The way she smelled was intoxicating. I certainly hadn't encountered anything like it before. And I've been around. It wasn't perfume. Nothing synthetic. It was just her. The fragrance of cloves, and ripe, succulent pears. The scent was overpowering. I just had to have her, that was all there was to it. As I got closer to her, I got my first really good look at her. She was about five foot three, and she had ink black hair that hung to her waist. She looked up as I neared, and her cornflower blue eyes locked on mine.

     I saw recognition dawn in her eyes. She knew what I was. She smiled, and beckoned me. That was odd. I stopped, unsure of myself for the first time in eons. How could she know what I was? And if she did, why wasn't she afraid? I turned to leave, but a breeze brought her scent to me, more powerful than before. I couldn't resist. My thoughts got all cloudy, and the next thing I knew, I was here...

     Stuck in this cage right next to yours. I'm still not really sure what happened, or how I became the prey instead of the hunter. All I wanted was to sink my teeth into her breast, and drain the essence of her away.

     Oh, you thought I was a vampire? Thats too funny. No, I'm something else entirely. I feed on your kind, but I can't turn you with a little nibble. Thats just silly. Why would I want my dinner following me around? I drain your... Shall we call it your spark? The thing thats makes you who you are. Not your soul, of course. Someone else has dominion over that. But I can take away your free will. I can take away all the joy you've ever known. Its what sustains me.

     Enough about me. I'm rather interested in finding out how you landed here. From your scent, you are undeniably mortal. But there's something else there. A taint to the human blood. Are you one of those half breeds, then? That explains it.

     "Shh... She's coming," I said. "I can smell her. Just pretend sleep. I'll handle the rest."

     I inclined my head toward my hostess, and grinned. She approached the cage, her hips swaying with her every step. The aroma of her enveloped me again, and my head started spinning. Her full, red lips curved into a smile.

      I shook my head, hoping to clear it. I leaned against the steel bars. And they shimmered. Illusion. And a rather good one, at that. I grinned at her. I knew what she was now.

     She laughed, a low raspy sound. She waved her slim hand and the cage fell away. It was replaced by a cozy bedroom. She stepped close to me and wound her arms around my neck.

     I placed my finger and tilted her chin up.

     "You could have just asked, you know," I said.

     She laughed again. "But its much more fun this way."

     I grabbed her by the hand and led her over to the bed. "Now, tell me what this is all about, my little succubus."

     "Its that time of year again," she said. "My only chance to become mortal."

     I couldn't help myself. I laughed. "Why would you want to be mortal? It seems so...dull."

     "Its just want I want. And only you can do it for me." She looked up at me then, those cornflower blue eyes pleading with me.

     It clicked into place. The man in the other cage... He was no prisoner. He was her lover. Or at least, she wanted him as a lover. But there was the problem of draining the life out of any mortal man she touched. Definitely tricky.

     "I can give you what you want. But I want you to know, I plan to enjoy it."

     She slid the strap of her gown over her shoulder. "I expected nothing less."

     I slid my hands up her sides as I kissed her neck and shoulders. I pushed her down on the bed, cupping her breasts in my hands. She moaned when I took her nipple between my teeth. I couldn't hold myself in check any longer. I sank my teeth into her breast and felt her essence rush into me.

     It was the most incredible experience. So much raw lust and hunger. With the slightest flavor of anger to give it a real bite.

     Bite... Oh yes. I released her, before I drained the now mortal part of her away. I wiped the blood from my mouth and left her lying senseless on the bed. Of course, I could have taken much more than I did, but she was just too willing. I preferred a bit more fear in my victims.

     I left the house, closing the door behind me. I strode down the now dark street, whistling softly as I sought out my next meal.

So... Do you even realize what you've done? Gone and messed it all up and ripped it asunder. And you didn't even stop to think, didn't stop until it was too late. And now you think to just waltz back in, like all of those things didn't matter... Those things you said... Its all well and good to be sorry, love, but that's not a whole lot of comfort. Want to take it all back now, do you? Well, love, you know what they say about going back...

Clarity

So... Clarity is one of the most sought after things. People meditate to find it, drink to find it, abuse drugs to find it. But its ever elusive, always tantalizingly out of reach. You want it, you need it, feel in a fog without it. If only you could just see clearly. If only... But you can't see, so you stumble about, and you do that thing, and say those things... And you wonder where it all went wrong, where it all slipped away. Was it little by little? Bit by bit? Or was it sudden? Was there one brutal thrust, one devastating stroke of the sword that ripped it all away?

And suddenly, clarity finds you and clears away the fog. And you see it all now. What you've done, what you've said. What you tossed away without a moment's thought. You see what you had, shining like a diamond in the sun. You understand all those little things, all those moments that seemed so inconsequential in the grand picture. You see what you should have done, hear what you should have said. And with the clarity comes the gut wrenching pain....

If only you could have known beforehand....

So... Let's see...

Once upon a time in a land far away... Insert your favorite fairy tale here... Its been a long time since I believed in fairy tales and happy endings. A long time since I saw the world through rose colored lenses. All my colors are darker now. And all the fairy tales have developed sharp edges, the happy endings fallen by the wayside. I can't say I'm completely jaded, though. I still hope, in spite of myself. It must be out there somewhere. That one thing that I've always wanted, dreamed of.

So... Just sort of kicking things around again. You know how that goes. Giving something you used to enjoy another shot. And I figure maybe this is a good way to start writing again. Because I don't write as often as I should. You see, I lost my voice a while ago, and I haven't been able to find it again. There have been a few false starts, a few meager attempts, but nothing that feels quite right. Nothing that sounds like me, and what I want to say. And what do I want to say? Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it, boys and girls? Something to ponder...