FIC: The Friendship
May. 2nd, 2019 04:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theothermusesOOC: This was written a long time ago (at least sixteen years ago) and is the origin story of how Hsu met Xiao.
Western China, 13th century
At first, Hsu Danmei didn’t see the wretched creature curled up in a filthy corner of the hut.
The snowstorm had grown steadily stronger. In the end, the flakes were falling so thick and fast that the immortal was forced to seek shelter until the storm passed. At least there was hope that in such foul weather those hunting him had long given up. A little hope, anyway, he was too great a prize to yield so easily.
A little further along, he saw the hut. It wasn’t much, but it would provide some shelter. He rode around the exterior of the ramshackle building. It didn’t look like much. Half of the roof had caved in and some time ago from its appearance. The chimney still stood, he noted with some amazement. Dismounting, he led his horse to a small lean-to, angled against the hut’s far wall. It was no more than a few sheets of timber, but it would do to keep the horse out of the bitter wind.
He pushed open the door, and it nearly came away from its hinge in his hand. Stepping inside, he closed it as best at it would go and took a look around the room. On the far wall was a rudimentary bed. He took his cloak off and shook it. Not that it helped a great deal as with half the roof gone, there was nearly as much snow inside as out. The cloak was soon spread out over the bed, and he sat wearily on it, tired from the long hard ride out of the enemy's lands.
It was only then that a slight movement caught his eye. Initially, he assumed it was a rat, but as his vision adjusted to the dark corner, he could make out the shape of a human. It was nearly naked with what looked like just a small piece of cloth covering its privates. The skin was a ghostly white; so pale that he wondered why he hadn’t noticed its sickly glow before. Bones jutted out in sharp angles from beneath the skin. Snow fell on it, yet it didn’t seem to mind. Indeed, he was amazed to see that the flakes didn’t melt upon contact with it. He stepped closer, and the person looked up at him. It was a man, his face full of fear and desperation. Chains bound him to the still sturdy stone wall. His features revealed him to be Chinese, and he was young, early twenties, despite his starved appearance.
“Who are you?” Hsu asked in faultless Chinese. The man just blinked, uncomprehending. He tried again. “Who left you like this?”
The man struggled to speak, finally. The first attempts failing, he eventually managed to say, “My master.” His voice was dry and ragged from disuse, but there was also a sort of impediment, a lisping hiss as though something obstructed his speech.
“What happened to him?”
“Died.” He pointed to a spot in front of the hearth. Hsu could see nothing, but some ashes fallen from the long dead fire mixed with the snow.
He threw his water skein over to the man, and then retrieved some food from a small pouch. Breaking the stale bread in half, he shared it. The man took the bread, sniffing at it before letting it drop from his fingers. Then he reached behind him and produced a dead rat. The animal’s carcass was fairly fresh and mostly untouched except for a wound on its neck. Hsu couldn’t help notice how drained it looked.
“Blood,” the man said in the same hissing voice. “No more rats here.”
Blood? What the hell? Then he remembered stories from when he last lived in Europe about creatures that fed on blood. He had initially been disinclined to believe such tails, but if Immortals existed why couldn’t other such fantastic beings? Yet, in all this time, he had never come face to face with one.
Those stories, though, had always featured creatures of bewitching power and superhuman strengths. The man before him was so far removed from anything he had heard about vampires. He sat there, sallow skinned and bony with the snow slowly accumulating on his shoulders and long black hair.
“Blood, please,” he repeated.
Hsu gazed around the room uncertain what to do and annoyed at himself for even taking an interest. He wasn’t prepared to surrender his own blood, and what else was there? A clay cup lay on the floor; he picked it up, an idea forming.
“I’ll be back in a moment, Snowman.” He said the name with a smile.
He went to the small lean-to, where his horse was stabled. Dagger in hand, he approached the horse, talking to it softly, patting its neck. Then he made a cut, letting the blood flow and catching it in the cup. A survival trick of his people, he knew, however, that in such cold weather, he risked the horse’s life, but the need to help the vampire felt right. Not to say he was curious about him.
Returning to the hut, he found the man unmoved from when he left him. The snow was still falling on him. The cup passed between them, and the man grabbed it once his chains allowed him enough reach. He drank greedily, not caring for its source. When he had finished, he licked the excess blood from his lips then licked the last few drops from the cup.
“How long has it been since you’ve eaten…drank?” Hsu had watched him the whole time and had recognized the starvation as he slaked his thirst. “Apart from rats?”
