Tell me what you're going to do, let me decide if I want to see it.

I'm going to tear him apart, literally. Arms and legs and head and torso all in pieces. It will take him centuries to put himself back together, and even then he'll only manage to reconstruct himself if he's strong enough, and he may not be. Please, go with Fawne, don't stay and watch. I need to be ruthless, and I may not be able to do it efficiently if I'm worried about what you're thinking while I'm doing it.

Eric spoke out loud, "If you want me to love you, you can't pick and choose which parts of you I get to know. You were probably right to send me away last time, but I was in bad shape to start with, and I wasn't prepared for the differences in our societies. Today, however, I need you to trust me to see all of you - not just the civilized parts - and still love you."

Abbott?

I heard. Gavin will see to his safety until I arrive. Get in the right heads.p.a.ce to handle Leon. We'll take care of Eric for you.

Thanks. Can you let Eric know what you'll expect of him?

Certainly.

She kept her eyes focused on Leon, prepared in case he jumped her now, because she didn't trust him to follow the rules. People moved around her, but she focused on her adversary, his energy. She couldn't get past his shielding to see his thoughts, but his hatred of her was so great she could taste the bitter, acrid, rotten stench of it on the air.

Chapter Thirty-Two.

Gavin stepped to Eric, and stood between him and Leon, as if protecting him.

Eric felt Abbott's presence in his head a split second before he heard, Eric?

Yes, Abbott. Someone said you're on the way?

I am. Gavin will make sure you're safe, but it's important you don't try to contact Kendra. If you need something, contact me this way. Don't speak out loud, and please shield yourself so she doesn't pick up on stray thoughts. It's imperative you don't distract her.

Is she going to be okay? He won't hurt her, will he?

She'll have a few battle scars, but I doubt any will be around for longer than a week. She's already kicked his a.s.s twice. He's an idiot to challenge her again.

Vampires arrived and were herded downstairs. Eric felt more than one brain trying to probe his shields, but he held strong.

Kendra had transformed - her teeth longer and her skin thinner, so he could see the veins of her face, arms, and hands. Her eyes were different, reminding him more of an insect observing its prey. Even the way she stood reminded him more of a predatory beast than a bipedal human. Long, wicked claws were part of her fingers - not merely long fingernails, but f.u.c.king claws.

And yet, there was a deadly gracefulness about her.

Leon, too, had changed, but he was hideous. His stance awkward, his claws shorter, his clothes hanging on him like rags.

Kendra's clothes no longer fit correctly, but she always exuded elegance, even when in this monstrous form, apparently.

Abbott and Josef walked through the door together, and Abbott asked, "Leon, are you sure about this? On the third challenge when you've lost the first two, she can rend you into pieces, the only thing she's required to leave intact is your brain, brainstem, and heart, but she can tear the rest of you into pieces as small or large as she wishes."

Leon snarled at him as he spoke around his fangs. "She cannot touch me. Any Vampire who would submit to a human cannot cause such harm to me. I have challenged, and I will crush her. Now stop trying to put off the defeat and conquest of your third."

"Very well. Make your way to the bas.e.m.e.nt and we will follow, challenger."

Once again, Eric felt Abbott in his head a split second before he heard the Master Vampire's telepathic voice.

If anyone tries to interfere, as Master it's my job to take over their mind and hold them in place against their will. This applies to humans and vampires alike, and you're no different. I will place you so you have a good view, but if you step away from the wall, I'll take over control of your body so you have no choice but to stand in place.

Eric didn't respond, and after several seconds, Abbott added, If you'd prefer to wait in Kendra's suite, you're welcome to it.

No, I'm going to watch, and I'll stand where you put me. You're sure she'll be okay?

There are no guarantees, but Kendra should have no problem besting Leon. It will be bad, though, and you've recently eaten. Try not to throw up.

Eric shook his head as he followed Abbott into the cavernous room off the downstairs living quarters.

He was situated to the right of Abbott, with Gavin directly across the room.

