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Tabatha crouched in the furthest corner of the cage, watching the man she had always known as Uncle Andy, become a slavering, red eyed, pop-veined ghoul. Her Aunt watched him as he stroked up her arm and around her face.
“You’ll become my partner in crime and we’ll both live forever with the aid of my mistress.” He licked his lips.
“I would rather die.” Melanie spat at him.
“Oh, you’ll die first, but then you shall rise and join me.” Andrew leaned down and kissed her cheek just below her eye, the yellow toxin dripping onto her skin.
She shuddered, turning her head away as the yellow liquid dribbled toward her mouth and spat to divert it.
“Just drink it in, Mel. It’s the less painful way to experience death, believe me.” He grinned.
“Uncle Andy, please... don’t do this.” Tabatha tried one last time.
“Oh, sweet princess, I have to do this.” He turned to look at her and grinned, “I feel the urge to build an army for my mistress ebbing up through my flesh.” He turned back to Melanie, “And that army will begin with you, my darling.”
He lunged and bit deeply into the side of Melanie’s slim white neck, his tongue lapping her blood up like a dog. She screamed and tried to get away, but the straps held her tightly.
Tabatha could see Melanie’s heart beating faster as Andrew ravaged her. She tried to look away, but the noises dragged her gaze back; the slurping, gulping of Andrew as he fed and Melanie’s shrieks that grew weaker and began to turn into whimpers as time passed.
Andrew stopped with considerable effort and backed away, breathing heavily. “Oh, but you taste so good, Darling. More delicate than the finest meat or fish, smoother than chocolate and fruitier than my favourite wine. I knew you’d be a good one.” He looked at Tabatha, blood, toxin and saliva smeared across his face, a face that she hardly recognised behind the glowing eyes and dark red veins.
“But I must stop... if I don’t stop then all you will be is another, albeit scrumptious, meal for me. And that is not the aim of this exercise.” He straightened up and Tabatha noticed that his body was whole and straight again.
“See, she must love me, or my body wouldn’t be healed by her blood and flesh.” he grinned and walked over to the workbench, picked up a towel and wiped his face. When he removed the towel, his face was back to normal, “Now I can eat normal food for another month.”
“Is that why you’ve been attacking people?” Tabatha demanded; her attention riveted on Melanie’s body. Her aunt was struggling to breathe through the ruin of her neck and blood spurted out of the artery with every pulse of her failing heart.
“Not entirely. My Mistress tells me who I may eat and who I must just kill. I must admit that I was very tempted to eat the Dragon Priestess. The last time I tasted Dragon was in my last body and that was during a battle, so I only had time for a taster. Now there’s a flavour that is truly satisfying.” He glanced over at Melanie as her heart stopped beating. “Oh good, time to continue your education, Princess.”
He picked up a vial of yellow liquid and walked over to Melanie, opened the vial and poured it into the wound. Her entire body convulsed, jerking up against the straps.
“We don’t have time for her to go through the whole fighting against the change thing, so a stronger dose of toxin,” he held the vial up toward Tabatha, “combined with some infusions of various things, will accelerate it.”
Melanie’s body jerked again, and with a massive gasp, her eyes flew open, and she screamed.
He casually slapped her, “Enough of that, sweetheart. Time for your Imprinting.”
She glared at him, and her eyes glowed as brightly as his had when he’d finished feeding, “What the fuck have you done to me, you bastard?”
“Merely turned you into a ghoul, my darling wife. Just think, now we can be together forever, the way you always wanted.” He strode back to the bench, dropped the vial back onto the surface and picked up a small bottle. It was bright red.
“What’s that?” Tabatha asked.
“A smoothie; a nice fruity little recipe that includes some blood from you, your mother and my Mistress. Blended with a banana or two, some apple juice and a chunk of my own flesh from before I became a Ghoul.” He laughed as the young woman retched, “Everything that a growing Ghoul needs for their first meal.”
Tabatha frowned, “Why would you need blood from those people?”
The door opened and Morrigan entered, “Because those are the people she will need to obey. Or would you like her to try and eat you?”
Tabatha jumped; I didn’t realise that she’d left the room.
“How goes the process, my pet?” Morrigan walked over to Andrew and stroked his hair.
He opened the bottle, poured a little into the palm of his hand and dripped it down onto Melanie’s face, being careful to get the drips around her mouth, where her tongue could get to them.
She licked them automatically, then sighed, “That tastes wonderful... can I have more?”
“Only if you swear to serve only the Fae. You will be allowed to go back to your normal duties in the human world, you may travel wherever you need to and you will be guided in all things by my Orders,” Morrigan said carefully, “You must swear to serve the Fae, especially the Queen, Tabatha and myself to the exclusion of all others in the mortal world. You must swear to remain loyal to Andrew and do as he requests you as an extension of my voice. He will make sure that you are trained and fed appropriately.”
“What’s in it for me?” Melanie said in a monotone, staring at the bottle in Andrew’s hand.
Morrigan raised an eyebrow, “Apart from your continued existence? You will continue to be a wealthy couple, because only the wealthy have the freedom to do what we will ask of you.”
“If I refuse?” Melanie strained upward to the bottle, sounding more and more desperate.
“We will extract your soul, which is now Ghoul, and place it in a more pliable host,” she smiled, and Tabatha shuddered at the eager gleam in the Fae woman’s eyes, “The process is excruciatingly painful, and you would remain alive and feeling the whole time.”
“So, I have no choice.”
“Not if you wish to continue to live and be your own person... well, most of the time.” Andrew said, he looked at Morrigan, “the duties have not been onerous, and I have enjoyed most of them.”
Melanie closed her eyes and swallowed, “Then I do so swear to all the conditions that you have delineated, and I will obey your every whim and word.”
“Good girl.” Andrew said approvingly, “May I help her drink, Mistress?”
“Of course, you may.” Morrigan smiled and then strode over to where Tabatha had curled into a ball and was staring at the scene in front of her, “Well, your highness? Do you understand the lengths that your mother will go to, to bring this mortal world into an age of peace?”
Tabatha looked up at her and nodded.
Morrigan unlocked the cage door, “Then out you come. You will have much to discuss with the Queen, no doubt.”
Tabatha crawled out and stood up. I must stop this happening, but the only way I can see to do it is to do as I am told for the moment. The first chance I get, I need to talk to Kai. She stretched.
“Would you like to say goodbye to your loyal servants?” Morrigan gestured elegantly at Melanie and Andrew who were acting as giggly and sickeningly sweet as Tabatha remembered from their marriage. Andrew was gently feeding Melanie the liquid from the bottle, one hand cupping the back of her head.
Tabatha was surprised to see that Melanie’s neck was almost completely healed, “No, I’ll leave them to it. They don’t need me.”
Morrigan nodded, “Then, your highness, after you.” She pointed to the door.