He looked up and eyed Hsu anew as if he’d forgotten his presence. “It seems forever.” He gave a dry laugh. “Many days at least.” He shifted onto his knees with some difficulty because of the chains and kowtowed to Hsu. “I thank you, milord, for your kindness.” He stayed bowed before him.
The scene struck Hsu as very strange; a vampire paying homage to him in a ramshackle hut during a snowstorm. “Why did your master leave you chained?”
“He enjoyed me like this.” He looked up to catch Hsu’s reaction, but apart from brief, mild surprise there was nothing.
“Enjoyed you?” he asked with more than a little curiosity.
“Yes, milord, enjoyed.”
Not only did the vampire seem to relish the thought, but also, as he turned to Hsu, his almond brown eyes glittered with a supernatural power as he smiled.
Hsu realized then why the man lisped. His fangs were, to his eyes, large, and the man seemed to have some difficulty in adjusting his tongue around certain sounds.
“You haven’t been a vampire long, Snowman?” He moved towards him, crouching down, although he kept one hand on his dagger’s hilt as a precaution. He brushed some of the snow from him, not missing the very slight flinch. The man was ice cold. It was no wonder the snow didn’t melt on him.
“Some years. I have never been required to speak much.” His eyes glittered again as their gazes locked.
For an instant, Hsu felt something move through him, a power that made the hairs on his arms and neck stand on end. He shook his head to dispel the sensation, breathing hard, uncomfortable with somebody else’s power flowing through him. The grip on his mind was released almost immediately, and he saw that the vampire looked as stunned as he felt.
“I am sorry, milord.” He kowtowed again. “Please forgive, I have never tested myself in such a way. I was curious.” He looked “You are very old, older than my master perhaps?” A manacled hand touched Hsu’s face, gently caressing his beard. “Please, what is your name?”
The coldness of the touch felt surprisingly pleasant. After a moment, he answered. “Hsu Danmei. I am a general in the Khan’s army. What would you do if I were to unchain you?” He shot him a sharp look. “Would you eat me?”
“Eat you, milord Hsu?” The man grinned. “Only if you asked. Otherwise, I am yours.”
“And if I don’t want you?” What an intriguing creature; despite his predicament, he possessed a seemingly strange sense of humour and, oddly, no more than a passing interest in his position.
The jesting faded quickly from his eyes and was replaced by an earnest pleading. “Then milord, could you do me a service and drive a stake through my heart?”
Shaking his head, Hsu examined the chains. They were well forged and sturdy enough, but otherwise ordinary chains. “There’s no need for that yet. I thought vampires had great strength, greater than any man. Why haven’t you broken these?”
“Because…because…” The man clearly did not know how to answer as if breaking free had never occurred to him. Then his face cleared, and he frowned. You are familiar with vampires?”
“No, I’ve only heard the legends.” He let go of the manacles. “I suppose you don’t know where the key is?” The man shook his head. Hsu sighed. “Then I can’t help.” He stood, taking a step backwards. The rattle of the chain alerted him to a movement he wouldn’t have seen, but he was unable to move in time.
A cold hand clamped over his wrist. “Please, milord Hsu.”
He tried to free his arm, but the vampire held it firm as if the immortal had no strength of his own. “I can’t. There is no key, and I have no tools to break them open. Do it yourself and let me go.” He growled the last words, his patience growing thin with anger at himself for taking such an interest. Even so, he hadn’t expected the vampire to release him as soon as he ordered him. Not only that, but he immediately began to claw at the cuffs. Hsu watched him work for a few minutes.
“I’ll see if I can find something to help.” He opened the door and stepped outside, planning to search the lean-to for any useful tools. He staggered back inside. An arrow had struck his shoulder. He cursed his own carelessness in letting his guard down. Another arrow struck, and he stumbled backwards. This one pierced his heart. He looked down at it in surprise just as his legs failed him, and in no time, he fell to the floor already dead.
His attackers rushed the door, celebrating their victory. Their leader brandished his sword above Hsu’s neck. Seeing the head of their enemy, one of Khan’s generals, would no doubt please their own chieftain. He moved to strike, but a sudden blow, as unseen as the wind, knocked him down. By the time he recovered enough to look up, he saw the nearly naked vampire standing over Hsu, broken chains still hanging from his wrists. His eyes were yellow and his fangs glistened. The four men backed away, but the vampire attacked, blending vampiric speed with martial arts prowess, whipping the men with the loose chains. The last man standing, the one who had tried to behead Hsu, made for the door, but the vampire beat him, grinning maliciously. He grabbed the man, pulling his head roughly back to expose his neck. Then his fangs sunk into the flesh. He drank long and hard, almost ripping the throat to pieces. When he had finished, he threw the remains aside, and his features began returning to normal.