Abbott walked to the middle of the room, between Kendra and Leon, and instructed, "All witnesses are to remain with their back against the wall and are not to interfere in any way. Leon will have won if he incapacitates Kendra to the extent she can no longer get up and fight. His blows should not result in more than a month of repair before Kendra is back to normal, and causing more harm than is allowed can result in his own death, by my hands. Kendra is important to our clan, important to me, and we need her at her best, especially now, when we aren't certain Mitroff won't attack without warning. I view his challenge at this point in time as an insult to us all, but he is nevertheless in his right to do so."

He took a breath, looked around, and continued. "The rules are different for Kendra since a third challenge when the first two were lost is seen as hara.s.sment. She is not to damage what is inside his skull, or destroy his heart, but she's free to rip the rest of him into whatever size pieces she wishes. Again, no one may interfere. Are the partic.i.p.ants ready?"

Kendra and Leon had undressed and faced each other, ready for battle. Vampires fight without clothes on, in part to a.s.sure there are no hidden weapons, but also to level the field and make sure no one wears armor that vampire claws might have trouble penetrating. Also, some vampires can shift into animal form, and the lack of clothes makes it easier to shift.

Abbott walked a circle and poured his power into it to make it solid. Much like a cage match, this would keep the fight contained until Abbott broke the circle. He looked at Kendra, then Leon, and said, "Incipio."

While Abbott had created the circle, Kendra allowed the part of her to rise to the surface that she normally kept buried deep in her psyche. Her inner beast, the one most vampires no longer had access to. Technically, if vampire society knew it was still such a part of her, they'd probably order her death. She was certain Abbott had guessed, but he'd never talked to her about it. Of course, he had confidence in her ability to call on her inner nature when it was needed, and then suppress it again when she needed to be civilized. Or, at least pretend to be civilized.

Within a millisecond of Abbott giving the word, Kendra flew into Leon, and before he realized the fight had started she'd already ripped one of his arms off and backed away as she tossed it to the side. When he came towards her, she dove for his stomach and pulled organs out, spilling them out of his gut so they draped in front of him. In desperation, Leon bit her breast, holding the bulk of it between his fangs, but he left himself open for her to grab his d.i.c.k and rip it from his body. Despite his pained scream, he didn't relax his fanged grip on her breast, but she could power through even debilitating pain when the beast was in control.

She knew she'd have to rip her breast off to push him away, so she did it before she had a chance to think about how much it would hurt, twisting him around so she broke his spine as she tore him off of her.

Blood gushed out of both of them as she pressed her fingers into Leon's chest cavity and pulled his rib cage apart. She pretty much blanked out on what happened after that. The beast was in control, and she quietly went to the background and let her inner monster relish the bloodbath.

When it was over, Leon was in tiny pieces all over the place, and she had a huge, gaping hole where her left breast had been.

She noted the brain and part of the spine were in one piece with the skull around it, but she'd taken most of the skin off the outside of the skull, and she wasn't sure where his eyes or tongue or teeth were - probably in the mess she was standing in, somewhere. She'd turned him into mush, she hadn't just ripped him to pieces.

She panicked for a moment as she looked for his heart, but then saw it, still in one piece. If she'd torn it up in her frenzy, she'd have a problem, but she'd held the reins enough, somehow, to keep the pieces intact she was required to keep whole.

Kendra took a few more breaths, made sure the Beast went back inside and she was fully in control again, and then stood up straight and morphed fully back into her human form. She wanted to touch the wound on her chest where Leon had ripped her breast away, but she stood tall with her arms at her sides - she couldn't show weakness by acknowledging the wound, not even after such a spectacular win. She'd just reminded everyone what she was capable of, this was no time to show anything except strength.

She was weak from blood loss, though, so she needed to finish this. She looked at Abbott and said, "Consumo."

Abbott nodded, said, "Perago," and the power of the circle faded away.

Kendra stepped out of the mess that'd been Leon, and told the spectators, "I need a shower. Can someone arrange to bury the pieces of Leon so he has a chance to reconstruct himself?" She was almost positive she'd just killed him, as she doubted he was strong enough to pull himself back together after what she'd done, but she needed to be sure the rules were followed.

