Crimson Claws & Fangs ch.23

     Litmet awakens to find Ananth still asleep to her left. When she turns she finds her other bedfellow is standing in front of the cage holding her pet snake. Litmet waltzed across the room naked as the shadows slither from the corners of the room like her willing servants and wrap themselves around her to form a form fitting dress. Litmet wraps her arm around Rick’s waste and watches his face as he focuses his attention on the animal in the cage, a green boa constrictor with small pointed ears and blinking yellow human like eyes.

 

    Rick says to Litmet, “While I was in the cocoon I could hear and see everything, I remember when you brought this animal in here and said it was to keep me company. I saw you feeding it something from a bottle…what is this thing exactly?”

 

    Litmet smiles, “It’s called a Jaracakas. Is a reptilian vampire from Brazil. I got it to remind myself of the potential of natural vampires on this planet.” Litmet leaves and comes back with a bottle filled with milk, “this is what they feed on, very few vampires drink milk rather than blood, and of the two I know of on this planet this one is the more docile, the other has no relation to this animal and I doubt those shape shifting seducers came from this world, more likely some demon world.”

 

   Litmet puts the baby bottle in the cage like a gerbil’s water bottle. The Jaracakas curls up and suckles the bottle like baby.

 

   “In the wild,” she says, “these animals would use hypnosis to trick humans or other mammals into thinking its one of their young, sometimes even killing the real offspring. I have known of some removing babies from their cradles and hiding them away under a bed or killing them to keep them quit, as it then imitates the sounds of a hungry baby, and hypnotizes the mother to feed it. Of course it has no intelligence and all this is done by pure instinct.”

 

   “hmm” hums Rick taking that all in. In all his years as a hunter even he had never gone after one of these and had no idea how varied even vampires could be.

 

    Hours later Litmet, Rick, and Ananth are standing about in the living room with Fontaine, who had asked to meet with them.

 

   “Well”, Says Litmet, “state your business, and what could be so urgent that it couldn’t be discussed over the phone?”

 

    Fontaine ignoring Litmet turns to Rick, “Its you I wanted to speak to. I know you used to be part of the Order of the Knights of the Golden Cross, and I know you knew Mike King. He was working for me until just yesterday. And another member of your old Order, a friend of Mike’s, Peter Jones was duped by Litmet here into falling for one of her plans. She used that human cop to try and provoke Rhuen into a confrontation with the police. Her plan was to provoke that monster into going berserk, resulting in humanity’s downfall as they fought a loosing war against him and his ilk. Litmet would then come out as the oh so grand savior of humanity and bring people in to worship her and take over the world.” Fontaine stops for a moment trying not to look at Litmet as he stares directly at Rick, but can feel Litmet’s eyes digging into him. “Instead Rhuen dumped that human, in another dimension, a rather violent place called Other World, a kind of demon-gods world.”

 

     Rick a bit confused asks Litmet if this is true, Litmet smiles at him and turns to Fontaine, “You wanted to speak with us to avenge loosing a henchman?” She turns to Rick with a broad smile, “That, was an experiment based on the plot that Doh-Rong Danagan had. He had planned a similar world conquest plot involving me going berserk and humanity turning to him for salvation. I was curious to see if such a silly idea would even work using another, and I chose Rhuen. I had no real hopes or expectations for such a ridiculous plan, especially not as seeing how Rhuen us surrounded by Versa, and even Kitsu is here in town.”

 

      Litmet gets a very dire expression on her face as her eyes glow red and stares directly at Fontaine, “If Rhuen really went berserk, then SHE would show up on this world, and THAT is the last thing I would want. Not that you have any clue who I’m talking about you imitation vampire.”

 

     She turns back to Rick with a sigh, “Besides that human hunter was after a were-dire, one that Versa created. He was going to run-afoul them anyway, and besides he made a nice distraction for them. Especially with that Mike around, he had already attacked Rhuen’s son. At this time if they should show up they would see both problems are gone, and all blame fall on Fontaine here.”

 

   Litmet smiles and her tone becomes lighter, “Besides my goal isn’t something as simple as world domination like this warlord here.” She indicates Fontaine with a wave of her hand, “my plan is to lead humanity to a new golden age.”

 

    Fontaine laughs, “You mean a world where we rule and humans are cattle, turning only the most worthy and keeping the rest as livestock. What do you think of that Order man?”

 

    Litmet grabs Fontaine by the throat and lifts him off the floor, “Humans are weak. I fed on them because they were what was available.” Litmet’s face changes to halfway between her feline form and human as a stream of blue energy flows from Fontaine’s mouth into her own. She drops him on the floor causing him to stagger up straight and back towards the door in utter shock.

 

   “Humans” she says, “have more potential than you may think. In the past, a very long time ago I thought to destroy them all and make the desert regions of this world home to my family. That plan didn’t work out. And now they don’t care. However as I lay sleeping thanks to that blasted Ahm, Ananth here was performing experiments, combining a portion of my life energy I had given her with humans to create vampires, creating instead a series of poor imitations on this magic-impaired version of Earth. Blood sucking ghosts, walking corpses, I finally had to have Ananth stop with these Moroii. I would have thought it a mistake, but oh Rhuen proved me wrong.” She points at Fontaine, “That was created via a magic ring, believe it or not. He was a human who put on a small black ring with a red jewel on his finger, and it turned him into a monster. Rhuen created that ring with the power of his own kind, and my kind. Not to mention various other strange versions of humanity that have been popping up on this planet thanks to his daughter Censa heading the Oblivion Corporation here.”

 

     She stops and looks thoughtful, “Humanity has a potential to become a real power in the universe, and maybe even in Other World, or even Hell. As people are now they would only be prey to the servants of what’s out there. Fontaine here has no idea what’s out there…” Litmet transforms into her humanoid feline form and talks with a tone more serious than Rick has heard from her before, “I have seen beings who could smash mountains with their fists. I have personally witness twelve beings who could each single handedly destroy planets; they could wipe out entire nations with the wave of their hands.”

 

     Litmet growls deep in her throat as the entire room becomes darker by her will, “and I saw these twelve over-powered easily by something horrifying, I saw the glorious demon world that they ruled taken and its surface peeled off like an orange, its nations chopped apart and sent drifting next to each other in a gaseous void, Other World. I saw this being make a toy, no, an experiment in isolated environments made from a high class demon world, from this place.” Litmet calms down returning to her human form as the room regains its natural light levels. “besides,” she says, “Fontaine you will only be count, Rick here will be a king able to make his own laws over the land he rules and you Fontaine will have no choice but to listen. Rhuen’s toy may have made you strong, but I made Rick much stronger.”

 

    Rick looks back and forth between the very confused Fontaine and Litmet, “I wont pretend to have a clue as to what you were talking about just now,” he says, “But, me a King? Meaning I could make my own laws, such as vampires not being allowed to drink human blood?”

 

 

   To both Rick and Fontaine’s surprise, but not to the oddly un-interested in the conversation Ananth’s Litmet says, “Yes.”

 

   Rick thinks about it for a second and finally says, “Advancing humanity so they aren’t prey to the scary shit out there. Being the king of my own kingdom where the immortals have to respect the mortals and not treat them as food. I like that, and after all I am immortal now, and like you said I am stronger, any vampire that doesn’t listen…” Rick makes a fist as green smoke like energy forms around his fist, “I can just exterminate them.”

 

    Fontaine growls as he sees himself out, noticing from the corner of his eyes as Ananth sitting on the couch smiles a toothy smile at him and seems to mouth, “you’re dead.”