He looked around, stunned at the carnage he had delivered – four dead at his own hands. Then his eyes fell on Hsu, and he knelt beside his body. “Milord, just when I had found you.” He pulled the arrows free, roughly, angered at what he had just found and lost. He studied the blood soaked arrowheads. “I never even got to taste you.” He sniffed at it and finally licked the tips. At the first taste he pulled away suddenly as if it had burned. “What is this? Never have I tasted anything so delicious.” He tentatively took another lick, and blinked heavily, savouring the taste. “It is…wonderful milord. You are wonderful. Such a pity.” He curled up beside Hsu, nestling against the still warm body, licking sticky blood off his fingers as he probed the wounds.
~~~
The vampire felt the man’s heart begin to beat faintly at first. He sat up, gazing at Hsu with wonder on his face and rested a hand over the beating heart as he came to, gasping for that initial breath.
Hsu felt a weight on him and grabbed the vampire’s hand, before even looking. Then he saw him and sat up.
“Milord, I cannot believe this, what a wondrous event. You live again.” He bowed. “I knew there was something special about you.”
“Well, now we both know each other’s secrets, Snowman.” He looked at the scattered bodies around the room. “You did that?”
Snowman nodded. “I believed that they had killed you. He pointed to the leader as Hsu went over to inspect the body. “He wanted to cut off your head.”
“If he had, I would have been truly dead.” The words were out before Hsu thought them. Careless again! “I thank you, Snowman.” He studied the vampire, noticing that he definitely had a healthier look about him. His skin was not quite so pallid, and the bones were not quite as visible. “What is your name?”
“Mei Yi. Xiao Mei Yi, milord.” He bowed and stood next to him. Pressing his hand against Hsu’s chest, he said. “I feel your heartbeat milord. I hear your blood, that delicious blood, roar through your body. I feel where it almost comes to the surface, here.” His hand glided up to Hsu’s throat, resting against his pulse.
Hsu grabbed his hand. “”So, Xiao Mei Yi, now you’ve freed yourself, what you want is my blood. You saved my life, just to do that to me.” It was a statement, not a question. He glanced down at the torn throat of the attacker.
Xiao dropped to his knees. “No milord. I would not do that to you.” He peered up with a fanged smile. “Although, I would love to taste that sweet blood again.” He knelt up, resting his hands on Hsu’s hips. “I just want to serve you.”
**********
Zurich, Switzerland (some point before the twins)
The penthouse bedroom was lit with soft, ambient lighting. Dieter Haag lay back, naked, on his four-poster bed. His eyes closed, and there was an expression of pure bliss on his face. He moaned, sinking his head back into the pillow. He looked down, desire heavy in his eyes as he watched the black hair bob up and down.
A louder moan escaped him, and he arched back into the bed. His hands grabbed hold of the black hair, as his breathing grew more rapid. The moans changed, becoming a throaty growl. His eyes closed again, and the erotic tension in his face evaporated as he came. He looked down again, breathing returning to normal to meet Xiao’s smile. His fingers ran through his hair. He gave him a slight nod before lying back on the bed again.
A grimace of pain flashed across his face the moment Xiao sunk his fangs into the artery in his groin. As the vampire fed, Hsu felt himself grow steadily weaker. His tanned skin took on a paler hue until finally his eyes rolled in their sockets, and he died.
Xiao continued to feed until he knew the immortal’s heart had ceased. He sat up, licking the excess blood from his fangs. On hands and knees, he crawled up the body, licking and kissing here and there until he reached his mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual, lacking only in Hsu’s unresponsiveness. The kiss ended, and he rolled Hsu onto his side, laying his head against the immortal’s chest to hear his heart beat once more. He wrapped Hsu’s arms around own chest and waited.
He heard the faint thump of his heart jumpstarting Hsu back to life. Each time he heard it, Xiao never felt anything but sheer joy that life could come flooding back for his friend. A sensation he could never actually experience himself. The closest he ever came was drinking the Quickening tinged blood and waiting for that magical heartbeat. That blood so full of immortality, so full of living immortality, filled him only briefly, but while it lasted, he had a connection with the living again. It was better than being drunk, a high unlike any other.
