Subj: The Rainbow Bridge Pt.4
Date: 2/6/00 7:37:26 PM Central Standard Time
From: marcos1

Sarah Collins lit a candle. She was in the temple of the vampire Goddess Rhiannon. There was a statue made of gold, covered with diamonds and rubies. It was of the beautiful one. Rhiannon was very special for young vampire females. She watched from the Misty Paradise, protecting them, making them strong. The Misty Paradise, the world of the afterdeath, held many Gods and Goddesses, but none were more important to a young female. Rhiannon was a Goddess of love.

"There you are," Joshua said, walking slowly down the center of the room. "It is almost time for dinner, young lady."

"Just a few more minutes," Sarah pleaded, "I'm saying a prayer for Barnabas. I must make sure that he will be safe being among the living. There are so many dangers. Humans donot like us. They might hurt him."

"Humans," Joshua said, clearly vexed, "are nothing but food. Your brother is living in a fool's paradise. For him to be so happy... marrying a piece of food. And that rainbow bridge story is just so much nonsense."

"Barnabas says that it is important to have honor," Sarah said.

"He is right about that," Joshua said, "honor is the one thing that can never be taken away from a vampire. The Collins' clan is based upon honor."

"But what if it's wrong to feed upon humans?" Sarah asked. "They have feelings just like we do...they can feel pain...fall in love...."

"No," Joshua replied, "they are nothing but dumb animals. Just think about it. Can they fly as we do? Turn themselves into other creatures by mere force of will? When they are stuck with a sharp object...they die. Death is the end for them. For us, it is just the beginning."

"But what if we are wrong?" Sarah asked. "Would the Goddess Rhiannon still protect us? Would she...if we don't have honor?"

~~~

Ben Stokes was in shock. " Miss Millicent, how did this happen? How could Nathan Forbes escape?" The big man was scared, very scared. He knew that if a servant ever allowed food to escape, his vampire master would do only one thing, and that was make the servant the new food.

"Oh, Ben, don't worry," Millicent said, smiling. "I'll explain to Joshua that Mr.Forbes will come back. He is just going to find my Nicholas...he'll be back."

"If that is what he told you, Miss," Ben said, his body trembling, "then he was lying. He will never come back. That is one thing, old Ben is sure of." He started to walk out the door, but then turned and looked at Millicent. "I'm going to have to leave here now. But before I do, I want to tell you something. Life has been hard for me, down here among the supernatural. I am just a man and I've suffered. Yes, I've suffered a lot. But one thing has kept me going...kept me wanting to live. That one thing is you, Miss. I love you. There I said it. I know that it probably doesn't mean that much to you. But I love you with all my heart." He turned and ran out the door. He had to escape. Mr Joshua was going to kill him. He was sure about that. He had advantage. He knew all of the paths and tunnels, having spent most of his life down underground.

Millicent stood in the doorway of the barn. She was thinking about what Ben had said. He had said that he loved her. She was wondering about how she felt about him. Ben had been the family servant for years. He had always tried to please her. He was so kind. She wasn't sure, but maybe she loved him, too. Is it possible for a vampire to love two men? She just wasn't sure.

Jack and Jill were a werewolf couple. They were mating in a cave on the edge of the Collins' estate. A werewolf mating ritual is a violent affair, full of biting, blood, and the tearing of flesh. They hardly noticed when Ben Stokes ran through the ajoining cave. The one thing that attracted their attention was the smell of vampire. Ben had lived and worked around vampires for such a long time, that he had their scent in his hair and on his clothes. Werewolves weren't afraid of anything, but avoided vampires, like the plague. Vampires were just too powerful. And besides, vampire blood had a rancid taste. They just weren't good to eat. Jack and Jill looked around the corner, concerned that a vampire might be near. When they saw a man, they both growled with relief.

"He is fat," Jill said, speaking in the werewolf language of diesna. Diesna is a mixture of animal noises, mixed with a slight human vocal response.

"Yes," Jack said, nodding. "Let's eat him. His meat should be very juicy and sweet."

The two werewolves followed Ben into the cave. They both pounced upon him at the same time, ripping his flesh, blood splattered. Ben didn't even try to fight. He knew that werewolves were just too strong. There just wasn't any point. He hoped that they would rip out his jugular vein and kill him quick. Who knows maybe he would wake-up in the Misty Paradise. He had served vampires for such a long time. Maybe the Goddess Rhiannon would make an exception in his case. Suddenly, there was a loud scream from the mouth of the cave. The two werewolves glanced out of the corner of their eyes. There was something coming after them and it was moving very fast. Jack and Jill moved away from Ben. They stared in horror at the approaching vampire. It was a woman with long blond tresses. She looked very angry.

"Are you all right?" Millicent asked, Ben. She picked him up off of the ground. "You were right to run. Cousin Joshua would punish you. I do realize that. Ben, you might be food, but I care about you. I just can't imagine a world without you in it."

"Thank you, Miss," Ben said. "I appreciate your help. But I don't want you to get in trouble with Mr Joshua." He stared at the two werewolves that were growling in the corner. "Also I don't want you to get hurt by those two."

"Do worry, Ben," Millicent said. "Just walk away and find a tunnel to the surface. I'll deal with those wolves."

Ben walked away, as Millicent turned herself into a giant bat. She flapped her webbed wings and flew into the two werewolves. With one swift motion, she ripped off their heads. Their bodies stood for a moment, blood spurting out in bursts, as their hearts beat a few final times. Millicent fed from them, until their bodies turned cold. Then there was nothing but silence in the cave. She flew towards Collinwood, her home. She wondered how Joshua would react to what had happened? She was sure he would be angry, very angry. But it couldn't be helped. She thought to herself, a vampire can love two men.

To be continued-.