admittedly more interested by the second, I noticed two things: the guy with the short black hair had his dark shirt on inside-out.
Oh, and he didn’t sport an aura of any kind.
He was, I was certain, a vampire.
As he slid into the back seat, I could smell it now. Fresh blood, wafting from him. His shirt, I suspected, was covered with the stuff.
Nancy’s blood.
Before overreacting, I reminded myself that I had spilled that same blood.
No,
not spilled. Drank. Deeply. Violently. Angrily.
In fact, I had taken a decisive step backward from all the progress I had made these past few months. I had reined in the demon bitch nicely, and for that I was grateful. The less fresh blood she had, the weaker she became. That’s the way I liked it. That’s the way it had been for many years after the initial attack that had turned me. Since then, I had drunk only the putrid cow and pig blood. I had inadvertently kept her at bay with the least-desirable sustenance I could find.
That was, until the first kill. The thug who had wanted to gang rape me was my first blood. That hadn’t ended too well for the young man.
Still, I reminded myself, I hadn’t killed Nancy. I had only… partaken of her. And awakened a slumbering giant within myself. In fact, I felt her rising up through my consciousness now. She sensed, as well as I did, that the shit was about to hit the fan.
And she wanted a front-row seat.
Well,
I thought.
Enjoy the ride.
I moved away from the back doorway, and headed behind the stage and to the sated vampire who watched me near him.
With a smile on his face.
I took the seat opposite him, my back to the stage. I was missing the performance of the girl who danced like no one was watching—except, of course, most of the pervs in Colton.
The chair seemed unstable, and I wondered how many lap dances it had endured. And with that thought alone, I vomited a little in the back of my mouth.
The man with the slicked-back hair wasn’t a man. He wasn’t a werewolf either. He seemed too slight. The werewolves I had seen were big boys… growing bigger, in fact, with each full moon. The older the wolf, the bigger he was. Which made Kingsley one of the oldest, I realized.
And hairiest
.
“You killed Nancy.” My voice came out flat, emotionless, even.
“Oh, was that her name?” He hadn’t blinked yet. Oldest trick in the book. I could out-unblink the crap out of him. He kept his wide-eyed stare on me. His skin was flushed. He had had a healthy feeding, of course. After all, why waste all that good blood? I, of course, hadn’t had anything all day… and the Jamba juice didn’t count. At least, not for my kind.
Whatever kind I was, that is.
A vampire
, I told myself.
A vampire, once and for all.
Except, of course, I didn’t really believe that. I never did. I wasn’t so much a vampire as a person possessed by a very, very dark and powerful entity, an entity whose own supernatural powers leaked through.
No, not leaked… poured through.
And the guy in front of me seemed too fresh, too excited, too happy. He seemed, in fact, to revel in exactly what he was.
He’s a new vampire.
Which boded well for me. The older the vamps, the stronger they were… and the more aware of their powers. New vamps relied on strength alone. At least, I had.
Except, early on, I had had my early warning system, a slight ringing in my head, which was, even now, sounding strongly… warning the crap out of me.
“Yes,” I said, “and she was a friend of mine.” And she
had
been a friend, dammit. Even if only for the past few months.
He said, “You should turn around and pretend you never saw me.”
“Or not.”
Oh yeah. This guy was new, and a little full of himself. And, judging by the damage he had inflicted on Nancy, a certifiable psychopath. Not to mention, he couldn’t see auras—at least, not yet. Had he been able to, he would have seen what I was. No matter.
“Leave now, and I won’t kill you, too,” he said
Oh, and he didn’t sport an aura of any kind.
He was, I was certain, a vampire.
As he slid into the back seat, I could smell it now. Fresh blood, wafting from him. His shirt, I suspected, was covered with the stuff.
Nancy’s blood.
Before overreacting, I reminded myself that I had spilled that same blood.
No,
not spilled. Drank. Deeply. Violently. Angrily.
In fact, I had taken a decisive step backward from all the progress I had made these past few months. I had reined in the demon bitch nicely, and for that I was grateful. The less fresh blood she had, the weaker she became. That’s the way I liked it. That’s the way it had been for many years after the initial attack that had turned me. Since then, I had drunk only the putrid cow and pig blood. I had inadvertently kept her at bay with the least-desirable sustenance I could find.
That was, until the first kill. The thug who had wanted to gang rape me was my first blood. That hadn’t ended too well for the young man.
Still, I reminded myself, I hadn’t killed Nancy. I had only… partaken of her. And awakened a slumbering giant within myself. In fact, I felt her rising up through my consciousness now. She sensed, as well as I did, that the shit was about to hit the fan.
And she wanted a front-row seat.
Well,
I thought.
Enjoy the ride.
I moved away from the back doorway, and headed behind the stage and to the sated vampire who watched me near him.
With a smile on his face.
I took the seat opposite him, my back to the stage. I was missing the performance of the girl who danced like no one was watching—except, of course, most of the pervs in Colton.
The chair seemed unstable, and I wondered how many lap dances it had endured. And with that thought alone, I vomited a little in the back of my mouth.
The man with the slicked-back hair wasn’t a man. He wasn’t a werewolf either. He seemed too slight. The werewolves I had seen were big boys… growing bigger, in fact, with each full moon. The older the wolf, the bigger he was. Which made Kingsley one of the oldest, I realized.
And hairiest
.
“You killed Nancy.” My voice came out flat, emotionless, even.
“Oh, was that her name?” He hadn’t blinked yet. Oldest trick in the book. I could out-unblink the crap out of him. He kept his wide-eyed stare on me. His skin was flushed. He had had a healthy feeding, of course. After all, why waste all that good blood? I, of course, hadn’t had anything all day… and the Jamba juice didn’t count. At least, not for my kind.
Whatever kind I was, that is.
A vampire
, I told myself.
A vampire, once and for all.
Except, of course, I didn’t really believe that. I never did. I wasn’t so much a vampire as a person possessed by a very, very dark and powerful entity, an entity whose own supernatural powers leaked through.
No, not leaked… poured through.
And the guy in front of me seemed too fresh, too excited, too happy. He seemed, in fact, to revel in exactly what he was.
He’s a new vampire.
Which boded well for me. The older the vamps, the stronger they were… and the more aware of their powers. New vamps relied on strength alone. At least, I had.
Except, early on, I had had my early warning system, a slight ringing in my head, which was, even now, sounding strongly… warning the crap out of me.
“Yes,” I said, “and she was a friend of mine.” And she
had
been a friend, dammit. Even if only for the past few months.
He said, “You should turn around and pretend you never saw me.”
“Or not.”
Oh yeah. This guy was new, and a little full of himself. And, judging by the damage he had inflicted on Nancy, a certifiable psychopath. Not to mention, he couldn’t see auras—at least, not yet. Had he been able to, he would have seen what I was. No matter.
“Leave now, and I won’t kill you, too,” he said
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