A fraction of a moment after that first faint heartbeat, Hsu gasped for his first breath, becoming aware of his surroundings. It was a familiar one with his arms wrapped around the contented vampire. He withdrew his arms immediately.
He watched as Xiao sat up and smiled. Hsu shook his head. Sometimes it was quite difficult to reconcile the fit, confident being before him with the starved, pathetic man he had met in that snow covered hut nearly eight hundred years ago.
“So, what shall we do, milord?” he asked, a soft giggle lacing his words as he still revelled in the blood’s effect.
“Well, unlike some people, Snow, I’ve yet to eat.” He ignored Xiao’s lascivious smile. He nearly suggested Chinese, but he had long ago learned not to hand Xiao such a tempting joke. Just imagining his reply stopped him. He got off the bed and began to pull on his pants. “So, where should we go?”
“Goldenes Schwert?” He ignored Hsu’s answering glare. “It has a nice restaurant for you and a delicious night life for me. Or perhaps, The Rage?” He grinned. The Rage was a relatively new club aimed at the more fetish side of the gay scene.
Hsu was just buttoning his shirt. “Leave it Xiao. I’m going to the Hummerbar and then perhaps over to the Nachtcafe. If you want to hunt there, you’re more than welcome, or go alone and hunt at one of those clubs.” The Nachtcafe was an exclusive late night coffee bar in the fashionable Niederhof district of Zürich popular with the bankers and other affluent business people of the city.
“There’s always the Cranberry,” Xiao said hopefully. The Cranberry was a quieter gay club, more to Hsu’s pace, and the music didn’t pound as loudly. For Hsu, who much preferred classical music, modern nightclubs were an extreme irritation.
By now Hsu was tying his necktie. His voice, when he answered, was quiet. “Or you can simply leave.”
Xiao looked at him for a moment, deciding the seriousness of Hsu’s suggestion. One flash of his eyes was enough to convince him. He dropped to one knee, head bowed. “No, that will not be necessary, milord.” This time there was no sarcasm attached. “I will join you and maybe later seek out some sport.”
Hsu kept him bowed for some time but watched him with more than a little exasperation. Even if Xiao had been human, he’d long ago realized there was very little he could do to punish him, physically or mentally, as he always enjoyed it too much. And Hsu was not naïve enough to realize that should Xiao wish to exert his will, his powers, be it his strength or mind, he would be helpless to resist him. No, Xiao allowed himself to happily submit to his will, something that eight hundred years of trust had forged between them. Still, Hsu had one weapon when it came to Xiao. Dismiss him. To be cast aside, unwanted, was the worst fate for the vampire. A punishment he so dreaded that it had rarely been actually enforced.
Hsu reached for the phone and sat down. Quickly punching a number, it was answered immediately.
“MacDonald, bring my car around.” His security chief sounded a little breathless and chastened. “I take it everything’s quiet? Good. I’m out for the evening.” He briskly told him where. “If you have any cause to contact me.”
He switched off the phone and noticed Xiao still bowed. “Get up.”
The vampire stood and brought over Hsu’s boots, kneeling again to slip them on his feet. Hsu had no better, closer friend, but he could never quite understand him, or his willing submissive behaviour. Even after all this time, he knew little about vampire politics, except they were very complex. It was an unspoken agreement that he would stay clear of those affairs, and Xiao would not interfere in Immortal business. He also knew very little of his early life, those twenty years before he was turned. Perhaps he simply didn’t remember them, or maybe he chose not to. He often wondered if he was as submissive among other vampires. One of the few things he did know was that Xiao was a member of the Bloodpack, some kind of vampire enforcement gang, whatever that exactly meant. So he must hold some power and influence amongst his kind.
Xiao had finished with the boots. “Andy? That is the little one, correct?” Hsu nodded. “Hmm, I prefer the black one, more meat on him.” He grinned at the answering warning look. “I know, they are not on the menu. Pity though,” he added with a playful smile.
Hsu smiled at the now old joke. “You are incorrigible, Snowman.” And ran his hand through his friend’s hair. He grabbed his gun, strapping the shoulder holster on and then his jacket. Running fingers quickly through his own hair to smooth it down, he took a quick look in the mirror. “Ready Snow?”
