VAMPIRUS

BLOOD BATH

Blake broke through the surface of the blood pool he was submerged in, gasping for breath and coughing. Collecting himself, he reached for his glass of chardonnay close to the pool's edge and brought it shakily to his lips.

Dear God in heaven, what in hell did I just see?

He sipped longingly from his bracer, eyes closed, savoring the dash of the cool liquid as it spread to his insides. He then set the empty stemware down and spread his arms back along the cool linoleum, staring straight ahead.

The vision chilled him. Never had he seen anything that had so disturbed him. It wasn't fear; it was uncertainty, a dark unknown that seemed real although he hoped it was only his wild imagination getting the better of him.

Still...

Blake was so lost in thought that he wasn't aware of Broderick entering the pool area.

"You're relaxing in a blood bath and you're drinking wine," Broderick observed. "Party of one?"

Blake said nothing. He only watched his lover of a hundred years approach his end of the pool dressed in a tan silk robe, grateful for his partner's presence. Something, however, was deeply troubling him, but he attempted to force the disturbing feeling to the back of his mind, forcing his undivided attention on Broderick who disrobed and slipped naked into the pool beside him.

Broderick made his way in front of Blake and pressed against him, lighting brushing Blake's lips with a gentle kiss.

"What's eating away at you, Blake?" he asked, his arms around Blake's shoulders. "You haven't been yourself since we got back from Maria's last night." Broderick's eyes searched Blake's own. "Talk to me."

Blake sighed and gathered his baby into his arms, pressing his forehead against Broderick's own. "I'm scared for you."

"Mm-hmm. And you're shaking."

Blake chuckled embarrassingly. "I'm trying to be strong for you."

"You're already strong for me be, boo," Broderick soothingly replied. "I know your strengths and I'm confident in them." He grazed the back of his hand against Blake's cheek. "Now... What's. The. Matter?"

Blake inhaled deeply and slowly released the breath. He gazed straight into Broderick's beautiful brown eyes. "I'm afraid you're not the same Broderick after I rescued you from Nesdal."

Broderick's brows furrowed. "Oh?"

Blake nodded. Broderick could easily tell it pained Blake to say it. "Sorry, Broderick, but I'm being honest."

"How am I not the same?" Broderick's eyes leveled on Blake's.

"I immersed myself in the pool and I saw a dark shadow around you," Blake answered. "You looked so...so inhuman, so..." He shook his head. "Almost like how you looked the night I fought Nesdal to get you back."

"And that what has you so upset?"

"I saw other things," Blake confessed. "I saw us." His gaze dropped and he grew silent.

Broderick stepped back. "What about us?"

"I saw us as dark shapes and one of the shapes died."

Broderick pondered Blake's premonition. Or was it just his imagination?

"What are you thinking about, Broderick?"

Broderick shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. "Blake, I think everything is perfectly fine. I'm not worried. I think you're just still upset because of the stress you endured over the past few nights and it's really getting to you."

"What do I do, love?" Blake asked.

Broderick approached him, enveloping him in his arms again. "You breathe and you live."

"I've never felt so...human. So weak."

Broderick considered a thought. He scooped Blake up in his arms and began carrying him to the middle of the pool.

"What are you doing?" Blake couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm going to immerse myself along with you," Broderick answered him. "We'll be combined in thought and I'll show you that you're stressed over nothing."

"Trust in the blood."

"Uh-huh. Trust in the blood."

They reached the middle of the pool. Broderick stopped and bent down to kiss Blake. "You ready?"

Blake nodded.

"Alright. Here we go."

They slowly sank beneath the surface.