Abbott nodded, his voice solemn. "I'll see to it. Go shower and feed."

This was a formal occasion, so she gave a small bow and said, "Thank you, Master."

Showing her fealty to Abbott after she'd slaughtered another vampire in such a fashion would only make Abbott seem stronger, and it was her intention he remain in power.

Life was good while he ran things.

She looked to Eric and said, "If I can have five minutes in my suite before you come to me, please?"

"He's with me," Gavin told her. "I'll watch over him and then bring him to you."

Chapter Thirty-Three.

Eric needed to go to a bathroom and splash cold water on his face. The stench of raw flesh, the coppery smell of so much blood... but the worst had been the mushy, wet, grotesque sounds as Kendra had literally torn a man to pieces. No, not just pieces. Pudding. She'd turned skin, muscle, organs, and even bone to something the consistency of curdled pudding.

Gavin walked him to the second floor office and pointed him towards the bathroom. Eric washed his face with cold water, and came close to throwing up. He'd vomited into his mouth a few times, but had swallowed it down, not wanting to make a spectacle of himself in front of so many vampires. At least fifty had shown up to watch.

He rinsed his mouth with water and stepped back into the office, where Gavin was leaned against the heavy desk, his arms crossed over his chest, his face as closed off as always.

"When I first met her, I thought she was iced over and I wanted to watch her thaw. She has, for me, but she's still ice to everyone else, isn't she?"

Gavin looked at him a few seconds, no expression on his face, his arms still crossed. Finally, he tilted his head and said, "Kendra scares the s.h.i.t out of me, and at first, the idea she'd fallen in love made me think she'd found her heart again, but... no. It's only made her more dangerous because she'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're safe. I'm happy for her, glad she's come out of the funk she's been in for decades. I can see the thaw because I've known her so long, but yeah - she's still ice to everyone she isn't close to."

"She's hurt pretty bad. Can she really heal from that in a week?"

Gavin moved his head down and up maybe a quarter inch in answer, and said, "She wanted time alone in her suite to drink bagged blood before you arrive. When we're injured, control can be harder, and she'll need probably sixty to eighty ounces of blood to replenish what she lost, and even more if she has any hope of healing."

"She said she'd always know how much she could take from me, would never take more."

"I'm not saying she'd hurt you, I'm just saying it's easier to stop drinking from the tap when you've already replenished with bagged blood. Because this was an official challenge for a leadership position, Abbott can't help her heal, nor can he provide her with donors." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter, though. Her connection to you makes your blood and your life force worth ten times the same amount from another human. Perhaps not for energy and nourishment, but for healing? You're golden. You need to understand, though, in the shape she's in, she won't be able to dull the pain. It's going to hurt, Eric. Can you handle it?"

"It's been five minutes. Take me to her."

Gavin led him downstairs without another word. He didn't go into Kendra's suite, merely nodded to Eric for him to put his hand to the scanner to unlock Kendra's door and let himself in.

Kendra was stretched out on the bed, freshly showered, still naked, hair wet, and eyes closed. He could sense her pain from across the room, and could see it on her face.

He stared at the huge gaping hole where her breast used to be, and, without opening her eyes to look at him, she quipped, "You should see the other guy."

A corner of her mouth tilted up as she tried to make light of her injury, but Eric wasn't interested in joking around when she was so hurt. "Gavin said my blood, my life force, will help you heal faster than anything else."

Again, she spoke without opening her eyes. "Yes, he's right. If it weren't a challenge then Abbott could help heal me, but the rules forbid it. So, the attachment I have to you, that we have to each other - will help. I've already fed from you today, so I can't take much, but even a few sips from you will jump start the healing process."

"Then take what you can from me and get the rest from a bag. I can't stand to see you like this. I can see the pain on your face, and can feel it in my soul. Please tell me what to do to help make it go away."