Xiao picked up his leather duster and slung it around his shoulders. “Whenever you are milord.” The sarcasm was back.
Western China, 13th century
At first, Hsu Danmei didn’t see the wretched creature curled up in a filthy corner of the hut.
The snowstorm had grown steadily stronger. In the end, the flakes were falling so thick and fast that the immortal was forced to seek shelter until the storm passed. At least there was hope that in such foul weather those hunting him had long given up. A little hope, anyway, he was too great a prize to yield so easily.
A little further along, he saw the hut. It wasn’t much, but it would provide some shelter. He rode around the exterior of the ramshackle building. It didn’t look like much. Half of the roof had caved in and some time ago from its appearance. The chimney still stood, he noted with some amazement. Dismounting, he led his horse to a small lean-to, angled against the hut’s far wall. It was no more than a few sheets of timber, but it would do to keep the horse out of the bitter wind.
He pushed open the door, and it nearly came away from its hinge in his hand. Stepping inside, he closed it as best at it would go and took a look around the room. On the far wall was a rudimentary bed. He took his cloak off and shook it. Not that it helped a great deal as with half the roof gone, there was nearly as much snow inside as out. The cloak was soon spread out over the bed, and he sat wearily on it, tired from the long hard ride out of the enemy's lands.
It was only then that a slight movement caught his eye. Initially, he assumed it was a rat, but as his vision adjusted to the dark corner, he could make out the shape of a human. It was nearly naked with what looked like just a small piece of cloth covering its privates. The skin was a ghostly white; so pale that he wondered why he hadn’t noticed its sickly glow before. Bones jutted out in sharp angles from beneath the skin. Snow fell on it, yet it didn’t seem to mind. Indeed, he was amazed to see that the flakes didn’t melt upon contact with it. He stepped closer, and the person looked up at him. It was a man, his face full of fear and desperation. Chains bound him to the still sturdy stone wall. His features revealed him to be Chinese, and he was young, early twenties, despite his starved appearance.
“Who are you?” Hsu asked in faultless Chinese. The man just blinked, uncomprehending. He tried again. “Who left you like this?”
The man struggled to speak, finally. The first attempts failing, he eventually managed to say, “My master.” His voice was dry and ragged from disuse, but there was also a sort of impediment, a lisping hiss as though something obstructed his speech.
“What happened to him?”
“Died.” He pointed to a spot in front of the hearth. Hsu could see nothing, but some ashes fallen from the long dead fire mixed with the snow.
He threw his water skein over to the man, and then retrieved some food from a small pouch. Breaking the stale bread in half, he shared it. The man took the bread, sniffing at it before letting it drop from his fingers. Then he reached behind him and produced a dead rat. The animal’s carcass was fairly fresh and mostly untouched except for a wound on its neck. Hsu couldn’t help notice how drained it looked.
“Blood,” the man said in the same hissing voice. “No more rats here.”
Blood? What the hell? Then he remembered stories from when he last lived in Europe about creatures that fed on blood. He had initially been disinclined to believe such tails, but if Immortals existed why couldn’t other such fantastic beings? Yet, in all this time, he had never come face to face with one.
Those stories, though, had always featured creatures of bewitching power and superhuman strengths. The man before him was so far removed from anything he had heard about vampires. He sat there, sallow skinned and bony with the snow slowly accumulating on his shoulders and long black hair.
“Blood, please,” he repeated.
Hsu gazed around the room uncertain what to do and annoyed at himself for even taking an interest. He wasn’t prepared to surrender his own blood, and what else was there? A clay cup lay on the floor; he picked it up, an idea forming.
“I’ll be back in a moment, Snowman.” He said the name with a smile.
He went to the small lean-to, where his horse was stabled. Dagger in hand, he approached the horse, talking to it softly, patting its neck. Then he made a cut, letting the blood flow and catching it in the cup. A survival trick of his people, he knew, however, that in such cold weather, he risked the horse’s life, but the need to help the vampire felt right. Not to say he was curious about him.
Returning to the hut, he found the man unmoved from when he left him. The snow was still falling on him. The cup passed between them, and the man grabbed it once his chains allowed him enough reach. He drank greedily, not caring for its source. When he had finished, he licked the excess blood from his lips then licked the last few drops from the cup.
“How long has it been since you’ve eaten…drank?” Hsu had watched him the whole time and had recognized the starvation as he slaked his thirst. “Apart from rats?”
