oldloves5

Drusilla followed the voice down the hallway. "Come to me, come to me," it sang. She entered a large ballroom, heavily decorated in blood red velvet and gold gilt. "Come to me, Drusilla," sang the voice. She walked up the steps to the stage. A beautiful blonde girl waited for her there. "I will love you forever," sang the Lorelei. "I will stay with you until the end of time."

"Oh please," said Drusilla. "Please stay with me." She flung out her arms. "Please love me. I'm so alone." She wrapped herself into Lorelei's arms and rested her head on her shoulder. The blonde pressed a kiss gently to her head.

Angel plunged a stake into Drusilla's exposed back. She dissolved into dust. Lorelei began to cry. "I hate that part," she sobbed. "Everyone deserves love, and all I can give them is death."

Angel looked down at her with disgust. "You're a siren. It's what you do."

Lorelei stared at the ashes that covered her. "I never wanted to be what I am."

Dawn woke up in Aurelius' arms. He had taken her to his home, and they lay together on a large black velvet couch. "Drusilla," she said in a panic.

"She's dead," he said in a flat voice. "She will never be a threat to you ever again."

"You saved me," she said. "I knew you would save me."

"I would never let harm come to you, not if it was in my power to stop it." He touched her shorn hair. "But you insist on harming yourself." Dawn pressed her lips to his, and he hesitated. She held his head in her hands, and he moved into the embrace with a sigh. They kissed with passion. She slid her mouth down his neck and then bit him violently on the bulging vein on his neck. She sucked the blood from his ripped flesh into her mouth. He moaned, and arched against her as she swallowed his essence. She quickly backed away from him, and scurried across the room. He looked at her with glazed eyes.

"You wouldn't claim me," Dawn said. "So I claim you." She took a breath.

"No," he said horrified.

"For love I have claimed you," she said loudly.

"No!" he screamed, and threw himself to his feet.

"With blood I have bound you," she recited. He tackled her, and she fell to the floor. He moved his hand to cover her mouth, but it was too late. "Return to me!" she screamed.

Frozen, Aurelius stared into her eyes. His face shifted into demonic form as he plunged his fangs into her neck. He sipped from her as she held him tight. He pulled away and shifted back to his human face. "The ritual is done," he said softly. "The claim is made. We are bound, as one." She moved to kiss him, and he pulled away. He stood over her. "Damn you," he said angrily. "Damn your foolish pride and your stubborn will."

"I love you," she said simply.

"And I love you, my most beloved, immortal bride, and damned are us both because of it," he said.

-TBC-