Kendra finally opened her eyes to look at him, and gave him a weak smile. "I should've taught you how to offer yourself to me. I'm sorry, I never wanted it to have to be this way." She held his gaze, strong despite her pain. "It's going to hurt, Eric, because my body can't spare the energy to manufacture pain killer. If you still want to offer yourself, stand beside the bed, lean down, and put your forearm in front of my lips."

Eric did as she said, and her eyes looked at his arm as if it were a juicy steak. "Yes," she said, "with your heart higher than your arm. Perfect." She looked into his eyes again and said, "This is about you offering and me taking. It's going to hurt, and there won't be bliss or anything good about it. I need you to just open yourself up and be my nourishment, love me enough to feed me even when it hurts. Can you do that?"

"Kendra, I love you. If it'll make you stop hurting, help you heal faster, I'll gladly do it."

He breathed in and clenched his jaw, determined to not scream as her teeth sank into his arm. He felt each pull of his lifeblood as her mouth sealed around the spot she'd bitten, and she sucked and swallowed, sucked and swallowed.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax as he focused on not jerking away. Kendra held his arm, he couldn't have pulled away if he wanted, though he knew if he said his safeword, she'd stop. Still, he wanted to offer himself, and that meant not trying to get free.

This wasn't about submitting to her, but providing for her, taking care of her.

He felt something similar to when she'd bitten him earlier, and now, without the bliss or numbing agents, he could isolate the feeling, understand more of what she'd been talking about when she said their auras joined as one.

It was as if she was breathing his essence into herself, and he was in himself as well as her. It was heady, magical, amazing, and he wished he could pull her into his arms and hold her, but she was still drinking.

When she finally pulled away and licked the bite marks, she spoke in his head.

I love you, too, Eric. Please drink lots of fluids, you'll find some of the sports drink you like in my mini-fridge, as well as a few different juices. I need you to promise you'll stay with either me or Abbott during the night hours for the next couple of nights. If you want to stay in here with me, you can use my laptop, or you can get Abbott to take you home so you can get yours and bring it back. You'll be safe in a few days, but I don't think you are, yet. Abbott or Gavin will bring you food, just let Abbott know what you want. I need to sleep, now.

"I can use your laptop," he told her with his voice, instead of telepathically. "I won't leave you. Just sleep, Kendra. I'm here if you need me."

You aren't running again?

"No. Thanks for trusting me with all of you. This isn't the life I thought I wanted, but now that I have it, I can't lose you. Go to sleep, Kendra. I'll be here when you rise."

Epilogue.

Six months later no one else had challenged Kendra or in any way expressed the slightest problem with her relationship with Eric. All it had taken was a reminder of how brutal she could be, and no one felt the need to question her choices.

Norris wrote her a letter in care of Abbott, following protocol even more than was required. He told her he understood the timing wasn't right for them to work towards a relationship at this time, but he hoped she might consider it in a few centuries. This freed her up to check out his theater work, and then call him to tell him how happy she was for him. They left things on good terms with each other, and with Norris happy she'd found someone she cared about, though sad for himself that he'd finally found her and the timing wasn't right.

Kendra and Eric had figured out how to make a switch relationship work, which largely involved just not a.n.a.lyzing it too much. Sometimes Kendra took charge and Eric submitted, sometimes Eric took charge and Kendra submitted. Most of the time they were just two people who loved each other more than words could say.

It worked for them.

Eric asked Kendra hundreds of questions about what it was like to be turned, how long it took to get control of vampire powers, how one learned to safely drink from humans without hurting or killing them. Kendra answered his questions, but made it clear she wouldn't even consider turning him until he'd reached his twenty-eighth birthday, which was still a few years away. Eric was okay with that - he wasn't in a hurry to say goodbye to the sun, but at the same time, he began to think that at some point losing his days would be worth the other things he'd gain. Meanwhile, they made a formal agreement, with Abbott as witness, stating if Eric was at the point of death, or was going to die, Kendra and Abbott both had his consent to turn him. Whether it be next week or next year, he didn't want to die a human.