He looked up and eyed Hsu anew as if he’d forgotten his presence. “It seems forever.” He gave a dry laugh. “Many days at least.” He shifted onto his knees with some difficulty because of the chains and kowtowed to Hsu. “I thank you, milord, for your kindness.” He stayed bowed before him.
The scene struck Hsu as very strange; a vampire paying homage to him in a ramshackle hut during a snowstorm. “Why did your master leave you chained?”
“He enjoyed me like this.” He looked up to catch Hsu’s reaction, but apart from brief, mild surprise there was nothing.
“Enjoyed you?” he asked with more than a little curiosity.
“Yes, milord, enjoyed.”
Not only did the vampire seem to relish the thought, but also, as he turned to Hsu, his almond brown eyes glittered with a supernatural power as he smiled.
Hsu realized then why the man lisped. His fangs were, to his eyes, large, and the man seemed to have some difficulty in adjusting his tongue around certain sounds.
“You haven’t been a vampire long, Snowman?” He moved towards him, crouching down, although he kept one hand on his dagger’s hilt as a precaution. He brushed some of the snow from him, not missing the very slight flinch. The man was ice cold. It was no wonder the snow didn’t melt on him.
“Some years. I have never been required to speak much.” His eyes glittered again as their gazes locked.
For an instant, Hsu felt something move through him, a power that made the hairs on his arms and neck stand on end. He shook his head to dispel the sensation, breathing hard, uncomfortable with somebody else’s power flowing through him. The grip on his mind was released almost immediately, and he saw that the vampire looked as stunned as he felt.
“I am sorry, milord.” He kowtowed again. “Please forgive, I have never tested myself in such a way. I was curious.” He looked “You are very old, older than my master perhaps?” A manacled hand touched Hsu’s face, gently caressing his beard. “Please, what is your name?”
The coldness of the touch felt surprisingly pleasant. After a moment, he answered. “Hsu Danmei. I am a general in the Khan’s army. What would you do if I were to unchain you?” He shot him a sharp look. “Would you eat me?”
“Eat you, milord Hsu?” The man grinned. “Only if you asked. Otherwise, I am yours.”
“And if I don’t want you?” What an intriguing creature; despite his predicament, he possessed a seemingly strange sense of humour and, oddly, no more than a passing interest in his position.
The jesting faded quickly from his eyes and was replaced by an earnest pleading. “Then milord, could you do me a service and drive a stake through my heart?”
Shaking his head, Hsu examined the chains. They were well forged and sturdy enough, but otherwise ordinary chains. “There’s no need for that yet. I thought vampires had great strength, greater than any man. Why haven’t you broken these?”
“Because…because…” The man clearly did not know how to answer as if breaking free had never occurred to him. Then his face cleared, and he frowned. You are familiar with vampires?”
“No, I’ve only heard the legends.” He let go of the manacles. “I suppose you don’t know where the key is?” The man shook his head. Hsu sighed. “Then I can’t help.” He stood, taking a step backwards. The rattle of the chain alerted him to a movement he wouldn’t have seen, but he was unable to move in time.
A cold hand clamped over his wrist. “Please, milord Hsu.”
He tried to free his arm, but the vampire held it firm as if the immortal had no strength of his own. “I can’t. There is no key, and I have no tools to break them open. Do it yourself and let me go.” He growled the last words, his patience growing thin with anger at himself for taking such an interest. Even so, he hadn’t expected the vampire to release him as soon as he ordered him. Not only that, but he immediately began to claw at the cuffs. Hsu watched him work for a few minutes.
“I’ll see if I can find something to help.” He opened the door and stepped outside, planning to search the lean-to for any useful tools. He staggered back inside. An arrow had struck his shoulder. He cursed his own carelessness in letting his guard down. Another arrow struck, and he stumbled backwards. This one pierced his heart. He looked down at it in surprise just as his legs failed him, and in no time, he fell to the floor already dead.
His attackers rushed the door, celebrating their victory. Their leader brandished his sword above Hsu’s neck. Seeing the head of their enemy, one of Khan’s generals, would no doubt please their own chieftain. He moved to strike, but a sudden blow, as unseen as the wind, knocked him down. By the time he recovered enough to look up, he saw the nearly naked vampire standing over Hsu, broken chains still hanging from his wrists. His eyes were yellow and his fangs glistened. The four men backed away, but the vampire attacked, blending vampiric speed with martial arts prowess, whipping the men with the loose chains. The last man standing, the one who had tried to behead Hsu, made for the door, but the vampire beat him, grinning maliciously. He grabbed the man, pulling his head roughly back to expose his neck. Then his fangs sunk into the flesh. He drank long and hard, almost ripping the throat to pieces. When he had finished, he threw the remains aside, and his features began returning to normal.
