Dominic.  He smiled and nodded.

             
“Do not be gone too long.  Aramis is not the only one who desires to keep you both close this night.”  His eyes locked with
Vardra
’s, and his words caressed her need.  She would lie with him this night, she knew, and the anticipation of it made her heart race.

             
“We will not be long,” she answered with a slight bow.  Then she, too, giggled with as much excitement as her young charge, and the two of them locked arms and made their way to the large fire below, where already others had gathered to join the dance.

             
“Do you plan to hide among the bushes all night like a frightened girl?”  Dominic asked once the Thais and
Vardra
were well out of ear shot.  He turned as the foliage behind him began to rustle and stir, and then Aramis was there, looking down at him and grumbling.

             
“I didn’t want to scare her,” He chided as he watched Thais and
Vardra
join the others below, but Dominic only laughed and stood to join him.

             
“Do you remember when we met as young men?  Your father had sent you to my world for a time to learn the ways of mortal men, and your abilities there
were
quite restricted.”  Aramis cut his eyes at Dominic, not sure he liked where this was going.

             
“It was at Pariah’s Temple  - we called it the temple of the whores.”

             
Aramis grinned, then, at the memory.

             
“Diometi,” he said quietly.

             
“Diometi,” Dominic echoed. 

             
Diometi had been a talented, beautiful courtesan who had introduced both boys to manhood, and the two had met when she had made the unfortunate mistake of scheduling them both for the same block of time on one of their subsequent visits.  It had been on the verge of coming to blows between them when the whore’s husband had shown up to carry her back home and away from the temple
,
amid her screeching protests.  He had been a large, brutish man who had almost killed Aramis and Dominic both with little more than a knife and his bare hands, before the two had managed to take him down and render him unconscious so that they were able to make their escape with all haste.

             
“You look as scared now as you did when that brute had you by your balls, my friend,” Dominic said after a few moments of private reverie.

             
Aramis began to laugh.

             
“I thought the bastard meant to have them for a trophy,” he said as he shook his head, and immediately felt his mood begin to lighten considerably.  

             
“What do you think of
Vardra
?”  Aramis asked, changing the subject.

             
“I think you knew what I’d think of
Vardra
when you asked her to care for our guest.”

             
Aramis nodded, a proud grin on his face.

             
“She’s a lovely soul in need of healing, Dominic.  She still hurts from the loss of her husband after all this time.  I sense the pain that still hides in a small portion of her heart.  I know you well enough to know you would be moved to help her remember how beautiful she is, within and without.”  He narrowed his eyes as he turned to meet Dominic’s level gaze.  “Though in truth, I did not know you’d find yourself dumbstruck like some inept young man who could barely manage his way around a courtesan’s skirts.”

             
“Come morning, we’ll see who manages what manner of skirts, I think.” 

             
And so the easy banter between them continued for a time as they stood and watched the dance, enjoying the familiar pulse of the music.  It rolled across and around them, and the spirit of the evening carried those who danced along with it, their movements easy and graceful as they danced within one another’s arms.

             
It was an odd relationship the two men shared, more brothers than Master and servant.  Certainly they could not be called lovers.  Outside of those times when the bloodlust demanded the connection, Aramis felt no physical desire for Dominic, only a strong sense of love and camaraderie that transcended so much of what could be understood.  It had simply been an unfortunate mistake that Aramis had bonded Dominic to him when Aramis had been so young and inexperienced in such things, creating a connection so strong that his body routinely demanded Dominic’s for both feeding and physical release that he could get no from no one else.  Over the course of time he became more skilled in the art of bonding those who chose to serve him, but to Dominic alone he had given the gift of immortality, in those early days of coming to understand his abilities, not realizing at the time what such a gift would mean to them both.

             
Aramis had never again bestowed such a gift, once he understood and realized the strength of the feelings and emotions it invoked, the depth of need and spiritual connection it would intone.  He had never felt moved to do so. 

             
At least, not until now.

             
He watched her silhouette move with a new-found sense of her own womanhood, and he felt his soul stir and his body respond with a hum, wanting not simply to know the feel and taste of her, but to know all those things about her that made her so uniquely her.  Her aura was a warm blend of colors, forest greens and ocean
blues, which
seemed to cling and caress around her like a lover.  Even through the din of laughter and music, he could separate out the sound of her, soft and warm as she danced and breathed, lost to herself and to the moment.  Those around seemed drawn to her, responding to the brightness of her spirit with a natural desire to be close to her.

             
And then something deep and dark began to stir, for he came to see how she was being touched, fondled and caressed, becoming one with the others.  The Dance of Serpentine was a slow, sensual
blending
of movements meant to entice and arouse, to stroke the flames of
desire,
and compel those who danced to couple and come together.  And now she was a part of the night, a part of the dance, and already he could feel the heat of others as they moved close to her, not knowing who or what she was.  His eyes began to grow dark
and his body hard and tight, and
a low, soft growl begin to build and swell within his chest.

             
As soon as Dominic sensed his Lord’s shift in mood he responded, suddenly realizing his mistake in letting the two go below to dance.

             
“Stay here,” Dominic said firmly, “I’ll go and bring them back away from the others.”  Aramis nodded, knowing it best to let Dominic go below lest the beast surface and react to
how
so many seemed to be trying to get close to her.
             

             
Unaware of what was happening, Thais continued to be swept away by the rhythm of the music, the nature of her being such that she could not help but become consumed by the outpouring of love and acceptance that seemed to call out from all around her.  She was aware that the mood had changed, a subtle shift from that of jubilant celebration to
one that was undeniably erotic
, but she could not seem to separate herself from it all.  She felt free and light, and knew that for the first time in her life she was
actually
drunk.  The wine she’d had earlier had been sweet and cool, unlike any she’d ever tasted, with no hint of bitterness of fermentation, and so she had gulped it down like water, finding an ill-placed sense of security in having drank wine for most of her life. 

             
But now, she was fast finding that she should have listened to
Vardra
and Dominic, for her head seemed to swim and her thoughts were quickly becoming entangled and confused.  She could think only of the music, and the heat that was growing deep inside of her, and how desperately she needed to ease the ache that seemed to be demanding something more than an innocent caress.  She was aware of hands on and around her, gentle, inquisitive, seductive and arousing, and she moved against them, desperate to know their secrets. 

             
And then Dominic was there, larger than life.  For a moment she thought him angry, but then he smiled and took her hand in his to pull her gently along behind as he searched for
Vardra
.  He found her quickly, moving to pull her almost aggressively against him, and Thais stared in wonderment as his lips found hers and the two of them kissed.  It was
enchanting
, endearing, and arousing, and Thais smiled, sharing their connection and feeling her own heart swell with love for them both.

             
“Come, our Lord has finally decided to make an appearance and prefers we share his company alone for a time tonight.”  Dominic’s voice was warm and thick.  Thais could feel his desire for
Vardra
, and could also feel the woman’s heated need as her body responded in kind.

             
“You are both so beautiful,” Thais
blurted out
, her voice laced with awe and wonderment, and they each turned to look down at her where she had been forgotten for a moment.

             
And then Thais hiccupped.

             
Vardra
could not help herself at all, and began to giggle as she pulled Thais into her arms
to hug
her, seeing the younger woman weave and sway from the combined effects of the wine and the celebrations.

             
“I think we’ve already had this discussion,”
Vardra
teased, and she eased
Thais
between herself and Dominic as they moved to walk back up the gentle slope of the hill, that they might support her
better.
  They made their way slowly and carefully through the blankets and bodies scattered among and within one another, laughing softly at Thais’
whispered
comments along the way.