He looked around, stunned at the carnage he had delivered – four dead at his own hands. Then his eyes fell on Hsu, and he knelt beside his body. “Milord, just when I had found you.” He pulled the arrows free, roughly, angered at what he had just found and lost. He studied the blood soaked arrowheads. “I never even got to taste you.” He sniffed at it and finally licked the tips. At the first taste he pulled away suddenly as if it had burned. “What is this? Never have I tasted anything so delicious.” He tentatively took another lick, and blinked heavily, savouring the taste. “It is…wonderful milord. You are wonderful. Such a pity.” He curled up beside Hsu, nestling against the still warm body, licking sticky blood off his fingers as he probed the wounds.
~~~
The vampire felt the man’s heart begin to beat faintly at first. He sat up, gazing at Hsu with wonder on his face and rested a hand over the beating heart as he came to, gasping for that initial breath.
Hsu felt a weight on him and grabbed the vampire’s hand, before even looking. Then he saw him and sat up.
“Milord, I cannot believe this, what a wondrous event. You live again.” He bowed. “I knew there was something special about you.”
“Well, now we both know each other’s secrets, Snowman.” He looked at the scattered bodies around the room. “You did that?”
Snowman nodded. “I believed that they had killed you. He pointed to the leader as Hsu went over to inspect the body. “He wanted to cut off your head.”
“If he had, I would have been truly dead.” The words were out before Hsu thought them. Careless again! “I thank you, Snowman.” He studied the vampire, noticing that he definitely had a healthier look about him. His skin was not quite so pallid, and the bones were not quite as visible. “What is your name?”
“Mei Yi. Xiao Mei Yi, milord.” He bowed and stood next to him. Pressing his hand against Hsu’s chest, he said. “I feel your heartbeat milord. I hear your blood, that delicious blood, roar through your body. I feel where it almost comes to the surface, here.” His hand glided up to Hsu’s throat, resting against his pulse.
Hsu grabbed his hand. “”So, Xiao Mei Yi, now you’ve freed yourself, what you want is my blood. You saved my life, just to do that to me.” It was a statement, not a question. He glanced down at the torn throat of the attacker.
Xiao dropped to his knees. “No milord. I would not do that to you.” He peered up with a fanged smile. “Although, I would love to taste that sweet blood again.” He knelt up, resting his hands on Hsu’s hips. “I just want to serve you.”
**********
Zurich, Switzerland (some point before the twins)
The penthouse bedroom was lit with soft, ambient lighting. Dieter Haag lay back, naked, on his four-poster bed. His eyes closed, and there was an expression of pure bliss on his face. He moaned, sinking his head back into the pillow. He looked down, desire heavy in his eyes as he watched the black hair bob up and down.
A louder moan escaped him, and he arched back into the bed. His hands grabbed hold of the black hair, as his breathing grew more rapid. The moans changed, becoming a throaty growl. His eyes closed again, and the erotic tension in his face evaporated as he came. He looked down again, breathing returning to normal to meet Xiao’s smile. His fingers ran through his hair. He gave him a slight nod before lying back on the bed again.
A grimace of pain flashed across his face the moment Xiao sunk his fangs into the artery in his groin. As the vampire fed, Hsu felt himself grow steadily weaker. His tanned skin took on a paler hue until finally his eyes rolled in their sockets, and he died.
Xiao continued to feed until he knew the immortal’s heart had ceased. He sat up, licking the excess blood from his fangs. On hands and knees, he crawled up the body, licking and kissing here and there until he reached his mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual, lacking only in Hsu’s unresponsiveness. The kiss ended, and he rolled Hsu onto his side, laying his head against the immortal’s chest to hear his heart beat once more. He wrapped Hsu’s arms around own chest and waited.
He heard the faint thump of his heart jumpstarting Hsu back to life. Each time he heard it, Xiao never felt anything but sheer joy that life could come flooding back for his friend. A sensation he could never actually experience himself. The closest he ever came was drinking the Quickening tinged blood and waiting for that magical heartbeat. That blood so full of immortality, so full of living immortality, filled him only briefly, but while it lasted, he had a connection with the living again. It was better than being drunk, a high unlike any other.
A fraction of a moment after that first faint heartbeat, Hsu gasped for his first breath, becoming aware of his surroundings. It was a familiar one with his arms wrapped around the contented vampire. He withdrew his arms immediately.
He watched as Xiao sat up and smiled. Hsu shook his head. Sometimes it was quite difficult to reconcile the fit, confident being before him with the starved, pathetic man he had met in that snow covered hut nearly eight hundred years ago.
“So, what shall we do, milord?” he asked, a soft giggle lacing his words as he still revelled in the blood’s effect.
“Well, unlike some people, Snow, I’ve yet to eat.” He ignored Xiao’s lascivious smile. He nearly suggested Chinese, but he had long ago learned not to hand Xiao such a tempting joke. Just imagining his reply stopped him. He got off the bed and began to pull on his pants. “So, where should we go?”
“Goldenes Schwert?” He ignored Hsu’s answering glare. “It has a nice restaurant for you and a delicious night life for me. Or perhaps, The Rage?” He grinned. The Rage was a relatively new club aimed at the more fetish side of the gay scene.
Hsu was just buttoning his shirt. “Leave it Xiao. I’m going to the Hummerbar and then perhaps over to the Nachtcafe. If you want to hunt there, you’re more than welcome, or go alone and hunt at one of those clubs.” The Nachtcafe was an exclusive late night coffee bar in the fashionable Niederhof district of Zürich popular with the bankers and other affluent business people of the city.
“There’s always the Cranberry,” Xiao said hopefully. The Cranberry was a quieter gay club, more to Hsu’s pace, and the music didn’t pound as loudly. For Hsu, who much preferred classical music, modern nightclubs were an extreme irritation.
By now Hsu was tying his necktie. His voice, when he answered, was quiet. “Or you can simply leave.”
Xiao looked at him for a moment, deciding the seriousness of Hsu’s suggestion. One flash of his eyes was enough to convince him. He dropped to one knee, head bowed. “No, that will not be necessary, milord.” This time there was no sarcasm attached. “I will join you and maybe later seek out some sport.”
Hsu kept him bowed for some time but watched him with more than a little exasperation. Even if Xiao had been human, he’d long ago realized there was very little he could do to punish him, physically or mentally, as he always enjoyed it too much. And Hsu was not naïve enough to realize that should Xiao wish to exert his will, his powers, be it his strength or mind, he would be helpless to resist him. No, Xiao allowed himself to happily submit to his will, something that eight hundred years of trust had forged between them. Still, Hsu had one weapon when it came to Xiao. Dismiss him. To be cast aside, unwanted, was the worst fate for the vampire. A punishment he so dreaded that it had rarely been actually enforced.
Hsu reached for the phone and sat down. Quickly punching a number, it was answered immediately.
“MacDonald, bring my car around.” His security chief sounded a little breathless and chastened. “I take it everything’s quiet? Good. I’m out for the evening.” He briskly told him where. “If you have any cause to contact me.”
He switched off the phone and noticed Xiao still bowed. “Get up.”
The vampire stood and brought over Hsu’s boots, kneeling again to slip them on his feet. Hsu had no better, closer friend, but he could never quite understand him, or his willing submissive behaviour. Even after all this time, he knew little about vampire politics, except they were very complex. It was an unspoken agreement that he would stay clear of those affairs, and Xiao would not interfere in Immortal business. He also knew very little of his early life, those twenty years before he was turned. Perhaps he simply didn’t remember them, or maybe he chose not to. He often wondered if he was as submissive among other vampires. One of the few things he did know was that Xiao was a member of the Bloodpack, some kind of vampire enforcement gang, whatever that exactly meant. So he must hold some power and influence amongst his kind.
Xiao had finished with the boots. “Andy? That is the little one, correct?” Hsu nodded. “Hmm, I prefer the black one, more meat on him.” He grinned at the answering warning look. “I know, they are not on the menu. Pity though,” he added with a playful smile.
Hsu smiled at the now old joke. “You are incorrigible, Snowman.” And ran his hand through his friend’s hair. He grabbed his gun, strapping the shoulder holster on and then his jacket. Running fingers quickly through his own hair to smooth it down, he took a quick look in the mirror. “Ready Snow?”
Xiao picked up his leather duster and slung it around his shoulders. “Whenever you are milord.” The sarcasm was back.
